DARK DEEDS IN THE FORBIDDEN FOREST
Harry flew out the open broom cupboard wall. He circled the tower that housed the Headmaster's office to get his bearings and to make sure that the invisibility cloak was remaining securely in place. Harry noticed that even though the door has sealed seamlessly into the tower wall, he could still see the outline of the magic that made the door work. Harry realized that he still wore Dumbledore's glasses. Harry quickly surveyed the castle and grounds and saw magic traces in many places. He mentally noted the brightest sources for later investigation and then turned the Firebolt toward the forest. The sensation of freedom and speed were invigorating to Harry's mind and body. The rush of early morning air felt refreshing against his face. If it hadn't been for the pressure of the backpack and its reminder of the impending task, Harry would have enjoyed the experience completely. Harry readjusted his thoughts and focused on the task before him. As he streaked across the grounds, he saw his fellow Gryffindors performing inspections of the castle perimeter protective spells. He could see a boy in Gryffindor colours running from the castle toward Hagrid's hut. Harry could see Ron and Hermione working under Moody's direction to seal a small gap in the curtain of magic that Harry could now see protecting the grounds. With a start, Harry realized the gap was in the exact location that he and Dumbledore had entered the grounds that fateful night less than a week ago. Harry recalled Dumbledore's muttered incantation and then turbulence as they passed the spot on their brooms. "Had Dumbledore opened the gap and neglected to close it? Had Dumbledore been distracted by pain, or possibly, by the urgency of the moment?" Harry quickly put these thoughts to the back of his mind. He would have time to consider them later.
Harry skirted the curtain of magic and headed toward the forest. His first order of business was to locate where Greyback had entered the grounds. It took nearly fifteen minutes of scouring the forest edge but Harry finally located the werewolf's footprints. Harry landed the Firebolt next to the depressions in the soft earth. Harry could see that the werewolf had been in a hurry. The footprints were deep and the toes dug in deeper than the heels. Greyback had been running. Harry took out his wand and, following the instructions given to him by Nigellus, performed a charm that overlaid the footprints with a bright red ribbon that was then drawn back into his wand. Harry remounted the Firebolt and took to the air once more. He surveyed the castle and grounds. He calculated the shortest path from the castle's front entrance to the cover provided by the forest. Harry then flew to the spot at the edge of the forest he had just chosen. He knew that he was a considerable way from Aragog's old lair. He had to make a trail that was visible but not overtly obvious. Harry moved slowly, hovering a scant few feet above the forest floor, he performed the next portion of the spell that Nigellus had taught him. A diffuse red mist formed a glowing path on the ground where Harry aimed his wand. As he slowly made his way through the trees and plants, the glow followed him leaving an eerie red trail behind.
As Harry flew deeper into the forest, the sun played hide-and-seek games with the shadows, at times winning by brightly illuminating the odd patch of forest floor. But as the trees thickened, the sun began to lose to the overarching trees, only achieving an occasional ray's penetration to the forest floor. Finally the trees gained victory and blocked out all efforts by the sun to warm and illuminate. The trees seemed to close in, the air became dank in the deepening gloom. The trees had become huge, their massive trunks and leaves blocking the sunlight high above. Nothing grew here on the forest floor, the giant trees had sucked the life-giving light from the air high above, leaving below gnarled tree roots, perpetual gloom, and a foreboding feeling of despair.
Harry had concentrated so intently on keeping the mist on the ground that he didn't notice the trees begin to thicken until they had blocked out the morning sun. The forest floor was left in an unearthly darkness. Harry had traveled for about fifteen minutes when he saw the first signs of spider webs. At first the webs were no larger than those encountered on a walk through a garden, but they quickly grew more numerous and then increasingly larger. Harry's forward progress was finally blocked by a web with strands as thick as bell pulls extending from huge tree to huge tree.
Time to set the trap, thought Harry. He didn't land the broom, instead he would do what needed to be done while hovering above the ground, he didn't want any of his footprints to alert wary searchers. Harry pointed his wand at the red mist marking a path back to the forest edge. With a sharp flick of his wrist, almost like snapping a whip, Harry used his wand to finish Nigellus' incantation. The mist seemed to settle into the ground and Harry watched, a bit amazed, as werewolf footprints appeared in the barren soil of the forest floor backward toward the forest edge. Harry saw that the spacing and depth of the tracks gave the impression of a werewolf covering a lot of ground quickly, with little regard to hiding his trail from pursuers. Harry took off the backpack and set it across his legs like a table. He took out the remainder of the Cornish hen and examined what he had to work with. He had achieved adequate transfigurations in McGonagall's classes but this was a monumental test of his abilities. As he contemplated the transfiguration, Harry could suddenly "see" and "feel" the necessary incantation. He realized with a start that he was "seeing" through McGonagall's point of view. Harry suddenly knew he could accomplish this, he felt as if he had already done the magic. This would be easy. Harry silently levitated the chicken bones and flesh to just above the forest floor. He then used an engorgement charm, enlarging them until they were roughly the same size as a fully-grown werewolf. Harry concentrated on what he knew about Greyback's structure; skin, hair, joints, teeth, claws, colouration, anything that would lend a distinct image to the transformation. Harry then concentrated on the transfiguration incantation he could "see/feel" in his McGonagall memory. The wand movement was intricate, but Harry felt he had performed it flawlessly. His concentration was rewarded by an immediate change in the appearance of the leftover hen. The flesh closed into pale bristled skin reminiscent of a werewolf. Limbs appeared at the odd, werewolf angles, as did a head sporting a long snout filled with wicked looking fangs. The result bore more than a passing resemblance to Fenrir Greyback. It was as if the magic had read Harry's memory of Greyback and superimposed itself on the transfiguration. Harry was fully surprised at the result.
Things were going better than he had anticipated. Harry then took Greyback's wand and the empty orb out of the backpack and used "Sectumsempra" to slice off the remaining strap and shred the remainder of the backpack. He then carefully lowered the shredded backpack to the base of the huge web and let it settle gently among the offal of the giant spider's previous meals. Harry knew the next step was fraught with danger. Up to now, everything had been done in profound silence and without touching the ground or any of the strands of the numerous webs. The next step had to be performed quickly and could be fatal if there were any large acromantulas in the area. Harry carefully levitated the faux Greyback toward the web in front of him. Harry carefully gauged where the werewolf would have struck the web had it been running through the forest on the path he had laid down. With a quick flick of his wrist, Harry threw the "werewolf" into the web.
The result was immediate. A spider the size of a hippo scuttled from a dark corner of the web to the location where the "werewolf" was stuck vibrating in the web. Harry had expected a spider to come when the web was touched but he had not anticipated the speed and agility of the huge spider. The spider immediately sunk its huge fangs into the "werewolf". Harry was ready, he had Greyback's wand pointed at the awful scene before him, the tip barely protruding from beneath his invisibility cloak. As the spider's fangs struck, Harry reversed the spell he had used when he had cleaned up the blood on the landing outside Dumbledore's office. Blood sprayed from the tip of the wand across the "werewolf", the spider, the web, and nearby trees. The spider's reaction to the blood was immediate, it extruded a strand of silk as large in diameter as Harry's wand and twirled the "werewolf" in a practiced rhythm between its spindly legs. Within seconds, the "werewolf" was encased in a shroud of silk. Harry noticed that the wrappings were so tight that the blood was seeping between the strands and dripping to the forest floor. When the package was tightly wrapped, the spider sank its glistening fangs into its victim, once, twice, three times. Harry winced with each of the spider's strikes.
Harry realized that he couldn't have done this to the real Fenrir Greyback, he didn't have the constitution for this kind of work. Harry watched silently as the spider repaired the damaged portion its web, hoisted its package and retreated to a dark corner of its web for a quiet meal. The entire spectacle had taken less than three minutes. As the spider retreated, Harry dropped the orb to the forest floor beneath the web. To his horror the orb landed hard and broke with a loud crash.
The spider's reaction was incredibly quick, it pushed its meal securely into the web and dropped to the forest floor, suspended by a large silken cord. It paused at the broken glass as if considering something. Then it spoke, its voice a deep rumbling bass between the clicks of its huge sharp pincers, "You are not visible to my eyes but I can hear you and I can smell you on the forest air. If you are here to attempt to take my meal from me, I welcome the combat. I am Asgoth, son of Aragog. My father had many children, we battled for food and position since we were small. I am no stranger to fighting for my meals, and so far, when I have been challenged for my food, I have ended up with two meals instead of just one. So, prepare to fight me, or, if you value your life, run away."
Harry looked quietly into the eight glistening eyes of the huge spider. He could see fear of the unknown in the spider's mind. Harry realized that, once again, he was seeing the thoughts of another. Regardless of whether this spider was truly afraid or not, Harry absolutely did not want to fight this monster. He hadn't even wanted the spider to know he was there. Harry thought quickly. He raised his voice to a high quavering pitch and spoke, "Asgoth, son of Aragog, I chased this werewolf from the forest edge, he ran as a frightened rabbit. He was to be my meal but I see you are a formidable opponent. I watched as you subdued this lowly werewolf and even if I defeated you, your venom makes him unsuitable to my palate. Even were I to prevail against you in battle I could eat neither him nor you. I bow to your supremacy and wish you a pleasant meal." Harry remained silent and unmoving, waiting for the spider's reaction.
Asgoth hesitated, considering the words, then he began, "You have chosen a wise path. I thank you for bringing this treat to my web. I never underestimate an opponent. This is how I have lived and prospered. I recognize your wisdom and will repay the debt you have put me in this day. Name your name that I may know to whom I owe debt."
Harry knew that using own name would jeopardize his underlying plan. Harry recalled a word game Hermione had forced him to play in an attempt to sharpen his reasoning skill. Without a pause he said, "I am known as Fiend of Grirhad."
"Few have come to my lair with the confidence and self-assurance you express," said Asgoth. He then continued, "It is a rare thing for me to have a conversation with another. Most flee from before me or avoid me entirely. In my experience, self-assurance speaks of a feeling of equality. As I cannot see you, you may have been able to strike me before I could have reacted or retaliated. If that is so, I owe you my life as well as my meal."
Harry, looking into the spider's eyes, knew that he could take the spider at his word. Recognizing that Asgoth's word was as good as his father Aragog's pledge, Harry began, "I did not come here to give battle to anyone as formidable as you. The foolish werewolf ran across my path as if he were fleeing for his life. I never encountered that from which he was fleeing, I merely followed, waiting for him to tire. As for being your equal, a wise friend once told me that being invisible made one careless. I try to be careful. I suggest a truce between you and I, a pact as it were; if not as equals, then as friends."
The great spider paused. Harry could "see" him considering an idea that had never occurred to him. "Friends?" he said, "you know not what you ask. At my father's death I became the leader of my clan. My word is bond to all my kin. And yet, I believe that you may be as formidable as you appraise me to be. A pact it is! Sealed by this meal offering. I will spread the word among my clan, Fiend of Grirhad is allowed free passage at my accord. You will be safe as long as I rule. Come to visit me, come to talk, I welcome you back."
Harry was astounded by the great spider's words. A friendship with Asgoth could secure a portion of the forest from his enemies if this were handled properly. Harry started his reply, "Asgoth, son of Aragog," and then with more assurance than he actually felt, "friend, I will visit you again."
"Done and done," rumbled Asgoth as he pulled himself up the silken cord that attached him to his web high above, "I look forward to talking with you again." With that, the huge spider retreated back across his gigantic web to his waiting meal.
Harry notice that the spider's venom was already at work on the "werewolf". It had started to turn jelly-like, with liquids seeping copiously between the silken wrappings. Friend or not, Harry didn't want to stay and watch the spectacle. Harry rose silently on the broom and turned back toward the castle.
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