Chapter 21

The spider's vision returned, and as Glitterdust ended, it became stealthy again. The spider's dark brown carapace was all but invisible in the darkness.

Milo dismissed Levitate.

He couldn't see what happened, but he definitely felt the 600 XP he got for defeating a Challenge Rating 2 Monstrous Spider solo. Milo sighed. He was somewhat disappointed by that, he thought the spider was worth way more than that. Well, I guess the spiders here are pushovers compared to the ones back home, he thought.

When Quirrell, Hagrid and Harry found him, he was whistling softly to himself, stuck to a tree.

"Milo!" Harry shouted, panicked. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, totally fine," he said, though in truth he felt a little woozy.

"Yeh managed ter kill an Acromantula?" Hagrid asked, shocked. "Aragog's not gonna like this. We'd best be leavin'."

"What took you guys so long?" Milo asked dizzily as Hagrid pulled him out of the webs.

"We ran in ter Quirrell, who was in a right state, said we had ter help yeh—but we were delayed by centaurs. Them stargazers took an unnatural dislike to our Defence Professor."

Quirrell appeared to have lost his short-lived courage, and was as pale and quivery as ever.

"Centaurs… in a forest? I figured horse-y types would prefer plains… not planes, mind, 'cause of all the… weird… monsters…" Milo's eyelids felt heavy and his head drooped slightly. He felt sort of numb all over.

"Hagrid? I think something's wrong with Milo," Harry said to the giant.

"What? Can't see anythin' in this ruddy darkness. Professor, could you…?"

"O-of c-c-c-course, Hagrid," Quirrell stammered. "L-lumos."

Quirrell held the tip of his glowing wand over Milo, so Hagrid could investigate closer. It was hard to tell, because of the poor lighting and Milo's black uniform, but there was a patch that seemed slightly darker than the rest.

"Oh, no," Hagrid gasped. "He's bin bit."

Milo frowned. He definitely didn't remember that happening. In fact, he was all but certain the acromantula never got even close to close enough to him to bite him.

"Nah, hairy brute never touched me," Milo said.

"H-he's delusional from the v-venom," Quirrell said. "I f-f-feel terrible, he w-was my r-r-responsibility."

"You're stuttering," Milo said. Something was nagging at him, but it felt as though his head were packed with wool.

"I-I a-always st-st-stutter," Quirrell stuttered.

"We need ter get 'im back to the castle," Hagrid said. "Acromantula venom can be lethal."

"Poison?" Milo asked, and reached for his belt. He kept antitoxin in one of the pockets… which one? It seemed like it should be important, but he was having difficulty focussing.

"I-I'll take him," Quirrell said. "You c-c-can keep s-searching."

"Right. Harry, you'd best be goin' with 'em," the giant said to the Boy-Who-Lived.

"But, then you'd be out there alone," Harry protested. "Are you sure you'd be okay?"

"Nah, I got Fang. Don't worry yerself about me."

"Wingardium Leviosa," Quirrell said, casting the Hovering Charm on Milo, who was starting to lose consciousness. Quirrell led Harry through the forest back towards the castle.

"Shouldn't we hurry, Professor?" Harry asked anxiously. "Milo looks really sick."

Quirrell shook his head.

"N-not in a f-forest," he said, "and c-certainly n-not in a f-forest in the d-d-dark. W-we could tr-trip in j-just about a-anything, and th-then we would take e-even longer."

Harry supposed Quirrell had a point, but their leisurely pace seemed torturously slow to him.

Harry, frightened by the forest, gradually drifted closer to Quirrell as they walked. The Defence Professor was a bit spineless, but he seemed pretty competent with magic—and he had faced down vampires at some point. However, as Harry drew nearer, his scar began to ache abruptly. He doubled over, clutching at his forehead. When his hand drew away, there was blood on it.

"A-are you al-alright, boy?" Quirrell asked.

"Uh," Harry said as the pain gradually decreased. "Yeah… yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing. It just… my scar hurts sometimes, usually around Snape."

"Th-the scar—I understand y-you got i-it from the D-d-d-dark—from H-H-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"Yes, Professor. That's what I'm told, at least."

Quirrell frowned.

"Th-then I'd s-s-suggest you b-be wary around the Potions M-M-Master," he said. "H-He used to be a D-D-D-Death Eater, I-I'm told. A-and this d-d-detention was h-his idea."

Harry was surprised. He didn't like Snape, but he hadn't realized that the greasy professor had been one of Voldemort's followers. Maybe he was going to try and finish the job that the dark wizard had started? Perhaps it was Harry, and not Milo, who had been meant to be attacked by the giant spider. Good thing Quirrell had been there.

As they continued to walk, Milo's condition worsened. He started babbling incoherently about his pockets and Quirrell's stutter, before passing out entirely.