Chapter - 10 : The Forbidden Forest Scheme

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Nanami_KunChapter - 10 : The Forbidden Forest SchemeMay 23That is a problem.

I dumped the Weasley in the girl's loo. She'd wake up in a few hours, exhausted and suffering from amnesia. Obviously, she'd come up with some explanation and forget about it, in typical Weasley fashion.

I threw my invisibility cloak on as I hurried out of the loo and snuck back into Gryffindor tower. I'd never understand why the portrait would let students pass who were clearly out after curfew and invisible. The foolish portrait would probably let a Death Eater in, if one knew the password…Come to think of it, she was letting the Dark Lord in, now, so that would actually be a step down.

I crept into the Second Year boys' dormitory, slipped off the invisibility cloak, and threw open the Weasley's curtains.

"Spiders!" he cried, jolting forward. He relaxed upon realizing that I did not, in fact, possess eight eyes. "Oh, Harry. You're back."

"Yes, yes," I grumbled. "Did you avoid suspicion, as I ordered?"

Ron grinned. "Yeah, I told everyone you were sick."

"And no one questioned that?"

"Nah, McGonagall just said you should go to the Hospital Wing if it got bad. Dean, Seamus, and Neville thought it was weird they never saw you, but I just said you were sleeping under your invisibility cloak again…"

"That is something I would do," I muttered.

"…and no one wanted to wake you after last time," Ron said, shivering slightly.

"I don't know why you're still complaining about that. The scars weren't even permanent."

"Where were you, anyway?" Ron followed me to my trunk, where I tossed my cloak.

"The Chamber of Secrets. As usual, I solved everything."

I'd hoped that would be the end of it since Dumbledore and Hagrid were kicked out of the school on the same day I went hunting for the imposter. Hermione's petrification was the last of them, and they'd arrested the man who was previously blamed. Everything seemed perfectly resolved, to me.

I'd feel bad about using Hagrid as a scapegoat, but he did almost burn down the Forbidden Forest, the previous year.

Come to think of it, I didn't feel guilty about my previous actions, either.

Hagrid wasn't technically expelled for being the Heir of Slytherin. He was expelled for keeping a man-eating spider in the school. Which, to be fair, he did.

Unfortunately, the groundskeeper's obvious guilt was not enough to stop the incompetent fools at the Ministry from nearly ruining my magical education. Again.

My minion and I tracked down Professor McGonagall, the acting headmistress, in her office.

"You can't close the school!" I exclaimed, the Weasley echoing me.

McGonagall's lips thinned. "The Board of Governors has determined that Hogwarts is no longer safe for students."

"There hasn't been an attack in weeks. I'm sure we're fine," I said.

"Mr. Potter," she snapped. "There is a deadly monster in the school."

"It can't be that deadly if it didn't kill anyone," I argued.

"Petrifications are no laughing matter, and it's only prudent to close the school before the monster kills a student, as it did fifty years ago."

I snorted. "One death every fifty years? We lose more students than that to the moving staircase."

Ron gaped at me. "We do?"

"What do you think happened to the Perks girl?" I asked. It really was a wonder Ron hadn't accidentally strangled himself, which I'd like to add would set his death toll equal to my basilisk's.

McGonagall sighed. "Any death is too great a risk."

"But we caught the Heir, already," I whined.

She frowned. "It has only been three weeks, Mr. Potter. There is no proof that we've caught the Heir."

"But everyone knows that it's Hagrid's fault."

Honestly, if we weren't going to blame him, why arrest the oaf at all?

Professor McGonagall sighed heavily. "The school is closing, Mr. Potter. I'd suggest you get used to the idea. Now, please leave my office. I have work to do."

I stormed from the office, Ron at my heels like a good minion. "How dare they? As if they can close my school without my approval…Fine, they want a monster; I'll give them a monster."

"Um, Harry?"

"Quiet, Ron. I'm scheming," I said.

After a few moments, I worked out my plan. "We need to go into the Forbidden Forest and bring back an Acromantula."

Ron frowned. "A what?"

"A giant spider."

"What?! But why?"

"To stop the school from closing down, of course," I said.

"I thought you said you took care of everything." His Weasley mind struggled to keep up with my brilliance.

"No, no, I just took care of the Heir. You clearly weren't paying attention," I said breezily.

"But-"

I huffed in annoyance. "Let me put this simply: To keep the school open, we need to kill Slytherin's monster. The monster is in the forest. To kill it, we have to take it in the school."

There, that was a close enough approximation of the truth. Most importantly, it was the explanation that would convince my minion to assist me, or at least keep him too confused to argue.

Ron shrugged. "Okay."

"Alright, we're agreed then. We go into the forest tonight. How is your Stunning Spell?"

"I never learned the Stunning Spell," he said.

"Then you get to be bait," I said.

He was always going to be bait, but I figured he'd agree more easily if he thought it was his fault.

"Erm, mate, are you sure about this?" Ron asked, trudging through the Forbidden Forest.

I floated next to him on a school broomstick and sighed loudly to ensure it would be heard through my invisibility cloak. "Ron, when have I ever been wrong about anything?"

"What about –"

I quickly interrupted. "That was a rhetorical question."

"I still think this is a bad idea," he muttered. "Spiders are bloody terrifying."

"Didn't you pay attention to the Hat? Gryffindors aren't afraid of things. If you wanted to be afraid of things, you should have gone to Hufflepuff."

Ron nodded sullenly. No one wants to be a Hufflepuff.

We followed the spiders deep into the forest, and, at last, found one of the larger acromantulas. From black-furred leg to yellow eye, it was about the size of a horse, its fang as long as my arm. That should be intimidating enough.

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the story? Want more? By joining my Patreon, you'll get exclusive early access to over 70+ chapters before anyone else!

Your support not only helps create more thrilling content but also connects you with a lively community of fellow fans.

Become a Patron today and dive deeper into the adventure!

(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

http//patreon.com/Fireshadow5

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