Follow The Spiders

February 10th, 1977

The waxing gibbous moon bathed the corridor in front of him in dim, white light through the many windows along the walls. An almost extinguished torch at the far end of the fifth floor which led to the Ravenclaw tower indicated that Harry was almost there. Disillusioned, he remained a few feet away from the golden eagle handle that served as a guardian, not intending to trigger any monitoring charms that might be placed on it at night.

'Tempus.'

A series of numbers gleamed bright purple after a flick of his wand.

'2:58 am'

'Almost time then.'

Trailing his fingers over the length of the Elder Wand, Harry waited until the eagle handle jerked a minute later and the large door materialized behind it.

'She cast a silencing charm on it.'

'Clever girl...'

He watched in amusement as the door opened up to a gap barely wide enough for a thin person to slip through before it closed again without making any sound.

"Harry?" The whisper was accompanied by a faint ripple of magic, shimmering like summer heat over hot asphalt.

'It's almost perfect by now.'

"I'm over here," Harry whispered back, making the ripple of magic swirl around. He willed his magic to drop the disillusionment charms on his body, tearing it away as if he shed his own skin: "You've practiced, my love."

"It's good..." A familiar piece of wood flicked through the air a few meters in front of him, revealing blonde curls held into a tight ponytail and robes of the deepest black. She pouted adorably as she walked over to him, hair bouncing from left to right: "But still not as good as yours..."

'Soon, my love.'

"How are you feeling tonight?" Harry met her halfway and scooped her up in his arms for a chaste kiss in greeting: "Are you ready for this?"

"I'm feeling good." She bobbed her head in a mix of determination and anticipation, bouncing on her heels: "I want to finally get this done. We have prepared for this moment for many weeks."

"Indeed, we have." Harry led the way back to the main staircase and down to the lower floors. "It is dangerous but very necessary."

It has been almost a month since the couple took their first trip into the Pensieve and started reconstructing the ritual they intended to undergo together by watching Harry's memory. A few more trips were needed to ensure they did not miss any small details in the written instructions and also copied down each of the runic sequences perfectly.

'There was no margin for error with this branch of magic.'

In addition, besides the last ingredients they would acquire tonight, other preparations had been made and the necessary substances gathered. Two bezoars, stolen from Slughorn's personal supplies, one for each of them, would strengthen the effects of the ritual even further.

Harry had spent a small fortune on two drops of uncursed unicorn blood during a quick trip to Knockturn Alley last week. The rest of the ingredients were rather basic and could be gathered either in the greenhouses or from their own potions kits.

"Are you sure you're in the right attire for our mission tonight?" Harry glanced down at her outfit after pulling her into a small alcove to avoid a group of passing ghosts: "You know things will undoubtedly get a bit heated..."

"I will wield my wand and cast my magic dressed like a witch, Harry, not like some muggle athlete." She wrinkled her nose. Roaming over the tracksuit he wore underneath his thick gray robes, her eyes remained lingering on his shoulders and chest: "Though I do admit it does look good on you."

"Thanks, I guess." Harry chuckled.

"To ease your worries, my love, I am wearing a sports bra underneath this." She jumped up and down, indicating to her own chest in child-like amazement: "Definitely one of the better muggle inventions, especially for girls like me that have been blessed as you like to call it..."

"You're incorrigible, my love." Harry said stifling a burst of laughter: "Let's get going!"

At last, they reached the entrance hall and carefully slid back the lock on the oak front doors. The couple quickly squeezed between them, stopping any creaking by careful application of silencing charms, and stepped out into the moonlit courtyard.

'At least our vision won't be a problem tonight.'

"I just hope you feel comfortable moving around in those robes because I doubt there will be much jumping tonight..." Harry chuckled drily: "Probably a lot more ducking and dodging and rolling underneath them..."

"'Rolling underneath them'?" Marlene raised a delicate eyebrow while they walked over the courtyard towards the grounds: "Surely they can be that large, can they?"

"Wait until you see them," Harry grimaced, images of his last encounter with them flickering through his mind: "You have no idea."

"I don't particularly like spiders, Harry, especially large ones" Marlene cringed while they strode past Hagrid's hut over the grass to the edge of the Forbidden Forest: "Let's get in there quickly, take what we came for and kill its owner. Then you can apparate us out of trouble right after."

"It probably won't be that easy," Harry murmured as they entered the dark forest through the same path he had in his original timeline on multiple occasions.

"Why not?"

Three orbs of bright glowing magic burst from the tip of his wand and spun around them, casting long shadows over giant trees: "I don't exactly know how far the anti-apparition wards reach over the forest, so we might be still trapped by them."

"Great." Marlene remarked sarcastically while Harry led her down the path: "Nothing more romantic than taking a stroll in the moonlight through a dark scary forest while being chased by giant spiders."

"It will be worth it, though." Harry poured his magic through the Elder Wand and crumbled a big fallen stump, which had blocked their path to ashes: "With ritualistic magic, the more it hurts to get, the stronger its effects will be."

"You're probably right." Marlene nodded and tossed her long ponytail back over her shoulder. She tightened the grip around her wand, stepping a bit closer to Harry while her sharp eyes darted over her shoulder, checking their surroundings.

The couple walked in silence for a few minutes, hearing nothing but the

soft snaps of breaking twigs underneath their feet and rustling leaves around them.

Harry was doing his best to stay on whatever path he and Ron had followed in their second year when they had heeded Hagrid's horrible advice and 'Followed the Spiders'. Even though so many years had passed since then, it was remarkably easy to remember the way.

'Perhaps because the last time he walked here, it was to die at the hands of Voldemort after finding out he was a Horcrux?'

"Are you okay, Harry?" Marlene's fingers curled around his own and squeezed his hand affectionately, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, I was just reminded of something rather unpleasant." He replied absently. Glancing around Harry gestured through the sea of dark to a spider web far up in the trees: "We're getting closer. They should take up our scent and detect us soon after."

"Hopefully they hear us out before eating us alive." Marlene grimaced.

So they continued through the darting shadows of the large trees, even deeper into the forest. It started getting more and more difficult to advance now. Thick tree roots and wide stumps blocked their path regularly. After a while, Harry noticed that the ground seemed to be sloping downward, though the trees were as thick as ever.

'The clearing where I should have died is close.'

"We are almost in their territory." Harry forced his magic through the area around him, feeling the presence of significantly more living beings than a few minutes ago: "Remain right next to me and let me do the talking. They will be wary of me, but likely not so much of you."

"Okay." Marlene swallowed heavily; her knuckles clenched around her wand while she stepped even closer to him.

"I don't particularly like this plan of yours, Harry." He felt her body shiver before tensing: "What was that?"

Harry's eyes darted to where she pointed at. Some distance to their right, something big was snapping branches as it carved a path through the trees, accompanied by clicking noises.

"It's one of them," Harry exhaled deeply and stepped in front of her protectively: "Try to stay calm, Marlene, remember our exercises."

"Morgana's knickers!" She gasped when she spotted the creature approaching them through the tree line.

'She had severely underestimated this...'

Something straight out of a nightmare approached, eight-eyed, eight-legged, black, hairy, and gigantic stepped into their path, clicking its pincers threateningly. This was not some tiny spider like those, one might find in the depths of dungeons. This was a creature the size of carthorses:

"Intruders!"

'Click' 'Click'

"Humans!"

"We come in peace to bring gifts and good news to your leader!" Harry replied confidently: "Do not give us reason to hurt you. We simply wish for you to take us to Aragog."

The beast clicked its enormous pincers, eight black eyes watching them curiously:

'Click'

"Follow me, humans!"

'Click'

Harry glanced over his shoulder and nodded at her encouragingly, gesturing for her to follow him. Marlene shook herself out of her petrified state and stumbled past him.

"Please tell me that these are as big as they get?" She whispered into his ear, while the spider led them past thick stumps through the forest.

Harry chuckled drily: "Male Acromantulas can grow to the size of a small elephant and as with most spider species, the females grow the largest."

'There are even larger ones...'

Marlene swallowed heavily and fought down a stab of panic. Yet she also felt the adrenaline spiking up from within, no doubt in anticipation of what was to come.

'The more it hurts to achieve, the stronger its effects will be.'

"I will take whatever I need from the biggest and kill it." She whispered in his ear: "I don't care if it's the male or female."

"Secure the venom, but don't take any unnecessary risks." Harry nodded reluctantly: "I will give you the signal."

"Good." She realized that they had reached the ridge of a vast hollow. Said hollow was devoid of trees, such that the moon and stars shone brightly onto the worst scene she had ever laid eyes on.

'Even more eight-eyed, eight-legged, black, hairy, gigantic spiders.'

They were led down a steep slope toward a misty, domed web in the very center of the hollow. Marlene spotted dozens, if not hundreds more of the black multi-legged shadows crawling over the grounds of the forest. They closed in all around them, clicking their pincers excitedly at the sight of what must seem like prey.

The spider that had led them here was saying something though Marlene struggled to understand it as he clicked his pincers with every word he spoke.

'Click'

"Aragog!" it called. "Aragog!"

'Click'

'Harry was right.'

'They grow even larger.'

From the middle of the misty, domed web, a spider the size of a small elephant emerged, very slowly. There was gray in the black of his body and legs, and some of the eyes on his ugly, pincered head were milky white. He must be partially blind.

"What is it?" he said, clicking his pincers rapidly.

"Humans" clicked the spider who found them: "They say they have good news for you..."

"Good news?" inquired Aragog, moving closer, his eight milky eyes wandering vaguely from Harry to Marlene: "What good news could the humans have for our kind?"

"We are friends of the great spiders and offer our hand in friendship!" Harry confidently stepped forward and spread his arms almost like the headmaster did for his speeches: "We came to share a great victory with you tonight, for I have slain a common enemy of both of us!"

Click, click, click went the pincers of the spiders all around the hollow. Aragog paused. "What enemy is it that you speak about?"

"Out of respect for you and your kind, I will not speak its name, for I value your traditions. This enemy has lived underneath the castle for many years and has attacked the students in the past. I recently took its life to ensure the safety of my kind." Harry explained diplomatically: "And to prove my word, I will allow you to smell its lingering scent on me!"

'Click, click, click'

Marlene nervously glanced around at the spiders, who were watching them like prey that literally fell into their web. Harry had shared this plan with her a few days ago. Back then, she had disliked his idea of winning the Acromantulas' trust. However, now, being surrounded by them and at the brink of their mercy, things looked even worse for them.

'Click, click, click'

The rackety sounds coming from somewhere behind Aragog echoed through the night, silencing the clicking from any of the smaller spiders.

"Mother Mosag!"

'Click, click, click'

"Mother Mosag!" Clicked the entire colony of Acromantulas in worship.

'This one better be the biggest.'

Marlene gulped heavily and even caught her boyfriend taking a small step back when a second massive black creature crawled on eight hairy legs out of the depths of the web. It was even taller than who Harry and the smaller spiders referred to as Aragog, towering over the other Acromantulas by several feet, its body almost double as wide.

Harry quickly glanced over his shoulder towards her and shot her a brief nod.

'So, that's the one whose venom I need.'

'Rather this than a Basilisk.'

"We shall test the humans' claim!" The massive spider crawled next to Aragog. Its sharp pincers, several feet in length, clicked threateningly: "And should he lie to us, we shall feast on him and his mate very slowly."

'Mate?' Marlene almost giggled if the situation wasn't so severe.

"I speak nothing but the truth to your kind, Mosag." Harry replied definitely

"Then my mate will confirm it, for he remembers the creature's scent from his time at the castle!" The spider decided and clicked at Aragog next to her, motioning for him to carry out as instructed.

Marleen had no idea how Harry managed to remain so calm as the Acromantula advanced so far until he stood right above them. Her own stomach twisted and she stiffened the need to gag when the spider lowered its massive hairy head until eight pairs of eyes were fixed on them at the height of their heads.

She caught a good look at the large pair of pincers, which were attached to venom sacks next to the gaping void that could only be the spider's mouth. The spider came close enough to her boyfriend to swallow him as a whole, yet still, Harry stood his ground and showed no signs of fear, his face an impassive, yet slightly cautious mask.

'No idea how he does it.'

The Acromantula pushed itself back up, clicking wildly: "I can smell the one we don't name on the human. The scent of its blood is still fresh on him. However, how do we know that he actually killed it and not merely deceives us with false promises and masquerade?"

'That is not good...'

Angry clicking noises echoed over the clearing, almost as if the entire colony was edging to see their blood spilled despite their offering of peace.

"I brought proof of my feat with me," Harry stated loudly, his magically amplified voice booming over the sounds from the spider.

Marlene watched anxiously as his hand vanished within his tracksuit only to reappear with a long familiar-looking fang a few seconds later: "This is one of the many trophies I took for myself after slaying our common enemy! I will allow you to verify it and keep it as your trophy, but first, you shall listen to my bargain!"

'Will it work?'

The colony remained surprisingly silent, black eyes latched to their leaders expectantly, who communicated to one another in a series of clicking noises.

Meanwhile, Marlene tried to get Harry's attention by mouthing the word 'Apparating' repeatedly. Harry finally noticed her and closed his eyes briefly, before shooting her a small nod.

'That's good.' Marlene sighed in relief, now knowing that if things went south, at least they could escape this nightmare.

'Click, click, click'

"What is it you wish in return then, humans?" Mosag inquired curiously after she finished discussing the matter with Aragog.

"Free passage for me and my- " Harry shot her an amused look over his shoulder: "- mate through the forest whenever we wish so. I'd also like your promise that you will never attack the school or its students!"

'Click, click, click'

"You ask for a lot yet offer so little in return, human." The spider clicked threateningly as if Harry's proposition had mocked them: "You humans grew bold up in your high castle, but here in the forest, it is my word that rules. Our sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid, on our command. But we would never deny them fresh meat, when it wanders so willingly into our midst"

'I'm not going to be eaten by some hairy spider!'

Marlene wiped a faint film of sweat from her forehead and clenched her jaw in tension. However, it was still too soon to act yet, their target had to be in proximity to them to get a clean shot.

"Hand over the trophy, little humans, and perhaps I will allow you to walk out of our web alive today." Mosag stepped closer until she was hovering above them just as Aragog had before: "That shall be more than generous enough of me, don't you agree?"

'Sneaky bastards.' Rage spiked through her coupled with the anticipation of what was about to happen, the grip on her wand tightened until her knuckles turned white.

'I will not leave without what I came for.'

'And I will prove that I'm stronger now!'

Marlene felt her heart pounding in her chest when Harry shot her a quick glance and another reaffirming nod. The tip of her wand now poked from underneath her robes while she tracked the movement of the giant spider's head. As expected, the pairs of eyes of the entire colony were on Harry instead of her.

"You may keep my trophy as a tribute then." Her boyfriend bowed low, yet without taking his eyes off the spiders, and placed the fang on the ground below their feet before taking a few steps backward: "We will turn to leave."

'Click, click, click'

All around them the spiders clicked in disapproval, almost as if they cheered on their leaders, who in turn clicked their pincers threateningly.

'It was almost time to strike now!' Marlene forced herself to remain patient, yet the first syllable of the spell was on the tip of her tongue.

Mosag bent two of her giant legs on her front until her eight-eyed head and the sharp pincers attached to it were inches away from picking up the fang.

"NOW!" Harry roared beside.

The hairs on Marlene's arms and neck pricked when she felt the overpowered banishing charm Harry fired straight at Aragog, which hurled the Acromantula king backward into the black mass of his children and kept him out of the battle for a few valuable seconds.

'Time to splat some hairy spiders!' Marlene jumped forward into action, taking careful aim, she slashed her wand vertically like a sword and cried out:

"Sectumsempra!"

She poured every ounce of power behind the spell Harry taught her, just as she had practiced for weeks up in the Room of Requirements. The bright cutting curse flashed across the short distance over the clearing and connected with its target.

The Basilisk's fang Mosag intended to pick up was dropped back to the ground, accompanied by one of her long pincers with the majority of the venom sack still attached to it. The spider roared in pain; its body twitched as thick droplets of dark blood poured out of the deep wound.

"Accio pincer!" Marlene shouted through the night and luckily managed to catch the sharp object as it surged through the air towards her and Harry. Hiding behind her boyfriend, she quickly shrunk it down and securely stored it within her robes before glancing back up, her wand at the ready.

'We've got what we came for...'

'But the venom's source was still alive, rendering the sacrifice less valuable...'

Meanwhile, Harry had not been idle either. Out of the corner of her eye, Marlene had witnessed him raising the Elder Wand high into the sky before slamming his fist down to the ground while emitting an almost inhuman roar.

It was not a spell Marlene had ever heard of before, but its power was undeniable, soaking the entire area around her boyfriend with heavy, raw magic.

'Morgana...'

The ground of the clearing shook and buckled as the unknown spell created a small earthquake with Harry and her as its epicenter. The snaps of long, hairy, and now broken legs echoed through the previously silent night. The majority of the approaching Acromantula colony was stopped in their tracks when their weakened legs failed to carry the heavy bodies.

"KILL HIM!" Mosag hissed in pain, unable to click with her one remaining pincer, bathing the ground underneath in blood leaking from her wound: "KILL HIM AND LEAVE HIS MATE TO ME!"

"I don't think she likes you very much, love" Harry chuckled drily before his green eyes hardened like steel and hatred washed over his face like a wave. His wand slashed through the air: "FIENDFYRE!"

Heat soared so close to her face that she felt like her skin was melting off her bones. Marlene was forced to shield her eyes as crimson red flames erupted from the tip of the Elder Wand and bathed the entire clearing in bright light.

The cursed flames scorched over their countless attackers, leaving behind the molten and singed skeletons of the spider. The air filled with the scent of smoldering flesh, singed fur, and death, making her gag while black ash rained down on them.

"Come one, let's get out of here!" Harry yelled and held out his hand expectantly: "NOW!"

"NO, NOT YET!" Marlene cried, firing a series of cutting curses at Mosag until the giant spider retreated behind a few of her children, licking her wounds while eliciting high shrikes of pain that echoed over to them.

"You already took the venom against her will!" Harry visibly struggled to maintain control of the flames while arguing with her. His ash-covered face was a mask of rage as he spun around and took her in.

"Please, Marlene!" Black shadows danced in the depth of green eyes. "Don't be so bloody damn careless!"

'I'm sorry!'

"I won't leave until I kill her!" Marlene retorted in frustration, sending her strongest fire spell at the hurled mass of black limbs that approached her from the left, eradicating her attacker in a sea of crimson: "This is my sacrifice, Harry!"

"Well, then you better finish it quickly!" Harry roared, redirecting his hatred back at the rest of the colony and unleashing literal hell fire on them.

The flames twisted into creatures and monsters even more gruesome than the elephant-sized spiders that surrounded him. Ironically enough, her boyfriend poured his intent into the flames until they formed a massive blazing Basilisk, which lounged at the nearest spiders and kept the rest at bay.

Marlene's attention was forced back to the black silhouette of Mosag, who stopped shirking in pain and crawled back towards Harry and her as quickly as her eight legs took her, surrounded by her children and mate. Harry bathed her companions in a crimson inferno, yet he adhered to his promise to leave their mother to her.

'Bring it on, you hairy bitch!' Marlene slashed her wand forward and opened fire with a volley of curses.

The Acromantula Queen was only a few meters away when her cutting curse finally connected with only one of the many legs, yet it only seemed to slow her down, not stop her attack. The spider hissed angrily and lounged at Marlene, who barely managed to dodge the razor-sharp edge of the hairy leg.

"REDUCTO!" Marlene shouted, twisting around on the spot

At least four of the spider's eight eyes exploded into a gory mess, which sprawled over the ground, a few bits reaching as far as Marlene's position. The creature was blinded on one side permanently, yet it continued to lunge at Marlene, now having closed the distance.

Rolling over the clearing underneath the spider's body, Marlene barely managed to dodge the second leg, which missed her by mere inches, hurling dust and debris into the air with how strong it impacted the ground.

'Die!'

"Incendio!" She cried, pointing her wand up at the beast's exposed underside and scorching her fur-covered, vulnerable weak spot.

Mosag shirked in pain above her and wildly trampled with her remaining legs, desperate to impale the small human like grilled meat on a wooden stick. Marlene crawled out from underneath her opponent, but it seemed as if her luck finally ran out.

One of the razor-sharp legs caught her on the waist, eliciting a deep gash that instantly drew blood. She cried out in pain.

"MARLENE!" Harry twisted around, leveling his wand at the queen in retribution. The tip started glowing a sickening green, yet Marlene was quicker.

"SHE IS MINE!" Marlene clutched to her blood-soaked waist with one hand, tears of pain streaming down her face. She leveled her wand at the severed leg on the ground before slashing it like a whip through the air, giving it a little twist at the end.

The black limb transformed into a long spear and surged forward in a blur of silver. Due to its power, it pierced the Acromantula's skull effortlessly and remained stuck.

No more high shrieks escaped the wounded mouth. Mosag dropped to the ground with an earth shuddering THUD, her legs curling inwards until she remained unmoving.

'Die!'

The ache was making her vision blurry, robbing her of her sense of orientation and balance. Even the rush of satisfaction at having killed one of the most powerful creatures on the planet did little to numb the pain from her wound.

She felt a pair of strong hands steady her on her waist, a split second before she would have stumbled.

The burning corpses of giant spiders, the air thick with black ash raining down on them, and the wide stumps of trees vanished as the world swirled past her, squeezing her through a tight tube.

Soft grass cushioned her fall when she reappeared on steady ground with a soft snap.

"I've got you, my love!" Harry's firm voice whispered in her ear repeatedly while she felt herself being hoisted up into the same pair of strong arms and cradled against a firm chest: "I'm so proud of you, Marlene, so proud of you..."

"I did it." She murmured absently. A final thought danced through her numb mind before the dimly glowing moon vanished behind heavy eyelids:

'This sacrifice better be worth all that trouble.'