Hagrid's Memories

When he finished his story, Malfoy looked at the Princes expectantly.

- No, can you imagine? To accuse me of attacking students or aiding and abetting a criminal! I understand that Slytherin vultures associate Slytherin with villainy, sneak attacks and delinquency, but not to this extent! - Draco was beyond angry.

- Pfft, why are you so surprised? Your father and Mr Weasley are clearly not friendly, so Weasley Junior is adopting his father's attitude," Sasuke snorted.

- I'm sure he talks about what happened at work and his arguments with Uncle Lucius at home. Besides, I thought Weasley Junior was afraid you might want to steal Potter's attention.

- I don't give a damn about him! - Draco was indignant, but when he realised that such shouting was not befitting an Heir of an ancient family, he calmed down and said, "He seems like a nice guy and an Heir of an ancient family like us, but his behaviour and manners are unworthy of his status. It could be explained by the fact that he's been living with Muggles and doesn't know magical traditions. Still, Potter's been studying at the castle for a year now, whose library, though it can't compete with the libraries of the aristocracy, is superior to almost any other in Britain. He could have enquired about the customs of the world he had travelled to. Still, apparently, like many vultures, he was only interested in Quidditch. Disgraceful! Even the muggle-born, Hermione, knows more than the Heir!

- Stop breathing fire and justifying your name," Itachi tried to reason with his friend, "You have to admit that at least he's trying to learn something, unlike Weasley. Potter is pretty good at transfiguration, and his defence is good for a sophomore too.

- Hn, confirmed," Sasuke interjected, "I saw your duel. He's no match for us, but he's got potential and trying to develop it. On the other hand, Weasley Junior doesn't seem to care about anything. One of his older brothers works at Gringotts, another is a dragon wrangler, the third is a head boy and is about to become a Ministry employee, the twins are inventors and innovators, and he's neither fish nor flesh. Like the other brother, he's interested in Quidditch, but there's no obvious talent; he's just a backup. He does have a strategic mind...

- Strategic thinking? A Weasley?! - Draco exclaimed.

Sasuke nodded and continued calmly.

- Hn, I've seen him play chess. Weasley beat all of his opponents.

- Well, he can't beat Itachi," Malfoy replied confidently, "He's never lost to Dad, and he was the school champion.

- Pfft, no one can beat a brother.

Itachi blushed in response to these statements and said:

- I'm not that good. I couldn't beat anyone who plays chess professionally.

- Pfft, don't mind him. He's always belittling his abilities," Sasuke snorted.

Itachi glared indignantly at his brother in response to this statement but decided not to start an argument.

- As for Weasley, some of his rivals were upper-level students, which confirms what I said. As for their suspicions, don't worry and remain unfazed. Sooner or later, they'll get tired of following you around and blaming you for everything, and they'll let it go. And if you try to prove anything to them, they'll always follow you around.

Draco nodded and sighed.

- It's just not nice to be blamed for all your sins. Okay. You're right; I'll try to ignore them.

After saying goodbye, the friends went to their living rooms.

In the evening, while discussing the events, Itachi said.

- We should ask Hagrid as soon as possible. Suppose the Gryffindor trio continue to meddle in all this. In that case, they risk getting into a dangerous situation and might not be so lucky this time. Tomorrow is a day off, and we will visit the forbidden forest. Still, we're going to visit the forest ranger before that.

- Hn, do you think Hermione knew about this whole circus with Draco being accused by the Gryffindors? She wasn't with them, but it's not like they brewed the potion themselves.

- Hmm, I think she did. And she didn't go because she couldn't get any Slytherin hair for the potion or she didn't have enough ingredients for three servings... Although... no. She's smart enough to calculate everything correctly and be able to get everything she needs. She probably figured Draco would rather answer the 'friends' questions privately. It would look more natural. Our hair would be easier for her to get since we often meet in the library. Still, she probably reasonably assumed Draco would pay more attention to our ignorance than Krebb and Goyle's 'stupidity'.

Sasuke nodded thoughtfully. With that settled, the twins went to bed.

The next day, as soon as it started to get dusk, the brothers went to Hagrid's house. Noting that the half-giant hadn't gone to bed yet, they knocked on the door and as soon as the ranger opened, Itachi caught him in a genjutsu. After looking up the information he needed, he erased the memories of their arrival, and they walked towards the Forbidden Forest. Once the brothers got deeper into the forest, they stopped, and Sasuke turned to his brother questioningly.

- He doesn't know anything about the forbidden room monster. Hagrid got an acromantula egg and raised it in his chest.

- So the spiders that live in the forest--

- Yes. Aragog was the acromantula. The head boy of Slytherin, Tom Riddle, caught him and accused his spider of being the monster that attacked the student. For this, Hagrid was kicked out of school and had his wand broken.

- Wait a minute, Tom Riddle? Isn't that who it is?

- That's right. It was the future Dark Lord.

- But why would he do that? The monster in the Chamber of Secrets would have gone on killing, and Riddle would have been accused of lying! Unless-" Sasuke's eyes widened.

- Unless he had set the monster on the students or knew who had done it and was aware of its plans, perhaps covering it up.

- Then the Dark Lord could be the Slytherin Heir?!

- Hmm, possibly. More data is needed, but I'm leaning towards the idea that he was the one who unleashed the monster. Firstly, he possessed Parseltongue, which is a Slytherin bloodline gift. Secondly, judging by the Dark Lord's actions and the statements made by his father and Uncle Lucius, Voldemort was not the kind of person who would help someone he didn't know. Therefore, it could only be someone close to his circle and likely a Slytherin, but there was a second question. There was no mention of a Slytherin Lord among his associates, judging by the newspaper clippings of the trials of former Eaters we've seen. My grandfather mentioned that the family was long gone, so I think the Dark Lord was the Heir. That partially explains why so many pureblood wizards went after him.

- But if he was the Heir, why wasn't he given the status of Lord, and why was it never mentioned when he ran for Minister? After all, it's a conflict of interest: as a Lord, he is entitled to a seat in the House of Lords; therefore, he can propose changes to the laws. This is why Lords are forbidden by law from becoming Ministers. Voldemort's opponents would not hesitate to use this fact to take him out of the race. But he lost to the muggle-born Nobby Lynch because of suspected ties to the group that later became the Eaters. This suggests that, for some reason, Lord Slytherin Voldemort did not become Lord Slytherin. And another question: what did he want to achieve by opening the Chamber of Secrets? The closure of Hogwarts? Why did he stop attacking students, then?

I don't know why Voldemort didn't accept the Lordship yet, either. As for your second question, opening the Chamber of Secrets was a spontaneous decision; after all, only one schoolgirl was attacked, and then Hagrid was "unmasked" by Tom Riddle. Probably Voldemort was scared of the school closing, and the half-giant got caught in the act. This leaves only three important questions. First: where is the Chamber of Secrets? Second: what kind of monster lives there; third: who opened the room now and whether it is open. The student died then, and now students are falling under the petrification spell...

All in all, we have little information to draw any conclusions. We don't know about any of the Dark Lord's children. Still, it could be a bastard or one of Voldemort's distant relatives, so it's too early to write off the idea of opening the room.

Sasuke hummed thoughtfully, and the twins began their journey deeper into the forest.

After the brothers had had an intense workout, they decided to check out the acromantulas. Even as they entered the forest, they found it strange that the spiders seemed to be running into the forest. They inspected the situation and headed towards the clearing where Aragog lived. The twins noted that the atmosphere had become oppressive as they approached it. The spiders' faces had no human facial expressions. Still, thanks to their Sharingan, the Princes could see that the acromantulas were frightened. Walking with the patrol, the brothers greeted Aragog courteously.

- 'We noticed you had something wrong,' Itachi began gently, 'Is there anything we can do to help?

The spider laughed.

- 'You're funny human babies! First time I've met someone so unusual! Decide to help us acromantulas! - With another chuckle, he said, "You're too young. Better get out of the castle and don't return if you value your life.

- Are you talking about the monster from the Chamber of Secrets? - Sasuke asked.

- Yes. It's an ancient devil's spawn. I remember asking Hagrid to let me out of Hogwarts the last time it was let out.

- Could you tell us what this monster is, or give us any information about it? - Itachi asked politely.

- No. We never name it or talk about it! - Aragog blustered, the twins prepared to get out of the clearing, but the acromantulus quickly managed his emotions -I can only add that we fear it more than any other creature.

Itachi nodded and thanked Aragog for his help.

- I guess I'll have to go through the magical creature reference books again," the older twin said thoughtfully as they walked away from the clearing, "But now we have some leads.

- Hn, if anyone can figure out what this creature is, it's you, nii-san. I'll help you with your search," Sasuke encouraged his brother.

- It's okay, Ototo. I'll be fine on my own. You'll have to perfect your technique. If the monster is so dangerous that acromantulas, the highest Class 5 creatures, are afraid of it, we'll need all the help we can get.