Hermione's plan

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Harry inherited one thing from his father: a long, silvery invisibility cloak. Using it, they sneaked out of school to visit Hagrid unnoticed.

In the evening, after Neville, Dean, and Seamus stopped discussing the Chamber of Secrets and fell asleep, Harry, Ron, and Hermione got out of bed, dressed, and draped their robes over the sides.

They navigated the halls, avoiding classmates and professors. Despite the invisibility cloak, they made noises, forcing the trio to hold their breath as they approached the door. Successfully reaching it, Ron stumbled, nearly alerting Snape, who stood guard a few steps away.

Luckily, Snape sneezed soon after Ron cursed, allowing them to reach the oak doors and gently open them.

Under the starry night, they hurried to the lighted window of Hagrid's house. Approaching the door, they took off the cloak and keenly heard a whining sound from inside. The three exchanged uncertain glances.

Hermione was the one to knock on Hagrid's door first. The crying inside ceased immediately. After a few seconds, Hagrid opened the door, standing with swollen eyes and tears streaming down his moleskin coat.

Sniffing, Hagrid left a gap, allowing the three to enter his cabin. "Hagrid, what's the matter with you?" Hermione asked, surprised at Hagrid's sad expression.

"He killed Aragog." Hagrid finally found someone to share his pain. Recounting the incident, Hagrid's sadness was evident, and tears flowed from his big, cloudy eyes.

"Who? Who killed whom?" Harry, leaning comfortably against the chair, sat up instantly. Given the recent tense situation, he was particularly sensitive to words like "kill."

"Ethan, the new professor. He killed my friend Aragog." Harry, Ron, and Hermione opened their mouths in shock. They never expected such shocking news from Hagrid. They couldn't comprehend why Ethan would want to kill Hagrid's friend. As far as they knew, Professor Ethan and Hagrid had no apparent connection.

The three wizards found themselves in a dilemma. They didn't know what to say. Hagrid was their friend, and Ethan was a professor who greatly helped them. This tricky situation left the three wizards at a loss.

"Oh, Hagrid, that's... unfortunate." Harry reluctantly offered words to comfort Hagrid.

"Can you tell us exactly what happened, Hagrid?" Hermione focused on the crux of the matter.

After Hagrid's narration, accompanied by intermittent sobs, Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally understood the entire sequence of events.

"Aragog is an acromantula?" Ron recoiled slightly, unable to fathom why anyone would consider such a terrifying creature a friend.

"Aragog is a good spider! It never harms anyone. I've known it for fifty years, and its heart is genuinely kind. A dark wizard must have manipulated it." Hagrid pulled out a handkerchief, blowing his nose loudly.

"Yeah, an Acromantula must have a lot of kindness in its heart," Ron whispered, but fortunately, Hagrid was blowing his nose and didn't hear Ron's words.

"Ron!" Hermione glared at Ron angrily, not allowing him to be eccentric.

"Hagrid, please accept our condolences. This is truly an unfortunate tragedy caused by a misunderstanding." Hermione carefully chose her words to comfort Hagrid.

"Even though Ethan cut off Aragog's head, I still plan to hold a funeral for Aragog. Will you attend?" Hagrid looked at Harry, Ron, and Hermione with swollen eyes.

"Of course we will, Hagrid. We'll all come to participate." Harry patted Hagrid's large hand comfortingly.

"Oh, thank you. Aragog will surely thank you." Hagrid was moved to tears again.

Ron shuddered at the thought. He didn't want to receive thanks from the soul of an eight-eyed spider. "Then, Hagrid, we won't disturb you any longer. We'll continue to mourn Aragog." Hermione stood up, bidding farewell to Hagrid.

"Of course, it's getting late. You all hurry back. Thank you for coming to comfort me." Hagrid stood up and thanked the three wizards, watching Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they left.

"Professor Ethan didn't kill the basilisk. The basilisk is still hiding in the castle! Our plan must continue," Hermione informed Ron and Harry.

"Why did Professor Ethan have to kill Aragog? Hagrid said Aragog never hurt anyone." Harry couldn't help asking.

"God, Harry, do you genuinely believe there's goodness in the heart of a giant spider? They've harmed centaurs, and Professor Ethan is a witcher who kills monsters that pose a threat. It's normal." Ron, who was arachnophobic, secretly approved of Ethan's actions and even began to admire him a bit.

"I understand what's happening because of the basilisk." Hermione suddenly clapped her hands and exclaimed,

"The book says that spiders are highly afraid of basilisks. The basilisk's resurgence in the castle has made the acromantulas feel threatened. They don't believe their territory is safe, so they invade centaur territory!"

Harry and Ron stared at Hermione in shock. They couldn't comprehend how she untangled this complex situation so quickly.

"We need to act swiftly before the next basilisk attack. We must identify the heir of Slytherin to halt the basilisk attacks at the root. I've got it all planned," Hermione turned to her two friends, speaking with utmost seriousness.

"I've already prepared the polyjuice potion, and we still need something for the person we're going to impersonate," Hermione casually mentioned, as if she were sending them to the supermarket to buy laundry detergent.

"No need to say more. Suppose you can get your hands on something from Crabbe and Goyle. They're Malfoy's best friends, and he confides in them. Ensure the real Crabbe and Goyle aren't around when you're interrogating Malfoy."

"I've planned everything," she continued without pause, ignoring the astonished expressions on Harry and Ron's faces. She produced two chocolate cakes from her bosom. "I added regular hypnotics to these. You need to ensure Crabbe and Goyle find them. Knowing how greedy they are, they'll eat them for sure. Once they both fall asleep, pluck a few of their hairs and stash them in the broom closet."