Harry Potter and Shafik

Chapter 138 The Funeral of Spider King Aragog
For the next week, Harry racked his brains about how to get Slughorn to hand over his real memories, but without any inspiration, he had to do what he was doing more and more when he couldn't do anything. Lots of things to do: flipped through his potions textbook, hoping the prince had written something brilliant in the margin.Hilbert is currently busy training players. It is said that he has adopted a very efficient training method, but he will not disclose it, because they spend most of their time training in Taoist Lingxu's mirror space.

But Slytherins in Hilbert's year had already learned to apparate in their own Slytherin assemblies, so they didn't have to pay twelve Galleons for twelve weeks of Ministry of Magic Apparition lessons.Not to mention writing a dissertation on two rolls of parchment, Ron, who had just been discharged from the hospital, was distressed at the thought of the dissertation. Ron was painstakingly writing a particularly difficult dissertation for Snape.Harry and Hermione were done.Harry waited for the low score because he didn't agree with Snape on the best way to deal with the dementors.But Harry didn't care, getting Slughorn's memory was all that mattered to him now. "How do you write 'provocation'?" Ron asked, staring at the parchment and shaking the quill vigorously. "It can't be 'peach provocation'—"

"No," Hermione said, pulling Ron's paper, "'Divination' is not 'Old Ten'. What kind of pen did you use?"

"It's Fred and George's typo-checker...but I think the magic is starting to fail..."

"Must be," said Hermione, pointing to the title of his thesis, "we're going to write about how to deal with dementors, not 'digs', and I don't remember when you changed your name to 'Roo Bird Whiskey' Lee's."

"Huh?!" Ron stared at the parchment in horror. "Don't ask me to rewrite it!"

"It's okay, it can be corrected." Hermione said as she pulled the paper over and drew out her wand.

"I love you, Hermione," said Ron, reclining back in his chair, rubbing his eyes wearily.

Hermione blushed slightly, but only said: "Don't let Lavender hear it."

"No," said Ron, covering his mouth, "we broke up..."

said Ron gloomily, watching Hermione tap silently with the tip of her wand to correct each of his typos, "but the more I hinted it was over, the more tangled she was, like a giant squid. "

"Okay." About 10 minutes later, Hermione returned the paper to Ron.

"Thank you very much," said Ron, "may I borrow your pen to write the conclusion?"

At this time, the Slytherin players who had just finished training left the office of Taoist Lingxu one after another, but Malfoy stayed behind. "He asked me to kill Principal Dumbledore, what should I do!"

"Don't worry, you just need to repair the disappearing cabinet and bring the person here. The rest can be handed over to Professor Snape." Taoist Lingxu said.

"What should I do? Now I feel that the flames of anxiety are devouring my heart all the time, and my soul is always suffering from the crime of murder in the future!"

"Relax, drink some of this." Taoist Lingxu handed over a glass of sedative.Malfoy swallowed it in one breath, let out a long breath, and fell asleep peacefully on the sofa.

"Poor child." Taoist Lingxu said while stroking Draco's platinum hair.

Hilbert was thinking about how to get the words out of Slughorn's mouth. At this time, his brain suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of something that might allow Professor Slughorn to hand over his memory automatically.But that thing was still with Harry.

Hilbert and Daphne are the two people in Slytherin who have the best relationship with Gryffindor, and they know the password to the common room.

"Quiet alcohol!" The fat lady opened the door, and Hilbert stepped over and saw three heads together.

"What are you looking at?"

"Ah! Scared the hell out of me, Hilbert!" screamed Ron.

"We're reading the letter. It's from Hagrid." Harry handed it over.

Instead of Dumbledore's elongated italics, it was in a messy scribble, with a large blotch of ink on the paper, making it illegible.

Dear Harry, Ron, Hermione:
Aragog died last night.Harry and Ron, you've met him and you know how special he is.Hermione, I know you'll like him too.It would mean a lot to me if you could come to the funeral tonight.I planned to have the funeral at dusk, his favorite time of day.I know you are not allowed to come out that late, but you can use the Invisibility Cloak.I didn't want to make this request, but I couldn't face it alone.

Hagrid
"He's crazy!" said Ron vehemently. "The beast told his mates to eat Harry and me! Say anything! And now Hagrid wants us to cry over his hideous, hairy corpse." !"

"Not only that," Hermione said, "he wants us to leave the castle at night, knowing that the security measures have been tightened by a million times, and it will be a lot of trouble if we are caught!"

"We've seen him at night before," said Harry.

"Yes, but for something like this?" said Hermione. "We took a lot of risks for Hagrid, but after all—Aragok is dead. If it was to save him—"

"—I don't even want to go," said Ron firmly. "You haven't seen it, Hermione. Believe me, Hagrid would be much better off dead."

"Harry, you're not going to go, are you?" Hermione asked, "The confinement is not worth it."

Harry sighed.

"Yes, I know, I think Hagrid can only comfort Aragog himself."

"I don't think so. That's an acromantula! Its venom can be sold on the black market for a pint worth a hundred Galleons. I don't think someone will let it go. Also, we are lucky... Do you understand what I mean?" Hilbert put down the letter and said.

"Lucky," said Ron suddenly, "Harry, yes - lucky!"

"What are you saying?"

"Use the lucky potion!"

"Ron, yes—right!" Hermione seemed stunned. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"

Harry glared at the three of them. "Felix Elixir? I don't know... I want to keep it..."

"Save it for a date with Ginny?"

"What—? Yes, of course," he came to his senses. "Um... well. If I can't get Slughorn to talk this afternoon, I'll take some Felix tonight and try again."

When the sun set on the treetops of the Forbidden Forest, they judged that it was time, and after seeing that Neville, Dean and Seamus were all in the lounge, they sneaked into the boys' dormitory.

Harry took out a sock from the bottom of the suitcase and pulled out a small shiny bottle.

"Found it." Harry lifted the vial and took a sip of it.

"Give me a sip, and I'll give it to you anyway."

"How does it feel?" Hermione asked quietly.

Harry didn't answer for a moment, and then, slowly but surely, a sense of immense exhilaration flowed through him, as if the opportunities were endless.He felt he could do anything, everything... Getting a memory from Slughorn suddenly seemed not only possible, but easy...

He smiled and stood up, full of confidence.

"Brilliant, really terrific. Well... I'm going to Hagrid's."

"What?" Ron and Hermione were taken aback.

"Oh, Harry - you're going to see Slughorn, remember?" said Hermione.

"No," said Harry confidently, "I'm going to Hagrid's, I feel pretty good about it."

"You feel good about burying a giant spider?" Ron asked in amazement.

"Yeah," Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak out of his bag, "I feel like I should go there tonight, you know what I mean?"

"I understand, Professor Horace wanders around the castle every day looking for ingredients for potions." Hilbert coughed and said.

Why they should go to Hagrid with certainty, they don't know, as if the potion can only illuminate a few steps at a time, they can't see where it will end up, they can't see where Slughorn will come in, but they know I am on the right path to get the memory.In the hall, Harry opened the door smiling, breathed in the fresh air and the smell of grass, and descended the steps into the twilight.

It was only at the bottom of the steps that he remembered how pleasant it would be to walk in the vegetable garden on the way.Not exactly in the same direction, but Harry clearly felt he should follow the urge.So he immediately moved his feet and walked towards the vegetable garden.Once there, he was pleased but not terribly surprised to find Professor Slughorn picking potion leaves in the greenhouse. The two of them hid behind a low stone wall, peeping.

"Good evening, Professor." ×2
"My God, Harry, Hilbert. You two startled me." Slughorn stopped abruptly and looked at him warily. "How did you come out of the castle?"

"Hagrid has an appointment tonight."

"He's sad...you won't tell anyone, professor? I don't want to get him into trouble..."

Slughorn's curiosity was clearly piqued.

"Well, I can't guarantee that," he said gruffly, "but I know Dumbledore has great faith in Hagrid, so I'm sure Hagrid won't do anything too terrible..."

"Oh, it's that giant spider, Hagrid's been keeping it for years...it lives in the woods...talks and does a lot of things—"

"I've also heard that there are acromantulas in the woods." Slughorn said softly, looking at the dark woods, "Is that true?"

"Yes," said Harry, "but this one, Aragog, was the first one Hagrid had, and he died last night. Hagrid was very sad, and he wanted someone to bury Aragog with him, and I said I go."

"But the lights are almost out now, you should go back with me," Horace said, panting.But the two looked at each other and continued walking towards Hagrid's cabin.

"Come back! Children!" Professor Slughorn called from behind.

"You know, the venom of acromantula can be sold for a pint of [-] galleons on the black market! This is a temptation for people with low wages! My family is from a family of potions, and this is what I lack!" Hilbert Shout out ahead.

"But, you must come back!"

"Well," said Harry, who pretended to hesitate for a while, "Professor, if you want to go, Hagrid might be very happy...you can send Aragog off in a more grand way..."

"Yes, of course I will," said Slughorn.

The two of them went to the back window of Hagrid's cabin and saw Hagrid standing there, next to his dog Fang.

Seeing someone coming, Hagrid sobbed loudly.He made himself a black oversleeve, which seemed to be made of a rag dipped in shoe polish.His eyes were red and swollen.Hilbert and Harry patted his elbow reassuringly, the highest part he could reach without much effort.

Professor Slughorn went to the back and saw a rather terrifying scene. Outside lay a huge dead spider with bent and tangled legs.

"Is it buried here, Hagrid, in your garden?"

"Behind the pumpkin patch, I think." Hagrid choked out, "I've already dug the - grave. Just thought we should say something - good memories -"

"Hagrid," he said in a low, solemn tone, "I'm sorry."

"That's very kind of you," said Hagrid, "thank you very much, and thank you for not having Harry locked up..."

"Never dreamed," said Slughorn. "Sad night, sad night . . . where is the poor animal?"

"Outside," said Hagrid in a trembling voice, "we - shall we start?"

The three walked into the back garden, the moon shining palely between the trees, mingling with the light from Hagrid's window, illuminating the dead body of Aragog lying on the edge of a large pit next to a pile of ten-foot High new soil.

"It's beautiful," said Slughorn, and approached the spider's head, where its eight milky eyes stared blankly at the sky, its two large, curved claws motionless in the moonlight.Slughorn bent down in front of the big fish, and seemed to be examining the big hairy head, and Harry thought he heard the clink of the bottle.

"Not everyone appreciates their beauty," said Hagrid, looking into Slughorn's back, tears streaming from the corners of his wrinkled eyes, "I didn't know you treated Aragog like that." interested in animals, Horace."

"Interested? Dear Hagrid, I am in awe of them." Slughorn stepped back from the corpse, and Harry saw the reflection of the bottle flash, hidden in his cloak, and Hagrid was there wiping his eyes again. Without realizing it, "Now... shall we start the funeral?"

"Spiders are misunderstood animals, they're just scary looking," said Hagrid.

"And those tentacles," Harry said, "some of them want to eat people." Hilbert said, both of them thought about the second year in the depths of the Forbidden Forest.

"Okay. That's right."

"Hagrid. It's not that I'm disrespectful to your friend, but you know that the venom of the acromantula is quite rare. Can Hilbert and I get a small tube for academic research! It's fine if you don't agree." Hora Si took out two small tubes and said.

"Well, let's count it as the contribution it can make."

"Then thank you very much. You know, when I was a teacher for a long time, I often carried a few test tubes with me."

Horace took three tubes and put them in his arms, Hilbert took two tubes, he just put on a show.

Hagrid stepped forward, picked up the giant spider, and rolled it into the black pit with a loud cry.There was a terrible crunch as the body hit the bottom of the pit, and Hagrid cried again.

Slughorn said in slow, solemn tones: "Farewell, Aragog, Lord of the Spiders, your long and loyal friendship will not be forgotten by those who knew you! Though your flesh may rot, your spirit shall remain In the quiet, cobwebbed place of your forest home. May your many-eyed offspring prosper, and may your human friends find comfort in their sorrow."

"That's... well said... that's beautiful!" Hagrid howled, and fell on the dunghill, crying even harder.

"There, there," said Slughorn, with a wave of his wand, and the mound of dirt rose up and lay down dully on top of the dead spider, forming a smooth mound, "let's go in and have a drink." .Hold him on the other side, Harry...yes...get up, Hagrid...okay..."

They helped Hagrid into a chair by the table, and Fang, who had been hiding in the basket during the funeral, crept over and rested his heavy head in Harry's lap as usual.Slughorn opened the bottle of wine he had brought.

Hilbert took out his wand and carved on the tombstone "Tomb of Aragog, King of the Acromantula."

"A glass for Harry..." Slughorn said, pouring the second bottle into two glasses, "...a glass for me. Well," he held up his glass, "for Aragog .”

"Aragok," said Harry and Hagrid together.

Both Slughorn and Hagrid took swigs, but Harry and Hilbert, having had a revelation of the Felix Felicia, knew he couldn't drink, so they pretended to take a swig, and put their glasses back on the table.

"I raised him from an egg," said Hagrid sadly, "and he was so small when he hatched, the size of a pug."

"Lovely," said Slughorn.

"I used to keep him in a locker at school until... well..."

Hagrid's face darkened, and Harry knew why: it was Tom Riddle who blamed Hagrid for the Chamber of Secrets incident, and he was kicked out of school as a result.But Slughorn didn't seem to be listening. He was just looking at the ceiling, where hung copper kettles and a long tuft of silky white fur.

"Not unicorn hair, Hagrid?"

"Oh, it's unicorn hair," said Hagrid nonchalantly. "It's ripped from its tail and hung on a branch in the woods..."

About an hour later, Hagrid and Slughorn began to toast indulgently: for Hogwarts, for Dumbledore, for the elf brew, for—

"Harry Potter!" roared Hagrid, gulping down No. 14 barrel of wine and drooling.

"Yeah," Slughorn babbled, "Barry Walter, the Salvation Boy—well—something like that," he muttered, gulping it down too.

It wasn't long before Hagrid tearfully stuffed the entire unicorn's tail into Slughorn's hand, who yelled "For Friendship! For Generosity! For Ten Galleons!" in the pocket of the clothes.

For a moment after that, Hagrid and Slughorn sat side by side, with their arms around each other, singing a soothing and sad song.It's about Odo, a dying wizard.

"Ah, good men don't live long," muttered Hagrid, leaning over the table, eyes a little cross-eyed, while Slughorn was still trilling. "My father left at such a young age... so did your parents, Harry..." Hagrid fell asleep with his head back before he could finish.

"Harry! It's time!" Hilbert poked Harry.

"Professor. Did you know about my parents' death?"

"Oh," said Slughorn, suppressing a hiccup, "oh, yeah, that was—very scary. Terrible...terrible..."

He didn't seem to know what to say, and went to add more wine to the glass.

"I think—you don't remember, Harry?" he asked awkwardly.

"Don't remember—I was a year old when they died," said Harry, staring at the candle flickering over Hagrid's heavy snoring, "but I learned a lot after that. My dad died first, do you know?"

"I—I don't know," Slughorn said weakly.

"Yes... Voldemort killed him and stepped over his body towards my mother."

Slughorn shuddered, but couldn't seem to take his terrified gaze away from Harry's face.

"He told my mother to go away," said Harry grimly. "Voldemort told me she could have lived. He just wanted to kill me. She could have escaped."

"Oh my God," said Slughorn softly, "she could have...she didn't have to...too horrible..."

"Yeah," said Harry in a whisper, "but she didn't move. Daddy was dead, and she didn't want me dead. She tried to plead with Voldemort...but he just laughed..."

"Enough!" cried Slughorn suddenly, holding up trembling hands. "Really, my dear boy, enough is enough... I'm an old man... I don't need to hear... I don't want to hear..."

"I forgot," Harry lied, Felix leading him, "he likes her, doesn't he?"

"Like her?" said Slughorn, with tears in his eyes again. "I can't imagine anyone who has met her not liking her... very brave... very vivacious... ah, the most terrible thing……"

"But you won't help her son. She gave me her life, but you won't even give me a memory."

Hagrid's thunderous snoring filled the cabin.Harry stared intently into Slughorn's teary eyes.The Potions teacher couldn't seem to look away.

"Don't say that," he whispered, "if it helps you...of course it's not a problem...but that thing is useless..."

"It works," said Harry clearly. "Dumbledore needs to know, and I need to know."

He knew he was safe: Felix told him that Slughorn would remember nothing tomorrow morning.Harry looked Slughorn straight in the eye, leaning forward slightly.

"I am the savior, I must kill him, I need that memory."

Slughorn grew paler, his brow glistening with sweat.

"Are you the savior?"

"Of course," said Harry calmly.

"But... dear boy... you're asking too much... actually, you're asking me to help you destroy—"

"You don't want to get rid of the wizard who killed Lily Evans?"

"Harry, Harry, of course I would, but—"

"Are you afraid that he will find out that you helped me?"

Slughorn said nothing, but looked terrified.

"Hope you're as brave as my mother, Professor..."

Slughorn raised his fat hand and pressed trembling fingers to his mouth, looking momentarily like a huge baby.

"I feel dishonored..." he murmured through his fingers, "I'm ashamed of—for what that memory shows...I think I may have done a lot of harm that day..."

"You give me the memory and it cancels everything out," said Harry. "It's a very brave and noble thing to do."

Hagrid twitched in his sleep and continued to snore.Slughorn and Harry stared at each other through the tearful candle, and there was a long silence before Felix told Harry not to break it and wait.

Finally, very slowly, Slughorn reached into his pocket and drew his wand, while with the other hand he fished a small, empty vial from under his cloak.Still looking into Harry's eyes, he put the tip of his wand to his temple and pulled it away.A long silver thread of memory emerged from the tip of the staff.It stretched longer and longer, and finally broke, with silver light floating on the tip of the staff.Slughorn put it in the bottle, and the silver coiled and unrolled, swirling like gas.He corked the cap tightly with trembling hands and handed it to Harry across the table.

"Thank you very much, Professor."

"You're a good boy," said Slughorn, tears streaming down his fat cheeks and into his walrus whiskers, "you have eyes like hers...don't think too bad of me after seeing this..."

He also put his head in his arms, sighed, and fell asleep.

(End of this chapter)