The girls split into small groups of one or two, fleeing as fast as they could in different directions. It didn't matter how sore their legs were—they didn't stop. They didn't know where they were going, but running was all they could do.
Some of the spiders, swift as the wind, quickly caught up with them. They didn't leap at them, sink their fangs in, or strike with their legs; they simply followed, matching their pace, harassing them like predators who savor the fear of their prey, waiting for exhaustion to bring them down.
Eventually, the girls were utterly spent, their chests heaving with ragged breaths, convinced they would collapse and be devoured at any moment. But then something strange happened: the spiders began stopping, one by one, as if they had reached an invisible boundary they dared not cross.
The girls, gripped by panic, didn't notice immediately. They didn't look back, didn't dare. Only when the shrieks and the pounding of legs ceased did they realize that silence had returned.
…
Millicent and Pansy ran together. When they understood there were no longer any sounds of pursuit, they reverted to their human forms and collapsed to the ground, exhausted, panting with racing hearts.
They didn't know what had happened, but they were grateful from the bottom of their hearts. No matter how strong their will, they were still little girls trembling at the thought of a gruesome death.
Yet they couldn't fool themselves: they were not out of danger. The place they had reached offered no safety. Everything was gray and dull. The forest's eternal sunset seemed to have turned into a perpetual night in that area. It was a strange and suffocating atmosphere, and although they didn't understand why, they felt the breath of death floating around them, as if their time could come at any moment.
Pansy suppressed her tears as she tried to write a final [message], a farewell. She believed there was little chance of survival, and remembering that the message would take a day to arrive—as I had lied to them—she left it as a testament to her last act of love.
A few minutes passed before they stood again. They had no choice but to move forward: going back meant encountering the spider horde. So they advanced into the unknown, toward the center of that gray land.
They walked for some time until Millicent stopped abruptly, wobbling.
"What's wrong, Milli?" Pansy asked immediately, nervously pointing her wand in every direction.
"I don't know… I feel like I have no strength…" her voice weakened, her legs giving out beneath her.
Pansy hurried to hold her before she fell. Millicent struggled to breathe until, suddenly, she let out a long sigh… and color returned to her cheeks.
"I… I feel better," she murmured, surprised by the sudden recovery.
"What happened?" Pansy asked, still supporting Millicent on her shoulder. To keep her balance, she placed her hand on a protruding tree root. At that instant, she felt as if all her strength had left her body.
It was Millicent who saw her turn pale and, alarmed, shook her clumsily. Then she noticed Pansy's hand stuck to a web covering the root. She tried to cut it with her wand; it was difficult, as if the web had unnatural resistance, but she eventually managed to tear off a piece.
Pansy breathed heavily, exhaling in relief, and some color returned to her face. But her hand remained numb, almost insensitive, still coated in sticky remnants of the web.
"The web!" Millicent exclaimed. Looking up, the reflection of the moon revealed something they hadn't noticed before: the entire ground was covered by an extensive web, spread with the precision of a mosaic, which they had stepped on earlier. At a glance, it looked like a tiled floor with a decorative pattern… but now they knew it was a deadly trap.
"Maybe that's why the other spiders don't dare enter," Pansy said, trying to peel the remaining web from her skin. "I felt it draining me slowly… and a horrible cold."
She advanced cautiously toward a more open space, avoiding the sticky threads stretched between the trees.
"I felt the same…" Millicent replied, following her.
"Maybe this is our chance. If these webs keep them away, we could hold out until someone rescues us… or even use them to drive them back…" (Pansy)
"Ah!" Millicent suddenly shouted.
Pansy's heart leapt. She turned immediately to see her friend, who was backing away in terror, tripping and falling onto her back. In the impact, her body touched several sections of the web-covered ground. Within seconds, Millicent stopped moving. Her face turned white as wax… as still as a corpse.
Pansy's instinct was to run to help her. She felt, with horrifying certainty, that if she didn't free her quickly, the web would consume her completely. But then she realized: Millicent had screamed for a reason.
She forced herself to look toward the clearing they were heading for. There, where the darkness distorted shapes, she thought she saw a pile of stones or a dead tree. But it wasn't that.
It was another spider.
A skeletal, monstrously sized spider, motionless until it noticed her attention. Then it slowly rose, as if in no hurry, turning its head toward the girl who still seemed to breathe.
The sight struck her like a spell. Pansy froze, unable to look away. Her surroundings distorted, and for a moment she felt as if her whole life was flashing before her eyes. All of it triggered just by seeing that creature.
The spider opened its jaws toward the sky, as if about to emit a shrill, tearing scream. Pansy saw it… but didn't hear it. Before her brain could process the sound, darkness enveloped her completely.
…
Hermione and Parvati ran together in their animal forms, moving swiftly through the thickets. The forest grew stranger: webs thickened, covering branches and trunks like silvery walls. They had no choice but to pass through this area.
Then they saw it. In the distance, a flickering light pierced the darkness: the glow of flames, and near it, the silhouette of a human figure.
Their hearts leapt. Hope surged: could it be a teacher, someone who had come to rescue them? With renewed energy, they ran excitedly toward the figure.
*thud*
The ground gave way.
What they had stepped on wasn't solid earth but a network of hardened webs, camouflaged with dust and leaves. The false floor collapsed, and the two fell into a deep pit.
They barely had time to scream before getting entangled in the sticky webs lining the trap. They tried to revert to human form to use their wands, but their bodies were too restricted, sticky, wrapped in tightening strands.
From the shadows descended a creature: a gigantic spider, moving fluidly, its multiple eyes shining with intelligence, the same that had created the lure. Most disturbing was its gaze… unnervingly human.
The creature began circling them, reinforcing the trap with new strands, preparing humanoid cocoons for both. And every time Parvati shouted Hermione's name, the spider made a strange movement, as if to draw attention.
…
Susan, meanwhile, ran aimlessly, desperate. She had lost all will to fight. For what seemed like hours, she simply fled, aware that the creatures could catch her at any moment. Deep down, part of her wished it would all end quickly.
She eventually reached a rocky area of the forest near the entrance to some caves. Exhausted, she reverted to her human form. Her clothes were in tatters, and her arms and legs bore wounds. She walked unsteadily, hugging herself, more to protect her mind than her body.
"Hmm... there's something deliciously satisfying about watching you stop resisting and just... give in," a seductive, venomous female voice whispered.
Susan froze. Her eyes widened in disbelief, thinking she was hallucinating. But then she felt it: two cold hands emerging from behind, gently yet cruelly gripping her cheeks.
For a moment, she thought she was saved, that she had found another person. A brief, fragile illusion. Because at her sides, in the shadows, emerged two enormous spider legs. At the same time, she felt the weight of a foreign body leaning against her back.
"Are you… going… to kill me?" Susan whispered through tears, unable to look behind her.
"I don't know…" replied a playful voice, followed by a sharp giggle. The human hands moved away from her face, instead holding a single thread of silk, thick and strong as steel.
"I-I… don't want… it to hurt…" Susan sobbed, trembling.
"That's not up to you," the figure replied, amused. "But if you scream enough… maybe you'll entertain me enough not to punish you before taking you to my sisters."
With a swift movement, the creature manipulated the thread and cast it over Susan's helpless body, trapping her instantly. The girl let out a scream of pure panic, echoing through the cavern, mingling with a dark laughter that seemed to come from everywhere.
…
Daphne had been lucky… or so it seemed. Desperate, she had ended up in the same gray area where Pansy and Millicent had ventured before, though in another sector. For a moment, she considered hiding there and waiting, but she remembered her sister.
The memory of Astoria was enough to overcome logic and fear. Though she knew it was risky, even foolish, she went out to search for her.
During her search, she stumbled upon something unexpected: a huge golden spider, with circular inscriptions glowing across its body. Daphne froze, convinced she would be devoured instantly… but the creature remained motionless, like a statue. The strangest thing was that none of the other spiders dared approach it.
Exhausted, trembling, she made a risky decision: she climbed onto the golden spider's body and clung to it. The surface was cold, hard, and strangely comforting. There, Daphne curled up and closed her eyes, surrendering to sleep. Unbeknownst to her, as soon as she slept, the spider left those few regular movements behind… and began walking slowly toward the center of the forest.
…
As for Astoria, she had been the unluckiest in terms of timing. Anyone would think her butterfly Animagus form would give her an advantage: small, fast, nearly invisible. But it didn't.
She had barely escaped the fog that covered her retreat when she became trapped in a web stretched between the trees. There were no giant spiders here, only smaller ones, adapted to tiny prey like her. They attacked mercilessly, wrapping her in a shiny cocoon before carrying her away into the shadows.
…
The last to remain free were Ginny and Luna. Against all odds, they had fared the best. Luna had returned to her human form to climb onto Ginny's back, who galloped like a horse, and from there cast spells that cleared a path. Together they advanced farther than any of the others.
But then something changed. The spiders chasing them began to falter… and then stopped. A wave of terror passed through the horde, as if they had sensed something far more terrible than themselves.
One of the pursuers stepped forward with trembling movements, positioning itself in front of Ginny and Luna. They were ready to destroy her when a message appeared before their eyes, suspended in the air like an invisible instruction:
[Follow her. Leave the forest. Return to the castle. Talk near the paintings about how this trip ended and how it's wrong that, without rest, you have to run errands for the other girls already in the lair.]