"What spider?!"
The word slipped into Ron's ears, triggering his PTSD. His thoughts were yanked from his imagination back to reality. He jumped up from his chair as if his face had changed color; his complexion turned pale as he frantically checked all over his body, trying to brush off spiders that weren't there.
(The author can deeply empathize with Ron's fear of spiders. I was traumatized as a child; spiders are the thing I fear the most.)
"...They're not on you. I meant there are a lot of spiders on the ceiling now."
Harry looked at the panicked Ron jumping around and pointed helplessly upward.
Ron glanced up briefly, then quickly lowered his head with a frown. The sight of the densely packed, marching little spiders made him uncomfortable both mentally and physically.
"Ugh... I really don't care about those things, Harry. You did that on purpose, didn't you? You know I hate spiders..."
Ron grumbled with a pained expression and quickly drank a beverage to calm his nerves.
He wouldn't look up again for anything; spiders should just hurry up and go extinct.
"...Alright." Seeing this, Harry didn't pursue the spider issue further. Spiders at Hogwarts were too normal; whether in Potions class or any other class, spiders were common acquaintances.
However...
"...Are there more spiders this year than last year?"
Having just finished a duel, Hermione stepped down from the dueling platform. While watching Neville duel during her break, she noticed the anomaly on the ceiling out of the corner of her eye.
"Is it because the Serpent is gone, so the spiders that moved out of Hogwarts are moving back in with their families?"
Hermione knew from the Serpent's data that it was the spiders' natural enemy. Previously, during her investigation with Glenn at Hogwarts, she had noticed spiders fleeing the area.
"But isn't this number a bit excessive..."
"Is it a moving peak? Or is this year's weather too cold?"
"Are these spiders web-building or hunting spiders? Hunting spiders seem to hibernate during winter..."
Hermione's thoughts began to wander, trying to explain the anomaly based on the information she had.
Hermione didn't dwell on it, as she felt she had a reasonable explanation.
"You find them strange too, don't you?"
Just as Hermione was about to conclude and dismiss the matter, an ethereal, song-like voice gently sounded next to her. Though sudden, it didn't feel abrupt. Having grown accustomed to the visitor's voice, Hermione found Luna's voice quite pleasant.
Yes, it was Luna.
The young girl's hair was a bit messy, but she didn't appear disheveled, clearly having just come down from the dueling field and won.
"Uh, a little, but it's not that strange. They seem to be moving into warm Hogwarts because of the cold..."
Hermione turned and responded to Luna.
Hermione quickly corrected herself, changing "moving back" to "moving into." Though the two phrases were similar, she believed Luna had the insight to glean something from her words.
Sorry, Luna. While it feels a bit wrong to keep this from you, it's best to keep the Chamber of Secrets matter confidential.
Luna showed no particular reaction, simply staring at the mass of little spiders crawling on the ceiling with her always-dreamy gray eyes.
Seeing this, Hermione's expression turned peculiar. She glanced at Luna, then at the spiders on the ceiling, hesitated, and spoke.
"Luna, what do you think about those spiders?"
As Luna's friend, Hermione knew her friend had special abilities. Not only did she see it this way, but Glenn also gave a similar, affirmative assessment.
"Luna Lovegood is special. She has abilities we don't. She can perceive things we can't."
This was Glenn's objective evaluation of the unique little witch, and Hermione, having witnessed Luna's uniqueness, believed it without a doubt.
Though this seemingly dreamy girl had whimsical, outlandish ideas, Hermione dared not draw hasty conclusions.
What if everything she said was true, and it was Hermione's and the public's understanding that was wrong? Wouldn't that be awkward?
As Luna's good friend, Hermione had attempted to share Luna's vision, experiencing the wondrous world through Luna's eyes.
So Hermione was very interested in and valued Luna's perspective on certain unknown phenomena.
"Oh... how to say..." Luna said calmly, still staring at the ceiling. "I feel like those little spiders are showing the way."
"Showing the way?"
Hermione asked, puzzled.
"Yes, showing the way."
Luna mumbled, though she was conversing with Hermione, it felt more like she was talking to herself.
"Though they're cute, their behavior isn't so cute right now."
"If they wanted to eat us, even the little wizards would be too big for those spiders."
Hermione was stunned, unsure of the situation. She even wondered if she had misheard.
"Luna, did you just say 'eat'?"
"Yes, those little guys are hungry now, wanting to eat, wanting to eat us."
"But hunger alone can't let them eat us. They're troubled too; I see Nargles buzzing around them."
"But the Nargles are also troubled; they can't get into the little spiders' heads."
"Those spiders are too small."
Spiders too small...
...Too small.
Luna's words spun in Hermione's mind, an inexplicable chill gradually spreading through her entire body.
"Maybe they need to grow a bit more before they can eat us?"
Luna's ethereal words finally stirred an immature hypothesis in Hermione's heart. But with Luna's reminder, Hermione became increasingly aware of the spiders' oddity.
Even though she was surrounded by friends and companions, the rising sense of danger made Hermione feel cold to the bone.
"Though it sounds absurd, I'd better mention it to Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick..."
Hermione thought seriously, then looked at Luna: "Luna, let's not join the Dueling Club for now. How about you follow me? I have some ideas to discuss with the professors."
Luna smiled and nodded, turning to fetch two drinks from the table, handing one to Hermione.
"Sure."
"""
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