The next morning, during recess, Harry told Leo that they had seen Dobby again last night. The house-elf was still talking about saving him but wouldn't say why.
It seemed that the unfortunate Harry was going to continue to have run-ins with Dobby, and Leo made a helpless expression.
After class at noon, Leo went to the edge of the Forbidden Forest with a new book from his father on his back. Jack was already there waiting for him. In addition to the last book, there was a wooden box, tightly sealed, inside the bag on Jack's back.
"What is this?" Leo asked curiously.
"Thank you for the book. This is a mature wild mandrake I collected. Consider it a gift for you. The box was made by Betty, and as long as you don't open it, the mandrake will stay in a sleeping state for a year," Jack said with a pure smile on his wolfish face.
Looking at that smile, Leo knew he couldn't refuse the kindness behind the gift. But such a precious gift made him feel uneasy taking it without giving something in return.
So, he reached into his space bag, pulled out a finger-sized pendant, and handed it to Jack. This pendant was something Leo had crafted while practicing the Maoshan Taoist scripture a while ago.
"What is this? I can sense magic in it," Jack asked, taking the pendant with his claws.
"This is a gift for you, to thank you for helping me send things to Betty and the others recently," Leo replied. The material exchange between Leo and Betty had been facilitated by Jack since Leo's current level didn't allow him to pass real objects through the Eye of the World.
Jack's face showed a look of approval. Seeing this, Leo continued, "This amulet is made from the fangs and venom of the eight-eyed giant spider. It creates an undetectable green smoke within ten meters of you, blocking most magic detection. You can use the smoke three times a day, for one minute each time."
Jack's eyes gleamed. "That sounds useful—great for saving my life. Thank you. I'll ask the centaurs to make me a chain so I can wear it around my neck."
Leo smiled as they exchanged gifts. After saying goodbye to Jack, he turned to walk back toward the castle. As he approached Hagrid's hut, he noticed Harry and Ron standing at the door.
"What are you two doing here?" Leo asked curiously.
"We heard from the older students that Hagrid has been crying in his cabin for the past two days. We were worried about him, so we came to check on him," Harry replied.
A sixty-year-old man crying for days? That was unusual. Leo was intrigued and decided to join them. "I'll check on him too. Hagrid is a good man, after all."
Harry stepped up and knocked on the door. After a moment, it opened, revealing Hagrid standing inside with red eyes and the scent of alcohol lingering around him.
"What are you kids doing here?" Hagrid asked gruffly.
"We heard you weren't feeling well, so we wanted to see you," Harry said.
Hagrid hesitated, then sighed. "Alright, come in. I suppose a cup of tea won't hurt."
He led them inside and quickly stashed away a half-drunk bottle of Fire Whiskey into the cupboard before setting a plate of snacks and a pot of black tea on the table.
Leo accepted a cup of tea and asked, "What happened? Maybe we can help."
Hagrid's eyes watered again as he mumbled, "My Aragog is dead."
Leo froze for a moment but quickly masked his reaction. Fortunately, no one noticed. Harry, however, looked puzzled. "Aragog? Who's that? I've never heard of him before."
"He was an eight-eyed giant spider. I never told anyone about him because I didn't want people to know he existed," Hagrid explained.
"Why?" Leo asked curiously.
"Because eight-eyed giant spiders are native to Southeast Asia, and their favorite food is humans," Ron answered grimly before shuddering. "They can talk, but they don't communicate like us. They're classified as dark magic creatures."
Harry turned to Ron in surprise. "How do you know so much about them?"
"I hate spiders," Ron muttered, his face pale. "So, I remember every fact about them."
"What happened exactly?" Leo asked, still puzzled. He recalled that Betty and her team had already dealt with the entire colony of eight-eyed giant spiders.
"I visit Aragog every once in a while, but when I went yesterday, all the spiders were gone. In the cave where they lived, I found burn marks—and this," Hagrid pointed to a charred fragment resting on the fireplace, "half of Aragog's head. A wizard must have killed him."
Ron backed away instinctively, while Leo and Harry stepped closer to examine the remains. After a moment, Leo realized that this was likely a remnant from the battle Betty and the others had fought—something they hadn't noticed when cleaning up.
"Why would you keep such a dangerous species?" Ron asked with clear disapproval.
"No, he wasn't dangerous! I even got him a wife, and they lived in the Forbidden Forest. When I brought him to Hogwarts, he was only the size of a teacup. He was harmless back then," Hagrid insisted. "But later, someone framed him for the death of a girl, and I had to let him escape into the Forbidden Forest. I was expelled because of it. If not for Dumbledore's help, I wouldn't have been allowed to stay at Hogwarts."
Harry's eyes widened. "Wait—was that girl the crying Myrtle?"
Hagrid looked shocked. "How do you know that?"
"I met her at Nearly Headless Nick's deathday party. She was the only ghost in Hogwarts wearing a school uniform, so I asked her a lot of questions out of curiosity," Leo explained.
"I didn't kill her. I swear," Hagrid said, waving his hands in distress. Harry and Ron immediately jumped in to defend Hagrid's innocence, but Leo raised a hand to calm them.
"I never said you did," he reassured him. "Myrtle told me she died after looking into a pair of big yellow eyes. Eight-eyed giant spiders are highly venomous and attack prey directly, but they don't kill by looking at someone. Plus, they have four pairs of eyes, while Myrtle only saw two."
Hagrid seemed taken aback by the logic.
"So," Leo continued, "I think you kept Aragog a secret to protect him, which unfortunately led to your wrongful expulsion. But now that Aragog is gone, you should tell Professor Dumbledore the truth. He can clear your name. At the very least, you'd be allowed to use magic again."
A spark of hope flickered in Hagrid's eyes as he considered Leo's words.
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