Chapter 77. Is That You, Hagrid?
"I know."
Dumbledore told Hagrid to calm down.
"Apart from that so-called species development plan, did Aragog tell you anything else?"
"No..."
Hagrid shook his head quickly.
"The last time I went, it only told me that one thing."
Dumbledore went on, "Then did you see any mushrooms like the one Professor Kettleburn had, either inside the Acromantulas' cave or nearby?"
"There definitely weren't any near the cave entrance, and inside the cave..."
Hagrid hesitated.
"Dumbledore, the last few times I went I met Aragog outside the cave.
I didn't go in..."
"Hagrid, take me to have a look now.
We need to find out the real reason the Acromantulas went mad."
Dumbledore's expression grew a little more severe.
Hagrid nodded slowly and said, looking a bit downcast, "If those Acromantulas have all gone mad, then..."
"Then we can't let them remain in this forest," Dumbledore said in a low voice.
"Hagrid, we cannot let our pity for them harm the other animals or the students in the castle."
"Alright, I understand..."
Hagrid forced a smile and pointed to the side.
"This way.
We can get there quickly."
"Professor, I'll go with you!"
Duncan spoke in a hurry.
He still had an Acromantula task to finish.
Dumbledore considered for a moment.
He nodded, then turned and said to Professor Kettleburn, "Silvanus, I'll trouble you to take these students back."
"Escorting them is my duty anyway.
Oh, and take this—use it to compare and check later."
Professor Kettleburn handed the mushroom to Dumbledore, then added with a smile, "It may be redundant to say, but I'll remind you anyway—be careful."
Dumbledore inclined his head slightly.
He watched Professor Kettleburn and the others leave, then turned to follow Hagrid in the other direction.
As they went further in, the trees around them grew even denser.
Leaves and branches overlapped in layers above, blocking out most of the sunlight.
The view gradually grew dim, and even the occasional breeze carried a touch of chill.
"Aragog's cave is just ahead..."
Hagrid's voice was rather low.
His huge frame pushed aside the low branches in front, clearing a path for Dumbledore and Duncan to pass through.
Duncan stepped round Hagrid and followed Dumbledore forward a few paces, and his field of vision suddenly opened up.
Ahead lay a broad hollow.
All the trees inside had been cleared.
In the centre there was a mist-shrouded, hemispherical web.
But what was surprising was that they saw not a single spider in the hollow.
They did not even hear the slightest sound.
It seemed that this web-strewn place in front of them was a nest abandoned long ago.
"Aragog!"
Hagrid shouted, slowly moving down the slope.
His voice echoed through the forest, but still not a sound came from the hollow.
The silence was a bit eerie.
Dumbledore's gaze travelled over the surroundings, catching any traces he could.
After a moment, he said, "Hagrid, no need to call.
They likely left long ago.
Look at those tracks on the ground—they're from some time ago."
"How could that be?"
Hagrid seemed unconvinced.
"Without my say-so, Aragog would never..."
"Hagrid!"
Dumbledore's tone grew heavier.
"Don't let emotion rule your head.
Calm down."
Hagrid's lips worked, but he made no sound.
Aragog was raised by his own hand.
He had a bond with it he found hard to sever.
"Those damned mushrooms.
They must have bewitched Aragog."
Hagrid thought angrily.
He swore to find the culprit who had fed mushrooms to the spiders and teach that person a proper lesson with his fists, to make him understand there are things that shouldn't be done—and cannot be done!
"We have to find those spiders quickly.
If I remember correctly, they reproduce fast.
If they spread through the forest, it would be anything but good," Dumbledore said.
Just then, several of the birds that had been following them from above suddenly swooped down, alighting on Duncan's shoulders and chattering noisily.
After listening for a while, Duncan said, "Professor, I don't think what you're worried about will happen..."
"What did they tell you?"
Dumbledore asked, while Hagrid stared at Duncan expectantly.
"The Acromantula colony should already have disappeared from this forest," Duncan said.
"All dead, including Aragog?"
Hagrid asked at once.
Duncan nodded and went on, "When we ran into those Acromantulas, there was another group of spiders attacking other animals elsewhere in the forest, but they ran into centaurs on patrol.
Working together, they killed all those spiders.
After that, they made several quick circuits of the forest and kept hunting spiders to make sure not a single one was left."
Dumbledore let out a slight breath.
At least the Acromantulas hadn't scattered outward.
The centaurs had been a big help this time.
"Let's go in and have a look," Dumbledore said.
Although the spiders were gone, the matter of the mushrooms still needed confirming.
Whoever had brought the mushrooms into the forest might not have done it just for the spiders.
There could be a deeper purpose.
The three of them carefully moved to the front of the web.
Dumbledore raised his wand, and the web seemed to be plucked by an invisible giant hand.
It split down the middle, revealing a deep tunnel sloping away.
A milky-white ball of light bloomed at the tip of Dumbledore's wand, drifted free, and wobbled into the tunnel.
Along the way, the ground and walls bore many scratches of varying depth, as if a fierce battle had taken place earlier.
"Be careful," Dumbledore warned, stepping into the tunnel first, with Duncan following behind him.
A whistling cold draft mixed with a foul stench rushed into his face, and Duncan couldn't help covering his nose.
After they had walked a while down the sloping passage, a broad chamber appeared ahead.
Dumbledore sent the light-ball up high, where it hung like a sun.
As its light fell, the chamber was instantly bright as day.
"Hagrid, check over there and see if you can find any of those mushrooms.
Duncan, you're with me."
Dumbledore swept his eyes around and found no trace of Acromantulas, then gave his instructions.
Hagrid nodded, clambered with effort onto a boulder, and headed toward a slightly higher part of the cavity.
Duncan followed in Dumbledore's steps along a path thick with webbing.
When they reached the depths, the earth of the side wall suddenly loosened, and bits of soil tumbled down.
At the same time, a timid voice came out.
"Is that you, Hagrid?"
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