In a hollow of the Forbidden Forest.
An elephant-sized, pale gray Acromantula lounged at the mouth of its cave. Aragog savored the prey its descendants had offered.
Its once-blind, milky eyes now held a faint glimmer. The world was no longer pitch-black—blurry shapes were starting to come into focus.
Aragog figured it was because of that mysterious liquid the human boy gave it last time. After consuming it, not only did its strength return, but its frail, aging body felt a spark of new life.
"I still don't know that terrifying kid's name. Didn't even introduce himself last time," Aragog muttered, tearing into the flesh of its meal with a gurgle.
"I'm Lucien. Lucien Grafton."
Thud.
The chunk of prey dropped to the ground.
Aragog's mandibles twitched involuntarily. The presence of those two strange beings—Lucien and his companion—suddenly flooded its senses.
Though its ancestors' chatter was meaningless noise, devoid of commands, every Acromantula, big and small, bolted the moment Lucien and Luster appeared.
Good thing they were spiders—eight legs made for a quick getaway.
Lucien watched the scattering Acromantulas and chuckled. "Heh, how've you been, Aragog?"
His tone was friendly, like greeting an old pal, but Aragog frantically tried to decipher his intentions.
"Uh… fine?" it replied, its voice tinged with uncertainty.
Lucien smirked at Aragog's hesitant tone. Must've scared it pretty good last time.
"Good to hear. I've got something to discuss with you."
"Say it, say it," Aragog replied quickly.
Inwardly, it groaned. Here we go—more venom harvesting? Another big bleed?
But then it remembered the liquid from last time—the one that brought back that vibrant, youthful energy. The thought of feeling that again made Aragog… almost eager.
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The older it got, the more it craved that vitality.
"I want to ask if any of your descendants would be willing to come with me," Lucien said.
Aragog froze. Not venom? But then panic set in. Was this demon finally showing his fangs, targeting the Acromantulas themselves? First its kin, then Aragog next?
It still remembered Hagrid's warnings from when it was young: some wizards used magical creatures for experiments—horrible, evil things. "Stay hidden," Hagrid had said. "Don't let human wizards find you."
Had it avoided discovery for a lifetime only to meet this fate now?
Seeing Aragog's silence, Lucien assumed it was reluctant to part with its kin. "It wouldn't be many," he reassured. "I'll provide proper living conditions and only take a bit of venom now and then."
"Uh… no experiments?" Aragog asked.
"What?"
Lucien blinked, thrown off by the question. "What experiments?"
"Hagrid told me…" Aragog began, recounting Hagrid's warnings.
Lucien's expression turned odd. Hagrid wasn't entirely wrong—some wizards did experiment on magical creatures. But that was ages ago. After Newt Scamander pushed for protective laws, those practices had dwindled significantly.
Oh, I get it. Hagrid probably told Aragog those stories to keep it from wandering Hogwarts and getting caught. It was like telling a kid there's a ghost outside to keep them from sneaking out at night.
After explaining, Lucien convinced Aragog he meant no harm.
Well, Aragog didn't have much choice. It couldn't fight Lucien, and running? Its old body wasn't going anywhere fast.
As for caring about its descendants? With thousands of them, Aragog wasn't exactly sentimental over a few.
At its call, a line of Acromantulas marched into the black gourd Lucien held out. Once they were secured, he pocketed the gourd and prepared to leave.
He still had to check the homework he'd assigned Harry and Ron.
"You're not taking venom this time?" Aragog called after him.
Lucien paused, puzzled. Was it… offering venom? Last time, he'd nearly drained it dry—hadn't that almost killed the old spider? Sure, he'd given it a drop of Qilin saliva to make up for it, but…
Wait. Does it want more Qilin saliva because it worked so well?
Lucien hadn't stuck around last time to see the effects. Now, studying Aragog, he noticed it looked less gaunt, and its eyes had a faint spark.
"Aragog, how'd you feel after that drop of liquid last time?" he asked.
Aragog clicked its mandibles, its aged voice rasping. "Incredible. The exhaustion from giving venom vanished. I felt… new energy in my body. Even my eyesight improved a bit."
So, Luster Qilin saliva doesn't just heal—it boosts vitality?
Maybe its strong healing effect came from enhancing life force. Lucien recalled how the unicorn Seleneia, after taking Qilin saliva, said her unborn foal felt stronger. Perhaps the life force in the saliva had bolstered the foal's development.
Lucien hadn't tried Qilin saliva himself. Eh, probably best to refine it into a potion first.
Looking at Aragog, he wondered: if it kept taking Qilin saliva, how much could the aging spider recover? What was the limit of the saliva's life-giving properties?
Well, I've got plenty of it. Might as well experiment.
It wouldn't harm Aragog—and the spider might even be thrilled.
Lucien pulled a crystal vial from his pocket, extracted a drop of Qilin saliva, and sent it floating toward Aragog.
"What's this?" Aragog asked, hesitant.
"Payment," Lucien said. "For the experiment."
At the word "experiment," Aragog's bristles stood on end. Wizards are evil!
But seconds later, temptation won. Swallowing that drop would bring back that vibrant feeling—maybe even restore more of its vision.
Aragog had lived fifty years. It had already beaten the odds. If this was an experiment, so be it. That rush of vitality was intoxicating.
It gulped down the drop.
"Alright, what's the experiment?" Aragog asked.
But when it spoke, Lucien was already gone.
"Huh? No experiment?"
---
Inside the Room of Requirement.
Harry stirred a simmering potion, occasionally reciting textbook facts.
Ron, meanwhile, slumped over a desk, alternating between pencil, ruler, and compass, sketching complex mechanical diagrams. He scratched his head often. If his interest in mechanics wasn't keeping him going, he'd have given up ages ago.
"Harry, can you take a look at this?" Ron asked.
Harry strolled over, gave the diagram a serious glance, and nodded. "Yep. I have no idea."
Ron stared at him, baffled. "Didn't you say you've been studying with Lucien for a while?"
Harry gestured at his cauldron, unfazed. "I'm learning Potions. You're doing alchemical mechanics. Like Lucien says, we're in different specialties."
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