Chapter 151: The Great War of the Forbidden Forest
By the time Ethan woke up, it was already late. Fortunately, today was Sunday, the last day before the holidays, so the eighth floor was deserted.
He walked down to the Entrance Hall and gazed out at the heavy snow falling outside the castle doors. After a moment's thought, he headed back to the dormitory to change. Braving the wind and snow, he made his way toward Hagrid's hut.
"With the snow coming down this hard, I figured you wouldn't show," Hagrid said. He grabbed a mug, tossed in some tea leaves, and lifted the kettle from the stove to pour him some tea.
"I slept in," Ethan replied. He unwound his scarf, shook the snow from it, and hung it behind the door.
"Nothing going on in the Forbidden Forest, is there?" Ethan picked up the mug.
"No. With the snow coming down like this, neither side is likely to start anything," Hagrid said, shaking his head.
Ever since leaving the Forbidden Forest on Monday, Ethan had been keeping a close watch on the situation there.
Unlike Ethan, who flew directly over the forest to scout for signs of fighting, Hagrid patrolled the perimeter at irregular intervals day and night, listening for the sounds of battle from within.
Ethan nibbled on the rock cakes and treacle fudge Hagrid had served alongside the tea, making idle small talk.
The morning flew by, and before long it was noon. After declining Hagrid's repeated pleas to stay, Ethan wrapped his scarf around his neck and stepped out of the hut.
However, once he was a safe distance away, Ethan ducked out of sight and took to the air.
Today was the final day. He planned to survey the Forbidden Forest one last time.
The Acromantula lair was unnervingly quiet. It was daylight, and in this weather, the spiders were probably staying hidden in their webs, unlikely to venture out even after nightfall.
"Looks like there's no fighting today." Ethan felt a twinge of disappointment. He feared that once the two-week break ended, the conflict would be over, leaving him no chance to claim any spoils.
But just as he was flying toward the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, he noticed something unusual.
"Centaurs?" Through the leafless trees, Ethan could see distinct patches of black and red standing out against the vast expanse of white snow.
He descended slightly, flying closer to verify what he'd seen.
*They were centaurs, and a large group at that.* Getting closer, Ethan confirmed he hadn't been mistaken.
Besides the black, red, and brown centaurs standing out against the snow, there were also many white and light-gray ones. Each carried a longbow and several quivers.
And beside the centaurs, Ethan spotted many white unicorns blending into the snow.
Ethan was somewhat surprised to see the unicorns; they were completely different from the magical creatures he'd known. But when he remembered the scene he'd witnessed that night, it suddenly made sense.
*Right, Acromantulas hunt unicorns too. It isn't strange for them to be here.*
Moreover, while centaurs were skilled healers, Acromantula venom was hard to treat. Even skilled centaurs needed to purge it from their systems.
Ethan flew overhead, following the centaurs as their numbers steadily grew.
Thestrals, trolls, hippogriffs, Wampus cats, mooncalves, fwoopers, augureys, and other creatures, most of which he had only seen in books, joined the procession heading toward the Acromantula lair.
Good grief, the Forbidden Forest really did have everything. Ethan's eyes widened.
What exactly lurked in the depths of the Forbidden Forest? Aside from the legendary werewolves, did other rare magical creatures make their home there?
Ethan suddenly remembered the Blast-Ended Skrewts Hagrid had bred. *What did Hagrid cross them with again? I remember hearing they were incredibly dangerous. Did they live in the Forbidden Forest, too?*
However, he had no time to dwell on the matter. As their group grew larger, the noise grew louder, rousing several Acromantulas that had been weaving webs on the outskirts.
"Come out quickly! The centaurs are attacking!" The Acromantulas emerged from the webs, clicking their pincers.
"Trouble! They've found us! Attack!" The centaur leader noticed the spiders' unusual movements and was the first to draw his bow, loosing an arrow.
Other magical creatures swarmed forward, charging toward the webs with a thunderous rumble.
Trolls swung their clubs, smashing trapped Acromantulas that couldn't escape their webs in time, crushing both spiders and silk into the ground.
Fwoopers, Augureys, and other small creatures used their agility to dart in, pecking and scratching at the Acromantulas' eyes.
Large winged creatures like Hippogriffs and Thestrals flew low through the dense forest, swooping down to tear and bite at the spiders' heads and bodies.
Wampus Cats moved with fluid grace, circling the spiders and lashing out with their claws at every opportunity.
Unicorns and centaurs served as support, tending to the poisoned or injured magical creatures.
However, the Acromantulas soon recovered from the surprise attack. Under Aragog's direction, they launched a counterattack, swarming in coordinated groups.
The spiders capable of flight spat silk to pull creatures down from the air, while those on the ground shot webs to trip their enemies.
Against the giant trolls, multiple spiders attacked together, surrounding them and injecting venom whenever they found an opening.
The centaurs grew busier. In addition to tending to the wounded, they drew their bows and loosed arrows to rescue creatures in distress.
For a time, the centaurs' roars, the clicking of Acromantulas' pincers, and the cries of various creatures filled Ethan's ears.
Red and green blood spilled across the white earth, blooming like flowers of different colors.
But soon, these bloodstained flowers were trampled by the fighting creatures, turning into a dirty slush.
Given the current situation, the battle wouldn't be decided anytime soon. Ethan gained altitude, straining to see through the heavy snow toward Hagrid's hut.
*Looks like he didn't hear.* Perhaps the wind and snow had drowned out the sounds of battle. Ethan watched for a while but didn't see Hagrid emerge from the house.
Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out his small bag enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm, then retrieved his spare wand and expanded the bag's interior as much as possible.
Although the expansions wouldn't last more than a few days, he was going home tomorrow. He had the vast Shafiq Manor to store these materials.
So he had to maximize the space today and load up on as many valuable materials as possible.
Ethan remained airborne for about half an hour. Realizing he couldn't keep this up until the end, he drifted slightly away from the center of the battlefield, found a large tree, and landed on a branch to rest.
Of course, his hands hadn't been idle. He pulled out every container he had in the small bag.
Everything from clothing pockets to reagent bottles to miscellaneous items was enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm.
These enchanted items couldn't be stuffed back into the small bag to take with him, but his wizard robes still had enough pockets to hold them.
Ethan waited until the sounds of slaughter slowly faded, then took flight once more.
The battle was indeed nearing its end. The corpses of various creatures lay scattered across the ground.
The Acromantula corpses were the most mangled, covered in gashes and bite marks.
The Thestrals, Mooncalves, and other magical creatures remained relatively intact, having been mostly poisoned rather than torn apart.
Of all the factions, the centaurs and unicorns had suffered the lightest losses. Ethan had found only the bodies of one unicorn and one centaur.
"Halt! Bane, show yourself!" Aragog shouted. His voice sounded ancient.
The Acromantulas pulled back from the battlefield temporarily.
"Hold," Bane commanded, and the creatures fighting alongside the centaurs paused their attack.
Aragog moved slowly to the center of the spiders, his eight milky white eyes fixed on Bane.
"Aragog, this conflict arose only because you invaded everyone's territory without restraint. If you wish to discuss peace, you must agree to our terms." Bane, too, was weary of fighting.
"State your terms," Aragog replied, "but if they are unreasonable, we will continue fighting." Though his side was at a disadvantage, Aragog had no desire to go meekly to the slaughter.
Requesting a truce had been a desperate move. Blind as he was, he could only estimate how many of his kin remained by listening to the sounds of battle.
As screams echoed endlessly, panic welled up within him, cresting when he heard the death cry of his thirty-seventh son.
With the death of his thirty-seventh son, who had been holding the center of the swarm, Aragog realized they could not go on. Reluctantly, he called a halt to the battle.
"Our demand is simple. Your Acromantula colony must migrate to the depths of the Forbidden Forest. The outer forest will remain ours." Bane's terms sounded simple enough, but fulfilling them would be no easy task.
After all, this was the ancient lair Aragog had called home for fifty years, the place where his brood had multiplied.
The depths of the Forbidden Forest held many dangerous creatures, including Acromantulas themselves. Compared to their relatively peaceful existence on the forest's edge, moving deeper would make survival far more difficult.
Aragog was, of course, unwilling. He bargained with Bane, and after intense negotiations, the centaurs finally relented, agreeing to let the spiders keep a small stretch of territory at the forest's edge, near the depths.
"You will leave now. We will follow to ensure your departure." To prevent any further trouble, Bane drove the Acromantulas out the moment negotiations ended.
A group of magical creatures followed the spiders every step of the way, leaving corpses scattered across the ground, each bearing the marks of battle.
*Well, isn't this exactly what I wanted?* Ethan was amused.
After watching the creatures leave, he flew down and began collecting valuable parts from the corpses.
He gathered some unicorn horn and tail hair. Only one unicorn had died, so taking more would be too obvious and risk discovery. He didn't dare touch the blood. Even if he took it, the curse made it useless.
He had far fewer reservations about the other magical creatures, especially the Acromantulas. Their bodies littered the area.
He started with the relatively intact corpses, tossing them straight into the bag. Then he moved on to the mangled remains, harvesting venom and other valuable components.
Ethan worked quickly. Before long, his small bag was stretched to capacity. Even the extra Undetectable Extension containers he'd prepared were more than half full.
He drew more blood from the dead, then finally left. Still, seeing all the materials scattered across the ground, Ethan was reluctant to go.
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