Chapter 140. Forbidden Forest. Part 3. The Hive.
Half an hour later, two full barrels of venom stood before Severus. Two large Acromantulas had carried them out. Aragog himself had elected to remain in his lair, fearing that the man might use his presence as an excuse to finish what he'd started. He simply had no idea what else to expect from someone who'd killed his children with such casual ease. He hadn't even seen the stranger's face clearly enough to form any impression of him.
Severus was quite satisfied with this. In truth, he had no particular interest in the spiders and had no intention of monitoring them. The threats had been for show, and the culling had served a practical purpose: he'd focused mainly on the females. Thanks to Hagrid's memories, telling them apart from the males presented no difficulty. The colony was multiplying too quickly and would have overrun the entire forest within a couple of decades. What he'd done today would push that back by at least another fifteen years.
As for the venom, he planned to sell one barrel. The going rate for ten grams of Acromantula venom was one hundred and ninety-two Galleons. He would keep the second barrel for Nelly's practice. After a month of training under Slughorn, she had worked through material up to the sixth year. According to the professor's projections, two more years at most and she would be competing for the Bronze Cauldron. Severus agreed entirely. For now she simply lacked the practical skill. The venom would be an excellent resource: there were dozens of potions that used it as a base, and hundreds more where it served as an addition.
He stored both barrels in his wallet, gave a dismissive wave to the two spiders scorching him with their stares, and knocked on the boar's back. They turned and headed farther in. The pig cast a supremely arrogant look back at the Acromantulas and puffed out its chest with great dignity.
"You'd do better to show a little humility. I'll be gone in three days, but you still have to live here," he drawled with a smirk. The beast froze, then flinched and turned its head slowly. It looked at the two arthropods. One held its gaze without blinking. The other drove its leg into a fallen tree with a crack that split the trunk clean through.
"Oink..." It stared up at the man with pleading eyes. It had finally occurred to him that the moment Severus left, he was dead. The Acromantulas would not simply overlook such an insult.
"Hmm. I honestly don't know."
"Oink."
"All right, all right. Don't lay it on so thick. I'll sort something out. You can be our emergency reserve."
"OINK! OINK-OINK!"
"I'm joking. Very well. I'll take you with me. As it happens, the bear has been looking for a companion."
"Oink?"
"Yes, yes. Calm down. He definitely won't eat you." He patted its back again. "Alright then. Let's move on."
"Oink!" It oinked joyfully. It cast one final contemptuous glance at the spiders, puffed out its chest, shook its haunches defiantly, and marched forward under their furious stares.
"Did the bear really ask for a roommate?" Nagini asked, puzzled. She remembered perfectly how that bear had nearly torn the hellhounds apart when they began patrolling his territory without warning.
"No, he didn't." Severus shook his head with a quiet smile, watching the creature's antics. "But I like this boar's character. I'm sure they'll get along." The pig, as if to confirm the sentiment, nodded vigorously at him. Well, or it'll become emergency rations for a rainy day if we forget to feed the bear.
The snake, catching the tail end of that thought, simply didn't know how to feel about it. Whether to laugh or feel sorry for their new pet was unclear.
Over the following hour, pressing on in complete darkness, they covered several more miles. No one attacked. Severus had activated concealment charms, since it was deep into the night and most dangerous magical creatures were out hunting.
Day and night in the Forbidden Forest were two entirely different worlds. The number of creatures that had rushed past in that single hour was beyond counting. He had no interest in dealing with each one and attracting others with the noise.
Among the most dangerous creatures he noted: two enormous blue trolls carrying clubs; a Dromarog, a large hump-backed beast with two long sharp horns and tentacle-like appendages surrounding its mouth; a Snotwing, a creature of Hagrid's own breeding, a hybrid of Manticore and Fire Crab that outwardly resembled a scorpion with a second tail where its head ought to be; and a Thundermont, something like a rhinoceros but twice as large. These creatures normally lived in Africa, and what this one was doing in the Forbidden Forest was a question even Hagrid's memories couldn't answer. It had thick hide that deflected most spells and curses, and an extraordinarily sharp horn that secreted a substance that detonated on contact with a victim.
These were not even ten percent of the dangerous magical creatures they had encountered along the way. The variety was remarkable. Most of them did not even exist in the world he had come from. He found himself genuinely interested in observing it all, which could not be said of the boar. At the sight of any dangerous creature, it shuddered, even though it knew full well that nothing could see them.
The place where they now found themselves was as close to the forest's heart as one could get without actually entering it. The group had arrived here unexpectedly quickly, which even surprised Severus. He had calculated that he wouldn't reach this point until morning.
And there they were. He bared his teeth slowly, his expression thoughtful. He was looking at a large yellow cocoon hanging between two trees, a small opening visible at one end. From it, in the next instant, flew a creature that resembled a bee in shape, except it was nearly two meters long. The way the stinger caught the moonlight sent another shiver through the poor boar. Those were Sunlight Bees. It was still a surprise to find them in this world.
Sunlight Honey was a true delicacy and a universal remedy in the world Severus had come from. Only those willing to part with a small fortune could hope to taste it, even from the smallest jar. But beyond its extraordinary flavor, it had one particular property: it could restore the body and grant the gift of magic to those who had been born without it. That was why the price was simply staggering. Even noble families craved it. Many an Archmage and Magister had used it in hopes of giving their children and grandchildren who had been born without magical ability a chance.
For this reason, the bees had been hunted relentlessly. Within a couple of decades of Sunlight Honey's discovery, they had nearly vanished from the face of the earth. Only small colonies remained, in the possession of royal courts or powerful factions with the means to protect them.
When a jar of it appeared at auction, it caused a sensation. People came from distant cities just to bid on it, or simply to watch the bidding.
Severus was genuinely delighted by the find. The honey was useless to him personally, but it could certainly prove valuable one day. He wanted to take as much as possible and also secure the bees themselves. That was why he had come to this spot, though up until the very last moment, he had refused to believe it was truly them. In Hagrid's memories, he had only glimpsed them briefly. He had reckoned his chances of finding them as almost nothing.
After the first bee emerged, several more flew out and began circling the hive in what looked like a patrol. At the same time, several other groups came in from different directions and returned to the hive.
His mouth was already watering at the thought of the most delicious honey in the world. He jumped down from the boar, cast concealment charms on it, and set off toward the hive with an anticipatory grin. He placed his own concealment charms as well, considerably stronger ones. The Bee Queen, if the records were accurate, possessed intelligence as well as terrifying perceptive ability and generally kept close to the honey. Severus had no wish to harm her. It was unknown whether there were other such creatures in this world. What if these were the last of their kind? He intended to enter quietly and leave just as quietly, without drawing attention.
Getting inside wasn't particularly difficult, though the entrance was guarded by several bees. Inside was a true labyrinth of tunnels and branching passages, much like a vast anthill. The number of insects moving through the wide corridors was impossible to count without Detection Magic. Some moved in tight formations, one behind the other, while others crawled directly over their companions. It was, if he was being honest, rather unsettling.
Severus used a levitation spell to fly between them and avoid accidentally landing on any. Even so, it was difficult not to brush against them. At any moment, without warning, one might clamber onto another. There was no way to predict when this would happen. He had to keep his senses sharp to the maximum and maneuver constantly.
He was heading toward the very heart of the hive, where the honey should be. The densest magical source was emanating from that direction, so he knew he was going the right way. Even the weakest Sunlight Bee Queen could fight on equal terms with a Magister at the lower levels. He couldn't gauge her precise strength because the hive itself was constructed of magical wood that emanated magic from every grain and crack. The honey pooled near her position contributed a considerable amount as well. But it also served as a beacon, making her easy to locate.
The closer he drew to the center, the more bees filled the passages. At certain moments, the positions he had to twist into to slip between them would have made any contortionist jealous.
Nevertheless, after more than an hour, he emerged at last into a roughly open space the size of Hogwarts' Great Hall. What he saw and what he smelled were genuinely beyond description. He understood now why many accomplished mages in his old world had been willing to trade their fortunes, or their lives, for even a small quantity of this honey. This was a paradise for any beekeeper, real or imagined.
Below, the entire floor was thick with luminous honey. Two rows of honeycomb walls rose from it all the way to the ceiling, extending to the far end of the open space. There, a shallow depression was sealed with a thin layer of some unknown material that resembled golden, semi-transparent fabric. And everywhere, naturally, an extraordinary number of giant bees moved with purposeful industry.
He had to admit: it was breathtakingly beautiful. However much he wished to linger, he had no desire to be discovered. Picking his way between the creatures flying past, he descended slowly.
"Severus. Something strange is coming from that place. Let's go. I have a very bad feeling." Nagini's worried voice sounded in his head. She indicated the spot covered in thin fabric with her tail. A strange aura rose from it. Her instincts were screaming at her to get out, and at once. She had felt this only once before: when they had encountered that ancient serpent in the Magical Jungle.
"All right. I'll be quick." He nodded, a frown crossing his face. He had learned to trust the snake at moments like this. Her danger sense was far keener than his, a bestial instinct honed by her serpentine nature. He quickened his pace and hovered over the honey a few seconds later.
He decided not to be greedy. He took out a three-liter jar rather than the barrel he had originally intended. Just as he moved to scoop the honey, a sound like breaking glass rang through the entire space.
All that remained in his hand was a small shard. A meter away, a long orange stinger was buried to the hilt in the wall. The very same stinger now hovered a few centimeters from his forehead. His passive barrier had a clean hole in it. This was the first time anyone had broken through it since his transition to Magister rank.
"Well, well. A little thief. Before helping yourself, you really ought to ask the Queen's permission." A velvety female voice, rich with amusement, rang out through the space. A crooked smile spread across Severus's face. His gaze moved to the curtain, behind which stood a small, dark silhouette.
Another monster landed on his head. He watched the leg slowly pull the material aside and sighed with weary resignation.
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