Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures - H.P.S.T Chapter 1449: The Death of Aragog

Since the plan to turn into girls failed, many things had changed.

First of all, Malfoy had become more cautious. Now it was nearly impossible to follow him to the Room of Requirement, even turning into a cuter girl wouldn’t help.

Secondly, Harry and Ron had become increasingly anxious and uncertain.

Ron, in particular, was extremely tense. Besides the effects of that failed plan, it was likely also due to his worsening relationship with Lavender. These days, he often avoided her or ended up arguing with her.

Of course, the upcoming Apparition test wasn’t helping his nerves either.

Evan now often saw Ron holding a Ministry of Magic leaflet — Common Apparition Mistakes and How to Avoid Them — studying it with his head down, hoping to find something in it that could improve his chances of success.

He also asked Evan for some Polyjuice Potion, claiming it would help ease his anxiety. Evan didn’t ask too many questions about how Polyjuice Potion could relieve stress. He felt that this should be a new kind of world he didn’t really want to know about…

Harry, on the other hand, didn’t have any romantic troubles and didn’t have to worry about the Apparition test yet. He didn’t need Polyjuice Potion to deal with pressure. But after the failure of their last plan, he had no choice but to face reality and focus his efforts on winning over Slughorn.

Speaking of influencing Slughorn, Evan and Harry had recently showered him with all kinds of gifts.

From cheap snacks to expensive magic alchemical items and potion ingredients, everything available.

Slughorn happily accepted them all without ever refusing, but the moment they brought up that memory or showed even a hint of it, he’d quickly change the subject or slip away altogether. The speed at which his expression and demeanor changed — how fast he ran away — was something Evan had never seen before.

It was the very definition of “leaping away like a startled leopard.” Trying to get anything out of that sly “old sea leopard” was truly difficult.

He clearly knew what Evan and Harry were after, yet he simply refused to hand over that memory he had apparently suppressed for decades.

Even though Evan was mentally prepared for this, he had to admit that this was a difficult task.

Sometimes, he even suspected that Slughorn was just taking advantage of their gifts on purpose.

Because, honestly, his intentions were way too obvious.

After the eighty-seventh failure, Evan finally had no choice but to follow the plan that had worked in the original story, hoping it would succeed. To be on the safe side, he thought it would be better to use Aragog’s body, which was a very rare potion material.

As a Potions Master, there was no way Slughorn wouldn’t be interested in it.

For this reason, Evan had specifically asked Hagrid several times to confirm Aragog’s physical condition.

That morning, they finally received a note from Hagrid about Aragog’s death.

After holding on for so long, the old spider finally came to the end of his long life, a while earlier than recorded in the original story. That might have a lot to do with all the fuss Evan had caused in his lair earlier.

Hagrid had mentioned more than once that Aragog was saddened by the destruction of his offspring, and he always blamed the students in the castle.

The note was delivered by Hedwig. The handwriting was messy and scrawled, with large blotches on the parchment where the ink had run, making it hard to read.

Dear Evan, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Elaine,

Aragog died last night.

Evan, you met him, and you know how special he was. You asked about his health several times in his last moments and did so much for him. Thank you for your help. In fact, Aragog was very impressed by you and thought about you until the very end. It’s a pity you were too busy to come and see him. And Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Elaine, I know you’d have liked him too, since you brought him up so many times. Especially you, Elaine, you always showed such interest and affection toward Aragog, little Grawp, and the other lovely creatures I care for. It would mean a lot to me if you’d nip down for the burial later this evening. I’m planning on doing it round dusk, that was his favorite time of day. I know you’re not supposed to be out that late, but you can use the cloak or some other way. Wouldn’t ask, but I can’t face it alone.

Hagrid

“That’s all!” Harry finished reading the note, handed it to Evan, and asked, “What are you going to do?”

“Well…” Evan did not answer, lost in thought about the plan to use Aragog to win over Slughorn.

“He’s mental!” Ron next to him immediately said furiously. “He wants us to go down there and cry over the horrible hairy body of that spider!”

“It’s not just that,” said Hermione, taking the note from Evan. “He’s asking us to leave the castle at night and he knows security’s a million times tighter and how much trouble we’d be in if we were caught! You’re right, he may indeed be mental.”

“We’ve been down to see him by night before,” said Harry.

“Yes, but for something like this?” said Hermione. “We’ve risked a lot to help Hagrid out, but after all — Aragog’s dead. We didn’t even visit him while he was alive, so we don’t have any real feelings for him.”

“I’d like to go see him!” said Elaine. “The world’s largest Acromantula; sounds amazing.”

“Sounds creepy,” Ron corrected her. “Anyway, I’m not going. I never met Aragog, but I’ve seen other Acromantulas, he must be several times their size. Honestly, I think things will be better for Hagrid now that he’s dead.”

Hermione didn’t say anything more, but from the look on her face, it was clear she wasn’t keen on going either. Getting detention over this just didn’t seem worth it.

Harry looked a bit hesitant. He glanced down again at the note that had somehow ended up back in his hands.

He stared down at all the inky blotches all over it. Tears had clearly fallen thick and fast upon the parchment. …

“I’m actually thinking of going,” Evan finally said, carefully choosing his words. “You know, Aragog is an extremely rare potion ingredient. Remember? Acromantula venom is incredibly valuable and fetches a high price on the market. As the largest Acromantula in the world, Aragog’s venom is especially precious. I plan to attend the funeral and collect a bit of it while I’m there. It could be a gift for Slughorn.”

“A gift for Slughorn?!” Everyone turned to stare at Evan in surprise.

“Yeah. Actually, I think it would be even better to invite him to collect it himself. That would be more meaningful than just handing it to him,” said Evan. “Harry, let’s go ask him in a bit. If possible, maybe take a sip of Felix Felicis. We’ll need all the luck we can get to win him over.”

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