HARRY POTTER and the Chamber of Secrets Chapter Sixteen
Chapters 1-16
Chapter Sixteen
ARAGOG
Harry and Ron’s best friend, Hermione, is in the hospital wing. She is petrified! The atmosphere in the school is very different, now that Dumbledore is gone. The children are more afraid now. No one feels safe.
But Harry cannot stop thinking about what Dumbledore said: “You will see that I will always be at the school, as long as there are teachers and students who are loyal to me. You will always find help at Hogwarts. All you have to do is ask for it.” But Harry does not know who he can talk to. Who can he trust?
Harry also thinks a lot about what Hagrid said before they took him: “If anyone needs to discover some stuff, all they have to do is follow the spiders. They will show the way.” Finally, one night, Harry tells Ron what he is thinking. “Do you remember what Hagrid said, about the spiders?” Ron’s face turns green - he HATES spiders! “Yeah, I remember. How can I forget?” says Ron. “Why?”
“I think Hagrid knows something,” continues Harry. “He was telling us the night they took him. We have to follow the spiders! If we can find the spiders, I think they will show us something important.”
“Do we really have to FOLLOW the spiders?” asks Ron. “I think it’s our only chance now,” says Harry. “What else can we do? If we don’t do anything, more people will be attacked for sure!”
“What do you suggest, then?” asks Ron. “I think we should start at Hagrid’s house,” answers Harry. “He’s the one with the strange pets. Maybe we can find a clue at his house.” Ron nods, OK. But his face is still a greenish color. They decide they will go that night. And they will use the cloak of invisibility again!
It is difficult to walk through the castle. There are many teachers in the corridors. The invisibility cloak is useful: it makes you invisible, but it does not make you silent! But finally, they are able to exit through the front entrance of the castle.
They walk quickly to Hagrid’s house. The house is dark and empty. They go into the house. Hagrid’s dog, Fang, is excited to see them. They feed Fang first. Then they go outside to investigate. It is too dark to see anything. So Harry takes his wand and says, “Lumos!” There is a soft light at the tip of his wand.
They search the garden in front of the house. They see nothing. Then they go around to the back of the house. “There!” yells Harry. “Look! On the ground over there!” Harry and Ron look closer. There is a long line of spiders walking into the Forbidden Forest.
“I guess we should follow them,” says Harry, a little scared. “I guess so,” says Ron, terrified. “But they’re going into the Forbidden Forest. There are werewolves in there.” “Come on, Ron,” says Harry. “Let’s go. We have to find out what Hagrid was talking about.” With the small light from Harry’s wand they follow the spiders into the dark forest.
Very quickly the trees block the sky. It becomes very dark. They follow the spiders. The spiders walk along the path through the forest. Harry and Ron walk for a long time. It feels like almost an hour. Then, with the dim light from Harry’s wand, they see the spider trail stop. Harry looks closer. The spiders are leaving the path.
The spiders are going deep into the forest! Harry knows that bad things happen in the Forbidden Forest when people leave the path. Harry and Ron look at each other. “I guess we don’t have much of a choice. We have to follow them.” They leave the path and move into the dark forest. There are noises all around them. Things are moving deep in the forest.
