Hermione and the other two got the answer they needed and ran wildly out of the spider's lair.
Behind them, the great fire did not die down—it only grew fiercer. The wall of flame roared, and even spiders that had scurried far away began to smoke and twist, the fuzz on their legs scorched by the suffocating heat.
The crimson fire turned darker by the second, like waves absorbing the night, until it transformed into a deep, oceanic blue. The air shimmered with heat. It became so hot that even glancing at the flames seemed to burn the eyes.
Aragog grew restless, scraping his pincers anxiously against the forest floor. The cries of his children rang out, frantic and short-lived, before silence fell.
"Who—who is there?!"
A thick black mist slammed into the ground in front of him, scattering dead branches and stones. The surrounding blue fire gave the mist an eerie, unholy hue. It twisted once in the air—and condensed into the figure of a young man.
He stood straight, with a gentle, composed smile on his lips.
"Good evening, Aragog. My name is Kai Adler."
Though the spider was blind, the young man bowed politely.
"Kai Adler… why did you burn my children alive?"
Kai tilted his head slightly, voice soft but laced with a calm, dangerous curiosity.
"I should ask you: why didn't you let the three of them go?"
Realizing this wizard was with the trio from before, Aragog's tone shifted quickly to fear.
"Honoured wizard, I beg your forgiveness. My children—my colony—we've been starving. Since the creature in the Chamber of Secrets awakened, we no longer dare hunt beyond the lair. I… I had no choice."
He would not name the creature. Even now, he feared it too much.
Kai raised an eyebrow. "So the Basilisk can reach the Forbidden Forest?"
"Yes." Aragog trembled. "There is a passage… hidden in the north. That thing comes through it sometimes to feed."
"Where exactly is this passage?"
"I don't know precisely. I only know its aura always comes from the northern edge of the forest."
"Understood."
Aragog hesitated, sensing the danger had not passed.
"Wizard… sir… I've told you everything I know. I beg you—let the rest of my kin live."
"Let you live?" Kai repeated softly.
He looked down at the ground blanketed in charred, smoking spider corpses. "If I hadn't arrived… my Hermione would've been torn apart by your colony."
Aragog's limbs shifted anxiously. "They weren't harmed! And… and you've already destroyed half my children. What more do you want?! This is unjust!"
Kai's pale eyes darkened as the blue fire danced in their reflection.
"Unjust?"
He chuckled—low and cold. "Then I suppose you'll have to pray for someone stronger than me to save you. The same way I saved them."
The temperature surged again. The flames behind Kai surged upward in a whirlwind, twisting like they were being drawn together by invisible hands. The trees around them groaned as bark charred and branches curled.
Silence.
Then—screams. Spiders writhed and crumbled into cinders.
Aragog collapsed on the spot, his eight limbs sprawled as the last threads of resistance drained away. His world was heat. Fire. Death.
High above, the swirling flames took shape. They coalesced into the form of a vast, ghostly whale—its glowing blue body suspended in the air like some ancient elemental.
Kai lifted his chin, watching it with dispassionate eyes.
"Well," he whispered. "It seems no one's coming for you."
The spectral whale arced downward—crashing like a meteor onto Aragog's bloated form.
In the moments before death, Aragog felt only fire—searing even through the thick chitin of his skull.
Kai stepped back from the remains, frowning faintly in distaste as the scent reached him.
"Ugh. Burnt spider reeks," he muttered. "Definitely not worth eating."
He turned his gaze northward. "So, a hidden passage from the Chamber of Secrets lies that way…"
Though Dumbledore had lifted the anti-Apparition wards temporarily, allowing him to travel in an instant, Kai found himself… intrigued. It was his first real venture into the Forbidden Forest, and he wanted to take his time.
There were rumors of rare magical creatures here—some perhaps even unknown to wizardkind.
And maybe… something edible.
With a flick of his cloak, Kai disappeared into the shadows, heading north.
—
At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, three small figures burst out from the undergrowth, scratched and muddy.
They didn't stop running until they reached the clearing outside Hagrid's hut.
"Follow the spiders! Follow the spiders!" Ron gasped, stumbling over his own feet. "When Hagrid comes back, I'm going to kill him!"
Harry doubled over, hands on his knees. "What was that magic, Hermione? That fire—it was unbelievable."
Hermione steadied her breath quickly. "It wasn't me that was amazing…"
She trailed off, nearly saying Kai's name.
"That was a technique Kai taught me a while ago," she explained instead. "If you combine parts of different spells, sometimes the result is something entirely new."
"That fire just now—it was a Fire-Making Spell fused with Transfiguration. I failed so many times trying to cast it before… I suppose fear pushed me to succeed this time."
She lifted her chin slightly, proud despite herself.
"Kai knows magic that advanced?" Ron asked in awe.
Harry's eyes lit up. "Do you think he'd teach us?"
"He might. You can ask him when he wakes up."
Harry's eagerness dulled slightly. "Right…"
Hermione turned her head, avoiding their eyes. That spell had only lasted as long as it did because he had been watching—and intervened. If they knew the truth, would they be disappointed?
Harry pressed again. "Why did you stop asking questions back there, when the spiders were talking?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Because if I hadn't, we'd be spider chow by now."
"…Fair."
"And we don't need to ask anymore." She held up one finger. "We already know where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is."
Ron blinked. "What? Where?"
"The girls' bathroom."
He blinked again. "What were you two doing in there? On a date?"
Hermione gave him a withering glare.
"We met a ghost there," she said. "And based on what Aragog said… the girl who died fifty years ago might still haunt that place."
"You think… the ghost is the victim?" Harry said slowly.
"Exactly." Hermione nodded. "If anyone knows how she died, or what attacked her, it's her."
Without waiting for more, the three slipped under the Invisibility Cloak again—heading toward the bathroom, and the truth.
Meanwhile, deeper in the forest, Kai Adler moved like a shadow.
He had nearly reached the northern edge when—
Bang!
A sudden crack echoed through the trees.
Kai froze.
Pop-pop-pop! Sharp, rapid bursts followed, like fireworks—but deeper. Mechanical. Rhythmic.
His eyes narrowed.
"…Gunfire?"