Chapter 89: Spider Valley

“That Humphrey—I mean,” Ron said, frowning, “he went on and on, and I didn’t understand a word.”

“Because he used excessive euphemisms to mask his true intent,” Harry said. “It makes it seem more diplomatic.”

“So what did he actually say?” Ron asked.

“The Ministry wants to take some proactive measures in the Chamber case to appease the public and the press,” Harry said. “Humphrey didn’t want to alienate Dumbledore, so he rejected the plan to send investigators to the school and instead invited Hagrid to cooperate with the inquiry.”

“But they want to suspend Dumbledore!” Ron said, worried.

“Correct—whether they’d already agreed beforehand or Humphrey and Lucius truly disagreed,” Harry said. “The situation now is that Dumbledore does need to leave the school for a while, but if we solve the Chamber incident and demand the Headmaster’s return, the Ministry will support this reasonable request.”

“And this was also part of Dumbledore’s plan,” Harry hesitated, not mentioning that Avalon and Donald were Dumbledore’s arrangements, only vaguely adding, “Dumbledore said that when he was away, he would trust me.”

“Alright, don’t forget why we’re here tonight,” Ron said. “Let’s go reconnoiter those spiders again.”

Following the marks they’d left last time, Harry and Ron crept once more to the edge of the valley, not venturing deep, only confirming the situation nearby. It should have been a basin over a hundred feet in diameter, with a gentle slope of only about ten degrees; Harry guessed the elevation at its center wouldn’t be too low.

Thus, based on the spiders’ size, each was about seven feet wide; even if the valley were packed with them, there wouldn’t be more than two hundred. Of course, this didn’t account for whether they’d dug out larger underground spaces.

“I think there won’t be too many spiders,” Harry said on the way back, half-hoping. “First, there’s not much room for them to move around; second, this Forbidden Forest probably doesn’t contain enough prey to sustain seven-foot carnivores.”

“But these spiders are so vicious,” Ron couldn’t help recalling their last encounter and the clicking sounds in the woods. “You say their living space is small?”

“Exactly—what’s restraining their expansion?” Harry realized the problem. “Perhaps the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest have also been limiting the spiders’ range. I think that’s good news—the centaurs could be valuable allies.”

“We’ll stick to the original plan,” Harry said as they neared the castle, pulling on his Invisibility Cloak. “Tomorrow during the day, I’ll fly my broomstick to reconnoiter again.”

On Sunday morning, the Quidditch pitch, once bustling, was now empty. Harry, cloaked in invisibility, slipped quietly into the players’ locker room. Each player’s broom was locked safely in the broom cupboard, but several older-model spare brooms sat here, overlooked by both teachers and students.

Fortunately, Madam Hooch had indeed forgotten to put away the spares. Harry mounted one, flew a few laps around the pitch to test its handling, then shot straight toward the Forbidden Forest.

Using the crude map he’d drawn the night before, Harry quickly located the Spider Valley. He noticed that although trees still lined the perimeter, at the valley’s center hung a damp, massive web, with a dark, gaping hole at its middle.

After much hesitation, Harry decided not to risk descending. He turned his broom and flew sideways, curious what lay around the valley’s edges.

Around the Spider Valley stretched ordinary-looking woods—ordinary, at least, to Harry. His common sense warned him these were likely habitats of powerful magical creatures, which is why the spiders dared not venture there, bound by territorial markings.

Just west of the valley, Harry spotted a cluster of neatly arranged huts—centaurs lived there. A few centaurs had noticed Harry in the sky and were staring directly at him.

Having witnessed the centaurs’ brutality, Harry turned and fled—he didn’t want to be targeted by arrows from above.

Back in the dormitory, Harry described the Forbidden Forest’s layout to his classmates, expanding the crude broomstick sketch into a detailed terrain map, then they sat down to strategize.

“I’ve been thinking,” Neville said thoughtfully, “must this task of clearing the spiders be done by ‘Harry Potter and his friends,’ or could it be done by ‘anyone loyal to Dumbledore’?”

“From the Ministry’s perspective, I believe it’s the latter,” Harry recalled his previous analyses of the Chamber politics. “But what Dumbledore wants to see is the former.”

“But I don’t think the three of us can handle these monsters,” Neville said, pointing at Ron, whose face was pale, teeth chattering, sweat beading on his forehead.

“Zhang Qiu says the Forbidden Forest clashes with her—meaning she always gets bad luck when she enters,” Harry said, rubbing his temples. “Hermione and Hannah might also be at risk…”

“Harry Potter’s friends—why must they truly be his friends?” Neville gave a sly smile.

“Exactly,” Harry snapped his fingers. “How could such a dangerous mission not include Malfoy?”

“If Lucius hadn’t tried to oust Dumbledore, we wouldn’t be dragging his son into this,” Ron growled. “Let him shoot himself in the foot.”

“We can’t put classmates in danger—except Malfoy,” Neville agreed.

“No—not even Malfoy,” Harry rejected their idea. “We can’t let anyone else in this school be injured because of the Chamber—not even Malfoy.”

“According to Dumbledore’s plan, I should lead this operation,” Harry said. “So we can’t involve professors—but we need some official standing. That means we have to take a gamble.”

“What are we gambling on?” Neville, for once, couldn’t follow Harry’s train of thought.

“That the centaurs don’t know Hogwarts’ exact organizational structure,” Harry said. He had a strange feeling—he’d suddenly grown up.

In Ron’s widening pupils, Harry, as he explained the plan, realized a truth: Dumbledore’s actual power was far less than his rightful capacity, and this very imbalance had caused so much chaos. Even if a person had no desire for authority, if everyone looked to him, he was forced to bear the responsibility.

Harry felt he should be Dumbledore’s successor—the next leader against the Dark Lord.

“So what’s the plan?”

That afternoon, at the hastily convened eight-person roundtable meeting, Malfoy asked Harry this question, his face serious.

“We must end the Chamber incident. Even if the creature inside is a Basilisk, a Gorgon, or something else, to end it, we only need to exterminate the spiders in the Forbidden Forest and claim the Chamber monster was them.”

As Harry spoke, he sounded nothing like a student.

“You really do resemble Slytherin. I’ve always said the Sorting Hat made a mistake,” Malfoy said, smiling as if offering praise. “Fifty years ago, Headmaster Dippet claimed spiders attacked the students. Exterminating them would raise no objections from the Board or the Ministry.”

“But how?” Cui Ge interrupted bluntly. “We’re first-years. You’re only second-year, Harry.”

“We need to form a special committee, inviting representatives from each house to meet and vote,” Harry said calmly. “Then we’ll inform the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest of the vote’s outcome.”

“Centaurs?” Pan Xi looked up in surprise.

“We all know centaurs claim to obey the school, but in truth, they’ve claimed the Forbidden Forest as their own—stubborn as ever,” Malfoy said slowly. “Harry, your plan is perfect.”

“But there’s one problem,” Malfoy stood, scanning the room. “None of us here seem to be from Hufflepuff. Are we pretending…?”

“Neville will invite Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott as Hufflepuff representatives,” Harry said. “We’ll also invite Zhang Qiu and Luna as Ravenclaw representatives.”

“And Gryffindor?” Malfoy asked, twirling his fingers.

“Me and Ron,” Harry said, glancing at Ginny, who still looked dazed.

“Then Slytherin will be…” Malfoy paused. Luna was uncertain, Ernie neutral, Zhang Qiu and Hannah clearly leaning toward Harry. Even if he brought Pan Xi, he couldn’t guarantee control. Better to pretend fairness on this matter.

“Me and Cui Ge,” he said.

“Wait—I’m confused,” Ginny asked, bewildered. “What exactly do you mean by this committee?”

“I suggest naming it the ‘Hogwarts Student Council Sub-Committee on Forbidden Forest Management and the Chamber Incident Task Force,’” Malfoy said. “We’ll invite the centaurs to jointly clean up the spiders, acting as student representatives.”

“Good name,” Harry agreed. “These spiders are extremely dangerous. If we attack recklessly, someone will get hurt. We need the centaurs’ help.”

“But won’t that mean centaurs get hurt too?” Ginny asked.

“Better than students continuing to be attacked—or students getting hurt while exterminating the spiders,” Harry said, shrugging helplessly.

“Exactly. The centaurs will understand—it’s for the greater good,” Malfoy said, gripping Harry’s hand, quoting Dumbledore’s famous phrase.

“For the greater good,” the two said in unison, sharing a rare, identical, approving smile.

Only Ginny stared wide-eyed, as if seeing Harry for the first time.