𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝; 𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡.𝐩

𝓨𝓮𝓪𝓻 2, 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 15: Aragog

"Now, now, Malfoy," said Snape, though he couldn't suppress a thin-lipped smile. "Professor Dumbledore has only been suspended but the governors. I daresay he'll be back with us soon enough."

"Yeah, right," said Malfoy, smirking. "I expect you'd have Father's vote, sir, if you wanted to apply for the job—I'll tell Father you're the best teacher here, sir—"

"Suck-up," Y/N hissed under her breath as Snape smirked and swept off around the dungeon, fortunately not noticing Seamus Finnigan, who was pretending to vomit into his cauldron.

"I'm quite surprised the Mudbloods here haven't all packed their bags by now," Malfoy went on. "Bet you five Galleons the next one dies. Pity it wasn't Granger—"

The bell rang at that moment, which was lucky; at Malfoy's least words, Ron had leapt off his stool, and in the scramble to collect bags and books, his attempts to reach Malfoy went unnoticed.

"Let me at him," Ron growled as Harry and Y/N hung onto her arms. "I don't care, I don't need my wand, I'm going to kill him with my bare hands—"

"I'm not saying that's a bad idea, Ron," Y/N started, "but killing someone this early wouldn't be such a good idea. Wait until, like, next year."

'Wait until next year. Huh.' Harry internally smirked. 'Might as well take her advice.'

"Hurry up, I've got to take you all to Herbology," barked Snape over the class's heads, and off they marched, with Y/N, Harry, Ron, and Dean bringing up the rear, Ron still trying to get loose. It was only safe to let go of him when Snape had seen them out of the castle and they were making their way across the vegetable patch toward the greenhouses.

The Herbology class was very subdued; there were now two missing from their number, Justin and Hermione.

Professor Sprout set them all to work pruning the Abyssinian Shrivelfigs. Y/N and Harry went to tip armfuls of withered stalks onto the compost heap and found themselves face-to-face with Ernie Macmillan. Ernie took a deep breath and said, very formally, "I just want to say, Y/N, Harry, that I'm sorry I ever suspected you. I know you two would never attack Hermione Granger, and I apologize for all the stuff I said. We're all in the same boat now, and, well—"

He held out his pudgy hands, and Harry and Y/N shook them.

Ernie and his friend Hannah came to work at the same Shrivelfig as Harry, Ron, and Y/N.

"That Draco Malfoy character," said Ernie, breaking off dead twigs, "he seems very pleased about all this, doesn't he? D'you know, I think he might be Slytherin's heir."

"That's clever of you," said Ron, who seemed to not have forgiven Ernie as readily as Harry and Y/N.

"Do you think it's Malfoy, Y/N? How about you, Harry?" Ernie asked.

"No." Y/N said the word so firmly that Ernie and Hannah stared.

A second later, she spotted something.

Several large spiders were scuttling over the ground on the other side of the grass, moving in an unnaturally straight line as though taking the shortest route to a prearranged meeting. She hit Ron over the hand with her pruning shears.

"Ouch! Bloody hell, woman, what're you—"

"Look." Y/N pointed out the spiders, following their progress with her eyes screwed up against the sun.

"Oh, yeah," said Ron, trying, and failing, to look pleased. "But we can't follow them now—"

Ernie and Hannah were listening curiously.

Y/N's eyes narrowed as she focused on the spiders. If they pursued their fixed course, there could be no doubt about where they would end up.

"Looks like they're heading for the Forbidden Forest...."