[What the hell were you three thinking? When you run into danger, you're supposed to call for help immediately!]
Tom had his tail wrapped around Draco and Ron's waists and flung them up onto a sturdy tree branch outside the spider swarm. He shot them an irritated glare.
At the same time, he pulled out a tiny firecracker—no bigger than his own nose—and lobbed it straight into the middle of the Acromantula horde.
[Good thing I can teleport. If Hagrid and the others had to run here, they'd only make it in time to collect your bodies—scratch that. With this many eight-eyed giant spiders, there probably wouldn't even be bodies left!]
"Stop lecturing us and just grab Ariana and run already!" Ron yelled from the tree as the spiders closed in. "They're coming!"
But Tom just waved a paw dismissively.
[It's already over.]
Did they really think he'd tossed that firecracker for nothing? That was top-shelf stuff he'd swiped from Taffy. If he weren't basically unkillable and if Ariana weren't a ghost who couldn't be hurt by something like that, he never would've dared use it.
The next second, right in front of Ron and Draco's stunned eyes, the tiny firecracker Tom had dropped exploded. A blinding white flash filled their vision. When the light finally faded, the entire spider swarm was gone. Nothing remained except a massive, smoking crater.
"Did… did Tom do that?" Draco's voice shook as he stared down into the pitch-black pit.
"P-Probably…" Ron swallowed hard, sounding just as rattled.
Suddenly, being his brothers' test dummy for their new prank gadgets didn't seem so bad anymore.
One thought burned itself deep into Ron's brain: No matter what happens, never piss Tom off.
[Whoa. Gotta hand it to Taffy, huh?]
Tom appeared behind them, still carrying Ariana.
He eyed the giant crater with lingering unease. On the outside he looked calm, but inside he was sweating bullets.
Who would believe a single firecracker smaller than his nose could hit like a damn missile? Pure Taffy logic—or, more accurately, pure Jerry-family logic. Every last one of them was completely insane.
He was also extremely relieved. Thank goodness he and Jerry were on decent terms. If that thing had gone off right in front of his face like it usually did in the cartoons…
Just thinking about it made his fur stand on end.
"What happened here? Why is there suddenly such a huge hole in the ground?"
A deep voice rang out nearby. As Ron and the others turned warily, a centaur with long platinum-blond hair stepped out from behind the trees. He held a longbow ready and was watching Tom cautiously. But when he spotted Fang in Ron's arms, he relaxed.
"Oh, so you know Hagrid?"
"Yeah," Draco answered, jumping down from the branch while carrying Ron on his back. His legs were shaky, but he forced himself to stay upright. "Hagrid said someone's been targeting the unicorns in the forest, so we came to help him patrol. Who are you?"
"You may call me Firenze," the centaur replied with a small nod. His expression stayed calm. "I am one of the centaurs who live in this forest. I heard a loud disturbance and came to investigate. So, friends of Hagrid, can you tell me what happened here?"
"Eight-eyed giant spiders!" Ron let out a long breath, still sounding rattled. "There were tons of them. They had us completely surrounded. If our friend hadn't been so strong, we would've been done for."
"That's impossible!"
Hagrid had finally caught up. But when he heard Ron's words, his face filled with disbelief. "Aragog promised me his children wouldn't attack other creatures!"
"Yeah, well… maybe not in front of you," Firenze shook his head. Though he was considered strange among the centaurs, even he didn't know what to make of Hagrid—the man who had brought eight-eyed spiders into the forest. "When you first brought that spider here years ago, it might have still been able to control its colony like you say. But it's old now.
Its numbers have grown far too large. The old spider king can barely keep them from harming you. If the colony keeps expanding, and once the Spider King dies… no one can say what they'll do to the rest of the forest."
"This—"
Hagrid opened his mouth to argue, but looking at the giant crater and the devastated surroundings, he fell silent.
Maybe Firenze was right. Aragog really was getting old. He might not be able to control his children anymore.
"No way… Last time I saw him, Aragog still looked so strong. It hasn't been that long. He'll be fine!" Hagrid shook his head hard, trying to push the thought away. "We can talk about Aragog later. Right now the unicorns are more important! They're in real danger!"
Remembering the silvery blood they'd found on the other path, Hagrid's expression grew grim. "We just found fresh unicorn blood. The poor thing's been hurt. If we hurry, we might still make it in time."
"Wait!"
Firenze suddenly called out to stop them. "Can someone please explain what created this crater? And what exactly are you planning to do now?"
As a resident of the forest, he really didn't want a massive hole left in the middle of their territory.
[Ah, that… was me.] Tom spread his paws with an innocent look on his face.
[There were just way too many eight-eyed spiders. For Ron and Draco's safety, I had to use one of my trump cards and wipe them all out. As you can see, nothing's left.]
Truth be told, Tom was starting to feel a pang of regret. Those were eight-eyed giant spiders! If he remembered correctly, Hermione once mentioned that a pint of their venom was worth a hundred Galleons.
He had already tossed Draco and Ron to safety, and the only one left behind was Ariana, a ghost who couldn't be hurt. He could've easily collected some venom first!
Whether he sold it himself or had Snape move it for him, that would've been serious money.
"Why didn't I think of that?!"
Tom's face suddenly twisted into an expression of deep heartbreak.