days at Hogwarts

Chapter 694 Funeral
The afterglow of the sunset slowly dissipated, the sky and the world slowly dimmed, candles and torches were lit in the castle, and a dim light shone through the glass windows.

In the Gryffindor common room, Ron squatted down and took a closer look at the potion in the bottle. There were golden spots floating in the clear liquid, which was crystal clear and beautiful.

The effects of the Felix Felicis appeared in his mind, and some vague and unformed ideas gradually formed, such as him successfully passing the Apparition test, and him leading the team to win the House Cup...

He looked at Harry next to him and couldn't help asking again:

"Have you really thought it through?"

"of course."

"Aren't you saving it for later?"

"Is there anything more important than his memory?"

Harry's expression was determined. After the failure of his last attempt, he had come up with the idea of ​​using the Felicis to retrieve his memory, but he had never waited for the right opportunity. When Loren handed him Hagrid's note, telling him the news of Aragog's funeral, he vaguely felt that the time was ripe.

Loren sat opposite him, his eyes flickering, and asked the same question: "Have you really thought it through?"

"?"

Harry looked at him puzzledly, wondering why he kept asking this question.

"I mean, have you thought clearly about the purpose of using the Felicis? Is it to understand the Horcruxes, or to extract Professor Slughorn's memory?"

"What's the difference?"

"I have some doubts about the effectiveness of Felixir, whether it will achieve the short-term goals you set, or whether it will point to a longer-term end."

Miss Know-it-all next to them also looked up with curiosity when she heard this. She was flipping through a book about the Lucky Spirit Potion, even though she had almost memorized it. They both had Lucky Spirit Potion, but they hadn't used it yet. After all, there was nothing in school that needed good luck.

"I don't understand what you are saying..."

These excellent students would occasionally behave strangely, and Loren and Hermione were no exception.

Harry shook his head and said he didn't care. He picked up the Felicis on the table, unscrewed the cap, measured the amount and took a small sip.

"How do you feel?" The three friends all looked over.

Harry narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth twitched twice, and he smiled unconsciously.

A real and tangible warmth surged through my body, as if I was hit by a happy spell. My body and mind were happy, golden lights flickered in my mind, inspiration kept emerging, and I felt as if I could do anything.

"It feels... great..."

Harry stood up suddenly. "You guys go find Hagrid first. My intuition... no, it's the Felicis that tells me that I should go and invite Professor Slughorn to attend the funeral."

"Are you sure?" Loren raised his hand and waved it in front of the man. Harry now looked not very smart.

"I... am sure?"

Harry paused in his answer, and the moment he met Loren's gaze, the golden light in his mind became more active, and some unclear and vague thoughts kept flashing. He tilted his head and thought for a while, perhaps due to the lack of useful information, or inviting Slughorn's intuition was clearer.

"You guys go wait for me at Hagrid's place." Harry waved his hand and walked towards the portrait hole.

"Ok."

Loren watched him go away, his figure covered in a layer of crystal golden light.

……

A half-moon crescent hangs high in the sky.

Next to the pumpkin patch of the Forbidden Forest Lodge, a small hill of dirt and rocks was formed. A rough and wide grave was open to the sky. The body of the eight-eyed giant spider Aragog lay quietly beside it, with a pair of large claws drooping limply beside it. Its abdomen was covered with white fluff, and traces of spell scratches remained on its shell. It was black and hairy, and its eyes flickered with strange light. Loren and his companions stood silently beside it, breathing the air with the smell of dirt and grass.

Hagrid slumped against the pile of earth, his moleskin coat covered in mud, his shoulders twitching from time to time, his sobs full of sorrow, tears streaming from his small black eyes and falling into his beard.

"Fortunately, I arrived in time and finally moved Aragog's body out. Let me tell you, they usually eat the body, but I wanted to give him a decent funeral and send him off properly...

"I knew it, I knew it...it has been sick for several months and has not recovered...

"We've been together for so long..."

The hound Yaya curled up at his owner's feet, rubbing against his trouser legs obediently and making comforting purrs in his throat.

Hermione took a few steps forward and patted his shoulder gently: "Don't be too sad, Hagrid, Aragog has lived long enough as a spider."

Loren nodded in agreement.

"I know, I know, thank you, I thought you wouldn't come..." Hagrid wiped his tears with his shirt and blinked his bright little dark eyes. When he noticed that Harry was not around, he immediately showed a somewhat aggrieved expression.

Ron quickly explained: "Harry has something to do, so he will be delayed for a few minutes."

Hagrid sniffed.

A few minutes later, rustling footsteps were heard from behind. They turned around and saw two figures, one fat and one thin, approaching gradually. The thin Harry walked briskly, while the fat Slughorn followed breathlessly behind.

"Harry, you're here."

"Hagrid, my condolences."

Hagrid hugged Harry, the sadness on his face faded a little, and he looked up at the Potions Professor who was greeting Loren and the others.

"Horace."

"Merlin, is this really a giant eight-eyed spider?" Slughorn's eyes were drawn to the huge spider corpse, and his eyes unconsciously glanced at its venom glands. "I heard from Harry that this is your friend, Hagrid. I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. Aragog would be happy if he knew you could come to his funeral."

"..."

The two professors stood in front of the corpse and greeted each other. The students behind them gathered together to talk. Harry recounted how he followed the instructions of the Felicis Felix to the greenhouse, how he met Slughorn who was collecting herbs, how he inadvertently revealed the news about the Acromantula, and invited him to attend the funeral.

Loren stroked the stone in his pocket and observed the different colors on the bodies of several people. Harry was still surrounded by the golden color of Felicis Felix, Hagrid's sadness was a cold gray, and Slughorn was hiding the excitement in his heart.

It's a pity that Aragog has been dead for some time and his body does not have any special color.

"Um, Hagrid, I don't want to be disrespectful to your friend, but the venom of the Acromantula is extremely rare. Can you let me take some? It's purely for academic research."

"Well, it's not going to be used anyway, is it?"

"Thank you, Aragog, in the name of potions!" Slughorn said excitedly, and happily stepped forward to take out the ampoule and collected the spider venom neatly. The senior professor of potions had skillful movements.

The venom of the eight-eyed giant spider is expensive, but Loren still has dozens of ounces of it in reserve in his pendant, so he doesn't think much about it.

"Aragog relied on its venom to settle down in the Forbidden Forest and carve out a breeding ground for his tribe." Hagrid watched him extract the venom with a nostalgic look in his eyes.

Slughorn took two full tubes and returned to his original place contentedly. Seeing the sadness on Hagrid's face, he immediately restrained his smile and deliberately showed a heavy expression: "Would you like me to say a few words of eulogy?"

"of course."

"Farewell, Aragog, Lord of Spiders. Your long and loyal friendship will never be forgotten by those who knew you! Though your body may decay, your spirit lives on in the quiet, web-woven places of your forest home. May your many-eyed offspring continue to multiply, and may your human friends find comfort in their grief..."

(End of this chapter)