Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 681 The Eight-Eyed Giant Spider Society
"Take a stroll?" Hagrid was taken aback at first, then his excitement became visibly apparent. If it weren't for the somewhat inappropriate timing, Hagrid would have clapped his hands in celebration.

"Yay, yay, that's great, Aragok, I love exploring your new home!"

An indescribable feeling welled up in Haig's heart, a mixture of excitement, joy, and a touch of bittersweetness, as if his own child, whom he had raised, had finally bought a house independently and invited him to visit his new home.

“First, this is it.” Aragog led Hagrid around the flimsy wooden door and walked behind it.

Hagrid then noticed a giant, club-like stone pillar not far from where they were standing. The pillar rose from the ground, its surface rough and seemingly hollowed out, riddled with countless holes of all sizes.

As Hagrid followed Aragog closer to the pillar, he could hear the rushing water and feel the dampness in the air.

“Mr. Tierra said this is my residence,” Aragok explained slowly. “The top of this pillar is the highest point in the entire Spider City, and Mr. Tierra said I can see the whole Spider City from the top of the pillar.”

“Wow, that’s fantastic!” Hagrid exclaimed. “And what’s that sound of water?”

“Mr. Tierra helped us tap into the groundwater here,” Aragok continued. “He said that if we encounter a drought or a season without rain, we can use our spider silk to draw water from here and then irrigate our grass.”

"Watering the grass?" Hagrid asked, puzzled. "Why do you water the grass?"

“Mr. Tierra said…” Aragog seemed to be trying hard to recall what Tierra had said. “He said… he said we should plant a kind of grass, and then give it to… well, give it to some four-legged creatures, yes, I think it was cows and sheep, to let them eat it, and then when they grow up we will eat them. Well, that’s the idea. Mr. Tierra taught us the magic of turning grass into meat.”

"Cows? Sheep?" Hagrid seemed unable to believe his ears and asked in shock, "Tiera was handed over to your livestock?"

“Ah, yes, yes, yes, that’s the word Tiera used. He calls it livestock,” Aragok said.

“Oh, Merlin’s beard!” Hagrid said.

“Ah, yes, there is such a word.” Aragok added, “When Tiera brought over the cows and sheep, those four-legged animals, and then saw my children immediately eat more than a dozen of them, he said the same thing. I’ve never understood what that sentence meant.”

“Uh, no, it’s nothing. Hmm. What about those four-legged creatures like cows and sheep?” Hagrid asked.

“Mr. Tierra said that if we do as he says, he guarantees that we will have an endless supply of fresh flesh and blood to eat,” Aragok said. “So I have ordered my descendants not to eat those four-legged creatures called cows and sheep.”

“And then?” Hagrid asked. “And where did you keep those cattle and sheep?” “There.” Aragog led Hagrid further out—

After walking for about half an hour, Hagrid saw the edge of the giant sequoia forest. Near the edge of the forest, there were many broad-leaved giant grasses that were over a meter or even nearly two meters tall. These must have been the pasture that Tiera had planted for the eight-eyed giant spiders.

“Mr. Tiera gave us the seeds of this pasture,” Aragok said as he walked. For an ordinary person, traversing such a tall and dense pasture would be a very difficult task, but for the King of the Eight-Eyed Spiders, who was about the size of a small elephant, and Hagrid, a half-giant who was more than three meters tall and nearly four meters tall, it was not a difficult task at all.

"Oh, Hagrid, be careful not to step on my child," Aragog warned as Hagrid crossed the meadow.

“Mr. Tierra brought us seeds of pasture grass and demonstrated how to plant them,” Aragok said. “Then he used magic to make the patch of grass he planted grow instantly.”

“Mr. Tierra said we can let the newborn babies live in this pasture,” Aragok added. “Mr. Tierra said this single, lush pasture will inevitably attract insects like grasshoppers, which will be a natural food source for our newborn baby giant spiders. This way, the pasture will be protected, and our babies will be fed.”

“Oh my God, that’s a really clever and wise idea!” Hagrid exclaimed.

“Mr. Tierra only helped us sow this patch,” Aragok said, waving one of his eight giant legs. “He made us sow the rest ourselves.”

Hagrid looked in the direction Aragog pointed and saw a group of giant spiders, probably in their juvenile stage and no bigger than a pug, lying on the ground, sowing grass seeds no bigger than grains of rice one by one in an open space next to the area planted with pasture grass.

They used their two forelimbs to dig a shallow hole in the soft, damp soil, put the grass seeds in, and then covered them with a thin layer of soil.

“Mr. Tierra said that once we have fully mastered the techniques of planting and animal husbandry, he will come back and teach us the magic to make these pastures grow quickly,” Aragok added. “That way, we can raise more cattle and sheep and feed more of my descendants.”

“That’s fantastic!” Hagrid exclaimed happily. “This way, you’ll never again be killing each other because of hunger… um… and… and…”

“Yes, Hagrid, yes,” Aragog replied. “Although we can’t eat the cattle and sheep used for breeding and growth yet, Mr. Tierra has also brought us old or sick cattle, sheep, pigs, and some small animals called rabbits, rats, stray cats, and stray dogs. Although these animals we eat are all, well, more or less a little bit diseased, it doesn’t affect the taste; they are still very fresh and delicious.”

"That's fantastic!" Hagrid exclaimed with a hearty laugh. "Now you can focus all your energy on raising these cattle and sheep!"

“Yes, Hagrid, yes,” Aragog said. “Following Mr. Tierra’s advice, if we can survive one breeding season, the calves and lambs we produce will be enough to feed every one of my descendants!”

(End of this chapter)