"I estimate that Hagrid simply didn't recognise Aragog's danger. He thought that since Aragog promised not to harm humans, we would be safe, never imagining that Aragog wouldn't restrain its offspring at all," Harry said with obvious frustration.
"But now that we've killed Aragog, when Hagrid returns, I wonder if he'll blame us?"
"Blame us? He still has the nerve to blame us?" Ron's voice rose several octaves. "If it weren't for Dudley, we'd already be delicious food in these spiders' mouths by now."
"Besides, judging from these spiders' behaviour, once Aragog dies and so many giant spiders lose their restraint, that would be the truly terrifying thing."
Just thinking about the Forbidden Forest being filled with these giant spiders made Ron shudder with revulsion.
"When the time comes, we'll tell Hagrid honestly. If he blames us for this, then we don't need to continue being friends with him," Dudley said matter-of-factly.
He believed Hagrid wouldn't intentionally harm them, but Hagrid's thought processes were sometimes truly peculiar.
These giant spiders' instincts were inherently evil. Hagrid wouldn't be attacked by these spiders because of his relationship with raising Aragog, but other people weren't the same.
When Hagrid told Dudley this information, he hadn't even pointed out the potential dangers involved, showing just how dangerously naive he was.
It was fortunate that Dudley's strength was formidable enough to handle the current situation. Otherwise, he really didn't know how Harry and the others would have escaped if they had rashly entered the Forbidden Forest.
That was already beyond what someone Harry's age could normally accomplish. Unless they were extremely lucky and escaped the Forbidden Forest through other means, in a direct confrontation, Harry's group would have had no chance at all.
"You all rest for a bit. I'll clean up the battlefield," Dudley said after surveying the carnage.
After Dudley finished speaking, he walked toward Aragog's corpse.
This giant spider's body had been burnt quite severely by the Fiendfyre, with not much remaining. However, fortunately, its head hadn't suffered too much damage, allowing him to extract quite a bit of valuable venom.
After removing the charred parts, Dudley stored Aragog's corpse in the Mirror of Erised.
Then Dudley began checking the surroundings, piling up all the severely damaged corpses together, while storing all the bodies that hadn't suffered too much damage in the Mirror of Erised.
These could all be sold for substantial money.
"Dudley, what do you plan to do with these giant spider corpses?" Harry asked with obvious curiosity.
"I have my own channels to sell them," Dudley said casually.
Borgin and Burkes definitely couldn't refuse so many giant spider corpses, especially with their precious venom.
"When I sell them for money, I'll split it with you all," Dudley offered.
"Split it with us?" Ron was stunned by the generous offer.
"The spiders were killed by all of us together, so naturally I should split it with you."
"Everyone gets a fair share!"
Dudley smiled warmly.
Money wasn't particularly precious to him. If he wanted money, he could use the Philosopher's Stone to obtain plenty of gold. There was no need to sell spiders for money.
But this money would be very necessary for Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Especially Ron.
If he gave him money directly, he definitely wouldn't accept it. But if it was money from selling spiders he had killed himself, he wouldn't refuse.
This money would be enough for him to live quite comfortably for some time. For example, buying a new wand or getting new robes.
Although Ron never complained about his family situation, you could tell he also longed to have things he wanted, rather than always using old things left behind by his brothers.
"This... but we didn't contribute much. You were mainly the one who acted," Hermione said modestly.
The three of them combined probably hadn't killed as many spiders as Dudley alone.
"We're a team. Don't haggle over these things. If it had been just me alone, I might not have dared fight these spiders at all. I would have just run away," Dudley said with a laugh.
Harry's trio smiled at each other.
They all knew this was Dudley comforting them. Given the combat power Dudley had previously displayed, it was impossible he would flee without fighting.
A glimmer of hope appeared in Ron's eyes.
Even if he couldn't get much money, it should be enough for him to replace some worn items. He could even already see himself in Ollivander's wand shop selecting a proper wand in his mind.
After Dudley finished cleaning the battlefield, he burnt the piled-up spider corpses completely clean with fire.
As for those escaped spiders, Dudley didn't pursue them further.
If these spiders could peacefully stay in the Forbidden Forest without causing trouble, he wouldn't exterminate them all. But if they continued harming people, it would be necessary to clear out all the giant spiders here.
"Let's go. We should head back," Dudley said.
The group looked back once at the spider nest Dudley had burnt down and left together.
Thud, thud...
After walking just a few steps, they suddenly heard some mechanical banging sounds.
Then two beams of light came toward them, shining directly on Dudley's and the others' faces.
"That's... a car?" Dudley's gaze focused slightly as he saw a familiar vehicle. During the earlier battle, Dudley had sensed something around them, but he had been too busy to pay attention. Now it seemed this car had been waiting here all along.
"Oh! My god, that's my dad's car!" Ron exclaimed with recognition.
Harry also recognised it immediately.
This was the flying car they had driven to school, the one that had crashed into the Whomping Willow and then charged into the Forbidden Forest and disappeared. They hadn't expected to see it here.
Vroom!
The car gunned its engine and drove up, stopping directly in front of Dudley's group, then automatically popped open its doors.
"Is it telling us to get in?" Dudley asked with obvious surprise.
The car seemed to understand Dudley's words. Its door opened and closed repeatedly, as if nodding or inviting them to get in quickly.
"Let's go!" Dudley climbed in and sat in the driver's seat, while Harry's trio quickly squeezed into the car.
Bang!
After everyone got in, the car suddenly started up. Without needing Dudley to drive, it headed straight out of the Forbidden Forest with purpose.
"This car..." Dudley looked at the automobile with burning curiosity.
He felt this car seemed to already have its own consciousness, similar to a living magical artefact.
This was truly amazing.
I wonder what enchantments Mr Weasley added, or what magic he built into this car to give it intelligence, Dudley thought to himself.
Perhaps he could ask Mr Weasley about it later.
Twenty minutes later, the car rushed out of the Forbidden Forest, and its doors popped open automatically.
Harry's trio was directly ejected, rolling to a stop three or four metres away with obvious discomfort.
Only Dudley got out of the vehicle himself with dignity.
"Thank you," Dudley said his thanks to the car.
The car closed its doors, turned around, and charged back into the Forbidden Forest, quickly disappearing from sight.