Elsewhere, Dumbledore had already arrived just outside the Forbidden Forest.
Though the ward he'd left behind remained intact, his expression hadn't eased in the slightest. The closer he drew to the forest, the stronger the sense of unease growing in his chest.
Dumbledore stepped up to the edge of the ward, reached out a hand, and after a ripple like water passing through the air, his body had already crossed to the other side.
Feeling the heavy, oppressive presence pressing in around him, Dumbledore let out a sigh.
He still had no idea where that spider-like creature had come from.
If it too was somehow tied to whoever was hiding behind all this, then whoever they were, their reach was frightening indeed.
He lingered a moment, then pressed on toward the forest's depths. Along the way he noticed the small spider-like creatures had grown far more numerous, while many of the magical creatures that used to be common sightings had all but vanished.
The deeper he went, the thicker the webs became, until eventually the webs were simply everywhere, stretching between even the treetops in great sprawling sheets.
"Its territory has grown this large already? How could the centaurs possibly..."
Dumbledore's steps came to a halt. He'd already guessed where the unease in his chest had been coming from.
With a soft crack, he vanished, and when he reappeared, he was standing in the middle of the centaur settlement.
But there was nothing here now except silence.
Dried bloodstains still marked patches of the ground.
Dumbledore gave his wand a light flick, and a scattering of glowing, mottled footprints lit up across the earth.
"These prints resemble a centaur's, but there are scorch marks on them... some of the centaurs must have gotten away," he thought.
He pointed his wand at one set of prints, then followed the trail of light until he finally found the survivors hidden away in a concealed burrow.
Those who'd lived were only the old, the young, the mothers. Every centaur warrior among them was dead.
"So the ones who attacked you were two riders, mounted on burning skeletal horses, their bodies hidden entirely beneath armor?"
Dumbledore drew the answer he'd been seeking from one of the older centaurs.
"Flaming skeletal steeds, armored warriors of monstrous strength... why would they slaughter the centaurs? This is only growing more tangled."
Dumbledore had no idea what to make of it.
After promising to find the tribe a new and safer territory, he took his leave.
For all his vast learning, even the greatest wizard alive couldn't have guessed at the terrible potency of necromantic magic from another world entirely.
True to his nature, whatever he couldn't puzzle out, Dumbledore set aside for the time being. He still had a letter to write to the Ministry, asking them to find the centaurs a new home to settle.
Back at the castle, he sought out Snape once more, told him everything about the forest, then retreated to his office to draft his letter to the Ministry.
Snape's head ached just listening to it.
Hogwarts hadn't even finished sorting out its own troubles, and now something this serious had happened out in the forest.
An entire centaur tribe, and every one of its warriors wiped out. It was chilling just to think about. It was only fortunate that the school had already issued a ban on the forest after the spider creature first turned up, or if some student had wandered in and come to harm, Hogwarts might well have had to shut its doors.
Over the following month, Altair kept himself fairly quiet. Aside from brewing the Uruk-hai potion, he spent his time helping Hermione practice magic or watching Quidditch Cup matches together with her.
Hogwarts, too, settled back into its usual calm, with nothing else strange occurring, much to every professor's relief.
Of course, a few notable things did happen during that stretch.
First, at the Ministry. Once Minister Fudge learned what had happened in the forest, he approved Dumbledore's request and secured a new forest for the centaur tribe to settle.
He then went a step further and sent a squad of Aurors over to investigate, though a thorough search turned up nothing. During the search, a few Aurors, ignoring Dumbledore's warnings, tried to go finish off the spider creature deep in the forest, and paid dearly for it. Word was that one Auror had been bitten by Aragog's fangs, and though he was pulled out alive, he didn't survive the night once they got him back.
Because of this, Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, along with Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office, personally came out to Hogwarts. After confirming just how dangerous Aragog was rated, they sent two full squads of Aurors into the forest's depths.
The outcome, though, left much to be desired. Both sides came away badly hurt. The Aurors suffered heavy losses, and Aragog fared little better, two of his eight legs broken, several of his eyes blinded, until he finally retreated into an underground burrow.
The remaining Aurors didn't dare push any further underground and were forced to pull back, leaving only two behind to keep watch at the forest's edge.
Still, needing to vent their frustration, the Aurors wiped out every last Acromantula they could find throughout the forest, collecting several thousand pints of venom in the process.
When Hagrid caught wind of it, he broke down in tears, and held a small memorial for Aragog just outside his hut, with only Harry and Ron in attendance.
Dumbledore never told him the truth, that Aragog had actually been devoured while getting rather too friendly with Aragog's monstrous new neighbor. Hagrid remained convinced the Aurors were the ones who'd killed the great spider.
Over that same month, Harry and Ron hadn't been idle either, chasing down the name Nicolas Flamel, determined to figure out just what the three-headed dog was guarding. Every day they buried themselves happily in one book after another, to the point where Hermione began to suspect the two of them had simply lost their minds.
And so a quiet month passed, until Altair's system summoning permissions received an update.
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