It was late afternoon and the Hufflepuff common room hummed with quiet productivity. The fireplace crackled gently as students huddled over parchment and textbooks, every so often exchanging questions or sighs of shared academic pain.
In the corner near the enchanted window, Hadrian, Iris, and Dora had staked out their usual study spot with an impressive sprawl of books, ink bottles, and half-finished diagrams. Hadrian was sketching magical plant structures for Herbology, Iris practiced her pronunciation for a difficult charm, and Dora was cross-referencing her notes on werewolf legislation with a surprisingly aggressive bite to her quill.
"So," Hadrian said eventually, "what do you two think about taking a little… break?"
Dora looked up, blinking. "Break? Like… putting our heads in buckets of ice water and calling it revision?"
"No," Hadrian chuckled, "I mean a real break. Something adventurous. Something that'll get us out of our heads for a bit."
Iris perked up immediately. "Adventure sounds fun."
Hadrian leaned closer, lowering his voice. "I was thinking… the Forbidden Forest."
There was a beat of silence. Even Dora didn't immediately protest.
"Isn't that, you know… forbidden?" Iris teased, her grin wide.
"Technically," Hadrian allowed, "but if we plan it properly, go in a little ways, have a safety spell chain and come back before curfew—"
"—we might not get caught," Dora finished dryly. But she was already smiling.
Still, Hadrian knew what he was asking. The Forbidden Forest was dangerous. That's what it was for. But he also remembered the deeper risks — the acromantulas, Aragog's monstrous spider colony, nesting in the shadows of canon.
That couldn't stand.
As the girls discussed routes and spells, Hadrian leaned back and opened the book in his mind. The ancient pages waited, ever receptive. He concentrated:
Change: Aragog the acromantula never found a mate in the forest. Though still present in a hidden cave, he remains isolated and solitary. No colony of acromantulas ever formed within the Forbidden Forest.
A ripple of change passed quietly through the invisible plane. The forest remained wild, yes, but not deadly in the same terrifying way. Hadrian breathed out slowly and returned his attention to the present.
"We'll need cloaks," Dora was saying. "And enchanted rope. I don't trust the roots out there."
"I'll bring my directional runes," Iris offered. "The ones I've been practicing."
"Perfect," Hadrian said with a grin. "Saturday night?"
The girls nodded. The plan was sealed.
Outside the enchanted windows, the sun dipped lower on the horizon. Somewhere deep within the forest, a lone acromantula slept, undisturbed and unthreatening, never having raised a brood. And inside, three young students prepared for an adventure.
An adventure that would stretch their legs, sharpen their minds, and maybe even show them a little more of the magic still left untamed in the world.