great-warnovel Chapter 55 The Castle Chase
Chapter 55 The Castle Chase
Sure enough, after several attempts to fly out of the potion cauldron using his "spring legs" and "winged cloak," Lucius seemed to have found a way.
He pulled a bottle of dark green potion from his magic bag: "This was originally prepared for Dumbledore, a potion that could send him to his death, cursed by Voldemort himself."
"Looks like I'll have to use it here first."
Indeed, the best way to ruin a potion is to add another potion to it.
But Lucius dared not gamble. Given Lily's potion-making skills, she had probably already calculated the results of adding any common potion to this potion-making ritual. Some might have no effect, some might accelerate the potion-making process, and others might completely annihilate everything in the pot.
But this potion, specifically designed to destroy life and end everything, was cursed by Voldemort and its quality was far beyond Lily's calculations. Therefore, this was the only way to break the deadlock.
With a heavy heart, he uncorked the bottle and splashed the potion onto the swirling liquid in the air.
The next moment, the dark green death potion, like an eraser, effortlessly and silently turned all liquids and substances it encountered into wisps of smoke.
Without any violent reaction, explosion, or boiling, the potion instantly dissolved Lily's pre-planned ritual. If she were here, she might have been able to instantly change her mind and manipulate the potion ritual, but unfortunately, there are no "ifs." She was outside the castle, locked in a fierce battle with Snape, and this ingenious idea was thus brutally destroyed.
The magic-suppressing effect dissipated, and Lucius tapped his cane, feeling the return of magic. He looked up at Hagrid and the other man above the cave.
Just as he looked up, a huge black shadow descended from the sky, Hagrid carrying a heavy stone pillar, crashing down on his head.
"Boom!" Smoke and dust billowed up as Hagrid and Lucius stood facing each other on the shattered platform. In the giant half-human, half-spider's hands, broken stone pillars slowly scattered, and many of the alchemical artifacts on Lucius's body lost their luster.
"Damn it, at this rate, I'm afraid we won't be able to take care of them..." Lucius stared at Hagrid, while constantly looking for Hermione in the corner of his eye.
It's true that he has many magical items, but the continuous high-intensity battle from now until now has caused him to lose a lot of alchemical artifacts, which are all money.
Hagrid is incredibly strong, and his powerful magic resistance allows him to charge in and fight against spells head-on. However, his weakness is also obvious: his magic level is too low, and he can be easily outmaneuvered by Lucius in a one-on-one fight.
But Hermione, who was hiding, could make up for this perfectly. The first-year girl who had already mastered the Disillusionment Charm, who knows how many other spells she had learned. With her help, Hagrid's threat level would rise sharply. And once all the alchemical items on his body were violently taken away, Granger's light blade would be ready to be unleashed.
And then there are these eight-eyed spiders gathering together. When they surge in like a tidal wave, the bombs on his body probably won't be enough.
"Perhaps it's time to retreat," he thought to himself.
Cooperation with Voldemort was naturally not going to be very reliable. Although it was painful not to become the true lord of Malfoy Castle, his life was more important. Given his status, as long as he escaped back to Malfoy Castle, even if Dumbledore held him accountable afterward, he could at most just pay to settle the matter. He would not really risk his life for Voldemort.
With a horizontal gesture of his cane, the stones on the ground transformed into giant snakes that lunged at Hagrid with their gaping maws. But Hagrid remained fearless, his eight-eyed spider beneath him acting like a charging tank, crushing all the stone snakes that crashed into him.
Lucius's transformation abilities still couldn't compare to McGonagall's; the strength of his shapeshifting creatures was too low. If he could simply transform into a real basilisk, he could probably end the battle immediately.
Facing Hagrid's charge, the defense professor did not confront him head-on. Instead, two wings sprouted from his cloak, pulling him into the air. Then, a powerful Explosion Charm was hurled at Hagrid's head, followed by two alchemical bombs, attempting to amplify its power.
But before the bombs could fall, two swift Radiant Stone Shards detonated them prematurely, causing Lucius, who was flying in the air, to lose his balance.
Hagrid below leaped up amidst the thunderous explosion, his hair and beard charred yellow and streaked with sparks, but that was all.
The fangs of the eight-eyed spider and Hagrid's iron fist arrived simultaneously. Lucius hastily threw out a magic cloak to cover Aragog's mouth, but he was also punched away. Several of his armor-enhancing items were broken, but this gave him a chance to escape.
Following Hagrid's momentum, he flapped his wings and flew rapidly toward the fourth-floor corridor door, simultaneously scattering large amounts of powder that shimmered with dangerous light to block the spider swarm from approaching.
Hagrid fell back to the floor of the hall. Hermione appeared out of thin air, helped Aragog remove his cloak, and then jumped onto his back, clinging tightly to Hagrid's clothes.
"We can't let him get away! That bell is still affecting the ghosts!"
With a wave of her staff, a gust of wind dispelled the crystalline mist laid down by Lucius, and Hagrid leaped forward, quickly closing the distance between them.
Aragok leaped into the air, his silk glands surging, and he suddenly sprayed out a strong spider web, covering his target.
The hundred-meter distance was covered in an instant. In his hasty escape, old Malfoy waved his wand, and the wings behind him broke off into a shower of feathers, which blocked the spider web for a moment. He then turned into a cloud of black smoke and rushed out of the corridor door.
Hagrid used the cave pillars as cover and made two leaps to reach the door. He disregarded the narrow wooden door, smashed through the frame, and squeezed into the corridor.
But the castle corridors were still too narrow for Aragog, and even though he could move with all eight legs, it was still difficult for him to catch up with the fleeing Malfoy.
Just as Hermione was worrying, Hagrid triumphantly pulled out his little pink umbrella, tapped Aragog, and the next second, he shrunk to the size of a normal person, spider and all.
"This is the only magic I'm proficient in, but Aragog doesn't like it, so I usually let him have his way," Hagrid chuckled.
Hermione, perched on Hagrid's back, pointed forward: "Chase!"
"Don't worry, Aragog has a very keen sense of smell; he can't escape!"
Even after shrinking, Aragog was not slow. Its agile eight legs could walk directly on the walls and ceilings. It followed the scent of old Malfoy and crawled quickly through the corridors like a ghost. Fortunately, there were no students left in the castle at this time, otherwise it would have scared people to death.
Ghosts spotted Lucius and Hagrid, but Lucius's bells could control them, while Hermione raised her spirit fire to drive away the ghosts, and neither side was hindered by the dead.
Hermione lay on Hagrid's back, looking out the window at the castle. Without McGonagall's help, the dark wizards, though still in disarray, had regained their composure and were exchanging spells with the students organized by the professors. The professors' battle was so intense that it was impossible to tell who would win.
Above, a calamity-like green cloud slowly descended, and a broken stone dragon was struggling to stay afloat, occasionally bursting out with huge flashes and sounds. But everyone could see that when Professor McGonagall was defeated, none of the students below would survive.
Hermione bit her lip, and could only do her best to cast levitation and gravity spells on Hagrid so that he could run faster.