When dinner was over, the four sat in the common room, watching the clock, knowing that their nighttime adventure would break curfew, so they’d have a million reasons to get in trouble if they were caught. John’s biggest fear was Umbridge, but they also needed to look out for Filtch, Mrs. Norris, Peeves, and Snape, so he’d say that their odds weren’t good. John had his doubts that Umbridge would actually leave the school, but as long as it sent the message to students to destroy her than it was okay to John. The clock ticked past, eleven thirty is when John and Sherlock would leave, get the niffler, put it into Umbridge’s office without being caught, and escape back to the common room before twelve. John knew it would be tough, especially since it seemed like Umbridge would have some type of defense or security, but he had to think positive, if he knew the mission was to fail then there was no point on going anyway. He wasn’t worried about himself, but more so Sherlock, if he got him expelled he’d never forgive himself. Sherlock looked pretty excited though, he actually had a smile on his face as he watched the clock eagerly. John’s stomach was twisting, but soon the common room was almost empty and the hours grew until eleven thirty rolled around.
“You’re sure this is a good idea?” John asked doubtfully.
“Nope, good luck, have fun, if you get us in trouble I’ll kill you.” Greg said with a smile, and with that he almost pushed John out the portrait hole, Sherlock at his side. Once the picture shut, the Fat Lady rambling about how they were going to get caught and other things they just ignored, it felt official. They were on the battle ground, one teacher or ghost that they pass might and could get them expelled.
“I’m so ready for this.” Sherlock said, jumping up and shaking his arms out.
“Shh!” John hissed. There wasn’t anyone around, but John wasn’t going to take any risks again, especially after the little camping trip in the cupboard. He looked around the halls, around the corners, looking behind him, just in case anyone was lurking in the shadows, but to his relief it was clear, for now at least. They crept down to the front doors, which weren’t open, but with a little bit of well used spells Sherlock made a section of the wood vanish, letting them both out without a sound. When the door was sealed up, they crept through the almost freezing air down to lawn, John straining his eyes just to see where he was stepping.
“What do we ask Hagrid?” John hissed, nervous that the game keeper would throw them out.
“I bet he hates her just as much as us.” Sherlock answered, which made sense. John could barely see the Ravenclaw through the darkness; if it wasn’t for his pale skin then John would only see his outline. In the darkness he looked like some type of teen vampire from some rubbish love movie, which wasn’t exactly reassuring.
“John hurry up!” Sherlock hissed, picking up his pace to the dark shape of the hut, still a stream of smoke rising from the chimney. John jogged to keep up, but Sherlock was already at the hut, knocking lightly. Immediately there were booming barks from Fang, Hagrid’s boar hound, who was really a gentle giant.
“Who is it?” Hagrid called from inside, and John heard clicking, which sounded suspiciously like a crossbow being loaded.
“John Watson and Sherlock Holmes!” Sherlock called through the door. John noticed that Sherlock had said his name first instead of his own, which seemed like a very unSherlocky thing to do. The door creaked open a small crack and Hagrid’s beetle black eyes appeared in the crack of lantern light.
“What do you two want at this hour?” he asked, his voice still thick with sleepiness.
“We were wondering, sir, if we could borrow a niffler.” John explained quickly, just now considering how bad of a plan this was.
“I’m not going to ask questions, but I let them loose in the forest, now you two run off to your houses, I don’t want to hear about it again.” Hagrid growled, and with that the door snapped shut and the curtains were drawn, the light fading from behind them. John and Sherlock stood at the door, wondering what to do. John was perfectly happy with leaving it go and going back up to the castle to his nice warm bed. The cold was starting to freeze his hands; he stuffed them in his pockets in an attempt to regain heat. He walked off the porch and started to head in the direction of the castle when Sherlock grabbed his arm, pulling him back. John looked at him with annoyance, he was tired and this wasn’t the time for games. But Sherlock wore a mischievous smile that made John’s hair crawl. He had an idea alright.
“Well, he said he let them go in the forest, their probably still there.”  Sherlock said. John took a moment to make sure he was actually hearing him correctly.
“No!” John hissed, knowing Hagrid was still in the cabin and probably able to hear every work they said.
“They can’t go far, they burrow, it will be simple to find one of the holes at the edge of the forest!” Sherlock pointed out. John shook his head in protest, shaking Sherlock’s hand off of his arm and starting to walk towards the castle. There was no way he was going in there, especially not at night, all of the monsters were prowling at this time, it was suicide just to go in there. But Sherlock ran in front of him, blocking his path to freedom and safety.
“Come on John, we came out here for a reason, we should finish the job!” Sherlock protested.
“I said no, it’s too dangerous, we’ll die out there!” John protested.
“If you don’t go, I guess I’ll just have to go alone.” Sherlock said in a mocking tone, walking backwards so John still had to look at him if he wanted to go to the castle. But John stopped, half worried half annoyed at his stubborn friend.
“Don’t you dare!” he hissed. Sherlock shrugged, walking around him sideways so that he could still stare at John with puppy dog eyes that melted his heart.
“I guess I’ll just have to face the dangers alone, in the dark, if something happens, no one will find me for weeks, do you really want your dear friend to die alone?” Sherlock asked, his voice thick with fake drama.
“I will pull you to this castle if it kills me.” John growled. Sherlock walked backwards again, and John took a moment to admire his balance, if John had walked downhill backwards in the dark he’d land on the back of his head.
“Goodbye John.” Sherlock said very seriously, and the shadows from the hill consumed him, shielding him from John’s eyes. John cursed Sherlock in his head, but he couldn’t allow him to go into the forest alone, if something did happen he’d never forgive himself. John ran down the hill, worried Sherlock had already gone into the forest when he couldn’t see him immediately. Sherlock was gone, and the edge of the forest was dark and threatening, daring John to enter. There was a small path in between the trees and the bushes, John couldn’t see where it led, it was too dark, so he got out his wand to light the way.
“So you’ll be joining me?” Sherlock whispered from behind him, making John jump so much he almost jinxed him.
“Bloody hell Sherlock, I swear you’ll get us both killed.” John hissed. “Lumos.”  The blue wand light illuminated the twisted roots and rocks along the path, a small circle of light the only thing protecting them from the inky darkness. Sherlock lit his wand too, pushing past John to lead the way down the path, not even hesitating.
“Look for burrows.” He instructed, pointing his light at the ground to search. John’s stomach twisted, he searched the shadows for any sign of movement, looking around desperately for any monster stalking them.
“Sherlock I don’t like this.” He muttered, walking fast to catch up to his friend, who was searching the ground without a care in the world.
“Did you hear that?” John hissed, clutching Sherlock’s arm, having heard a twig or something snap in the woods beyond. Sherlock sighed, lifting his wand to look around the surrounding area like an annoyed parent checking under a bed for monsters at one o’clock in the morning.
“I didn’t hear anything.” he muttered. John didn’t let, go of his arm, standing close as if Sherlock’s being there would protect him. Sherlock smiled at him. “A little clingy when you’re scared huh?” he laughed. John didn’t answer, letting go of Sherlock’s arm and stepping a step or two back, just to be safe.
“Shut up.” John hissed. There was silence. Maybe John was imagining it, maybe there was nothing there. Sherlock went back to scanning the ground, leading them deeper into the forest. John scanned the ground at his feet, too scared to go to the edge of the path. He felt like he was at a haunted house, like the ones his mother would take him to before he was at Hogwarts, characters out to scare you at every turn, you were never safe, but this was real, not people in costumes and makeup.
“Did you find anything yet?” John hissed. Sherlock shook his head with disappointment.
“Maybe we should- there goes one!” Sherlock exclaimed, and a brown fuzzy animal scurried across John’s feet and into the forest, definitely a niffler.
“Get it John!” Sherlock yelled, running at full speed past John and plunging into the forest after the animal.
“Sherlock stay on the path!” John yelled, but he had to stay with him, so, cursing Sherlock even more, he took all of his bravery and ran into the forest after him. He couldn’t see Sherlock, but he heard his footsteps racing deeper and deeper, this was the stupidest thing John had ever done, they should stay on the path, they were going to get lost.
“Sherlock come back, it’s not worth it!” John called.
“I’ve almost got it!” Sherlock said back. But John didn’t care about the niffler any more, they could think of a better plan later, once they were safe, he was worried about the creatures of the forest, like werewolves or something. Sherlock kept running though, and now, with all the twists and turns they were making, John was positive that they’d get lost.
“Right there!” Sherlock said excitedly. John followed him, his breath shortening and his legs burning from sprinting so long, he needed a break. But he pushed on, knowing Sherlock’s life could be in jeopardy if he let him wander around by himself.
“Sherlock you’re going to-“John ran right into a dark shape, falling to the ground behind it. He scrambled back in fear, but it turned around and picked him up by the neck of his robes, whispering in Sherlock’s voice, - “Stay extremely quiet, and shut off the light.” John distinguished his wand’s light immediately, staying as quiet as possible, hoping this wasn’t a stupid trap for the niffler. He was about to open his mouth to protest, but then he heard a cracking sound, like a tree being stepped on, and he knew immediately it wasn’t a niffler, it was something much bigger. He stood stone still, trying to slow his rapid breaths and his pounding heart. What was there, lurking in the darkness? He could dimly make out his green eyes, wide with terror. John heard an odd clicking sound, like the thing communicating, and then a sound that sounded disturbingly like scurrying erupted from all around the forest. John grabbed Sherlock’s hand, not caring about the new rule or what Sherlock thought; he was paralyzed with terror, knowing that whatever was out there would want to kill them if they were discovered. This wasn’t just Filtch and a detention; this was life or death with a scurrying giant. Sherlock’s cold fingers wrapped around Johns, but the moment was ruined when John heard the fallen leaves move right next to them. He felt what seemed to be a thin, furry leg brush up against his leg, making him want to scream, using all of his self-control to stand still and quiet. There were more clicking noises, they were definitely communicating, but John still didn’t know what they were. A shadow appeared in front of them, tall and thin, but John found himself flying into the air, hanging upside down by what seemed to be pinchers around his ankles. Sherlock’s hand was ripped from his when another shape pulled Sherlock off of the ground. John didn’t bother faking it, he screamed for his life, struggling against the jaws, trying desperately to free himself.
“Shut up John!” Sherlock hissed.  John closed his mouth immediately, but his entire body was numb with fear. Where they going to be eaten? The things moved them into a clearing, John could tell that much, and the moonlight shone more brightly, showing John the last thing he wanted to see, spiders. Giant spiders, spiders that could eat your car, and in the center was one as big as a house, snapping his pinchers excitedly. John’s dinner escaped him, he was sick all over the ground at the spider’s feet, but they kept moving, closer and closer to the biggest spider. John was shaking with fear, these spiders were going to eat them, he just knew it. There were what seemed to be hundreds of spiders, ranging from common house spider size to monsters. When they were right in front of what seemed to be the lead spider they were dumped into a heap on the cold ground. John scrambled immediately to Sherlock, holding him protectively even though he was probably much more afraid then Sherlock was.
“Who are you?” the great spider’s voice was like nails on a chalk board, terrifying all the same. John felt like he was going to have a heart attack, his heart racing faster than a nimbus 2000.
“Sherlock Holmes and John Watson!” Sherlock squeaked. “We’re students from the school!”
“Students… why have you come to our forest?”
“We came for a niffler sir!” Sherlock said louder. John doubted calling a spider sir would help their case.
“I am Aragog, king of the spiders!” it said proudly, as if John and Sherlock wanted to know who exactly killed them.
“Your majesty, we really didn’t mean to bother you, if you could just let us go…” Sherlock pleaded. John buried his face in Sherlock’s sweet smelling shoulder, trying to shield the world out, these giant talking spiders out to kill them.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, we can’t just let fresh meat go when it wanders so willingly into our forest.” Aragog hissed. John felt tears start rushing down his face, so this was going to be how he died, eaten by giant spiders, no one would ever find their bodies, and they’d be missing forever. John wasn’t ready to die, he didn’t want to, there was so much he wanted to do with his life, he wanted to grow up, and it wasn’t fair!
“Run John!” Sherlock hissed, and with that he jumped to his feet, pulling a now sobbing John with him and casting a spell, which panned out like a bubble and exploded in a burst of white light, blinding the spiders and John, but Sherlock pulled his arm as fast as he could, and soon John was just sprinting for his life, stumbling over spiders and roots blindly, not caring if he twisted an ankle, he just wanted to get out of there as fast as humanly possible. The spiders seemed to be recovering; a great scurrying mass coming after them, and John knew they had no chance of getting away. Sherlock sent a couple of stun spells behind them, but it wouldn’t matter, it was like an ocean wave, there was no escaping it. John’s legs, still in pain from the pinchers, started to burn, but he ignored them. The spiders were gaining on them, soon they would be on top of them, John felt little pinchers grabbing at the fabric of his jeans… Sherlock sent a spell at a tree right in front of them, giving the two just enough to duck underneath the trunk but it came crashing down on the front line of spiders, but they recovered soon enough and the other spiders just climbed over. Sherlock pulled John to the left, where they put on an extra burst of speed, when suddenly Sherlock dived into a shallow cave underneath a rock, one that John would’ve missed himself through all of his tears. He followed Sherlock, sliding like a baseball player over the leaves and rocks, scratching his side painfully, but he didn’t care, he’d take this dark rock crevice to giant spiders any day. He felt Sherlock’s body heat and pushed against it, treasuring the warmth and security another human’s presence brought him. He felt Sherlock’s chest rising and falling rapidly, smelled the fresh sent of spring, maybe the last smell he’d ever smell. The ground above them was now filled with scurrying legs, the leaves being thrown around and the thin spider legs running over the entrance of their cave. John held his breath, willing his heart to stop beating so loudly, and praying the spiders would overlook the small cave. Finally, when he thought all had been lost, the spiders were fading, their numbers lessening and the sounds dying away. When he finally thought the coast was clear, John let out a deep breath of relief, thanking god they were still alive. But then a sharp hiss came from above him and the moonlight was blocked by a single spider, crawling as fast as it could into their little cave. Sherlock reacted quicker than John was able to, pulling out his wand and stunning it, making the spider fall to the ground, it’s legs sticking out at weird angles.
“Kill it Sherlock.” John whispered. Sherlock shook his head, and neither one of them knew how to kill the spider, they only knew how to stun it, but it would recover soon enough. John threw a rock at its head as hard as he could, making a decent gash on what must be its forehead. Then he buried back down and felt his eyes grow hot with brimming tears. He knew the danger wasn’t gone, but the immediate danger was, and looking back he was no help at all. If it wasn’t for Sherlock, he’d be dead.
“All for a stupid niffler.” Sherlock muttered, and John’s tears flowed once again, his head falling back onto Sherlock’s chest, tears of fear, relief, and anger all coming out like an emotional waterfall.  Even though he could defend from giant spiders, Sherlock had no idea what to do in the case of human emotions, so he awkwardly patted John’s back as he felt the tears soak through his robes. When John finally pulled himself together he sat up, hitting his head on the low rock with a painful clunk. So he rolled to the side, hitting the cold stone ground and shivering, even though he was sweating the cold air hit him hard. He didn't know what to say or what to do; they’d have to wait until daylight to risk going out of their safe haven.
“Sherlock…” that was all he could think to say at the moment. Sherlock, thank you for saving my life, Sherlock sorry for leading you into this, Sherlock you’re such an idiot just leave the woods alone, all of these thoughts were flowing through his head but he couldn't think of the right one. He knew that he was pressed very close to Sherlock, but he didn’t have time for recognizing awkwardness any more, he only cared about staying alive for a day longer.
“It’s okay for now.” Sherlock assured. For now yes, but for the long run it was not okay, not at all okay. John wanted to curl up into a protective ball, safe from spiders, safe from Umbridge, Filtch, Snape, everyone that has ever been mean to him, but here he was curled up in a cave with danger on the outside and Sherlock on the inside, so he supposed it wasn’t all bad. They didn’t sleep that night; John was awake all night, straining his ears for any spec of movement from the outside world. The spider Sherlock stunned never recovered, John supposed it was dead from the rock he threw at it. The entire night was spent with fear, constant fear, John managed not to start crying, but barely a word was spoken.