Chapter 290: Dreams and Illusions

Ivan spent the night thinking about it.

Deep inside him there was an irrepressible excitement to break into the Acromantulas' nest to fight them, to kill Aragog, to prove his strength to the centaurs, to win their recognition and to pass the final test, to get what Gryffindor had left behind.

Children are often adventurous, always enjoying the adventure and the struggle.

So was Ivan, though not as enthusiastic as Harry and Ron. But he had been preparing for this for the past few months, and even prepared some dark magic spells for this, with the only problem being that he couldn't find a viable way into Aragog's Lair.

Now, all problems were solved, and the only thing left was to fight.

Ivan put his wand under his pillow and made a decision.

By the time he had fallen asleep, he found himself once again facing Aragog's huge cave.

In front of him were the misty, domed cobwebs and the cold, damp air.

He was shivering badly and didn't know what had happened.

The last thing he remembered was that he was still lying in his warm, comfortable bed; how could he suddenly come to this place, to the depths of the Forbidden Forest?

Ivan increased his vigilance. He heard a strange voice, as if someone was talking next to him.

The next second, Ivan heard it clearly, and in the cave in front of him, a deep voice called out to him. The voice, in the endless darkness, seemed to come from the unknown depths of the earth, whispering incessantly, and Ivan was unable to hear clearly what it was saying.

He shook his head. This was clearly the Lair of the Acromantulas, but there were none of them around.

Other than the whispers in his ears, the dark Forbidden Forest was silent, and everything was very abnormal.

Following the source of the voice, he slowly descended the gentle slope into the dark Lair, and behind the huge vaulted lattice, he saw an ancient and mysterious bluestone door with a blurred sign on it.

If it wasn't certain that he came from a Muggle family with no magical lore or talent, Ivan would now begin to wonder if he had a prophetic lineage, and if one of his ancestors was a legendary sage or soothsayer.

It was because this dream was too clear, clear enough to scare him.

Ivan didn't know what was waiting for him behind the door. He wanted to ask Aragog, but the giant spider was completely out of his sight.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, if this is just a dream," Ivan whispered, concentrating on the magical ripples around him.

He did not immediately open the stone door before him, as he remembered an old magic book he had recently read, and the strange magic described in it.

Ivan had a sudden conjecture that he might have caught the attention of an unknown creature in Aragog's Lair on the night a few months ago, the night he went after Peter Pettigrew and burned Aragog's Lair.

Perhaps everything he saw now was not just fantasy; perhaps the essence of this dream was not just his own mind.

Unlike a prophecy, this dream could be the creation of a powerful, unknown creature in the depths of the cave. This creature might want him to see this. Perhaps, all he would see behind this door could be something it wanted Ivan to find.

Thinking about this, Ivan suddenly shuddered.

Being able to cast such an incredible illusion spell that still affected him even after months only meant that the magical power of that unknown creature was even stronger than Dumbledore's. Perhaps that was why Dumbledore did not find it hiding in the depths of the Forbidden Forest.

A magical creature or a wizard even more powerful than Dumbledore, Ivan no longer dared to think about it. He didn't know who the other person was, or what he wanted to do; but it definitely wasn't going to be a good thing.

Maybe that was why Aragog's strength was beyond the limitations of the Acromantula species. The owner of the voice could be the source of his strength.

Now, it was calling him, not his servant, what did he want to do?

The more he thought about it, the more afraid Ivan became. Combining his knowledge of magic with the magic books he had recently read, he felt his guess was very likely. A horrible unknown creature was influencing him through magic.

The only thing to be thankful for was that the other side was stranded in Aragog's lair, sealed behind the ancient stone door and unable to get out.

There must be extremely harsh conditions to be met before releasing it.

Curiosity killed the cat, Ivan put away the curiosity he had just awakened, unconsciously took a step back, his inner instinct told him that no matter what was inside, what he needed to do now was to stay away, even in the illusion of dreams. He also needed to stay away from the stone door in front of him, from Aragog's lair, from the owner of this voice.

Otherwise, he would encounter endless opponents and problems that could prove even more troublesome than Voldemort.

There would always be ways to satisfy the centaurs. There was no need to risk the unknown to kill Aragog and contact an ancient and mysterious magical creature.

Just as Ivan was determined to leave, the bluestone door in front of him suddenly opened.

The low whispering became clearer, and Ivan seemed to hear what the other was saying. Then he saw a pair of giant blood-red eyes staring at him behind the stone door. They were too big, too big to be true, and there was no emotion in them.

Beneath the big, bloodshot eyes was a suffocating darkness.

Ivan opened his eyes wide. He raised his wand in a hurry, and before he could cast a spell, everything was beginning to blur together, and he awoke from his sleep.

He sat up in his bed and gasped for breath, all over his body was cold sweat.

It was almost three in the morning in the middle of the night and he felt like he had had a terrible nightmare, but it was so strange that he couldn't remember anything.

The bedroom was quiet and Ivan was very thirsty. As quietly as he could, he got up from his bed and went to pour some water from the silver pitcher under the window. He tried to remember what he had just dreamed, but he couldn't even remember anything. He could only vaguely sense that the dream was related to Aragog's lair.

Ivan shook his head and tried not to think about it.

He thought he was too excited about the battle ahead.

He took a sip of water and looked out the window. There was no one in the playground. Not a breath of wind disturbed the treetops in the Forbidden Forest. The Whomping Willow stood motionless.

"Anyway, if I go to Aragog's lair and explore it, everything will come out!" Ivan said to himself.

Perhaps, self-comfort had played a role. Feeling more peace of mind, he put down his cup and returned to his bed to sleep again.

This time, he slept very heavily and dreamed of nothing.