Harry Potter: My Life as Hermione’s Houseguest

Staring at the utter chaos of the spider nest, Qin Yu finally let out a slow breath. "I did all this?"

"Pretty much. When we got here, Professor Dumbledore and the others had already arrived. We thought the teachers rescued you, but Dumbledore said it was your magic going haywire that caused all this," Fred explained.

"Magic outbursts are actually pretty common among young wizards, especially those from Muggle families. Without any grown-up witches or wizards around to guide them, it's easy for things to get out of hand. Still, what you pulled off was… well, impressive!" There was a note of genuine admiration in George's voice.

At first, the twins had pegged Qin Yu as a kid with a sharp business mind. They hadn't expected he'd be this strong magically—even if it was a little out of control.

Catching their reaction, Qin Yu shot a look at Hagrid. The big man just shrugged, lips sealed. That meant: Dumbledore hadn't told them the whole truth.

Qin Yu quickly understood Dumbledore's reasoning. The secret of being an Obscurial was best kept to a tight circle. Letting too many people know would only cause trouble.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. Time to get to work! Can't you see all those Galleons just waiting for us?" Qin Yu grinned, gesturing at the mountain of Acromantula corpses scattered across the cave.

"Woohoo!" "Let's go!" George and Fred cheered, their excitement infectious.

Even Hagrid couldn't help but break into a wide grin, swept up in the boys' enthusiasm.

And so, the four of them set about the glamorous task of corpse looting—or, as Qin Yu preferred to call it, collecting mini-boss drops.

As for the big boss, Aragog—even Hagrid had no idea where he'd gone. "Probably scared out of his wits. He's hiding somewhere, I reckon," Hagrid told Qin Yu and the twins.

That was one reason they dared come in and scavenge so boldly.

Any little spiders that wandered in now and then? They didn't worry about those at all.

"See this little hole on the Acromantula's fang?" Hagrid pointed out, expertly demonstrating. "That's where the venom comes out. Once they latch onto something, they inject the venom to paralyze or kill. You lot need to be extra careful—always wear gloves. If this stuff touches your skin, you'll get nasty burns, maybe even fever and unconsciousness."

His tone was so matter-of-fact, so knowledgeable, that George and Fred looked at him with newfound respect. This was the sort of magical creature lore you couldn't find in any textbook, but Hagrid rattled it off as if he'd been born with it.

"Alright, Qin, hold a jar underneath. I'll show you how to extract the venom," Hagrid instructed.

Qin Yu quickly set his jar in place. Hagrid took a knife, slit open a section of the spider's head, then reached in with his deerskin-gloved hand, making a series of wet, squelching noises.

"Ugh… That's just nasty," Qin Yu muttered, unable to hide his disgust.

George and Fred looked positively green. The sound reminded them of their mum kneading raw mince for meatballs—except a hundred times worse. They swore, right then and there, never to eat their mother's meatballs or burgers ever again.

"Ah! Got it!" Hagrid announced triumphantly after a moment's rooting around.

He positioned the jar beneath the venom hole, then pressed down inside the spider's head. A thin stream of pale green liquid shot out—right into the jar.

"Whoa! Look at that!" "That's… actually kind of pretty!" the twins exclaimed.

Pretty? Qin Yu thought nervously, gripping the jar. That's not pretty—it's dangerous.

He held his breath, praying none of the Acromantula Venom would splash on him.

Luckily, Hagrid's hands were steady as a rock. Not a drop was wasted.

"All done!" Hagrid said, pulling his hand out with a final squelch.

The boys crowded around to check their haul.

"Seriously? That's it?" George said, disappointed.

"Yeah, maybe two ounces at most," Fred guessed.

One pint was twenty ounces, which meant they'd need to squeeze ten spiders to fill a pint—worth 120 Galleons. (And yes, that's a pint, not a gallon—someone had miscalculated earlier.)

For reference, a pint is about 568 milliliters—just a bit more than a standard water bottle.

So, from now on, our slogan should be: "We don't make venom—we're just nature's delivery guys… or milking crew," Qin Yu joked to himself, already starting to laugh.

"Hey, even if one spider only gives us a bit, we've got a whole cave full!" he said, pointing at the rest of the Acromantulas.

George and Fred nodded so hard they looked like bobbleheads, grinning like kids at a candy shop.

And so, the three boys took turns at the revolting task of milking spiders for venom.

Qin Yu went first—after all, he'd seen enough horror movies and survived enough Defense Against the Dark Arts classes to have a strong stomach.

Copying Hagrid's technique, he used a sharp knife to cut open the spider's mouthparts, exposing the soft tissue. Then he reached in with his gloved hand.

After a bit of fumbling, he found a squishy, deflated balloon-like sac.

"Hold the jar steady!" he told the twins. Then he squeezed the sac, and sure enough, a stream of venom squirted out.

Once they'd drained that spider, the trio moved on to the next one.

The whole process was both disgusting and mind-numbingly repetitive.

They took turns, of course—even Qin Yu's nerves couldn't handle too much at once.

By the time they'd finished, they'd milked over two hundred Acromantulas, collecting more than ten pints of venom.

Looking at the nearly full jars, all three boys, and even Hagrid, wore grins of pure satisfaction.

Even if he lost his appetite for dinner, Qin Yu thought, today was worth it.

…

Acromantulas weren't just valuable for their venom—their eyes, shells, pincers, and more were all prized magical materials.

While the boys milked spiders, Hagrid used his own tools to butcher the emptied carcasses, gathering anything useful and stuffing it all into his sacks.

The four of them worked all morning and well into the afternoon, finally finishing up around two o'clock.

With arms full of jars and sacks, they trudged back to Hagrid's hut—exhausted, filthy, but grinning from ear to ear.

…

Meanwhile, on a hillside not far away, two tall figures watched the scene below—one with a faint smile, the other with a cold, impassive face.

It was Stephen Swinton and Severus Snape.

"Professor Snape, looks like he's having the time of his life," Swinton said, eyebrow raised.

"Professor Swinton, if you ask me, he's nothing but a petty merchant, obsessed with trivial profits," Snape replied acidly.

Swinton chuckled. "There's an old Eastern saying: 'A gentleman may love wealth, but he acquires it by proper means.' I'd say everything Qin collected is rightfully his."

"I just think a child that clever shouldn't be wasting his talents on such things," Snape said, his voice low.

"Wow, first time I've ever heard you compliment someone—especially a child," Swinton teased, genuinely surprised.

Snape just rolled his eyes, half-exasperated.

He turned and began striding toward Hagrid's hut.

"Where are you off to?" Swinton called.

"To ask for some Acromantula Venom. I need it for potions," Snape replied, not bothering to look back.

"Oh, so that's why you called him a merchant—you're worried he'll overcharge you?" Swinton joked, hurrying to catch up.

"Don't be ridiculous. Why would I be afraid of him?" Snape sniffed, his tone as frosty as ever.

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