Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 682 Unlimited Mating Rights

After passing through dense pastures and a large area of ​​land that had been gnawed down to just damp, fluffy skin, Aragog led Hagrid to a vast ranch.

The pasture was enclosed by spider silk and a few thick wooden stakes, simply but solidly divided into dozens of areas of varying sizes. Each area housed anywhere from eleven or twelve cattle or sheep to three or four. Occasionally, some giant eight-eyed spiders would carry freshly harvested hay to feed these well-fed and robust cattle and sheep.

“In Tiera’s words, the one in charge of feeding these animals is the most talented of all my people,” Aragok said as he led Hagrid through the cattle sheds and sheep pen.

"Talent?" Hagrid asked, puzzled.

“After arriving here, Mr. Tierra conducted a test,” Aragok continued. “Mr. Tierra asked me to gather all his descendants with a foot span of over one meter and allow them to hunt a cow or sheep. However, if they could resist their hunting urges within an hour, they would be able to obtain two cows or sheep after an hour.”

"The result?" Hagrid asked curiously.

"The result is that only these children passed the test." Aragog waved his chelicerae and pointed to the figures of the eight-eyed giant spiders busily shuttling between the various cow sheds and sheep pens. "According to Mr. Tierra's orders, these children will have the opportunity to be taught advanced magical skills by Mr. Tierra in the future, and those who make faster progress in magical learning will enjoy unlimited mating rights."

"Unrestricted mating rights?" Hagrid asked, puzzled by the unfamiliar term.

“Mr. Tierra’s order is that we must strictly implement something he calls, um, family planning.” Aragog relayed what Tierra had told him to Hagrid, “That is, apart from the individuals designated by Tierra, other individuals are only allowed to reproduce once more, um, in Tierra’s words, in order to optimize the population structure and evolve towards a direction with stronger organization and higher spell affinity.

“Mr. Tierra says this family planning is beneficial to the evolution and development of our entire Octopod society,” Aragok added.

“But wouldn’t that be too cruel?” Hagrid asked. “Only a small number of the giant spiders are allowed to reproduce, while most giant spiders are not allowed to reproduce.”

“Well, it’s alright,” Aragog said. “The offspring of those children who are allowed unlimited mating rights will be carefully separated and cared for immediately after hatching to ensure the highest survival rate. You know, Hagrid, when our cubs first hatch, they will hunt as much as possible at everything around them that they can eat, including their own brothers and sisters. So, although we can lay about five hundred eggs at a time, only about ten of them will survive.”

“Oh... um... well... Tierra's method is still quite wise,” Hagrid admitted.

“Yes, Hagrid, yes, Hagrid,” Aragog said, crawling a few more steps forward, stamping his feet excitedly and trembling his enormous pincers. “Mr. Tiera has promised us a powerful future! Mr. Tiera has promised me an empire of eight-eyed spiders, Mr. Tiera has promised me endless conquests and the delicious flesh and blood of countless races I have never seen or heard of before!”

(End of this chapter)