A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

"This is..."

Hermione's eyes widened, and Harry and Ron were also dumbfounded.

The wall was covered with names, but many of them were marked with an X. Only about twenty names were scattered around the wall.

Chapter 174 List of Suspects

“This is the result of my hard work over the past few months,” Aaron explained proudly. “I accurately analyzed the family backgrounds of all the students in the school, eliminating those who were Muggle-born, those who had no relation to Salazar within the last ten generations, and wizards who behaved normally during their time at the school. In the end, only these twenty-three people remained.”

"These are all the students you found who might be the successors to Slytherin?" Harry asked, somewhat puzzled. "Where's Harry Potter?"

Isn't he a parsnip speaker?

“Gore, you’re being a bit prejudiced,” Aaron said meaningfully. “The heir will definitely speak Parseltongue, that’s for sure, but not everyone who speaks Parseltongue is the heir.”

Harry may have Salazar's blood, but he would never use that power to harm others.

"You really trust him that much?" Harry was a little afraid to meet Aaron's eyes. Comparing their actions, he felt ashamed of himself.

“I have a pretty good eye for people.” Aaron walked to the middle of the wall, waved his wand lightly, and all the names marked with an X disappeared, while the remaining names gathered from various positions on the wall to the very center.

The twenty-three names suddenly grew larger, shimmering with a green light.

"This is impossible."

Ron suddenly stood up and looked at one of the names in surprise.

Ginny Weasley, whose own sister is also on the suspect list.

“Calm down, Crabbe,” Aaron said helplessly. “I don’t know if any of your friends are on this list, but I picked them out carefully, so there shouldn’t be any mistakes.”

Ron paused for a moment, then quickly composed himself.

He pointed to the name Ginny Weasley, which seemed particularly prominent to him, and asked, "Isn't this a mistake? How could Weasley possibly be associated with Slytherin!"

Harry and Hermione looked at Aaron in disbelief upon hearing this, especially Harry, who had spent a month at the Burrow during his vacation and knew the Weasleys quite well.

Ginny is the youngest sister in the Weasley family, the most orthodox Gryffindor, and the Weasley family has no connection whatsoever with Slytherin.

“To be honest, she’s also the one I least want to suspect,” Aaron said with some regret. “I stayed at the Burrow for two days before school started, and Ginny Weasley is a really nice girl.”

"Then why..."

"Let me finish speaking, Crabbe."

First, Ginny is a freshman. According to my analysis, the successor of Slytherin is more likely to be a freshman. Of course, I have not overlooked the senior students either.

Secondly, you may not have noticed, but I have noticed that Ginny has been acting rather strangely lately. Fred, George, Percy, and Ron, the four Weasleys, are always trying to find ways to make her happy.

I actually hoped that academic pressure was what made her depressed and in a bad state, but Justin was too nervous before and after the attack.

That kind of behavior, in my opinion, is the result of doing something terribly wrong and being terrified of being discovered.

"Maybe it's just fear!" Ron gave his sister a plausible reason. A murder had occurred in her first semester of school, so it was only natural for a little girl like her to be scared!

"Perhaps, but setting aside the possibility of fear, Ginny Weasley is the prime suspect."

“What about the others?” Hermione asked. “Why are the remaining twenty-two people on this list?”

"Draco," Aaron frowned, puzzled, "you used to trust me a lot, but why are you asking so many questions today?"

"Curiosity got the better of me."

Aaron shrugged and pointed to the names, saying, "Besides Ginny Weasley, some of the rest are orphans who grew up in orphanages. Their family backgrounds are unknown; they are either Muggle-born or half-bloods, and it's even possible they have Salazar's blood."

Some of them became taciturn or unusually agitated after the attack began, and their contact with others decreased significantly. This could be due to simple fear, or it could be because they were worried about being exposed.

Another small group consists of individuals with poor character, cynical nature, and few friends. They may also be Slytherin's heirs, but the suspicion is less pronounced than in the first two groups.

After hearing Aaron's explanation, Harry, Harry, and the others looked at each other, unable to find any reason to refute him.

They spent several months selecting a list, so it's quite valuable.

"Besides the Basilisk and this list, what else do you know?" Harry asked.

Aaron glanced at him suspiciously, wondering why these people were talking so much today, but still asked, "The location of the secret room..."

"Did you find it?"

The three looked at him excitedly. If they found the Chamber of Secrets, they could tell Dumbledore directly. As long as they could get rid of the Basilisk, even the heirs of Slytherin would be unable to cause trouble.

"What are you thinking about?" Aaron rolled his eyes at the three of them. "Hogwarts has been searching for so many years and hasn't found anything, has it?"

I've searched most of Hogwarts these past few days—classrooms, the library, the school hospital, even professors' offices—but haven't found it.

Many areas have been ruled out, but a small portion remains, which narrows down the search area somewhat!

"Where's the secret room?" Harry asked anxiously. Aaron was only one person, so the search area was limited, but if the three of them had enough clues, they might be able to find the secret room.

Why are you in such a hurry?

"Goyle, I'm not trying to be mean, but you really should learn from Draco. Staying calm won't hurt you."

"Um...Malfoy mainly wants to help you."

Hermione nodded immediately, "That's what good friends should do."

“Alright! But even I would have a hard time checking the remaining places!” Aaron sighed deeply. “First, there’s the headmaster’s office. I haven’t checked Dumbledore’s office, but it’s unlikely.”

Secondly, there's the Forbidden Forest, where magical creatures like to congregate, but it's too dangerous and covers a vast area.

Then there's the Black Lake. Slytherin House is a symbol of the element of water, and the Black Lake is Hogwarts' largest water source.

There are also the common rooms of the other three colleges, but these places are generally not open to students from other colleges.

Finally, there is...

With each location Aaron mentioned, Harry's heart sank a little deeper.

They were thinking of helping out so that if Aaron found out later, they would have their own explanation.

We accidentally lied to you, but we did help you find the secret room, all for Hogwarts!

With this reason, even if we're not even in debt, it should at least calm his anger down a bit!

But now it seems impossible. The safest place here is the headmaster's office. Unless you make a big mistake or do something great, it's impossible to get in. They're not Dumbledore's relatives.

Hermione shared the same thought as Harry; her expression was also particularly grave, and she kept gripping her robes with both hands, as if she wanted to tear a hole in them.

Ron, however, wasn't thinking that far ahead. His attention was entirely on Ginny, and nothing was more important than eliminating his sister's suspicions.

A few seconds later, the three of them came to their senses and looked at Aaron blankly.

After a moment of silence, Hermione asked, "What's the last thing? Tell me!"

Aaron hesitated for a moment, then gave an awkward laugh. "I've said enough. You can guess the last one yourselves!"

"No way, this is the last one?!"

"It has nothing to do with being stingy, it's just that I can't say it," Aaron said with an awkward laugh. The last place was the women's restroom, so what could he say?

Although all four of them were men, and all of them were considered his own people, he didn't want to be seen as a pervert.

"In short, you don't need to worry about the location of the secret room."

"If you really want to help me, then look for the Slytherin successor among these twenty-three people!" Aaron said. "The key is Ginny Weasley."

I stayed at the shabby place for two days. I didn't want to, but I couldn't help but suspect her. With such complicated emotions involved, my investigation was inevitably influenced by my feelings.

But Draco, you're different. The relationship between Malfoy and Weasley is common knowledge; having you investigate won't arouse suspicion.

Hermione paused for a moment. What she said made a lot of sense, but the problem was that she wasn't Draco Malfoy!

“No problem, leave it to me…we.” Ron said with a serious expression. He was Ginny’s older brother, and investigating him would be no easier than investigating Malfoy.

Harry and Hermione stared at him in astonishment, a bitter look flashing in their eyes.

They naturally knew what Ron was thinking, but he seemed to have forgotten that they weren't the Malfoy trio!

If Aaron doesn't ask, that's fine. But if he does, and Draco himself doesn't know what happened, the consequences will be anything but pleasant.

"So quick?" Aaron was a little surprised, but looking at the confident Crabbe, he didn't know what to say. Besides, with Draco's help, they should be able to handle it.

"By the way, Ginny is a first-year student, and a girl at that."

You can subtly hint at it, but you must not scare her or bully her.

"Just to save me face, put aside your prejudice against Weasley for now. If you can't do that, then I'll do it!"

Hermione felt as if she had been granted a pardon upon hearing this.

She could avoid some misunderstandings by simply shaking her head.

But before she could speak, Ron patted his chest and assured her, "Absolutely no problem."

“Crawb,” Hermione glared at Ron, “this isn’t your place to make guarantees. Malfoy hasn’t even spoken yet!”

Upon hearing this, Ron snapped out of his daze and shut his mouth in embarrassment.

“Aaron, actually…” Hermione was about to politely refuse when she realized that her body was beginning to change, and her golden hair was becoming fluffy.

She glanced instinctively at Harry and Ron; one's eyes had turned green and a lightning bolt-shaped scar had appeared on his forehead, while the other's hair was beginning to turn red.

"The Polyjuice Potion is almost ready," Hermione murmured to herself, and Harry and Ron also realized that the situation was not looking good.

The next moment, all three of them stood up at the same time.

"I suddenly remembered that Professor Snape wanted to see me," Hermione said, and walked outside.

The three of them ran wildly, darting out of Slytherin's common room as if their lives depended on it, and rushed through the stone door into the long, dark corridor.

Chapter 175 It’s over before it even begins

Harry, Harry, and his two companions were completely transformed back to their original forms, and their clothes were much too big, forcing them to lift their clothes to walk.

Upon entering the hall, the three threw Draco and the others' shoes at the door of the cabinet where they were locked, and went to the weeping Myrtle's bathroom in their socks.

"That was close, we almost got caught," Ron said, panting.

“It’s all your fault.” Harry glared at him reproachfully. “Why did you make such a ridiculous promise? You’re speaking Weasley’s words while wearing Crabbe’s face.”

If we had just rejected him, we might not be in such a passive position.

"At least we didn't come away empty-handed!"