A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

"Aaron, what are you doing here?" Fred asked in surprise.

"Waiting for someone," Aaron said, his tone slightly cold.

"Harry? Or Ron?"

"Fred, you've left Granger behind."

"In fact, I was waiting for those three."

"Looks like it's something important, otherwise they wouldn't have come so early in the morning," Fred said, stroking his chin. "Wait a moment, we'll go call them for you?"

"Wait a minute," Aaron stopped the two and said, "I'll have to trouble you to remind them to bring the Christmas presents I gave them when they come out."

"no problem."

George and Fred returned to the common room and went straight to Harry and Ron's dormitory, dragging them both out of bed.

Then they sent Bell to fetch Hermione to the common room.

Harry and his two friends sat on the sofa, still half asleep, staring blankly at the two brothers across from them who were grinning.

They did something really important last night, and they are exhausted both physically and mentally, so they desperately need to rest.

If George and Fred can't provide a reasonable explanation, they won't be happy to see them.

"Don't stay in bed so early in the morning, or breakfast will turn into lunch."

"So, you two just called us to dinner?" Harry said speechlessly. He would have accepted it if they had called him to practice Quidditch.

But eating... right now, the temptation to sleep is infinitely greater than that of eating.

"Hmm..." Hermione yawned. "You two are really boring. I'm going back to catch up on my sleep. Wake me up when it's time for lunch."

"Don't go!" Fred said anxiously, "Aaron is looking for you."

"He's waiting outside right now!"

Upon hearing this, the three of them couldn't help but shudder, their sleepiness instantly vanishing.

"A generous gift of crabs! So fast?" Ron's lips twitched. "It's not even been twelve hours, and they won't even let me get a peaceful night's sleep."

"Stop complaining, let's think of something to do first!" Harry was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, with a layer of cold sweat on his forehead. "How about we don't go out and just hide in the common room?"

Let's take it one day at a time; at least we still have some time before the holiday ends.

“You make it sound so easy, he’s waiting outside right now!” Hermione was in a state of panic, her face full of embarrassment. “He definitely knows everything, and his attitude is quite clear.”

George and Fred exchanged a glance, realizing that things weren't quite as they had thought; Aaron didn't seem to be there to play with them.

"Excuse me, but what wrong have you done?" George asked. "And what has angered Gaius so much?"

“Yes, it’s terrible, absolutely terrible.” Ron rolled his eyes. “We could have kept it to ourselves, but you two woke us up.”

“Let’s apologize to him properly, and hopefully he can forgive us!” Hermione said, but she knew in her heart that Aaron would definitely not be so magnanimous this time.

"Never mind, let's get out of here first."

“Wait a moment.” Fred pursed his lips. “I don’t want to say this, but Gaius asked us to pass on a message to you…”

After a few seconds of silence, Fred suddenly turned to George and said, "You should say it!"

“You can’t do this to me.” George paused for a moment, then met three pairs of tense eyes. “Okay! He said you should take the Christmas presents he gave you with you when you go out.”

Rumble!

The three men felt as if thunder had struck them, and a continuous rain of blood fell upon their hearts; their expressions changed drastically.

"It's over." Hermione slumped back weakly. "This time we've really messed up."

They were hoping to atone for their crimes with good deeds! But now Aaron is clearly not giving them a chance and has sentenced them to death.

“I think…” Harry swallowed hard, “no matter what, he probably won’t cut ties with us!”

Ron nodded silently, then pulled out three gift boxes from a corner. "I thought I was the only one who hadn't opened my gifts, but I didn't expect you guys hadn't opened them either!"

Hermione shook her head, rubbing her forehead, and said speechlessly, "The three of us were together yesterday, don't you know how it was arranged?"

“I suggest you hurry up and go!” Fred said. “You’ve already acted unfairly enough; you can’t keep him waiting any longer!”

The three exchanged bitter smiles and walked out of the common room with heavy steps.

Upon seeing Aaron, the three of them stood there awkwardly, stunned.

"us..."

"Come with me!" Aaron interrupted Harry abruptly. "This isn't the place to talk."

A dozen minutes later, Aaron led them to the Transfiguration classroom and then sat down at a table by himself.

"You guys are really great, you've really impressed me!"

I've never admired anyone before, but you guys have made me admire you. I've never been deceived so badly in my entire life.

“We just wanted to help you,” Ron said, mustering his courage.

Aaron rolled his eyes at him and said disdainfully, "At least come up with a plausible excuse!"

You don't even know what I'm doing, how can you help me?

But I really admire you guys. Last year, you only drugged and took my pet away. This year, you've actually started drugging people. Your skills have really improved!

"Are you really second-year students? Are you sure you're not repeat offenders who escaped from Azkaban?"

"I'm sorry," Harry said weakly.

"You really should apologize, not just to me, but also to Draco and the others."

Harry, no, Harry Potter, I trusted you so much, but this is how you repay my trust.

But that makes sense. You're Gryffindor, so it doesn't seem unreasonable for you to suspect that a Slytherin is a descendant of Salazar.

If it could be confirmed that I am Slytherin's heir, that would be perfect. Then you could notify Dumbledore to arrest me, and then follow the trail to the Chamber of Secrets to eliminate the Basilisk.

In this way, the rumors about Harry will be dispelled, and you will become heroes who save Hogwarts.

"Sacrificing myself for the happiness of everyone—what a clever scheme!"

Hearing these sarcastic words, Hermione's heart sank slightly, and she immediately explained, "That's not it, we just want to clear you of suspicion."

"How do we rule it out?" Aaron countered. "Compound decoction?"

As far as I know, it takes at least a month to prepare this powerful potion. In addition, it requires the body tissue of the person to be transformed, as well as various rare materials.

"Tsk tsk tsk! You'd rather overcome countless difficulties and spend a lot of time deceiving me with such despicable means than ask me face-to-face, 'Is there anything more suspicious than this?'"

“Well… Ron and I did have our doubts about you.” Harry, pale-faced, struggled to lift his head and said, “But Hermione’s trust in you is absolutely genuine.”

“That’s true,” Ron said. “We’ve told her several times, but every time she just shuts us down.”

"Is that so? But it's hardly believable to hear you say that."

Hermione wanted to say something, but seeing Aaron's eyes filled with disappointment and anger, she unconsciously swallowed her words.

“Granger, do you have any opinion to offer?” Aaron sneered.

“I really never doubted you,” Hermione said, her face contorted with grief, as she held up three fingers. “I swear.”

"Then could you please explain why you prepared the compound decoction for them?"

"I believe you, but they don't."

"So this is the only way to prove your innocence." Hermione smiled sadly. "It's a rather extreme method, but the effect is quite obvious."

So, does that mean I should thank you?

"No, no, that's not what I meant."

"Whatever your meaning, you chose to help them, didn't you?"

If you really believed me, you could have just come and asked me directly, but you, none of you did.

“Back then, you were a prime suspect, and we didn’t dare take the risk,” Ron explained. “What if we finished questioning you and then you killed us?”

And how can we guarantee that you're telling the truth? Bad people never admit they're bad.

Aaron raised an eyebrow slightly, clapped his hands in admiration, and said, "What you said makes a lot of sense. I have nothing to say in response."

He then looked at Harry and said, "The famous Harry Potter, I have a question for you."

If your answer satisfies me, I will consider forgiving you.

“Go ahead and ask,” Harry said, quickly regaining his composure. “I promise I’ll tell you the truth.”

“Very well, my question is, before yesterday, did you particularly expect me to be the heir to Slytherin?”

"Ah...I..."

"Alright, no need to say anything more. Those few seconds of hesitation from you have already given me the answer."

Harry lowered his head in silence, unsure of what to say.

He was under immense pressure during that period. No matter how he explained, no one believed him. The only way for him to avoid being judged was to find the true successor.

It just so happens that Aaron was always at the crime scene. In that situation, who else could you suspect if not him?

Chapter 177 is not coercion, but cooperation.

“I’m sorry, I acted impulsively this time, but I really didn’t expect things to escalate to this point.” Harry explained very seriously, “I didn’t intend to suspect you, but there were just too many coincidences, especially after the Quidditch match.”

The night I was hospitalized, I saw you and Professor McGonagall bring Colin over, and you even asked Dumbledore not to tell anyone.

Hermione has always been reluctant to believe that you are the heir to Slytherin, and she helped us prepare Polyjuice Potion in the hope of avoiding unnecessary misunderstandings.

Moreover, this month-long grace period is a buffer period. If we can find any evidence during this time that you are not the heir, we will immediately stop.

But what I didn't expect was..."

"But I never expected to be at the crime scene when Justin got into trouble, did I?"

Harry nodded awkwardly. This was just how life is unpredictable. He never would have imagined that all the coincidences stemmed from that seemingly harmless dragon cub in cat skin squatting next to Aaron.

"Sigh!" Aaron sighed deeply and said with emotion, "Actually, it's not that I can't understand you, and I can accept what you've done, it's just that I feel particularly sad."

I've always considered you all friends, but now it seems that was wishful thinking on my part.

Aaron looked at the three of them with disappointment, feeling incredibly fortunate that the Sorting Hat had sorted him into Slytherin. If he had been in Gryffindor, he would have been worried sick.