A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

“It makes no difference, they’re all going to kill me.” Harry chuckled self-deprecatingly, then seemed to realize something and whispered, “Maybe it’s Snape.”

“Impossible.” Aaron retorted without hesitation. “Although Professor Snape’s attitude towards you is somewhat…unusual, he would never harm you.”

“That’s right,” Hermione agreed. “Dumbledore trusts Snape, and he’s had many opportunities to harm you, in the last few years…”

“The Dark Mark hasn’t appeared in the last few years!” Harry interrupted her helplessly. “He didn’t harm me before, probably because the Dark Lord lost power and couldn’t act under Dumbledore’s nose, so he could only find ways to make things difficult for me.”

But now that the Black Mark has appeared, perhaps the time is ripe for him.

Most importantly... Karkaroff and Snape were old acquaintances; Aaron and I saw them arguing when we went to his private storeroom.

"That's interesting," Aaron sneered. "You suspect Professor Snape just because of that?"

Harry Potter, how many times have you suspected Professor Snape of trying to harm you?

Harry was speechless for a moment. It seemed that he would suspect Snape every time something happened, but it was never him.

“Uh… I don’t think it was Snape who put your name in the Goblet of Fire,” Sirius said thoughtfully. “His acquaintance with Karkaroff is probably just a coincidence. If he really worked for Vanderlei, Dumbledore would never have let him teach at Hogwarts.”

"Did you hear that?" Aaron rolled his eyes at Harry. "Even if you don't believe Professor Snape, you should at least believe Dumbledore!"

“Mr. Black, is there anything else you want to tell us?” Hermione asked.

"That's all for now. Find Buddy Crouch; he might know something."

Also, if you're writing letters, just send them here so I can stay informed of any unusual situations. But you can't leave Hogwarts to see me; it would be too dangerous if someone tried to harm Harry.

“Danger?” Harry gave a wry smile. “What could be more dangerous than a dragon and Grindylow?”

"The third project," Sirius solemnly reminded you, "the first two projects didn't kill you, so the third project is your last chance."

The third project will be very dangerous; you must not be careless.

“I understand,” Harry nodded seriously.

“You’re safe until at least the third project starts,” Aaron teased. “You have more than three months in between to get some rest.”

Upon hearing this, Harry's face showed a hint of embarrassment.

That's what he said, but he wouldn't dare to think that way.

The idea that there was plenty of time was all an illusion, and the second project had already taught him a lesson in this regard.

If he hadn't prepared in advance, the third project might have really killed him; he wasn't naive enough to think that Dobby could help him again.

"Alright, you should go back to school now."

If you guys talk about me, just call me "cold."

As soon as he finished speaking, the backpack was stuffed into Harry's arms, but all the food inside had been devoured, leaving only a few bones and two empty bottles.

Sirius Black transformed back into his black dog form. Harry retrieved the Invisibility Cloak that had fallen to the ground, waved to the black dog, and turned to return to Hogwarts Castle.

......

Shenming Palace.

Aaron shared his memories with the Memory Entity.

“It couldn’t be Professor Snape, nor could it be Karkaroff,” the thought entity said with certainty. “If nothing unexpected happens, Voldemort must have sent someone to infiltrate Hogwarts.”

"So sure?"

"I remember Professor Snape saying that the African tree snake skin and lacewings had disappeared. It seems that someone really is preparing compound decoctions."

"Your reasoning skills have improved!"

The thought-provoking entity rolled its eyes speechlessly and said resentfully, "Besides taking two elective courses, all you do is practice magic in the Divine Hall. If you were in that situation, you would inevitably think about other things too."

Aaron gave an awkward laugh and immediately changed the subject, saying, "The question is, who is this person?"

"I don't know." The thought-provoking entity shrugged silently. "We don't have any suspects right now. This person is very smart and cautious, and didn't leave any clues."

He must have imprisoned someone, using that person's hair or nails to continuously create Polyjuice Potion, thus perfectly infiltrating Hogwarts.

"What a ruthless person!" Aaron exclaimed. "This person probably integrated into the school before the Goblet of Fire even existed, let's say on the first day of school..."

My goodness! I've been drinking compound herbal decoctions for half a year.

"This timeframe will likely continue, and he probably won't appear until the third project."

Aaron remained noncommittal. The other party had clearly intended to use the Triwizard Tournament to kill him by putting Harry Potter's name into the Goblet of Fire.

The first two projects were due to unexpected events: once Professor Moody reminded Harry to use the flying broom, and the other time Dobby stole the gill sac grass. But the third project was something the other party would definitely not be able to resist, and if it failed again, they might even personally intervene.

"Poor Harry Potter, every year is so tragic."

"We should be glad he's still alive. Without this shield, we might be facing similar treatment."

“That’s true. His misfortune is his business, it has nothing to do with me,” Aaron said, but a bitter smile quickly appeared on his face. “As per Adrian’s request, I have to protect the other warriors in the last project, which means I have to protect Harry Potter.”

The sympathetic being shrugged. "Even without my eldest sister's request, we can't let him die."

“I know, but I feel inexplicably annoyed,” Aaron said, both angry and helpless. “And it means we might have to face the person who threw Harry’s name into the Goblet of Fire.”

“That’s alright,” the thought entity said in a softer tone. “As long as we don’t face Voldemort head-on, there’s nothing to be afraid of. His Death Eaters are no match for us.”

Chapter 391 Abe's shining moment, facing the exploding tail snail?

Harry, Percy, and his friends wrote a letter to Percy, inquiring about Barty Crouch's well-being.

For the next period of time, besides using owls to regularly bring food to Sirius, they waited for Percy's reply.

In the Magical Creatures Conservation class, Hagrid finished explaining what unicorns were all about.

This time he took out some more boxes, and just as everyone was worried that they might contain newly hatched Blasttails, Hagrid triumphantly opened the boxes.

Inside were many creatures that looked like platypuses, with black fur and flat, shovel-like forepaws.

"This is... a Niffler?"

“Excellent eye, Mr. Gaius,” Hagrid praised. “They’re usually found in mines; Nifflers love anything shiny…”

Just then, the Niffler in the box seemed to smell something.

Dozens of Nifflers suddenly jumped out of the box and rushed towards Aaron.

"Fuck!"

Aaron instinctively swore.

Before he could react, Abe jumped out of his arms and roared as she rushed towards him.

The fourth-year students of Slytherin and Gryffindor were amazed. Apart from a few who knew about the Arbori race, to the others it was a story of a cat fighting dozens of platypuses.

Abe, like a tiger among sheep, swiftly swung its claws and tail, wreaking havoc in all directions, sending the black Nifflers flying one after another as the white holy dragon flung them away.

Two minutes later, only one white cat stood proudly in the middle of the field, one of its front paws pressing down on a sniffling cat, while it held another one in its mouth.

"That was amazing! This lesson was totally worth it," Ximo exclaimed, clapping his hands involuntarily.

The same was true for everyone else, and thunderous applause erupted.

Abe became the most dazzling star of the show, completely reclaiming the spotlight stolen by the two unicorn cubs. If the occasion hadn't been a bit inappropriate, it would have had the urge to let out a long howl.

boom!

A large hand pressed down on its head and lifted it up.

The two subdued Nifflers were overjoyed and quickly ran to Hagrid's side, clearly knowing who had the ability to protect them here.

"Hagrid, I'm sorry," Aaron said apologetically, then waved his wand, and all the Nifflers in the room flew into Hagrid's box.

"Uh...it's okay, it's really okay," Hagrid said excitedly.

His favorite animal is the dragon, so seeing Abe fight up close was quite exciting for him.

Furthermore, Abe was quite careful in his actions, and his Nifflers were not harmed.

Aaron glared at Abe with a hostile expression. "Explain yourself!"

“Don’t make things difficult for it. I might know what’s going on,” Hagrid said with a chuckle. “Niffles love coins the most. It must be something in Abe’s pocket that attracted them.”

Upon hearing this, Aaron's lips twitched slightly.

Abe kept nodding. Last year, its owner spent a lot of money on the feathers of those magical creatures, which made it feel the pinch for a long time.

Although it was reluctant that time, it didn't say anything, but this time it absolutely couldn't tolerate it.

A bunch of platypuses dared to covet its wealth and even brazenly rushed up to rob it. Did they really think the Holy Dragon had no temper?

"Let's continue with the lesson. Nifflers are famous treasure hunters, so you can have a blast today," Hagrid laughed, then pointed to a large patch of newly turned soil. "I buried some gold coins there, and you can each pick a Niffler."

Whoever's Niffler digs up the most coins will receive a prize.

You need to be careful to remove all your valuables, otherwise the Nifflers might steal them if you're not careful.

The students took off their watches and necklaces, emptied their pockets of money, and then stepped forward to receive their Nifflers.

These amazing creatures that resemble platypuses are not as dangerous as the blast-tailed snail, nor are they as wary of humans as unicorns. On the contrary, they are very docile and affectionate towards humans.

The treasure hunt began quickly. The sniffles dug as fast as the groundhogs, and they dug out gold coins one by one, carrying them to their owner.

Ron reaped the most rewards; the Niffler he chose dug up several times more gold coins than the others, giving him a rare taste of the joys of being rich.

Aaron got the least, because his Sniffle would dig a few times in the dirt and then glance back at Abe's pocket. Clearly, a good beating couldn't stop its love for gold coins.

When get out of class ended, Hagrid took back all the gold coins and gave Ron a large piece of chocolate as a reward.

"I really want to buy one as a pet," Ron said sincerely.

“It’s best not to,” Hagrid said. “Niffles are excellent at finding treasure, but they’re also top-notch at destroying houses. I don’t want your mother writing me a letter scolding me.”

Ron chuckled awkwardly, reluctant to return Niffler.

For the next few weeks, everything seemed remarkably calm, except that Hermione frequently received malicious letters accusing her of toying with other people's feelings, which pushed her tolerance for Rita Skeeter to its limit.

As the Easter holidays were drawing to a close, Harry's owl Hedwig flew back with a reply from Percy.

Harry called Aaron over, and they opened the letter in the Transfiguration classroom.

His letter was short, only a few lines, but it sounded quite impatient.

Mr. Crouch worked so hard that I never met him in person; he sent instructions via owl. But I would never mistake my boss’s handwriting.

I'm extremely busy right now, so please don't bother me unless it's something urgent.