A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

“You don’t need to.” Aaron waved his hand, looking at Hagrid meaningfully. “You, the mastermind, should sign first!”

Feeling guilty, Hagrid picked up a pen, signed his name on the paper, and then dutifully passed the agreement to Harry.

Harry and Ron knew they were in the wrong, so after hesitating for a moment, they signed their names one by one.

Finally, it was Hermione's turn. She lowered her head, her pupils slightly red, and sat motionless in the chair.

"Granger, it's your turn," Draco said calmly.

"I...I understand." Hermione sighed, wiped her eyes, and tremblingly picked up a pen to write her name in a crooked hand.

The whole process lasted for more than half a minute, during which she didn't dare to lift her head even once, for fear of seeing the disappointment in Aaron's eyes.

After signing the document, she felt empty inside, as if she had lost something.

"Alright everyone, see you tomorrow." Aaron expressionlessly put away the parchment, picked up Abe, and walked towards the door. "I hope this is the only time, and the last time."

You all better watch yourselves!

Draco followed behind Aaron, but after a few steps, he suddenly thought of something, turned around triumphantly to look at the others in the cabin, "What a wonderful night. Although the moon isn't very full, I feel inexplicably happy."

“Malfoy!” Ron clenched his fist. “Stop being sarcastic.”

"Really? Where did I sound sarcastic?"

I would be extremely grateful if Weasley could point it out to me!

"Alright, there's no point in teasing them anymore, let's go!"

"Wait a minute!" Draco chuckled, then looked at Hermione. "Don't worry, I won't call you Mudblood anymore, but I definitely won't lose to you in the final exams."

Hermione, unusually, did not refute, but simply nodded weakly.

"Draco, watch your manners as a pure-blood wizard," Aaron said speechlessly, not wanting to linger any longer, and opened the door to leave.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Draco hurriedly followed, not forgetting to close the door behind Hagrid.

After the two left, the atmosphere in the cabin became somewhat heavy.

Harry, Ron, and Hagrid all looked at Hermione with a knowing smile. Tonight, they hadn't suffered any other losses besides losing face, but Hermione was different; she was probably feeling terrible!

“Hermione!” Harry wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know how to say it.

"If you want to cry, just cry! Don't hold it in," Hagrid sighed wistfully. "These are all family here, no one will laugh at you."

Hermione slightly raised her head, her reddened eyes beginning to overflow, and crystal tears fell like beads from a broken string.

"I'm sorry," Ron said remorsefully. "It's all my fault. I forced you into this plan."

“It’s not entirely your fault,” Harry patted him on the shoulder. “I’m also partly to blame.”

"Didn't you say it was foolproof?" Hermione sobbed. "Now look what's happened! I'll never be able to face him again. Are you happy now?"

Harry and Ron were so embarrassed they couldn't lift their heads. They had made solemn promises before the operation, but who would have thought they'd be caught red-handed? They didn't even have the means to clear Hermione of the blame.

“It’s all Malfoy’s fault.” Ron pursed his lips. “If he hadn’t betrayed us, everything would have gone smoothly.”

“Not exactly,” Hagrid interjected. “Before Aaron and Malfoy kicked the door down, Abe and Norbert were already fighting, and part of its clothes were burned.”

Even if Malfoy hadn't come, he would have been exposed tomorrow anyway.

“You heard that,” Hermione said, filled with remorse. “I shouldn’t have helped you. He trusted me so much.”

"All the magical creatures were entrusted to my care, but I... sob..."

"No, don't cry, Hermione."

"We were wrong, there won't be a next time, really." Harry said incoherently, having never coaxed a girl before.

Ron was also upset and didn't know what to do.

He did have experience in coaxing his younger sister, but the current situation was completely different. It wasn't something that could be resolved by giving her a few candies, saying a few nice words, and then letting her sleep well.

They've really gone too far this time. Even if he's heartless, he knows he's wronged Hermione, but he doesn't know how to make up for her.

Hagrid was also feeling bad, even though he hadn't participated in the operation, he was the one who started it all.

In Aaron's words, he was indeed the mastermind.

"Sigh! Apologize!"

“Hagrid, you’ve made a mistake,” Ron said with a wry smile. “If apologizing could solve the problem, Harry and I would have apologized long ago.”

"I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about Hermione."

Hermione hasn't apologized to Aaron yet, not even now!

I think we should at least admit our mistake and show our attitude first!

“But you saw it yourself, he didn’t give Hermione a chance to speak at all,” Harry said.

"That's better than doing nothing and just crying here, isn't it?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Hermione wiped away her tears and forced herself to cheer up. “I have to go after him and apologize, whether he accepts it or not, even if he scolds me, it’s better than saying nothing.”

"It's good that you've figured it out, go on your way!"

"It's best not to wait until tomorrow; apologize before he gets back to his dorm," Hagrid said. "The sooner the better."

"Okay, thank you, Hagrid." Hermione thanked him, then quickly opened the door and chased after him.

“Let’s go too,” Harry said, pulling Ron away.

“Don’t pull me, I’m not going,” Ron said stubbornly. “Draco is probably right next to Aaron, I’ll be so embarrassed if I go.”

“Ron and Hermione, both girls, have the courage to apologize. If we two boys don’t go, what’s the difference between us and cowards?”

"If I were Malfoy, I would despise you even more."

Hearing this, Ron gritted his teeth, "So what if I lose face!"

The two made their decision and, without lingering, quickly ran towards the door.

However, after running only a few steps out of the hut, the two slowed down and their expressions became very unnatural.

Filch was waiting for him outside with a lantern, Mrs. Lorris was obediently squatting at his right foot, and to make matters worse, Professor McGonagall looked disappointed.

Chapter 58 A Tenfold Score Difference

"Haha! There are still some who slipped through the net!" Filch sneered. "But they were unlucky enough to walk right into the trap."

"Good evening, you two," Professor McGonagall said with a stern face. "What are you standing there for? Why aren't you coming over here?"

Harry and Ron felt utterly unlucky. Although they had received information from the professor who designed the mechanism to protect the Philosopher's Stone tonight, it was all a complete loss.

The two approached Professor McGonagall nervously, first bowing their heads, then looking at Aaron and Draco with suspicion.

Filch usually patrols the castle, so why did he suddenly come to Hagrid's place tonight, especially with Professor McGonagall by his side?

They didn't think this was a whim; someone must have tipped them off.

"Don't look at us like that. We've only taken a few steps out when we bumped into Filch and Professor McGonagall," Aaron said dismissively. "So don't insult our noble character with your suspicious eyes."

“This is all thanks to Mrs. Lorris,” Filch said proudly. “She found Aaron and then told me, and I then brought in Professor McGonagall.”

We should have gone to Professor Snape, since he was the head of Slytherin, but his office was a bit far away.

However, it seems that they didn't make a mistake in choosing the right people; there are actually three Gryffindors and two Slytherins.

"Three to two, Professor McGonagall, what are your plans?"

"Put them in solitary confinement, all of them in solitary confinement."

"But before that, I need to find out why." Professor McGonagall looked at the five students in front of her expressionlessly. "What are you doing here so late at night? Don't you know that students aren't allowed to wander around the campus at night?"

“Professor, let me explain!” Draco glanced at Harry and the others with a cold smile, then took a step forward. “Although we didn’t go home at night, there were reasons for it.”

Of course, when I say "we," I mean just Aaron and me, not Potter, Weasley, or Granger.

"Are you trying to get rid of both of you?" Professor McGonagall said. "Don't even think about it. Whatever the reason, you're going to be put in solitary confinement."

Draco's lips twitched, and he inadvertently caught a glimpse of the ambiguous smiles on Harry, the other two's faces, and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

"Professor, it's like this, tonight when Crabbe, Goyle, and I were on our way back to the common room, we happened to see three suspicious figures."

It's understandable that people would follow along out of curiosity!

Of course, we respect school rules very much and plan to return to our dorms before curfew.

"Get to the point, Malfoy."

Also, don't make it sound so noble; your stalking of others isn't exactly aboveboard either.

“Professor, I admit my actions were unsportsmanlike, but I don’t regret them,” Draco said nonchalantly.

He was having an extraordinary time tonight. Although he wasn't the main character, he was definitely a key figure who propelled the story to its climax.

Although I was caught by accident while finishing up, it was nothing serious.

He and Aaron may not escape punishment, but Harry and the others will definitely face harsher punishments.

Comparing the two situations, he felt much better.

"We followed them quietly to Hagrid's hut and saw... Harry and the others were planning to give Aaron's pet to Hagrid."

"What?" Professor McGonagall frowned. "Is what Mr. Malfoy said true?"

The three Gryffindors lowered their heads and remained silent, and at that moment, silence was tacit agreement.

“That’s right, Professor McGonagall.”

Aaron is my best friend, and I couldn't bear to see him being deceived, so I sent Crabbe and Goyle back to inform him.

As for what happened next, I won't go into details.

"You've disappointed me greatly. Deduct 50 points," Professor McGonagall said angrily. "You've gone too far."

"Fifty points?"

All three of them gaped, the number was a huge shock to them.

That's fifty points! If you spread that out evenly, each person would lose sixteen or seventeen points.

Hermione is a little better off; she might be able to make up for it by working hard for a few classes, not including Snape's Potions class, of course.

Harry and Ron were devastated. They were lucky to avoid losing points, and making up for this huge deficit was no easy task.