A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

"It better be."

“I’ll speak to Professor McGonagall; she should be willing to do it for me,” Dumbledore said. “Are you satisfied now?”

"It's alright!" Aaron stood up from his chair. "I think I can leave now!"

"Of course, go back and get a good night's sleep!"

Hearing this, Aaron breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

The matter was about to come to an end, and they picked up Abe, who was drooling over the red monster bird, and prepared to leave.

However, after taking only a few steps, Dumbledore's voice came from behind, "Mr. Gaius, your cat seems to be quite unusual!"

Aaron paused, his heart skipping a beat.

He turned to look at Hagrid and saw the giant gently shaking his head at him, repeatedly signaling with his eyes that he hadn't said anything, which finally put his mind at ease.

"The principal has good taste!"

Even though I wrapped Abe up so tightly, you still noticed.

Isn't my cat cute?

“Very cute, but what I’m about to say has nothing to do with appearance.” Dumbledore pointed meaningfully to the red bird perched on the gilded branch. “Fox, my pet, is a phoenix.”

This is the first time I've ever seen another animal drool over it.

Aaron: ......

Damn! It's decided, I'll starve Abe for a few meals when I get back.

It's one thing to be unable to control your drooling, but to drool over a phoenix? Does it mean you want to eat it like a chicken? Isn't that a bit too much of an appetite?

Although Abe's actions were astonishing, his owner could only cover for him at that moment.

"Ahem! To be honest, Professor Dumbledore..."

Abe might not be looking at a phoenix; recently, it has taken a liking to collecting things.

"Those gilded branches under Fox's feet...can you sell them to me?"

Dumbledore's lips twitched, and when he turned his head, he saw that his phoenix had almost fallen onto the table.

He waved his hand with a wry smile, and the office door opened. "Go back and rest!"

Professor Snape, see Aaron out, and come back later.

"Yes."

The two walked out of the office, and Aaron breathed a sigh of relief, "We finally got through this."

Snape looked at him with an inscrutable expression and a particularly complex look in his eyes.

Before coming, Aaron thought of Dumbledore as an "old codger," but after meeting him in person, his attitude completely reversed, and he began to regard him as an idol.

"It's a real shame you don't go into acting."

"Hey! I learned the skill of speaking human language to human beings and ghost language to ghosts a long time ago," Aaron said nonchalantly. "Besides, Dumbledore isn't that easy to fool."

If he didn't achieve his goal, do you think he would let me go so easily?

“Dumbledore wouldn’t do that,” Snape chuckled. “I’ve known him for so many years, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t harm a student.”

"I didn't say he would do anything to me, but I'll probably be spending a lot of time in the principal's office for a long time to come."

He'll probably use these clumsy methods to make that black-robed man in the shadows wary, so he won't dare to attack me.

"After all, that man in black doesn't know I have a potion that can restore him, so he won't risk coming under Dumbledore's nose," Aaron said. "Now that the potion is in his custody, I should be able to relax for a long time until the end of this term."

"You knew the headmaster wanted your potion?"

"if not?

Could it be that he asked you to invite me over so we could have a long talk about life and ideals?

The moment you said Dumbledore wanted to see me, I knew I couldn't keep this medicine. Going against the headmaster at school is not a wise decision.

Since we can't keep them, we should try our best to gain as much benefit as possible for ourselves.

The result was passable, I suppose.

"What a little fox."

"Professor, although you are a master of potions, I have met just as many important people as you."

"By being exposed to it all the time, I can learn something," Aaron said unhappily. "Besides, do you think this little fox can hide his thoughts from that old fox?"

Snape paused for a moment, silently comparing Aaron and Dumbledore in his mind.

Without a doubt, Dumbledore won decisively.

"Indeed, you are far behind him in every aspect."

"I admit it, but I'm still young, and I'll surpass him sooner or later."

"And..." Aaron's eyes shone brightly, and he confidently raised a finger, "I have one thing I'm better at than him."

"What? Are you kidding me?" Snape's eyes widened, his first reaction was that this was impossible.

Having been by Dumbledore's side for so many years, he knew very well how much power this White Lord could wield.

It can be said that as long as Voldemort does not appear, no one can rival Dumbledore.

“No, I’m serious,” Aaron said very seriously. “Not just me, you should be better than him in this respect as well.”

"Hmm? Is that so?"

I honestly don't see what I'm better at than him.

“We are richer than him,” Aaron said bluntly.

Snape froze on the spot; this answer was truly unexpected.

But after thinking about it carefully, it does seem to be true.

Was Dumbledore rich? Of course he was.

He spent over thirty years at Hogwarts, earning the highest salary in the entire school, and he also held several high-ranking part-time jobs.

Under normal circumstances, Dumbledore's wealth would be enough for him to squander for several lifetimes.

However, he also has a lot of expenses, and his salary is only enough to keep him from breaking even and to save some money for retirement.

Even knowing that he was better than Dumbledore in some ways, Snape still couldn't be happy.

So what if you have money? You're still just working for someone else.

“Oh, right, Professor, I suddenly remembered something,” Aaron said somewhat embarrassedly. “Didn’t I give you a present at Christmas?”

Have you figured out what it does?

Snape snapped out of his daze, his expression strange. "You mean that bottle of unknown liquid?"

“That’s right, that’s right,” Aaron said excitedly, eager to know what the Holy Dragon’s saliva was for.

"I studied it for a while, and it really works."

Combined with certain herbs, it's possible to create a magical potion that greatly stimulates appetite, which can be very helpful for some patients with anorexia.

Aaron's lips twitched slightly, but considering that Abe was a dragon who wasn't picky about food, ate everything with gusto, and even treated phoenixes as food, he felt it was only natural.

After escorting Aaron to the gargoyle at the entrance, Snape returned to the headmaster's office.

“Severus, I must congratulate you,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “You have a good student. Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Sprout have all asked me to transfer him to another house.”

After all, the Sorting Hat has stated that it is suitable for every house.

"They're dreaming. They want to steal people from my Slytherin. I won't allow it."

However, Aaron is indeed very outstanding; his achievements in all aspects are remarkable.

"You know I'm not talking about academic performance."

"I wouldn't dare negotiate with the principal at his age."

"I think...this might have something to do with his family background!"

“Maybe!

But you may not have realized that he is much smarter than you think.

He knows how to protect himself, how to conceal his brilliance, and how to seek greater benefits for himself within reasonable limits; he's shrewd beyond his twelve-year-old self.

Chapter 73 This invitation came unexpectedly

"Headmaster," Snape asked calmly, "isn't it a good thing that students are excellent?"

“Of course it’s a good thing,” Dumbledore said without hesitation. “As the headmaster, I dream of Hogwarts having a better student body.”

However, your student is a little too mature, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, and you, Professor Severus Snape.

Haha! To be honest, I'm not surprised that he proposed such a luxurious lineup; in fact, I would find it quite natural.

After all, asking for an exorbitant price is no substitute for bargaining. Doing business is all about negotiation, and as long as both parties' expectations are met, it's a win-win situation.

However, he specifically mentioned that not everyone needed to be notified, which is somewhat intriguing.

“Isn’t that normal?” Hagrid chuckled, rubbing his beer belly. “Obviously, he doesn’t want to bother anyone else.”

"Perhaps." Dumbledore stroked his white beard, a wise glint in his eyes, and continued, "But it's also possible that he's on guard against something."

What do you say, Severus?

Snape hesitated for a moment, his expression gradually becoming serious. "You mean he knows..."

"Not necessarily, but he saw the man in black robes with his own eyes and saw him drinking the blood of unicorns to sustain his life."

Given his intelligence, it's not impossible that he might guess something, such as how this man in black infiltrated Hogwarts.

What is the purpose of entering Hogwarts?

Are there any other people in the school colluding with him, etc.?

"It can't be that bad!"

"Aaron..." Hagrid paused, then continued, "He's just a first-year wizard, how could he possibly think so much?"