[Note: Read up to Chapter - 113 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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"From this point on, Mr. Aris Shafiq will have the privilege of independent study—or, should he prefer, he may attend lessons alongside the fifth or even sixth years," Dumbledore announced calmly from behind his desk in the headmaster's office, outlining the arrangements that would follow.
"You may approach any professor with questions at any time, though I'd recommend being mindful of the hour. Do avoid pestering them when they're off duty."
Given Aris's rather unorthodox habits, the old wizard thought it wise to offer a gentle warning.
"Thank you, Headmaster," Aris replied at last, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.
The effort he'd poured in over the past couple of days hadn't gone to waste—he'd finally earned himself this freedom. Now, he could roam the castle openly, without suspicion or reprimand. It was an exhilarating feeling.
But above all, surely this meant he'd now be granted access to the Restricted Section of the library?
After all, he'd not only tackled fifth-year material—he'd scored top marks on the lot.
That had to count for something.
Dumbledore, catching the glimmer in the boy's eyes, offered a knowing smile.
"But I'm afraid access to the Restricted Section is still off-limits."
"What? But Headmaster—!" Aris groaned, his excitement instantly deflated.
"Many of the texts in there are dangerous in ways you've yet to grasp. Until I believe you've developed the discipline to restrain your curiosity—and a proper caution for the consequences of meddling in things you don't yet understand—you won't be allowed free entry."
He paused, then added with a twinkle in his eye, "However… should there be a specific book you're keen to read, and if I deem it suitable, I might grant you a temporary note of access."
He winked, like a sly old fox guarding a particularly prized henhouse.
Aris slumped in his chair with a sigh.
So much for unrestricted access—seemed the road to the Restricted Section was still riddled with locks.
He could easily guess that if he ever fancied reading something even slightly sensitive—say, anything to do with the Dark Arts—Dumbledore would flat-out refuse to give him a note.
Still, Aris didn't have much of a choice now. He'd just have to play it by ear.
"Understood," he muttered.
Honestly, Old Dumbledore was far too cautious.
It's not like I'm the next Dark Lord or anything. I've got no interest in dabbling with dangerous nonsense like Horcruxes. Just the thought of splitting your soul makes my skin crawl.
No, that wasn't Aris at all.
He wasn't one for high-stakes gambles or reckless ambition. As a model student, he much preferred things neat, planned, and firmly within his control.
By the time Aris got back to the Ravenclaw common room, it was well past dinner.
He expected the usual fanfare—dozens of excited housemates ready to swarm him with questions and praise.
Instead, the lounge was oddly quiet.
Well, almost.
Cho Chang was curled up on the sofa with a book in hand. She looked up when she saw him walk in, her eyes lighting up. She stood quickly and smoothed out her robes with an unconscious flick of her hands.
"Aris, you're back!"
"Evening, Cho. Are you on your own?"
"Seems like it. You probably haven't heard—since your results came out, the whole house has gone absolutely spare. Everyone's gone into full-blown panic mode. I'm not joking—half of them legged it straight to the dorms after dinner to hit the books!"
There was a strange look on her face as she said it.
"Everyone's suddenly gone into overdrive?" Aris chuckled.
"You're laughing, but it's true!" Cho huffed and gave him a helpless shrug. "You've no idea how hard your results hit the older years. A few of them looked like they'd had the wind knocked out of them. Honestly, I think some of them are having a proper identity crisis."
"Even I had a wobble..." she added more quietly. "After two or three years of slogging away, it's... a bit crushing to realise a first-year knows more than you. It's a weird sort of feeling. Demoralising, really."
"Sorry, I didn't really think it through," Aris said, shaking his head with a helpless smile.
"But I've figured it out now!" Cho Chang's tone shifted suddenly, her lips curling into a soft smile. "If you think about it, there's really no need for us to feel so pressured. People like you are incredibly rare, after all."
"In the whole wizarding world—maybe even the Muggle one—there probably aren't more than a handful like you."
"So there's no real need for the rest of us to compare ourselves to you."
Cho said it with an ease and honesty that made it clear she meant every word. And, to be fair, she wasn't wrong. Unless someone else out there also had a magical system backing them like Aris did, there was simply no competing.
"You've got a point. They just can't see it that way yet," Aris replied, nodding with all seriousness.
Cho gave him a sharp look, narrowing her eyes. "You've got that face on like you're showing off, you know."
"Alright, alright—I take it back!" Aris chuckled, not wanting to drag the conversation out further.
"Anyway, if that's all, I think I'll head back to the dorm." He gave a small wave and turned away, heading up the spiral staircase.
Behind him, Cho watched his retreating figure, a flicker of disappointment passing through her eyes.
Truth be told, she'd stayed behind on purpose—just for a chance to have a proper chat with Aris. She'd especially wanted to ask about what he'd done in flying class. That whole sword-flying stunt had her well and truly intrigued.
From the looks of him, Aris didn't seem to have any Asian roots, and yet he'd somehow come up with something that resembled an old Eastern legend. How on earth had he thought of flying on a sword?
She still had no idea.
But now wasn't the time to press. With a soft sigh, she turned back to her own dormitory, the unanswered question lingering in her mind.
…
The next day.
As the first warm ray of morning sunlight crept across the windowsill, Aris woke up right on time.
After a quick wash, he headed straight for the Great Hall.
The place was already buzzing with students from every House, all gathered for breakfast.
"Oi, Aris—over here!"
He turned to see Terry and Anthony waving him over, both hunched over their plates like they hadn't eaten in days.
He blinked. Were they really here this early? That was… unusual.
"You two are getting a bit dramatic, don't you think?" Aris said, raising an eyebrow as he sat down beside them.
"You don't get it!" Terry shot him a weary glare, stabbing a sausage like it had personally offended him. "You're a genius. The world works differently for people like you. You're the golden boy—we're just scraping by!"
"Aris, mate," Anthony chimed in, eyes wide and slightly bloodshot, "can you teach us? Like, properly teach us? Maybe we can actually catch up if we study the way you do."
Aris looked at them and sighed with exaggerated sympathy, giving each of them a solid pat on the shoulder.
"Honestly, to be like me? All you've got to do is… restart. Or change your account."
Terry blinked. "Restart? Change accounts? What are you on about?"
"Is that a secret study technique? Aris, come on, explain!" Anthony leaned in like he was about to hear the secrets of the universe.
Aris froze. Yeah… can't exactly tell them that 'restarting' means being born with a system and a memory that stores books like a bloody printer, can I?
He coughed and quickly covered, shaking his head. "It's not something you lot can handle yet. You're not ready for it."
"So what do we do, then?" Terry asked, now thoroughly confused.
"Stick to your books and revise properly," Aris replied, deadpan. "You'll survive. Probably."
The two groaned in unison and returned to their breakfast, while Aris allowed himself a small, smug smile and picked up his toast.
"As long as you keep at it, lads, you'll soon start getting properly sharp!"
Aris's words seemed to ignite something in Terry and Anthony—their eyes practically lit up.
"Yeah! Aris is right—I've got this now!" Terry declared, clenching his fists with a look of fierce determination.
"Right behind you, mate. We'll keep our heads down, work hard, and shock the lot of 'em!" Anthony added, mirroring the same fiery resolve.
"Best of luck!" Aris said, polishing off the last bite of his toast before giving the two of them an encouraging nod. Then he quickly turned and left the table.
Honestly, he thought as he walked away, how in Merlin's name did the Sorting Hat put those two in Ravenclaw?
With brains like that, you'd expect them to be in Hufflepuff—maybe even Gryffindor, if we're being generous.
But then he paused mid-thought.
Actually… if you look at it from another angle…
Sure, Terry and Anthony were a bit dense and overly excitable, but there was a kind of earnest sincerity to them.
They weren't stupid—they just thought differently. And if they could keep up this level of enthusiasm and actually put their backs into it…
Well, maybe they would surprise everyone in the end.
Hidden brilliance in plain sight, Aris mused. Now that's Ravenclaw for you. Proper 'foolish genius' energy.
He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Harry and Ron jog up behind him.
"Aris, got a minute?" Harry called out.
Startled, Aris turned his head. "What's up?"
"We've found something. Or at least—we think we have. We just wanted to get your opinion first," Harry said seriously, his expression unusually grim for this early in the morning.
"It's about the corridor on the fourth floor," Ron added in a hushed tone.
He glanced around to make sure no one was listening in, then leaned in a little closer.
"Last night, when we were heading back to the common room, the stairs shifted—next thing we know, we're on the fourth floor..."
"Guess what we saw up there?" Harry asked, his tone suddenly turning all mysterious.
"Uh…" Aris paused for a moment, then said with a casual shrug, "Wouldn't happen to be a massive, drooling, three-headed hellhound, would it?"
"...Huh?"
"Wait—what?"
Harry and Ron both froze, eyes wide, then glanced around nervously as if making sure no one else had overheard.
"How d'you know about the—" Harry faltered, struggling to find the words. He finally just went with, "—the three-headed hellhound?"
"Just a lucky guess," Aris said with a grin, shrugging again.
Of course, it wasn't a guess. That scene from the film had stuck in his mind quite vividly. Mainly because of how revolting that slobbering beast looked—ugh. Seared into memory for life.
"We reckon it's guarding something important," Harry said, lowering his voice. "There's a trapdoor right under its foot. Bit too convenient, don't you think?"
"So," Aris said lightly, "what are you planning to do about it?"
Before either of them could answer, a familiar voice cut in from behind.
"Whatever it is they're planning, Aris, I'd strongly advise you not to get involved. If you lot go poking around where you shouldn't, you'll be lucky if you're not expelled by morning!"
Hermione had arrived, clutching a stack of books, her face flushed and voice tight with barely contained worry.
The three boys turned to look at her as she stormed over.
"Honestly! What is it with you two and your constant need to meddle? What's that monstrous dog got to do with any of you that you're willing to risk getting kicked out of school just to satisfy your ridiculous curiosity?!"
"We weren't gonna do anything…" Harry mumbled, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"He just thought Aris might figure out what the dog's guarding," Ron added quickly, then shot Hermione a sheepish look. "You're the one who said it must be guarding something, right? What was it again—what did you reckon it was protecting?"
Ron shrugged.
"I knew you wouldn't let this go," Hermione muttered, rubbing her temples like she had a headache coming on.
At that moment, both Harry and Ron turned their eyes to Aris.
Even though Hermione clearly didn't want to get dragged into any of it, she couldn't quite hide her curiosity either.
"Er… how would I know what's being hidden there?" Aris raised an eyebrow. After a moment's thought, he decided to let them figure things out on their own.
Where's the fun in giving everything away from the start?
More importantly, he wasn't about to get himself tangled up with Voldemort just because of this nonsense.
No, thanks. He had no desire to be part of some grand tale about a boy wizard squaring off with the Dark Lord.
"But you did know about the three-headed hellhound, didn't you?" Harry narrowed his eyes, clearly not buying Aris's innocent act.
Ah, damn.
Aris sighed inwardly. Should've kept that detail to himself. Apparently, little Harry was sharper than he let on.
With no other option, Aris decided to play along and offered them a mock analysis.
"Think about it logically. If the professors went to the trouble of placing a massive three-headed dog there, whatever it's guarding must be properly important.
And let's not forget—until recently, the fourth-floor corridor wasn't off-limits. Which means whatever's hidden there only arrived this year."
"It's something valuable, and it's new to the castle," he continued. "Now, put those two clues together—what comes to mind?"
Ron still looked completely baffled. Hermione frowned thoughtfully, deep in concentration.
Only Harry's eyes lit up.
"Oh! When Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley, he emptied one of the vaults in Gringotts. Said he was picking something up for Dumbledore.
Then the next day, the paper said that same vault had been broken into!"
"Someone must've been after that item," Harry said quickly.
"And if it was removed just in time, it must've been brought back to Hogwarts. That's what the dog's guarding, isn't it? The stone!"
Aris had never realised just how sharp Harry's mind could be.
It might've only been a guess, but it was bang on the money!
He had to admit, the whole 'Chosen One' thing really did come with its perks—Harry's protagonist halo was shining bright today.
If he remembered the original plot correctly, it should've taken Harry a bit longer to piece things together like this.
Aris gave him a sideways glance and said in a low voice,
"Hagrid probably told you not to go blabbing about it, didn't he? And yet here you are, telling us. You sure that's a good idea?"
"…"
Harry fell silent, clearly caught off guard.
His face turned a bit red, and he looked downright sheepish.
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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Note: Read up to Chapter - 113 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]