Chapter 77: Talking Back? It's Clearly the Truth
Half an hour later, Harry groggily opened his eyes.
"You're finally awake," Ron asked worriedly, "Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
"No, I actually feel quite relaxed," Harry said with an embarrassed smile, then looked at Aaron and couldn't help but complain, "Couldn't you have warned me beforehand? I wasn't prepared at all."
"Next time, for sure."
"Next time? There's a next time?"
"I can't guarantee that.
In your extremely agitated state just now, you wouldn't have listened to anything.
I could only use this method to calm you down, and it seems to have worked quite well."
Harry subconsciously touched the scar on his forehead, finding that it no longer hurt as much, and felt a little embarrassed.
"Sorry, but I was really too anxious.
That's Lord Voldemort, after all; if he revives, I'll be the first to suffer." Harry looked at the three of them, "Can you understand how I feel?"
Hermione and Ron shook their heads slightly; Lord Voldemort was rather abstract to them.
Although he was terrifying, he wouldn't harm young Wizards like them for no reason, would he?
Aaron, however, was nodding, appearing somewhat out of place.
He didn't have that scar on his forehead, which portended danger, but he had encountered Lord Voldemort, and had also encountered Professor Quirrell possessed by Lord Voldemort, not just once or twice.
Each time, he felt like he was dancing on the edge of life and death; if his mental fortitude had been slightly weaker, he might not have seen the sun tomorrow.
"Aaron, you understand me?"
"I understand perfectly.
Don't forget, I've had a run-in with that Black-robed Man; it was terrifying.
But we are still safe at Hogwarts."
Upon hearing this, Harry felt a strange sense of relief.
At this moment, he desperately needed someone who could empathize with him.
"I have a premonition that Lord Voldemort will act at any time.
Our time is very tight; we must make some changes." Harrysaid very seriously, "The original plan remains unchanged: Ron and I will keep an eye on Hagrid to prevent him from revealing the secret.
Aaron, you and Hermione must closely monitor Snape, and inform us at the first sign of trouble.
But I suggest we add another layer of insurance: the two groups of us will take turns watching the trapdoor; whether it's Snape or Lord Voldemort, that door is a hurdle that must be crossed if they are to take action."
"But that place is strictly forbidden by the school for students to go," Hermione reminded him, "And we can't guard that door twenty-four hours a day.
If we appear too diligent, it will tip them off."
"There's no other way," Harry said with a bitter smile, "We have no evidence, and with no evidence at all, we can only use this fool method."
Hermione and Ron exchanged glances and nodded helplessly.
At this point, they could only try anything, just in case!
After the plan was finalized, the four left the classroom in batches.
However, from beginning to end, only two and a half were genuinely putting in mad effort.
Harry and Ron counted as two.
Harry's scar on his forehead was like a death warrant, forcing him to remain vigilant at all times.
Ron, as Harry's best friend, naturally had to look after his emotions and share his hardships.
Hermione counted as half.
She knew Snape wasn't a bad person, so her monitoring work was merely a show, putting in effort without actually contributing.
Only when watching the trapdoor was she slightly more serious, often seen as a Gryffindor of the first Class sitting on the stairs reviewing what she had learned, making many students feel ashamed of themselves.
Aaron, however, perfectly excused himself from the plan; he believed that paying attention to Dumbledore was more important than anything else.
Hagrid was unreliable, so there was no need to waste too much energy on him.
Snape was a Professor he respected, so there was even less need to monitor him.
As for the trapdoor... ha ha!
He strongly suspected that Harry was monitoring this door just for peace of mind.
Could they guard it during the day and also at night?
Students were not allowed out of their dorms at night, but Professors had that right.
It was also unlikely that the Dark Lord would openly steal things at Hogwarts; the time of action would most likely be at night... A few days later, Aaron, as usual, entered Professor Snape's office as if it were his own home.
"You're here again," Snape said, looking at Aaronspeechlessly, "Once a day, always at nine in the morning, very punctual!"
"I can't help it; I have to go to Professor McGonagall's office at two in the afternoon."
"It's almost vacation; do you really need to?"
"Learning is endless, Professor.
Every spell has its use, and regretting not having learned a spell when you need it is a Wizard's greatest sorrow."
"I admit what you said makes a lot of sense, but... don't you think you're coming a bit too frequently?" Snape gritted his teeth, pointing mournfully at the counters piled against his wall, "The various rare materials I painstakingly collected, you've squandered a tenth of them in these past few days."
Aaron awkwardly scratched his head, then said self-righteously, "It's not like I'm not paying you."
"Is this about money?
I'm not short on money, nor am I so short that I need to rely on selling materials to get by."
"I'll pay double," Aaron said calmly.
Snape froze for a moment, his face twitching slightly, but his tone was noticeably weaker, "I already said it's not about money."
"I know, this is just a small token of a student's appreciation, nothing else," Aaron said very sincerely, "Professor, you should actually be happy to have a student like me.
My success rate in brewing Potions these past few days has been at least seventy percent, and aren't all the finished products given to you?
All in all, you haven't just not lost money, you've made quite a bit."
"You still have the nerve to say that?" Snape's face immediately darkened, "Those materials in my hands could be used to brew higher-level Potions; with you, they're just for practice.
Seventy percent? Do you know how much you've wasted?"
"As if you succeed every time you brew a Potion," Aaron said weakly, but his voice was full of defiance.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing.
Professor, may I ask you a small question?"
"Go ahead."
"Would you kindly tell me who has a one hundred percent success rate in brewing Potions?
No one, right? Which famous Potion Master wasn't 'fed' with materials?"
Snape fell silent; he too had been a student, and naturally knew there was no so-called shortcut on this path.
Talent was essential, but besides talent, one could only continuously improve through practice.
"But you're squandering too much, and you start with rare materials right away."
"It's not like I can't afford it."
"Hmph! I truly admire that you can say such a thing so self-righteously," Snape sneered, "These past few days, you've come to my office every day to brew Potions using my materials and my equipment.
One bottle every day, each different; some simple Potions no longer pose a challenge to you, which is remarkable; your talent is almost comparable to mine.
But please think carefully, are you really that rich?
The materials you've wasted add up to three hundred Galleons; even Draco wouldn't dare to squander the House of Malfoy's wealth like that.
I need to remind you that what you are using now are your family's resources, not yours."
"They are mine," Aaron said calmly, "Although I am Pure-blood, my family is not like those ancient Pure-bloodfamilies.
As the sole heir, I have the right to open the family vault and use any resources within it."
Snape's mouth twitched upon hearing this.
He felt heartbroken; why didn't he encounter such good fortune when he was young?
Comparing himself, he only felt that the world was full of malice towards him.
"Hmph! Using your family's accumulated wealth to pay for your waste doesn't seem like anything to be proud of."
"Uh..." Aaron frowned slightly, then looked a bit embarrassed, "Actually, I opened a small shop in Diagon Alley a few years ago; apart from the convenience of using family channels for sourcing, everything else I handled myself.
So, even without relying on the family, I can earn a few hundred Galleons every month, enough to get by.
With these few years of accumulation, my private savings are barely five figures."
Snape:... "Get out."
"Professor, what do you mean by that?" Aaron asked, somewhat puzzled, "Do you look down on businessmen?"
"Don't put words in my mouth," Snape said, annoyed, "I've been teaching at Hogwarts for about ten years, and this is the first time I've encountered a student like you who likes to talk back to their teacher; is it amusing?"
"I'm just speaking the truth; is that also wrong?"
"No, it's not wrong at all," Snape quipped, "It just gives me the illusion that I might not even be worthy of being your teacher."
Aaron:...