Chapter 121: Being a Guest or Taking Refuge
Abey flew at high speed for nearly half an hour, and when he saw an ancient Castle not far away, he let out a low roar.
"Hmm? We're here?"
Aaron rubbed his eyes and did not go in directly, but had Abey slow down and land in front of the wrought iron gate.
The man and the Dragon dispelled their invisibility the moment they landed, and Abey also shrank to his normal size, changing into his own clothes.
Two white claws touched his chest pocket, and as he breathed a sigh of relief, he laughed carelessly.
Aaron was somewhat speechless at this sight, as he hadn't touched anything in that pocket.
"Aaron." A slightly surprised voice came from the sky as Draco flew down rapidly on his magic broom. "You didn't even give us a heads-up when you came to my house."
"It happened so suddenly, I didn't have time," Aaronexplained, then looked at Draco's broom. The exquisite black broom had the words 'Nimbus 2001' clearly printed on it.
Noticing Aaron's gaze, Draco proudly brought the broom closer for him to see. "How is it? This is the latest Nimbusseries. My father bought it for me a few weeks ago."
"Uh... are you going to join the Slytherin Quidditch team?"
"You figured me out." Draco wasn't at all embarrassed. "My father bought seven Nimbus 2001s. Equipping the Slytherinteam with them will definitely crush Harry Potter's Nimbus 2000."
"There's nothing wrong with that."
Aaron was noncommittal; equipment was also a part of strength.
If one were to give up their advantage to an opponent for fairness in this day and age, they would definitely be out of their mind.
"Aren't you going to invite me in for a seat?"
"Sorry, I almost forgot." Draco quickly opened the iron gate. "Please come in."
Walking through the gate, Aaron finally had the chance to admire the lord-style mansion.
A garden surrounded the central Castle, calming one's mood considerably. Fountains and white peacocks roaming freely were everywhere.
The interior of the Manor was even more luxurious, with magnificent decorations, marble fireplaces, and even the mirrors were gilded. Thick carpets covered the stone floor tiles.
Anyone's first impression upon entering here was that this family was not short on money; the second impression was that this family was extremely rich.
"As expected of a high-class Wizard family!" Aaron sat on the sofa, unable to help but exclaim, "The setup is utterly luxurious."
"Your family is like this too, right?" Draco asked curiously. "My father said your family's heritage goes back much further."
"I admit the latter part, but the former part deviates from the truth a bit.
Gaius Castle undergoes certain design modifications with the progress of the times. It has been renovated countless times by now, and its retro ambiance can't compare to Malfoy Manor.
Moreover, our family's garden doesn't surround the Castle, nor do we keep so many white peacocks.
Don't laugh, but our family's only pet, besides the owls used for communication, is this one I'm holding."
Draco was stunned for a moment, looking at Abey lying in Aaron's arms, and said speechlessly, "But your pet is far beyond what those peacocks can compare to."
"Speaking of which, what made you think of coming to my house? Isn't school starting in three days?"
"It's a long story!" Aaron sighed with melancholy. "I might have to stay at your house for a few days."
"No problem, you're my best friend." Draco said without hesitation, "I'll arrange a room for you right away."
"Wait!"
Aaron stopped him and, after a moment of hesitation, said, "Let's wait until your father comes back and discuss it with him before making a decision!"
"That won't be necessary. I can make decisions on such small matters," Draco said proudly. "Besides, my father would be very happy if he knew you were here."
"Under normal circumstances, that might be true." Aaronsmiled somewhat awkwardly. "But there's been a slight accident."
Hearing this, the joy on Draco's face also subsided a little. "What happened?"
"Let's put it this way!
I ran away from home, snuck out.
So, my presence at your house needs to be kept a secret."
Draco's expression also became complicated upon hearing this.
If Aaron were simply visiting, he could arrange it in a minute, but he wasn't just temporarily staying this time; he was looking for a temporary refuge.
This matter certainly couldn't be hidden from his father, Lucius Malfoy, after all, taking in the sole heir of a reclusive family without any permission and keeping it secret was somewhat meddlesome.
"Now you understand, right?"
"I understand." Draco nodded. "But I'm still a bit confused. Why would you run away from home for no reason?"
"Who would choose to leave their home if they couldn't stand it anymore!" Aaron said wistfully. "During the holidays, I suffered a lot of unfair treatment at home.
Can you imagine having only seven or eight hours of free time a day, including eating and sleeping?"
"Hiss!"
Draco gasped. His holiday was either eating, drinking, and having fun, or on the way to eating, drinking, and having fun. At most, he would follow his father to handle some private matters, get to know people, and build some connections.
Compared to Aaron, he was simply too much happier.
"How exactly did your family arrange your holiday?" Dracoasked, full of curiosity, but then, thinking this might be a painful memory for Aaron, he quickly added, "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."
"There's nothing I can't talk about.
They just arranged some tutoring classes for me, but the content of the studies was truly... unbearable. It was simply not something a twelve-year-old should be learning."
Aaron said, spreading his hands, which were full of calluses.
"This is too much." Seeing this, Draco also felt a surge of anger. "I've never seen anyone arrange such torturous courses for their child."
"Who says it isn't?
Sometimes I really wonder if I'm their biological child.
It's one thing not to see them much all year, and I can accept being casually handed over to the butler to raise me.
But when those courses piled up, that suffocating feeling, I truly couldn't accept it. It was too much Pain!"
Draco could clearly feel the depression in his best friend's voice, and while empathizing, he also comforted him, saying, "I don't know if my father will agree to you staying at my house for these two days, but I promise I'll try my best to persuade him."
"Thank you!"
Aaron was somewhat moved. Regardless of the final outcome, Draco's attitude alone made him feel that he had not made a mistake in befriending him; he was reliable in critical moments.
"You don't have to force yourself. If it doesn't work out, I have a Plan B."
"Plan B?" Draco reacted, looking at Aaron with some suspicion. "It's not that I'm trying to discourage you, but are you sure your Plan B will take in a child of noble status who has run away from home?"
Aaron shrugged, nodding very seriously.
He had carefully considered placing his first target at Malfoy Manor instead of The Burrow.
If Malfoy allowed him to stay temporarily, that would be great. If not, it didn't matter.
As long as Aaron reached The Burrow and told Ron's parents about the Malfoy family's actions, given the terrible relationship between Weasley and Malfoy, what Malfoyopposed, Weasley would definitely support.
Although the Weasley family was poor, Arthur Weasley's character was definitely much stronger than Lucius Malfoy's, and their family would try to conceal his whereabouts.
At this moment, green flames suddenly appeared in the marble fireplace, and two figures emerged from it.
One was Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, and the other was Draco's mother, Narcissa Malfoy.
Narcissa Malfoy was the third daughter of the Pure-bloodBlack family, with golden hair and blue eyes, appearing very noble in both lineage and demeanor.
"We have a guest?" Lucius saw an extra person in the house and reminded his wife next to him.
"Yes, Father, it's my best friend."
"Hmm!" Lucius nodded, then clearly saw that it was Aaronsitting there, and a smile appeared on his face. "It's Aaron! It's rare. Are you here to play with Draco?"
"I don't want to deceive you, Uncle Lucius." Aaron stood up, then looked at the woman beside Lucius and gave her an apologetic smile. "Of course, I don't want to deceive you either, Aunt Narcissa. It's our first meeting, may I call you Auntie?"
"Of course you may." Narcissa said with a smile, "Draco has you to thank for taking care of him at Hogwarts."
"Aaron, what do you mean you don't want to deceive us?" Lucius asked somewhat puzzled. "Are you not here to see Draco?"
"Indeed not. I came to Malfoy Manor for refuge."
"Don't be so formal." Draco stepped forward to explain, "Aaron ran away from home and wants to stay at our house for a few days."
The Malfoy couple exchanged glances, both simultaneously thinking of a small incident that had occurred in Knockturn Alley.
"Well, Aaron, we just went to Knockturn Alley to take care of some business," Lucius said. "On the way, we met a refined man who seemed to be asking about the whereabouts of a twelve-year-old child."
"He's probably looking for me." Aaron said helplessly. He hadn't expected Gines to act so quickly, but what he hadn't expected even more was that their search target was so simple.
A twelve-year-old child—this undoubtedly expanded the search area many times over, but all the disguises he had thought of to mislead them became completely useless.