Chapter 132: The feeling of having nowhere to go
Slap!
Life's slap was so loud, so unexpected.
One second, Aaron was still smugly pleased with successfully completing his strategic transfer and outsmarting Gines the butler, but he never expected to see a wanted poster for himself the next second. It was like a bolt from the blue.
Arthur, the head of the Weasley family, was so used to poverty that he looked at Aaron as if he were a mountain of gold, with money symbols occasionally flashing in his eyes.
Aaron chuckled awkwardly, quickly lowered his head, and dared not meet his gaze.
How mean, so mean, incredibly mean, utterly mean!
It was just one runaway attempt, was it necessary to involve the Ministry of Magic?
This external help was too exaggerated. Are they not playing fair?
"Aaron, you..." Ron swallowed, his expression complex, and a forced smile appeared on his lips. "I didn't expect you to be so valuable."
"Five thousand Galleons!" Fred laughed. "I've never seen so much money in my life."
"If we sold you, our house could be redecorated," Georgesaid, looking at Aaron. "Why don't you take pity on us?"
Aaron's mouth twitched uncontrollably. He actually heard a hint of temptation in that sentence.
Are you kidding? I pity you, but who pities me?
It was hard enough to escape from home, hard enough to avoid the dangerous stage, but he didn't expect to walk into the lion's den in the second half. It was truly sad, ridiculous, and lamentable.
"Um... you guys aren't really planning to hand Aaron over to the Ministry of Magic, are you?" Harry Potter said with some difficulty. "He saved Ron and me."
George and Fred exchanged glances and laughed in unison: "We were just saying it casually, to lighten the mood."
Aaron let out half a breath of relief, then turned his gaze to Arthur and Molly.
In the Weasley family, children have a certain say, but the real decision-making power rests with the parents.
"Haha!" Arthur sat opposite Aaron and said in a very kind tone, "Don't be so nervous. We know a little about your reputation.
Harry, Ron, George, Fred, Percy, and even PrincipalDumbledore of Hogwarts have all mentioned you.
I just couldn't help myself earlier, because you know, it's not every day that pie falls from the sky, especially such a big piece of pie."
"I understand, I understand," Aaron forced a smile. "But I'm still quite scared, after all, five thousand Galleons is not a small sum."
"Tell me about it!" Molly said with a look of regret. "If only you hadn't saved Ron, then we wouldn't have any psychological burden handing you over."
"What?" Ron looked at his mother in astonishment. He had previously thought Aaron wasn't their biological child, but now he felt like he was the one who had been picked up.
"Just kidding," Molly rolled her eyes at Ron. "I just wanted to express that the Weasley family doesn't betray friends.
Actually, even if you hadn't saved Ron and Harry, we wouldn't report a twelve-year-old child to the Ministry of Magic, especially since you haven't committed any crime."
Aaron breathed a sigh of relief, but whether he truly believed it, only he knew.
"So... back to the main topic," Arthur rubbed his hands excitedly. "Aaron, why did you run away from home?
Of course, if you don't want to say, you don't have to, but I still hope you can satisfy my curiosity.
After all, this is no small matter. Your family even went through the Ministry of Magic to find you quickly, issuing an internal bounty.
You'd best not wander around casually right now. Many Ministry of Magic employees see you as a considerable bonus and year-end performance."
Aaron's smile grew even more bitter at his words.
He had originally thought The Burrow was no longer safe and planned to secretly find another place to move to, but now it seemed that whether he wanted to or not, he couldn't leave here for the time being.
Once this bounty was out, he would be targeted as soon as he showed his face.
Compared to being hunted, he might as well surrender voluntarily; at least it would be more dignified.
Thinking this, Aaron showed them the calluses on his hands in front of everyone, then said seriously, "Although it may seem a bit unbelievable, the tutoring classes my family signed me up for were... brutal.
This kind of life has been going on for nearly two months, and I couldn't take it anymore, so I ran away."
Everyone looked at each other, and a hint of sympathy for Aaron arose in their hearts.
Arthur stroked his thinning red hair and comforted him, "That explains it. If it were me, I'd probably run too."
Harry Potter felt the deepest empathy. He had suffered a lot of grievances and bullying at the Dursley family, but even they hadn't treated him so cruelly.
"Poor child," Molly sighed.
Arthur gave his wife a hug, then turned back to Aaron. "You can stay here for the next couple of days!
But let me say upfront, our family's conditions aren't as good as big families like yours, so..."
"It's okay, I'm not that delicate," Aaron waved his hand dismissively. After a moment of hesitation, he continued, "To be honest, before I came here, I stayed at Malfoy Manor for a day."
"What?"
Everyone exclaimed in unison, their faces full of astonishment.
"Maybe I misunderstood," Ron said. "Is it the Malfoy I'm thinking of?"
"Lucius Malfoy?" Arthur was also incredulous.
Aaron nodded, noncommittally.
"I know you have a good relationship with Draco, but why did you think of going to their house first?
That family is not just generally annoying," Ron said, displeased. Harry and the Weasley brothers next to him nodded in strong agreement.
"Since I planned to run away, I made some preparations.
I definitely couldn't go to relatives' houses, and I couldn't go to Muggle hotels or places with too many people.
That left only classmates' homes. As for going to Malfoy Manor first, there's only one reason: their house is closer.
I know this might be hard for the Weasley family to accept, but I think it's better to be clear about some things now, otherwise, it might lead to unnecessary misunderstandings later."
"That's true," George mused. "After all, we and the Malfoyfamily all go to Hogwarts, and we see each other every day."
"Uh... that, if I may be so bold as to ask," Arthur said, a little embarrassed, "Since you stayed at Malfoy Manor for a day, what's the situation there...?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Weasley.
Although I stayed at Malfoy Manor, I understand that my identity is merely that of a guest."
"Alright!"
Arthur was a bit disappointed. He had originally wanted to ask Aaron if the Malfoy family had any contraband, as he had wanted Lucius to suffer for a long time.
But now it seemed that opportunity was gone. A guest in the host's house naturally had to be well-behaved and not know what they shouldn't.
However, precisely because of this, Arthur's opinion of Aaron improved significantly. Although he was a Slytherin, he seemed very sensible.
"Aaron," Harry suddenly asked, "Did you encounter a house-elf at the Malfoy family's place? One that was dressed in rags and punished himself from time to time."
"Dobby?"
"That's him! It really is the Malfoy family," Harry said indignantly. "It's truly despicable. The Malfoy family doesn't want me to return to Hogwarts."
"I've looked into the matter a bit and have already reprimanded Dobby," Aaron said. "He knows he was wrong, but he said it was for your own good."
Harry opened his mouth, but said nothing more.
In his opinion, Dobby was still very kind, but his status dictated that he couldn't disobey his master's orders, and his master happened to be a Malfoy.
"Ahem!" Molly cleared her throat. "A guest has come all this way, not for you to interrogate him.
Fred, George, Ron, do we still have any living space in our house?"
The three brothers froze for a moment, exchanged glances, and a hint of embarrassment appeared on their faces.
"Apparently, no," Ron said, looking apologetically at Aaron. "We completely didn't expect you to come.
Harry is currently sharing a room with me, Fred and Georgeare in one room, my mom and dad are in one room, Percy's room is used for work and can't fit a second person, and all that's left is Ginny's..."
"Ron Weasley!" Molly suddenly roared. "Do you know what you're saying?"
Flames seemed to shoot from her eyes, and a formidable aura instantly erupted in the crowded living room.
Aaron could clearly feel everyone, including Harry Potter, unconsciously trembling. Indeed, when a woman gets angry, her danger level is second only to a Tibetan Mastiff!
"Mom, Mom, let me finish," Ron stammered. "Ginny is our youngest sister, so her room definitely can't be given to you."
The flames of anger gradually subsided. Mrs. Weasleyglared fiercely at Ron, then turned and gave Aaron an apologetic look.
"I'm so sorry, child. How about... we temporarily build a small hut for you?
Arthur's shed is quite good. I've disliked it for a long time. After dismantling it, the materials will be readily available."
Arthur Weasley:... "This is a bit..." Arthur stopped mid-sentence when he saw the flickering flames in Molly's eyes, and decisively chose to yield, "That's a truly excellent suggestion. I have no objections whatsoever."