Chapter 156: Integrated Clues
The next morning, Aaron went to the Library after breakfast.
His current task was to find the legendary Chamber of Secrets, but he knew nothing about it and could only search for answers in books.
Aaron had also asked Draco, but he only had a vague understanding.
Lucius had told him that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened fifty years ago, but the person who opened it was expelled, and a Wizard of Muggle-born origin died that time. Other than that, there were no other clues.
However, he spent over an hour and couldn't find a single book related to the school's history, which was clearly abnormal.
Aaron frowned and approached Madam Pince, the librarian, "Madam Pince, I'd like to ask where I can find books about Hogwarts's history?"
"Sorry, Aaron, you're too late," Madam Pince said with a hint of schadenfreude, "When the Library opened today, a group of Wizards specifically came and borrowed all those books. Not a single one was left."
Upon hearing this, Aaron felt a string of exclamation marks float above his head.
Damn, do they have to be so competitive?
"You're looking for clues about the Chamber of Secrets, aren't you?" Madam Pince asked meaningfully, "I wasn't there last night, but the news spread this morning."
"Then Madam Pince, do you know about the Chamber of Secrets?"
"I don't know. I'm just an ordinary librarian; I don't really know that much.
But I can tell you something else." Madam Pince lowered her voice, "The books about Hogwarts's history don't have the answers you're looking for."
Aaron blinked, then thanked her in a daze.
He didn't think Madam Pince was lying to him. This Witchhad been in charge of the Library for over ten years, and her love and familiarity with books were astounding.
He couldn't say she had read all the books here, but her understanding of them was definitely number one at Hogwarts.
"Excuse me, Madam Pince."
"It's alright. If you really want to know about the Chamber of Secrets, you can ask the Professors at the school; they should know some clues."
Aaron nodded slightly, but he didn't hold much hope.
The Professors might know a bit more than Lucius, but they might not know the key points, otherwise the Chamber of Secrets wouldn't still be undiscovered today... Transfiguration Class.
Professor McGonagall finished lecturing on the theoretical knowledge from the textbook, looking at the second-year Gryffindor and Slytherin students sitting below her.
Behind her were two blackboards with a parrot and a goblet drawn on them.
"Attention everyone, today we're going to learn how to turn animals into goblets." Professor McGonagall walked up to a parrot, "Just like this, one, two, three, dramatic change."
A transparent wave of air shot from the tip of her wand, and the parrot instantly transformed into a transparent crystal goblet, completely devoid of any animal features.
The students below were in an uproar, full of interest in this level of Transfiguration.
"Now it's your turn, who wants to go first." Professor McGonagall stepped down from the podium and began to search for suitable candidates.
After walking around, her gaze wavered between Ron and Aaron, as they were the only ones in the entire Class who had pets, making it convenient for demonstration.
But seeing the tape wrapped around Ron's wand, her eye twitched, and she immediately ruled him out.
"Mr. Gaius, you go ahead!
One, two, three, dramatic change."
"Uh..." Aaron hesitated and smiled, "Professor, does this spell work on any animal? What happens if I fail?"
Professor McGonagall paused, then saw Abey napping on Aaron's desk, and suddenly realized it was a magical animal with a certain resistance to magic. It wouldn't be good if the spell bounced off.
"Let's give you another one." Professor McGonagall tapped a cage by the wall with her wand, bringing an owl from inside to Aaron, "Begin!"
Aaron raised an eyebrow, picked up his black wand, and said, "Dramatic change."
A silver light flashed on the wand, and the owl turned into a silver goblet, with the Slytherin emblem wrapped around its surface.
"Excellent." Professor McGonagall exclaimed, "Five points to Slytherin."
"Anyone else want to try?"
At this moment, Hermione raised her right hand.
"Miss Granger, I presume you also have an interest in this."
"No, Professor, I wanted to ask a different question.
Could you tell us what the Chamber of Secrets is all about?"
Hermione's expression was a bit unnatural, after all, the question she asked had nothing to do with Transfiguration.
Moreover, after Halloween, the Chamber of Secrets was a sensitive topic. It was fine to investigate it privately, but asking about it in Class was somewhat difficult.
Sure enough, Professor McGonagall's expression changed slightly, clearly not wanting to answer the question.
But the suddenly quiet Class and the curious gazes of everyone ultimately softened her heart.
"Alright!" Professor McGonagall began to pace slowly in the classroom, "As everyone knows, Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest Wizards of the time: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin.
Three of the founders got along well; the other did not.
Salazar Slytherin wanted Hogwarts to be more selective in admitting students. He believed that magic education should be limited to magical families, meaning Pure-bloodWizards.
He couldn't change the minds of the other three, so he decided to leave the school.
According to legend, Slytherin created a secret room within this Castle, known as the Chamber of Secrets.
However, he sealed the Chamber of Secrets shortly before leaving, waiting for his true heir to return to the school. Only this heir could open the Chamber of Secrets and unleash the horror within.
This would purify the school, removing those whom Slytherin deemed unworthy of learning magic."
"Professor, do you know what's in the Chamber of Secrets?" Aaron asked, raising his hand.
"It is said that the thing living in the Chamber of Secrets can only be controlled by Slytherin's heir. Some say it's a monster."
"Of course, school staff have searched countless times, but no one has found the Chamber of Secrets."
After Class, students left the classroom in twos and threes.
Aaron, however, looked at the notebook on his desk and sighed with a hint of regret, "So troublesome! But I did gain something."
He had listened carefully to every word Professor McGonagall said and wrote it down verbatim.
He had to admit, she knew a bit more clues, but they were too jumbled and needed careful sorting.
"Aaron, what are you looking at?" Draco leaned over and asked, then looked at the content in the notebook with some surprise, "Why are you writing this down?"
"Nothing, I'm just a little interested in the Chamber of Secrets."
"The Chamber of Secrets? That doesn't seem to have anything to do with you!"
"No."
"Then don't look for it. It wouldn't be good if you were accidentally injured by the monster in the Chamber of Secrets." Draco advised, "According to legend, the unlucky ones are those Muggle-born Wizards; we Pure-bloodWizards are still very safe."
"I didn't intend to provoke that monster; I'm simply interested in Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets.
A secret base built by a Saint Magister, which Hogwarts has searched for so many years without finding, is full of mystery."
Hearing this, Draco also became a little interested.
A Saint Magister's secret base would definitely not contain only one monster; there might even be Slytherin's treasures.
But soon, he shivered involuntarily. Even if there were magical artifacts or magical tomes, the Malfoys couldn't covet them.
Unless Slytherin's heir died and those things became ownerless, only then would the Malfoys have a chance to contend for them.
"Looking at you, I can tell you're scared." Aaron teased, "But I guess it's understandable!"
Draco gave an awkward smile and didn't deny it.
"So, what clues do you have now?"
"A tangled mess, I can only unravel it slowly.
You go eat first! I'll think about it by myself."
After Draco left, Aaron was the only one left in the classroom.
He picked up a piece of chalk and walked to the podium, writing down all the clues he knew on the blackboard.
First, the real events Draco knew: the Chamber of Secretswas opened once fifty years ago; the person who opened it was expelled; a Muggle-born Wizard died.
Next, the legend of the Chamber of Secrets that Professor McGonagall knew: only Slytherin's heir could open the Chamber of Secrets; there was a monster inside the Chamber of Secrets; the monster would purge all Muggle-born Wizards.
Finally, what he himself knew: the petrified cat; Harry Pottercould hear sounds others couldn't; the crime scene was full of water stains.
Looking at these clues, Aaron's mouth curved slightly upwards. His intuition clearly told him that the location of the Chamber of Secrets was within these clues; it just needed some time to find.
However, before searching for the Chamber of Secrets, he also had to do protective work. He had to guard against that monster!
Just as Aaron was thinking this, the system's voice echoed in his mind again.
[Kill the monster inside the Chamber of Secrets:
Completing the task rewards 1000 magic points. There is no penalty for task failure. Does the host accept?]
Aaron:...This is what you call stirring things up!
"Accepted. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. At worst, I'll experience what it feels like to give up halfway."