Chapter 158 The Pseudo-Heir Fifty Years Ago
Gryffindor Common Room.
Harry and Ron were doing their History of Magic Classhomework, while Hermione, the top student who had already finished her assignment, was a bit distracted.
"Who could it be?" Hermione frowned, "Who would want to drive Squibs and Muggle-born Wizards out of Hogwarts?"
"Think about it, who despises Muggle-borns the most?" Ronlooked at Hermione and smiled meaningfully, "I think you already have the answer."
"It can't be Malfoy, can it?"
"Of course, it's him," Ron said seriously, "First, I want to clarify that this has nothing to do with personal grudges.
As far as I know, the House of Malfoy has been in Slytherinfor centuries. You all saw it during the Sorting last year; the Sorting Hat hadn't even touched his head before it shouted Slytherin. Doesn't that prove anything?
You also met his father, Lucius, at Flourish and Blotts. He looks down on not just Muggles, but even Wizards who associate with Muggles."
Hermione nodded blankly, saying with some doubt, "That sounds somewhat plausible."
"What do you mean'somewhat'?" Ron was a bit displeased, "Their family must hold the key to the Chamber of Secrets; it's been passed down for centuries."
"That..." Harry looked at the two, hesitating for several seconds, "Do you think it's possible it's Gaius?"
"That's impossible," Hermione decisively rejected the guess, saying indignantly, "Harry, you know what kind of person Aaron is; he absolutely cannot be Salazar Slytherin's heir."
"Perhaps Harry's guess is correct after all," Ron pondered, deep in thought, "Compared to Malfoy, he resembles Salazar Slytherin's heir more."
"Why are you saying that too?" Hermione frowned, "He's different from the other Slytherins; last year he even found a way to save us once."
"Don't be angry, Hermione.
I'm just stating the facts. Many Professors, even Headmaster Dumbledore, say he possesses all the qualities of Slytherin.
Ambition, shrewdness, valuing honor, assessing the situation, protecting himself, prioritizing victory, and so on and so forth. He is the embodiment of Slytherin; many people think so.
Moreover, the Gaius Family's Wizard bloodline is very pure, traceable back at least a thousand years."
"You can't be envious, jealous, and hateful just because someone is excellent," Hermione said, speechless.
Ron rolled his eyes, turned to Harry, "What do you think?"
Harry looked at the two, hesitated and opened his mouth, "I'm not suspecting him without reason.
First, on Halloween night, he appeared at the scene of the incident after us.
The three of us were at Nick's Deathday Party, which is why we weren't in the Great Hall. I heard a strange sound and then led you to that corridor.
But no sooner had we arrived than he followed right behind."
"That's just a coincidence," Hermione dismissed, "He also said he was going back to his dormitory."
"But it's too much of a coincidence!
Why did it have to be him? Why did it have to be Slytherin?" Harry asked, "And at the time, he was alone; no one can prove when he appeared there, perhaps even before us."
"Even if that was a coincidence, what about afterward?
We went to the crime scene, he went too, and immediately noticed those strange spiders.
Also, he seemed quite indifferent to Myrtle's answer.
Once is a coincidence, but twice being a coincidence is a bit hard to explain."
"See!" Ron shrugged at Hermione, "The suspicion just shot right up."
"Maybe both times were coincidences?" Hermione said somewhat uncertainly, "Besides, his purpose for going to the crime scene might have been the same as ours."
"Or it could have been to clean up accidentally left-behind evidence," Ron said calmly, "That's how it's always written in detective novels."
"I still don't believe it. Aaron has never looked down on half-bloods or Muggle-born Wizards.
He also didn't know Filch was a Squib, so he had no reason to harm Madam Norris."
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, their eyes filled with helplessness.
"I don't want to suspect him either," Harry whispered, "But mainly there are too many coincidences; besides Malfoy, he's the only other one who's most suspicious."
Ron nodded; he had the same thought, and he even added another reason for Aaron in his mind.
Aaron has a very good relationship with Malfoy, who despises half-bloods and Muggle-borns. Birds of a feather flock together; this is an insurmountable hurdle.
Hermione chuckled, "All in all, I don't believe it's him."
Harry and Ron looked at each other; they were only guessing and had no way to prove it.
"Let's put this question aside for now; there's no need to waste time on unrealistic speculation," Harry sighed slightly, "Let's investigate from other directions!"
Meanwhile, in the Slytherin Common Room.
Aaron sneezed several times in his dormitory, but he didn't pay it any mind.
After all, he was only twelve years old; although his physique far surpassed that of an adult, it didn't mean he wouldn't catch a cold in November.
Opening his notebook, Aaron looked at the clues he had compiled and pondered for a moment.
He turned the page, tore off the blank sheets behind it, and spread them on the wall.
Then he used his wand to transfer the clues from the notebook to the blank paper, creating a simple 'clue wall' with words but no pictures.
"Currently, there are two clues to investigate.
One is the identity of the heir, and the other is the identity of the monster in the Chamber of Secrets." Aaron stroked his chin, his mind working rapidly.
The heir is difficult to investigate, especially since they are a new student.
There are quite a few of them, but any one of them could be it.
Moreover, the other party wouldn't easily reveal flaws. To open the Chamber of Secrets and release the monster to commit crimes at the age of eleven, wouldn't that take immense courage?
However, the student who was expelled fifty years ago could be investigated, but the difficulty wouldn't be small.
Fifty years ago, the time span is too great; even the Professors at the school might not know anything. It's estimated that no one except Principal Dumbledore is clear about that history.
But Aaron didn't want to deal with Dumbledore; the old man seemed kind and amiable, a competent Principal in the eyes of most students.
But for some reason, every time he saw him, Aaron felt that the other party was deep in thought, with a feeling that he might be sold off if he wasn't careful.
Thinking of the profoundness in Dumbledore's eyes, Aaronshivered abruptly, then shifted his thoughts to the identity of the monster.
A magical creature with terrifying petrification abilities, already existing in Salazar Slytherin's era, extremely long-lived, possibly a natural enemy of spiders... Phew!
Aaron exhaled a long breath. With these clues, determining the creature's identity wasn't really that difficult.
After class the next day, Aaron took Abey outside the Castle.
Arriving at Hagrid's Hut, Abey, whom he held in his arms, reluctantly turned his face away.
"Let's go! Who else in this school understands magical creatures best but him!" Aaron said, knocking on the door.
"Who is it?"
Hagrid opened the door, somewhat surprised to see Aaron.
"Well, this is a rare visitor!
What makes you come here? Abey isn't sick, is he!"
"Can't you think of something good?
My dragon cub is in great shape and eats everything with relish." Aaron rolled his eyes at him in annoyance, walked into the house, found a random place to sit, "This time I came specifically because I have some questions, and I estimate that only you in all of Hogwarts can give me the answers."
Hagrid's eyebrows raised at the words, his thick beard trembling, his inner self-satisfaction clearly evident.
"You go first, but I can't guarantee I can answer."
"It's about the Chamber of Secrets," Aaron said faintly, "I found..."
Aaron's words stopped abruptly mid-sentence, because Hagrid, sitting opposite him, trembled slightly, and the smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a look of fear.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Hagrid forced a bitter smile, feigning cheerfulness, "I'm perfectly fine."
"You don't look fine.
I'm just asking some questions; you don't need to be nervous." Aaron tried his best to make his tone calm, "Hagrid, I've found some clues about the Chamber of Secrets."
"Oh, really?" Hagrid was a bit distracted, "What have you found?"
"Many things, the identity of the heir..."
"It's not me, it's really not me." Hagrid stood up excitedly, "I was framed, I'm really not Salazar Slytherin's heir."
"I didn't say it was you!" Aaron gave an awkward laugh, but then he seemed to think of something, his expression changing slightly.
According to the clue Draco provided, the person who opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago was expelled, and Hagrid apparently became the gamekeeper after being expelled.
Fifty years is nothing for a Giant, and it matches his current appearance.
Gollum!
Aaron swallowed, somewhat nervously asking, "You wouldn't happen to be that Wizard who was expelled fifty years ago, would you?"
"But I really was framed," Hagrid said with a dejected expression, his eyes squeezing together in distress, "However, almost no one believed me back then.
If it weren't for Dumbledore's strong protection, plus insufficient evidence, I probably would have been locked up in Azkaban forever."
"That's quite pitiful, but I'm willing to believe you."
"You believe me?"
"Of course." Aaron nodded very seriously.
Rubeus Hagrid is Salazar Slytherin's heir? What a joke?
No matter how much Salazar Slytherin lowered his standards for an heir, he would still find a normal Wizard, not a Giant; that's too far-fetched.
Moreover, Hagrid has no filter, he's overly honest and straightforward, and has absolutely no connection to Slytherin whatsoever.
"Alright, back to the main topic, what I want to ask you is whether you know the identity of the monster in the Chamber of Secrets?"
"I don't know," Hagrid said apologetically.
"Of course, I know you don't know, but I have clues that might help us figure it out," Aaron said with a composed air, "A magical creature with petrification abilities, extremely long-lived, possibly a natural enemy of spiders."