Chapter 173: Telling Everything, the Gap of Misunderstanding
"Can you tell us what clues you've found?" Hermione asked, her face full of anticipation.
"This…" Aaron hesitated for a moment, then mused, "Draco, you know I've been investigating the Chamber of Secrets, so you should be able to guess that I didn't tell you more because I didn't want you to get involved!
The more you know, the more dangerous it is. You're one of my few friends, and a pure-blood, so you can completely stay out of it."
"We're not afraid of danger," Harry said somewhat eagerly, but then, remembering his current identity, he immediately added, "Otherwise, Malfoy wouldn't have brought us here."
Aaron raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Are you really Goyle? You seem particularly strange, a bit different from usual."
"He's probably just too excited," Hermione interjected, smoothing things over. "You should hurry up and tell us!
Like he said, we're not afraid of danger, and the Heir of Slytherin wouldn't harm pure-bloods, right?"
"Alright!" Aaron pulled out his wand, lightly tapped the wall, and a dense network of clues appeared before them.
"These are the clues I've pieced together." Aaron pointed proudly at a snake in the center. "First, the identity of the monster in the Chamber of Secrets—the Basilisk."
"Are you sure?" Harry's eyes widened slightly. The three of them had investigated for a long time with no discoveries, but now the answer was right in front of them, so easy it was almost unbelievable.
"Goyle, it's best not to interrupt when others are speaking.
Also, don't you think you've been talking a bit much today?" Hermione said, glaring at Harry, signaling him not to be too eager. Half an hour was enough to understand everything.
Harry nodded, swallowing awkwardly.
"No need to be so nervous." Aaron waved his hand dismissively. "It's a serious matter, so it's understandable to want to clarify everything.
Draco, you told me the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago. I unexpectedly found the Heir who was expelled fifty years ago…"
Harry's expression shifted slightly. Just as he was about to ask, Ron elbowed him.
Their identities were Malfoy's cronies. Malfoy hadn't said much, so it wasn't their turn to ask questions.
"The Heir from fifty years ago?" Hermione asked, somewhat surprised. "Who is it?"
"I'm sorry, I can't say.
But that's not important. What's important is that I learned some clues from him.
The monster in the Chamber of Secrets is the natural enemy of spiders."
The three exchanged glances, thinking of the group of spiders anxiously fleeing from the window at the crime scene that day, and nodded in silent agreement.
"Professor McGonagall also said that the monster was kept by Salazar Slytherin, which means it might have lived for over a thousand years.
The natural enemy of spiders, a lifespan of over a thousand years, plus Madam Norris's petrified state, and so on and so forth.
Think about it, really think about it, this must be some kind of extremely vicious magical creature, isn't it?" Aaron smiled. "While everyone else was foolishly busy looking for non-existent clues in the school history, I borrowed all the books about magical creatures from Madam Pince. The only one that fits these characteristics is the Basilisk."
"A Basilisk possesses a terrible power. Any creature that meets its gaze directly will die instantly, while indirect contact will result in petrification.
Madam Norris probably saw its eyes through a reflection in water, Justin likely saw its eyes through Nick's body, and as for Nick, he's a ghost; he's already died once, so dying again would be a luxury."
"What about Colin?" Hermione asked. "He was petrified too, wasn't he?"
"Uh… I guided him, but he was just unlucky," Aaron shrugged. "After the Quidditch match, he went to see Harry Potter, but in the corridor, Abbie sent me a warning.
At that time, it was just him and me, a pure-blood Wizardand a Muggle-born Wizard. It was obvious who the Basiliskwould attack."
"With your ability, you should have been able to take him and run!" Harry's voice held a hint of anger, but he concealed it well.
"Heh heh! Goyle, when did you become so sympathetic?"
"Uh… I was just curious."
"Then I'll satisfy your curiosity," Aaron explained. "The situation was critical, and I was indeed torn between life and morality.
At that time, I knew very well that if I turned and ran, the Basilisk definitely wouldn't harm me.
But what if I took Colin with me? What if the Basiliskchased us? I wouldn't dare to gamble with my life."
"So you just watched?"
Hermione said, somewhat stunned. While self-preservation was natural, Aaron's actions seemed rather cold. She even felt that she might have misjudged him.
"Of course not.
Before Colin turned into that corridor, I told him to take some photos to Harry."
"Oh, I understand." Hermione suddenly realized. "By looking at the Basilisk through a camera, the worst outcome would only be petrification, and the school has enough Mandrakes. As soon as the herb matures, Colin can be restored."
Snap!
Aaron snapped his fingers. "Exactly.
I couldn't risk it, so I could only use this method to save his life.
Wizards our age, without sufficient preparation, have no chance of defeating a magical creature from Salazar's era. Choosing petrification over death is not a bad idea, at least he can be saved."
"So that's how it is!" Hermione nodded, then turned and gave Harry and Ron a meaningful look.
You heard that, right? This is the person you suspected.
Luckily, they didn't confront him directly, or their friendship would have a difficult-to-mend rift.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, feeling utterly ashamed. The villain they had suspected all along was actually a great person.
"Wait." Harry raised his right hand. "I have a small question. Since we know the creature in the Chamber of Secrets is a Basilisk, why not tell Dumbledore?"
"Good idea, what a good idea, why didn't I think of that!" Aaron laughed meaningfully, feigning an expression of sudden realization. "Tell Dumbledore, and then let him tell all the school staff and students that we've discovered Salazar kept a Basilisk, so everyone's safety is sufficiently guaranteed."
Harry scratched his head awkwardly, but Aaron's next words wiped the smile from his face.
"The Heir of Slytherin might lay low, continuing to hide in Hogwarts as a ticking time bomb, but who knows if he might release the Basilisk in a fit of rage and go for a fight to the death?
He has already ordered the Basilisk to kill several people. Do you really think he has any compassion?
A giant snake that has lived for thousands of years! Even the Professors of the school wouldn't find it easy to deal with it. How difficult could it be to kill us underage Wizards?"
Harry was somewhat dejected, and Ron didn't know how to comfort him.
It seemed that knowing about the Basilisk's existence was of no use, other than providing an extra option when facing it: indirect gaze.
Petrification, though unpleasant, at least saved a life.
Hermione pondered for a moment, then murmured, "What if we tell Dumbledore, ask him not to spread the word, and prepare in secret?"
"Draco, I'm glad you're willing to acknowledge Dumbledore.
But without finding the Chamber of Secrets, or without finding the Heir of Slytherin, nothing we do will matter.
Dumbledore will either do nothing, or he will prepare the Basilisk's natural enemy."
"The Basilisk has a natural enemy?" Harry asked excitedly. If they prepared in advance, wouldn't Hogwarts be less dangerous?
"Goyle, I know what you're thinking from your expression, but do you think I haven't thought of it?"
Hearing this, Harry's heart sank again.
His mood had been like a rollercoaster in the past ten minutes, constantly rising and falling.
"The Basilisk's natural enemy is the rooster.
But I regret to tell you that on the day Justin was attacked, Harry Potter and I went to Dumbledore's office, and Hagridwas holding a dead rooster at that time.
In other words, the Heir has already started eliminating the Basilisk's threat. If the number of roosters in the school increases, he will definitely know. If he decides he doesn't want to play anymore, the entire Hogwarts will be extremely dangerous."
"So there's nothing we can do? We can't do anything?"
"You could say that, but the school has the greatest white Wizard of this century. The opponent will be hesitant to act and won't launch a large-scale massacre, only targeting isolated Muggle-born Wizards.
And we are all pure-bloods, so as long as we pose no threat to him, we are still safe."
"What about the Muggle-born Wizards?" Hermione said, somewhat anxiously. "For example, Hermione Granger, isn't she your friend too?"
"Of course, I'm well-prepared for that." Aaron raised his wand and pointed it at the corner of the wall.
A pale white light flashed, and a simple chicken coop appeared before the three, but what surprised them even more were the two roosters inside the cage.
"These are life-saving items. I caught them from the chicken coop on the day of the Quidditch match, without anyone knowing.
The Heir might have started killing roosters a long time ago, but he doesn't know about the existence of these two." Aaron gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Stealing public property might cost Slytherin ten points or more.
However, once the opponent starts attacking students recklessly, having these two roosters can ensure the safety of most students.
Thinking about it, I'm quite great."
Hermione and Ron looked at Harry again, their meaningful gazes making him blush and unable to lift his head.
He had previously confidently guaranteed that Aaron's beneficial and harmless actions were to eliminate Muggle-born Wizards, but he hadn't expected that Aaron was quietly preparing to protect the entire school.
"What are you all looking at him for?" Aaron asked, somewhat surprised. "Draco, are you hiding something from me?"
"No," Hermione immediately shook her head. "You know me, I've never lied to you."
Aaron frowned, carefully observing the expressions of the three, highly suspicious that they were hiding something from him.
But he wouldn't ask further. What needed to be said would eventually be said, and what shouldn't be said couldn't be extracted no matter how much he asked.
"Forget it, everything today is just inexplicable."
"Aaron, can we only passively protect ourselves?"
"Draco, I really didn't expect you to worry about those Muggle-born Wizards.
Mr. Lucius's expression probably wouldn't be too good if he knew, but you're right, I'm not the kind of person who only knows how to live in peace. If Hogwarts closed down, it wouldn't be good for me."
As he spoke, Aaron waved his wand, and another clue wall appeared before the three.
"This is…"
Hermione's eyes widened, and Harry and Ron were also dumbfounded.
The wall was covered with names, but many were crossed out, with only about two dozen scattered in various places on the wall.