Chapter 176 The friendship boat capsized
After listening to Draco, Aaron blinked blankly. Although he seemed calm, his eyes held a touch of sadness.
After a long while, he finally sighed and murmured, a hint of disappointment in his voice, "So that's how it is!"
"Hey! Isn't your reaction a little too calm?" Draco looked at Aaron in surprise. "If I were you, I would have already started cursing."
"That only proves I can control my emotions better than you. Don't interfere with this matter; I'll handle it myself."
"I naturally won't interfere with your business, but I'm not done with them." Draco pointed at Goyle and Crabbe. "The two of them are the same.
Do you know what we went through last night? It was a great humiliation!
We won't let it go without getting revenge."
"Suit yourself!" Aaron shrugged and then left the common room.
"Should we follow and see?" Goyle asked, and Crabbe also seemed hesitant.
They could all guess what Aaron was going to do, but he was only one person and could easily suffer a disadvantage.
But with them, it would be four against three; at least, they wouldn't lose in terms of numbers.
"No need, one thing at a time." Draco waved his hand dismissively. "He's Gaius; he doesn't need our help for such a small matter."
Knowing he had been deceived, Aaron lost his appetite for food and went directly to the Gryffindor common room with Abbe.
He asked the Fat Lady guarding the entrance and, after confirming that the three of them had not left, decided to wait for them outside.
However, since many students chose to spend Christmas at home, it was more than twenty minutes before anyone came out.
It wasn't anyone else but the Weasley twins, Fred and George.
"Aaron, what are you doing here?" Fred asked in surprise.
"Waiting for someone," Aaron said, his tone slightly cold.
"Harry? Or Ron?"
"Fred, you forgot Granger."
"Actually, I am indeed waiting for all three of them."
"It seems like something very important, otherwise you wouldn't be here so early in the morning," Fred said, stroking his chin. "Wait a moment; shall we go call them for you?"
"Wait," Aaron stopped the two and said, "I also need to trouble you to remind them to bring out the Christmas gifts I gave them when they come out."
"No problem."
George and Fred returned to the common room and went directly to Harry and Ron's dormitory, pulling them out of bed.
Then, they had Bell call Hermione to the common room.
The three of them sat on the sofa, still half-asleep, looking bewildered at the grinning twins opposite them.
They had done something big last night, and both their bodies and minds were very tired, desperately needing rest.
If George and Fred couldn't provide a reasonable explanation, they wouldn't be getting any pleasant looks.
"Don't lie in bed so early in the morning; if you sleep any longer, breakfast will turn into lunch."
"So, you two woke us up just to eat?" Harry said, annoyed. If it were to practice Quidditch, he would accept it.
But eating… at this moment, the temptation of sleep was infinitely greater than eating.
"Hmm…" Hermione yawned. "You two are really boring. I'm going back to catch up on sleep. Call me when it's time for lunch."
"Don't go!" Fred grew anxious and immediately said, "Aaron is looking for you."
"He's waiting outside right now!"
Hearing this, the three of them shivered involuntarily, their sleepiness instantly dissipating.
"Holy crab! That fast?" Ron's mouth twitched. "It hasn't even been twelve hours; they won't even let us get a peaceful sleep."
"Stop complaining; let's think about what to do first!" Harrywas as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, a layer of cold sweat appearing on his forehead. "Why don't we just stay inside and hide in the common room?
We can drag it out for as long as possible; at least we still have some time before the holidays end."
"You say it so easily; he's waiting outside right now!" Hermione's mind was in a turmoil, her face full of embarrassment. "He must know everything, and his attitude is quite clear."
George and Fred exchanged glances; they realized the situation seemed different from what they had imagined. Aaron apparently wasn't here to play with them.
"May I be so bold as to ask, did you do something wrong?" George asked. "And did it make Gaius very angry?"
"Yes, very bad, extremely bad." Ron rolled his eyes. "We could have deluded ourselves for a bit longer, but you two woke us up."
"Let's apologize to him properly. Hopefully, he can forgive us!"" Hermione said, but she also knew in her heart that Aaron definitely wouldn't be so magnanimous this time.
"Never mind, let's just go out first."
"Wait a moment." Fred pursed his lips. "I don't want to say this, but on behalf of someone, Gaius asked us to tell you something…"
After a few seconds of silence, Fred suddenly turned to George. "You say it!"
"Don't play like that." George was momentarily stunned, then met three pairs of anxious eyes. "Alright! He said to bring out the Christmas gifts he gave you when you leave."
Rumble!
Thunder rumbled in their hearts, and a continuous bloody rain fell; their faces changed.
"It's over." Hermione lay back weakly. "This time, we've really messed up big time."
She had originally thought of atoning for their mistakes! But now, Aaron clearly wasn't giving them a chance, directly sentencing them to death.
"I think…" Harry also swallowed. "No matter what, he shouldn't cut ties with us, right?"
Ron silently nodded and pulled out three gift boxes from a corner. "I thought I was the only one who hadn't opened my gifts; I didn't expect you two hadn't either!"
Hermione pressed her hand to her forehead and shook her head, saying exasperatedly, "The three of us were together yesterday; don't you remember what we arranged?"
"I suggest you go quickly!" Fred said. "You've already been dishonest; you shouldn't make him wait any longer!"
The three exchanged bitter smiles and, with heavy steps, walked out of the common room.
Seeing Aaron, the three froze awkwardly in place.
"We…"
"Come with me!" Aaron interrupted Harry directly. "This isn't the place to talk."
About ten minutes later, Aaron led them to the Transfiguration Class classroom, then sat on a desk, absorbed in his own thoughts.
"You guys are really something; you've truly impressed me!
I've never admired anyone before, but you've forced me to. I've never been so badly deceived in my life."
"We just wanted to help you," Ron said, plucking up his courage.
Aaron gave him a glare, disdainfully saying, "At least come up with a plausible excuse!
You didn't even know what I was doing, so how could you help me?
But I truly admire you. Last year, you only stunned and took my pet. This year, you've started drugging people. Your skills have grown!
Are you really second-year students, or are you seasoned criminals who escaped from Azkaban?"
"I'm sorry," Harry said weakly.
"You certainly should say you're sorry, not just to me, but also to Draco and the others.
Harry, no, Harry Potter, I trusted you so much, yet this is how you repay my trust.
But then again, you are Gryffindors; suspecting a Slytherinof being Salazar's descendant doesn't seem wrong.
If it could be proven that I am the Heir of Slytherin, that would be even better. You could inform Dumbledore to capture me, then follow the trail to find the Chamber of Secrets and eliminate the Basilisk.
That way, the rumors targeting Harry would be dispelled, and you would become heroes who saved Hogwarts.
Sacrifice one of me, happiness for everyone. You've certainly played your cards well!"
Hearing these sarcastic words, Hermione's heart sank slightly, and she immediately explained anxiously, "It's not like that; we just wanted to clear your name."
"How did you clear it?" Aaron retorted. "Polyjuice Potion?
As far as I know, brewing such a powerful Potion takes at least a month. Besides that, it requires the body tissue of the person you want to transform into, as well as various rare ingredients.
Tsk, tsk, tsk! You were willing to overcome numerous difficulties and spend a lot of time using such a despicable method to deceive me, yet you weren't willing to ask me directly. Is there any greater suspicion than that?"
"Um… Ron and I did suspect you." Harry's face was pale, and he looked up with great difficulty, saying, "But Hermione's trust in you is absolutely genuine."
"That's true," Ron said. "We told her several times, but each time she fiercely shut us down."
"Is that so? But coming from your mouths, there's hardly any credibility."
Hermione wanted to say something, but seeing Aaron's eyes, mixed with disappointment and anger, she unconsciously swallowed her words.
"Granger, do you have an opinion to share?" Aaron sneered.
"I really never doubted you." Hermione said with a tearful face, raising three fingers as she spoke, "I swear."
"Then please explain why you helped them brew Polyjuice Potion?"
"I believe you, but they don't.
So, we could only use this method to prove your innocence." Hermione smiled sadly. "This method was quite extreme, but the effect was also very obvious."
"So, by that logic, I should thank you?"
"No, no, I didn't mean that."
"No matter what you meant, you chose to help them, didn't you?
If you truly believed me, you could have just come and asked me directly, but you, none of you, did."
"At that time, you were under a lot of suspicion, and we didn't dare to take risks," Ron explained. "What if we asked you, and then you just got rid of us right after?
And how could we guarantee that what you said was true? Bad people never say they are bad people."
Aaron raised an eyebrow slightly, applauding with admiration. "What you said makes a lot of sense; I have no words."
Then he looked at Harry. "The famous Harry Potter, I have a question for you.
If your answer satisfies me, I will consider forgiving you."
"Ask," Harry adjusted himself briefly. "I promise to tell the truth."
"Very good, my question is: before yesterday, did you particularly hope that I was the Heir of Slytherin?"
"Ah, this… I…"
"Alright, no need to say more. Your hesitation for these few seconds has already given me the answer."
Harry lowered his head in silence, unsure what to say.
During that time, he was under immense pressure. No matter how he explained, no one believed him. The only way to avoid everyone's strange looks was to find the true Heir.
It just so happened that Aaron was always at the scene of the incidents. In that situation, who else could he suspect if not him?