Chapter 186 He Can't Wait, and Neither Can I
Percy looked at Ginny's retreating figure, not understanding what he had done to upset his sister.
Aaron had no intention of explaining, only silently mourning for Ginny for two seconds in his heart, wondering if having such a brother was a blessing or a curse.
After a few classes, it was afternoon.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were still trying to get into Myrtle's bathroom, but Aaron was calmly sitting in the Great Hall, ready to receive the mastermind behind a series of attacks.
He had already decided that as soon as he got Riddle's diary, he would lay all his cards on the table with Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Principal, at the first opportunity.
He just needed to embellish the facts a bit, and while telling her everything, minimize his own presence.
There was no other way; before he had enough strength, keeping a low profile was king.
After learning everything, Professor McGonagall would definitely invite Dumbledore back to take charge, and with his ability, he could find the location of the Chamber of Secrets from Riddle's diary in minutes.
A luxurious lineup of a Principal and several Professors would easily handle a small Basilisk; he only needed to follow behind without much effort to complete two system missions, at most delivering the finishing blow to the dying Basilisk.
After working hard for half a year, today was the day of harvest; just thinking about it made him happy.
But Aaron waited for a long time and Ginny did not appear, which made him a little worried.
The longer the delay, the greater the variables, after all, their opponent was not just generally insidious and cunning; who knew if he would make a comeback at the last moment.
At this moment, Professor McGonagall's voice suddenly rang out in the Great Hall: "All students return to their dormitories immediately, and all teachers assemble in the staff room immediately."
Hearing this, Aaron swallowed nervously, his worry instantly expanding countless times.
His fears were coming true; students being sent back to their dormitories before six o'clock, and all Professors being assembled, definitely meant something had happened.
Connecting this with Ginny not having arrived for so long, Aaron immediately stood up from his seat, picked up Abe who was frantically gnawing on a watermelon, and rushed towards the staff room.
Aaron's speed was very fast, almost arriving at the destination at the same time as the Professors.
"Gaius, what are you doing here?" Professor McGonagallsaid angrily. "Professor Snape, please send your student back to his dormitory to rest."
"Wait." Aaron immediately said, "Perhaps I can help?"
"Help?" Professor McGonagall's tone softened slightly. "Do you know what you are saying?"
"I have confidence in my student." Professor Snape said, looking at Aaron meaningfully, "He also knows what he is expressing."
"Exactly." Aaron shrugged. "But the premise is that I need to know what happened here, and if the person involved is the one I'm thinking of."
"The Heir of Slytherin has left a line on the wall." Professor McGonagall said, her face full of worry, trembling as she read: "Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber of Secretsforever."
Aaron's eyes widened; his worst fear had come true.
He had originally planned to quietly develop and then amaze everyone, but he didn't expect that plans couldn't keep up with changes, and fate always liked to play jokes on him.
Now the key evidence was gone, and Ginny's life or death was uncertain, so he had no choice but to step forward.
The others weren't doing much better; Professor Flitwick let out a shriek, almost bursting into tears, Professor Sproutcovered her mouth with both hands, and even Professor Snape seemed somewhat distracted.
The previous few attacks had resulted in the petrification of several students, a pet, and a ghost, but tonight they would recover.
However, this line of blood represented a murder, and lost lives could not be recovered.
"Is it Ginny Weasley?" Aaron asked tentatively.
Professor McGonagall subconsciously nodded, but then looked at Aaron suspiciously, "How did you know?"
"I know a lot, but there's no time to explain now."
"No, you must explain clearly." Professor McGonagall said anxiously, "If this matter cannot be handled properly, Hogwarts will have to close down."
At this moment, Lockhart walked over, a punchable smile on his face, severely clashing with the atmosphere of the scene.
"Sorry, I dozed off, didn't miss anything, did I?"
"A girl was taken by a monster." Snape looked at him with disdain. "Lockhart, your chance to show off has come."
Lockhart was dumbfounded; he could barely understand the first half of the sentence, but wasn't the information in the second half a bit too much?
"What chance?"
"Didn't you confidently say last night that you already knew where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was?"
"Then it's settled." Professor McGonagall added a blow, "The task of fighting the monster is entrusted to you, Gilderoy, after all, your skills are extraordinary."
Upon hearing this, Lockhart's face turned incredibly pale.
He only knew how to brag, and although it was a bit exaggerated, you shouldn't actually believe it!
How could his small body possibly fight a monster? He would just be serving himself up as a meal.
But looking at the uniform anger in the eyes of the other Professors, if he dared to say no, he would probably be made their target for venting.
"No problem." Lockhart forced out a smile. "I'll go to my office to make some preparations first."
"No need, one wand is enough." Aaron stopped Gilderoy Lockhart, who was about to pack his bags and run away. "Although your opponent is a giant snake nearly dozens of feet long."
Lockhart swallowed, cold sweat beading on his forehead, his vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.
The others ignored this clown who only had a big mouth, and instead looked at Aaron with surprise.
Professor McGonagall quickly walked up to Aaron as if she had found a ray of light in the darkness, "The monster in the Chamber of Secrets is a giant snake? Are you sure?"
"To be precise, it's a Basilisk, a magical creature that can live for thousands of years. Meeting its gaze directly leads to death, while indirect eye contact causes petrification.
I looked through hundreds of books in the library to find its clues."
"Wait." Professor Flitwick asked with a strange expression, "Since you knew, why didn't you report it? That way we would have had some defensive preparations."
"Because it's meaningless.
It's like you know the killer's weapon is a wand, but you can't use that clue to find the real killer among hundreds of teachers and students." Aaron explained, "The book also said that the Basilisk's natural enemy is the rooster, and the sound of a rooster's crow is fatal to it."
"Then we..."
"Let me finish, Professor Flitwick.
Before I discovered this clue, Hagrid's roosters had already started being killed.
If Hogwarts were to adopt a corresponding strategy, it would be equivalent to telling the Heir that we know about the Basilisk's existence." Aaron watched everyone present meaningfully, "Several attacks are enough to prove that the Heir is not a kind person. What if he decides to go down fighting?"
"This..." Professor Flitwick was speechless, "Alright, you're right."
"Then you could have told us first, we could have just waited, or we could have secretly..."
"Don't mention secretly, Professor McGonagall." Aaron waved his hand impatiently, "The reality is that they are in the dark, and we are in the light.
It's not that I don't trust you, but what happened last year is still vivid in my memory; if we hadn't seen it with our own eyes, who would have thought that Professor Quirrell was the mastermind?
Also, to say something unpleasant, please don't take it to heart.
I remember you once said that Hogwarts searched the Castle countless times but never found the Chamber of Secrets, and the school's capabilities truly make me feel ashamed."
Professor McGonagall's mouth twitched, speechless.
If it were her, she probably wouldn't tell the clues to a partner who was both incapable and untrustworthy.
If something unexpected happened, it would be too unfair.
Professor Sprout wanted to say something else, but swallowed her words back.
Professor Snape looked at the several Professors who were too embarrassed to lift their heads, a slight smile playing on his lips, unconsciously straightening his back.
This is my Slytherin student; he truly brings me honor.
"Aaron, so you're telling us now... is there a reason?" Professor Snape asked.
"Because the Heir can't wait any longer. Whatever the reason, since he chose to target Ginny, it means he holds absolute initiative.
I can't wait any longer either, because I know the identity of the true mastermind."
"You know the Heir's identity?" Professor McGonagall asked in surprise, "Who is it?"
"You might not believe it, but the mastermind isn't a single person?"
Professor Flitwick's eyes widened in disbelief, "Are there two people?"
"No, to be precise, he is not a person, but a seemingly ordinary diary.
A magical object; fifty years ago, that deranged Heir left his memories within it to guide future generations to continue Salazar's work.
As far as I know, Ginny was the last person to have contact with the diary.
When does a magical object with its own thoughts choose to devour its master? Either it sensed danger, or it accumulated enough power, or both.
Now Dumbledore is not at school, and the Basilisk has no natural enemies. Even I have to admit that he chose a perfectly timed moment, frighteningly clever." Aaron said calmly, then changed the subject, "However, we still have one advantage."
"What is it? Hurry and tell us!" Professor McGonagallstamped her foot anxiously; this concerned whether Hogwarts could continue to operate, so she couldn't help but be anxious.
"We know that the killer is a magical object, so we have a direction for our investigation."
Upon hearing this, Professor McGonagall nodded, somewhat disappointed.
This news wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly good either; it was merely better than nothing.
"What about Ginny?" Professor Sprout asked, "What about Ginny Weasley? If we can't find her, how will we explain to Arthur?"
"Uh... Professor, actually, I might know the location of the Chamber of Secrets." Aaron said slowly, and the next second, he met several sharp gazes, as if asking him why he didn't say such important information sooner?
"I'm just guessing, but I don't have substantive evidence.
Moreover, if the Heir of Slytherin missed even one location of the Chamber of Secrets, it would be a huge hidden danger. I wouldn't dare to gamble, but now, we truly cannot wait."
"Where is the Chamber of Secrets?" Snape asked.
Aaron gathered immense courage and said, "If I'm not mistaken, it should be Myrtle's bathroom."