Chapter 200 Dumbledore's Words
Grrr~
Justin's stomach rumbled at an inopportune moment. He gave an awkward laugh, then his gaze fell on the plate next to Aaron.
On the plate were four steaming chicken legs. Since one of the five victims was a ghost who couldn't eat, there was just enough for everyone else.
"Are these for us?"
As soon as he spoke, Abby jumped in front of the plate and glared fiercely at Justin.
How dare he try to snatch food from a dragon's mouth? Did he have a death wish?
"Uh… it seems they're not for us."
"Evidently." Aaron shrugged. "Of course, if you want to fight my cat for food…"
Abby opened its mouth, revealing two rows of sharp teeth.
Seeing this, Justin shivered involuntarily. He actually felt a pressure from Abby that was no weaker than that giant snake… A delusion, it must be a delusion.
This cat looked completely harmless. Even its baring of teeth when protecting its food was adorably silly. Even Penelope's gaze had been drawn to it. How could it be related to a terrifying monster?
"Breakfast time has already passed," Professor McGonagallsaid with a smile. "But there's still a feast waiting for you tonight. Dumbledore wants everyone to relax, and you can celebrate until tomorrow morning."
"Before that, you still need to be hospitalized and undergo examinations," Madam Pomfrey said sternly. "An hour or two will be enough. We need to make sure the Mandrakepotion has completely removed your negative conditions."
Aaron gave them a sympathetic look, then got out of bed. "Madam Pomfrey, may I leave?"
"Of course, Mr. Gaius, anytime."
Aaron gave Abby a look, and it nodded excitedly. Wiping its mouth, it quickly devoured its breakfast.
In less than a minute, the four chicken legs turned into bones, and Abby patted its stomach contentedly.
"This…" Colin's eyes widened. "It eats too much!"
"That's not important." Penelope looked at Aaron and said apologetically, "May I hug it?"
"Next time, Senior Sister!
It just finished eating. I need to take it out for a walk."
Aaron picked up his heavy pet and walked out of the Hospital Wing.
"Professor McGonagall, can you tell us what happened these past few days?" Colin asked curiously. "How did Harry Potter find the Chamber of Secrets, and how did he defeat the Basilisk and capture the mastermind?"
"This…" Professor McGonagall and Professor Sproutexchanged glances. "Mr. Creevey, you can ask Harry Potteryourself.
We'll be leaving now. Everyone will be very happy to know you've recovered."
...Slytherin Common Room.
As soon as Aaron walked in, he received many admiring glances from the Slytherins.
Especially the first-year students; the admiration on their faces was almost uncontrollable.
This was one of the four who found the Chamber of Secrets, and he had subtly overshadowed the three Gryffindors, making him the face of Slytherin.
"Why are you all looking at me?
Final exams are coming soon. Aren't you going to review?"
Aaron still held considerable prestige in Slytherin, even more than the prefects. When he spoke, many students awkwardly averted their gaze.
A young girl plucked up her courage, walked up to Aaron with a red face, and said, "Senior, my name is Shireen. Can you sign something for me?"
Aaron paused, feeling helpless.
He finally understood the troubles of a celebrity, but he was still much luckier than Harry. At least his fans were much more rational than Colin, and she was a rather cute little girl.
Aaron noticed the girl's adoring gaze and couldn't help but chuckle. "I've never signed anything for anyone, and I don't think my signature has any value.
However, you're the first person to ask me for this, so it wouldn't be right to refuse."
"So, Senior, you agreed!" Shireen excitedly pulled out a pen and paper and handed them to Aaron with anticipation.
"You came prepared!" Aaron looked at her with some appreciation. "But not now. Come find me when you pass all your final exams!"
Although disappointed, Shireen still nodded.
"Not bad!" Neller walked over, smiling meaningfully. "You've already learned to string along junior girls."
"I'm very serious about the first autograph of my life, but I've been living a rather peaceful life recently. When did I become so popular?"
"After last night.
Dumbledore said that Harry Potter and the others were able to find the Chamber of Secrets thanks to some clues you provided, and that you painstakingly researched the Basiliskin the library.
Most importantly, you played a significant role in the battle. The Principal didn't go into detail, but he specifically emphasized that you were the only one of the four who was injured."
Hearing this, Aaron stood rooted to the spot, his mind reeling.
How devious! Dumbledore's heart was simply too dark.
He seemed to have said nothing, fulfilling Aaron's request for discretion, yet he also seemed to have said everything. Those who didn't know the truth would let their imaginations run wild because he was the only injured person, and might even unconsciously cast him in the role of a hero.
"Aaron, Aaron…" Neller waved a hand in front of Aaron's eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm perfectly fine."
"Really?" Neller sounded a bit suspicious. "But why do I hear a grinding sound?"
"Uh… I've had a toothache recently." Aaron stopped grinding his molars, and the clattering sound instantly vanished.
"All right!" Neller sat on the sofa. "Logically speaking, you just got out of the hospital, so I shouldn't bother you, but as a prefect, I feel it's necessary for me to understand what exactly happened last night."
"Is that really important?" Aaron said, exasperated.
"Very important." Neller nodded solemnly. "There are many Slytherins, like Shireen, who are confident in their bloodline but have been terrified by the Basilisk.
I need to tell them about your battle with the Basilisk and the mastermind in the Chamber of Secrets, in as much detail as possible. This story will give them a boost of confidence."
Aaron's eye twitched slightly. Are you serious with this overzealous attitude?
"Heh heh! Prefect, in fact, I really didn't do much. It was Harry…"
"Don't be modest, Gaius." Neller teased playfully. "Percy also asked Harry Potter and the others last night, but they were vague and didn't provide any useful information.
So, there's only one truth left: you were the main force, weren't you?"
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Aaron clapped his hands, silently shedding tears in his heart. He really wanted to ask Dumbledore: Is this fun?
He didn't know what the younger students would think of him, but older students like Neller could guess something, they just didn't have proof.
"Did I guess correctly?"
"No, you guessed wrong." Aaron said expressionlessly. "I'm clapping simply because I think your imagination is excellent, Senior, and you have Lockhart's writing talent."
Neller's expression froze, and he gave an awkward laugh. "Then what exactly happened in the Chamber of Secrets?"
"I can't remember." Aaron rubbed his head. "I think I was hit by a Memory Charm, and my head hurts. I need to rest."
Aaron said, walking towards the dormitory, his pace quickening, giving Neller no chance to ask further questions.
Gilderoy Lockhart was still somewhat useful. Although he hadn't taught Aaron even a tiny bit of useful magic, he was definitely the best teacher when it came to feigning ignorance.
Closing the dormitory door, Aaron let out a long sigh.
"You don't seem to be in a good mood," the thought-form chuckled.
"Don't even mention it. Let me tell you a joke: the heart of the greatest White Wizard of this century is definitely blacker than the Dark Lord's."
"I agree with that. I heard some rumors when I came back last night.
That old geezer really doesn't do things properly, but I also have to admire his wisdom.
He met our demands, subtly spreading the credit among the four people, but he also achieved his own goal: a few smart people will focus their attention on us.
However, it's harmless, at least for now."
"That's the only way to think about it," Aaron said helplessly, then looked at the stack of blueprints on his desk, covered with various magic circle patterns, and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.
"You started working last night?"
"Pretty much, only about two hundred pages!" the thought-form said proudly.
Aaron thought to himself that his clone was indeed reliable; it was already working hard on the first day.
But when he carefully checked the thought-form's work, his expression couldn't help but become a little strange. "This, this, this…"
"This is normal," the thought-form interjected.
"Normal?" Aaron angrily slammed the table. "There are pitifully few intermediate and advanced magic circles in these two hundred pages. Most of them are intermediate magic circles, and even elementary ones account for a significant proportion.
Brother, we are both Wizards capable of drawing ultimate magic circles. Even a thousand years ago, we would be considered elites, but you're trying to fool me with these.
Even if you only drew one ultimate magic circle in a single night, it would be more meaningful than all of this!"
"I want to, but I can't."
"Can't?"
The thought-form nodded slightly. "You forgot, my current magic energy is only at the advanced stage of a high-level Wizard, not even a magic Conductor. It's already very difficult to do this much. You can't really expect me to just draw diagrams, can you?"
"This…" Aaron gave an awkward laugh. "But you don't need to practice elementary magic circles, do you? Isn't that a pure waste of time?"
"You know yourself. When you're tired from work, you always need some recreation, right?"
Aaron's eyes widened. That made so much sense; he couldn't find a single reason to refute it.
"Alright! You've convinced me."
"Can you not talk to me in that tone in the future?
Our personalities are exactly the same. In other words, if you were me, you would do the same thing.
And…" The thought-form paused slightly, and said playfully, "You can't beat me right now."
"That joke isn't funny."
Aaron rolled his eyes. It was only because he had absolute control over the thought-form. Otherwise, people who didn't know would think the clone was going to usurp its master!
But then he thought of the ring on his left hand that sealed magic energy, and he opened his mouth in surprise. "What the… "
"I thought you would have figured that out last night," the thought-form teased, a bit surprised. "Main body, I have to say something to you.
You can't slack off just because you have me as a cheat. That will make your brain dull."
"That joke is even less funny than the last one," Aaron said somewhat dejectedly. Because he had split off the thought-form, his magic energy had dropped from five thousand to two thousand five. Plus, the ring on his hand would seal half of his magic energy, so his magic energy was halved again, becoming a quarter of the original.
Although this aligned with his desire for a low profile, the drop in power from an early-stage Archmage to an early-stage Advanced Wizard was too great, and he needed time to adjust.
"Look on the bright side, a thirteen-year-old early-stage Advanced Wizard is still considered a genius, stronger than most students in the school," the thought-form comforted. "If you can't accept it, you can give me the ring.
We can switch. It's only right for the clone to be weaker than the main body, right?"
"Don't even think about it." Aaron immediately gripped the ring, then took a deep breath. "This isn't bad either. At least my mindset can stabilize.
To be honest, after advancing to Archmage and defeating the sixteen-year-old Lord Voldemort, I really did get a bit carried away."