A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

Harry then realized that Goyle didn't wear glasses, so he placed his glasses on the sink, and the world became clear.

"Are you all alright?" Harry asked, but it was Goyle's voice that came out.

“It’s nothing.” Ron came out of the private room, walked to the mirror and touched his face. “It’s amazing, I look exactly like Crabbe.”

“Even the voice is the same.” Hermione, with Draco’s face on her back, slowly walked up to the two of them. “I really didn’t expect that I would succeed on my first attempt at preparing Polyjuice Potion.”

But this look still feels a bit strange; I'm not used to it.

“Let’s hurry!” Harry said. “We only have one hour, so we need to try to make it look as convincing as possible.”

“Draco Malfoy walked in front, with a hint of arrogance on his face,” Ron said. “Crawb and Gould followed behind him like bodyguards.”

"You two, it's time to put your acting skills to the test."

"I don't need you to remind me." Hermione shrugged and was the first to leave the bathroom.

The three of them quickly descended the stone steps and walked deeper and deeper into the dark passageway.

Harry kept glancing at his watch, and after almost ten minutes, he asked with some concern, "Are we sure we haven't gone to the wrong place?"

"No, the Slytherin common room is a bit hard to find, but I did look into it beforehand."

"We'll be there soon." Hermione said, stopping in front of a damp stone wall.

“Um…” Ron pursed his lips, “If this is a door, how do we open it?”

Is the Alaho Cave open?

“The unlocking charm won’t work; we need a password,” Harry said helplessly. “Looks like we’ll have to wait for a real Slytherin to come and take us in.”

Hopefully we'll be lucky, otherwise things will get bad once the effects of the medicine wear off.

Chapter 172 Coincidence is indeed not a coincidence

"Pure blood!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the stone door slowly opened.

Harry and Ron stared incredulously at Hermione as she read out the password. "How did you know? Slytherins shouldn't be telling anyone their passwords."

“Of course we guessed it,” Hermione said excitedly. “I thought of about ten Slytherin passwords, but I didn’t expect to succeed on the first try. It seems we were lucky.”

The three of them passed through the stone door and entered a long, narrow basement.

This was their first time entering the Slytherin common room, where the walls and ceiling were made of stone, and green-glowing chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

A fire crackled and popped inside the fireplace, illuminating the figures of several Slytherins nearby.

“So this is Slytherin’s common room!” Ron said with a hint of disdain. “It’s cold, dark, and has an eerie green glow. It feels completely different from Gryffindor.”

"That's normal. Slytherin represents the element of water, and Gryffindor represents the element of fire."

Their styles are naturally incompatible.

"Never mind that for now, we only have forty-five minutes. We need to find Aaron quickly," Harry said anxiously. "Does anyone know where his dorm is?"

Hermione and Ron exchanged glances, thinking that Harry was being a bit too hasty.

Getting into the Slytherin common room was already a stroke of luck; expecting to find Aaron's dormitory directly was clearly not an attempt to make things difficult for the two Gryffindors.

“Okay!” Harry realized, his face turning slightly embarrassed. “We need to ask someone.”

Ron walked straight up to a girl. "Excuse me, I forgot where Gaius's dorm is. Can you help me?"

"You mean senior Aaron Gaius?" The female student blushed slightly. "I really want to help you, but the male and female dormitories are separate."

If you're going to see him, could you please ask him if he's satisfied with the Christmas present I gave him?

By the way, my name is...

Before the girl could finish speaking, Ron left looking disappointed.

"Can't you use your brain?" Hermione said speechlessly. "If she tells a girl the location of the boys' dorms, that would be abnormal."

“It’s not like we gained nothing at all!” Ron sat awkwardly on the sofa. “At least it proves that Aaron’s influence in Slytherin is no less than Harry’s in Gryffindor.”

Harry's lips twitched. This didn't seem quite right!

His fame was largely due to Voldemort, which he himself found inexplicable and even felt unworthy of, but Aaron's reputation stemmed from his own personal charisma.

"Should I ask another man?"

“No.” Hermione disagreed with this method and pondered, “Draco and Aaron have a very good relationship, and Crabbe and Goyle are Draco’s followers.”

Everyone else might not know Aaron's dorm room, but these three couldn't afford not to.

"So we're just going to wait here?" Harry glanced at his watch. "We only have less than three-quarters of the time left."

Just when the three were at their wits' end, a figure appeared before them.

Looking up, they saw the Slytherin prefects watching them with a meaningful look and a faint smile on their faces.

The three of them felt a sudden jolt in their hearts, and their breathing became unsteady. Could it be that they had been exposed?

This inevitably caused them concern. Firstly, Neller was a high-level mage, so it was possible that he could see the problem.

Secondly, this is Hermione's first time preparing a compound decoction, and it seems to be successful so far. However, the efficacy cannot be perfect, and there will be some discrepancies with the description in the book.

However, as Neller spoke, the three of them gradually calmed down.

"I can tell you're both troubled."

Hermione's eyes lit up, and she said in Malfoy's tone, "Yes, there's something I want to discuss with Aaron, but I don't know how to put it."

"Can you tell me about it?"

As the grade leader, my responsibility is to regulate student behavior, but it's also acceptable for me to help students solve some minor problems.

“Then take us to Aaron’s dorm!” Harry blurted out, but then saw the look of confusion on Neller’s face and immediately added, “I mean, our boss needs a little push.”

“Is it really necessary?” Neller looked at Draco. “Given your relationship with him, what could possibly be causing you any trouble?”

“Um…” Hermione hesitated for a moment, “Quidditch.”

Neller suddenly realized that he also knew that Slytherin's victory in the Quidditch tournament was largely due to Aaron's tactics.

But this tactic might not work next time. To ensure good results, we should ask for his opinion. I guess Draco is hesitant because he can't bring himself to do it!

“I’ll take you there. It’s a matter of Slytherin’s honor, so there’s no need to hesitate.”

As Neller spoke, he took the lead. The three of them exchanged glances and quickly suppressed their smiles.

Arriving at a wooden door, Neller knocked on it.

Upon hearing the sound, Aaron quickly put the half-finished magic circle into his pocket, and covered up the clue wall and the makeshift chicken coop before opening the door.

"Prefect, Draco, is there something you need?"

"It's like this, Draco..."

“There’s something I want to talk to you about,” Hermione interrupted Neller immediately. Their time was limited, and asking about Quidditch tactics would be a complete waste.

Harry and Ron, however, had a hint of regret in their eyes. If they had been able to figure out Aaron's tactics beforehand, the next championship would have been a sure thing.

Aaron raised an eyebrow and let them in.

However, Neller didn't linger. He could only do this much; if he interfered further with Slytherin's affairs, Flint would be unhappy.

"Speak! What do you want from me?" Aaron asked, sitting in a chair. "The three of you actually came together."

"I just wanted to ask you about the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione said hesitantly. "Many people are saying you're the heir to Slytherin."

"The wind has changed so quickly, shouldn't it be Harry Potter?"

"You know your reputation in Slytherin, and we are more inclined to believe that you are the rightful heir."

"Heh!" Aaron chuckled dismissively. "But I'm clearly not. You should know that. I've been investigating this matter since Halloween."

Hermione paused for a moment, then turned to look at Harry and Ron, feeling both relieved and somewhat at a loss.

This was completely different from what they had imagined. Aaron was not the mastermind, nor was Draco Malfoy.

Harry was finding it hard to accept that if they were both ruled out, then he would be the only suspect left at Hogwarts.

"Is it really not you? Then why do you always end up at crime scenes?"

"Goyle, the way you're asking questions right now is just like Harry's. I don't think I have any reason to answer you!"

“Don’t take it to heart, Aaron,” Hermione said immediately. “Gowle actually really wants you to be the heir, so that Slytherin’s safety can be guaranteed.”

"Tch!" Aaron curled his lip. "Gaius and Slytherin's friendship dates back more than a thousand years, but I can say with certainty that I have no Slytherin blood at all."

"That's... such a shame," Ron said sheepishly. "Slytherins are Saint Mages, after all!"

"It's not like our family hasn't produced any Saint Magisters before, it's nothing special," Aaron said nonchalantly. There were at least seven or eight Saint Magisters in his family's secret chamber.

Was he proud? Was he arrogant?

Ron opened his mouth, somewhat speechless. In some respects, the reclusive families did indeed have a stronger foundation than these pure-blood families.

Harry kept giving Hermione meaningful glances, who was still in shock.

It's good that Aaron isn't the heir to Slytherin, but they can't have come all this way for nothing!

With Draco Malfoy's identity, many questions can be answered, and Aaron certainly has clues about the Chamber of Secrets, which cannot be overlooked.

Hermione snapped out of her daze and looked at Aaron with some guilt. "Um...actually, I also want to know why you always seem to be at the crime scene."

Don't tell me it's a coincidence! That kind of excuse might fool Harry Potter.

Harry:......

That sounds strange, but it does fit Malfoy's character.

“Alright!” Aaron picked up Abe from the table and said proudly, “You all know its identity. My dragon cub is special. It can sense killing intent to a certain extent.”

It could sense every time the creature in the locked room was about to attack the students, so... you understand.

Hermione and Ron both involuntarily looked at Harry, their eyes flashing with complex emotions—blame, but mostly sympathy.

What is this thing called?

Those incidents were indeed not coincidences, but Aaron was definitely not Slytherin's heir.

Harry understood, and was so embarrassed he could have dug a Hogwarts out of the ground with his feet. If there were a crack in the ground, he would have wanted to crawl into it immediately.