A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

They slid forward at high speed through the dark, sticky tunnel, involuntarily letting out screams.

After an unknown amount of time, the pipe gradually changed from steep to flat.

After a short pause, they slid out of the exit and landed on an open area.

"It's filthy," Ron said with disgust.

"If only it were just dirty," Aaron said, casting a cleansing spell on himself. "Friendly reminder: you'd better not look down."

"Fluorescence." Hermione picked up her wand, which glowed, looked at the ground, and then screamed in panic, instinctively grabbing Aaron who was standing next to her.

The place where they stood was covered with bones, including those of all kinds of animals, which was quite gruesome.

"I told you not to read any further." Aaron said, both amused and exasperated, and then cast a cleaning spell on his soiled clothes.

Ginny.

Ron was pale; he couldn't bear to think about what it would be like when his sister was found.

“Let’s get going!” Professor Flitwick said. “We don’t have time to waste here.”

“You’re right, finding that girl is the most urgent thing,” Lockhart said.

"You go first," Snape gave Lockhart a look. "Now is the time to prove your abilities; I'm sure you won't refuse!"

Lockhart nodded, trying to appear calm, and reached for the rooster in Hermione's hand.

But just as he reached Hermione, a black wand appeared before him. Aaron grinned and said, "Professor, you wouldn't steal a student's amulet, would you?"

Lockhart was dumbfounded. Without those two roosters, let alone making a name for himself, his life would have been a serious question.

"This, that..."

"Stop with this and that, the professors are all here watching."

Upon hearing this, Lockhart's heart skipped a beat. Although he was terrified, he had no choice but to put on a smiling face and grit his teeth, saying, "Of course not."

“I knew I hadn’t misjudged you, Professor Lockhart,” Professor Snape sneered, then gestured for him to proceed. “Please!”

Lockhart looked at the dark bend in the road, his legs trembling slightly, and took a difficult step.

Beyond the bend lies a rugged underground space.

But everyone stared in disbelief at the enormous creature before them, their mouths agape.

“Snake skin,” Professor Sprout murmured. “These are the shed skins of the basilisk, the best record of its changes in size over the past thousand years.”

“This is not good news.” Professor Flitwick carefully drew his wand. “The smallest snake skin in here is twenty feet long.”

The largest must be fifty or sixty feet tall!

“Don’t worry, Professor Flitwick,” Professor Snape said with a sarcastic laugh. “We have Gilderoy Lockhart here; a mere basilisk is nothing to him.”

With him leading the charge, all problems are solved, right, Professor Lockhart?

Lockhart didn't reply, but his cheeks twitched incessantly, and he cursed inwardly.

So what if I put on an act in front of you a few times? Is it really worth going to such lengths to harm me?

Normally, he would have shamelessly accepted this vanity, but now all he wanted was a rooster to save his life.

But when I glanced over casually, I saw that Harry, Ron, and Hermione, along with the two roosters they were carrying, were all being protected behind Professor McGonagall, giving them no chance to make a move!

In a moment of panic, Lockhart rolled his eyes and fell backward.

Pretending to be confused is the most versatile way to solve a problem, and the best way to do it is to leave it to someone who can solve it.

"Professor!" Hermione exclaimed in alarm, wanting to go over to check on him, but Professor McGonagall stopped her. "Don't run around, Lockhart has just fainted."

"Oh dear!" Snape scoffed. "It seems our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor isn't as formidable as he boasts. If he didn't want to lead the charge, he could have just said so. How did he end up fainting like that!"

Lockhart: ......

How could I refuse you with your fierce and menacing appearance?

“Leave it to me,” Aaron volunteered, then walked up to Lockhart and pointed his wand at his face. “Clear Spring.”

Cold water was splashed directly onto Lockhart's face, but his acting was on point; he didn't even open his eyes or move an inch.

"Holy crap!" Aaron's eyes widened, and he patted Lockhart's left cheek. "You're quite a talent."

Being a teacher is a waste of your talent. You should be an actor, or even an undercover agent.

"Aaron, isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Hermione said with some reluctance. She still harbored a sliver of hope for Lockhart, after all, he was one of the people she admired.

"Sigh!" Aaron sighed and put away his wand.

Hermione smiled upon seeing this, and Lockhart, who was lying on the ground, also breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the next moment, a slap landed on Lockhart's face, causing him to howl in pain and get up from the ground.

"you..."

"You're welcome. That's how some Muggles save people."

"Professor Lockhart, you are my mentor and friend, a guiding light in my life. How could I bear to leave you here alone!" Aaron said with a grin, then pointed to the path that was terribly blocked by snake molts. "Now that you're awake, I'll leave the task of leading the charge to you. You wouldn't refuse, would you?"

Chapter 189 The Barrier Outside the Secret Chamber

Lockhart pursed his lips, looked at the meaningful glances of the crowd, and quickly made a choice between saving face and risking his life.

You can regain your pride, or simply move to another place to make a living, but if you lose your life, you have nothing left.

“I’m sorry, but I have to refuse this time,” Lockhart said seriously. “I don’t want to stay here for another second. I’m going back now.”

“But you’re the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, it’s your responsibility,” Professor McGonagall said, displeased. Although she also felt Lockhart couldn’t be of much help, it was not a good thing for a deserter to appear in the team at this time.

“That’s not how it works. This isn’t my obligation,” Lockhart said dismissively. “When I accepted this position, this wasn’t included in the job description.”

"You mean you're going to desert your post?" Harry asked incredulously.

Lockhart smiled and shrugged, not denying it.

"How could you run away?" Hermione was incredulous. "You wrote so many amazing things about yourself in the book."

“Books can lie,” Lockhart grinned. “The stories are true, but the protagonist is replaced with the glamorous Gilderoy Lockhart instead of the ugly old wizard or the disgusting old witch with a hairy chin and no sense of style.”

Only when people believe that I did those things will book sales go up.

"You, you, you really are... a liar." Hermione's chest heaved with anger, and she could barely speak, her disappointment overflowing.

The others were also dumbfounded. They could all see that Lockhart was a clown, but they didn't expect him to be even more despicable than they thought, with a character that was utterly vile.

"It's disgusting." Aaron had expected it all along; Lockhart's outrageous actions were perfectly normal.

"Say what you will, at most it's plagiarism, but I haven't broken any laws!" Lockhart said. Now that he had laid his cards on the table, there was no need for him to pretend anymore.

Professor McGonagall cast a petrification spell on him, immobilizing him in place.

"Ignore this bastard. I'll ask the Aurors to investigate after I rescue Ginny."

The group composed themselves and continued their journey through the rugged tunnel, bypassing the dense network of snake molts.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, a solid wall blocked their way. On the wall were two intertwined snakes, their eyes inlaid with glittering emeralds, looking as if they were alive.

Abe jumped down from Aaron's arms, looking warily at the wall, sharp claws slowly emerging from his limbs.

Aaron took a deep breath. "The basilisk is inside. Get two roosters ready."

Also, if anything unexpected happens, remember not to look into its eyes; if possible, fight with your eyes closed.

Ron and Hermione instinctively hugged the roosters in their arms, and they immediately let out a loud crow, dispelling the oppressive atmosphere in everyone's hearts.

“Harry Potter,” Snape said, looking at the wall meaningfully, “it’s your turn, Parseltongue.”

Harry cleared his throat, walked to the wall, and hissed in Parseltongue: Open.

The two snakes slowly separated and coiled up on the left and right sides of the wall, respectively.

The wall slowly opened from the center, but what came into view was not a secret room. The emeralds in the eyes of the two snakes emitted a green light, forming a gray-white curtain that blocked the entrance.

"what is this?"

"Don't touch it, Harry." Professor McGonagall cautiously extended her finger to touch it, but was immediately jolted back several steps.

Professor Flitwick took out his wand, and the white light shone on the gray-white curtain wall, creating a black crack in it.

But the crack soon healed itself, and powerful magic seeped from the wall, neutralizing Flitwick's spell.

“A barrier,” Professor Flitwick exclaimed. “And not just any ordinary barrier. It’s powered by two magic crystals and has been in place for at least a month.”

"Can it be broken open?" Ron asked anxiously. "My sister is still inside!"

“I’m sorry, Ron Weasley.”

This barrier was clearly meticulously prepared; even if we all tried to break it by brute force, it would take us quite some time.

"how long it takes?"

"At least twelve hours," Professor Flitwick said with a troubled expression. "That's the fastest it can be. The person who set up this barrier is an absolute genius."

Unless he left some rules, the only way to break them is by brute force.

As soon as the words were spoken, two lines of text appeared on the gray-white curtain wall:

Aaron Gaius (this is the premise); 1357.

"What?"

Aaron blinked blankly, and the others looked at him with puzzled expressions.

"What's going on?" Aaron felt as if a huge "danger" was etched on his forehead, as if someone was pointing a killing spell at him.

“It’s quite obvious,” Professor Snape said grimly, “that you’ve come into the sights of the Slytherin heirs.”

"But I've been as discreet as ever!" Aaron said, on the verge of tears. "I haven't had any outstanding performances in the past two semesters, how did he even know about me?"

After saying that, Aaron seemed to have thought of something and turned to look at the three Gryffindors.

"Don't tell me you guys leaked it."

Hermione and Ron immediately shook their heads; they were both tight-lipped.

Harry weakly raised his right hand and said with shame, "It might have been me."

Tom Riddle took me back to his memories, and I told him that Hagrid wasn't the murderer, and then I told him the clues you had found.