A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

Aaron was personally taken to the school hospital by Professor Snape, and Madam Pomfrey was astonished to see her covered in injuries.

"How did you get like this?"

"Um...it was indeed quite dangerous. Just pretend I was struck by lightning!"

Snape glared at him, then looked at Madam Pomfrey. "Please take a good look at him. He's badly injured. Try to make sure he doesn't suffer any lasting damage."

Mrs. Pomfrey helped Aaron to his bedside, where a row of petrified patients stood, including Colin, Justin, and Penelope, all waiting for the mandrake to heal them.

"How could this be?" Mrs. Pomfrey examined the body for a few minutes, her expression changing from worry to surprise, then curiosity, and finally astonishment.

Watching Madam Pomfrey's expressive face, Snape felt a growing unease. "Can you cure him?"

"Professor Snape, I don't know how to say it, but he doesn't seem to need treatment."

I'll wrap some bandages around him; he should be fully recovered after a good night's sleep."

"are you joking?"

"I'm not joking. Mr. Gaius's physical abilities are terrifying, far exceeding those of ordinary humans."

"His injuries aren't as serious as they look," Mrs. Pomfrey said solemnly. "And they're healing very quickly."

Snape paused for a moment, then looked at Aaron meaningfully. "Does your family have some special bloodline?"

“I don’t recall it,” Aaron said, half-laughing and half-crying. “You’ve forgotten, I got injured just like any other person when I joined the Quidditch team.”

Maybe it's because I was forced to soak in medicinal solutions for two months during summer vacation, and then...

"What's the recipe?" Mrs. Pomfrey asked impatiently, but then stood there awkwardly.

This is clearly a secret of the Gaius family, something a doctor like her shouldn't be asking about.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that question."

"I understand, just don't spread rumors."

“I know what I’m doing,” Mrs. Pomfrey said with a smile. “I’ll go get you some bandages.”

"Since you're alright, I'll be going now."

"But as your teacher, I feel it's necessary to remind you: try to avoid standing out in the future," Professor Snape said seriously, before leaving the school hospital.

Soon, Mrs. Pomfrey returned with a roll of bandages and wrapped several joints on Aaron's body tightly.

"That's fine then, you'll be fully recovered after a night's rest."

"Thank you very much."

“It’s what I should do.” Mrs. Pomfrey stood up. “You rest well. I need to go and brew Mandela’s potion for Professor Sprout. There are still a few petrified patients over there!”

We were originally planning to have them recover tonight, but something seems to have happened, so we'll have to wait until tomorrow.

On the other side, in the principal's office.

The Weasleys hugged their daughter tightly and kept thanking Harry and the others.

Harry and his two companions just smiled and remained silent. They hadn't played a significant role in the whole affair, and felt unworthy of such thanks.

Lockhart was freed from the petrification curse, but was strapped to a chair like a prisoner.

Everyone knew about his deeds and unanimously agreed to hand him over to the Ministry of Magic for investigation.

The angrier one was Mrs. Weasley, a devoted Lockhart fan, but today her idol's glorious image had completely collapsed in her mind.

When Professor Snape returned, he told everyone that Aaron was alright, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Harry recounted the whole story to the professors, starting from when he could hear strange noises, to their suspicion of Aaron, to knowing most of the clues, and then to the Forbidden Forest and Aragog.

Of course, Riddle's diary was not forgotten either.

However, he cleverly avoided the process of preparing the Polyjuice Potion; he didn't have the courage to tell Snape that he had sneaked into his office to steal materials.

"It's unbelievable that you've broken so many school rules."

"What you've done is enough to warrant expulsion." Dumbledore looked at the silent group, then changed the subject with a smile, "However, you've also discovered the Chamber of Secrets, earning you a special contribution award to the school."

Upon hearing this, the three of them excitedly raised their heads; this seemed like a familiar tale of redeeming oneself through merit.

"Headmaster, what about Ginny?" Harry asked anxiously. "What happened to her?"

“I know what you’re worried about.” Dumbledore picked up Tom Riddle’s diary. “Miss Ginny Weasley will not be punished; she should rest.”

Fortunately, the holidays were just around the corner, giving her ample time to overcome this terrible psychological trauma.

"What do you mean by psychological trauma?" Mrs. Weasley asked, puzzled.

“Riddle’s diary,” Ginny sobbed. “I’ve been writing in it all this time. It’s controlling me.”

"What?" Arthur Weasley exclaimed in shock. "Didn't I tell you not to trust anything that can think for itself? This diary is clearly a Dark Magic artifact."

"Calm down, Arthur."

Many wizards older than her were deceived by Voldemort, so it seemed only natural that an innocent young witch would be fooled; he simply had that power.

"Vow..." Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth in astonishment, "But what does this have to do with him?"

“Tom Riddle is Voldemort from fifty years ago,” Harry said.

“You know?” Dumbledore looked at Harry in surprise. “Very few people know that he used to be called Tom Riddle.”

“Aaron discovered it, but we don’t know how he found out,” Ron said. “The mysterious man values ​​Aaron highly; he’s tried to recruit him several times…”

Halfway through their conversation, Harry and Hermione suddenly realized something. One gave him a subtle look, while the other stepped on the back of his foot.

Ron's eye twitched slightly, and he immediately added, "However, Aaron firmly refused."

"Is that so?" Dumbledore pondered for a few seconds, then slowly turned his gaze to Snape. "Severus, you..."

“Headmaster, I think your worries are completely unnecessary.” Snape immediately interrupted him, as if he knew what Dumbledore was about to say. “Gaius would never have any contact with him, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to get out of the Chamber of Secrets safely.”

"Um...actually, I just wanted to congratulate you on having a good student that you can be proud of."

Snape: ......

Do you think I don't know you? Guess if I believe you?

Chapter 197 The Little Elf Who Gains Freedom

“Harry, have you forgotten to tell us something?” Professor McGonagall reminded him. “Like what happened in the Chamber of Secrets? How did you deal with the Basilisk? And how did you defeat Tom Riddle?”

Upon hearing this, Harry blushed and felt so embarrassed he wanted to disappear into the ground.

How could he possibly say that? He couldn't bring himself to say it!

Aaron single-handedly took on the main attack, while Hermione and Ron also cast a few spells, which had little effect but at least allowed them to participate to some extent.

But what did he do? Not only did he not help at all, he also contributed a wand to Voldemort, which was blatant aid to the enemy!

"It seems Mr. Potter is in a bit of a dilemma!" Snape said sarcastically. "We won't force him if he's unwilling."

“Potter,” Professor McGonagall gave him a deep look, “this is important, and we must find out.”

“Professor, here’s what happened,” Hermione explained, “Aaron killed the basilisk with his family’s heirloom sword.”

Dumbledore seemed to have thought of something. Looking at the ruby-encrusted sword on the table, he said with a strange expression, "This sword belongs to Godric Gryffindor. Only a true Gryffindor can draw it."

Hearing this, Harry felt particularly relieved, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

He had been wondering for a while whether he had been assigned to the wrong college, but now it seems that he was just being sentimental.

“No, sir,” Hermione said with an awkward laugh. “Aaron’s sword is bigger and has three black magic crystals embedded in it, which can absorb blood, physical strength and magic power respectively.”

After gathering enough power, he unleashed it all at once, cleaving the basilisk in two with a single sword strike.

“That was a giant snake, fifty or sixty feet long!” Professor Flitwick exclaimed, his eyes wide with astonishment. “Just like that, it was killed?”

"Thanks to Fox."

It blinded the basilisk; otherwise, the fight would have been much more dangerous.

"And what did you do?" Snape crossed his arms, a cold smile playing on his lips. "You didn't hold back at all when you charged into the barrier!"

“It’s not that we didn’t want to do it, it’s just that Riddle focused all his energy on Aaron.” Ron’s expression was a little unnatural as he muttered under his breath, “At least we got Ginny to safety.”

"Oh! I see, no wonder you're from Gryffindor."

“Severus, they’re just second-year wizards,” Professor McGonagall said helplessly. “Even we would have to expend a lot of effort to deal with that snake.”

Snape shrugged and said nothing more, but the mockery in his eyes became even more obvious.

"Where is Dumbledore?" Dumbledore asked seriously. "How did you defeat him?"

“This…” Harry hesitated for a moment before speaking, “Aaron used the basilisk’s blood to draw a giant magic circle on the ground, which triggered a terrifying thunderstorm and defeated Riddle.”

Upon hearing this, the professors exchanged bewildered glances.

They did feel a slight tremor at the time, but none of them thought about the magic circle. That kind of magic had been obsolete for at least several hundred years and was almost a legend.

Headmaster Dumbledore's eyes narrowed slightly, and he was stunned for a moment before he recovered.

His experience is incredibly rich, so he naturally has more ideas to think about.

Different people use magic circles with different powers. Aaron's talent and strength may be higher than he thought, at least not as it appears on the surface, since he was able to defeat Voldemort at the age of sixteen.

And then there's that sword that can slay the basilisk. The fact that the Gaius family would entrust such a divine artifact to Aaron means that they possess even more powerful magical artifacts, and their resources are unfathomable.

"It's necessary to pay a visit to the Gaius family," Dumbledore thought to himself, but quickly suppressed the thought.

Aaron, the sole heir of the Gaius family, was averse to getting involved in troublesome matters, and since the wizarding world was relatively peaceful at the moment, they might not take Voldemort seriously.

"Alright, we've got a pretty good idea of ​​what's going on."

"But Aaron's idea is to keep a low profile, and we must respect his opinion and grant his small request," Dumbledore said, then looked thoughtfully at Professor McGonagall. "Minerva, I think Hogwarts needs to lift martial law."

We need to tell the students that the locked room incident has been perfectly resolved. As for the specific process, it is not convenient to go into details, but the students who discovered the locked room and made a special contribution to the school should also be rewarded.

So, could you please go to the kitchen and arrange the banquet?

Wait, let's postpone the banquet until tomorrow. Let's tell them the good news tonight first. We need to wait for the petrified student and Mr. Gaius to recover.

Of course, we also need to write a letter to the Ministry of Magic to welcome back our forest ranger, Rubeus Hagrid.

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

"Potter, stay behind. The rest of you, go do your own thing!"