A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

"That's why I thought of you guys. In Gryffindor, the three of you can still talk to him," Hagrid said with a smile.

A few seconds later, noticing the three of them were somewhat silent, he sighed softly, "If you're not willing to help me either, that's alright. There will be opportunities in the future. But those who participated in designing those mechanisms..."

“Wait, Hagrid,” Harry hesitated before making a decision, “we can help with this…”

“Harry?” Hermione interrupted him, shaking her head at him with a grim expression.

Hermione, I know what I'm talking about.

But it's obvious which is more important, the Philosopher's Stone or a pet cat.

“I agree with Harry’s decision,” Ron said. “We’re borrowing, not stealing.”

Furthermore, we supervised Hagrid throughout the process to ensure that Abe would not suffer any injustice or harm, and that it would be returned to him in a few hours at most.

It should be alright... right?

Hearing this, Hermione became somewhat angry, her chest heaving.

Was it a loan? No matter how good the reason is, it cannot cover up the fact that it was a deception.

"You will regret this."

I'm not involved in this. You can handle it yourselves!

After Hermione finished speaking, she stormed out of Hagrid's hut, leaving the three of them inside looking at each other in bewilderment.

After she came out, she hesitated for a moment about whether to tell Aaron about it, but after thinking about it carefully, she gave up, because Harry and Ron could not possibly succeed.

Moreover, if she told Aaron, Harry and the others would know without a doubt that she was the one who leaked the secret.

Inside the hut, Harry was also a little embarrassed. "Hagrid, we'll do our best to help you borrow Abbey, but please tell us who was involved in designing the mechanism for the Philosopher's Stone after you're done. It's very important to us."

“Of course!” Hagrid nodded. “But it’s confidential. I can tell you, but you can’t tell anyone else, understand?”

If you can't do that, then even if you bring Abe to me, I won't say a word.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and laughed simultaneously. Hagrid was still the same Hagrid, as principled as ever.

That's good, it won't be so easy for Snape to get the method through Moose from him.

......

The next day, in the auditorium.

Aaron brought Abel to lunch here, Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, and then began their operation.

Before long, the two of them sat down opposite Aaron as if they were old friends. In addition to their favorite food, each of them had a chicken leg on their plate.

They had thought it over carefully; borrowing directly was definitely out of the question, as their relationship with Aaron wasn't that close.

Then we'll have to take a roundabout approach. What are some good ideas for luring a cat?

It's very simple, just four words: cater to their preferences.

So you just like chicken drumsticks? Then let's tempt you with chicken drumsticks!

In short, all the food at Hogwarts is free, and they don't have to incur any costs.

If you can make Abe happy, and then casually suggest taking care of it for an extra half day, Aaron probably won't refuse, and the chances of success are quite high.

Sure enough, they just sat there without saying a word, while the white cat opposite them was already drooling and staring longingly at their food plates.

"You good-for-nothing, you can't resist delicious food." Aaron sighed and rubbed his forehead, then tapped Abe's head to bring it out of its daze.

“It’s alright!” Harry smiled and then very kindly pushed the chicken leg on his plate towards Abe.

Abe stared intently at the chicken leg that was right in front of him for several seconds, but he resisted the urge to devour it, and even wiped his drool with his paw.

Then it looked at Aaron with its big, watery eyes, and pointed to the chicken leg with its white paw, expressing its meaning: This dragon wants to eat.

These actions truly astonished Harry and Ron, and they understood why Hagrid was interested in the cat; it was simply something a cat shouldn't do.

"Are pets this self-disciplined nowadays?" Ron said in astonishment, suddenly thinking of his own pet mouse, Spotty, and felt a pang of sadness.

Look at other people's cats, and then look at my own mouse. One is well-dressed, incredibly cute, and extremely self-disciplined, while the other is sloppy, unattractive, and lazy all day long. There's simply no comparison.

"What self-discipline? This guy just wants an extra meal because his diet has been arranged for him." Aaron shook his head, then patted its head and said helplessly, "This is a one-time thing, don't let it happen again."

Abe nodded quickly, then picked up the chicken leg and started devouring it.

“Aaron, your cat is so smart!” Harry exclaimed. “And it seems to listen to you very well.”

"That's right, Abe has been with me since birth. I raised it to be so plump and healthy." Aaron said proudly, feeling quite accomplished after raising the dragon for several months.

It's just a little bit away from evolving. I'll have to use magic points to accelerate its growth so it can awaken its second talent skill as soon as possible.

“Oh! Is that so!” Ron also handed over the chicken leg from his plate, glanced at Harry, and then tentatively extended his right hand.

But when his fingers were still a hand's width away from Abe, Abe suddenly stopped eating, turned around and bared his teeth at Ron, which startled him so much that he immediately pulled his hand back.

"Aaron, is it really that temperamental?" Ron was a little embarrassed. "I only gave it a chicken leg, and it won't even let me touch it?"

"Forehead...

Sorry, but it's generally not allowed for boys to touch it without my permission.

"Besides my family, only Draco and Hermione at school have ever held it," Aaron explained.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, both feeling that the difficulty of luring the cat had suddenly increased several notches.

Chapter 47 The Two Cat Traders' Tactical Upgrade

Gryffindor common room.

Harry and Ron sat at a table, looking worried.

"What should we do?" Ron asked, frustrated.

The original plan was to win over Abe first. Once I gained Abe's favor, I could then get Aaron's consent, which would definitely make things much easier.

But several days passed, and Abe had eaten nearly twenty chicken legs, yet he still didn't seem to care for them, which made the two, who were already feeling guilty, even more so.

Even today, Aaron can't stand it anymore, because the two of them are being too good to Abe, making it gain half a pound.

When Aaron, carrying the slightly overweight white cat, asked them to stop feeding it, the two were dumbfounded and so embarrassed they could have dug a Hogwarts out of their shoes.

“How should I know?” Harry was also speechless. “The original plan is off for now. That cat is cute, but it’s a bottomless pit.”

By the time Snape has tamed him, he'll probably be running off with the Philosopher's Stone.

"Sigh!" Ron leaned back on the sofa and said thoughtfully, "Borrowing indirectly is definitely out of the question. Abe isn't so easy to bribe, and Aaron might not lend it to us either."

Harry paused for a moment, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then lowered his voice and said, "So you mean, we should steal it?"

Isn't that inappropriate? Aaron may be a Slytherin, but he's also our friend.

“Harry, I know it’s not very ethical to do this, but do you have a better way?”

Think about Snape, you wouldn't want him to get the Philosopher's Stone, would you?

Besides, we didn't really intend to hurt Abe; we just wanted to borrow it for an hour. Consider it a reward for treating it to chicken legs for three days.

Harry was somewhat tempted, but also a little worried. "But what if we get found out?"

“There’s no ‘what if’,” Ron said confidently. “Don’t forget, you still have the Invisibility Cloak.”

Aaron couldn't take Abe with him all the time; for example, they would definitely be separated when they went to the toilet.

Back then, if we were careful, stealing a cat was a piece of cake.

Upon hearing this, Harry's lips twitched; the method sounded rather underhanded.

Moreover, if this were discovered, their friendship with Aaron would be over, a risk so great that it would be almost unbearable.

"No, we can't do that, it's too much."

They're downright human traffickers—no, cat traffickers.

"Uh... this..." Ron realized what he had said, a polite but awkward smile on his face. "Don't talk nonsense, I was just giving you an idea."

If you have a good solution, please suggest it.

Harry opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then stopped, and didn't say a word.

Because he also believed that this terrible idea was the only one available.

What if Aaron discovers the cat is missing?

“Hahaha!” Ron laughed. “Harry, Arbey is a cat, okay? It’s normal for it to wander around when its owner isn’t around, as long as it’s not missing for too long.”

After we showed it to Hagrid, we released it back into the wild, and it automatically ran to Aaron's side.

Cats can't talk, so everything happened so naturally, without any flaws.

"Wait!" Harry suddenly sat up. "I have an idea."

"What method?" Ron asked, somewhat curious.

"Didn't you just say it was a cat?"

What do cats do? They catch mice!

"If we let Spotty appear in front of Hagrid while Aaron is using the toilet, and then lure it to Hagrid's hut, wouldn't that solve the problem?"

"No way!" Ron slammed his fist on the table in anger. "I absolutely disagree. There's no worse idea than this."

Harry, you know cats catch mice, but they also eat them. What if Scabbers doesn't escape?

It's been with me for a long time, and I can't bear to let it do something so dangerous.

"I'm sorry!" Harry lowered his head in shame. "So that means we have no choice but to steal?"

“That’s right, but we need a well-thought-out plan.” Ron crossed his arms, looking serious. “After all, Abe is alive. If he’s suddenly captured, he’ll definitely resist violently, and it wouldn’t be good if he caused a commotion.”

“Hmm!” Harry nodded. “I think Hagrid will have a good idea.”

......

The next day, they arrived at the hut where the hunters kept their hunting grounds.

After explaining their purpose to Hagrid, the kind-looking giant showed a troubled expression. "Isn't your idea a bit unreliable? Maybe we should just forget about it!"

“Then tell us who was involved in designing the mechanism of the Philosopher’s Stone,” Harry said immediately.

“This…of course not.” Hagrid was even more troubled, his thick beard tugging together.