A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

Students gradually entered, preparing to enjoy their pre-departure dinner.

Hermione had no appetite and kept an eye on Hedwig's movements while reading.

Professor McGonagall, sitting in the faculty section, felt a sense of satisfaction upon seeing this.

She unconditionally supported Hermione's method, which both met Dumbledore's requirements and allowed her to filter out the vast majority of students.

Unless that person doesn't come to eat, there's absolutely no way to avoid it.

More than half an hour passed before Hedwig finally flapped her wings and made an excited sound.

Hermione and Professor McGonagall immediately looked toward the entrance of the Great Hall, and then their eyes widened in unison.

Aaron strode in, carrying Abe in his arms.

He clearly didn't notice the two gazes fixed on him and continued eating his dinner.

Professor McGonagall gave Hermione a wink, then left her seat.

The two met outside the auditorium and walked all the way to the foyer before stopping.

"Are you sure it's Mr. Gaius?"

“Didn’t you see it all? Hedwig said it was him,” Hermione stammered. “It was unexpected, yet also quite reasonable!”

Aaron's shapeshifting ability is quite good; even if he can't transform into other people, the fat lady can't see through his illusions.

As for his talent for prophecy... he's probably Professor Trelawney's proudest student.

"Now we're matched up," Professor McGonagall said with a wry smile.

She had been overjoyed, thinking that Gryffindor had produced a genius and that she could finally hold her head high in front of Snape, but now it seemed that she had been thinking too much and the situation had not changed at all.

"Professor, do you still want him to join the Order of the Phoenix?" Hermione asked hesitantly. "Knowing him as I do, I'm afraid he won't agree."

Professor McGonagall did not give a clear answer, leaving behind the words, "Keep this confidential, and don't tell anyone," before hurriedly departing.

Instead of returning to the Great Hall, she went to the Headmaster's office and told Dumbledore everything directly.

“Albus,” Professor McGonagall said, both amused and exasperated, “Gaius’s abilities probably need to be reassessed; he is far more capable than we anticipated.”

Dumbledore sat calmly in his chair, as if he had expected this all along.

"This child must be on our side, otherwise he wouldn't have sent a message to Ron."

My suggestion is to recruit him into the Order of the Phoenix; you'll have to talk to him yourself.

“It’s not time yet, Minerva,” Dumbledore said in a deep voice.

"What do you mean by 'not the right time'?" Professor McGonagall asked, puzzled. "Harry, Ron, and Hermione all know about the Order of the Phoenix, so one more shouldn't be a problem!"

“He’s different.” Dumbledore shook his head, a wise glint in his eyes. “I don’t deny that bringing him into the Order of the Phoenix would be a huge help to us, and many others would be inspired.”

But Gaius is a true Slytherin; he possesses all the qualities of a Slytherin, and his greatest strength is self-preservation. Otherwise, he wouldn't have used that method to send a message. I'm certain I won't get anything from contacting him now.”

“I completely agree with that.” Phineas stroked his goatee with pride. “The Gaius family has stood strong, powerful, mysterious, and with intricate relationships for thousands of years.”

They seem to always exist on the fringes of the magical world, yet their every move profoundly influences the entire magical realm.

“Thanks for reminding me, Phineas,” Dumbledore said speechlessly. “You’ve said that so many times, I’m sick of hearing it.”

"One more time wouldn't hurt."

“Uh… I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand what you mean,” Professor McGonagall said.

“That means Dumbledore was right,” Phineas said meaningfully. “If the timing is wrong, it will only backfire.”

Professor McGonagall frowned slightly. "So, does that mean we have to pretend nothing happened?"

“That’s not necessarily true.” Dumbledore took out the letter from last night from the drawer. “As the headmaster of Hogwarts, it would be a bit unreasonable not to ask about someone breaking into Gryffindor’s dormitory in the middle of the night.”

Professor McGonagall seemed to have thought of something, and a glint of light flashed in her eyes. "I'll go and call Mr. Gaius to the principal's office right away."

“Dumbledore, wasn’t I clear enough?” Phineas said somewhat displeased. “Whatever you do, don’t set your sights on the Gaius family.”

"Don't worry, Phineas."

It's not as serious as you think. I know what I'm doing.

"It better be."

On the other side, Aaron had just finished dinner and was thinking about how to spend the Christmas holidays when a tall, thin figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Professor McGonagall, what's going on?"

“Mr. Gaius, Professor Dumbledore asked me to invite you over.”

Upon hearing this, Aaron remained outwardly calm, but his heart skipped a beat.

Something is wrong, 12 out of 10 is wrong.

He had just sent the letter to Ron last night, and Dumbledore was talking to him tonight. No dog would believe it was a coincidence.

"Professor McGonagall, if I may ask, what brings Professor Dumbledore to see me?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious."

They'll probably just ask you a few questions; just tell them the truth.

Aaron immediately knew the answer: Dumbledore probably knew about his mission.

But it doesn't matter, he's sure he didn't give anything away.

They absolutely cannot find any evidence, and as long as Dumbledore denies it to the death, there's nothing they can do about it.

Thinking this, Aaron stood up nonchalantly, "Then let's hurry up and go, we can't keep the principal waiting."

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow slightly and led the way with practiced ease.

Upon entering the headmaster's office, Aaron immediately noticed a letter on Dumbledore's desk and couldn't help but silently complain to himself.

“Mr. Gaius, please have a seat.”

Aaron didn't stand on ceremony and casually found a chair to sit down.

"Um... Professor Dumbledore, we're already so familiar with each other, just say what you want to say."

Dumbledore nodded slightly, then picked up the letter on the table. "Does it look familiar?"

"Weasley's life is in danger... Also... this is not a prank, and you'll face the consequences if you don't believe it." Aaron read it without batting an eye, then frowned slightly, "It's definitely not Slytherin."

After all, as their grade leader, I often collect their homework and have never seen this kind of handwriting before.

This must just be some student's prank!

"It wasn't a prank; Arthur Weasley was attacked and seriously injured."

In a sense, the letter arrived at the perfect time, even saving Arthur's life.

"What?" A look of shock appeared on Aaron's face as he carefully examined the letter in his hand. "This is truly... truly unbelievable!"

This must be Professor Trelawney's doing; she's the only one in all of Hogwarts with this kind of prophetic ability.

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall exchanged a glance, both seeing the speechless look in each other's eyes.

With acting skills like that, if they didn't know the truth, they might have been fooled.

"Ahem!" Dumbledore coughed. "Unfortunately, this letter should have nothing to do with Professor Trelawney."

Last night, someone impersonated me and tricked the fat lady into opening the door to the Gryffindor common room. Then, they left this letter by Ron's bed and even kindly set an alarm.

If it were Sybil, all this trouble wouldn't be necessary.

"No way!" Aaron raised an eyebrow, then looked at Dumbledore with feigned anger. "Headmaster, you didn't call me here because you suspect me, did you?"

Dumbledore: ......

Doubt? What do you mean by doubt? Do you dare say it wasn't you?

"Don't get excited. The main thing is that this letter definitely wasn't left by the professor."

“It’s not Gryffindor either,” Professor McGonagall added. “Gryffindors know the password and don’t need to impersonate the headmaster.”

“That’s right.” Dumbledore shrugged slightly. “You are the best among the students, and your Transfiguration and Divination skills are something the professor is very proud of.”

"And you get along well with the Weasleys; Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George are all your friends."

"So, this is your reason for doubting me?" Aaron asked. "Isn't that a bit too hasty?"

“I also think it was a bit hasty, but…” Dumbledore pointed to the birdcage in the window, “Harry’s owl saw what happened last night.”

Click!

A bolt from the blue struck Aaron's heart.

Damn, I miscalculated! Even the best plans can go wrong!

He considered everything except Hedwig.

But then she thought that he had sneaked in while invisible last night, so Hedwig couldn't see him at all and could only identify him by his scent.

Besides, even if this owl's genes mutated and it could see through his magic, so what? It's all for nothing if it can't speak.

“Professor, I think this might be a misunderstanding,” Aaron said seriously. “I slept in my dorm room all night and didn’t leave it for even a moment.”

Hedwig immediately flapped her wings and made a strange cry, as if to refute his words.

"Roar!"

Abe roared, and a dragon's might pressed down on Hedwig like a mountain.

It immediately chose to follow its heart, ceasing all sound and movement, and simply squatted obediently in the cage.

“Aaron,” Professor McGonagall glared at him, “keep an eye on your pet.”

"Yes, yes, but Abe didn't do anything wrong either."

"It's perfectly normal for it to be angry that it's been slandered against me."

“Alright! Let’s just assume it’s a misunderstanding!” Dumbledore said nonchalantly, then changed the subject, “Mr. Gaius, who do you think left this letter?”

Aaron took a deep breath, raised his head and said, "How should I know? Anyway, it wasn't me."

Dumbledore's forehead creased with a few black lines. "Don't you feel ashamed to say that?"

"So what do you think this person's intentions are?" Dumbledore asked meaningfully.

"Uh... Professor, I'm just an ordinary Slytherin. Is it appropriate for you to ask me this?"