A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

I must solemnly tell you that you can always trust Snape.

Harry remained silent. He lacked trust in Professor Snape, which was why he rode Thestrals to the Ministry of Magic.

But if Professor Snape hadn't stalled for time, then what happened last night would have been entirely his own fault, and Sirius Black would have paid the price for his impulsiveness.

“And Kreacher.” Harry found a reason to defend himself. “I spoke to Kreacher through Umbridge’s fire, and he told me Sirius wasn’t in the Order of the Phoenix.”

“He’s lying,” Dumbledore said calmly. “House-elves are loyal to their masters, but you are not his master, so he can lie to you.”

"You mean he wants me to go to the Ministry of Magic?"

“I’m afraid so,” Dumbledore sighed. “Kreacher is loyal to the Black family, but the Black family isn’t just Sirius Black.”

Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix's sister and Sirius's older sister, could also be someone he pledges allegiance to.

He couldn't betray Sirius and never left Grimmauld Place, but Sirius was too indifferent to the house-elves, even saying "get lost" when he cursed at them.

This gave him the opportunity to leave Grimmauld Place and seek out other members of the Black family for whom he was willing to serve.

“But he can’t provide any important information, can he?” Harry said with difficulty.

“A lot of information can be deduced from some trivial matters. For example, your relationship with Sirius is like that of a father and son, which is why you dreamed that he was captured by the Department of Mysteries.”

Yesterday he hurt Buckbeak, and while Sirius was upstairs taking care of it, you went to the Order of the Phoenix to check on things.

boom!

Harry slammed his fist on the table in anger. "It's all his fault! He's an unfaithful, liar, and Hermione keeps telling us to be nice to him."

“He should indeed be treated better,” Dumbledore said noncommittally. “The personalities of house-elves are shaped by wizards, and I have reminded Sirius to show more respect to Kreacher, but he doesn’t seem to have listened to me.”

“You’re not allowed to talk about him like that,” Harry said angrily.

"But Kreacher certainly deserves pity, forced to obey the orders of a master who considered him insignificant, and his life was just as miserable as Dobby's."

Harry gritted his teeth, feeling a tightness in his chest.

“How do you know all this?” Harry asked wearily.

“To capture divine thoughts,” Dumbledore said calmly. “I used this spell to learn all this after Snape informed the Order of the Phoenix.”

But it was too late then. When Snape wanted to tell you that Sirius was safe and sound, he couldn't find you in the Forbidden Forest.

He was worried that you still believed Sirius was in Voldemort's hands, so he contacted the Order of the Phoenix again.

At that time, Lupin, Moody, Sirius, Kingsley, Nymphadora, and I were all at headquarters.

Sirius was overly concerned about you; he didn't know if you had arrived at the Ministry of Magic, but he wanted to go and support you immediately. Everyone else shared this thought, except for Snape, who advised him to stay at headquarters.

"Then why did you arrive so late?" Harry asked, bewildered.

“This was my idea,” Dumbledore said softly. “Voldemort wants the Prophecy Orb. You are safe until you get it. I have set up a spell on the Prophecy Orb so that I can monitor your every move.”

We were prepared to use Phantom Teleportation and could get there at any time.

But before we head over there, I want to see your current level of capability. After all, this is Dumbledore's army's first real battle, and we must admit that your fighting strength and courage are indeed gratifying."

Harry stood up abruptly, demanding incredulously, "We almost died there, and Neville was tortured by Bellatrix with the Crucifixion Curse. You just stood by and watched?"

"Calm down, Harry, of course we're not going to just stand by and watch."

Just as we were about to Apparate, Miss Granger took out the flintlock pistol.

I have a good relationship with Nicolas Flamel and a decent understanding of alchemy. That gun is an absolute divine weapon, its value immeasurable, especially those enchanted bullets, which are comparable to a full-force attack from a mage.

“What does that prove?” Harry asked impatiently.

"This shows Gaius's depth of knowledge," Dumbledore said in a deep voice, "and also shows the extent of Aaron's concern for Miss Granger."

This makes me think this is an opportunity; Aaron might get involved, so to ensure your safety, I've decided to wait a bit longer.

Harry's eyes widened instantly. The image of Dumbledore as a just and towering figure crumbled in his mind. "Professor, are you... really that serious?"

Dumbledore shook his head with a wry smile. "I know it's not very kind of me to do this, but I have no other choice."

The Order of the Phoenix is ​​not at an advantage compared to the Death Eaters. We have already sacrificed too many people in past battles, including your parents and Neville's parents, and this is only a small part of the story.

Therefore, we need a strong ally. I was thinking about this during my first year at Aaron University, but I couldn't find a suitable opportunity.

His stance was very clear: he would not get involved in the magical world's disputes, nor would he support either side.

Harry nodded, seemingly understanding, which meant he had come to understand Dumbledore.

"Now that he's here, why haven't you shown up yet?"

“This is a little bit of my own selfish reason.” Dumbledore didn’t hide anything. “Aaron Gaius has always kept a low profile and done things quietly during his five years at Hogwarts.”

He clearly has standards far exceeding those of his peers, yet he constantly tries to diminish his own presence.

In the first year, all the professors were excited that Hogwarts had welcomed a genius wizard. Despite being a Slytherin, he was able to maintain good relationships with students from the other three houses. Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Sprout even asked me more than once to transfer him to another house.

The following year, the three hospital directors were much less enthusiastic about transferring him to another hospital, but they still greatly admired this genius.

But after the third year, when people mentioned Aaron, they would think of him as a genius, but what made him a genius was simply his academic performance.

He used the time to reduce his presence to that of an ordinary high-achieving student, but the professor's appreciation and his classmates' respect only increased.

"hiss!"

Harry gasped; it seemed that was indeed the case.

Aaron is very strong; he excels in every aspect.

But if you really look into it, his fame and influence are not as great as his "savior" status, but if he wanted to, it wouldn't be difficult for him to command a large following.

As Harry thought this, an image appeared in his mind: he was in front of him, bearing various titles and blocking attacks from all directions, while not far behind him, Aaron Gaius was lying down easily, quietly and stealthily developing his strength.

“I want to see the real him, to understand his true strength, so that I can make the necessary arrangements later,” Dumbledore continued. “And he certainly didn’t disappoint us; he even gave us a real shock.”

Putting aside his strength for now, I've never seen anything like the prophecy book or the magical artifact that allows him to control dozens of puppet ninjas just by wearing that mask.

"After that, Barty Jr. arrived and gave up his chance to leave, teleporting Hermione away."

This action made me very happy. Although our relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend may have played a large role, it at least shows that he is a loyal and compassionate person, and I can entrust him with important responsibilities in the future.

"Then Voldemort came and revealed the secret of the Gaius family," Dumbledore said with emotion. "That's when I truly understood why the Gaius family had always maintained neutrality."

The Dumbledore family also has some records of those four families, but not many, and the records are filled with respect and fear.

I initially thought it was due to the vast connections of their four families, where a single move could have far-reaching consequences. But last night I realized that with the family's deep-rooted influence as descendants of gods, whoever they support will win.

“That’s great!” Harry said excitedly. “Aaron is definitely on our side.”

“It’s not that simple,” Dumbledore said. “Unless the magical world is heading down a path of no return, they will absolutely not interfere.”

This was their ancestral instruction, to prevent future generations from imposing their will on the entire magical world.

It can only be said that the ancestors of the Gaius family were extremely farsighted, forcefully suppressing the ambitions of their descendants. Otherwise, the magical world would certainly be a rigidly hierarchical society today, because no one could stop those four wizarding families, and there would be very few people opposing them.

"That's too much!" Harry muttered.

"You don't understand the power and influence of the god of magic. Merlin is still the faith of the vast majority of wizards!"

He left no offspring, but the Order of Merlin, established in his name by the wizarding world, holds an extremely high position. Even the Minister of Magic has to show them some respect, not to mention the descendants of the God of Magic.

You've seen how much Voldemort valued him; for any wizard seeking eternity, the secret to godhood is an irresistible temptation.

Harry nodded somewhat blankly, then asked, "Now that he's been dragged into this, you can train him to fight Voldemort!"

"He doesn't need my guidance. The Gaius family has always placed great importance on the training of its heirs."

Furthermore, based on my understanding of him, he wouldn't confront Voldemort head-on unless he was absolutely certain.

"He's really good at judging people," Harry thought to himself. "I think so too."

Even if you schemed against him like that, he wouldn't want to kill you, would he?

Regardless, your timely arrival last night saved him from a humiliating situation and prevented him from signing that contract with Voldemort.

Dumbledore's lips twitched, and his expression became quite interesting. "Things might be a little different from what you think."

"What's different?"

"Do you really think it's a humiliating contract?" Dumbledore asked mysteriously. "Harry, you're smart, but you're still too green."

In reality, that contract had nothing to do with humiliation; it was more like a truce agreement that Aaron and his twin brother forced Voldemort to sign.

What did he say back then...? Let you leave, and don't cause him any trouble for a year. I have to say he was very rational.

Having obtained the prophecy, Voldemort had satisfied his curiosity and achieved his most basic goal. However, to achieve a greater goal, he needed time to consolidate his power—no more, no less.

When Aaron produced the contract, Voldemort was presented with two choices.

He could either fight to the death, or he might be able to kill one of the two Gaiuses, but the other would become his future rival, a fight to the death.

Either a year-long truce is possible, Aaron's brother said he was leaving the magical world to handle some business, which means that after he consolidates his power, Aaron will be all alone and easier to control.

Harry, what would you choose if it were you?

“The second one,” Harry said without hesitation. “The first one is too risky and offers no benefits whatsoever.”

“Yes! Voldemort thought so too,” Dumbledore said, then changed the subject, “but it was Aaron who led Voldemort to think that way.”

A year-long hiatus will allow him to escape last night's predicament and make a clean getaway.

As for a year from now... haha! There's only the first time and countless times when it comes to signing a contract.

He'll figure out a way to get Voldemort to focus his attention elsewhere, like the Order of the Phoenix. I guarantee Voldemort won't be able to refuse the promises he makes.

Even if things don't go perfectly, do you really think it would be difficult for him, with his intelligence, to avoid Voldemort?

Chapter 514 Those who are obsessed with details are all bastards; good people are more cunning than bad people.

Harry stared in astonishment, his voice trembling slightly, "You mean this was all part of his plan?"

“Most likely.” Dumbledore nodded seriously. “No, I’m sure that’s what he thinks.”

According to the Gaius family's ancestral teachings, anyone who participates in disputes in the magical world will be expelled from the family and can only return once everything has settled down. During this period, he can only rely on himself.

But once Voldemort signs the truce, he will have ample time to prepare. Even if he gets caught up in the magical world's vortex, he can find a way to minimize the impact on himself, or even watch the battle between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters unfold.

As for after the war ends, regardless of who wins or loses, he can return to the Gaius family.

"As long as he regains his status as the family heir, none of us can do anything about it."

"Hiss!" Harry couldn't help but gasp. "Is the difference between people really that big?"