The False Heir of Fifty Years Ago

Gryffindor Common Room.

Harry and Ron were preparing their homework for the History of Magic class, while Hermione, the top student who had already finished her homework, seemed a little distracted.

"Who could it be?" Hermione asked, her brow furrowed. "Who would want to expel Squib and Muggle-born wizard from Hogwarts?"

"Think about it, who is the person who despises Muggle-born the most?" Ron looked at Hermione and smiled meaningfully. "I think you already have the answer."

"Could it be Malfoy?"

"Of course it's him," Ron said seriously. "First of all, I want to say that this has nothing to do with personal grudges."

As far as I know, the Malfoy family has been Slytherin for several generations. You all saw it during the Sorting Ceremony last year; they shouted "Slytherin" even before the Sorting Hat was on their heads. Doesn't that prove anything?

You've met his nephew Lucius at Flourish and Blotts; he looks down on not only Muggle, but even Warlock who hang out with Muggle.

Hermione nodded blankly, then said with some doubt, "That seems to make sense."

"What do you mean, 'seems like'?" Ron, somewhat displeased. "Their family must have the key to the Secret Chamber, passed down through generations for centuries."

"Um..." Harry looked at the two of them, hesitated for several seconds, "Do you think it could be Gaius?"

"That's impossible." Hermione decisively rejected the guess and said angrily, "Harry, you know what kind of person Aaron is. He can never be the Heir of Slytherin."

"Perhaps Harry's guess is right." Ron pondered, then said, "He seems more like the Heir of Slytherin than Malfoy."

"Why do you say that too?" Hermione frowned. "He's different from the other Slytherin. He even managed to save us last year."

"Don't be angry, Hermione."

I'm just stating the facts; many professors, even Dumbledore, have said that he possesses all the qualities of Slytherin.

Ambitious, shrewd, honor-conscious, astute, self-preserving, and supremely competitive—he is the epitome of Slytherin, and many people think so.

Moreover, the Gaius family's Warlock bloodline is very pure, dating back at least a thousand years.

"You can't be envious, jealous, or hateful just because someone is outstanding," Hermione said speechlessly.

Ron rolled his eyes and turned to Harry. "What do you think?"

Harry looked at the two of them, hesitated, and opened his mouth, "I didn't suspect him for no reason."

First of all, on Halloween night, he appeared at the crime scene after we arrived.

The three of us were attending Nearly Headless Nick's death anniversary party, which is why we weren't in the Great Hall. I heard strange noises, so I led you to that corridor.

But we had barely finished speaking when he showed up.

"It's just a coincidence," Hermione said dismissively. "He also said he was going back to his dorm."

"But this is just too much!"

"Why him? Why Slytherin?" Harry asked. "Besides, he was alone at the time, and no one can prove when he got there, maybe even before we arrived."

"Even if this is not a combination, what about the rest?"

We went to the crime scene, and he went too, and he immediately noticed those strange spiders.

Moreover, he seemed indifferent to Moaning Myrtle's answer.

Once it was a no-contact, but twice is a bit unreasonable.

"See!" Ron shrugged at Hermione. "The suspicion just started to rise rapidly."

"Maybe it was a coincidence both times?" Hermione said uncertainly. "Besides, his purpose in going to the crime scene might be the same as ours."

"It could also be evidence that was accidentally left behind," Ron said calmly. "That's how it's written in detective novels."

"I still don't believe that Aaron has ever looked down on Half-blood or Muggle-born wizard."

He didn't know Filch was Squib and had no reason to harm Mrs. Norris.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with helplessness.

"I don't want to doubt him either," Harry said in a low voice, "But there are just too many inconsistencies. Apart from Malfoy, he's the most suspicious person."

Ron nodded; he shared the same thought, and he added another reason in his mind for Aaron.

Aaron gets along very well with Malfoy, who despises Half-blood and Muggle-born. Birds of a feather flock together, and this is an insurmountable obstacle.

Hermione chuckled. "In short, I don't believe it was him."

Harry and Ron looked at each other, they were just guessing, and had no way to prove it.

"Let's put this issue aside for now. There's no need for us to waste time on unrealistic speculation." Harry sighed softly. "Let's investigate in other directions!"

Meanwhile, in the Slytherin Common Room.

Aaron sneezed several times in his dorm room, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

After all, he is only twelve years old. Although his physique is far superior to that of an adult, it does not mean that he will not catch a cold in November.

Aaron opened his notebook, looked at the clues he had pieced together, and pondered for a moment.

He turned the page, tore off the blank paper from the back, and laid it on the wall.

Then the magic Wand transferred the clues from the notebook onto blank paper, creating a simple clue wall with words but no pictures.

"There are currently two leads that we can investigate."

First, there's the identity of the heir; second, there's the identity of the monster within the Secret Chamber. Aaron stroked his chin, his mind racing.

The heir is not to be overlooked; the first step is to be born.

There are quite a few people, but any one of them could be involved.

Moreover, the other party would not easily reveal any flaws. How could someone who is only eleven years old open Secret Chamber and let the monsters inside go out to commit crimes be timid?

However, it's possible to check the student who was expelled ten years ago, but that won't be easy.

Ten years ago, that's a huge time span. Even the professors at the school might not know anything about it. I guess no one except the principal Dumbledore, knows about that period of history.

But Aaron had no desire to deal with Dumbledore. The old man seemed kind and amiable, and in the eyes of most students, he was a competent headmaster.

But for some reason, every time Aaron saw him, he felt that the other man was deep and scheming, and he had a feeling that he might be betrayed by him if he was not careful.

Looking into the depths of Dumbledore's eyes, Aaron suddenly shivered, then quickly turned his thoughts to the monster's identity.

A Fantastic Beasts with terrifying petrifying abilities, existing since Salazar Slytherin's time, possessing an extremely long lifespan, and possibly a natural enemy of spiders...

Aaron breathed a sigh of relief. With these clues, confirming the other party's identity wasn't too difficult.

The next day after class, Aaron took Abei outside the castle.

When they arrived at Hagrid's Hut, Abei, whom he was holding, reluctantly turned her face away.

"Let's go! He's the only one in this school who knows anything about Fantastic Beasts!" Aaron said, knocking on the door.

Who is it?

Hagrid opened the door and was somewhat surprised to see Aaron.

"This is truly a rare guest!"

Why did you decide to come here? Is Abei sick?

"Can't you think of something more interesting?"

"My Dragon Cub is incredibly healthy and has a great appetite." Aaron rolled his eyes at him, then went inside and casually found a place to sit. "I came here specifically because I have some questions, and I reckon you're the only one in all of Hogwarts who can give me the answers."

Upon hearing this, Hagrid raised an eyebrow, his thick beard trembling slightly, revealing his inner smugness.

"You go first, but I can't guarantee I can answer it."

"It's about the Secret Chamber," Aaron said calmly. "I discovered..."

Aaron stopped mid-sentence when Hagrid, sitting opposite him, trembled slightly, his smile vanishing and replaced by a look of fear.

"You're not happy, are you?"

"No." Hagrid forced a bitter smile, trying to appear cheerful. "I'm sorry."

"You don't look like you're unhappy."

"I'm just asking some questions, don't be nervous." Aaron tried to keep his tone calm. "Hagrid, I've found some clues about the Secret Chamber."

"Really?" Hagrid, somewhat uneasy. "What did you discover?"

"Yinduo, the heir..."

"It wasn't me, it really wasn't me!" Hagrid stood up agitatedly. "I've been framed. I'm really not the Heir of Slytherin."

"I didn't say it was you!" Aaron chuckled awkwardly, but then he seemed to realize something, and his expression changed slightly.

According to Draco's clues, the person who opened the Secret Chamber ten years ago was fired, and Hagrid apparently became the forest ranger after being fired.

Ten years is nothing to Giant, and it matches his current appearance.

Gollum!

Aaron swallowed hard, and asked nervously, "You wouldn't happen to be that Warlock who was expelled ten years ago, would you?"

"But I was truly innocent." Hagrid looked dejected, his eyes bulging with grievance. "However, almost no one believed me back then."

If it weren't for Dumbledore's protection and the lack of sufficient evidence, I probably would have been imprisoned in Azkaban.

"It is quite pitiful, but I am willing to believe you."

"You believe me?"

"Of course." Aaron nodded seriously.

Rubeus Hagrid is the Heir of Slytherin? Are you kidding me?

Even if Salazar Slytherin lowered his standards for his successor, he would still choose a normal Warlock, not a Giant; this is too far-fetched.

Moreover, Hagrid has no sense of propriety; he's overly honest and has absolutely no connection to Slytherin.

"Alright, let's get back to the point. What I want to ask you is whether you know the identity of the monster in the Secret Chamber?"

"I don't know," Hagrid said apologetically.

"Of course I know you don't know, but I have clues that might help me figure it out," Aaron said slyly. "Fantastic Beasts with the ability to sculpt rocks, with an extremely long lifespan, possibly a natural enemy of spiders."