Laying It All Out, the Gap Between Misunderstandings

"Could you tell us the clues you found?" Hermione asked expectantly.

"This..." Aaron hesitated for a moment, then pondered, "Draco, you know I've been investigating the Secret Chamber, so you should be able to guess that the reason I haven't told you more is because I don't want you to get involved!"

The more you know, the more dangerous it becomes. You're one of my few friends, and Pure-blood at that; you could easily stay out of this.

"We're not afraid of danger," Harry said somewhat anxiously. Then, thinking of his current identity, he immediately added, "Otherwise, Malfoy wouldn't have brought us here."

Aaron raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Are you really Goyle? You seem quite strange, a little different from usual."

"He's probably just too excited," Hermione said, trying to smooth things over. "You'd better tell us already!"

Just like he said, we're not afraid of danger, and the Heir of Slytherin wouldn't harm Pure-blood, right?

"Alright!" Aaron took out his Wand and tapped it lightly on the wall, revealing a dense array of clues to the group.

"These are the clues I've pieced together." Aaron pointed somewhat proudly to a snake in the center. "First, the identity of the monster in the Secret Chamber — the Basilisk."

"Are you sure?" Harry's eyes widened slightly. They had searched for a long time without finding anything, and now the results were right in front of them, so easy that it was hard to believe.

"Goyle, you'd better not interrupt when others are speaking."

"Besides, don't you think you've been talking a bit too much today?" Hermione said, glaring at Harry to signal him not to rush things, that half an hour would be enough to understand everything.

Harry nodded, swallowing awkwardly.

"Don't be so nervous." Aaron waved his hand dismissively. "It's a serious matter, so it's only right to understand it thoroughly."

Draco, you told me that the Secret Chamber was opened ten years ago, and I unexpectedly found the heir who was expelled ten years ago...

Harry's expression shifted slightly, and he was about to ask a question when Ron nudged him with his elbow.

Their identities were Malfoy's henchmen; Malfoy had barely said a few words, so it was hardly their place to ask them questions.

"The heir before the 10th?" Hermione asked, somewhat surprised. "Who is it?"

"I'm sorry, I can't say."

But that's not important. What's important is that I got some clues from him.

The monster Secret Chamber is the spider's natural enemy.

The three exchanged glances, and thinking of the group of spiders that had hurriedly fled through the window at the crime scene that day, they couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"Professor McGonagall also said that the monster was raised by Salazar Slytherin, which means it may have lived for thousands of years."

Spiders' natural enemies, lifespans of thousands of milliseconds, plus Mrs. Norris's petrified state, and so on.

"Think about it, think about it carefully, isn't this some kind of extremely ferocious Fantastic Beasts?" Aaron laughed. "While everyone else was foolishly busy searching for clues in the school history that didn't even exist, I borrowed all the books about Fantastic Beasts from Madam Pince, and the only one that fit these characteristics was the Basilisk."

"The Basilisk possesses a terrifying power; any creature that comes into direct contact with its gaze will die instantly, while those that come into indirect contact will be stoned."

Mrs. Norris probably saw its eyes through its reflection in the water, while Justin guessed it saw them through Nearly Headless Nick's body. As for Nearly Headless Nick, he's Ghost who's died once; dying again is a luxury for him.

"And what about Colin?" Hermione asked. "He seems to have been stoned as well."

"Um... I guided him, I can only say he was unlucky." Aaron shrugged. "After the Quidditch Match, he went to see Harry Potter, and it was Abei gave me the warning in the corridor."

At the time, it was just him and me there, a Pure-blood Warlock and a Muggle-born wizard. The Basilisk didn't even consider who it might attack.

"With your abilities, you should be able to run away with him, right?" Harry's voice held a hint of anger, but he concealed it well.

"Hehe! Goyle, when did you become so sentimental?"

"Um... I was just a little curious."

"Then I'll satisfy your curiosity," Aaron explained. "The situation was critical at the time, and I was indeed constantly torn between life and morality."

At that time, I knew very well that if I turned around and left, the Basilisk would definitely not hurt me.

"Should I take Colin with me and run away? What if the Basilisk after us? I can't risk my life."

"So you're just going to stand by and watch?"

Hermione said with some surprise, although it is only natural to save one's life, Aaron's behavior was a bit too cold-blooded, and she even felt that she might have misjudged him.

Of course not.

Before Colin turned into that aisle, I asked him to take a few photos to send to Harry.

"Oh, I see." Hermione exclaimed in realization, "By making eye contact with the Basilisk through the camera, the worst outcome would be being stoned. Fortunately, the school has enough Mandrake, and once the herbs are ripe, they can restore Colin to health."

Aaron snapped his fingers. "That's it."

I can't take any risks, so this is the only way I can save his life.

"We Warlock of this era, without adequate preparation, have no chance of defeating a Magical Creatures from Salazar's time. Between death and stone, choosing the latter might not be a bad idea; at least we can save them."

"I see!" Hermione nodded, then turned and gave Harry and Ron a meaningful look.

You all heard that, didn't you? This is the person you suspect.

Fortunately, there was no direct questioning, otherwise their friendship would have suffered another irreparable rift.

Harry and Ron looked at each other, feeling extremely ashamed. They had never suspected that the bad guy was actually a very good person.

"Wait a minute." Harry raised his right hand. "I have a small question. Now that you know the creature in the Secret Chamber is Basilisk, why didn't you tell Dumbledore?"

"Great idea, really great idea! How come I didn't think of that!" Aaron said with a meaningful smile, feigning sudden realization. "Tell Dumbledore, and then have him tell the whole school that we've found out Salazar is keeping a Basilisk, and everyone's safety is now fully guaranteed."

Harry scratched his head sheepishly, but Aaron's next words made the smile on his face vanish.

"The Slytherin heir might back down and remain hidden in Hogwarts as a ticking time bomb. Who knows if he might unleash the Basilisk in a fit of rage and then fight to the death?"

He has already ordered the Basilisk to kill several people. Do you really think he would have any compassion?

"A giant serpent that's lived for over a thousand years! Even the academy professors didn't find it easy to deal with it, so how difficult could it be to kill us underage serpent Warlock?"

Harry somewhat frustrated, and Ron didn't know how to comfort him.

It seems that knowing about the existence of the Basilisk is of little use; it only provides one more option when facing it: indirect eye contact.

Although petrification is painful, at least he survived.

Hermione pondered for a moment, then murmured, "What if we tell Dumbledore to keep quiet and prepare in secret?"

"Draco, I'm still glad you're willing to admit Dumbledore."

It's pointless to do anything if we can't find the Secret Chamber or the Slytherin heir.

Dumbledore either did nothing, or he prepared the Basilisk's natural enemies.

"Does the Basilisk have any natural enemies?" Harry asked excitedly. If they had made preparations in advance, wouldn't Hogwarts have been much less dangerous?

"Goyle, I can tell what you're thinking just by looking at your expression. Do you think I haven't thought of that either?"

Hearing this, Harry's heart sank again.

During those ten minutes or so, his mood was like a rollercoaster, going up and down.

"The Basilisk's natural enemy is the rooster."

It is with great regret that I tell you that on the day Justin was attacked, Harry Potter and I went to Dumbledore's office, and Hagrid was holding a dead rooster.

In other words, the heir has already begun eliminating the Basilisk threat. He'll definitely know if the number of Basilisks in the school increases, and if he decides to quit, the entire Hogwarts will be in great danger.

"So that means there's nothing we can do? There's nothing we can do?"

"That's one way to put it, but since the school has the greatest White Magic of this century, the other side will be hesitant to launch a large-scale massacre and will only target those lone Muggle-born Warlock."

Besides, we are all Pure-blood, so as long as we pose no threat to him, we are still safe.

"What about those Muggle-born Warlock?" Hermione asked anxiously. "Hermione Granger, for example, isn't she your friend too!"

"Of course, I was prepared for this." Aaron raised his Wand and pointed to the corner of the wall.

A pale white light flashed, and a simple chicken coop appeared before the three of them. What surprised them even more was the two roosters inside the coop.

"This is a lifesaver. I caught it from the chicken coop on the day of the Quidditch Match without anyone noticing."

The heir probably started killing the roosters a long time ago; he wouldn't know these two roosters existed. Aaron chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Stealing public property could result in Slytherin losing more than ten points."

However, if the other side starts attacking the students without restraint, these two roosters can ensure the safety of most of the students.

Thinking about it carefully, I'm actually quite great.

Hermione and Ron looked at Harry again, their meaningful gazes making him blush and unable to lift his head.

He had previously vowed that Aaron's actions would be beneficial and harmless, and that he would eliminate Muggle-born Warlock. However, he hadn't expected that Aaron would be quietly preparing to protect the entire school.

"Why are you all looking at him like that?" Aaron asked, somewhat surprised. "Draco, are you hiding something from me?"

"No," Hermione immediately shook her head. "You know me well; I've never lied to you."

Aaron frowned, carefully examining the expressions of the three people, and strongly suspected that they were hiding something from him.

He wouldn't ask too many questions; he'd tell you what he should say eventually, and he wouldn't get anything out of you no matter how much you asked.

"Forget it, everything today was just inexplicable."

"Aaron, are we destined to only passively defend ourselves?"

"Draco, I really didn't expect you to be worried about those Muggle-born Warlock."

Mr. Lucius that what she said probably wouldn't look good, but you're right. I'm not the kind of person who only cares about comforting myself; if Hogwarts goes bankrupt, it won't do me any good."

As he spoke, Aaron lightly waved his Wand, and another clue wall appeared before the three of them.

"This is..."

Hermione's eyes widened, and Harry and Ron were also dumbfounded.

The walls were covered with a dense array of names, many of which were marked with an X, with only a dozen or so scattered throughout the walls.