Barrier Outside the Chamber of Secrets

Lockhart pursed his lips, and seeing the meaningful looks in everyone's eyes, he quickly made a choice between saving face and risking his life.

You can regain your pride, or simply move to another place to make a living, but if you lose your life, you have nothing left.

"I'm sorry, but I have to refuse this time," Lockhart said seriously. "I don't want to stay here for another second. I'm leaving now."

"But you're the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, it's your responsibility," Professor McGonagall said unhappily. Although she also felt that Lockhart couldn't be of much help, it was not a good thing for a deserter to appear in the team at this time.

"That's not how it works. This isn't my obligation," Lockhart said dismissively. "When I accepted this position, this wasn't included in the terms of service."

"Are you saying you're going to desert your post?" Harry asked incredulously.

Lockhart shrugged with a smile, offering no denial.

"How could you run away?" Hermione couldn't accept it. "You wrote so many amazing stories about yourself in the book."

"Books can be deceiving," Lockhart grinned. "The stories are real, but the protagonist is replaced with the glamorous Gilderoy Lockhart instead of an ugly old Warlock or a disgusting old witch with a chin and no sense of style."

Only when people believe that I was behind all those scandals will book sales go up.

"You, you, you really are... a liar." Hermione's chest heaved with anger, and she could barely speak, her disappointment overflowing.

The others were also dumbfounded. They could all see that Lockhart was a Clown, but they never expected him to be even more despicable than they thought, with a character that was utterly vile.

"It's disgusting." Aaron had expected it all along; Lockhart's outrageous actions were perfectly normal.

"Say what you will, at most it's plagiarism, but I haven't broken any laws!" Lockhart said. Now that he had laid his cards on the table, there was no need for him to pretend anymore.

Professor McGonagall cast a Stone Curse on him, immobilizing him in place.

"Ignore this bastard. I'll ask the Auror to investigate after I rescue Ginny."

Composing themselves, the group continued their journey through the rugged tunnel, bypassing the churning, molting snakes.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, a solid wall blocked their way. On the wall were two intertwined snakes, their eyes inlaid with Winky emeralds, looking as if they were alive.

Abei jumped down from Aaron's arms, looking warily at the wall, her sharp claws slowly emerging from her limbs.

Aaron took a deep breath. "The Basilisk is inside. Get two roosters ready."

Also, if anything unexpected happens, remember not to look into its eyes; if possible, fight with your eyes closed.

Ron and Hermione instinctively hugged the roosters in their arms, and they immediately crowed loudly, dispelling the oppressive atmosphere in everyone's hearts.

"Harry Potter," Snape said meaningfully, looking at the wall, "It's your turn Parseltongue."

Harry cleared his throat, walked to the wall, and hissed in Parseltongue: Open.

The two snakes slowly separated and coiled up on either side of the wall.

The wall slowly opened from the center, and what came into view was not Chamber of Secrets, but rather the green light emanating from the emeralds in the eyes of the two snakes, forming a gray-white curtain that blocked the entrance.

"What's this?"

"Don't touch it, Harry." Professor McGonagall cautiously extended her finger to touch it, and Ha Yang was immediately knocked back several steps.

Professor Flitwick took out his Wand, and the white light shone on the gray-white curtain wall, creating a black crack in it.

The cracks healed in no time, and powerful magic seeped from the wall, neutralizing Flitwick's spell.

"A barrier," Professor Flitwick exclaimed. "And not just any ordinary barrier. It's powered by two Magic Crystal and has been in place for at least a month."

"Can it be broken open?" Ron asked anxiously. "My sister is still inside!"

"I'm sorry, Ron Weasley."

This barrier was clearly meticulously prepared; even if we all tried to break it by brute force, it would take us quite some time.

How long will it take?

"At least ten hours," Professor Flitwick said with a troubled expression. "That's the fastest I can do. The person who set up this barrier is an absolute genius."

Unless he left some rules, the only way to break them is by brute force.

As soon as the words were spoken, two Chinese characters appeared on the gray-white curtain wall:

Aaron Gaius (this is the premise); 1357.

What?

Aaron blinked blankly, and the others looked at him with puzzled expressions.

"What's going on?" Aaron felt as if a huge "danger" was etched on his forehead, as if someone was pointing Killing Curse at him.

"Clearly," Professor Snape said grimly, "You have come into the sights of the Heir of Slytherin."

"But I've been as discreet as ever!" Aaron said, on the verge of tears. "I haven't had any outstanding performances in the past two semesters, how did he even know about me?"

After saying that, Aaron seemed to have thought of something and turned to look at the three Gryffindor.

"Don't tell me you guys leaked it."

Hermione and Ron immediately shook their heads; they were both tight-lipped.

Harry weakly raised his right hand and said with shame, "I probably did it."

Tom Riddle took me to his memory, and I told him that Hagrid wasn't the murderer, and then I told him the clues you had found.

He's interested in you, so...

Upon hearing this, Aaron's mind went blank, and he was on the verge of a breakdown.

Didn't I tell you not to tell anyone?

You promised me that too, is this your promise?

"Sorry," Harry said awkwardly, too guilty to look Aaron in the eye.

He didn't think that Riddle's Diary would reveal the secret, so he didn't take it seriously. But he never expected it to escalate to such a huge extent.

"Heh! You think an apology is enough?" Aaron sneered, pointing at the curtain wall. "Look closely, my name is written here!"

"I've worked so hard for so long just to avoid being targeted by the big boss behind the scenes, and you, of all people, have sold me out so decisively."

"I... I really didn't mean to."

"You better not have done it on purpose, or I'll strangle you." Aaron gritted his teeth and grabbed Harry by the collar. "Do you know that I've never thought of taking any risks myself, never?"

"I'm just a Slytherin trying to protect myself, why are you treating me like this? What have I done to offend you?"

Harry shook his head blankly, wanting to say something, but swallowed the words back.

It seems that everything he says is wrong now. This isn't just holding Aaron back; it's dragging Aaron into the Abyss. No wonder he's in a bad mood.

Harry could only cast a pleading look at Professor McGonagall, hoping she would say a few kind words to at least get Aaron to let him go.

"Sigh!" Professor McGonagall said helplessly, "Time is of the essence now, let's think about how to rescue Ginny first!"

"There's no other way," Aaron sighed. "Now we have no choice but to take matters into our own hands."

"No, I disagree," Professor Snape shouted sternly. "Nobody knows what's inside. Besides the Basilisk, there might be other dangers."

You don't need to risk your life for Ginny Weasley, and we have no reason to make you, a student, take risks.

"Hehe! Professor, as I just said, I've never thought about taking any risks either."

But thanks to the famous the Chosen One, I'm now forced into this situation; they're after me. Aaron gradually calmed down. "There's no such thing as being able to guard against thieves for a thousand days if you're a thief yourself."

There's a saying in our family motto, "If I don't kill him today, he'll definitely find a way to kill me tomorrow."

Since he's been targeted, I have no choice but to take action and eliminate him, otherwise I won't be able to sleep soundly anymore.

"Um... Gaius," Professor Sprout frowned, "Your idea is good, but your strength is currently too weak. We can think of other ways."

"There's no time."

Professor Sprout was speechless upon hearing this.

If they could break this barrier, things wouldn't be so troublesome, but what can they do when they can't break it?

"What does that third sentence mean?" Hermione frowned, staring at the numbers on the screen. "One, three, five, seven—these are all odd numbers. Do they represent the year or the tonnage? Or..."

"It's not that complicated." Aaron rolled his eyes. "The four numbers add up to sixteen, which means that people under the age of sixteen can pass through the curtain wall."

Riddle may have already gained the ability to detach himself from the Diary; he is confident, so confident that he doesn't need to respect any of his peers.

"We can come in and help you," Harry said, mustering his courage. "We're all under sixteen, and the four of us combined might not be able to beat Tom Riddle."

"No, please, I'm begging you, please don't come and hold us back." Aaron's expression was one of resistance; he had a very clear understanding of the abilities of these three Gryffindor.

Hermione is the only one who has some ability, but this isn't an exam, so she can't be of much help.

As for Harry and Ron... well, it's a long story!

If either of these two people were even slightly reliable, he could have easily secured victory by relying on the professors; there would have been no need for him to take such a huge risk.

"But that's my sister inside," Ron said defiantly.

"Then stay outside for your sister's sake," Aaron said impatiently. "If Ginny is alive, I will do my best to rescue her. If she is dead, I will do my best to bring her body out intact."

"Ginny must still be alive," Ron said loudly, but he was also a little unsure, after all, he had seen quite a few skeletons along the way.

Let's hope so!

Aaron sighed and walked toward the curtain wall.

"Wait, Gaius," Professor McGonagall stopped him and said, "You forgot to bring the rooster."

"It's no use, Riddle has already made ample preparations," Aaron said regretfully. "This barrier is for living people; roosters can't get through."

Upon hearing this, Abei became restless. It was worried about its owner abandoning it to risk its own life, so it spread its wings and flew towards the barrier.

The sharp claws tore through the barrier, creating streaks of fire, but the damage they caused to the barrier was limited, and it would always recover in the next second.