Keep a Low Profile

A white streak of light descended upon the group. Dumbledore looked at the Warlock within the barrier with a smile, and his smile widened even more when he saw Fawkes perched on Harry's shoulder.

"You have given me a wonderful surprise and solved a problem that has plagued Hogwarts for decades."

"Professor, I...we weren't helpful at all," Harry said haltingly. "It was all Aaron's fault. He killed the Basilisk and defeated Tom Riddle."

Dumbledore nodded, then looked at Aaron, who was being helped up, and his eyes widened in surprise.

What's going on?

The last time I saw him, he was only a mid-level High-level Mage, but in such a short time, his strength has increased by one level. That's too fast!

"You are more powerful and more talented than I thought."

Hermione trembled slightly. Having touched the ring before, she knew very well that Aaron's strength was at least twice what it appeared to be.

"Thank you for the compliment, but it's fate, there's nothing I can do about it," Aaron said nonchalantly.

"Headmaster, we can talk about this back home. Could you break this barrier first?" Professor McGonagall said.

Dumbledore, observed the gray-white curtain wall, and quickly locked his attention on the two green Magic Crystal.

"Truly remarkable, Riddle is indeed the most outstanding student in the history of Hogwarts."

"Headmaster, could you hurry up?" Snape said impatiently. "My students are waiting to heal their wounds!"

"Calm down, Severus." Dumbledore tore a hole in the Wand with his wand, then inserted Wand inside, chanted a spell, and knocked down two Magic Crystal. The barrier disappeared as the Magic Crystal shattered.

Aaron stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Although Dumbledore's method of breaking the barrier was somewhat simple, judging from the ease with which he tore it apart, even the four professors combined probably couldn't match him. No wonder Voldemort was so wary of him.

Harry and the others were also dumbfounded, but more than being surprised, they felt a strong sense of security.

With such a headmaster at Hogwarts, they are definitely the luckiest group of students.

"Tell me the whole story when you get back," Dumbledore said. "It's something we all need to know."

"Um..." Aaron weakly raised his right hand, "I won't participate. I need to go to the School Hospital."

"Of course, Madam Pomfrey will be there waiting for you."

Aaron nodded, then turned around and gave the group a meaningful look: say as little as possible.

The three looked at each other, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

They all knew Aaron wanted to keep a low profile, but now that everything had settled, it was impossible to hide it.

The professors already knew most of the details of the case, and as for the battle Dumbledore could figure it out with just a glance at the crime scene. You can't expect them not to go to the Secret Chamber, can you?

"Oh well! It was my oversight." Aaron sighed slightly, his gaze sweeping over the four professors before finally settling on Dumbledore. "Headmaster, I have a small request. Could you perhaps reduce my presence as much as possible?"

For example, four students worked together to find the legendary Secret Chamber and, together with several professors, eliminated the Basilisk and the mastermind behind it all.

"This...isn't that fair to you!" A glint of light flashed in Dumbledore's eyes. "You are a high-ranking official of Hogwarts and deserve the respect of everyone."

Aaron pursed his lips; he didn't believe Dumbledore didn't understand what he meant.

It's fine to show off, but the problem is that this time the spotlight is too big.

Killing the Basilisk is one thing, but if word gets out that he defeated Tom Riddle, he'll be thrust into the spotlight. What will Voldemort think if he finds out?

If a thirteen-year-old Warlock can defeat him when he was ten, his attitude towards him will probably change from admiration and recruitment to fear, and he will have to live in constant fear from now on!

"Just tell me! Can you do it?" Aaron looked directly into Dumbledore's blue eyes. "If not, I can take a loss and have my uncle talk to Cornelius Fudge."

Upon hearing Dumbledore's face showed a hint of helplessness.

This kid is a bit too shrewd. He even knows to use the Ministry of Magic to pressure him. It seems that it will be a long and arduous task to completely bring the Gaius Family to the opposite side of Voldemort.

"You can do it, but you also need to know that your bad record can't be erased."

"That's enough." Aaron didn't take it seriously. As long as he wasn't the most handsome guy, Harry Potter, this famous figure, would automatically attract everyone's attention.

"By the way, I just saw that Lockhart's statue is under a stone curse. Who did that?"

"I did it, Albus," Professor McGonagall said angrily. "Gilderoy Lockhart is a fraud, he... he's a liar."

In short, he's not suited for teaching at Hogwarts, but Azkaban would be a perfect fit for him.

Dumbledore frowned thoughtfully. He knew Professor McGonagall well; for her to be so angry, Lockhart must indeed have a serious problem.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts needs to recruit a teacher again; this course is too demanding on teachers, requiring one teacher per year!

Harry and the others were taken to the Headmaster's Office, where the Mr. and Mrs. Weasley also waiting. The news of Ginny's accident had really terrified them.

Aaron was personally taken to the School Hospital by Professor Snape, Madam Pomfrey was astonished to see her covered in injuries.

"How did you get like this?"

"Um... it was indeed quite dangerous. Just pretend I was struck by lightning!"

Snape glared at him, then looked at Madam Pomfrey. "Please take a good look at him. He's badly injured. Try to make sure he doesn't suffer any lasting damage."

Madam Pomfrey helped Aaron onto the sickbed, next to him was a row of patients covered in stones, Colin, Justin, Penelope, all waiting there for Mandrake's healing.

"How could this be?" Madam Pomfrey examined the area for a few minutes, her expression shifting from worry to surprise, then to astonishment, and finally to bewilderment.

Watching Madam Pomfrey's dramatic changes in expression, Snape couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. "Can you cure him?"

"Professor Snape, I don't know how to say it, but he doesn't seem to need treatment."

I'll wrap some bandages around him; he should be fully recovered after a good night's sleep."

Are you kidding me?

"I'm not joking. Mr. Gaius's physical abilities are terrifying, far exceeding those of ordinary humans."

"His injuries aren't as serious as they look," Madam Pomfrey said solemnly. "And they're healing very quickly."

Snape paused for a moment, then looked at Aaron meaningfully. "Does your family have some special bloodline?"

"I don't recall ever having that," Aaron said, half-laughing and half-crying. "You've forgotten, I got injured just like any other person when I joined the Quidditch team."

Maybe it's because I was forced to soak in medicinal solutions for two months during Summer Holiday, and then...

"What's the recipe?" Madam Pomfrey asked impatiently, then stood awkwardly on the ground after asking.

No matter how you look at it, this is a matter for the Gaius family, not something a doctor like her should be inquiring about.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that question."

"I understand, just don't spread rumors."

"I know how to bandage," Madam Pomfrey smiled. "I'll go get you some bandages."

"Since you don't want to, I'll be leaving now."

"But as your teacher, I feel it's necessary to remind you of one thing: try to avoid standing out in the future." Professor Snape said seriously, then left the School Hospital.

Soon, Madam Pomfrey came with a roll of bandages and wrapped several joints on Aaron's body tightly.

"That's fine then, you'll be fully recovered after a night's rest."

Thank you very much.

"It's what I should do." Madam Pomfrey stood up. "You rest well. I need to go and brew the Mandrake Potion for Professor Sprout. There are still a few petrified patients over there!"

The original plan was to have them retake the exam tonight, but something seems to have happened, so we'll have to wait until tomorrow.

On the other side, in the Headmaster's Office.

The Mr. and Mrs. Weasley hugged their daughter tightly and kept thanking Harry and the others.

Harry and his two companions just smiled and remained silent. They hadn't played a significant role in the whole affair, and felt unworthy of such thanks.

Lockhart was freed from the Petrification Spell, but Mo was strapped to a chair like a prisoner.

Everyone knew of his misdeeds and unanimously agreed to hand him over to the Ministry of Magic for investigation.

The angrier one was Mrs. Weasley, a devoted fan of Lockhart's books, whose idol's glorious image had been completely shattered in her mind.

When Professor Snape arrived, he told everyone that Aaron was alright, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Harry recounted the whole story to the professors, starting with the strange noises he heard, their suspicions about Aaron, their knowledge of most of the clues, and then the Forbidden Forest and Aragog.

Of course, Riddle's Diary was not forgotten either.

However, he cleverly avoided the process of preparing the Polyjuice Potion; he didn't have the courage to tell Snape in front of him that he had sneaked into his office to steal materials.

"It's unbelievable that you've broken so many school rules."

"What you've done is enough to warrant expulsion." Dumbledore looked at the silent group, then changed the subject with a smile, "However, you did discover the Chamber of Secrets, earning you a special contribution award to the school."

Upon hearing this, the three of them excitedly raised their heads; this seemed like a familiar tale of redeeming oneself through merit.

"Headmaster, what about Ginny?" Harry asked anxiously. "What happened to her?"

"I know what you're worried about." Dumbledore picked up Tom Riddle's Diary. "Miss Weasley Ginny Weasley will not be punished; she should rest."

Fortunately, the holidays were just around the corner, giving her ample time to overcome this terrible psychological trauma.

"What do you mean by psychological trauma?" Mrs. Weasley asked, puzzled.

"Riddle's Diary," Ginny sobbed. "I've been writing in it all this time. It's controlled me."

"What?" Arthur Weasley exclaimed in shock. "Didn't I tell you not to trust anything that can think for itself? This diary is clearly a tool of Dark Magic."

"Calm down, Arthur."

Dobby Warlock older than her were deceived by Voldemort, so it seemed only natural that an innocent young witch would be fooled; he simply had that power.

"Vow..." Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth in astonishment, "But what does this have to do with him?"

"Tom Riddle is Voldemort from fifty years ago," Harry said.

"You know?" Dumbledore looked at Harry in surprise. "Very few people know that he used to be Tom Riddle."

"Aaron discovered it, but we don't know how he found out," Ron said. "The You-Know-Who values Aaron highly; he's offered to recruit him several times..."

Halfway through their conversation, Harry and Hermione suddenly realized something. One gave him a cryptic look, while the other stepped on the back of his foot.

Ron's eye twitched slightly, and he immediately added, "However, Aaron firmly refused."

"Is that so?" Dumbledore a few seconds, then slowly turned his gaze to Snape. "Severus, you..."

"Headmaster, I think your worries are completely unnecessary." Snape immediately interrupted him, as if knowing what Dumbledore was about to say. "Gaius would never have any contact with him, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to get out of the Chamber of Secrets safely."

"Um... actually, I just wanted to congratulate you on having a good student that you can be proud of."

Snape:...

Do you think I don't know you? Guess if I believe you?