The Holiday Begins: Sending a Message to Lucius

Exam results were handed out to everyone on the last day of the semester.

Aside from Arithmancy, Aaron ranked first in his grade in all other subjects, especially in Divination, where Professor Trelawney gave him an unprecedentedly high score.

Because Gryffindor won the House Cup, the flag at the end-of-term party was changed to the red and gold Gryffindor lion flag.

Compared to the lively Gryffindor Long Table, the atmosphere in Slytherin was somewhat somber.

"No wonder my dad said that Dumbledore headmaster was the worst thing that ever happened to this school," Draco said with a grim face. "Harry Potter his gang broke so many rules, and even attacked and injured Professor Snape, yet they didn't receive any punishment. If they had a few points deducted, the House Cup would still belong to Slytherin."

"I said Professor Snape doesn't look too good." Crabbe glanced at the High Table and met Snape's piercing gaze, which startled him so much that he quickly turned his face away.

"It's perfectly normal." Draco sneered sarcastically. "If it were me, I would also be annoyed by Dumbledore's favoritism."

"Who told our headmaster to be Gryffindor!" Aaron laughed dismissively. "But even if he's biased, he has his reasons. However, Professor Snape won't choose to swallow his anger."

Upon hearing this, Draco gritted his teeth, stopped bringing up Dumbledore, and silently lowered his head to eat.

The next day, Aaron packed his things early in the morning.

Besides the necessary living supplies prepared for the Thought Form, he stuffed all sorts of miscellaneous items into his suitcase.

Abei crouched nervously on the bed, carefully clutching his pockets, afraid that he would have to hand over the supplies he had saved up for almost half a year again if he wasn't careful.

However, Aaron didn't mention it until they boarded the Hogwarts Express, which relieved Abei.

In fact, such worries are completely unnecessary. The supplies in the Divine Thunder Hall are more than enough to sustain the Thought Form for a whole Summer Holiday. Aaron would not take advantage of Abei if the supplies were sufficient.

The supplies it's currently stockpiling can't be touched easily; they're for the next semester and even the semester after that.

There were no Werewolf on the train. Aaron arrived earlier and went into a private compartment by himself.

He put down Abei, whom he was holding, and sat down by the window.

The scenery outside was quite beautiful, but he had no heart to appreciate it.

His vacation is different from others' vacations; those are filled with cram schools one after another. This time, he absolutely cannot escape two months of cram school.

At that moment, the sliding door to the private room opened, and Draco walked in with Crabbe and Goyle.

"It's a holiday, but you don't seem happy at all?" Draco asked.

"Tutoring classes," Aaron said with a pained expression.

Draco paused, his pupils widening slightly. "Wait, isn't this a bit too... exaggerated?"

"You're fourteen years old already, and it's still not over?"

"What's not over?" Crabbe asked, somewhat puzzled.

"It's none of your business," Draco said, then looked at Aaron speechlessly. "I heard you were frequently seen in Diagon Alley a month before school started, and I thought..."

"That year was an accident." Aaron forced a smile. "My family wanted me to go out and broaden my horizons, so they arranged a long trip for me. That's when I learned what was worse than tutoring classes."

"Uh... if you think about it that way, tutoring centers aren't so bad, right?"

"Heh!" Aaron rolled his eyes. "I'll take that as you trying to comfort me."

"There's Quidditch World Cup this year, and I was planning to invite you to play with me," Draco regretfully, leaning back in his chair. "But it seems like it won't be necessary now."

"Perhaps there's a chance," Aaron said calmly. After all, he was Gaius's only heir, and Jeans always had to listen to his opinions.

Taking a few days to watch the games and relax your tense mind is perfectly fine.

"Really?"

Hearing this skeptical tone, Aaron also became somewhat less confident.

If his parents gave him a firm order, Jeans would never let him go out into the wild, no matter how difficult it was.

"Sigh!" Aaron sighed deeply. "We'll see!"

The whistle sounded, the train began to slowly accelerate, and Hogwarts receded into the distance.

Aaron calmed himself down and prepared to see what new features the upgraded system had.

He had just closed his eyes when he heard a knock on the door.

"They're probably looking for you," Draco said.

Aaron turned his head and saw Hermione standing outside the private room looking conflicted. He immediately got up and walked out.

"Am I bothering you?" Hermione asked, a little embarrassed.

"No." Aaron lazily rubbed his eyes. "Why did you think of contacting me?"

"This," Hermione pulled a box from behind her back, "Professor McGonagall asked me to return it to you."

Aaron opened the box; inside was a silver watch.

"Time-Turner?"

I thought Professor McGonagall had already sent it away!

"That's exactly what she planned to do. She thought you might need it, so she asked Professor McGonagall Jeans keep it for you."

Aaron suddenly realized something and wondered whether he should equip the Thought Form with the watch.

With this thing, the efficiency of practicing Magic Array with the Thought Form can definitely double, making two months feel like four months. If you're lucky, you might even be able to cast Ultimate Elemental Magic instantly when the next semester starts.

There will be no one to disturb you Divine Thunder Hall; it's absolutely safe. Simply using Time-Turner for learning isn't very risky either.

But Aaron nipped the idea in the bud within seconds.

For him, the Thought Form" was a form of cheating, but even the hardest-working oxen and horses need rest.

You can be ruthless to yourself, but ultimately you can't be too ruthless.

"Aaron, what are you thinking about?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"It's nothing." Aaron snapped out of his thoughts and gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I was just wondering whether or not to use it for learning."

"It's best not to," Hermione said earnestly. "I've already returned the necklace to Professor McGonagall. I thought I could use Time-Turner to manage five electives, but I couldn't handle four."

If they continue using it next semester, I'll go crazy.

"Which course did you drop?" Aaron asked curiously.

"Muggle Studies."

It's not that I don't want to learn, it's just that there's too much homework for that course.

Moreover, compared to things Runic Script, Arithmancy, and Care of Magical Creatures, it's really not very useful to Muggle-born Warlock like me.

"Hahaha!" Aaron couldn't help but laugh. "I reminded you to attend classes according to the normal schedule, but you didn't listen and insisted on experiencing the pressure of studying."

Hermione nodded dejectedly. "Now can you tell me how you manage to have two classes at the same time? I'm really curious."

"No." Aaron refused decisively. "I can tell you anything else, but this is too important to me, so I can't satisfy your curiosity for now."

"I'll figure it out sooner or later."

"You're so great, I'm rooting for you!" Aaron didn't take it seriously. Unless he and his Thought Form were caught by her, he would never be able to figure it out.

"By the way, there's the Quidditch World Cup this Summer Holiday. If you... have time..."

"I'll try!" Aaron shrugged. His holidays had never been under his control since the start of the school year, otherwise he wouldn't have run away from home time and time again.

What's even more tragic is that this situation seems likely to continue for another year or so.

Aaron returned to the private room, Draco and the other two looked at the watch in the box and couldn't help but exchange bewildered glances.

"You accepted this gift?" Goyle asked in surprise.

"It looks quite exquisite." Crabbe was about to pick it up and examine it closely when Aaron gave him a look that scared him back.

This is Time-Turner! It's not something someone like you, with your simple mind and strong body, can handle.

Draco asked incredulously, "You don't actually have a crush on her, do you?"

Aaron felt inexplicably upset. It was one thing for his mother to be concerned about his marriage, but why was she coming over to make things worse?

"Don't talk nonsense, this is my true self."

"That's good." Draco breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Draco, I must remind you, you'd better not concern yourself with my private affairs."

"Don't get me wrong, I have no right to care about such things."

"But I still want to remind you, you can treat her as a friend, but it's best not to think about it in that way." Draco said in a low voice, "Granger's background is too ordinary, and yours is too extravagant."

To put it bluntly, she's not good enough for you. If your mother knew... you understand?

Hearing this, Aaron remained calm and even felt a little amused.

Their family has never cared about social status or matching families. If Draco knew about his dating history, his worldview would probably be severely shaken.

Don't worry about things that aren't your business.

Also, please don't discuss similar topics in front of me again.

"Knew."

Aaron put the Time-Turner into Abei's pocket. At that moment, he suddenly remembered Professor Trelawney's Draco Prophecy, and his gaze toward Draco became serious.

Lucius Malfoy used to Death Eater. With Voldemort about to make a comeback, his group will likely have no choice but to either rejoin him or face being purged.

"These are turbulent times!" Aaron sighed, then took out a pen and paper from his pocket, wrote down a few words, folded them up, and solemnly handed them to Draco.

"What's this?"

"Don't open it, and don't look at it," Aaron warned sternly. "This is for your kiss."

"For my dad?" Draco asked, puzzled, but he still put the paper away.

"You have to promise me that you can't look at anyone except your own mother, including yourself."

"No problem, I agree."

Draco patted his chest and assured him that he could suppress his curiosity.

"Be serious, I'm not joking," Aaron said in a deep voice. "To be on the safe side, it's best to kiss you when there's no one else around."

If the contents of this document were to be leaked, the consequences would be extremely serious.

Draco frowned slightly. It was the first time he had seen Aaron so serious, and he realized that the message Aaron wanted him to convey was probably not ordinary.