Repeated Disregard for School Rules

Percy regretted it. Why had he come along for no reason?

One look at Harry and Ron told him that this had something to do with the two of them.

He had wanted to give them a token warning and let them off, after all, it did not sound good for a Gryffindor prefect to deduct points from Gryffindor.

Besides, one of them was his own younger brother, and the other was Gryffindor's star pupil, which made things even more difficult.

But now there was a Slytherin here. Could he play favorites? Would they agree to that?

"Ahem!" Percy put on an impartial expression and questioned them, "You two, tell me honestly. Did you do this?"

"Percy, no, Prefect, I don't know anything at all," Ron said anxiously, looking as though he had been wrongfully accused.

But as soon as he said that, he looked at Harry in stunned disbelief. If he had not done it, then it could only have been Harry.

Sure enough, Harry nodded next. "It has nothing to do with Ron. I did it."

"Harry, you've truly disappointed me.

"I've only been to the Restricted Section a few times myself, and you knowingly broke the rules." Percy pointed at Harry in anguish. If he handled this fairly, leaving the dormitory in the middle of the night and breaking into the Restricted Section to read forbidden books would add up to at least thirty points deducted from Gryffindor. Harry would also have to serve detention for a while, and he would not be released until at least the end of the holiday.

Aaron stopped the furious Percy and said gently, "This matter is neither too small nor too serious.

"But in my opinion, there's no need to be so strict about it. It's normal for first-year students like us to be unable to restrain our curiosity.

"It's the holiday, and Christmas was only yesterday. Please don't pursue the matter, Senior. Consider it a favor to me.

"Besides... I think Harry knows he was wrong now."

"You..."

Percy hesitated. Of course, he understood what Aaron meant. He wanted to let Harry off this once.

Though he did not quite understand why, he had no reason to refuse.

"Fine! But there still has to be some necessary punishment, or he won't learn his lesson," Percy said very seriously.

"Then let Harry copy out the school rules once during the holiday, including both the general rules and the details," Aaron suggested. "Ron can personally supervise him!"

Harry said nothing and merely nodded weakly.

There was no helping it. He had broken the school rules.

If he had not been caught, everything would have been fine. But since he had been caught, he could only accept his fate.

Ron complained, "That rulebook isn't exactly thin. Harry can't possibly finish copying it during the holiday."

"That's your problem." Aaron shrugged indifferently.

"Alright, it's settled.

"I have things to do, so I'll be leaving first." Percy stood up quickly and headed for the common room door, not wanting to stay a moment longer.

After Percy left, Ron pouted. "Making him copy the school rules is way too harsh!"

Aaron neither agreed nor disagreed. "But compared to Gryffindor losing points, I think Harry would rather copy the school rules.

"I told you earlier to get Percy to leave, but the two of you were incredibly stubborn. What else could I do?"

"We didn't know you had brought evidence!

"Besides, Percy insisted on listening in..."

Harry immediately covered Ron's mouth. "Don't say any more. I'm willing to accept the punishment.

"Compared to the punishment written in the school rules, this is already very light."

"Good that you know that.

"But don't be so pessimistic. I said Ron would supervise you.

"Isn't how you copy it up to you two?

"Even if you don't write a single word, who would know?"

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, and the gloom on their faces instantly vanished. Both wore meaningful smiles, looking exactly like poor students who had successfully cheated on a test.

That was right! The punishment had been decided, but they were the ones who would decide how to carry it out.

With their relationship, this punishment was practically no different from having no punishment at all.

"Ahem!" Aaron sat on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other. "I really didn't expect you to be so bold, Harry. You really should copy out the school rules properly.

"I warned you. That wasn't a place you could go yet.

"Do you know what punishment you would face if Filch caught you?

"The points Hermione earned for Gryffindor over more than half the term wouldn't even be enough to cover the points deducted for this single violation."

"Sorry!" Harry lowered his head in shame. He did not regret taking the risk to enter the Restricted Section yesterday. He only regretted not being more careful.

"Don't apologize to me. I'm in Slytherin, and whether Gryffindor loses points has nothing to do with me.

"I just don't want to see her lose her temper when she comes back after the holiday." A sharp glint flashed in Aaron's eyes, making both Harry and Ron feel a hint of pressure.

"Now, shouldn't you explain what happened in the Restricted Section?

"Harry, what did you encounter that made you drop your lantern?"

"The books there... were somewhat different," Harry said haltingly, the unpleasant memories of last night surfacing in his mind.

Everything had been going smoothly at first. He had wandered through the Restricted Section, searching for clues related to Nicolas Flamel.

But when he opened one book, a savage, horrifying human face had suddenly burst out from its pages. The words in the book kept moving across that face, making it look especially bizarre.

What was worse, the face let out a shrill scream, as though it were about to rush out of the book.

In the middle of the night, any eleven-year-old child would be terrified by something so spine-chilling.

"Of course they were different! Otherwise, why would they be called forbidden books?" Aaron rolled his eyes, somewhat speechless.

"It wasn't just that. I also ran into Mrs Norris and Filch.

"I almost got caught."

"Tut! Then you really were lucky.

"But I'm curious how you broke into the Restricted Section in the middle of the night. Even though Madam Pince was less strict during the holidays, it shouldn't have been that easy for you to get in!"

Harry's heart skipped a beat, but after hesitating for a moment, he still decided to tell Aaron about the Invisibility Cloak.

He knew that trying to be clever in front of a smart person would only bring humiliation upon himself.

Besides, Aaron had just treated him as a friend. There was no harm in telling him.

But before he could speak, Ron said it for him. "It was probably the Invisibility Cloak! It was left behind by Harry's father."

"The Invisibility Cloak?" Aaron became interested. Its rarity was no less than that of his Magic Carpet.

"That's an extremely rare magical item, but unless it's necessary, don't use it again in the future.

"To some Great wizards, this magical object might as well not exist."

"Oh!" Harry suddenly understood. "No wonder Professor Snape almost discovered me yesterday?"

"Professor Snape?" ×2.

Both Aaron and Ron were somewhat surprised. They knew Harry had gone to the Restricted Section to search for information about Nicolas Flamel, but there was no reason for Snape to go there in the middle of the night!

"Harry, what exactly happened last night?" Aaron asked seriously.

"I saw Professor Snape seemingly bullying Professor Quirrell. He said something like, 'I'm not your enemy. You'd better figure out who you serve.'

"I don't know what it meant, but I'm certain Snape has some unspeakable secret."

As Harry spoke, he watched Aaron's expression. Deep down, he believed Snape was not a good person and wanted to steal whatever Fluffy was guarding.

He was only giving Aaron a warning now. No matter how much Aaron respected Snape, hearing this should make him a little wary.

Sure enough, Aaron's expression began to shift unpredictably, and the stone in Harry's heart finally fell.

But what Harry did not know was that Aaron had not doubted Snape at all. He was wondering whether Snape knew Voldemort's remnant soul was attached to Quirrell.

If he did not know, then it was no big deal. At most, Snape had noticed some of Quirrell's small actions and warned him.

But if he knew, then it meant Voldemort had fallen into a trap from the very beginning. The danger of Aaron's future System Missions would be greatly reduced.

Either way, it was beneficial to him.

"Harry, only heaven, earth, you, and we know about this. You absolutely must not let anyone else find out.

"And behave yourself for a while. Don't make any more mistakes, understand?"

"I understand. I know how serious this is," Harry said. "Oh, right, when I was leaving, I found a Magical Mirror on the first floor.

"I actually saw my parents in the mirror."

"What?" Ron said in surprise. "Why didn't you tell me something this important earlier? You really should have taken me with you last night."

"There will be another chance," Harry said. "You can go with me tonight.

"Aaron, do you want to come? I can introduce you to my parents.

"Maybe I can see what your family looks like too."

Aaron: ...

So everything I said just now was for nothing. One person breaking the school rules was bad enough, and now he wants to add Ron to it and drag me in too.

Wasn't this a little too absurd?