Buying Three, Getting Five Free? The First Meeting Place

"Three?" Aaron murmured. "Are you sure it's three?"

"I'm absolutely sure." Hermione nodded firmly.

Aaron took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Then let's count it as one. Add Draco, Xilin, and the three of you, that means I'll have to teach ten students!"

Is it difficult?

"Normally there would be no problem, but now Hogwarts has an extra High Inquisitor," Aaron said with a half-smile. "Teaching two Slytherin is nothing, but with three more of you, it will be a lot of pressure. After all, Umbridge has been deliberately targeting Harry Potter, let alone three more."

"As long as we don't get caught, that's fine," Ron said nonchalantly, avoiding the teacher—they were too familiar with each other.

"Haha! I really admire your mentality." Aaron slapped his forehead speechlessly. "What if you get caught? Umbridge is no pushover."

The three looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

The scar on Harry's hand testifies to Umbridge's cruelty; she shows no mercy when punishing her students.

"What I mean is, the more people there are, the more dangerous it is. If possible, don't involve other people..."

"No," Hermione interrupted sternly. "That's unfair to the others."

"It's okay to be kind, but you have to think about the consequences!"

"At this point, it's good enough if we can even take care of ourselves," Aaron said earnestly. He could barely accept teaching two people instead of three, but teaching ten was not worthwhile.

Not only are the returns disproportionate to the efforts, but there are also certain risks involved.

"Just tell me if you'll say yes or no!" Hermione asked directly.

"I... I agree," Aaron said as if possessed, but he regretted it as soon as he finished speaking, and even wanted to slap himself twice.

"That's great." Hermione smiled and kissed Aaron on the cheek. "I knew you would say yes."

"Hehe!"

Aaron rolled his eyes, inexplicably feeling like he'd been taken advantage of.

"I hereby declare beforehand that I will only be responsible for teaching you Defense Against the Dark Arts, but I will not be responsible for anything else."

Also, my time is limited; I can only teach one class a week at most, and it cannot exceed two hours.

"No problem," Harry said easily. "The teacher has assigned homework, we need to prepare for the Ordinary Wizarding Level exam, and we also have Quidditch training. All of this adds up to a pretty tight schedule."

"I'll make all the arrangements," Hermione said confidently. "We can spend the weekends at Hogsmeade starting in October and have our first meeting there."

"Alright," Aaron nodded. "Remember to find a secluded place."

"I understand, we can't let Umbridge notice this kind of gathering."

Divine Thunder Hall.

The Thought Form stared speechlessly at its original form, wanting to curse but unable to utter a sound.

"Forget it, whether you're herding one sheep or a flock of sheep, it's all the same!"

"At most ten people will be involved; it'll just take a little more effort."

"One hundred Magic Points." Aaron spread his fingers dejectedly, on the verge of tears, and said, "I thought I could just teach a student as a token gesture and easily accept this reward, but... things don't always go as planned!"

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have taken this task in the first place; it's much harder than the Prefect's.

"It's no use regretting it now, let's think about what to do next!"

Teaching ten students, including Harry Potter, Umbridge will inevitably discover problems after a while.

"How about... you go and teach for me?" Aaron said shyly.

Thought Form:...

"Sigh! So, do clones really have no rights?"

I work diligently every day in this dark and gloomy hall...

"You can't say that. Didn't we go out during elective classes?"

"Okay!" The Thought Form shrugged. "I can go out and get some fresh air when I'm taking elective classes."

"What do you mean? This isn't a prison."

He was treated to the best food and drink every day, and had hundreds of Shadow Ninja at his beck and call—a treatment Salazar Slytherin never received while he was alive.

"Then let's switch!"

"There's no need for that," Aaron said, waving his hand.

"Damn!" The Thought Form pouted. "I can't refuse the original body's orders, but this isn't about changing teachers; we need to find a safe place."

"A classroom that can accommodate ten people for study and training," Aaron said with a frown. "But Hogwarts is definitely out of the question; it's right under Umbridge's nose."

"Hogsmeade won't work either," the Thought Form added. "There are too many people there, making it easier to be exposed. Perhaps the only place that meets the criteria is here."

"That's impossible, absolutely impossible."

I wouldn't risk destroying the Divine Thunder Hall for a mere hundred Magic Points.

Never mind, we'll see when the time comes!

Maybe no one will come at all, but if we're careful, teaching one person shouldn't be a problem.

"I hope so."

Sunday, Potions Classroom.

After a twenty-minute training session on the Disarming Charm, Aaron began explaining the Shield Charm.

"Shield Charm, the spell is Impedimenta."

It can create an invisible barrier that prevents your enemies from getting close.

This is a defensive spell, more difficult to cast than Disarming Charm.

"I know this spell," Xilin said, raising her hand. "My the Mother taught me."

"Me too," Draco said.

"Being able to chant spells is just the basics; to improve, you need to do more training." Aaron waved his Wand lightly, and half of the classroom was partitioned off.

"How will the training be this time?" Draco asked with interest. "Will it still be sparring?"

"No, it still hurts a lot when you get hit by the Shield Charm." Aaron shook his head and turned the ground into Wizard Chess, with two stone statues standing in the positions of the generals and commanders.

However, they are no longer stationary; they can move slowly and even make sword-wielding motions.

Gollum!

Draco and Xilin swallowed hard, then stared at Aaron in astonishment.

"The rule is that you can only use Shield Charm, and you must not let the statues hurt you without leaving the board. If you really can't hold on, then jump off the board."

"We'll talk about that later," Draco said impatiently. "When did your Transfiguration become so powerful? It should surpass Professor McGonagall's by now!"

"Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration aren't that low," Aaron said casually, adding in his mind, "But they're probably not as good as mine."

The two exchanged a glance, feeling a mix of regret and a sense of entitlement.

Aaron was only a fifth-year Warlock, and if his Transfiguration surpassed those of McGonagall Minerva, who had been a professor for decades, they found it hard to accept.

As the two jumped onto the chessboard, two stone statues raised their weapons and slowly moved toward them.

"Impedimenta!"

The white spell struck the statue, causing it to move back one space, but after a five-second pause, it resumed its movement.

At first, the two were able to handle things with ease, but as time went by, they also felt the fatigue brought on by the depletion of magic power.

The speed at which he cast the spell gradually slowed down, and he began to look for the most energy-efficient route.

Aaron sat on the podium practicing drawing Magic Array of light and dark elements, paying no attention to the performance of the two.

The two stone statues looked quite menacing, but they wouldn't actually harm the people on the chessboard; the swords that were swung out would automatically stop when they got close to their bodies.

Beside the lectern, Abei, holding a bucket of popcorn, watched the two perform with great interest.

More than an hour later, the two stone statues Time Stop.

Training time officially ended, Draco and Xilin were covered in sweat and their breathing was not very steady.

Xilin, being mindful of the situation, sat down at the edge of the chessboard, while Draco lay down directly on the board.

"How does it feel?" Aaron teased. "Isn't it incredibly exciting?"

"It was incredibly exciting," Draco said weakly. "I've never been this tired since I was born."

"So you've wasted your talent."

However, you can't really blame yourself; battles between Warlock usually don't last very long.

Especially during peacetime, it's extremely rare for Warlock to experience such a significant depletion of magical energy.

"I knew I was exhausted!" Xilin said thoughtfully. She had been using spells for more than an hour, and her magic power had been depleted by more than 80%. It would be a lie to say she wasn't tired.

"Remember this feeling. If you unfortunately experience this feeling during battle, it means your body is telling you it's time to retreat." Aaron put away his notebook, then turned the chessboard into two stone statues that disappeared.

Xilin stumbled and sat down on the ground, while Draco fell straight down from mid-air, wincing in pain.

"At least tell me before you use the Vanishing Charm!" Draco said irritably.

"The second lesson is now over."

"So what are we learning in the next class?" Xilin asked curiously. "How about the Stone Spell?"

"Next class..." Aaron hesitated for a moment, "We won't be learning spells next class. You two come with me to meet the new students."

"New student?" ×2.

The two said in unison that they were very surprised by this.

"Who is it? Slytherin?"

"What grade are you in? Are you a girl?"

Aaron's lips twitched slightly. Draco's reaction was within his expectations, but Xilin's focus really caught him off guard.

"Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger."

"It's them?" Draco frowned deeply. "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Aaron nodded dejectedly. "There's nothing we can do. They're all unhappy with Umbridge's Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"If I don't teach you, you'll be lost, but since I've already taught you, if I don't teach them, that would be favoritism, and they'd probably cut ties with me."

"Then let's just shut up!" Draco said nonchalantly. "I genuinely think they don't deserve to be your friends."

"Don't make it sound so easy!" Aaron rolled his eyes, speechless. "Besides them, there are a few other people."

"Professor Umbridge won't mind," Xilin said. "It would be terrible if she found out."

"I know, that's why they came to me because she doesn't teach them anything."

"This won't do!" Draco pondered for a moment. "How about we just report them to Umbridge?"

"Shut up." Aaron glared at him fiercely. "I already promised them. Do you think I'm the kind of person who goes back on their word, saying one thing to your face and another behind your back?"

"I, I didn't mean that," Draco stammered. "I just meant that Umbridge would be very unhappy if there were too many people lecturing her."

"As long as we don't get caught, that's fine, isn't it?" Aaron said.

"Uh...senior," Xilin said hesitantly, "I'm not trying to spoil the mood, but Professor Umbridge is, after all, High Inquisitor. Apart from the Common Room, everything else is under her control."

"That's not my concern. I'm only responsible for teaching," Aaron said calmly. "If you two are willing, you can come with me to meet them and find a place to have classes together."

It's okay if you don't want to, but you must keep it a secret and not tell anyone else.

"Well... I'll listen to my senior."

"Can we teach them separately?" Draco asked hesitantly. "It's not that I can't accept taking classes with them, but with your teaching methods, I reckon we'd end up fighting."

"I'm afraid that won't work. My energy is limited; I can only teach one class a week at most."

Draco sighed helplessly. "Could I call a few more Slytherin?"

"No, there are already enough people. If there are any more, the senior will be too busy."

"Xilin, you are still too young."

"If there are two Slytherin in a classroom, but more than three Gryffindor, we'll be at a disadvantage."

"That's generally true, but don't forget Malfoy, the teacher is Slytherin."

I don't think our senior would let us suffer!

"That's exactly what she said." Aaron shrugged. "I will treat everyone equally in class and will not favor anyone."

Besides, it's always you who provokes them.

Draco:...

On the first weekend of October, a snowfall blanketed the entire town of Hogsmeade in a silvery coat.

Aaron carried Abei along the wide avenue, with Draco and Xilin following on either side.

"Senior, where are we going?" Xilin asked curiously.

"Don't have any expectations." Draco's voice carried a hint of disdain. "Potter and his ilk have never had any taste, and Hogsmeade doesn't have any places to hold meetings."

"Could it be an open-air meeting?" Xilin looked at the snow on the road. "That's not bad either. Although it's a bit chilly, it'll have a certain poetic charm."

"Stop guessing," Aaron said. "Hermione messaged me yesterday. The party is at the Hog's Head, on a side street next to the post office on Central Avenue. We'll be there soon."

"This is worse than an open-air meeting!" Draco frowned.

Have you been there?

"No, that place... how should I put it?" Draco for a moment, then continued, "Someone of my status wouldn't normally go to a place like that."

Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with the bar itself, it's just that Hog's Head is really... shabby.