Support in Spirit, Dumbledore's Phoenix Society

"Dumbledore definitely knows that you left that letter." Divine Thunder Hall, the Thought Form said with great certainty, "Perhaps he guessed it when he saw the letter, but there is no evidence."

"I think so too." Aaron sighed deeply. "What a blunder! I should have cast a Oblivion Charm on that owl before leaving last night."

No, we should use Imperius Curse to make it randomly pick some random passerby; that way, we might be able to muddy the waters.

"It's pointless to talk about this now; he's already trying to get information out of you tonight."

"I've already made my stance clear: I just don't want to stand by and watch someone die, and I don't want to get involved in his fight with Voldemort."

The Thought Form shook its head with a wry smile, "You're thinking too easily. Dumbledore has never given up on trying to win Gaius's power, he just hasn't had the right opportunity."

Moreover, given your powerful Prophecy abilities this time, he will likely be even more determined to tie us to his war machine.

Unless you drop out of school now and stay home obediently, there's no way to avoid it in the end.

"That won't do." Aaron waved his hand and said, "It's impossible to drop out of school, at least not until I've developed."

Besides, the situation isn't that bad. As long as we don't actively get involved, even if Dumbledore, he won't be able to do anything about it.

"That's the only way to think about it."

The Thought Form" said awkwardly, completely unaware that they had inexplicably set a flag.

The following day, the Christmas holiday officially began.

Last week, the Warlock decided to go home for Christmas left Hogwarts Castle with his suitcase after breakfast.

Aaron also felt a long-lost sense of relief, especially as the thirty members of DA left one by one, which made him extremely happy.

Being a responsible teacher is really difficult, especially when students' levels vary so much; it's simply incredibly difficult.

He also compared himself to the teachers in his family and concluded that their teaching levels were not on the same level at all; he was far inferior.

Later he realized he was wrong. There was definitely a gap between his teaching level and that of his ancestors, but not by that much. The reason he had this feeling was simply because the teaching and learning methods were different.

His ancestors taught geniuses like him, and it was one-on-one tutoring, so it was only natural that it was easy for them. But he was teaching thirty Warlock of different ages with significant differences in their basic skills. Even Merlin would find it exhausting.

"Finally gone. I can finally get some rest before the holiday ends," Aaron couldn't help but exclaim. Abei was squatting beside him, nodded vigorously.

"So you really were here?"

A familiar voice came from behind.

The man and the dragon turned to look at each other, and saw Hermione panting heavily, with a hint of embarrassment on her face.

"How did you know I was here?" Aaron asked in surprise.

"Xilin said you weren't in the Common Room, and Madam Pince said you weren't in the library either."

I haven't found you in the places you usually frequent, so there's a high chance you're in the Room of Requirement.

"You're smart." Aaron rolled his eyes. "But if you're going to talk to me about DA's next plans, you'd better not open your mouth."

Holidays are for relaxing; I don't want to add any extra burden to myself.

"No, I came to..." Hermione hesitated, stammering for a moment before finally seeming to make up her mind, "I came to apologize."

"Apologize?" Aaron was a little confused. "Why should I apologize?"

"I, I... did you write a letter to Ron the night before last?"

"No, absolutely not. Why would I write him a letter for no reason?" Aaron vehemently denied it. He couldn't admit to it; it wouldn't do him any good.

"I know it's you," Hermione said somewhat anxiously.

Aaron curled his lip in disdain. "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Some things require evidence."

"I have no evidence... The idea of using Hedwig to find people was my suggestion to Professor McGonagall."

"What?" Aaron stared in astonishment, his mouth agape. He wanted to curse, but the words wouldn't come out.

"I really didn't mean to," Hermione said weakly. "I didn't know it was you beforehand."

Aaron forced a smile, feeling as if he had been struck by a thousand blows.

"I initially thought it was Dumbledore discovered the flaw, but... how did it become you?"

"Sorry."

"It's too late to apologize now. You've really screwed me over this time," Aaron said dejectedly. "Dumbledore spoke with me last night."

"You weren't punished, were you?" Hermione asked nervously.

"No, I didn't admit to anything," Aaron said weakly. "But he'll probably pay more attention to me from now on."

"It doesn't sound like a bad thing!"

"You're overthinking it. Why do you think I would secretly slip a letter to Ron in the middle of the night?"

Firstly, it's troublesome. Umbridge monitors Hogwarts ' communication channels, making it much easier to send a message to Ron than to the Headmaster.

"It's still troublesome. Voldemort's activities are becoming more and more frequent. If I were to directly approach Dumbledore at this point, it would be practically the same as choosing sides."

Hermione frowned slightly upon hearing this.

"Aaron, you might not be happy to hear me say this, but I think we should support Dumbledore."

"I support it!" Aaron said seriously. "I support it in spirit. After all, I don't want Voldemort to rule the Magic World either. He's a pervert for taking a liking to sages, and he's actually crazier than anyone else."

Hermione:...

"I'm not talking about moral support, but practical support."

"I supported it too. That letter largely saved Weasley's life," Aaron said calmly. "It also protected Dumbledore's side, didn't it?"

Hermione was speechless. "Can't you just be more straightforward?"

"No," Aaron said bluntly. "I'm not like you. One of the Gaius family's ancestral rules is that we should not get involved in large-scale disputes between Warlock or between Warlock and Muggle unless absolutely necessary."

The consequences of violating this ancestral precept are unbearable for me. On the contrary, as long as I don't get involved, no matter how chaotic things get, the fire won't reach me.

Therefore, I will try my best to remain neutral, which is what Slytherin excel at: self-preservation.

Hermione nodded as if she understood, but today Aaron had finally made his position clear.

Although neutrality surprised her somewhat, the family had already brought up their ancestral precepts, so persuading them to join Dumbledore's camp would be extremely difficult.

"Okay! I think I understand now," Hermione said listlessly, then changed the subject, "But I have another question. Since you chose neutrality, why did you still send a letter to Ron?"

"There doesn't seem to be any conflict here!" Aaron said casually. "The night before last, I only received a Prophecy that Weasley was in mortal danger, but I didn't know which Weasley it was. I only sent the message out of concern for my friend."

"To say something you might not like to hear, if I received Prophecy that Malfoy's life was in danger, I would still give the letter to Draco."

"I see." Hermione exclaimed in realization, saying meaningfully, "This should be considered exploiting a loophole in the rules, right?"

"Hey, you can't say that." Aaron rolled his eyes at her and continued, "Dumbledore definitely had an organization specifically to fight Voldemort, right?"

Hermione hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly.

How did you know?

"Do we even need to guess?" Aaron said speechlessly. "If it's just Dumbledore alone, he can go toe-to-toe with Voldemort. It's not impossible for him to win if he takes a chance."

But if Voldemort were to face both the Death Eater and himself, he alone would have little chance of winning. If he didn't have a force to oppose the Death Eater, Voldemort might be able to lead a group directly to Hogwarts and eliminate the greatest threat to his rule of the Magic World.

"Tell me honestly, have you joined this organization?"

"Hmm... not yet," Hermione said with some regret.

"Thank goodness." Aaron breathed a sigh of relief. "As a friend, I'll give you a piece of advice: never join this organization."

"Why?" Hermione frowned. "Only by joining Order of the Phoenix can we unite against the Dark Lord's power. Otherwise, what's the difference between us and a disorganized mess?"

"Order of the Phoenix?" Aaron chuckled unhappily. "Dumbledore came up with a good name."

What you said makes a lot of sense, I don't deny it.

However, the mortality rate of Order of the Phoenix members is probably exceptionally high. Moody, Lupin, and Sirius Black, whom we saw at Platform 9 1/4 3, should all have been Order of the Phoenix members.

They were clearly prepared to die at any moment in their fight against Voldemort.

Some of these people joined the Order of the Phoenix years ago, while others were elites recruited after Voldemort's resurrection. You're just an adult witch; there's no need for you to get involved.

"I'm not afraid," Hermione said firmly.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Aaron couldn't help but clap his hands, "As expected of Gryffindor, who are never short of courage."

Hermione, I have a question for you, and I hope you'll answer honestly.

"What's the problem?"

Are you alone?

Click!

Hermione was immediately struck by a thunderbolt.

She seemed to understand Aaron's meaning, and her face immediately turned pale. Even her originally firm heart began to waver.

Seeing the change in her expression, Aaron shrugged slightly. "Looks like you've decided to clear your name."

You might risk your life for justice and peace, but what if something really happens to you? What will your parents do? Will they be able to accept their daughter...?

"Stop talking."

Hermione clutched her chest and crouched down, tears welling in her eyes.

Just thinking about that scene made her heart ache. At this moment, she had to admit that she was unprepared. Aaron's few words had dampened her enthusiasm by half.

Aaron sighed, then took a bottle of Butterbeer from Abei's pocket and gave it to her.

"Thanks!"

Hermione took it and drank it in big gulps.

After drinking half a bottle of beer, she barely recovered somewhat.

"What I just said might sound harsh, but it's the truth."

When you try to persuade someone to join an organization with such a high mortality rate, first put yourself in their shoes and consider whether you could do it yourself.

Hermione nodded with difficulty, then seemed to remember something, "Harry and Ron..."

"Come on, you're not like them." Aaron rolled his eyes speechlessly. "Harry is the the Boy Who Lived, the savior of the Magic World."

His parents died at Voldemort's hands, which destined him to stand on the opposite side of Voldemort.

As for Ron, needless to say... both his parents are members of Order of the Phoenix, and it's possible that Charlie Bill have also joined Order of the Phoenix; in other words, he's a legitimate Reserve Members.

Hermione paused, realizing that what she said was true, but something still felt off.

So they were both people with connections, while she was from a humble background?

"They didn't have a choice, but you're different," Aaron said earnestly. "Luckily, you haven't officially joined Order of the Phoenix yet, otherwise it probably wouldn't be so easy for you to quit."

Hermione gave a forced smile. "But if everyone chooses to protect themselves, then the Dark Lord will be left unchecked."

His reign was the darkest period in the Magic World; we can't just stand by and do nothing, can we?

"To correct you, Voldemort wasn't that powerful."

The Warlock war he initiated was confined to the Britain mainland, far less significant than the Warlock war waged by the previous Dark Lord Grindelwald, which swept across all of Europe. "Aaron's tone held a hint of disdain. "Besides, you're worrying too much."

Even if the sky were to fall, there would be tall people to hold it up; besides, the sky isn't even going to fall.

Upon hearing this, Hermione instinctively felt that Aaron's words had a hidden meaning, but she didn't take it too seriously.

A tall guy? He probably means Dumbledore!

That makes sense, though. As long as the White Lord is alive, the Dark Lord can't control everything.

"Heh!" Hermione gave a bitter laugh, feeling like she was a joke at that moment.

She originally intended to persuade Aaron to Order of the Phoenix. He was certainly not willing, but she hoped to plant a seed in his heart.

But now the situation has reversed, and she has become the one who was persuaded. What kind of situation is this?!

"No, no." Hermione seemed to realize something. "Don't change the subject. What I was saying was that not everyone can choose to protect themselves. Order of the Phoenix needs fresh blood."

"We don't need you," Aaron said dismissively. "Joining Order of the Phoenix means standing on the front line of battle, with a high mortality rate and a low success rate. There's no reward other than the thrill, and your family will be in great danger. It's not worth it no matter how you look at it."

If you really feel bad about it, you can choose to become an ally of Order of the Phoenix; that way, the danger might not be so high.

"You truly are Slytherin," Hermione chuckled.

"Be content with what you have. I wouldn't say this to anyone else."

Thank you, I will seriously consider it.

I'm planning to visit Mr. Weasley at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Would you like to come along?

"I always spend Christmas at school, so I definitely won't be able to make it," Aaron said, then seemed to remember something, "There's something I might need your help with."