Doesn't This Look Like a Joke? I Didn't Leave Him to Die

Aaron staggered back a few steps, and before he could react, Sirius Black landed beside him, followed by a heart-wrenching wail.

Harry rushed to Sirius Black, calling out in a panic, "Sirius Black, Sirius Black!"

Lupin ran over too, and looking at his friend's body, his eyes seemed to have lost all color.

"Save him, Lupin, please save him."

"There's nothing we can do." Lupin tried to comfort Harry as much as possible, but his expression was even more grief-stricken. "Harry ... Black is dead. He was hit head-on by the Killing Curse."

"No, he's not dead. How could he be dead?" Harry refused to believe it, even though they had decided to live together from now on.

"Yes, he's not dead. He will live forever in your hearts." Aaron patted him on the shoulder, deciding to keep his act of kindness a secret for now.

After all, the method of pulling the Soul Stone out of the body is too easy for people to misunderstand; even the Imperius Curse is not as shocking.

"Save him, yes, you can save him." Harry looked at Aaron with hopeful eyes, like a drowning person grasping at a last straw.

"Are you kidding me? How could I possibly save him?"

"That Potions... it can bring the dead back to Potions within an hour!" Harry stammered. "Get it out of here right now!"

"Uh..." Aaron blinked. "Sorry, I don't have that medicine on me."

"There's still some time; it's not too late to get it back."

"I'm afraid that won't work. I left that thing in Gringotts, and the key is in my home vault. There's no way I could make it back and forth in time," Aaron said, spouting nonsense with a straight face. "Besides, if nothing unexpected happens, my assets have been seized the moment I showed up here."

Harry's hope shattered instantly, and his eyes dimmed. "Are you saying this on purpose because you don't want to save him?"

Aaron looked completely bewildered, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Damn it! I cut off my own escape route to come and save you guys, and I almost got myself killed in the process.

It's one thing if you're not grateful, but to treat your savior with such suspicion is truly disheartening. I even negotiated with Death God to retrieve this body.

"So what if it is?" Aaron's temper flared up instantly. "You have no right to blame me. He wouldn't have died if you hadn't insisted on doing things your own way."

Harry was speechless after being rebuked, and with a roar, he chased after Bellatrix.

Lupin tried to stop him, but his hand dropped halfway down.

"Aren't you going to stop me, Professor Lupin?"

"It might be better to let him vent!" Lupin said weakly. "Dumbledore there, he can definitely protect Harry, and the Auror will be here soon."

"I hope so!" Aaron said nonchalantly.

Lupin put away Sirius Black's Wand and sat sadly beside his body. "I should apologize to you on Harry's behalf. He was just too emotional. I hope you won't mind."

"I won't accept that," Aaron scoffed. "He's probably thinking I'm selfish right now!"

"That kind of Potions that can resurrect the dead, you really..."

"I didn't bring it with me, and even if I did, I wouldn't necessarily be able to save him," Aaron immediately interrupted. Sirius Black's Soul Stone was still in his hands, so he wasn't truly dead, and giving him the Resurrection Potion would be a waste.

Lupin glanced at the Veil moving without wind, as if he understood something. "Thank you for bringing Sirius Black back. You are indeed a descendant of the gods. In the past, no one has ever brought anything back from the Veil."

Upon hearing this, Aaron's pupils contracted sharply.

A bolt from the blue suddenly struck his heart, shattering all the doubts.

"Professor, how did you know I am a descendant of gods?"

Lupin's expression changed slightly, a hint of panic flashed in his eyes, and he remained silent for a few seconds before hesitantly opening his mouth as if to speak.

"Alright, I won't explain anymore. Your hesitation and struggle have already given me the answer." Aaron said with a pained expression, a hint of bitterness on his face. "Professor, may I ask you a question?"

"What's the problem?"

Do you think I'm a joke?

"Of course not," Lupin retorted. "You are the best I have ever met, and also very... very brave."

"Thank you for the compliment, but I feel like I'm a joke."

Could you tell me when you arrived?

"Didn't you see it?"

"What I want to ask is..."

"Tonks seems to have been struck by Petrification Spell. I'll break the Curse on her first," Lupin interrupted, then Apparition away from Aaron's sight.

"It's okay if you don't want to say." Aaron shook his head and took a glass marble out of his pocket. "I will know what I want to know, but it's best if it's not what I'm guessing."

"Hey, you seem to be in a bad mood." Abei over.

"After five years of trying to survive, I finally couldn't hold out any longer. No wonder I'm not in a good mood."

Abei scratched his head, seemingly understanding but not quite. "They're all injured. Do you need me to treat them?"

"No," Aaron said lightly. "We've both expended a lot of energy, there's no need to waste it on irrelevant people."

"But they helped the people, Jeans said we should repay kindness."

"Hehe!" Aaron rubbed its head and chuckled, "Gratitude is the standard for judging wild dragons. A domestic dragon like you... just listen to your master."

And from the moment we arrived, we owed no one here anything; quite the opposite... well, never mind, there's nothing more to say.

A dozen minutes later, the battle in the execution chamber came to Veil.

Four of the seven Death Eater escaped, but three were captured and tied up, though Malfoy was not among them.

Lupin collected Sirius Black's body, and then, together with Kingsley, took Moody and Tonks to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, as the two were seriously injured and needed treatment.

Aaron put away the Nika Mask and was about to leave when a large hand pressed down on his shoulder.

Professor Snape looked at him with a complicated expression. "You're not in a good state right now. Just stay behind me and you'll be safer."

Aaron chuckled and didn't object.

Professor Snape led the five to the Ministry Atrium, which was now in a complete mess.

The magic fountain was in a terrible state of destruction, several golden statues were smashed to pieces, the walls and ceiling were covered with cracks, and all the glass was shattered into white dust. It was easy to see that a great battle had taken place here.

Bellatrix the Death Eater wasn't there, nor was Voldemort; only Dumbledore looked at Harry Potter was lying on the ground convulsing, with a look of panic on his face.

"You...you've lost, old man." Harry's voice was hoarse, his green pupils turning into cold, vertical slits. "Kill me now, Dumbledore ..."

If death means nothing, then kill this boy.

You're afraid, aren't you? Afraid of that Prophecy, it truly terrifies me.

"Possessed?" Aaron wondered to himself. Harry had no mental protection, and with his half-baked Cerebral Sealing Technique, it would be extremely difficult for him to get rid of Voldemort.

He could help, though. Harry's previous attitude had really annoyed him, so this suffering was his retribution.

"Harry," Dumbledore voice, "The point is not that you are similar to him, but that you are different from him."

Upon hearing this, Harry struggled even more painfully, his breathing seemingly filled with intense agony.

A dozen seconds later, he collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted. His eyes had just returned to normal. "You're the one who's weak. You've never understood love or friendship. I truly feel sorry for you."

"Oh ho!" Aaron was somewhat surprised. "Ju Rong can contend with the Dark Lord's consciousness. It seems I don't need to teach him his Cerebral Sealing Technique."

At that moment, green flames suddenly burst forth from the two rows of fireplaces in the main hall, and a large number of male and female Warlock surged in like a tide.

Voldemort knew it was time to retreat, so he left Harry's body.

Everyone, including Fudge, stared at him in disbelief. Before they could react, Voldemort vanished into black particles.

"He's back." Fudge murmured in disbelief. "But how is that possible?"

My Merlin! Right here, right in the Ministry of Magic, it's unbelievable!

"I suggest you go downstairs to the Department of Mysteries. There are a few escaped Death Eater there, waiting for your judgment!"

"Dumbledore," Fudge gritted his teeth and looked at him. "Someone, grab him!"

"I don't want to duel with your men, but if you insist on forcing me, then I will have no choice but to defeat them again." Dumbledore's voice carried a hint of anger. "Now is not the time for you to abuse your power and act unreasonably. You, and all of you, have seen the evidence with your own eyes, which proves that everything I have been telling you is true."

Voldemort is back. You've arrested the wrong people these past ten months.

"I, I didn't..."

Fudge wanted to say something more to cover up his major mistake in decision-making.

The people around him looked at him with distrust, and even Percy Weasley, who had always regarded him as a god, kept his distance from him, which forced him to abandon his plan.

"Okay! Okay!"

Dawlish, Williamson, go downstairs to the Department of Mysteries.

As for you, Dumbledore, you have to tell me what's going on here.

"I will explain it clearly, but I need to send them back first."

"Them?" Fudge then noticed Harry Potter and Snape and the others not far away. "What are they doing here?"

"I'll explain it clearly," Dumbledore said impatiently, then pointed his wand at the head of the golden wizard statue that had fallen to the Wand. "Mentos."

The wizard's head emitted a blue light and trembled slightly on the floor before quickly calming down.

"That's Portkey for the Ministry of Magic. I didn't authorize you to use it; you can't..."

Halfway through his sentence, Fudge met Dumbledore's sharp gaze, and swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

"You must issue an order for Dolores Umbridge to leave Hogwarts, and also order your Auror to stop hunting my Care of Magical Creatures Professor so that he can return to school."

"If you still need my help, please feel free to write to me anytime."

"I... I understand." Fudge's expression was complicated.

"Take this Portkey." Dumbledore helped Harry up and placed the head of the wizard statue in his hand. "It will take you to the Headmaster's Office. Stay there and don't wander off until I get back."

Harry nodded blankly, then disappeared a few seconds later.

"Severus, please take them back to rest. You know where to take them, right?"

"I know," Professor Snape said, then led the group to a fireplace.

A burst of green flames flashed, and they arrived at Order of the Phoenix.

"Get some rest first, and go back to school to see Madam Pomfrey tomorrow!"

"Professor, I have some questions..."

"We'll talk about it another time!" Professor Snape turned and walked into the fireplace, showing no intention of replying.

"Damn! You ran pretty fast." Aaron curled his lip in disdain. "But you can run away from the first day of the month, but not the tenth. You can run from the professor, but you can't run from the school."

"What did you say?" Luna asked curiously.

"Nothing."

"Sirius Black isn't coming back," Ginny said sadly. "Harry will go crazy, he probably already is."

"Dumbledore will surely be able to persuade him to cheer up," Neville said.

"That's not an easy estimate; that's his only family member." Ron emphasized the word 'only,' then looked at Aaron and hesitated before asking, "You really didn't bring that Potions with you?"

"It's fake, it's on me, okay!" Aaron said, looking at him irritably. "I just don't understand why everyone thinks I'm abandoning someone who's dying?"

"Uh... don't misunderstand," Ron said, blushing. "I'm not doubting you, I just... feel particularly sorry."

"Heh!" Aaron rolled his eyes speechlessly. "You need to understand one thing: I never criticize Harry or Sirius Black."

If you encounter a life-or-death situation, use your life-saving Potions; even if you give me ten thousand bottles, it won't be enough.

And to put it bluntly, you're all happy that I saved Sirius Black today, but who will help me when my family is critically injured and dying tomorrow?

Ron was speechless, unsure how to refute her.

"Feel sorry!"

"Hmph! Although your apology wasn't very sincere, I'll still reluctantly accept it."

You have no idea how much I invested in tonight's game, nor how much I sacrificed. I almost gave myself up to save you all.

"Did you do that to save us?" Ginny asked timidly. "We were just incidentally there!"

Aaron:...

"I have to criticize you a bit here. You can't be so self-deprecating!"