Life Under Someone Else's Roof? You Couldn't Find It Even If You Turned Hogwarts Upside Down

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A knock suddenly sounded at the door. Aaron turned his head and saw three familiar faces, and couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Harry opened the sliding door and led Hermione and Ron inside.

"To be honest, I don't want to see you guys," Aaron said bluntly. "Every time you come to me in a group, looking all preoccupied, it's never anything good."

"Uh..." Ron gave an awkward but polite smile. "This time it's different. It's good news for you."

"Huh?" Aaron was taken aback. "I remember the Sun rose in the east today. Could I be mistaken?"

"You're not mistaken, this is really good news," Harry said somewhat shyly. "We've decided to invite you to stay in Order of the Phoenix this Summer Holiday."

Upon hearing this, Aaron nearly coughed up blood.

"What the heck? Going to Order of the Phoenix?"

Are you sure you're not joking?

"I'm sure." Harry nodded seriously. "This is one of the few ways we can help you, after all... you can't go home right now."

"Hehe!" Aaron slapped his forehead, his amused gaze sweeping over the three of them. "Can I take that as you pitying me?"

"No, please don't misunderstand, we just... we just..."

"I just wanted to make it up to you as much as possible," Hermione said hesitantly.

Yes, that's exactly what I meant.

"Come on, you guys are clearly trying to screw me over," Aaron said irritably. "What kind of place is Order of the Phoenix? It's the front line against Voldemort."

I'm trying to avoid him like the plague, and you've still arranged for me to stay at Order of the Phoenix? You weren't doing this on purpose, were you?

"But it's safe there," Hermione explained patiently. "Dumbledore is a patron, and unless he's dead, no outsider can find it."

"Safety?" Aaron scoffed. "Perhaps you're right, but if I live there, I'll unintentionally owe Order of the Phoenix a favor."

If they, or Dumbledore, ask me for help with something, I doubt I'd be able to refuse.

"Ah..." Harry hesitated for a moment, then mustered his courage and said, "You might not be happy if I say this, but since you've already violated the Gaius family rules, then perhaps..."

"Stop." Aaron waved his hand to interrupt. "Even if I stand on the opposite side of Voldemort, it doesn't mean I have to join Order of the Phoenix with him and fight to the death. That wouldn't do me any good."

"If you don't want to stay at Order of the Phoenix, how about the Burrow?" Ron suggested. "You don't need to bring a tent this time. I'll give you my room, or you can stay in George and Fred's room if you don't want to stay in mine."

"It's really impressive that you can think of so many things," Aaron said with a sigh. "But never mind, living under someone else's roof isn't easy!"

A hint of embarrassment flashed in Harry's eyes. Compared to living with the Dursley family, he preferred to the Burrow in the Burrow, where the Weasley family had never treated him like an outsider.

"Is it really necessary to be so particular?" Ron scoffed. "You saved Ginny's life, and you even got Abei to treat my dad's injuries. The Department of Mysteries also owes a debt to you, otherwise we might all be dead."

"It's just arranging a place for you to stay, don't overthink it."

Hermione and Harry nodded in unison, praising Ron's statement.

"You've probably misunderstood something," Aaron said, both amused and exasperated. "I just can't go home, but the Small Shop in Diagon Alley are my private property, and I can live there."

"Isn't it unsafe there?" Hermione said with some concern. "Voldemort could come knocking on our door at any time if we live there."

"Voldemort wouldn't be so arrogant as to arrest people in Diagon Alley, would he?"

"It might not be the case for others, but it's hard to say for you," Hermione said in a deep voice. "The secrets you possess are too tempting for him."

"That's true." Aaron sighed slightly. "But even if you can't beat them, you can still avoid them."

"No, that's too risky. What if you get caught?"

"I'm confident," Aaron emphasized. "The Floo Network in my shop is still working."

"And then what?" Hermione pressed. "Where can you hide after that?"

For your safety, you must choose between Order of the Phoenix and the Burrow.

"Impossible." Aaron chuckled dismissively. "I don't need you to teach me how to do things."

If all else fails, I'll go to the Ministry of Magic and find a job. Diggory owes me a favor, and he'll help me with that.

Unless Voldemort is prepared for a full-scale war, he certainly wouldn't dare to force his way into the Ministry of Magic.

The three looked at each other, speechless.

They never expected that Aaron would rather go to the Ministry of Magic than go to Order of the Phoenix.

As the train sped along, the trees and lakes outside the window rushed past.

Harry and Ron started playing Wizard Chess, while Hermione picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet and began reading.

Aaron held Abei in his arms, idly watching the scenery outside the window, occasionally diverting some of his attention to create Mind Space.

"Hey!" Hermione nudged Aaron with her elbow. The Daily Prophet covered most of her face, making her look like she wanted to say something but couldn't.

"What's wrong?"

"Um... I have something to ask you," Hermione said hesitantly, lowering her voice.

"Oh!" Aaron exclaimed in realization, "It must be about the Department of Mysteries!"

"It's all in the past, don't think too much about it. We're good friends, it was the right thing to do to save you."

"Just good friends?" Hermione glared at him angrily, her eyes slightly red.

She gave him her first kiss, and Aaron risked his life to rescue her from the Department of Mysteries. They can't possibly be just good friends!

The slightly reproachful gaze and the sudden silence in the carriage made Aaron feel inexplicably guilty, so he immediately changed his tune, "A little better than a good friend."

"Just a little stronger?" Harry put down his chess piece and interjected with interest, "Aaron, I have to say something to you about this. You seem to have some misunderstanding about the word 'girlfriend'."

"Yes, that's right." Ron nodded in agreement. "You should learn from Ginny. She's a year younger than you and she already had a boyfriend, although I'm not too happy with her boyfriend."

"What do you know?" Aaron scoffed. He still maintained that women would only slow down his path to godhood. Even if he had some inexplicable feelings for Hermione, they would only come later in his life.

Moreover, his family has been urging him to go on blind dates for several years in a row. If Vico and Lisana found out that he had a girlfriend at school, I wonder how excited they would be. They would probably throw aside their family traditions and happily bring him home.

"We know a little about this," Ron coughed dramatically. "From an outsider's perspective, your relationship definitely goes beyond that of ordinary friends."

"That's enough," Hermione said, blushing. "That's not what I meant."

"Don't be shy," Harry interrupted Yu. "You should be bold about things like this."

As he spoke, Harry winked at Hermione: "You've helped us two brothers with so many lessons and made us do so many assignments. We'd feel bad if we didn't help you out this time."

Hermione understood the meaning in his eyes, rolled her eyes speechlessly, but felt somewhat gratified.

"You two," Aaron gave them a gentle smile, "If I may ask, you two... are you still single?"

Harry and Ron felt a chill run down their spines, and their expressions froze instantly.

"This...I..." Harry gritted his teeth, "Even if I've never eaten pork, I've always seen pigs run."

"For example Cedric and Cho Chang?"

Harry instinctively clutched his chest, his face turning slightly pale, trembling as he couldn't speak.

I only said a couple of sentences, trying to put your relationship on the surface. Is it really necessary to be so hurtful?

"Uh... I've never been in a relationship, but my sister has!"

"They broke up," Aaron said calmly. "As far as I know, Ginny has broken up with Michael Corner."

"What?" Ron exclaimed, his face immediately lighting up with joy. "That's wonderful!"

"She's dating Dean Thomas now," Hermione added weakly.

"Wortefa..."

"It's understandable that she didn't tell you," Aaron said, glancing at Ron. "Nobody wants to be told what to do in this kind of thing."

"But, how did you know?"

"When I was reading, I saw them walking hand in hand, chatting and laughing."

Rumble!

Ron felt like thunder was raging in his heart, and a long, drizzling rain was falling.

My sister dumped that dimwitted Michael Conner, that's definitely something to celebrate.

Why did they choose Dean Thomas? That Gryffindor isn't much better!

"Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!" Aaron chuckled and clicked his tongue. "Next time you're lecturing someone, think about whether you're even qualified!"

Harry and Ron exchanged a wry smile; they were too embarrassed to speak again.

"Alright, let's get back to the point!" Aaron looked at Hermione. "What were you trying to ask just now?"

"It's..." Hermione hesitated for a moment, "It's the Portkey."

Damn! The Thought Form was right. Could she have really discovered the problem?

Aaron's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged. "What did you say?"

"The teleportation location." Hermione looked directly into Aaron's eyes. "The Portkey that night didn't teleport me to Hagrid's Hut, did it?"

"Ha! You certainly have a rich imagination."

"Don't lie to me anymore." Hermione gave Aaron a resentful look. "After I was teleported away, I opened my eyes to find the hut neatly tidied up. But I don't know how I was unconscious for a while, and when I opened my eyes again, I saw the hut completely destroyed."

Hagrid was attacked by Umbridge and his men; how could his house not even have any signs of a struggle?

"You may have misread it."

Your magic power is depleted, your condition is poor, and it's not impossible that you're experiencing hallucinations.

"And the scent," Hermione added. "The place I teleported to smelled of lavender, but Hagrid's Hut ...you know what I mean, right?"

Even if I'm in terrible shape, I shouldn't be so bad as to not be able to distinguish between two completely different smells!

Aaron chuckled. "This was my oversight. You're a little smarter than I thought. If it were the other two, they definitely wouldn't have thought of this."

"What place is that?" Hermione asked curiously. "It should be not far from Hogwarts!"

"Not far from Hogwarts?" Harry looked at Aaron in surprise. "Are there any places near the school where lavender grows?"

"It's not the Forbidden Forest, is it?" Ron asked incredulously.

"It's not Forbidden Forest, so don't make wild guesses."

"Um... when I woke up after I was unconscious, I was in Hagrid's Hut. You were the one who took me there, right?"

"It was me." Aaron didn't deny it. "I carried you on my back before dawn."

Hearing this, Hermione looked away shyly. "You could have told me, and I promise I wouldn't tell anyone else."

"That won't do. That place is very important to me, extremely, extremely important," Aaron emphasized seriously. "Don't even think about looking for it. That place is more hidden than the Room of Requirement. You won't be able to find it."

"We might not be unable to find it," Hermione retorted, unconvinced.

"Hahaha," Aaron couldn't help but laugh. "I admire your confidence. It's no exaggeration to say that even if you turned Hogwarts upside down, you'd still have to find two or three of them."

The Divine Thunder Hall is located deep underground beneath the Black Lake.

They would have to dig for a year or two, and that doesn't even include the water of the Black Lake and the magical creatures like Grindylow and Mermaid within it.

"It can't be that exaggerated!" Harry said skeptically.

"If one day you find that place, it must be me who led you there."

However, that's not a good thing, because it means the Phoenix Society is at a significant disadvantage in the fight against the Death Eater.

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the carriage froze instantly.

The three of them instantly composed themselves, their hearts inexplicably heavy.

"That day will never come, right?" Ron said somewhat uncertainly.

"No, that won't happen," Harry said firmly. "We have Dumbledore!"

"Oh!"

Aaron curled his lip, unconvinced.

Perhaps others see Dumbledore very reliable, but he doesn't think a demon king who places his hopes on Prophecy can be trusted.

The train gradually slowed down and came to a stop at King's Cross Station.

The four people in the carriage got off the train with their pets and suitcases, and then passed through the magical partition between platforms nine and ten.

Moody, Sirius Black, Tonks, the Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, George, Fred, and others were all waiting outside the station. They were dressed in Muggle clothes, some new, some old, some expensive, some cheap, making them quite conspicuous together.

Mrs. Weasley immediately gave Ron, Harry, and Ginny a big hug. "Are you all alright?"

"Not bad!" Ron muttered, then looked at the leather jackets on George and Fred, "What are those things?"

"Genuine Dragon Hide," George said proudly, "The highest grade."

"Our food is great, even Mom has nothing to say about it."

"Harry." Lupin walked up to Harry, smiled, and gave him a hug. "We need to have a good talk with your aunt and uncle before we let you go back to their house."

Harry paused for a moment, then turned to look at the Dursley shivering not far away. "Isn't this a bit much?"

"I don't think he's sick, let's just enjoy the summer!" Moody said, then walked with Arthur toward the Dursley, who were there to warn the family not to bully Harry during the Summer Holiday.