Exploring the Secret Base, the Cursed Opal Necklace

"And what about Dumbledore? What did he say?" Harry asked eagerly.

"The Black family is one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, so it's normal that they have some connections that we don't know about."

Dumbledore meant that this was a deal, the contents of which were probably only known to Sirius Black, Gandalf, and Phineas, but it wouldn't affect the Order of the Phoenix.

"Absolutely right." Aaron nodded affirmatively. "Dumbledore can be quite insightful sometimes."

"Alright, I have something to do, so I'll head out now." Tonks said, stood up, and turned to leave the Leaky Cauldron.

Watching Tonks' departing figure, Harry felt a pang of unease.

I finally heard some news about Sirius Black, but I got nowhere.

"Hey, hello there." Slughorn came over with a glass of wine.

"Hello, Professor, it's a pleasure to see you." Harry stood up warmly and pulled out a chair for Slughorn to sit down.

What brings you here?

Slughorn raised an eyebrow and said with a proud look, "The Three Broomsticks have a long history with me. I still remember what they looked like when they were called a broom!"

In the meantime, I will occasionally host a few banquets, inviting only some outstanding students.

Would you like to come?

"It would be an honor, Professor," Harry said somewhat awkwardly.

He wasn't really interested in Slughorn's dinner party, but he needed the information about Slughorn, and nothing could bring them closer together more easily than a banquet.

"You are welcome too, Granger, Gaius."

"Thank you so much, Professor," Hermione said.

Aaron was somewhat reluctant, but before he could speak, Slughorn interjected, "I knew you would come. Don't forget to bring your pet; wait for my owl to deliver the message."

After saying that, Slughorn strode away, giving Aaron no chance to defend himself.

"Beautiful, now I can't help but slap myself."

Ron's lips twitched slightly, and he said with a frustrated look, "At least he invited you, but Jian treats me like a complete stranger."

"Take it easy, at least your sister is on his invitation list."

Ron:...

Is this how you comfort someone?

"Harry, what are you up to?" Ron asked, puzzled. "I remember you said you didn't like attending his parties."

"Dumbledore helped me learn more about him."

This matter is very important, otherwise Dumbledore wouldn't have let me have it.

"Our principal is always like this." Aaron curled his lip in disdain, picked up a glass of Butterbeer and took a big gulp. "Alright, that's enough for today, let's head back as soon as possible!"

There's nothing fun to be had in Hogsmeade right now, and the weather's getting worse if we don't hurry.

"No," Hermione, pressing down on Aaron's hand. "We've come all this way, let's stay a little longer!"

"Uh... Hermione," Ron said somewhat awkwardly, "The snow outside is quite heavy, I think..."

Hermione immediately gave him a cold look, which made Ron shrink back in fright. He immediately went along with his heart, saying, "I think it would be better if we waited until the snowstorm subsided a bit."

"Yes, that's what I'm thinking," Hermione said seriously. "I'll buy some more beer, and after we finish that, we'll go check out Honeydukes."

That shop is still open, and it's warmer than the Three Broomsticks.

On the other side, in the Slytherin Common Room.

Clea carried Abei to Aaron's dormitory. She pulled out her Wand and lightly tapped the keyhole. "Alohomora."

With a click, the door opened.

She strode inside, then locked the door and added a defensive spell to it.

"Alright, now it's time to uncover the secrets." Clea waved her Wand lightly, and the suitcase on the floor moved to the side of the wardrobe, revealing an ordinary square floorboard in sight.

Abei was stunned when he saw this.

A hint of confusion flashed in his large eyes, but it was quickly filled with astonishment.

It quickly jumped from Clea's arms onto the floor, looking like it wanted to stay away.

"At first I wasn't sure, I thought he was just trying to cover something up, but now it seems I was right." Clea smiled calmly. "Be good, move aside, I'll explain to him later."

Abei shook his head seriously, and his body grew several times larger, pressing the floor tile down beneath him.

Clea was both amused and exasperated. "There's no point in you doing this. I already know that."

Abei remained unmoved. You know it's your business, but if I don't stop you, that's my business.

If its owner finds out it's unmoved, its days ahead will probably be anything but pleasant.

In short: If you want to get through, first... move me aside.

Clea waved her Wand, and Abei floated up uncontrollably.

But the next moment, it landed on the ground and gave Clea a defiant look, completely disregarding the mere Levitation Charm.

Clea didn't take it seriously. "Do you know why I brought you here? Because you're Aaron's pet, whom he raised since you were a puppy. He trusts you completely."

In other words, he must have led you into this Secret Chamber before; you can show me the way.

Abei exhaled white steam from his nostrils and turned his face away with an arrogant expression.

It's impossible for it to lead the way; it's the most loyal dragon in the world.

"I know it's his secret, and I promise I won't tell anyone else," Clea coaxed. "You know about my relationship with him, and you also know about my relationship with his family. I'll definitely be your mistress from now on, right?"

Abei blinked, and the dragon head nodded slightly.

That is indeed true, but that is not a reason for it to give way.

"It's good that you didn't deny it." Clea smiled with satisfaction, then pointed her Wand at the door. "I'll count to three. If you don't move aside, I'll open the door. I'm sure you'll be surprised when others see you."

Upon hearing this, Abei was completely bewildered.

What's this? This hostess is so unfair, she doesn't play by the rules!

"Three, two, one..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Abei quickly shrank and decisively jumped to the side, giving up the floor tile.

However, compared to its previous unruly appearance, it now seems to have suffered a great injustice, hanging its head in dejection.

A warm hand rubbed its head and tidied its clothes.

"Alright, alright, isn't it enough that you apologize?" Clea said gently. "Actually, I wouldn't have opened the door if you hadn't moved aside."

When Aaron returns, tell him what I did; he certainly won't blame you.

Abei blinked blankly, but a glimmer of life returned to his eyes.

It has done its duty, but there's nothing it can do. Its owner probably won't make things too difficult for it.

Clea crouched down, her fingers slowly tracing the floor, but she couldn't find a single flaw.

"You can't fool me!"

Clea shook her head, a faint purple light emanating from her index and middle fingers, and a layer of three-dimensional text covered the floor.

The Illusion Magic gradually lost its effectiveness, and a keyhole appeared in the center of the floor.

"The Alohomora."

The unlocking spell struck the floor but had no effect whatsoever; instead, it bounced off the ceiling.

Clea frowned slightly; she could tell from her own eyes what kind of defensive magic had been set up at this entrance.

Either Aaron comes in person, which is the host's right; or we use the key to open it, which is the guest's method; or we use force to break it down, which is the enemy's method.

Breaking this barrier wouldn't be difficult for her, but she didn't want to enter as an enemy.

"Do you have any ideas?" Clea asked Abei.

Abei hesitated, his two front paws colliding together, looking particularly conflicted.

"It was the right decision to leave you here." Clea seemed to have thought of something, and excitedly picked up Abei, rubbing her face against its head. "Hurry up, get the key out."

Abei stubbornly clutched his pocket; this was his bottom line, and he had to protect it no matter what.

"Sigh! I hope there can be more trust between humans and dragons," Clea said meaningfully. "You wouldn't want me to break down the door by force, would you?"

"If we cause any trouble, Aaron will be unhappy."

Upon hearing this, Abei paused for a moment to think, then slowly pulled a black key from his pocket with both paws.

"Good girl."

Clea grabbed the key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it counterclockwise.

The floorboards suddenly split into two sections, opening up like a door.

A pitch-black cave entrance appeared, and the grease on both sides instantly ignited, illuminating the endless road ahead.

"This is... he dug this out?" Clea asked, somewhat astonished.

She thought Aaron would at most dig a Chamber of Secrets under the dormitory, but now it seems that the Chamber of Secrets is much larger than she thought, at least larger than this tunnel.

Clea took a deep breath, carefully held Abei in her arms, and walked up the steps into the passageway, where the floor tiles also closed.

Hogsmeade Village.

Aaron carried Hermione out of the Three Broomsticks. She was wrapped tightly in her cloak, with a scarf wrapped around her neck several times and gloves on, trying her best to protect herself from the wind and snow outside.

Hermione accidentally drank a few too many drinks, and she was walking unsteadily, looking like she might fall at any moment.

In this situation, they couldn't go to Honeydukes Sugar Shop and had to return to Hogwarts as soon as possible; Filch might not even let them in if they were late.

Harry and Ron were following not far behind them, but the two Gryffindor pretended not to see anything.

On the one hand, they both know about Hermione and Aaron's relationship, but for some reason, there has been no substantial breakthrough.

They're friends, but not quite lovers yet, and they're all getting anxious watching them.

They are happy to have the opportunity to get to know each other personally.

On the other hand, people don't want to carry them on their backs; they want to make things as easy as possible in this freezing weather.

"Ah!"

The piercing scream was particularly shrill in the wind and snow, and even Hermione, who had been lying on Aaron's back, groggily opened her eyes.

The group turned to look and saw Gryffindor's Katie Bell flying in mid-air.

Her arms were outstretched, her hair was blowing wildly, and her eyes were wide open, as if she had been greatly frightened.

She then let out a horrifying scream and fell to the ground in great pain.

"Abei ..." Aaron subconsciously wanted his pet to go and save the person, but then he remembered that it had been borrowed. He immediately looked at Katie and began to chant a spell.

She paused for a moment upon touching the ground before collapsing onto the slushy ground.

But this was not the end. Katie convulsed violently on the ground, choking out intermittent screams.

They pressed down on her tightly, but the effect was minimal. Harry and Ron rushed over to help and barely managed to control her.

"Hold her down, don't let her move." Aaron gently put Hermione down, then took a bottle out of his pocket and poured out a brown pill.

Without any hesitation, he pried open Katie's mouth and fed her the pill.

The screams gradually stopped, and Katie's convulsions were not as severe, but her condition was still not optimistic.

"What did you feed her?" Harry asked.

"Antidote," Aaron said succinctly. "I concocted it myself, adding Phoenix Tears. It can neutralize most of the poison and alleviate the symptoms of the curse, but we still need to get her to the hospital as soon as possible."

"Leanne," Hermione asked, looking at the girl next to Katie, "What did she just say?"

"I warned her not to touch it," Leanne said incoherently.

"Don't touch what?"

"That package." Leanne pointed to a torn brown paper package in the snow, inside which something emitted a greenish glow.

Ron bent down to pick it up, but Harry grabbed his arm. "Don't touch it."

"It's definitely not safe to touch." Aaron drew his Wand and carefully used the Levitation Charm to lift the opal Opal Necklace, which was emitting a green glow, out of its parchment wrapping. "Goodness, this curse is incredibly powerful."

Fortunately, she was wearing gloves and didn't come into direct contact with it; otherwise, she probably wouldn't have survived.

"Make way, let me see!" Hagrid rushed over after hearing the scream.

He stared at Katie for a second, then bent down, picked her up, and ran towards the castle at top speed. "Unless she's wrapped up, nobody is allowed to touch that necklace."

Hearing a warning sound coming from the wind and snow, the group looked at each other in bewilderment.

"I think I've seen this necklace before." Harry wrapped the Opal Necklace in the parchment paper and said gravely, "It was displayed in Borgin Burke's shop a long time ago. The label said it was enchanted. How did Katie get her hands on it?"

Leanne shuddered and choked out, "She came out of the Three Broomsticks toilet with this package in her hand, saying she was delivering it to someone at Hogwarts and that she would pass it on."

"The Imperius Curse," Aaron said with certainty. "She must be under the Imperius Curse."

Katie must know that we'll have to go through Filch's inspection when we get back, and this package might not even get into the school.

"Did she say who she was going to give it to?" Hermione asked.

"No." Leanne cried in fear and anxiety. "I told her I couldn't bring this to school, but she wouldn't listen to me. Then, then I tried to snatch it from her, and then you all know what happened."

"Alright, we need to get back to school right away." Hermione staggered and reached out to hug her. "You need to rest. Also, take that necklace back with you. Dumbledore might be able to figure something out."