Chapter 40: Fragments Found in the Restricted Area
The second day after Christmas.
The alarm rang, and Aaron groggily opened his eyes.
After washing up, he went to the Great Hall for a meal as usual, then headed to the Library.
After showing Professor Snape's note to Madam Pince, he went straight into the Restricted Section.
This isn't to say that books in the general section are useless; on the contrary, books in the general section are more useful to students, and answers to almost ninety-nine percent of questions can be found there.
But precisely because of this, he found it somewhat uninteresting.
The Restricted Section, however, seemed to be prepared for that so-called one percent; it contained content not covered in regular classes, secrets of the Magical World, habits of dark creatures, deeply buried history, and even fragments of research on souls could be found there.
In the words of later generations, one is freely available online, while the other is only accessible to VIPs. Naturally, the VIP content has higher value!
Passing through rows of bookshelves, Aaron stopped in front of a gray book. It recounted the history of the elves, including their wars with other races, the magical treasures within their clan, and so on.
Although only partially documented, it greatly broadened his horizons.
Because in History of Magic Class, the Professor would only briefly mention the secrets of other races.
If you were to ask in detail, it would be awkward, as the Professor might not even know.
Just as Aaron was engrossed in his reading, the angle of the sunlight filtering through the window slowly shifted, and the reflection on the floor stung his eyes.
"What's that?" Aaron closed his book and, upon closer inspection, saw several glass shards, with some off-white lamp oil clinging to them.
After a few seconds of thought, a playful expression appeared on Aaron's face. He then picked up the glass shards, returned the book to the shelf, and walked out of the Restricted Section… "Hello, Gryffindor Prefect." Aaronstopped Percy in the corridor, "I might need to ask you for a favor."
"You are… Aaron?" Percy looked at the Slytherin emblem on Aaron's robe and subconsciously frowned, not understanding why a Slytherin would seek him out.
"That's right, it's me, Aaron Gaius."
"Oh! Fred and George have spoken highly of you.
Is there something you need me for?"
"I have something important to discuss with Harry Potter, but he's probably resting in his dormitory right now.
If I, a Slytherin who doesn't know the password, were to go, the Fat Lady wouldn't let me in.
I don't want to bother Professor McGonagall with such a small matter, so I can only ask for your help as a Prefect."
Percy pondered for two seconds, then said seriously, "I can help you with this, but I need to understand what you want to talk to him about.
After all, you are a Slytherin, and Slytherin and Gryffindorhave always been at odds.
If there isn't a sufficiently compelling reason, I won't take you to the common room; please understand this."
"Uh…" Aaron couldn't help but laugh, "Actually, it's not as serious as you make it sound. I don't need to go inside; you just need to call Harry out."
Percy looked directly into Aaron's eyes, slightly hesitant.
Who knew if this Slytherin would lead a Gryffindor student astray? If anything went wrong, he, as Prefect, would be held responsible.
Since he encountered this, he had to find a way to manage it.
"Let's just go straight to the common room! Otherwise, going back and forth would be quite troublesome."
"Isn't a sufficiently compelling reason needed?"
Percy suddenly paused, then said with a straight face, "During the holidays, there's no need to be so particular."
The two arrived one after the other at the end of the corridor on the seventh floor of Hogwarts Castle, where the Fat Lady guarded the entrance to the Gryffindor common room in a painting.
"Dragon Slag!"
Percy recited the password, and the Fat Lady opened the door, revealing a circular entrance.
"Come in! You must be the first Slytherin to visit here."
"In that case, I feel quite honored."
As soon as they entered, warmth dispelled the chill from both of them.
A fire blazed in the fireplace, with the Phoenix emblem faintly visible above it, and the common room, built of volcanic rock, felt quite warm.
Percy led Aaron to a sofa, "Wait here for a moment, don't move around. I'll go get Harry now."
"Thank you for your trouble."
"No trouble at all, this is what I, as a Prefect, should do." Percy said, walking towards a staircase.
A few minutes later, Harry and Ron, dressed in their pajamas, came down, while Percy sat at a table behind them with a book, reading quite naturally.
"Ah!" Harry yawned, "Aaron, what do you want with me?"
"Uh… this matter might be quite important, it's better if the three of us talk alone, no need for others to know." Aarongave them a meaningful look, mouthing 'Percy', the meaning self-evident.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, a hint of bitterness rising in their hearts.
When Percy woke them up earlier, he had specifically instructed that he absolutely had to listen in.
"It's fine, they're all our own people, you can just speak directly," Ron said.
Aaron was amused, turning to look at Percy, "Well, I'm very grateful you brought me here.
But could you please excuse us for a moment? This matter really isn't suitable for a Gryffindor Prefect to know."
"Is that so? Did you break a school rule?" Percy asked, intrigued.
"No!" Aaron nodded very seriously.
"Then what is it that I can't know?" Percy retorted, "You should know that the relationship between Gryffindor and Slytherin has always been poor, and I've already made an exception by letting you in.
My desire to listen in now is merely to ensure that you first-years don't cause me trouble during the holidays, as I brought you in, and if anything happens, I'll be responsible."
Aaron's mouth twitched slightly. No wonder this guy was a Prefect!
To be able to listen in, he even resorted to such a small trick. Look how smoothly he spoke.
He could have just left, but he felt genuinely annoyed, "Out of politeness, I'll call you Senior for now.
Senior, trust me, it's more appropriate for a few of us to discuss this privately.
Once you know, the nature of the matter changes."
Percy nodded, "I'll stick to my original opinion."
"Alright!" Aaron reluctantly turned to Harry and Ron, "What's your opinion?
A hint: sometimes you need to know how to resist.
You can come out with me, and I'll just briefly explain a few things, and it'll be fine."
"Then…" Harry was about to speak when Percy lightly coughed twice.
"I think it's better to discuss it here! We don't have anything to hide."
"Well said, but I hope you won't regret it later," Aaron said, then took a piece of cloth from his pocket and placed it on the table.
As the cloth was unfolded, several glass shards appeared in their view.
Ron and Percy were puzzled, but Harry seemed to realize something, his expression slightly changing.
"This morning I went to the Restricted Section…"
"Wait, you said the Restricted Section?" Percy looked at Aaron in astonishment, "Is that somewhere a first-year like you can go?"
"I have a note from a Professor, otherwise Madam Pincewouldn't have let me in," Aaron explained. He always felt as if Percy was hoping he would make a mistake.
"I still think it's a bit inappropriate."
"Haha! That's funny, you're the Gryffindor Prefect, and I'm a Slytherin.
Whether it's appropriate or not, your opinion doesn't count." Aaron quipped, then picked up one of the shards, "As I was reading, I found these shards in front of a bookshelf.
They weren't there when I left the Library yesterday, but they were this morning.
No one cleaned up, which means someone snuck into the Restricted Section last night, and this person didn't have a Professor's note.
And among the people I know, only you two, Harry and Ron, wanted to go to the Restricted Section to look up information, but you never had a way."
"You suspect them both." Percy's expression was rather grim, "You can't just pin this on Gryffindor based on a few glass shards and some speculation, that's ridiculous."
"Senior, you're absolutely right, I thought so too.
But my pet has a good sense of smell, and it told me that the scent on these shards is very similar to a friend of mine." Aaron said, placing Abey on the table. It even pretended to sniff the shards, then feigned a glance at Harry and Ron.
The look in this 'cat's' eyes sent a chill down one's spine, and left the other confused.
"You see, that's why I had a sudden urge to come and ask if it was them two?
Rather than making a big fuss, which wouldn't look good for Madam Pince, after all, allowing someone to sneak into the Restricted Section is a dereliction of duty for her as the librarian, and the students' House would probably lose some points accordingly!
But now that you, the Gryffindor Prefect, know, things are different.
This is a violation of school rules and regulations, I wonder how you intend to handle it?"