Chapter 67 Kindness and Virginity are Two Different Things
Everyone looked at Aaron in surprise, and Hagrid was even more excited, "Do you really have a way to revive this Unicorn?"
"No." Aaron shook his head decisively, denying it very straightforwardly.
He did have a Resurrection Potion that could revive a life that had died within an hour, but he only had one bottle, and he might never have a second. Using such a precious item on a Unicorn just didn't seem worth it.
Magical creatures were indeed rare, and Unicorns were very pure, that was true, but what did that have to do with him?
There were so many fresh lives that had died; he couldn't possibly save every single one! That was God's job.
"But Ronan said so, and the Centaur's prophecies have never been wrong," Hagrid said with some doubt.
"Who knows if that's slander? Does it have proof?" Aaronretorted indignantly. "Even if it's not slander, who can guarantee that the Centaur won't misinterpret the stars' revelations?"
"This..."
Hagrid hesitated for a moment, then looked at Ronan with an inquiring gaze, "Can you guarantee it?"
"The Centaur's prophecies are very accurate, but there have indeed been misunderstandings of the stars of destiny in the past."
"See?" Aaron spread his hands. "It's just a misunderstanding. I don't have the ability to revive a Unicorn."
"That's not necessarily true," Ron suddenly interjected. He pointed at Abey, who was constantly pulling Aaron back by his foot. "If it were false, Abey wouldn't be so agitated."
Everyone else's gaze shifted to Aaron's feet, where Abey was stubbornly clinging to Aaron's pant leg. They couldn't help but feel more certain about Ronan's prophecy.
"Uh... Abey is purely hungry. I didn't let him eat tonight.
But if he keeps this up, I think it's necessary to starve him for another three days." Aaron explained to the crowd while secretly threatening Abey to release his claws.
Sure enough, as soon as the words fell, Abey seemed to have heard something terrible and quickly retracted his claws.
Aaron unceremoniously picked him up, "Have I been too good to you?"
Abey nodded profusely, but seeing Aaron's calm eyes, he changed to shaking his head.
"I'll deal with you later. Starving you for three days is a bit much, but your future meals will have to be cut back."
"Ow!"
Abey cried out pitifully, looking at the dead Unicorn's body with some reluctance, then cruelly turned his head away.
He had tried his best, even paying the painful price of reduced meals for it, but if his master didn't agree, there was nothing he could do.
Abey had a great fondness for this magical creature full of pure aura, much stronger than Norbert, who was also a dragon.
Seeing the Unicorn die in front of him like this, he inevitably felt a sense of sorrow, so he wanted to try his best to fight for it.
He was very aware of the existence of the Resurrection Potion, and once almost drank it as a beverage, because his intuition told the dragon that the rich life aura inside would be of considerable help to him.
The result, of course, was that he didn't succeed, and instead was punished by Aaron.
The amount of food for each meal was cut by more than half, lasting for three days. That feeling of going from luxury to frugality was simply torture.
"Let's go!
We should head back now."
"Wait, Aaron," Hagrid stopped him and said, "If you really have the ability to save it, then please..."
"Don't talk nonsense! I don't have that ability."
"I understand, I understand." Hagrid winked and said meaningfully, "If I had this ability, I wouldn't let others know either.
But everyone here is one of us. Don't you trust them?
Besides, how regrettable would it be if such a rare creature as a Unicorn were to die just like that!"
Aaron's mouth twitched. This was too presumptuous!
He admitted the first sentence made a lot of sense, but the rest was complete nonsense, okay?
"Hagrid." Aaron looked at him sympathetically. "You might be overly sad because Norbert left, causing some confusion in your brain.
Go back and get a good night's sleep. Don't think about all this nonsense."
"No, no, no, I'm not confused. I'm perfectly clear-headed," Hagrid said anxiously.
"Give it a rest!" Aaron rolled his eyes speechlessly, his gaze sweeping over Harry, Ron, Hermione, and finally settling on Hagrid. "Counting you, I was deceived by four Gryffindors last night.
Don't tell me you forgot; a Giant's memory isn't that bad.
Honestly, if you were me, would you trust these four people?"
Hagrid opened his mouth, speechless.
Harry and the others also lowered their heads awkwardly. Being told 'I don't trust you' by Aaron to their faces made them feel mortified, wishing they could crawl into a hole.
"Then we can step aside first, and you can call us after you've revived the Unicorn," Ron whispered.
"Idiot!" Draco said disdainfully. "Aaron, ignore them.
Let's go, back to the Slytherin common room."
"Okay," Aaron said, feeling a bit weary. At this moment, he was eager to leave this place.
Everyone else subconsciously made way for Aaron and Draco, too embarrassed to stop them.
Hagrid watched the two walk ten meters away, then bit his lip, struggling, and shouted, "Are you really unwilling to save it?
This Unicorn is still young; its parents are still waiting for it to come home in the herd!"
"Hmph!"
Aaron stopped, looked up, and took a deep breath. It only took a second to go from speechless to angry.
He put Abey down, then walked back, glaring fiercely at Hagrid, "Are you sick? Do you have to keep badgering me?
I've emphasized it again and again, I don't have the ability to save it. Why are you so stubborn?"
"But the Centaur's astrology and Abey's unusual behavior both indicate that you can save it," Hagrid said seriously. "One might be wrong, but surely not both!"
"Maybe it's just a coincidence?" Aaron said through gritted teeth. "I know your feelings for magical creatures, and I sympathize with this little guy.
But you have to face reality!"
"I know, I know." Hagrid's face was covered in tears, and his beard was soaked, like a hundreds-of-pounds child who had lost a loved one.
"Stop crying. How old are you, a Giant? Can't you control your tear ducts?" Aaron's mouth twitched slightly. He had seen more tears in the past two days than in the first eleven years of his life.
Hagrid picked up a leaf and wiped his nose. "I also know I'm being too fanciful, but when I think of this Unicorn being so young and having a family, I can't help but feel sad.
If you really have no way, then so be it. But what if you do, and I don't insist, then it's like giving up the chance to save it right before my eyes.
That feeling is very hard to bear; you wouldn't understand."
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Beautiful! Well said." Aaron clapped his hands. "I finally understand why the school wants you to guard the Forbidden Forest. With your compassionate attitude, you must treat every magical creature as your own child.
You've made me embarrassed to lie to you, even though I've emphasized it several times and you still don't believe me.
No more pretending. I'll tell you the truth. I do have something that can revive that Unicorn, but I don't intend to save it."
"Why?" Harry asked, puzzled. "You're not the kind of person who would stand by and do nothing!"
"Exactly, you're a good judge of character.
You might not find a Wizard as kind as I am anywhere in Hogwarts.
However, Harry Potter, kindness and being a bleeding heart are two different things."
"What do you mean?"
Aaron sighed and took out a bottle of emerald green solution from his pocket.
He opened the bottle, and a faint scent of life wafted into the air. Some withered grass on the ground almost visibly turned green.
Seeing this, Aaron quickly put the lid back on. If too much evaporated, the potion's effect would diminish.
And as the bottle was sealed, the nourished plants suddenly lost their nutrients and became withered again.
"You all saw it. This thing, if drunk, can bring creatures back from the dead."
"Then hurry!" Hagrid said somewhat eagerly.
"What's the rush!" Aaron cleared his throat and said earnestly, "This is a secret potion passed down through the Gaius Family for generations, and what I have is the last dose.
In other words, this is for saving lives at critical moments, a truly priceless treasure.
Now you're asking me to use it to revive a Unicorn with whom I have no connection whatsoever.
Hagrid, do you think that's appropriate? Is it reasonable?"
Hagrid fell silent. Asking someone to use their family heirloom to revive an unrelated magical creature, even if he were shameless, he wouldn't dare to freeload like that.
Aaron scoffed, then looked at Harry Potter. "If you were asked to donate all your wealth to help a homeless person you don't even know, would you agree?"
Harry shook his head powerlessly. If it weren't for his parents' inheritance, he probably couldn't even support himself.
Donate it? How could that be?
"Well, there you have it. It's easy to be generous with someone else's resources, but if you put yourselves in my shoes, you'd probably refuse even more decisively than I did."
"But that's a Unicorn," Ron murmured softly.
"Huh? Which brother said that?" Aaron said sarcastically, "Does a Unicorn have to be superior? That's simply ridiculous."
Draco instantly understood and sneered, "Who else but that idiot Weasley?"
"Malfoy, you..."
"What? Are you unconvinced?
The value of this potion is beyond all our imaginations. Even if you sold the Weasley family, you couldn't afford it.
Unicorns are precious, but there are things more precious than them. You have no right to decide for Aaron who is more worthy of being saved."