Hogwarts Castle, in a room.
Narcissa held Snape's hand, tears streaming down her face:
"Severus, is Draco really okay..."
There was no expression on Snape's face. He seemed not very good at dealing with this situation. He just said with some reluctance:
"It's nothing serious. It's just that he has lost a lot of energy. He has been sent to the campus hospital now. You can visit him later..."
"Thank you, thank you very much, Severus, I'll be right over..."
"No need to thank me, it's Professor Custer..."
"So, Severus."
Lucius suddenly spoke. He had recovered from the panic and asked with some ill intentions:
"In regards to the injuries to my son, I want to understand what is going on."
"Lucius!" Narcissa glanced at her husband with some dissatisfaction. In her opinion, the most important thing now was to visit her son quickly.
But Snape did not refuse his request. He turned to look at Aaron: "Professor Custer will explain this to you clearly. It was he who solved this attack."
Aaron smiled and greeted: "Come on, Mr. Malfoy, if you want to know the truth of the matter, please come to the office with me. Oh, by the way, don't forget to bring your servant."
As he spoke, he looked at Dobby in the corner, who was beaten all over.
…
In Aaron's office, Lucius's face was still gloomy. He did not drink the tea Aaron handed him, but asked with a bit of anger:
"My son was attacked by an unknown monster in this school and suffered great injuries. I'm afraid I need the school to give an explanation. Who is the murderer behind this attack..."
"Of course! You need an explanation. This is normal. After such a terrible incident happened, all of us need an explanation."
Aaron smiled and said: "Then who do you want to give this explanation? Principal Dumbledore? Or Mr. Weasley, who has the same experience as you?"
Lucius's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and said calmly:
"Professor Castle, I don't understand what you mean. Whoever needs to be responsible for this incident needs to give an explanation... So the attack has something to do with the Weasleys?"
"Yes, it is true." Aaron said politely:
"I think I can tell you a story: a mysterious man's former subordinate dropped a dark magic item related to him into the school. What purpose did he have?"
"Perhaps he wants to cause panic in order to remove a certain headmaster he doesn't like; perhaps he wants to frame a pure-blood family close to Muggles in order to veto a certain law that he hates - for example The Muggle Protection Act."
Every time Aaron said a word, Lucius's face became uglier. He tried his best to keep his face calm and not be rude in front of Aaron.
"Of course, the mastermind behind the scenes may just be out of loyalty to his old master. He is carrying out the tasks assigned to him by the mysterious man back then..."
"Professor Custer!"
Lucius interrupted him coldly: "I respect you, as a rookie Potions Master. But you called me here, do you just want to talk to me about these baseless speculations? I need a more realistic one. statement!"
"I know the truth very well, Lucius."
Aaron still maintained a polite smile and said calmly: "Your conspiracy failed. The two Weasley children were involved. I don't think Arthur will let it go..."
Lucius was silent for a long time, and then slowly said: "You have no evidence!"
"Of course I have no evidence, because I am not accusing you, Mr. Malfoy..."
Aaron's face turned cold little by little:
"I'm just warning you: don't spread anything left by Voldemort to you. It won't have any practical effect. At most, it will cause some trouble, and I hate trouble..."
"If Hogwarts causes chaos again due to some messy dark magic items and disturbs me, then I'm sorry, I am a superstitious person, so I have to blame you."
Lucius's face turned ugly. He could hear the threat in Aaron's words, but there was nothing he could do. The man in front of him was not only a famous potion master, but also his son's savior. Lucius was unwilling to offend Aaron, both in public and private matters.
Not to mention, Aaron has grasped the truth of the matter...
Lucius forced a smile. Since he couldn't afford to offend, then just make friends. This was his consistent logic in dealing with people:
So he changed the topic and said:
"Speaking of the attack, Professor Custer, I haven't had time to thank you. You saved my son's life. The Malfoys will always be your friends..."
"Really? Then can I ask Mr. Lucius to do me a favor?"
"certainly!"
Lucius' mood suddenly improved. It seemed that Aaron did not intend to hold him accountable. On the contrary, if he could deliver enough benefits, he might be able to draw the young potion master into the Malfoy family. Come this way.
"As long as it is your request, I will do my best, as a reward for saving my son's life..."
"So……"
Aaron pointed to the pitiful Dobby standing aside: "I wonder if you would like to let this poor elf go and give him freedom?"
Upon hearing this, Dobby's eyes suddenly lit up.
"This..." Lucius was immediately embarrassed. For a house elf, this was not within the scope of reward he considered. Because the elf not only has extremely high value, but is also the face of a pure-blood family...
"I'm thinking of you, Mr. Malfoy."
Aaron smiled and said: "After all, you don't want your lady to know that your son was harmed because of your conspiracy, right?"
…
Lucius finally agreed to Aaron's terms.
He originally wanted to transfer the ownership of Dobby directly to Aaron, but Aaron waved his hand and said he didn't need it.
"Freedom, I want Dobby to be a free elf."
He just said this.
As a last resort, Lucius could only take off one of his gloves and threw it to Dobby in disgust.
"Well, you are free, ha, what a joke, a free elf!"
With that said, he said hello to Aaron and left in a hurry to see his son.
In the office, Dobby, who got the clothes, was not as mournful as the other elves. His big eyes were filled with tears, and he said in an excited, twitching voice:
"Dobby, Dobby...is free, Dobby is a free elf!"
Then, he looked at Aaron and said gratefully:
"Dobby, thank you sir. Sir is truly the kindest wizard in the world!"
Aaron waved his hand to say no thank you. Then, Aaron asked: "Dobby, will you work for me?"
"Sir, are you willing to take Dobby in? Of course, Sir, you liberated Dobby from his previous master. Of course, Sir, you are Dobby's master!" Dobby's heart was still full of gratitude to Aaron, and he had no reluctance at all. .
Aaron shook his head: "No, you misunderstood. I am not your master. I want you to work for me. If you must say it, I can be regarded as your boss. You are a free man, not a slave. Understand?"
The look in Dobby's eyes showed that he didn't seem to understand, but that didn't stop him from nodding and saying, "Dobby knows, Dobby is willing."
"Very good." Aaron smiled: "If you know of other elves who have no owners and are living outside, you can ask them to come to me."
"I pay you wages and provide you with benefits. You are just my employees, working for me. We are equals, not masters and servants. Do you understand?"
Dobby nodded in understanding: "But sir, do you need so many elves to provide services in your mansion?"
"I don't need a nanny at my mansion, and I don't plan on letting you work there."
A smile appeared on Aaron's lips: "I think you will have a better place to go."
