The Real Hogwarts Chapter 83 Conspiracy
"Phoenix's tears? This thing is rare, and ordinary stores don't have it."
The old man 's eyes became deep. He looked at the air in front of him and spoke the set code.
Only then did John take off the invisibility cloak from his body and look into the eyes of the old man who had the same blue pupils as Dumbledore.
After he revealed himself, Aberforth pulled him into the bar, then he stuck his head out and looked around. After making sure that no one saw Jon, he went back into the store and closed the door from the inside.
“Are there any customers in your store today?”
Jon looked at the dirty and messy environment around him and couldn't help but wrinkled his nose and asked.
"Few people stay here. After all, the price I charge is high and the conditions are not as good as those of the Three Brooms at the other end. It's the same tonight. No one came."
As Aberforth spoke, he stared at Jon closely, with an expression as if he had seen a ghost.
"Before coming to Hogwarts Castle, Albus told you that I lived here?"
Jon took out the piece of paper with the pig's head on it from his pocket.
"Isn't that the message you left for me?"
"Yes, I saw the message you left to contact me, but Albus told me that you were just a kid who had just entered the second grade. Even if he chose you to sneak into the castle, it was enough to prove that you were different from ordinary people. I thought you would find a way to find me, but I don't think a twelve-year-old child could find my store so quickly with just an emblem, and in less than a day."
Aberforth stared into Jon's eyes, as if waiting for him to give him a reasonable answer.
"Before entering Hogwarts Castle, I had already read about all the shops in Hogsmeade through newspapers." Jon shrugged and said, "You are the only shop in the entire wizarding world that has anything to do with Pighead."
"Then how did you get out?"
"I found a magical map of Hogwarts Castle there. The map marked the secret passages leading to the outside. The exit of one of the secret passages was under the cellar of Honeydukes Candy Shop."
After hearing Jon's explanation, Aberforth breathed a sigh of relief but couldn't help but frowned.
"This is still too dangerous. The people in that castle have been checking the secret passages leading to the outside world. One of the secret passages leading to the Shrieking Shack under the Whomping Willow has been blocked by them. The one you are using now may not be free from the risk of being discovered."
"I can't help it. There are some things I have to contact you directly, otherwise the things Dumbledore asked me to do won't go on." Jon looked at Aberforth. Although he knew his name and that he was Dumbledore's brother, he still blinked asked, "What should I call you?"
"Percival." He said his unknown middle name, which is also his current surname.
"Mr. Percival..."
Aberforth interrupted him: "Don't call me sir, just call Percival. If you need any help, just tell me directly. Whether Albus has asked me to do it before or not, I will do my best to help you."
Jon didn't dwell too much on the name, he said seriously.
"Well, Percival, I need a chicken."
"What?" Aberforth was stunned. He thought he had misheard. "What do you need?"
Jon had no choice but to repeat himself.
"Chicken, rooster, preferably one that is energetic and likes to crow."
This time Aberforth heard it correctly, and he looked at Jon in confusion.
"What do you want a cock for?"
"There is a basilisk guarding the door of the headmaster's office. If I don't get rid of it, I won't be able to get in. The thing that Professor Dumbledore asked me to get is most likely in the headmaster's office."
After hearing the name of basilisk, Aberforth's face became extremely solemn.
"Have you seen the serpent?"
Jon nodded.
"I saw its body, but I didn't look it in the eyes."
"Nonsense! If you had seen its eyes, you would never meet me again."
Aberforth stood up from his chair somewhat anxiously, pacing back and forth on the greasy floor as he spoke.
"If you want to use a rooster to deal with the basilisk, this is indeed the most convenient and simple way, but things are not that simple."
Although Jon had read the original novel and knew many unknown things, he never thought that he was much better than the people in the original novel. No matter how much he knew, he did not have as much experience as the older wizards in dealing with related matters.
"Isn't the crowing of a cock deadly to a basilisk?"
"It is deadly, but the basilisk is not so fragile that it will die immediately as soon as it hears the crowing of a rooster." Aberforth explained to Jon, "The longer the basilisk lives, the more resistant it is to the crowing of a rooster. Although it will still die painfully if it hears it for a long time, it will also have time to escape or hold on to kill the rooster."
"Your ultimate goal is not to kill the basilisk, but to get rid of it and steal something from the principal's office. If the snake escapes, or resists violently or even the crowing of the rooster attracts the attention of others, then your mission will still fail."
Jon had already thought of a solution to this problem.
"So I have no plans to deal with the basilisk on ordinary days. On Christmas Day, most of the students will go home, and the remaining students and all the faculty and staff will attend the Christmas dinner on the first floor that night."
His words made Aberforth stop in his tracks, and he looked at Jon with a bright gaze.
"No wonder Albus chose you to do this. When I learned that he actually let a twelve-year-old child be a spy, I even wanted to poke the wand into his brain to see if it had turned into a mess. Now it seems that his brain is still as useful as ever."
Jon didn't care about Aberforth's praise and continued.
"The principal's office is on the eighth floor, and the Christmas dinner will be held in the auditorium on the first floor. Everyone who remains in the castle will attend. This is my only chance. I must kill the basilisk before the dinner is over."
"I can help you find a rooster that crows almost all the time as long as it can open its mouth." Aberforth promised, "But you can't rely on the help of the rooster alone. Before ensuring that the snake is completely killed by the crowing of the rooster, you have to find a way to keep it and prevent it from escaping, or killing the rooster by force."
Jon looked up at him, as if he understood the underlying meaning of his words.
"Is there anything you can teach me, Percival?"
