Chapter 553 I Don't Care!!
At five o'clock in the afternoon, Harry entered Umbridge's office.
This Defence Against the Dark Arts office had belonged to several professors before. Harry was very familiar with it.
After all, in second year, Lockhart had made him answer fan letters here.
In third year, Lupin had taught him and Darren the Patronus Charm here.
In fourth year, Moody—no, Barty Crouch Jr.—had almost killed him here.
Harry thought he knew the layout well.
But when he walked into Umbridge's office, he was still momentarily stunned.
Because the entire interior had been completely changed. It had turned into a sea of pink.
The desk, the walls, everything was covered with pink curtains or pink tablecloths. There were many large plates placed on the desk.
On those plates were cat ornaments.
Each cat had a big bow tied around its neck, and every single one of them was pink.
If this had been a young girl's room, Harry might not have found it so unbearable.
But this was Umbridge's office.
The toad-like woman was looking at him with a grin.
She said in an overly sweet, sickening voice,
"Oh, dear Harry, you're here. Come in quickly. I think our detention can begin now."
Then she pointed to the other side of her desk.
There was a clean sheet of parchment and a quill.
The quill looked sharp and thin, giving Harry an uncomfortable feeling just from looking at it.
"Mr. Potter, in order to make you realize your lack of self-control, I've prepared a little punishment for you.
It's nothing serious. Your brother endured this punishment too, didn't he? And he's still walking around the castle perfectly fine."
Umbridge smiled smugly. Harry clenched his fists.
He stared at her coldly.
If he could, he truly wanted to tear Umbridge's face apart. But he restrained himself.
Because right now, he could only endure.
"Very well, Mr. Potter. It seems you've calmed down a little. Sit down. I want you to write a sentence.
Just write: I will never lie again."
Umbridge said with a smile. Harry was puzzled for a moment.
Was the punishment really just copying lines? No—he didn't believe it would be that simple.
And indeed, it wasn't.
When he picked up the quill and began to write, he finally understood what kind of punishment this was.
The "ink" used to write the sentence was his own blood.
And as he wrote, the words appeared carved into the back of his hand.
Blood seeped out.
But the wound formed by the writing quickly disappeared. For a moment, Harry even suspected it was an illusion.
Because when he touched it, the skin felt smooth, as if there were no injury at all. He looked up uncertainly.
Umbridge was grinning at him.
She asked sweetly,
"What's wrong?"
Harry understood then.
The wound was real.
No wonder Darren had looked pale back then. This must have been the same punishment—something that left no visible scars, but was excruciatingly painful.
"Nothing,"
Harry said coldly.
He lowered his head and continued writing.
He knew exactly what Umbridge wanted—his weakness, his plea for mercy. That would give her more reason to mock Darren.
To mock him. To mock Dumbledore.
So he wrote again and again.
He didn't ask when he would be allowed to leave. He didn't stop.
Because he knew that the moment he showed weakness, he would lose.
"Come here!"
It wasn't until very late that Umbridge finally called out to him.
Harry felt the back of his hand burning. The spot where the wound had appeared now revealed tender flesh.
Umbridge glanced at the back of his hand and said mockingly,
"It's not too serious. But when Darren was here, he was punished for an entire afternoon. He's far tougher than you."
Harry didn't say a word.
Umbridge sneered,
"It seems the lesson wasn't deep enough. In that case, come back again tomorrow."
Harry turned around and left, rushing out of Umbridge's office.
Just as he was looking for somewhere to cool the wound, he saw Darren standing outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Darren was holding a small bottle of healing salve.
"I heard Hermione say you got into trouble with her, so I went to Madam Pomfrey and got some medicine…"
[Ding, Holy Father +100]
Darren whispered.
In the dim corridor, by the faint moonlight coming through the window, he carefully applied the medicine to the back of Harry's hand.
"This way, it won't hurt anymore."
[Ding, Father +100]
Darren's voice was very low. Harry didn't even know when he had started crying.
But Darren wasn't.
Darren hadn't cried in a long time.
He was no longer the first- or second-year he used to be. His eyes were red, but the tears didn't fall.
Harry, however, couldn't stop himself.
Tears streamed down his face.
But he held them back and didn't make a sound.
He didn't know why everything had changed.
He could no longer rely on his own reputation to help Darren in the slightest. Everything had to be faced by Darren alone now.
And his own identity had instead dragged Darren down—causing him to be slandered by the Daily Prophet, forcing him to beg Umbridge just to stop her from punishing Harry.
"What punishment did she use on you?"
Harry suddenly asked.
Darren was silent for a while, then said,
"I forgot. I agreed to let her erase my memories of the punishment, because she said that if I didn't, she wouldn't let you go."
[Ding, Holy Father +100]
"I don't care."
Harry said.
He felt his voice was a little too quiet, so he repeated himself firmly.
"I don't care if she punishes me. I won't give in. So you're not allowed to beg her for me anymore. I won't give in to her."
Harry's voice was resolute.
Darren laughed softly.
"Brother, I admire that kind of quality in you. That's why I didn't beg her again this time.
I figured that since things have already come to this, we can't let them watch us make fools of ourselves anymore."
[Ding, Father +100]
Darren was never meant to be Harry's babysitter.
He had only rushed out back then because he didn't want to attend Umbridge's classes.
And in order to prevent others from saying that he had dragged Harry into this, he pretended to take the punishment for Harry and walked into Umbridge's office himself.
After all, he was a bit of a "Holy Father".
Darren showed a helpless expression and sighed.
"I believe, brother, that you'll definitely be able to handle this yourself. I was too worried before.
From now on, whatever you decide to do, I'll support you."
[Ding, Holy Father +100]