Chapter 568: Almost Got Caught!!
If Gryffindor's Quidditch troubles had made Harry upset, then Sirius's visit worried him even more.
That evening, they went to see Darren, but he was still asleep. Madam Pomfrey said that at the earliest, Darren would wake up the next day.
She couldn't wake him now.
Doing so would only worsen his mental condition.
But without Darren, meeting Sirius under these circumstances was simply terrifying.
At night, Harry and the others sat in the common room, watching Fred and George hand out Skiving Snackboxes to other students.
It was said they were using them to skip class.
Harry was anxious and restless and wanted Hermione to chase Fred and George away.
But Hermione felt they weren't breaking any rules. As prefects, they couldn't expel them for that, so she let it go.
After midnight, when Harry and the others had started dozing off, Fred and George finally returned to the dormitory.
At that moment, Ron, who had been snoring, suddenly opened his eyes.
He called softly, "Sirius!"
Harry was startled awake and hurried over to the fireplace.
Sure enough, Sirius's head was there.
"Are you all right, Sirius?" Harry asked.
"What about Darren?" Black asked suspiciously.
Harry shook his head and said sadly, "He fainted today and was sent to the school infirmary. He needs to catch up on sleep."
Sirius fell silent for a moment, then sighed.
"Forget it. Putting Darren aside, how are things going otherwise?"
He asked worriedly.
"Well… there's a new Ministry decree. We can't organize Quidditch—"
"And your Defense Against the Dark Arts group!" Black interrupted with a grin.
Harry and the others were stunned.
They stared at Black, speechless.
"You need to choose a good place to meet. The Hog's Head is too crowded…"
"Three Broomsticks would be even worse," Harry said helplessly.
"The more people there are, the easier it is to hide," Black laughed.
Then he suddenly added, "Ron, your mother asked me to pass on a message. She doesn't allow you to join the Defense Against the Dark Arts group."
"And Remus doesn't allow Darren to participate either. As for you, Harry—and Hermione…"
Harry's expression stiffened.
"I'm not allowed to participate either?"
"No, I'm very glad you can participate!" Sirius said happily.
Harry grinned, but soon became troubled again.
"But if Darren finds out about Remus's request, he definitely won't join."
"Then don't tell him. Problem solved, right?" Sirius said slyly.
Harry and Ron looked at each other, then burst out laughing.
Hermione was still a little worried, especially about Darren finding out and getting angry.
But she nodded anyway.
She knew very well that if Darren didn't participate, many people would quit.
They might even lose most of the group.
Their Defense Against the Dark Arts team would shrink drastically.
"It's just that we still don't know where to meet," Hermione said worriedly.
"What about the Shrieking Shack?" Sirius suggested.
But none of them agreed.
"It's too small. If it were just the four of us, we could use the Invisibility Cloak, but there are more than eighty people…"
Hermione hadn't finished speaking when she noticed Sirius suddenly look terrified.
Then Black vanished.
Instead, a pair of short, pudgy hands appeared in the fireplace, covered in rings.
They were feeling around the fire, as if they knew someone's head had just been there.
Umbridge.
The next day, Darren woke up and listened as they told him about what had happened the night before.
After learning that Sirius knew about the Defense Against the Dark Arts group, Darren suddenly asked, "Do they really agree with us setting up this group?"
Harry and the others immediately felt uneasy.
They said softly that Sirius agreed.
Darren was silent for a while, then calmly exposed the truth.
"Only Sirius agrees. No one else does, right?
"So are we really going to do something like this with only Sirius's support?
"Wouldn't this directly interfere with Dumbledore's plans?
"And if we form a Defense Against the Dark Arts group now, won't Dumbledore get into even more trouble with the Ministry of Magic?"
[Ding, Father +100]
[Ding, Father +100]
[Ding, Father +100]
Darren's words left Harry and the others stunned. Even Hermione looked confused.
No matter how smart she was, she was still just a fifteen-year-old student, and Darren's thinking was several steps ahead.
Finally, he said solemnly, "Wait. We wait."
Hermione and the others could only nod.
Because of Darren's words, Hermione and the others were a little distracted in Professor Flitwick's class.
As a result, Professor Flitwick assigned them an extra essay on silent casting.
There was also good news for Harry.
Umbridge finally approved Gryffindor Quidditch.
Angelina went to Professor McGonagall, and Professor McGonagall went to Dumbledore. Obviously, Umbridge didn't dare oppose Dumbledore and had to compromise.
Harry was overjoyed.
Angelina was delighted as well.
They almost forgot about the Defense Against the Dark Arts group.
For some time afterward, Harry trained endlessly for Quidditch. Every day after class, he followed Ron and the others to practice.
What made things worse was the terrible weather. It rained heavily almost every day.
They could only train outside, battling wind and rain.
After one particularly exhausting practice, Harry suddenly felt intense pain in his scar.
"I think I can sense Voldemort's emotions," Harry whispered to Darren and Ron. "And this time… he's angry."
Darren frowned.
He hesitated, then said, "Maybe you should tell Dumbledore…"
Harry fell silent.
He didn't want to see Dumbledore, and he felt Dumbledore probably didn't want to see him either.
Besides—
"Dumbledore hasn't been at the school much lately," Harry said, making an excuse.
Darren pretended to believe him, but still said worriedly, "This isn't a small matter. If you keep sensing Voldemort's emotions, sooner or later he'll notice and use you for something.
"You must restrain yourself. Occlumency can't stop."
Harry said he understood.
He said he would definitely restrain himself.
But in truth, he was becoming a little obsessed with that feeling—feeling Voldemort's emotions.
It was something no one else could do.
And through it, he could know more.
Even though Harry knew Darren was concerned for his safety, he couldn't bring himself to give it up.
Maybe one day, he thought, he could save people because of it.
Harry kept that thought to himself.