Chapter 599: How Did You Do It?!
"Snape said nothing happened. He claimed Darren suddenly attacked him, and that Darren is the kind of student he simply cannot teach."
It was Hermione's voice.
"I just want to know what on earth happened to Darren. Madam Pomfrey said he was suffering from magical exhaustion, but the spells he cast in Snape's office shouldn't have drained his magic at all.
Could it be that he did something privately?
I'm worried about him. He never tells us anything, he always keeps everything to himself. And to do something like that to Snape… Darren really— I still can't imagine what Snape could have said about me and Dumbledore to make Darren that angry."
Harry spoke anxiously.
Darren could feel it.
There were many people standing around his bed besides Harry and Hermione.
They were all discussing what had happened inside Snape's office. Only when the topic finally died down did Darren's fingers twitch slightly.
Then he slowly opened his eyes.
He hadn't been unconscious for very long.
But when he met Harry's and Hermione's gazes, his face flushed with embarrassment.
"W-What… what's wrong?"
Darren asked softly, putting on a confused expression.
Harry frowned deeply.
"What's wrong with you? What exactly happened today? Even if you were cleaning up Snape, how did you end up in the hospital wing?"
"Magical exhaustion… what did you actually do? Did you hide something from us?"
"Darren, tell me—was it life-threatening again?"
Harry's voice trembled with fear and pain.
Hermione glared at him several times while he spoke, but Harry still forced the words out.
Darren fell silent.
This was exactly what Dumbledore and Snape had instructed him to do.
No matter who asked, he was to say nothing.
Even if the Ministry of Magic got involved, it would be handled by Snape and Dumbledore. And Dumbledore had said he would try his best to keep the Ministry out of it.
So Darren didn't explain anything.
He didn't even pretend this time. He simply shook his head and said that he was fine.
That only made Harry more anxious.
They clearly wanted answers from him, but Darren refused to give any.
After struggling for a while, Harry finally remembered to explain what had happened afterward.
He looked at Darren nervously and said hesitantly,
"After you lost consciousness, Kassandra sent you here. Then Dumbledore called Snape away."
"Snape stayed in Dumbledore's office for a while before coming out. Umbridge followed him—she seemed to be questioning him about what happened."
"Snape said you went mad for no reason and attacked him. He said that fortunately you were running out of magic, otherwise he might have died in his office."
"He also suspects you were put under the Imperius Curse."
"He said some student might have wanted revenge on him after so many years of strict teaching, so they controlled you with the Imperius Curse and made you attack him."
Hermione continued, worry written all over her face.
"He also said he can't teach a student like you… but that if you go and apologize, he's willing to forgive you."
"He even wants you to serve detention with him, and said he'll keep you in detention until next year…"
Darren was about to continue pretending to be confused when he suddenly heard Dumbledore's voice.
Dumbledore was clearly uneasy and had followed him here, using magic to give him instructions.
"Tell them you won't apologize. Then return to the Slytherin dormitory immediately. I'll tell you something there."
Dumbledore's voice was calm but firm.
Darren showed a hint of surprise, then nodded slightly.
He looked at Hermione and said clearly,
"I'm not going to apologize to him."
He climbed down from the hospital bed.
His clothes—the ones stained with blood earlier—were now completely clean.
He didn't know who had changed them. His first guess was Snape.
After all, this was also part of the act meant to deceive Harry… and Voldemort.
He put on his shoes, then looked at Harry and the others with a guilty expression.
"Brother… don't worry about me. I won't apologize to him. I'll go back first. I'm sorry."
With that, he hurried out of the hospital wing.
On the way, he ran straight into Umbridge.
Her eyes gleamed with malicious delight as she looked at him, her expression full of schadenfreude.
Clearly, Umbridge was very pleased to see him sent to the hospital wing. In her eyes, this meant Darren was nothing special after all.
Umbridge laughed.
She walked up to him and said sweetly,
"Child, attacking a professor means detention. Since you don't need to go to Severus anymore, from today onward, you'll come to me."
Darren was momentarily stunned.
He had long wanted to visit Umbridge's office—but Umbridge had always been cautious around him.
Now, she clearly felt there was no need for caution anymore. In her eyes, he was weak.
Umbridge was already imagining breaking him again.
Of course, Darren didn't show any happiness.
He simply nodded silently, looking too weak to argue.
When Darren returned to the Slytherin common room, several Slytherins looked like they wanted to question him.
But when they met his cold, defiant gaze, not one of them dared to speak.
Once he entered the dormitory, Dumbledore finally revealed himself.
He smiled gently at Darren.
"Good. If anyone asks about Severus, just say that after returning to the Slytherin dormitory, you don't remember."
"This sort of thing has happened before. No one should doubt it."
"As for Umbridge's detention… I don't think you need to accept it. You don't have to go."
"But if I don't go," Darren said quietly, "she'll torture my brother."
"As long as I go, she'll be satisfied. She'll be kinder to him, and she won't constantly look for ways to target him."
[Ding, Holy Father Value +100]
Dumbledore fell silent.
Finally, he sighed deeply.
"Perhaps… it would have been better if I had never brought you to Hogwarts in the first place."
"You don't have to think that way," Darren replied calmly.
"I chose all of this myself."
"On the contrary, you've been good enough to me. Professor Snape too."
"At this school, I've felt care and warmth that I never had before."
"I want to protect this place. I've already made it my home."
[Ding, Holy Father Value +100]
Dumbledore took off his glasses and wiped at his eyes.
He said hoarsely,
"Darren… you could have had a home, and another home. This is my fault…"
"Then I can forgive you now," Darren said softly, "if that's what you need."
[Ding, Holy Father Value +100]