---
Chapter 632 – He Will Be Back!!
Harry stood in Darren's dormitory, his chest aching.
The room was neat. Almost painfully so.
Packing Darren's belongings was easy—too easy.
A few sets of clothes.
Some textbooks.
And several library books that hadn't been returned yet.
That was all.
Lonely, just like Darren himself.
Harry's hands trembled as he worked. His vision blurred.
When Darren fell that night—when he couldn't see—was he afraid?
The thought shattered what little composure Harry had left.
He dropped to his knees and finally cried.
Snape stood nearby, silent.
After a long while, his cold voice cut through the quiet.
"Potter, you're not planning to let me enjoy your crying all day, are you?"
Harry snapped his head up, glaring.
"Where were you that day?" he demanded hoarsely.
"If you had been there—if you were in your office—he wouldn't have… he wouldn't have—"
"Don't blame others for everything," Snape said sharply.
"I've spoken to your dog godfather."
Harry stiffened.
"He gave you a pair of two-way mirrors. Why didn't you use them?"
The words hit Harry like a curse.
Two-way… mirrors?
He froze.
Sirius had given him a package.
He had never opened it.
If he had—
If he had only opened it—
Darren wouldn't have gone to the Ministry.
He wouldn't have fallen behind the Veil.
Harry finally understood.
Step by step, he himself had pushed Darren toward that ending.
Later, Harry carried Darren's trunk out of the dormitory.
It was impossibly light.
Too light.
He also carried the stack of library books Darren had borrowed.
He didn't want to return them.
They were almost the only things Darren had left behind.
But Darren would never want his name stained for not returning books.
When Harry finished at the library and returned to the corridor, he saw Luna pinning up a notice.
"Why aren't you going to the banquet?" she asked gently.
Harry shook his head.
"I don't feel like being around people."
"You didn't go either," he added.
"My things were confiscated," Luna said calmly.
"When Darren was here, he'd cast a spell and everything would fly back to me."
She smiled faintly.
"I can't do that myself. My magic isn't that strong. I'll have to retrieve everything one by one."
Harry couldn't speak.
Luna looked at him, eyes clear and steady.
"He'll be back," she said softly.
"Didn't you hear him behind the Veil too?"
Harry had.
He just hadn't listened.
At that moment, saving Sirius had mattered more than everything else.
And now—
"If only," Harry whispered.
"I'm going to the banquet," Luna said, waving gently.
"I think things will return to how they should be."
She walked away.
Harry stayed where he was for a long time, unmoving.
---
The next day, they boarded the Hogwarts Express.
Harry carried Darren's trunk in one hand.
Ron tried to help, but Harry shook his head.
"It's fine," he said quietly.
"It's light. I never understood why Darren owned so little… I don't even know where the rest of his things went."
He let out a soft, hollow chuckle.
Ron said nothing.
Harry wasn't really talking to him anyway.
He was copying Darren—
the way Darren always spoke lightly, even when exhausted,
so others wouldn't worry.
He didn't want Ron to think too much.
He didn't want to hear anyone tell him to "move on."
In the corridor, Malfoy tried to start something.
But almost all the DA members were nearby.
They poured out of the compartments and sent Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle flying backward in seconds.
For the first time in days, Harry almost smiled.
Then he heard Cho Chang's voice.
"Harry… when will Darren recover?" she asked quietly.
"Is St. Mungo's not able to heal him , is it really that difficult? Was he hurt that badly ?"
Harry's chest sank again.
Ron quickly answered for him, redirecting the conversation.
Harry didn't speak for the rest of the journey.
He didn't have the strength.
He only wanted the train to arrive quickly—
and at the same time, never arrive at all.
Because once he stepped off, he would face the Dursleys.
He would face Mrs. Weasley.
Mr. Weasley.
The Order of the Phoenix.
They would all ask the same question:
Where is Darren?
Why did everyone return… except him?
The pain in Harry's throat became unbearable.
The train finally stopped.
With a pale face, Harry lifted both trunks—his own and Darren's—along with Hedwig's cage.
They weren't heavy.
But they felt heavier than anything he had ever carried.
Then, as he passed through Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, he saw them.
Sirius.
Moody.
Lupin.
Tonks.
Harry's heart nearly stopped.
He walked over, head lowered, bracing himself.
"I'm cleared," Sirius said brightly.
"With the Dark Lord exposed, the Death Eaters' confessions, and Dumbledore's testimony—I'm free."
Free.
Once, that word would have made Harry laugh out loud.
Now he only forced a smile.
"Congratulations," he said.
"Darren will be happy to hear that," Sirius added cheerfully.
Harry looked at him, unable to understand how Darren's name could be spoken so lightly.
Darren had fallen behind the Veil.
And yet… life was already moving on.
"Yes," Harry said.
He nodded.
Pretending he had accepted it.
Pretending he had moved on.
No one would grieve Darren the way he did.
Only Harry would carry that weight.
---
I