Chapter 396 You Have Been Deceived!!
The dragon surrounded Harry.
Then warmth finally returned to his body.
He struggled to keep his eyes open.
It was a very beautiful dragon, its eyes gentle as they looked at him.
Harry raised his head stiffly.
Then he saw a shocking scene.
The dragon drove away the hundreds of Dementors around them.
It circled in the air with its head held high, letting out a silent roar into the night sky.
The Dementors retreated.
Harry saw Sirius Black finally relax.
He also saw Hermione stir.
And then he saw the dragon fly off in one direction.
It was Darren.
He followed that direction with his eyes.
Darren was standing there, wand raised.
The pale silver glow let Harry see the expression on Darren's face clearly.
There was only relief there.
Then Darren closed his eyes and collapsed.
"Darren!"
Harry tried to call out.
But another voice cried out first.
He could not even tell whose it was.
Then his own face slammed heavily into the ground.
Everything went black.
---
"Snape, you've made quite a contribution this time. Merlin's Order, First Class… truly impressive, being able to bring them all back!"
It was Cornelius Fudge's voice.
Harry slowly realized this.
Then he recognized the next voice.
It was Snape.
"The Minister flatters me."
Snape's voice was thick with satisfaction.
"By the way, Snape, who caused your injury? Was it Black?"
"Minister, I won't hide it from you. It was Potter…"
"Darren Potter?!"
"No. Harry Potter. And Granger and Weasley as well. I never expected them to ambush me."
"But if you think about it, they were obviously deceived by Sirius Black. They believed he was innocent."
"So that's how it is… And what about Darren Potter?"
Fudge asked again.
Harry finally understood.
A wave of disgust surged up in his chest.
Fudge's words were clearly meant to shift the blame onto Darren.
Harry remembered how Fudge had deceived Darren before.
How Fudge had told him that the law Darren mentioned at noon had long been abolished.
Harry had not believed it at first.
Because when Darren mentioned the law at lunch, Fudge had not refuted it at all.
Harry had even thought Fudge merely went back to the Ministry and changed it afterward.
But he did not dare tell Darren that thought.
Darren was already suffering.
Buckbeak's execution had broken him more than once.
If Darren knew Buckbeak had died because of him, it might destroy him completely.
Harry clenched his fists.
He could not understand why such despicable people existed.
Why Fudge targeted Darren like this, simply because Darren had spoken honestly.
It was clearly Fudge himself who had always been hostile toward Darren, yet in the end he turned it into Darren's fault.
Disgusting.
Then Snape spoke again.
He seemed to pause for a moment before continuing.
"Darren Potter did nothing wrong. He cast a powerful Patronus Charm to save Harry Potter and the others. He exhausted all his magic and collapsed."
"Is that so…"
Fudge sounded disappointed.
"Then what exactly did you do, Snape?"
"When I arrived, Darren Potter had already fainted. I poured potions down their throats and tied up Sirius Black. Then I brought him back here."
Sirius.
Harry's heart lurched.
His eyes flew open.
He saw Hermione lying in the bed beside him, her face turned toward him.
She was already awake too.
She looked startled by Harry waking so suddenly, then pointed to his other side.
Harry turned his head.
And saw Darren.
Darren was lying quietly on the bed, still unconscious.
Dark circles shadowed his eyes. His lips were pale and dry, his brows faintly furrowed.
Even in sleep, he looked worried.
Harry knew exactly who Darren was worried about.
As if sensing his gaze, Darren moved slightly.
Then his eyes fluttered open.
"Yu…"
Darren whispered weakly.
Harry felt tears spill instantly.
He wiped them away with his sleeve, afraid Darren would see.
"Oh, Darren, you're awake! And Harry, you're awake too!"
Madam Pomfrey said cheerfully.
"Sirius Black has been caught and sent away. By now, he's probably already received the Dementor's Kiss. You won't have to worry anymore about him breaking in and hurting you again."
"And as for you, Darren, you should finally rest properly. You haven't slept well in a long time, have you? Here, eat some chocolate, drink the potion Professor Snape sent, and sleep until the semester ends. You'll recover completely."
She tapped a thick slab of chocolate with a small hammer.
After some effort, she broke it into pieces and handed them out to Darren, Harry, and Hermione.
"Mam… what about Ron?"
Darren struggled to sit up, holding his head.
"Ron? He's over there. Don't worry, he's not dead. I can wake him up whenever I like."
Madam Pomfrey pointed across the ward.
On the bed opposite, Ron lay motionless.
Darren sighed in relief but still looked worried.
He took a bite of chocolate.
Then suddenly, as if remembering something, his eyes widened.
"Sirius Black!"
He shouted.
"Darren, don't be afraid. He's already been caught…"
Madam Pomfrey hurried to soothe him, patting his shoulder.
But Darren had already blurted out urgently.
"Madam, I need to see Headmaster Dumbledore! Sirius Black is innocent! We found Peter Pettigrew today, they are all—"
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father Prudent +100]
[Ding...]
Before he could finish, a large chunk of chocolate was shoved into his mouth.
"Poor child," Madam Pomfrey sighed.
"Severus only said Harry was deceived by Sirius Black. I didn't expect you were tricked too!"
"It seems you need your potion immediately," she added firmly.
"Drink it, go to sleep, and when you wake up tomorrow, everything will already be over."