Chapter 479: Chaos
After Darren ran off, Harry and Ron finally reacted.
They hurriedly said to Professor Glapland,
"Sorry, Professor—we're worried about Darren and Hagrid too. We're leaving as well. You can deduct points if you want!"
Without waiting for Professor Glapland's reply, they turned and ran.
Professor Glapland said irritably behind them,
"Hagrid's affairs are not something students like you should interfere with when you're anxious like this.
Besides, he doesn't want to come out himself. Even if you bang on his door for several days, he still won't open it."
Naturally, Darren had no idea what she said.
He rushed straight to Hagrid's hut.
The moment he arrived, he waved his wand and cast more than a dozen warming charms on himself in one go.
In the middle of winter, he was almost sweating from the heat.
After dispersing some of it, Darren knocked on Hagrid's door.
He knocked for a long time.
Soon after, Harry and Ron arrived and joined him.
The three of them knocked together.
But Hagrid still didn't open the door—he didn't even respond.
Darren tried speaking to him through the door.
He talked for a long time.
Still, Hagrid didn't say a single word.
The wind outside was biting cold.
Harry and Ron were freezing and were about to give up and leave.
But Darren didn't move.
It was as if he couldn't feel the cold at all.
He kept knocking anxiously at Hagrid's door, occasionally trying to talk to him again.
It wasn't until Hermione arrived that she forcibly pulled him away.
"Enough, Darren. Don't be stubborn," Hermione said urgently.
"Give Hagrid some personal space. Let him think things through!"
She tightly held Darren's hand.
When she touched it, she realized it was already cold.
"But… this is all my fault," Darren said hoarsely.
"I didn't think it through. I should have warned Hagrid properly."
[Ding, Father Value +100]
[Ding, Father Value +100]
[Ding, Father Value +100]
After being dragged back to the castle, those were the first words Darren spoke.
They made Hermione and the others feel deeply uncomfortable.
If it weren't inappropriate to criticize Hagrid at a time like this, Hermione really wanted to scold him.
Of course—
Even if she held back, someone else didn't.
Parvati had clearly reached the limit of her patience.
As she passed Darren, she said coldly to her companion,
"I think Professor Glapland should just continue as the substitute. She teaches very well—much better than Hagrid, at least."
"And even if Hagrid isn't a professor, he can just go back to being the gamekeeper. Honestly, that job suits him better."
"Just look at how many problems he's caused over the past two years. You can't expect everyone else to keep cleaning up his mess forever, right?"
Her words were met with widespread agreement.
Even the Slytherins applauded.
Darren sighed inwardly at how miserable Hagrid's situation had become.
On the surface, however, he tried to defend Hagrid.
That only made many students even angrier.
People began speaking badly about Hagrid at every opportunity.
Some even said that if Hogwarts had never hired Hagrid in the first place, none of these problems would have happened.
Every time Darren heard it, he argued back.
After all, whenever he defended Hagrid, he gained Holy Father value.
Perhaps it was a strange kind of psychology—
Moved by your integrity, but still unwilling to listen.
But that was only at first.
A week later, very few people were still criticizing Hagrid.
Because Hagrid truly hadn't appeared for an entire week.
He didn't show up during meals.
He never appeared in front of the students.
Even when they finally had a Hogsmeade weekend, Hagrid was nowhere to be seen.
Hermione dragged Darren along to Hogsmeade to help him relax.
But she didn't allow Harry to go.
Harry still hadn't figured out what the golden egg was saying, and he needed to listen to it in the bath for clues.
Hermione also assigned Harry the task of analyzing the egg's contents.
She insisted that he needed to train his own thinking and couldn't always rely on Darren.
Harry could only sigh.
He felt that wasn't the real reason Hermione wouldn't let him go to Hogsmeade—but he couldn't prove it.
As for Ron, he hadn't finished his homework.
He'd been caught copying and was punished by the professor, which meant he couldn't go to Hogsmeade either.
When he heard that Harry was also staying behind, he was overjoyed and insisted Harry keep him company in the library.
Harry agreed.
After seeing Darren leave, he went back to the dormitory to get his books.
He pulled several textbooks out of his bag, trying to make it look convincing—
But instead, a piece of parchment slipped out.
Harry recognized it immediately.
It was the Marauder's Map that Fred and George had given him.
He quickly stuffed it into his pocket.
Harry decided to sneak to the kitchens to grab some food before heading to the library.
That way, he and Ron could stay there until Darren and Hermione returned.
To avoid being caught by the professors, he naturally needed the map.
He left the dormitory and headed toward the kitchens.
Then he noticed something strange.
A name appeared in Snape's office.
Barty Crouch.
Harry hadn't been deliberately watching Snape's office—
But Snape was the professor who disliked him the most in the entire school.
If anyone would deduct points for sneaking to the kitchens, it would definitely be Snape.
So Harry subconsciously glanced in that direction.
And that glance stunned him.
Barty Crouch.
That was the name.
He clearly remembered Percy saying at the Yule Ball that Mr. Barty Crouch was seriously ill.
So why was he inside Snape's office?
Without thinking, Harry decided to investigate.
He rushed back, grabbed his Invisibility Cloak, and hurried toward Snape's office.
But—
A step suddenly collapsed in the staircase.
Harry fell straight into the gap.
He screamed.
At the same time, the Marauder's Map slipped from his hand and floated down the stairs.
Instinctively, Harry reached for it.
Then—
Snape appeared.
Snape came down the staircase, his eyes scanning the area suspiciously.
Suddenly, as if realizing something, he reached out blindly, trying to grab an invisible presence.
"Harry Potter," Snape sneered,
"I know you're here. You're never up to anything good!"
Harry wanted to cry.
He looked at his legs stuck in the stair,
at the map drifting down the steps,
and at Snape drawing closer—
Only one thought filled his mind:
When would he finally be able to get out?
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