Chapter 507: I Have to Appreciate Her!!
Darren suspected that the ten Holy Father points had probably come from Harry.
Because Harry was furious.
He almost roared in anger,
"I don't want anything living in Darren's mind!"
"Even if Darren agrees, it doesn't matter—I don't agree! He's always so stupid! The thing Voldemort left in my scar causes me pain all the time, and I don't want Darren to suffer the same torture!"
"But, brother," Darren said softly, "don't I have to thank her? She absorbed Voldemort's remnants, and for that I'm truly grateful to her."
"As long as it's not Voldemort, anyone is fine…"
"Brother, I know how much that scar torments you every day. I used to wonder why that scar wasn't on my face instead, so you wouldn't have to suffer."
"But now… at least we're similar. And in some ways, I'm even luckier than you—because what's in my head isn't Voldemort."
"When I found out he'd been digested, do you know how happy I was?"
"If it were possible, I'd really want to give you the one in my head, so the Voldemort inside you could be eaten too."
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
Darren then turned to Dumbledore, looking conflicted.
"Headmaster Dumbledore… can I give her to my brother?"
"Let her eat what Voldemort left in my brother's mind. I can give her my own body!"
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
Dumbledore shook his head helplessly.
"Silly child. Arianna likes you very much—she wouldn't want your body."
"And do you really think I have such abilities?"
"Moving such things between minds is full of danger. Even Voldemort himself didn't want to leave parts of himself behind."
"As for Arianna… if I could, I would have liked her to stay with me instead."
His words made both Harry and Darren sigh in disappointment.
After Harry repeatedly confirmed that Arianna was truly not a danger, he finally asked the question he'd been holding back.
"Professor Snape, he—"
"Harry," Dumbledore interrupted solemnly, "he is a good man. A double agent. I trust him."
Harry opened his mouth, then closed it.
He knew the conversation was over.
As he pulled Darren along to say goodbye, Dumbledore suddenly added,
"Harry, don't tell Neville about this. I think it's better for him to say it himself—when he's ready."
Harry nodded.
He thought of the gold Galleons Darren had donated to the Longbottoms, and of the scene he had just seen in the memory.
He remembered Mr. Crouch shouting about how the Longbottoms had been tortured—right in front of Neville.
He nodded heavily once more.
"I understand."
"I wish you good results in the Third Task," Dumbledore said with a smile.
---
"Does Dumbledore also think that man is getting stronger?" Ron asked nervously.
After returning from Dumbledore's office, Harry told Ron and Hermione everything that had happened—except the parts involving Neville, just as Dumbledore had instructed.
Their thoughts soon returned to Mr. Crouch.
"Fudge thinks this might have something to do with Krum and Madame Maxime?" Ron frowned.
"How is that possible? Krum's just a student, and Madame Maxime was nowhere near where Darren was attacked!"
Hermione snorted angrily.
"I know exactly why. It's because Madame Maxime has giant blood."
"Look at Hagrid! Once Rita Skeeter exposed that, people wrote letters telling him to die for the sake of his students!"
"I'm sorry, Darren—Hagrid wouldn't let us tell you. But now that it's over, you shouldn't blame yourself."
"Honestly, if it were me, I wouldn't want to admit my giant blood either. If Madame Maxime did, it wouldn't just be Fudge doubting her."
"The entire wizarding world would turn on her—mock her, curse her, until she was driven to despair."
Darren nodded vigorously in agreement.
Hermione smiled sweetly at him.
"Oh Merlin, we've been talking all night—and Harry still hasn't practiced his spells!"
"Darren, go back and sleep. You fell asleep in class today—you really scared me."
Darren nodded awkwardly and returned to his dormitory.
Lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, he sighed softly.
"Is a fairy tale about to become reality…?"
After a moment, he realized it didn't seem to affect him much.
At worst, he'd be dragged in a little.
That thought made him relax.
The only problem was—he couldn't fall asleep.
So Darren pulled out his anime stash.
If there was any advantage to sleeping through class in the afternoon, it was that he'd be wide awake at night.
Unfortunately, the next morning he woke up just as sleepy and dazed.
Harry and the others unanimously concluded that Darren was under too much stress.
Yesterday's events must have shocked him badly.
They comforted him for a while.
But what truly made Darren helpless came later.
As the Triwizard Tournament approached, Professor McGonagall's dark circles grew worse by the day.
Her standards in class became increasingly strict.
She kept reminding them that final exams were near.
Soon, she began calling students up one by one to assess their spellcasting.
When she reached Darren, she finally smiled.
"Oh, no need to test Darren."
"When will you ever see spellwork at Darren's level?"
"I'm certain there will be a place for you in the Triwizard Tournament."
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and practice!"