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Paige was terrified Darren might misunderstand, so it rushed to explain itself properly.
If it ever caught that house-elf nad Dobby, it would absolutely deal with him.
Sha on him for betraying his master!
House-elves weren't supposed to have traitors among them!
"Yes, Paige, you're like an elder to us. Of course we trust you."
[Ding, Father 100]
"Oh—oh my! Little Master Darren is an angel! Paige always said Little Master Darren was wonderful, but no one believed Paige. Only Paige knew—"
Darren had no choice but to listen as Paige launched into a long, dramatic list of praises.
Harry stared, stunned.
He suddenly realized Darren was right when he called Paige "gentle" and "sentintal."
Actually, that wasn't even strong enough.
Paige wasn't gentle—it was practically Darren's biggest fan.
Where was the supposed house-elf dignity?
Harry suddenly wondered if Darren was also exaggerating when he claid Snape was kind.
But the mont Snape's face flashed through his mind, Harry shivered hard.
Alright, that would definitely be the joke of the year.
Still… if Paige could track down Dobby, maybe they could ask who Dobby served and figure out what was going on.
After Darren finally managed to coax Paige away, Harry let himself sag onto the floor.
"Brother, go upstairs and rest. I'll clean up before Aunt Petunia sees this and explodes."
[Ding, Father 100]
Darren accepted the Father's Value just as Harry added with a weak laugh, "Actually… she already saw it. You were loud."
"And it's my fault anyway. There's no way I'd let you clean up my ss. I'm the brother — you're not allowed to touch anything. I'll be angry if you do…"
Harry genuinely thought this was just about cleaning the kitchen, maybe getting yelled at, maybe their relationship with the Dursleys going back to its usual awful baseline.
He had no idea things were about to get much worse.
An owl flying straight into the room made sure he found out.
[Ding, detecting a Holy-Father opportunity. Temporary task released:
Before the owl drops the envelope on Mrs. Mason's head, imdiately grab the owl and run.]
[Reward: Father Value 1000. Accept?]
[Accept!]
Darren rembered clearly—Mrs. Mason was terrified of birds.
He rushed to the kitchen door.
Before Harry could even ask what he was doing, Darren lunged forward and caught the owl mid-flight.
Mrs. Mason didn't see it.
She was busy laughing at one of Uncle Vernon's ancient jokes.
Noticing what Darren held, she blinked in curiosity.
"Madam—this bird is injured," Darren said earnestly. "I couldn't leave it outside. I knew soone with a kind heart like yours would care… but I didn't want you to see sothing so unpleasant."
The woman giggled, delighted.
[Ding, Father 50]
[Ding, Father 30]
[Ding, Father 10]
[Ding, Father 20]
"Go on then," Mrs. Mason chuckled. "What a sweet child… sha that ghost-like one has sothing wrong with his head…"
She whispered to Petunia, who gave an awkward two-note laugh.
Apparently, Mrs. Mason assud Harry wasn't very bright—after all, she'd seen him earlier, standing stiffly like he didn't quite understand what was going on.
Petunia stayed busy entertaining Mrs. Mason, Vernon chatted business with Mr. Mason, and even Dudley was trying to impress the Mason children.
Everyone had sothing to do.
Except Harry and Darren.
As soon as Darren re-entered the kitchen, he released the owl.
The bird shook itself indignantly, flapping its wings before dropping a letter over Harry's head and flying out the window.
"Whose letter—"
Harry froze.
His breath hitched as he read the address.
Mr. Potter:
We have received reports that at 9:20 this evening, you perford the Hover Charm at your residence.
As you know, underage wizards are strictly forbidden from performing magic outside school…
Office for the Prohibition of the Misuse of Magic
Mafalda Hopkirk
A warning.
One more offense, and he could be expelled.
[Ding, detecting a Holy-Father mont. Temporary task:
Take Harry's letter, write a reply stating:
Dear Ms. Hopkirk, I am Darren Potter. I used the Hover Charm. Please revoke my brother's punishnt. You may punish instead.]
[Reward: Alchemy Talent 10. Accept?]
Alchemy talent…?
Darren checked his panel.
He had none.
Not even a trace.
Apparently his original body had zero affinity for alchemy.
So why was the system giving him this now?
Would alchemy be important later?
No idea. But—
[Accept!]
Only an idiot would refuse.
Harry was still staring at the letter in horror when Darren calmly walked over with pen and paper.
He quietly wrote:
Dear Ms. Hopkirk,
I am Darren Potter, and I perford the Hover Charm at 9:20 tonight.
It wasn't my brother.
Please remove his warning.
I should be the one warned instead.
[Ding, alchemy talent 10]
Darren accepted the reward with satisfaction, then went upstairs to give the ssage to Hedwig.
Harry was still spiraling, furious at himself, completely unaware of what Darren had done.
Not until Hedwig swooped through the window, a letter in her beak, did Harry snap back to reality.
He grabbed it—and saw Darren's handwriting.
[Ding, Father 100]
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