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"Potter. Headmaster Dumbledore wants you."
Snape had just stepped out of the office when he delivered the ssage, his voice dripping with disdain.
Clearly, Dumbledore had not forgotten the conversation he intended to have with Harry.
Being summoned wasn't the problem.
Snape was.
He looked at Harry as though speaking to him was physically revolting—
the sa face he made whenever he saw a particularly unpleasant insect.
Darren noticed Snape enjoyed acting this way toward Harry.
It made Harry angry.
Which let Snape deduct points.
Which made Snape very happy.
"Calm down, mate—we don't have many points left to lose!" Ron whispered, elbowing Harry.
He knew exactly what Snape was doing.
Everyone did.
Snape lived for monts like these.
But Harry still hated that expression—
so every ti, Snape succeeded in provoking him.
Ron could only pray Harry wouldn't snap.
But to Ron's shock, Harry rely smiled at Snape.
It wasn't a handso smile.
It was a strange one.
Laughing at Snape was… abnormal.
Ron even wondered for a second if this Harry was an imposter.
"Relax," Harry whispered. "After everything that's happened, I'm practically enlightened. Even if Snape spits venom at again, I can take it."
Ron gawked.
Even Snape looked briefly stunned.
Then Snape slowly smirked.
"Oh? Is Potter ignoring a professor's affection now? Hmm… ten points from Gryffindor."
Harry's smile twitched.
"And giving the professor a disturbing expression, causing emotional damage—twenty more points from Gryffindor."
Harry's smile vanished entirely.
His fists clenched.
"Darren Potter, why are you still standing here?" Snape added with a nasty grin. "Back to your dormitory at once. Your brother… appears to be suffering from mania."
He swept away, laughing.
"I'm going to kill him—I'll kill him!" Harry roared.
Ron barely held him back as he lunged after Snape.
So much for being "calm."
Almost imdiately afterward, the entire castle erupted with noise.
The petrified students had awakened.
And students who had been sent ho earlier returned as well.
Justin Finch-Fletchley practically sprinted to Darren the mont he erged from the hospital wing.
He seized Darren's hand tightly.
"Darren—I'm really sorry. I thought it was you. That day, I thought you were trying to bully and I didn't listen. Then the basilisk petrified … thank goodness I woke up. When I did, I was terrified you'd been blad for everything—or hurt by that monster. I'm so glad you're all right!"
Then Hermione ca running.
She threw her arms around Darren, her eyes red.
"Darren, you are unbelievably stupid," she said, choking slightly. "You shouldn't have jumped in front of . I was terrified—you looked like you were going to be killed…"
She pulled back, smiling tearfully.
"Harry and Ron told everything. You were brilliant. Sotis I think you might be the smartest student alive."
She rested her head on Darren's shoulder.
But not for long.
Ginny shoved her aside.
"Hermione, move! I need to thank Darren too—he's always so good!"
Ginny hugged Darren tightly.
Harry noticed Hermione's face go an alarming shade of dark.
He suddenly rembered sothing.
Inside Dumbledore's office, Dumbledore had told him many things that day.
Including the reason he had once suspected Darren.
"Harry," Dumbledore had said gently, "I am old. I am cautious—too cautious. I thought I had to control everything. It wasn't until Darren was attacked that I realized how terribly I might have wronged him."
Besides that, Dumbledore explained why the Sorting Hat placed Harry in Gryffindor.
Why Tom Riddle beca Voldemort.
And just as Harry was leaving, Lucius Malfoy arrived.
Mr. Malfoy was horrified to learn his diary had caused the entire disaster.
He even asked whether the diary had summoned a whole group of Death Eaters—
he seed convinced that should have happened.
But when he found out Dumbledore had once again removed him from the Board of Governors, he lost his temper and stord out of the office, nearly slipping in his rage.
None of that bothered Harry too much.
What worried him was this:
As Lucius passed Darren, he stared at Darren's back for a long ti.
Then, the mont Darren turned, Malfoy hurried away.
As though Darren's sheer power had scared him.
Harry felt rather proud of that.
Of course…
What frightened Harry the most wasn't Lucius Malfoy.
It was the final exams.
He swore Professor McGonagall glared at him the entire Transfiguration test.
Every subject felt impossible.
And the worst—by far—was Potions.
As he brewed his potion, Snape stared at the back of his head like a hungry hawk.
After surviving basilisks, giant spiders, and Voldemort's mory… Harry realized Snape was still the most hateful professor in the castle.
Compared to Harry's misery, Darren was at ease.
He completed every exam perfectly.
Snape didn't even make him brew a potion this ti—
he simply wrote a perfect score on Darren's paper.
"Hmph. During the sumr, take care of yourself. Don't let see you return here covered in injuries again," Snape said stiffly.
…Was Snape trying to steal the "Dad role"?
But Darren only lowered his head with a guilty expression.
"I'm sorry, Professor. I made you worry. I'll be very careful during the sumr. I'll try not to get hurt… and if I do, I'll drink the dicine promptly. Also, Professor—I'll miss you."
[Ding, Father 80]
"Hmph. See that you an it."
Snape's lips twitched upward ever so slightly.
In an excellent mood, he called the next student in.
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