---
Finally, they watched themselves disappear into the Whomping Willow.
Just as they were about to relax and wait, they saw Dumbledore and Fudge returning from outside the castle.
Dumbledore and Fudge were talking and laughing as they passed by, completely unaware of anything nearby.
Then they left.
"Do you think we should stop Dumbledore?"
Harry asked quickly.
"Impossible. If you stop Dumbledore, Fudge will co with him," Hermione replied coldly.
"Then they'll find out that we used the Ti-Turner and saved Buckbeak. And the main problem is, they won't listen to explanations—they'll give Sirius the Dentor's Kiss imdiately!"
Hermione sounded furious.
"We can deal with Dumbledore without Fudge…"
Harry muttered stubbornly.
"Look—Professor Lupin!"
Darren interrupted.
They saw Lupin running toward them from a distance.
He bent down, lifted a corner of Harry's Invisibility Cloak, as though confirming sothing, then grabbed a branch from the ground and prodded the Whomping Willow's knot.
Monts later, he disappeared into the passage beneath the tree.
"If only he had taken the cloak with him," Harry said bitterly.
"Then Snape wouldn't be able to use it."
Then an idea struck him.
"I'll take the cloak back! I won't let Snape get it—"
He was about to rush forward when a loud, clumsy singing voice interrupted him.
It was Hagrid.
Hagrid walked past, carrying a wine jug and humming loudly.
Hermione instantly grabbed Harry.
"Enough! Can you stop causing trouble?! If anyone finds out we're here, everything is ruined!"
Her voice dropped low and sharp.
"We are not supposed to be here at this mont. If we change the past, we won't know what the future becos. Ti will fall into chaos!"
Hermione was furious.
Harry still looked unwilling.
He waited for Hagrid to leave, clearly planning to try again.
But before he could move—
Snape arrived.
Snape quickly appeared at the Whomping Willow.
He picked up the Invisibility Cloak.
"Damn it!" Harry whispered.
"If it weren't for him, Sirius Black would've been cleared of all charges!"
Darren spoke quietly.
"But, brother… Professor Snape doesn't know the truth. Right now, he only wants revenge.
If he weren't blinded by it, he wouldn't be trying to hurt Sirius."
[Ding, Holy Father value 10]
[Ding, Holy Father value 10]
Very little Holy Father value.
Snape was still extrely unpopular.
"Eager for revenge? That doesn't sound like him…"
Harry murmured.
"I don't know," Darren said gently.
"But he cared about Mom and Dad. And Remus said Dad used to fight with him a lot… Maybe even though he hated Dad, there was still sothing deeper between them."
[Ding, Holy Father value 20]
[Ding, Holy Father value 10]
Still very little Holy Father value.
Because of Harry and Hermione, it was impossible to imagine Snape and Jas ever being friends.
But whether Snape truly had cared for Jas or not, it didn't matter now.
Everyone had already gone inside.
All they could do was wait.
Hermione tied Buckbeak to a tree.
She sat beneath it and suddenly asked, as if rembering sothing:
"Darren… do you think Sirius really gave you to the Death Eaters just because of your strangeness?"
Harry looked at her blankly.
"What other reason could there be?
It's not like he knew Darren was related to Voldemort, right?"
His joke almost made Darren think he had jumped into the final arc.
Thankfully, Harry laughed it off imdiately.
Hermione quickly shook her head.
"Of course I didn't an that. I know Darren has nothing to do with Voldemort—I was just thinking…"
"If Mr. Black really handed Darren to the Death Eaters because he was 'different'…
we all know that once you fall into their hands, the only ending is death. Did he really not think about that?"
Hermione's words made Harry's expression darken.
He had no argunt.
For the first ti, he clearly understood—
Sirius might truly have wanted Darren dead.
[Ding, Holy Father System detected emotional scene. Temporary mission triggered:
Comfort Harry and Hermione and show forgiveness toward Sirius.
Reward: Kreacher's respect.
Accept mission?]
Kreacher?
The house-elf of the Black family?
[Accept]
Darren looked up at Harry and smiled softly.
"Brother… don't be like that. I'm not sad."
He spoke gently.
"In fact… when I heard about it, I felt honored."
Harry and Hermione stared at him in shock.
"You think I'm strange, don't you?
It's fine. But I really am not lying."
"Sirius did it for you… and for Mom and Dad.
He loved them so much that he was willing to beco cruel."
"I think he regretted it afterward.
That's why he stayed in Azkaban all those years… as punishnt."
"I believe no matter how wrong he was to … he deserves forgiveness now."
Darren smiled again, softly.
"And brother… Sirius is your godfather.
I know it might be hard for you to talk about it."
"But I want you to know—you're not alone anymore.
You have family."
"That way… even if I die soday… you won't be left alone."
He gave a quiet, almost fatherly smile.
Harry broke down silently.
"Don't say that… don't say such stupid things…"
"You will always be my brother."
"You are irreplaceable."
"Darren… I used to think that if I entered this world alone, I'd be reckless.
I wouldn't care about the consequences.
I wouldn't be afraid to die."
"But I have you."
"And because of you… I started caring about things.
Enduring things.
Holding back."
"Darren… don't leave ."
"I never once thought about losing you."
"Even if I have a godfather…"
"We are still brothers."
"The best brothers."
[Ding, Kreacher's respect obtained.]
---
Reviews
All reviews (0)