The day before the Easter holiday.
Harry sat in a daze in the Gryffindor common room.
Although Darren had told him that making the antidote was not too difficult, which eased his mind a little, there was now sothing else weighing heavily on his heart.
It was what he had seen in the Pensieve—about his parents.
Over the past two days, he had been desperately trying to find sothing wrong in Snape's mories, sothing that could justify his father's actions.
So excuse. Any excuse.
But every ti, his thoughts returned to the sa scene.
His mother rushing over angrily and questioning his father,
"What did Snape do to you?"
And his father replying casually,
"Actually, it's mainly his existence, if you understand what I an…"
It was obvious. His father had done it deliberately.
Just to attract his mother's attention.
Or perhaps because Sirius was bored and egging him on, so he did sothing like that.
For nearly five years, both he and Darren had thought of their father as a hero—a noble, admirable man.
Now, Harry didn't even dare tell Darren the truth.
The Easter holiday ended.
For the three days of Easter, Harry was in a terrible mood.
Others assud it was because of Darren's poisoning and the pressure of the upcoming exams.
But today, Darren quietly saw through him.
"Brother, you can hide it from others, but not from .
You are worried about my poisoning, but you're thinking more about sothing else.
Two days ago, I heard you muttering things like 'Dad is a bad guy.'
So… I think your mood has sothing to do with our parents. Can you tell ?"
Darren looked genuinely curious.
Harry struggled for a long ti, then still shook his head.
"No, I can't tell you yet. I haven't confird anything.
If only… if only I could et Sirius…"
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
Darren fell silent, thoughtful.
"If you want to see Sirius, it's not impossible."
Harry snapped back to his senses imdiately.
"Don't think nonsense. Don't do anything dangerous!"
Darren laughed.
"Honestly, I also think my idea is a bit reckless. I need to discuss it with Fred and George first."
With that, Darren hurried off.
Harry didn't even manage to grab his sleeve.
He could only imagine in horror what kind of terrifying plan Darren might co up with after discussing it with Fred and George.
Surprisingly, for the next two days, Darren didn't ntion it again.
Harry assud Fred and George had talked him out of it.
For the first ti, Harry felt they might actually be reliable.
Just as he was thinking of thanking them, he noticed that the school noticeboard had suddenly been plastered with career guidance notices.
There were pamphlets, leaflets, and all kinds of magical brochures.
That instantly pushed everything else out of his mind.
The upcoming exams were clearly extrely important.
And Professor McGonagall's career consultation, scheduled for Wednesday at two in the afternoon, was equally crucial. They had to decide their future paths today.
Harry went to the library with Hermione and Darren to discuss possible careers.
"Darren, if you want to stay at Hogwarts, you need at least an E in every O.W.L., but I think that's nothing to you."
Hermione pulled out a form and smiled brightly as she read the requirents.
"An E is nothing? For Darren, he could get an O in every subject.
He can choose any profession he wants.
But if he wants to stay at school, he'll still need the headmaster's approval.
Umbridge probably won't agree, but Darren won't graduate for another two years. By then, Dumbledore will definitely be back!"
Ron analyzed seriously.
All of them knew Darren loved Hogwarts.
Just like Harry, he treated it as ho.
And they weren't at ease letting Darren go out into the world. Staying at school was the safest option.
But Darren hesitated.
He looked at the form and said quietly,
"I don't know if I want to stay at school.
If Voldemort hasn't been eliminated, I won't be able to teach here with peace of mind."
"I want to be an Auror. I want to fight on the front lines.
Brother, Hermione, Ron—we only live once.
I'd rather die in battle than hide in the rear.
Moody is right. I should stand up."
[Ding, Father 100]
[Ding, Father 100]
[Ding, Father 100]
"Little Darren has grown up."
"But if my mother knew about this decision, she'd be terribly worried."
It was Fred and George. They had walked over.
They patted Darren on the shoulder, then glanced at Harry's shocked expression and laughed.
"Relax. By the ti Darren graduates, maybe the Dark Lord will already have been killed by Dumbledore.
Or maybe Harry will have dealt with the Dark Lord himself.
Then Darren might think staying at Hogwarts is wonderful—unless he runs into two students like us!"
Fred and George burst out laughing.
Harry relaxed a little too.
After all, if Voldemort wasn't dead, Darren staying at Hogwarts might still be dangerous.
And if Voldemort was dead, then Darren being an Auror wouldn't be so risky either.
That reasoning made sense.
Just as everyone relaxed, Fred and George lowered their voices.
"We discussed this with Darren before—about how to let Harry see Sirius…"
Hermione gasped.
"You're going to—"
Her mouth was imdiately covered by Darren.
"Hermione, if you're that loud, everyone will hear."
Hermione, suddenly pulled into his arms, flushed bright red and hurriedly nodded, staying silent.
"At the mont, the only place not under surveillance is Umbridge's fireplace.
We talked about luring Umbridge out of her office and letting Harry sneak in.
That part is actually quite simple.
Let Darren call Umbridge out, then cast an Obliviate on her—"
"No!"
Harry rejected it outright.
Fred and George nodded.
"That was Darren's original idea, and we vetoed it.
We're not planning to get him expelled.
So there's only one other option."
They leaned in conspiratorially.
"We've been stockpiling our 'products' lately.
What you ordered is already finished.
We'll throw them all into Umbridge's office.
Since we can create chaos and buy ti, why not?"
"How long can we give Harry? Twenty minutes?"
"Darren, you guard the door of Umbridge's office.
There's no decree saying students can't stand outside the headmaster's door."
"And after that…"
Fred grinned.
"Once the opportunity is created—anything can happen, right?"
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