---
Chapter 292 — Nirvana with the Phoenix!!
Harry burst into tears.
He was standing inside the fire, barely able to see anything at all. He could only keep feeling around with his hands.
But Darren was nowhere to be found.
For a moment, he even suspected Darren was dead.
A curse? Why?
Why could someone like Lockhart survive… yet his brother would die because he released a curse?
"Darren, say something…" Harry cried out.
But suddenly, his voice stopped.
Because out of nowhere, music began to play.
The sound was faint, distant, ethereal—yet powerful. It washed over him like a strange force.
Then Harry saw a beautiful phoenix appear in front of him.
Its gorgeous wings spread wide in the empty Chamber of Secrets, and then it dove straight into the flames. Large shimmering tears fell from its eyes as it flew.
Harry felt sorrow radiating from it.
And somehow, he understood.
"He's dead… isn't he?"
His mind almost snapped with the thought.
His brother—his brother had died inside the flames he himself had summoned.
Fawkes ignored him completely.
The phoenix was still desperately letting its tears fall, trying to soothe Darren, but it wasn't working at all. The flames were still consuming Darren's body.
Just when Fawkes seemed on the verge of panic, an even more dazzling phoenix burst into the chamber.
It was wreathed in fire.
And it hurled itself straight at Darren.
Darren was swallowed by that fire in an instant.
Then—
The flames in the Chamber vanished.
Harry looked around.
There was nothing left on the ground.
No Darren. No diary. No basilisk.
As if everything before had been nothing more than a dream.
Only Fawkes remained, and it was the only thing that felt real at all.
But that also meant…
Darren was gone. Didn't it?
"Impossible. Impossible! I'm going to find Headmaster Dumbledore — how could Darren die? I must've seen wrong, Darren would never… he'd never leave me!"
He was rambling, barely aware of himself, preparing to run off.
But Fawkes suddenly pecked him repeatedly, excitedly.
Its expression was… happy.
Harry, for one wild moment, wanted to explode at the phoenix. He even wanted to grab it and shake it.
Why wasn't it grieving for Darren?
Why was it so happy?
But then he saw it.
A tiny flicker of fire on the ground.
And then—
A hairless… bird?
A very ugly bird, at that.
And as the phoenix chick appeared, a tiny baby—not even clothed—appeared on the ground beside it.
The baby's body lengthened rapidly.
"Darren!"
Harry let out a cry of pure relief.
He threw himself forward, hands trembling, and held his fingers under Darren's nose.
Breathing.
Darren was breathing.
Fawkes happily bumped its head against Darren's shoulder.
Darren seemed to be roused by the touch and slowly opened his eyes, dazed.
"Brother… am I dead?"
"No, you idiot—if you died, what would I do?" Harry laughed and cried at the same time, kneeling beside him. If he could, he would've smacked Darren's head.
"Listen—just now, it was this little—this phoenix. It rushed in, and then both of you disappeared. Then suddenly you showed up again. Did… did it save you?"
He picked up the tiny bird, not minding its ugliness anymore. He looked at it expectantly, wanting it to speak or something.
The tiny phoenix ignored him completely.
Instead, it slammed into Darren's face, repeatedly thunking its little head against Darren's cheek like it was furious with him.
"Is it Carol?" Darren asked knowingly.
Right before everything happened, Carol's tears had boosted his phoenix bloodline again… and then Carol dove into the flames and dragged him with it.
Honestly, he was still stunned.
He hadn't expected the bloodline boost to allow for full phoenix nirvana.
And the most ridiculous part?
Carol had taken him along for the nirvana transformation.
For a moment, he had seriously thought Carol incinerated him.
The system truly had no bottom line.
Darren sighed.
"Oh, children, I hope you're all right… Bad people die and good people live. Isn't that how life works?"
Dumbledore's voice drifted over.
Darren looked up quickly.
Dumbledore was sitting beside Ginny as if he had been there all along.
Ginny's face was returning to its normal color. With Tom Riddle destroyed, she was gradually recovering.
Darren suspected she might even be conscious by now, but she probably didn't dare wake up. Too embarrassing.
"Oh, my dear Darren, don't worry about Ginny. She's recovering well. I think you should be more concerned about yourself. For example… wearing a robe?"
Dumbledore chuckled.
He waved his wand, summoning a robe from Merlin-knew-where.
Only then did Darren realize that after Carol dragged him through nirvana, his clothes were completely gone.
"Yes… I'm sorry…"
His face flushed scarlet.
Damn this Carol.
Damn this system.
No lower limits whatsoever!
A sudden nirvana, and he didn't even notice.
He had joked earlier that Ginny might die of embarrassment—now it was his turn.
"Don't fret. Ginny isn't awake. Only we are here," Dumbledore said kindly, his beard trembling with amusement.
Darren pursed his lips.
Old man, is this just to keep me from being seen by you?
Still, he kept the embarrassed look on his face.
"Yes, sorry, Headmaster… I was just—"
"I understand, I understand, hahaha!"
What are you laughing for!
Darren clenched his teeth silently.
After putting on the robe, his expression slowly shifted from embarrassment to deep bitterness.
He was still thinking about everything that had just happened… especially walking into that fire.
"Darren, I don't care if you used a curse!" Harry said anxiously. He even glared at Dumbledore, urging him to say something comforting.
But Dumbledore didn't mention curses at all.
Instead, with obvious curiosity, he asked:
"Darren, before we talk about curses… can you tell me where this phoenix came from?"
"…Ah. This?"
Was Dumbledore suspicious?
Of course he was.
Carol's bloodline was now clearly stronger than Fawkes'.
Anyone would be suspicious.
Darren sighed.
He gently lifted the tiny phoenix—who was still sulking—onto his shoulder.
Then he said calmly, "Its name is Carol. It came to me on its own, looking like this. I originally thought it was some malnourished bird. I kept it for a while, but it stayed pitiful like that… so I asked Paggie to take it home and raise it. I really don't know how it came here."
He spoke with a perfectly blank expression.
And then he directly tossed the question back to Dumbledore.
---