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Chapter 312 – Can I Give Him This Chain?!
Sirius Black was stunned.
Unbelievable.
But the facts were real.
And this kid wouldn't lie to a dog.
So… did James actually have a genius son?
"Alright, whatever you do, take this and you can come out with me."
Darren added lightly, "To keep you from running away, I'll have to tie you with a rope. Don't look at me like that. You're an animal right now. If you run off with the necklace, I won't have the money to make another for Miss Delacour."
He conjured a rope and tied it gently around Black's neck.
Sirius didn't resist too forcefully.
Darren had a point.
If he escaped with the chain, the kid would owe a huge debt.
Even so… Sirius did want to secretly keep it.
Feeling oddly depressed, Sirius followed Darren out of the alley, wagging his tail reluctantly.
He was a little excited at first.
After all, he could now walk in Diagon Alley openly.
But after a while he suddenly froze.
Wait.
What was he doing?
Why was he actually walking beside a Slytherin?
Was he insane? What if the kid had bad intentions?
You couldn't expect that a necklace alone would make him obedient!
He wasn't a fool!
Sirius grumbled inwardly.
He made up his mind to chew through the rope and run.
He wouldn't dare fight Darren directly.
If the kid grabbed the chain, it would be over.
He needed the chain. Even if he had to return it later, he wanted it for now.
He quietly lowered his head and began biting the rope.
His teeth were strong enough to crush bones.
So a simple rope…
But he had been biting for a long time.
By the time they reached Flourish and Blotts, the rope was still intact.
Impossible.
"Boss, please get me the third-year textbooks."
Darren handed over all the Galleons he had, keeping only a few Sickles.
Then he looked down at Sirius.
"Alright, stop biting. We'll be done soon. I'll buy you food afterward, then you can leave."
Darren smiled and dragged the still-biting Sirius to the cake shop.
He emptied the last of his coins to buy a small cake.
Holding the cake close to Sirius's nose, he said,
"Try this. It's the most expensive one I can afford."
"I asked the shopkeeper if dogs can eat this magical cake. Or are you afraid I'll poison you? You're alert, little guy. But don't worry — the owner made it fresh right now."
"I never touched it. So there shouldn't be any problem."
He sighed.
"People are prejudiced against Slytherins, that's one thing. But even dogs are prejudiced?"
He continued gently:
"Or maybe it's because you were bullied before because of your color. That's why you're so sensitive?"
"But don't worry. I'll find a way to get you an alchemical item to change your fur so you can walk around openly."
Sirius stopped biting the rope.
Was this… cake for him?
He saw the child enter the bakery and assumed the kid wanted to eat cake.
But the cake was actually for him?
The kid hadn't touched it once.
With so little money, he still chose to feed a dog?
Sirius looked into Darren's eyes.
All gentleness.
Not a trace of disgust, even though Sirius was dirty.
Instead, the child spent his last coins on him.
"Don't worry. I still have my brother, and the vault has plenty of money. I just don't want to use it. But I won't starve."
"So eat."
Darren pushed the cake toward him.
Sirius licked his lips.
Then he tasted the cake.
He had eaten much finer food in the past…
But right now, this tasted like the best thing in the world.
"Eat up. Once you finish, you can leave."
[Ding! Favorability with Sirius Black +20]
Darren accepted the reward.
He planned to send Sirius off, then meet Hermione and the others.
Maybe, if he was lucky, someone would share cake with him.
Sirius ate slowly.
Darren had brought him here to eat… and he tried to escape.
Now the kid said he could leave… and he didn't want to go.
This kid wasn't bad.
And more importantly — the chain.
If he left now, Darren would definitely take it back.
What should he do?
He had tried to bite the rope for ages.
He stood no chance of chewing through it now.
He felt drained.
Still, cake was cake.
He carefully licked every bit clean.
"Alright, I'll untie the rope."
As soon as Darren removed the rope, Sirius tried to bolt, but Darren held onto the necklace.
It was over.
The kid was going to take it.
Two hundred thousand Galleons…
He used to think it wasn't much.
He still didn't.
But how could he negotiate in this situation?
He felt like his heart had been ripped out.
He had it.
He used it.
How was he supposed to give it back now?
He wanted to at least keep it long enough to catch Pettigrew…
Then Darren's voice rang out.
Calm. Serious.
"This chain was given to me by Miss Delacour, and I need to return it to her, so…"
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