Chapter 332: Hagrid's Remorse!!
The moment Malfoy's voice fell—
He was knocked away by Buckbeak with a violent strike.
Darren noticed at once that Malfoy's protective artifact had shattered again.
And his arm was clearly broken.
Damn.
For an injury like that, he'd almost lost his life.
This time, Lucius would never let Hagrid off easily… Darren was stunned.
"Aaaah— I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to be killed!" Malfoy screamed in pain.
Darren had been speaking with Snape.
Hearing Malfoy's cry, he immediately rushed over.
"What happened? Let me see—Professor, Malfoy's arm is broken, what should we do? We have to take him to the infirmary first!"
He blurted it out anxiously.
Snape opened his mouth.
He looked at Malfoy, then at Darren, clearly dazed.
Professor Victor had said something would happen to one of the people Darren cared about…
But Malfoy?
There was no way this child cared about Malfoy.
How could it be him?
What exactly was going on?
At dinner that night, Darren didn't see Hagrid.
He didn't see Snape or Professor McGonagall either.
Even Dumbledore was absent.
They were probably dealing with Lucius.
After all, Buckbeak had hurt Malfoy, and even the talisman had been destroyed.
As soon as the accident happened, Malfoy had been sent straight to St. Mungo's.
The matter was serious.
Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Snape had all gone to see Lucius.
Although Dumbledore had told Hagrid that it should be alright, Hagrid still looked as if the sky had fallen.
Darren sighed.
Wearing an expression like he'd lost his appetite—
He proceeded to eat two lamb chops, one slice of cake, and two small puddings.
When his stomach was visibly bulging, he finally stood up as if he could barely walk.
"I'm going to see Hagrid!"
[Ding, Holy Father value +10]
[Ding, Holy Father value +10]
[Ding, Holy Father value +20]
［…］
His face was filled with worry.
The kind that made people sigh and feel sorry for him at a glance.
He'd worked so hard… and this was how it ended.
Darren turned to leave.
But Cassandra stopped him at once.
"No. It's already late, and the professors won't allow you to go out now. And what if you run into Black?"
Her tone was stern and unyielding.
"Hey—didn't Black cross a Dementor earlier?"
Ron blurted out.
Then he looked at Darren and grinned.
"Darren, we were just about to come get you! Come on, hurry, let's go see Hagrid—he needs you!"
Darren was already turning to go—
Then suddenly looked back at Cassandra.
She stared at him without expression.
The kind of stare that clearly meant try leaving and see what happens.
Seriously.
Was he afraid?
Of course not.
So he hesitated deliberately—
Then finally said, "Can you… take care of Slytherin for me?"
Once he said that—
The few of them dashed toward Hagrid's hut.
Through the window, they could faintly see the figure inside.
Hagrid's crying was… horrifying.
He was using a rag the size of Darren's whole blanket to wipe his face.
His eyes were swollen into two huge red bubbles.
Each time he sniffed, tears and mucus came together.
Darren silently took one step backward.
Then he noticed the barrel on Hagrid's table.
Yes.
A barrel.
Once, when Darren carried water at his grandma's house in the countryside, it was about this big.
Hagrid wiped his face, picked up the barrel, and poured—
"Glug, glug, glug—"
"Hagrid, how can you drink like that?"
Darren said seriously.
Hagrid half-opened one eye.
Seeing it was Darren, he immediately started crying again.
"Darren… I'm finished… I'm really finished…
I might get expelled… I might be the only professor in Hogwarts history to be expelled after just one day…"
He sobbed, then picked the barrel up again and started drinking.
Darren grabbed hold of it at once.
"Don't drink, Hagrid. Please don't.
Drinking won't solve anything."
"Darren, leave me alone, go back…
I'm useless… I'm a waste… I even have to rely on you just to learn how to open a book…"
Hagrid cried bitterly as he spoke.
Darren rolled his eyes.
He wasn't useless.
He just understood things differently from normal people.
Like Buckbeak.
To Hagrid, that hit was just a fracture.
To Malfoy, it was nearly death.
If not for the talisman…
Hagrid might already be on his way to Azkaban.
But Darren couldn't say that.
He looked dejected instead.
"I'm sorry, Hagrid…"
"I thought I could help you.
I didn't expect it to make you blame yourself like this."
"In fact… some professors don't even know those other methods."
"You're not useless.
You're just different."
"And you didn't do anything wrong."
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
Darren absorbed the Father value.
His expression grew even sadder.
"Oh, Darren… don't say that… this isn't your fault…"
Hagrid sniffed, then burst into tears again.
"The school governors… they said… I was too reckless…"
He blew his nose hard into the huge rag.
"Hagrid, it wasn't your fault at all."
Harry suddenly spoke angrily.
"It was all Malfoy!
He went to provoke Buckbeak on purpose!"
"He was angry that Darren could make Buckbeak bow first, so he rushed forward!"
Darren noticed Harry glaring with pure fury.
But Darren said nothing.
Instead, he asked worriedly,
"Hagrid… do you know how Malfoy is now?"
The question stunned them all.
"Darren, why do you care about him?"
"Have you forgotten he's a Slytherin?"
"He caused trouble in Hagrid's class on purpose!"
"He deserved to be attacked!"
"As long as he didn't die and ruin Hagrid, that's enough!"
"Professor Victor said something would happen to someone you care about…"
"Was she talking about Malfoy?"
Everyone talked over each other.
Until they finally noticed Darren's face—
Growing colder.
More serious.
Only then did they stop.
"Darren…"