Chapter 356: The Game Is Lost!!
Darren's spell completed.
A huge silver-white dragon burst from the tip of his wand, roaring through the rain and crashing straight into the mass of Dementors hovering in the air around Harry. The icy darkness was torn apart as the creature swept past him.
Then the dragon turned its head, looked back at Darren—
—and quietly dissipated into the air.
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[Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the mission and winning Bloodline Lottery ×1]
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"Oh my God—what was that?!"
"Was that a dragon?!"
"It looked insane!"
"That was Darren's Patronus?!"
"How can he cast something like that at his age?!"
The entire stadium erupted into noise.
Students stared at Darren in disbelief and awe.
But Darren seemed not to hear any of it.
He stumbled through the mud toward Harry and dropped to his knees beside him, pulling him into his arms.
With reddened eyes and a trembling voice, he looked up at the professors on the stands and choked out:
"Please… save my brother. Please save him…"
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[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding…]
---
Darren accepted the Holy Father value automatically, his face only growing paler.
Only then did the professors fully realize something:
They had only been amazed by his Patronus.
They hadn't considered what it cost him.
McGonagall hurried forward. "Don't panic, child. Harry is fine… but you, young man, are coming to the infirmary immediately."
She personally escorted both of them to the hospital wing.
Madam Pomfrey checked Harry first and quickly confirmed that he had simply fainted from shock.
The instant Darren heard that, his knees gave out.
Hermione rushed forward to catch him.
And then she screamed.
His palm was soaked in blood where his nails had bitten into his own skin.
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[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding…]
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"Darren, are you insane?!" she cried.
Before she could say more, Madam Pomfrey had already reached him. She flicked her wand over him repeatedly, her expression growing darker with each scan.
"Overdrawn magical core. Severe depletion. Child, are you trying to kill yourself?!"
She turned furious.
"You do realize this kind of overuse can permanently damage your magic? You could become a Squib!"
Potions flew toward Darren from the shelves as if summoned by an invisible hand.
Darren's face instantly went pale for an entirely different reason.
He forced a gentle smile anyway.
"It's okay," he said softly. "Even if I really become a Squib… as long as my brother is safe… I don't mind. Even if I die now, I'd be willing."
---
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding…]
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"It is absolutely not okay."
Snape's cold voice cut in sharply.
He strode into the infirmary with dark fury on his face, looked at Darren once, and then at Harry lying unconscious.
Snape's lips twitched as if he wanted to say something biting.
But when Darren looked up at him—eyes full of guilt and exhaustion—Snape… stopped.
He turned away stiffly, pulled a handful of potions from his coat, and shoved them into Madam Pomfrey's hands.
"I suggest you force both Potters to drink."
Darren stiffened.
With that many bottles, were they planning to keep him hospitalized until graduation?
Fortunately, Madam Pomfrey ignored the suggestion.
She gave Harry two carefully chosen potions.
Then two to Darren.
"Drink them. And if I ever catch you overdrawing your magic again, you will personally decorate a bed in my infirmary until you graduate."
Darren obediently drank.
Sleep hit him instantly.
As consciousness faded, he murmured:
"Please wake me… when my brother wakes up…"
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[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding…]
---
Darkness.
Then—
voices.
"…Please… let Harry go…"
"…You already took one of my children… why take Harry too?"
"…Take anything you want… just let him live…"
The voice was female.
Broken.
Desperate.
Harry listened, confused.
That warmth… that pleading…
It sounded like Darren.
Then the voice became Darren.
"Please save my brother…"
"Save him, I'll do anything…"
"Brother, wake up…"
Harry struggled.
Tried to answer.
But his body wouldn't move.
Then the voices faded.
He heard new ones.
"It's a good thing Darren got to him in time…"
"That Patronus was insane…"
"I thought Darren would collapse on the spot…"
"…Madam Pomfrey says his magic was overdrawn… he might turn into a Squib…"
"Harry's fine—but Darren—"
Dementors.
Patronus.
The dragon.
Darren.
Harry's eyes snapped open.
"Darren!"
He shot upright.
Startling everyone around him.
"Where's Darren?!"
Fred rubbed his head. "Still asleep. Madam Pomfrey stuffed potions into him like she was marinating a chicken."
Harry sat there, stunned.
"I heard you guys say… he might become a Squib because of me…"
Alicia laughed bitterly. "Idiot. Darren told Madam Pomfrey Squibs can become wizards with alchemy. That's what finally made her explode and drown him in medicine."
Then her smile vanished.
Her voice dropped.
"The match… we lost."
Harry stared at the far wall.
Silent.
Rain still tapped weakly against the window.
And all he could think was—
He lost the game.
But Darren almost lost everything.