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Chapter 363: Received More Than 300,000 Gold Galleons in Gifts!!
Because Darren had promised Harry not to approach Lucius Malfoy again,
their last possible shortcut to help Hagrid was completely cut off.
Now the only thing they could do was bury themselves in books, desperately searching for old trial records, hoping to find anything that might give Buckbeak a chance to survive.
Fortunately—
Christmas arrived.
Hermione and Ron both chose to stay at Hogwarts.
They didn't go home.
They wanted to stay with Harry and Darren.
They were afraid that if they left, the two brothers might secretly go looking for Sirius Black.
Of course, even if they really did try, neither Hermione nor Ron could stop them.
---
Christmas Morning
Darren woke up… and stared at a mountain.
A mountain of gifts.
The pile nearly crushed the boxes at the bottom.
He opened one at random.
He expected candy.
Instead—gold Galleons.
He frowned and opened another.
Gold again.
Another one.
More gold.
This year, very few people had sent sweets.
Almost everyone had sent money instead.
Especially Slytherin.
They had already heard that Darren and the Potter family had completely split, and that the Potter family had left him only twenty thousand Galleons.
So now, most of the Slytherins either sent greeting cards… or wealth straight from their vaults.
Lucius Malfoy went even further.
He sent Darren a house.
The property was located in Godric's Hollow.
Along with it came a letter.
---
Child,
When I used Muggle financial methods in the past, I never thought a house-elf would cause you so much trouble.
Perhaps you should resent me.
But some things are never as simple as they appear.
If I don't say them, you will never know.
Still—
I hope you accept this gift.
That house was once your home.
Lily and James lived there.
If you return, you may even see their statues.
With affection,
Lucius
---
Darren rubbed his forehead.
Malfoy really did know how to strike twice.
First he had pushed the Potter family into financial trouble.
Then he turned around and handed Darren a property.
However…
Darren had already inquired about wizarding real estate.
Property prices in the magical world were terrifying.
And Godric's Hollow?
Even worse.
After Lily and James defeated Voldemort, prices there skyrocketed.
Living there was equivalent to being neighbors with history.
Not to mention—Dumbledore had once lived in that same village.
This house was worth tens of thousands of Galleons, at the very least.
As a Little Holy Father, Darren could not accept this gift.
…At least not immediately.
So he sent it back using an owl.
After all, his relationship with Lucius wasn't close enough for such a gift.
He didn't want to appear greedy.
---
Then he opened the next one.
A familiar stone.
A prototype Philosopher's Stone.
It was from Nicolas Flamel.
Along with a letter.
---
Dear Darren,
Perenelle and I spent two months refining this.
It doesn't grant immortality—
But it can transmute stone into gold.
Yes, we're worried about you.
You've separated from the Potters.
You only have 20,000 Galleons left.
We know you won't starve… but it will still be inconvenient.
So remember—
I am your teacher.
Our wealth is yours.
Use it freely.
With all my love,
Nicolas & Perenelle
---
Darren took a deep breath.
Then came Rozier's letter.
Inside was a Gringotts card.
30,000 Galleons.
She wrote that business had been booming.
Their shops now operated in both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.
And Hogsmeade's branch, in particular, was packed every weekend.
Darren accepted Rozier's gift.
He replied personally, thanking her, and telling her that he only hoped she and the others could live well.
A home mattered more than gold.
---
He continued opening gifts.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Tens of thousands.
From professors.
From students.
From unknown witches and wizards.
By the end—
He had received over 300,000 Galleons.
Even if the Potter family had truly abandoned him…
He could become rich overnight with just these gifts.
Only one present remained.
Harry's.
Inside was a contract.
Five percent of Firebolt's shares.
Stored in Gringotts.
Harry believed they should share everything.
So Darren mailed it back.
He didn't need it.
Today's income alone was already more than enough.
---
And what was the first thing a Little Holy Father did after receiving money?
A good deed.
Darren donated 30,000 Galleons directly to Paige.
And ordered another 20,000 withdrawn from his account—
All to pay the Longbottoms' medical expenses.
Paige was deeply moved.
Darren told her to have Gringotts register it as coming from "anonymous donors."
But—
He "forgot" one thing.
He never told her not to mention his name.
And he even used an Influence Amplification Card.
Good deeds should never go unnoticed.
He made sure every donor would believe he had practically emptied his vault.
After all—
Most individuals had only given him a few thousand at best.
And only Slytherin students had given large amounts.
But Slytherins?
They never asked what others had given.
And they never bragged.
Meanwhile, other houses would discuss their donations—
Dozens. Hundreds.
Which meant everyone would assume Darren had only received about ten thousand or so.
And he donated fifty thousand.
What did that make him?
A saint.
A walking embodiment of the Holy Father.
No one would ever think he had earned a fortune from Christmas.
No.
In their eyes, he had given everything away.
---
Perfect.
A holy reputation.
Unlimited funding.
Zero suspicion.
…He even "learned" something from certain Muggle officials.
Now all he had to do—
Was secretly move the remaining gold into his bearer account.
After all…
He was a "poor" man now.
---
(T: damn that was crazy .
Poor huh
Well i wanna be that poor too)