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Chapter 370: Why Didn't He Kill?!!
"Who's screaming?"
"Do you want to keep partying? I wish Professor McGonagall would let us eat again!"
"Oh—did Darren wake up? I wanted to talk to him. He drank so much with me, he has to stay with me again…"
"Katie, you're drunk. Darren's drunk too!"
"No, I want him to stay with me, I want him—"
"Professor McGonagall told us to go back inside!"
The common room erupted into chaos again in seconds.
Percy came out of the dormitory, frowning at Ron.
"That's enough. Go back inside at once! What kind of nonsense are you making? Can't you see Darren needs rest?"
Then he turned to Darren and softened his voice.
"Oh, Darren, go back to sleep. I'll deal with them."
Ron exploded.
"You still want him to sleep? Black almost killed Darren just now!"
Percy froze.
"What? That's impossible. How could Black get in? Are you half-asleep?"
"I—" Ron was about to speak—
When Professor McGonagall rushed in, a cloak thrown hastily over her shoulders.
Her expression was cold.
"What is all this noise? I know Gryffindor won, but this is—"
"Professor! I saw Sirius Black break in!" Ron shouted.
Professor McGonagall stiffened.
"That's impossible. The portrait wasn't attacked—"
"Ask him!"
Ron pointed toward Sir Cadogan in the doorway.
"Yes, Professor! I let a man in just now!" Sir Cadogan said proudly.
Instant silence.
Professor McGonagall was stunned.
"Why?!" she demanded.
"He had the password," Cadogan declared. "Read it from a little note. He had the password for the entire term!"
Sir Cadogan sounded extremely proud of himself.
Professor McGonagall trembled with anger.
A single note—
Left lying around.
Darren had been sent to Gryffindor for one night and had nearly been murdered.
Her face darkened with rage.
"Which idiot leaves the password written on a piece of paper? Which fool throws it around?!"
She looked around furiously.
Slowly—
One hand rose.
Neville.
No one slept that night.
Darren yawned again and again.
He desperately wanted to go back to bed—
But as the main "victim," he had to recount the incident repeatedly with Ron.
Finally, while speaking to Professor McGonagall, he dozed off in his chair.
When he woke up again—
He was back in his own dormitory.
---
The next morning, news spread:
Black had escaped again.
Security across Hogwarts was immediately tightened.
Mr. Filch sealed every crack and passageway he could find—
Even holes he believed rats should never have existed in.
Professor Flitwick showed large portraits of Black to every caretaker, insisting they memorize his face.
Sir Cadogan was dismissed.
The Fat Lady was invited back.
But on one condition:
The school must guarantee her safety.
So additional security was posted in the corridors—a group of armed goblins stood guard, clutching thick clubs and shouting loudly at anyone they disliked.
Ron instantly became famous.
Since Darren was reluctant to describe the incident in detail, everyone turned to Ron.
Ron retold the story again and again.
"…I woke up and saw Black standing over my bed.
He didn't notice me awake. Then he turned and slashed Darren's bed with a knife… I swear I saw that wicked smile.
He was enjoying it.
He could've killed Darren with one strike…
I don't know where the courage came from, but I screamed. That's when he ran."
But in private, Ron was deeply confused.
"Why didn't he kill us?"
"Darren was completely drunk. Even Professor McGonagall noticed he could barely keep his eyes open.
If Black wanted to kill him, Darren couldn't have resisted at all.
So why didn't Black kill either of us?"
Sirius Black had once killed twelve people without mercy.
He could have slaughtered them both.
Harry frowned.
"Maybe he was afraid of being caught. If he made too much noise, he might not have escaped."
"He didn't come to die with us. He came to kill us—and then find Voldemort."
That explanation convinced many people.
And it made Harry angrier.
To him, Black had already become someone completely rotten to the core.
---
But the one who suffered most—
Was Neville.
Professor McGonagall banned him from Hogsmeade indefinitely.
She no longer told him the password either.
Every night, he had to wait outside the common room until someone let him in.
In the end, Darren often went out personally to bring him inside.
Neville felt miserable.
One night he said in tears:
"I almost got you killed… it's my fault… she was right to punish me… I'm useless…"
He looked completely broken.
Darren sighed.
Just as he was about to speak—
The system window appeared.
---
[Ding! The Holy Father System has detected an emotional mission nearby.]
Temporary Task Issued:
Comfort Neville and tell him you do not blame him.
Reward:
Sirius Black Favorability +20
Do you accept?
---
Without hesitation—
Accept.
Darren tapped it mentally.
Just a few words—
And Black's favorability would increase by twenty.
Black's current favorability was around sixty.
With +20…
That would bring it to eighty.
Eighty was already extremely high.
At the very least—
Black would never treat him as an enemy.
Which led Darren to think—
What exactly was Black trying to do that night?
Ron swore he saw Black smiling.
Cruel. Twisted.
But Darren suspected—
Black smiling did not mean he wanted to kill them.
After all…
Could it be—
Black thought he had finally returned to Gryffindor?
---