I am back
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Chapter 743: He Deserves It!!
Hermione's words left Harry stunned.
It wasn't that they were unwilling to trade the Sword of Gryffindor for Darren's safety.
But—
Everyone knew Darren.
There was no way he would calmly accept such a condition.
Yet to their surprise—
Darren didn't object at all.
Or rather, he deliberately held back.
He didn't question Hermione in front of Griphook.
He kept his doubts to himself, waiting until only the three of them were alone.
When they were finally by themselves, Darren looked at Hermione.
Hermione looked slightly uneasy.
But she still spoke.
"Well… I asked the Sorting Hat before.
No matter where the Sword of Gryffindor is…
it can always be drawn out of the Sorting Hat."
"That's not the point!"
Harry interrupted immediately.
"The question is—why did you agree to give it away?"
Ron also looked confused.
Clearly, neither of them had understood.
Only Darren's expression shifted slightly.
Understanding dawned on him.
But then he hesitated.
"…Isn't that… a bit shameless?"
He frowned.
But seeing Hermione's uneasy expression, he immediately softened.
"I'm not blaming you.
Actually… I thought of the same thing before.
The moment you said it, I realized we were thinking alike.
I was just wondering…
would this make the goblins hate us even more?"
Hermione exhaled slightly.
"They already hate wizards.
And they still have to serve the Dark Lord, don't they?"
Ron and Harry finally lost patience.
"Can someone explain this clearly?!"
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"This isn't something you'd understand just by studying.
The point is—
even if we give Griphook the sword…
we can still summon it again from the Sorting Hat whenever we need it."
Silence.
Then—
Ron's eyes widened.
"…So we're basically tricking him?"
"Exactly."
Hermione said calmly.
Darren still looked slightly conflicted.
"…Maybe after the final battle, we can really give it to him.
But for now…
we'll use it when we need it."
[Ding, Father +100]
[Ding, Father +100]
[Ding, Father +100]
Ron grinned.
"Besides, we made a contract.
We only have to give it to him when we decide to hand it over.
If we don't—he can't take it."
Even so—
the first time they deceived someone like this, all three felt uneasy.
But that feeling didn't last.
Because over the next few days—
Griphook proved something very clearly.
He deserved it.
Again and again, he tried to mislead them.
Sometimes Darren caught it.
Sometimes Hermione noticed first.
Every time, they exposed him and warned him directly.
And beyond that—
Griphook constantly repeated the same argument.
That wizards had stolen goblin creations.
That the Sword of Gryffindor belonged to goblins.
That even if it was paid for—
it still belonged to them.
That humans only "borrowed" such items.
And never returned them.
That logic made Harry feel disgusted.
Because by that reasoning—
nothing would ever truly belong to anyone but goblins.
Still—
they needed him.
Without Griphook—
they couldn't enter Gringotts.
So they endured it.
Finally—
after resolving the last of the issues—
they decided not to delay any longer.
They would infiltrate Gringotts immediately.
But when they told Bill—
they were met with strong opposition.
Especially from Ginny.
She had taken over cooking recently.
And after days of feeding Darren properly—
he had finally regained some strength.
So when she heard he was leaving again—
her expression changed completely.
"I refuse!"
she snapped.
"I finally got you to eat properly again—
and now you're going out again?
You definitely have another plan, don't you?
Will you ever come back?
Do you want to die out there?!"
No one dared to respond.
Because Ginny made it very clear—
if they argued—
she would make sure they regretted eating her food.
Darren, in particular, stayed silent.
After all—
he had eaten the most.
Still—
the plan didn't change.
At dawn—
they left quietly.
Leaving only a note behind.
Hermione drank Polyjuice Potion.
She transformed into Bellatrix Lestrange.
Darren used magic to disguise himself as a foreign noble.
An official from an inspection delegation.
After all—
he still possessed credentials from the investigation team during his fourth year.
The identity was flawless.
Ron became his bodyguard.
Tall. Silent. Intimidating.
As for Harry—
he remained under the Invisibility Cloak.
Griphook rode on his shoulder, guiding him quietly.
They Apparated to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.
Hermione—wearing Bellatrix's face—walked in first.
Darren followed.
As they passed Tom the Innkeeper, both of them casually greeted him.
"Good morning."
Tom blinked in shock.
"You… greeted me?"
Ron muttered under his breath.
"…That's too polite."
Harry whispered from beneath the cloak:
"You're supposed to act like they're beneath you.
Darren, just stay expressionless—that's enough."
Darren ignored him.
Hermione adjusted her expression immediately.
Her face turned cold.
Arrogant and Cruel.
They stepped into Diagon Alley.
The reaction was immediate.
Children ran.
People avoided them.
Fear spread like a ripple.
For a moment—
Hermione's eyes softened.
But Harry's voice quickly reminded her.
She hardened her expression again.
Then—
a man came running from down the street.
Pale. Breathless.
"Mrs. Lestrange!"
he shouted.