Chapter 770: Includes My Life!!
Harry watched the memory unfold in front of him.
He saw Darren… calmly, almost decisively, asking Dumbledore to erase his memory.
Then the scene shifted.
It became a private conversation—just the two of them.
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Darren's eyes were red.
He looked at Dumbledore, trying to stay steady.
"Headmaster… your method… will it keep Harry alive?"
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Harry saw it clearly—
Darren's hands were trembling.
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Dumbledore nodded.
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And the moment he did—
Darren stepped forward, almost pleading.
"Then… please… I'm begging you… let him live."
"I don't care what it takes."
"If you need anything… I'll do it."
"I can give anything…"
His voice broke slightly.
"…anything at all."
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Dumbledore looked at him quietly.
Then asked, softly—
"Including your life?"
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Darren didn't hesitate.
He nodded.
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"Yes."
"My life… even my soul."
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The memory shattered.
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Harry staggered as he was pulled back out.
The room returned.
Dumbledore stood beside him.
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"After that conversation," Dumbledore said quietly, "Darren began researching ways to transfer your soul to himself."
"I thought it was unrealistic… so I didn't stop him."
"He probably felt my plan was too dangerous."
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Dumbledore paused.
Then added—
"But I believed he would ultimately accept letting you face Voldemort."
"Otherwise… he wouldn't have waited until the very last moment to take Voldemort's soul into himself."
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His voice grew quieter.
"It was your distance from him…"
"And his own rejection of his bloodline…"
"That pushed him onto this path."
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Harry covered his face.
He couldn't say anything.
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"But you still haven't answered me!"
Harry suddenly looked up.
"Why did you let him die?!"
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Dumbledore fell silent again.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
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Then—
"I hesitated."
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His voice was low.
Careful.
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"If I had appeared… Darren might have given up that choice."
"But I didn't."
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Harry stared at him.
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"Because I knew…"
Dumbledore closed his eyes briefly.
"…he wanted to die."
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The words landed heavily.
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"He didn't care how he died," Dumbledore continued. "If we stopped him this time… he might choose another way later."
"We cannot watch him every second."
"And I was also afraid…"
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He hesitated.
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"…that he wouldn't be able to bring himself to kill Voldemort."
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Harry's eyes widened.
"How could you think that?!"
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Dumbledore shook his head slowly.
"I didn't come to that conclusion lightly."
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"I never imagined… that Tom would come to feel something like love."
"I don't know when it started… but he became more and more interested in Darren."
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He let out a quiet breath.
"At first, I thought it was my imagination."
"But one day… when I examined Darren's memories…"
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Dumbledore's voice tightened slightly.
"…I discovered that one of them had been altered."
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"It took considerable effort to retrieve it."
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He looked at Harry.
"…Perhaps you should see it yourself."
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From his robes, he took out another small glass vial.
Silver memory swirled inside.
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"This memory…"
His voice dropped.
"…is what made me realize I should never let Darren face Voldemort alone."
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He poured it into the Pensieve.
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The world shifted again.
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Harry found himself watching—
Darren.
And Voldemort.
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They were fighting.
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"This was during your fifth year," Dumbledore's voice echoed beside him. "I sent Darren on a mission. He encountered Voldemort."
"Watch carefully."
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Harry focused.
Voldemort's wand moved again and again—
but something felt off.
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Then suddenly—
Harry's eyes widened.
"He's holding back!"
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Dumbledore nodded.
"Yes."
"He never used the Killing Curse."
"He avoided several decisive spells."
"He was… guiding Darren."
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Harry stared, stunned.
"Because… Darren has his blood?"
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"Yes."
Dumbledore's voice carried a trace of disbelief even now.
"I was shocked as well."
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"Keep watching."
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The scene continued.
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Darren—
younger, less experienced—
was clearly losing.
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He couldn't match Voldemort.
No matter what he tried—
he was being overwhelmed.
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In the end—
he resorted to the same desperate method.
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An explosion.
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Both of them were caught in it.
The force tore everything apart.
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Harry's heart clenched.
In that situation—
Darren should have died.
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But he didn't.
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The smoke cleared.
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Voldemort stood there.
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He conjured an illusion to stabilize Darren's body.
Fed him potions.
Carefully.
Patiently.
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And then—
he modified Darren's memory.
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The scene shifted again.
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Grimmauld Place.
Darren returning—
as if nothing had happened.
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The memory ended.
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Harry was pulled out again.
His face was pale with shock.
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"Voldemort… gave him potions?"
He could hardly believe it.
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Dumbledore nodded.
"Yes."
"And not just that."
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"He was afraid Darren would reject the help… so he altered his memory."
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Dumbledore's expression darkened.
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"That is why I am afraid."
"Tom… developed something close to affection."
"And from beginning to end… he treated Darren differently."
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"He kept him under pressure at school… not just out of anger, but because he didn't want him straying too far."
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Harry frowned slightly.
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"I know what you're thinking," Dumbledore continued. "Yes, the Carrows punished him."
"But Darren provoked them deliberately—he publicly insulted Voldemort."
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"He was hurt, yes…"
"But compared to what others suffered…"
"It was not the worst."
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Dumbledore looked at Darren's still form.
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"Darren is not foolish."
"Once he learned about his bloodline… he understood everything."
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He turned to Harry.
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"Do you really think…"
"…he could bring himself to kill Voldemort?"
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Silence filled the room.
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Harry looked at Darren.
At his pale face.
At everything he had done—
every choice, every hesitation—
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He drew in a slow breath.
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No.
Darren couldn't do it.
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For someone who longed for a father…
Even if that father was Voldemort—
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He wouldn't use a killing curse on him.
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And maybe—
that was one of the reasons he chose to die.
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"So, Harry…"
Dumbledore's voice broke the silence.
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"Have you thought of a way?"
"A way to bring him back… without losing him again?"
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Harry's face went blank.
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He had nothing.
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Over the past year…
Darren had grown quieter.
Colder.
More distant.
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And now—
with that bloodline weighing on him—
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Why would he ever want to come back?
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After a long pause, Harry spoke hesitantly—
"…Can we erase his memories of Voldemort?"
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Dumbledore shook his head immediately.
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"I'm afraid not."
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"I trained Darren extensively in memory magic."
"He can already use advanced memory modification on himself."
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"If anything is missing…"
"He will notice."
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"That path is closed."
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Silence returned.
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Then suddenly—
a voice called out from outside—
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"Headmaster! Severus Snape requests an audience!"