Chapter 399 – More Double Standards, Dumbledore!!
Darren complained silently in his heart.
Dumbledore really was full of double standards.
Back then, he taught him to love others, to be tolerant no matter how bad people were.
Then, after he obtained Grindelwald's bloodline, Dumbledore taught him to love himself.
And now that he had Dumbledore's bloodline, this old man was suddenly teaching him not to trust others so easily.
This was ridiculous.
Completely ridiculous.
But on the surface, Darren pretended not to notice anything.
He put on an earnest, grateful expression.
"Don't worry, Headmaster. I'm not the same as before. I won't trust people so easily anymore!"
[Ding, Holy Father value +10]
[Ding, Holy Father value +10]
[Ding, Holy Father value +20]
[Ding...…］
Darren spoke confidently.
Unfortunately, the Holy Father Value barely went up.
Because not a single person in the room truly believed him.
"Not trusting people so easily"?
That phrase simply did not match Darren at all.
If Darren could be considered cautious, then even Harry would qualify as a genius.
Dumbledore shook his head helplessly.
Now he finally understood why Snape was so anxious about Darren.
Though, naturally, he would never admit it out loud.
Instead, he changed the topic.
"Sirius Black is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the eighth floor.
If you move quickly, you may be able to save more than one life tonight."
Darren froze.
His eyes immediately lit up.
"Buckbeak… we can save Buckbeak too, right?!"
"Oh, my boy… you shouldn't say that out loud. Well, even if you do—keep it down."
Dumbledore laughed softly, his beard trembling.
Harry, meanwhile, looked completely lost.
Earlier, he had barely managed to understand a little.
Now, he felt completely left behind.
"Alright, children. I've said all I can.
Miss Granger, I'm going to lock you in here.
When the clock strikes midnight, turn forward… eight times.
I want you to see something—something that may be quite shocking to Darren."
Dumbledore gave them a meaningful look.
"Well then… good luck."
With that, he stepped out and actually lifted the lock, preparing to shut them in.
Harry stood at the doorway, stunned.
"What… what does he mean? Why 'good luck'? And…"
"Stop asking—I'll explain later!"
Hermione grabbed Harry by the wrist and pulled out a thin golden chain.
She slipped it over Harry's neck.
Then her face reddened slightly, though she tried to stay calm when she looked at Darren.
"Quick, Darren. Hurry!"
Darren rushed over.
Hermione placed the chain around Darren's neck as well.
Because the chain was short, the two of them were forced very close together.
So close that they could feel each other's breath.
Hermione's face turned even redder.
She lifted her arms and wrapped them carefully around Darren's neck.
"It's… it's a bit cramped. Sorry…"
They ended up even closer.
"Eight turns forward…" Hermione muttered softly.
"At this time… we should've just heard that Buckbeak lost the case."
She raised the Time-Turner and turned it eight times.
Harry felt the world lurch.
Everything around him began to reverse.
The corridor stretched weirdly.
The colors of the sky flashed before his eyes.
Light and shadow twisted together.
Then—
Suddenly, they were standing on solid ground again.
Everything snapped back into place.
"This…"
Harry looked around in shock.
For a moment, he couldn't even tell if he was awake or dreaming.
But the next second, the chain slipped off his neck.
Darren grabbed Harry and pulled him quickly into a cupboard.
Hermione squeezed in after them.
"Shh… voices. I think it's us…
Harry, we're eight hours in the past."
Eight hours in the past?!
Harry almost wanted to pinch himself.
This was insane.
Time travel… actually real?
But he accepted it surprisingly fast.
Then he whispered, "Hermione… where did you even get this thing?"
He tried to touch it, but Hermione immediately pulled it away.
"When the school year started, Professor McGonagall gave it to Darren.
Professor Snape approved it, and we were told to use it together.
That's how we managed to attend all our classes.
But later… after Darren fell out with you, he stopped speaking to me too…"
Hermione's expression dulled a little.
"In the end… he gave the Time-Turner to me."
Darren looked apologetic.
"I'm sorry, Hermione…"
"Oh, Darren." She shook her head gently.
"I don't blame you.
Thinking about it now, I still feel it was our fault.
Even now… I'm really sorry."
Darren opened his mouth—
Ready to say something emotional and brush a little Holy Father Value—
When Ron's voice suddenly came from outside.
"Do we really have to tell Darren?
He's already miserable enough. If he finds out Hagrid lost the case, I think he'll completely fall apart!"
"Ron, if we don't tell him now, he'll find out when he goes to Hagrid later.
We can't hide it forever."
Hermione's own voice.
Harry's heart skipped.
He remembered.
He had said something too.
"…Yeah. We should tell Darren.
I don't know if it'll make things better or worse, but he deserves to know…"
That was it.
That exact line.
Then they heard the footsteps of their past selves move away and fade down the corridor.
Hermione opened the cupboard.
"Let's go."
She pulled Darren out.
Harry followed immediately.
Darren frowned, clearly confused.
"I know Headmaster Dumbledore wants us to change something.
And I understand we're supposed to save Buckbeak…"
"But why did he send us back to this moment?
What was so important eight hours ago?"
Harry and Hermione thought desperately.
Then both shook their heads.
They had no idea either.
"Let's just… follow ourselves," Hermione said quietly.
"Be careful not to let them see us.
It's… really strange, watching yourself from behind."
Harry swallowed.
Yeah.
Strange was putting it mildly.
It felt wrong in a way he couldn't explain.
But they moved anyway.
Because whatever Dumbledore wanted them to see—
It had to be here.