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Chapter 401: Are You Crazy?!!
Because Dumbledore controlled it well, Fudge didn't see anything at all.
Finally, Dumbledore said goodbye to Darren and told them to hurry back.
They themselves walked slowly towards Hagrid's hut.
"Quick, let's cut the road to the back of Hagrid's cabin now, and we'll find a way to steal Buckbeak!"
Hermione said.
Darren nodded quickly.
They slipped through the woods.
They walked to the back of Hagrid's cabin.
They hid behind a large tree.
They heard Hagrid's conversation with them.
"Why are you here? Let's go!"
They had just entered Hagrid's cabin.
Darren remembered that he had taken a special look out of the window.
He was ready to try again.
But before he could get near the window, Hermione immediately pulled him away.
"Oh, Darren, you were looking outside..."
Hermione explained.
Darren also saw himself standing at the window.
His own expression was very sad, his eyes were red, and he looked particularly genuine.
Even he believed that he was sad.
And he was also very handsome standing there; no one could take their eyes off him.
Even with dark circles under his eyes and looking haggard, he was still handsome, carrying a touch of sickly beauty.
Sure enough, it was worthy of the system's beauty enhancement.
It was really amazing.
Darren silently lamented his looks.
On the surface, of course, he still showed an embarrassed expression.
"At that time, I didn't even think about this possibility..."
"Oh, Darren, none of us thought of it."
Hermione explained.
Then they gradually approached Buckbeak.
"We'll steal Buckbeak now!"
Harry said quickly.
But Darren immediately shook his head.
"No. Those councilors haven't arrived yet. We can't take Buckbeak now. We have to move him after they've seen him, and I can't let Hagrid get involved!"
Harry opened his mouth.
He felt the probability of success was very low.
But when he saw Hermione nodding in agreement, he wondered if he was the one being foolish.
At this time, the sound of a jar breaking came from inside Hagrid's cabin.
"Any second now, Hermione is going to scream!"
Harry said quickly.
Sure enough, it didn't take long before they heard Hermione's voice.
They spotted them.
"They're coming out soon!"
Hermione pointed to Dumbledore, who was about to leave for Hagrid's room.
Dumbledore's arrival meant they were already pulling Darren out.
Sure enough, within moments, they saw Dumbledore and the others enter Hagrid's cabin.
Together, they walked to the back garden of Hagrid's cottage.
"Look there, that hippogriff with wings is still there!"
A councillor laughed while talking about Buckbeak.
Then they walked back to Hagrid's cabin.
This was the moment.
Darren immediately moved toward Buckbeak.
Buckbeak shifted uneasily.
But when it noticed Darren, it immediately became excited.
Darren quickly untied the rope, and together with Hermione and Harry, they pulled Buckbeak into the woods.
Buckbeak seemed confused.
But it followed them anyway.
As they ran deeper into the forest with Buckbeak, they heard the door of Hagrid's cabin open.
Followed by shouting.
Then Fudge's angry voice rang out:
"How did that beast run away?!"
"I saw it chained right here!"
The executioner shouted angrily, "Someone must've taken it! We should search the whole forest!"
"That's right, Dumbledore. We should search the entire forest. No one escapes!"
Fudge snapped.
Dumbledore laughed.
He sounded genuinely amused.
"Oh, Fudge. If you believe someone carried it into the woods, then search the woods."
"But I would say it's more likely in the sky now. And no one can stop a flying creature."
His words left Fudge speechless.
There was more muttering.
Then came the dull thud of the executioner slamming his axe into the empty stump.
Finally, Dumbledore smiled and said,
"Well then… shall we call that the end of it, Hagrid? How about a glass of brandy?"
"I will, I will!"
Hagrid said joyfully.
Wiping his tears, he added,
"Buckbeak is so smart… it even knew when to escape. I always said it was clever… Now Darren won't be so sad. When he came by earlier, I thought he was about to collapse…"
"Oh! Sorry, Professor Dumbledore… Darren didn't come… I mean—"
Hagrid trailed off nervously.
But Dumbledore already knew Darren had been there.
After a moment, he smiled gently.
"Is that so? Come then, let's go inside. Hagrid, don't worry. I only wanted to ask if Darren is alright."
"Well, no sir… he looks like he's about to fall apart. I really worry for him…"
They spoke as they went inside.
Hermione finally spoke again.
She took a deep breath and said,
"Now, we need somewhere to hide and wait for our other selves to come out."
"When Sirius is taken to the eighth floor, we'll go rescue him!"
"We must go to the Whomping Willow. We can't let anything go wrong—we have to watch everything!"
Harry said seriously.
So they headed toward the Whomping Willow.
"Look… that's Ron."
They watched as the large black dog—Black's Animagus form—dragged Ron away.
Then they saw Harry charging into the tree, Darren slung across his back.
As the branches struck wildly, Darren panicked that his face might be hit and immediately cast Armor Protection.
He had felt that spell instinctively while pretending to be unconscious earlier.
Now, there was no reason to hide it.
Otherwise, Hermione wouldn't be able to stop the tree, and he might be disfigured for real.
Hermione was startled by his action.
She quickly grabbed Darren's wand.
"Darren, are you crazy?! You can't—"
"I know," he said, "but I can't just watch you get killed!"
[Ding, Father value +100]
[Ding, Father value +100]
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