Chapter 453 — Jealousy!!
Darren had just come out of the common room that morning when he saw Harry and Hermione waiting outside.
Harry looked furious.
The moment Darren realized Ron was not with them, he already guessed what had happened—but he still pretended not to know.
"Where's Ron?" Darren asked innocently. "Still sleeping?"
"Him?" Harry snapped. "He won't even talk to me now!"
He shoved a sandwich into Darren's hand.
"Breakfast in the Great Hall was already over. We overslept, so this is all we managed to bring you."
"Thanks, brother!"
Darren immediately devoured it.
During the past few days, he had been eating French dishes and had stopped asking Paige to make breakfast. Who would've known that today, Slytherin would surround him the moment he stepped out?
Cassandra and the others had pulled him aside and lectured him nonstop—about being careful, about survival, about retreating when necessary.
In short: run if you have to.
Darren naturally nodded along obediently.
They even forced several protection charms and amulets into his hands.
Even Malfoy had given him one.
"Carry it on you. Don't just throw it anywhere."
Darren examined them.
All genuine protection charms.
Only problem?
He didn't actually need them.
Most of the coming trouble… was something he had arranged himself.
Still, he accepted them with gratitude.
Probably out of embarrassment, they eventually shoved him out.
He noticed some of them were holding breakfast—likely meant for him.
Unfortunately, because of the awkward atmosphere, he didn't get a single bite.
He was starving.
So when Harry handed him the sandwich, it might as well have been gold.
He ate eagerly.
Hermione then led them toward the Black Lake and pulled a bottle of juice from her pocket.
Darren, assuming it was for him, took it without hesitation and drank half of it in one breath.
"Good thing you brought juice, Hermione," he said seriously. "Otherwise I might've choked."
Hermione froze.
Her face slowly turned red.
Darren finally realized something was off.
"…This was yours, wasn't it?"
She nodded slightly.
Darren cleared his throat and decided to change the subject.
"So… you and Ron argued?" he asked softly. "Was it because of me?"
"Oh, no," Harry said angrily. "It was about me!"
Then he told Darren about the fight from the night before.
The more he spoke, the angrier he became.
"I don't understand him! I've always treated him as my best friend. How could he think that of me?"
Darren sighed inwardly.
Jealousy.
The most human flaw of all.
Nobody could escape it.
If he were truly Harry's brother… without powers, without talent, without luck…
Maybe he'd feel the same way.
Harry shined too brightly.
Hermione shined too brightly.
Even he shined too brightly.
And Ron?
Ron was just Ron.
Harry saw Darren smiling and frowned.
"You're laughing at a time like this?"
"I'm not laughing at you," Darren replied calmly. "I'm just… understanding Ron."
Harry stared.
"Understanding?"
"Brother," Darren said gently, "Ron is jealous. He's jealous of your fame. Of Hermione's brilliance. Of how everyone seems to like me."
Harry opened his mouth but couldn't speak.
Darren continued quietly.
"He's always lived in the shadows of others—his brothers, his family, then you. Everything he owns is second-hand. Even his wand wasn't his first choice."
Harry clenched his fists harder.
"From his point of view," Darren went on, "you became famous without trying. Hermione succeeded effortlessly. And I… walked in as your younger brother and was accepted immediately."
Harry swallowed.
"He's proud of us," Darren said. "But pride can coexist with pain. Watching others shine doesn't make you better—it only makes you feel smaller."
"Then… why didn't he say it?" Harry asked hoarsely.
"Because you were friends," Darren replied. "And friends don't want to admit that kind of weakness."
Harry fell silent.
After a moment, he whispered, "You… you've known all this?"
"Yes," Darren nodded. "I've always known."
Harry stared at him as if seeing him for the first time.
"Then… what about you?" Harry asked softly.
Darren smiled faintly.
"I understood jealousy the first time I found out I had an older brother."
Harry froze.
"I was jealous that you had parents," Darren said quietly.
"I was jealous that the professors worried about you instead of me.
I was jealous that everyone only cared whether I might endanger you… not whether I might be hurt."
Harry's eyes trembled.
"No," he said immediately. "It was always you protecting me! You never endangered me!"
Darren patted his shoulder.
"Who knows?"
[Ding, Father Value +100]
[Ding, Father Value +100]
"I didn't know anything," Harry said hoarsely.
"I thought… everyone was just kind to you."
"I'm fine now," Darren said with a soft smile. "If I wasn't, I'd have left long ago. I'm not that foolish."
[Ding, Father Value +100]
[Ding, Father Value +100]
Harry could finally understand it.
Darren had endured loneliness, envy, loss—and never once complained.
He only smiled.
Harry pulled him into a sudden hug.
"Don't be this kind anymore," he said weakly. "I'd rather you be immature like Ron… at least then I'd still feel like your older brother."