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Chapter 471: What Can I Do?!!
Darren was in her house; if he were in her academy, he would definitely have a much better life.
He wouldn't be suffering like he was in Slytherin.
Professor McGonagall had heard that many Slytherin students bullied Darren. She had even heard some of the children mocking him behind his back.
Even Severus was always too harsh with this child.
Although she knew Severus meant well deep down, treating Darren like this would only hurt the boy even more.
Just look at him—he was so depressed.
Professor McGonagall decided she must encourage him more and help him stop being so downhearted.
So she began giving him a series of praises.
Darren's face turned red, and when she looked at Harry afterward, her expression was helpless.
Compared to Darren, Harry was troublesome.
He was too much like James—always causing chaos, naïve, and never obedient.
And unlike Darren, he wasn't very affectionate or thoughtful.
Professor McGonagall honestly wanted to trade students with Snape.
Of course, this didn't mean she disliked Harry.
So she gave Harry a smile.
"Harry, you also need to choose a girl as your partner for the Yule Ball."
"Why?" Harry asked in horror.
"And Darren already picked Hermione, so who am I supposed to ask? I don't have any girls around me!"
He looked completely lost.
"What girl are you competing with Darren for? Go look for someone else!" she snapped.
"But no other girl wants to dance with me!"
Harry was even more distressed.
"So you think Hermione must dance with you after dancing with Darren?" Professor McGonagall raised her voice.
"This… couldn't she?" Harry asked weakly.
Professor McGonagall nearly exploded.
"Get out. Both of you, leave immediately. And stop thinking about Hermione. Go find your own partner!"
"If you appear at the ball without a girl, I want to see how shameful Hogwarts' 'leader' will look!"
"Leader?!" Harry choked.
Why was he the leader?
He was already on the verge of collapse imagining himself forced into a dress robe, bowing awkwardly like Uncle Vernon in a stiff hat.
Professor McGonagall seemed to realize how unreliable that sounded, but she still continued angrily:
"What can I do? I want Darren to be Hogwarts' leader, but you're slightly older than him, so it must be you.
Heavens, I hope no one says Gryffindor is full of reckless idiots."
"I wish Darren were my student. I would wake up laughing every night!"
"And the Slytherins will laugh at us! They'll say Gryffindor has no capable students!"
With another glare at Harry, she stormed away.
Harry stared at Darren.
"It's not my fault Gryffindor is unreliable—why is she acting like it's all because of me?
And why do I have to find a girl? Why can't I dance with Ron?
You dance with Hermione, I dance with Ron. It's perfect. Ron and I don't need girls."
Darren held back his urge to shout.
What kind of brain did this boy have?
He didn't remember Harry being like this in the original timeline.
But when Ron found out, he thought the same thing.
If McGonagall didn't force them to pick girls, the two of them would happily choose each other and avoid dealing with actual partners.
A week ago, Harry wouldn't have minded just asking a girl.
Compared to fighting a dragon, what's asking for a dance?
But now…
He would rather face the dragon again.
Girls were terrifying.
They whispered among themselves every time he passed, always glancing at him.
Since Darren already had Hermione, they didn't go near him—but they surrounded Harry instead.
They didn't like Harry.
They wanted Harry to invite them so they could get close to Darren afterward.
"To be honest, Darren, I regret it. I should've asked Hermione before you. She's so good…"
Harry muttered.
But Darren replied happily, "I'm honored to invite Hermione. You don't know how beautiful she looks when she's dressed up. Even I was stunned."
"Maybe even Fleur won't be as beautiful as Hermione!"
[Ding, Holy Father Value +10]
[Ding, Holy Father Value +20]
[Ding, Father Value +100]
His words didn't move Harry or Ron.
Only Hermione's eyes turned red.
Both boys stared at Darren in shock.
"Are you serious?"
"She's like a guy. And you're praising how she looks when dressed up?"
Hermione glared at them so fiercely that they shut up.
Still, they believed Hermione could look better when dressed up—but Fleur was on another level.
Especially for Ron, Fleur was the peak of beauty.
Unfortunately, when he tried to ask Fleur two days ago, she glanced at him arrogantly and walked away.
Even so, he still believed she was the most beautiful.
Hermione was about to explode again when Darren soothed Ron, saying that external beauty didn't matter and that he himself was "blind" to it—inner beauty was what mattered.
Hermione couldn't bring herself to refute that.
Of course, both Harry and Ron felt Hermione wasn't suitable for Darren.
Many girls felt the same.
Hagrid even whispered to Darren, during one of their visits:
"A bunch of girls are secretly askin' about yeh. They think if yeh decide not to dance with Hermione anymore, I'll be the first to know."
"They're all hopin' it'll be their turn next."
"How is that possible? Hermione is great. She's always been by my side. If I had to choose a partner, it would always be Hermione."
Darren said it without hesitation.
Hagrid continued:
"But I can't… I can't hurt anyone. I might die at any time. I won't look for someone I truly like until I defeat the Dark Lord. It wouldn't be fair to her!"
[Ding, Father Value +100]
[Ding, Father Value +100]
[Ding, Father Value +100]
[Ding…]
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