Chapter 655 : Are You Pitying Her?!!
In order to prove their nobility,
the old wizard showed their obsidian ring, as well as the Slytherin locket, trying to make Ogden understand that they were the Gaunt family.
Darren took a careful look at Merope.
She was a pale young woman, her clothes fairly clean compared to the others.
However, her eyes kept staring to one side, timid and frightened, and every word from her father or Morfin made her tremble.
The scene remained tense and quiet—until Tom Riddle arrived.
The moment Tom Riddle appeared,
Merope's face flushed red.
Morfin sneered and told everyone that Merope watched Tom Riddle every single day.
This enraged old Gaunt.
He almost strangled Merope, shouting that a daughter who chased after a Muggle was filth and disgrace.
Ogden tried to save Merope and was immediately attacked by Morfin.
He could only fire a string of chaotic spells from his wand before fleeing in a panic.
After he escaped, he ran directly into Tom Riddle—
Voldemort's biological father.
But it had to be said,
probably because of Merope's fragile appearance, Voldemort was not as handsome as his father.
Tom Riddle's face was gentle and refined,
while Voldemort's features were colder, sharper, more cunning.
"Good, we'll end it here."
Dumbledore pulled Harry and Darren out of the memory.
Harry quickly asked,
"What happened to Merope?"
"She survived," Dumbledore replied.
"Ogden returned with a team of Aurors. They arrested Marvolo Gaunt and Morfin for attacking a Ministry official. Marvolo was sentenced to six months in Azkaban, and Morfin to three years."
Dumbledore then looked at Darren.
"Darren, what did you notice?"
Darren thought for a moment.
"The young man who appeared later must have been Voldemort's father. I've seen the soul fragment in Voldemort's diary—they resemble each other."
"And Voldemort's mother should be Merope. But what I don't understand is how those two ended up together. They were completely mismatched, and that man clearly liked another girl."
"Very good," Dumbledore said with approval.
"I'm glad you followed my train of thought."
"Tom Riddle and Merope were indeed Voldemort's parents, and Marvolo was his grandfather."
He paused.
"Your observation is important. If you can continue to see details like this, it may help us keep Harry alive."
Darren smiled slightly, then asked,
"What did Merope do to Tom Riddle?
Was it a Confundus Charm—or a love potion?"
"I personally suspect a love potion," Dumbledore answered seriously.
"As you saw, Merope's wand skills were unstable at best."
Harry immediately asked,
"Then what happened after that? Voldemort grew up in an orphanage."
"Yes," Dumbledore said.
"About a year later, Tom Riddle returned to his family home. He claimed he had been poisoned or bewitched. In truth, he likely meant he had been enchanted—but no one believed him."
"So the potion failed?" Harry asked.
"Perhaps it failed," Dumbledore said slowly.
"But I lean toward another possibility—that Merope stopped giving it to him, and once the effect faded, Tom Riddle escaped."
Dumbledore looked directly at Darren.
"Darren… are you sympathizing with her?"
"Yes."
Darren answered without hesitation.
"I am sympathizing with her.
She did something wrong—something shameful by many standards. But I can't help feeling sorry for her."
"If she hadn't been born into that kind of family, wouldn't everything have been different?"
[Ding, Father +100]
[Ding, Father +100]
Dumbledore sighed softly.
"Do not dwell too deeply on this. Remember, we are studying history. These events are already in the past."
"But that doesn't mean I can't feel compassion," Darren said with a small smile.
Dumbledore shook his head helplessly.
"Of course, I cannot forbid you to feel.
Still, it is late. You should return to your dormitories. I will inform you when the next lesson is arranged."
Dumbledore waved his hand, and Darren and Harry left the office.
---
Sixth year's curriculum was truly demanding.
For Darren, it was still manageable.
For Harry and the others, it was far more difficult.
Every professor now demanded the use of silent spells.
Even Hermione needed Professor McGonagall to repeat instructions several times before succeeding.
Harry's best subject suddenly became Potions—
entirely thanks to the Half-Blood Prince's notes.
This only made Hermione angrier.
Their relationship with Hagrid also worsened.
Hagrid was furious that they hadn't chosen his course,
and because Harry and Ron were so busy, they rarely visited him.
In front of Darren, Hagrid swore angrily that he would never care about Harry and the others again.
Whenever they met in the Great Hall, Hagrid would turn and leave without a word.
On Saturday, Hermione suggested that during the weekend they should go see Hagrid.
But Harry and Ron looked uneasy.
They had heard from Darren that Care of Magical Creatures was now taught deep inside the Forbidden Forest—
and that terrified them.
They felt lucky they hadn't chosen the subject.
Darren's claim that the lessons were actually fun only made them believe he was speaking out of kindness.
After all, Darren was always kind.
Harry and Ron even joked that Darren had probably been sent by Hagrid to teach Grawp how to tie his shoes.
More importantly, they were truly busy.
This week was Gryffindor's Quidditch tryouts.
"I don't get it," Harry complained.
"I've never seen so many people turn up for trials."
Hermione snorted.
"They're not coming for Quidditch at all.
They're coming because of you and Darren."
"After everything last year, you two are even more noticeable now. They don't—"
"I'll admit Darren is more handsome than before," Harry interrupted awkwardly.
"But me? I'm kind of—"
He touched his face, unable to finish the sentence.
Hermione's anger eased slightly.
"It's not about looks," she said firmly.
"Darren has always been attractive because of his character, not his face."
"And as for you—what made you popular is your stubbornness last year. You stood up to Umbridge. You kept saying You-Know-Who had returned even when no one believed you."
"You endured the suspicion, the ridicule, for an entire year.
Isn't that more admirable than anything?"