Chapter 502: I'm Sorry, I Was Wrong!!
"Very good, Darren. You've helped us—this is an important clue!"
Dumbledore said excitedly.
At last, Darren smiled.
But he still didn't stop there. He continued searching himself for anything else unusual—and finally his gaze fell on his wand.
Suddenly, Darren waved it.
Lines of text appeared above the wand.
They were the words he had previously recorded with it—everything Mr. Crouch had muttered.
Seeing this, Dumbledore was even more pleased than he had been about the pumpkin juice clue.
He carefully copied down every word.
"Oh, Darren, you've truly helped me," Dumbledore said seriously.
"I think I've found something extremely important here, something I must verify immediately."
"Thank you for leaving these clues. Otherwise, I would have had no direction at all. Now, I may be able to find the one behind this much faster."
Darren looked embarrassed.
"It's all my fault. My vigilance is so poor. I always—"
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"Silly boy," Dumbledore said helplessly.
"If you hadn't helped me, then no one could have."
"Of course," he added with a sigh,
"your vigilance really is terrible. You'll eat or drink anything anyone gives you."
Darren said awkwardly, "But… there aren't that many bad people, right?"
"And when people give me food, most of them are being kind. If I refuse, they'll feel sad."
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Darren's words left Dumbledore truly at a loss.
He wanted to say something, but in the end, he only sighed.
"Perhaps you're right, child. Although that person drugged you, he didn't want to kill you."
"At that moment, you could have been killed with a Killing Curse—"
"But he didn't do it. I believe your kindness moved him."
Darren laughed shyly.
Calling villains good people in my heart…
I'm not accidentally guiding Dumbledore toward universal love, am I?
Of course not.
Dumbledore didn't stay long.
After speaking with Madam Pomfrey, he left in great haste, clearly very busy.
Once Dumbledore was gone, Darren was allowed to leave the infirmary as well.
They decided to deliver the letter to Black first.
Because of Dumbledore's request, Harry hadn't sent it the night before.
Now, they planned to tell Black everything—and bring him some food as well.
They all remembered how hungry Black had once been.
After delivering the letter, they overheard Fred and George talking.
They seemed to be discussing how to threaten someone.
This made Ron uneasy.
He was worried that Fred and George were doing something reckless for money.
But Darren shook his head.
"Fred and George may be mischievous, but they're good people. I'm sure they haven't done anything bad."
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Darren's words naturally triggered several increases in Holy Father value.
Still, Ron looked doubtful.
"I'm just scared," Ron said.
"They've always wanted to open a joke shop like Zonko's, but they don't have the startup money. I'm worried—"
"Wait," Darren interrupted firmly.
"We can't convict Fred and George based on speculation alone."
Ron finally nodded.
He decided to ask Fred and George directly later.
If they really had done something bad, he'd tell his mother.
If it was just a misunderstanding, then no harm done.
Next, they decided to look for Moody.
Moody still had Harry's map, and with his magical eye, if there were any developments, he should know immediately.
They found him and asked directly,
"Did you find Mr. Crouch?"
"No," Moody replied.
"There's no trace of him at all."
His magical eye avoided Darren's gaze as he looked at the others.
His hideous face still sent chills down Harry's spine, no matter how many times he saw it.
"Isn't he on the map either?" Harry pressed.
"No," Moody said loudly.
"I checked the map. There's no name for Crouch at all. He disappeared again!"
Then his gaze suddenly locked onto Darren.
"Darren, what are you suspecting now?"
Darren tightened his grip on his wand.
"Professor Moody," he asked calmly,
"where were you when Mr. Crouch disappeared last night? And what were you doing?"
"Very good," Moody said without hesitation.
"I've always said you're best suited to be an Auror. You always grasp the key point."
"I was in my office last night. Snape can confirm that."
"After all, he had just been reprimanded by me before going to complain to Dumbledore."
"By the way, Darren—why do you suspect me?"
If Darren hadn't known the truth already, he might have believed him.
Of course, he was only pretending to be suspicious.
He had no intention of exposing Moody yet.
So Darren replied hesitantly,
"I noticed pumpkin juice residue on my fingers."
"Someone who could casually hand me pumpkin juice must have done so subconsciously."
"That means the drink was always nearby."
"I don't think many professors have a particular fondness for pumpkin juice."
"Only you carry a flask with you all the time—and I've never seen what's inside it."
"So that's it!" Moody said, visibly relieved.
Fortunately, he had been worried about Dumbledore's inspection earlier that day and had already changed the contents of the flask—replacing the Polyjuice Potion with a kind of wine.
Grinning, he handed the flask to Darren.
"Darren, your reasoning is excellent. I fully support this kind of investigation."
"An Auror should always have this spirit."
Darren already knew Moody must have switched it, but he still opened the flask.
Then, a guilty expression appeared on his face.
"I'm sorry," Darren said quietly.
"It's my fault. I'm always so suspicious."
"I even doubted an Auror like you. I really… I really hate myself."
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