Hogwarts: I Obtained the Paternal System

Dumbledore's Summons

After sorting out his emotions, Darren finally left St. Mungo's.

The moment he stepped outside, he saw Becky standing properly at the entrance to St. Mungo's.

Her jet-black hair fluttered in the wind. From Darren's angle, it looked like one of those famous scenes from an idol drama.

However, this idol-drama heroine was in a terrible mood.

Standing at the crowded entrance of St. Mungo's, her brows were tightly furrowed.

From time to time, she dodged one or two wizards who might have some strange bloodline, her face full of disgust.

"You finally came out. If you'd taken any longer, I might've had to fish you out of the boys' bathroom!"

After avoiding someone whose entire body was spurting blood, Becky finally spotted Darren and said with a sigh of relief.

If Darren had not come out soon, she might have fled this place already.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Darren said apologetically.

He stepped up to Becky and tugged at the hem of her clothes.

Becky snorted at his hand, raised her wand, and vanished from the spot in an instant.

Diagon Alley was as lively as ever.

People bustled back and forth all around them.

After Becky set Darren down, Peeves hurried over.

She muttered incessantly:

"Young Master Darren ran off too fast. Peeves came out of the bookstore and couldn't find Young Master Darren.

In the end, Peeves could only go look for Mr. Dumbledore. Mr. Dumbledore said Young Master Darren was fine and told Peeves to wait here..."

"I'm sorry, Peeves. I was too angry before, so I... I'm sorry!"

He could imagine how worried Peeves had been.

House-elves devoted themselves entirely to serving their masters.

When their masters disappeared, some of them would even punish themselves out of guilt.

But Darren had no choice. If Peeves found out that he had taken a Killing Curse, things would probably become utterly unmanageable today.

"Young Master Darren doesn't need to apologize to Peeves. Peeves knows everything Young Master has done.

Young Master believes all lives are equal. Young Master thinks Peeves is the same as Young Master.

Peeves is truly so moved. Peeves kept crying just now, for such a long time.

No one would do so much for a house-elf like Young Master..."

Peeves spoke in her aged voice, proud yet saddened.

Darren wanted to comfort her. When he had said that all lives were equal, he had mainly meant people.

He had forgotten to consider other races.

But he felt that saying so would spoil the mood and would not fit his Paternal persona, so he held his tongue.

"Oh, right, Young Master Darren. Mr. Dumbledore asked you to return to his office."

Only after crying for quite some time did Peeves remember this.

Darren's heart lurched.

Thinking of the Voldemort's bloodline he had only obtained today, he began to feel afraid.

No way?

Old Deng's information network is that good?

I only just got it!

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

It had to be something else.

"Did Professor Dumbledore say what it was about?"

Darren asked tentatively.

Although he knew that even if Dumbledore had discovered something, he would not have told Peeves, he still held onto a sliver of hope.

What if Dumbledore had water on the brain?

"Peeves knows that Mr. Dumbledore told Young Master Darren to go to his office. Peeves was worried Mr. Dumbledore might hurt Young Master Darren, so Peeves secretly listened for a while."

Uh...

Was she really that ruthless?

Then again, when a house-elf eavesdropped, did Dumbledore really not know?

Oh, no!

Could this be another trap Dumbledore had laid, testing whether he was honest?

Darren felt his head beginning to ache.

With such an unreadable White Wizard watching him, he did not even know whether it was a good thing or a bad one.

On the good side, it was indeed quite good.

If he encountered mortal danger, Dumbledore would definitely come to save him.

And he could earn some Paternal Points from this White Wizard too, which was rather satisfying.

But the downside was obvious: he had to keep guessing what this White Wizard was thinking.

Still, it was not difficult. As long as he showed this White Wizard qualities such as integrity and kindness, it would be enough to handle him.

Besides, there was nothing he had done that could not see the light of day.

Other than Voldemort's bloodline.

But that thing probably could not be detected so easily.

There was no real problem.

With that thought, Darren relaxed again.

He looked earnestly at Peeves and said:

"Peeves, don't eavesdrop on other people's conversations again. It's impolite and wrong. It invades other people's privacy and betrays their trust, understand?"

This was not entirely about maintaining his Paternal persona.

The wizarding world was full of talented people. He did not believe that famous wizards would fail to notice a house-elf eavesdropping.

This time, it had been Dumbledore.

Dumbledore had not minded, and perhaps he had also happened to be testing Darren's character, so he had said nothing.

But if Peeves encountered a bad wizard next time and was caught eavesdropping, that wizard might simply get rid of her.

Darren had no intention of letting his house-elf die for that reason.

"Alright. Young Master Darren is always the best."

Peeves obediently nodded.

But the way she looked at Darren became even more worshipful.

Young Master Darren was upright, kind, and lovable. If he returned to the old manor, he would surely be liked by the Potter family's ancestors as well.

Perhaps one day, Young Master Darren might even inherit the glory of the Potter family!

To think something so disloyal.

She was somewhat unwilling to become Young Master Harry's house-elf. She only wanted to serve Young Master Darren forever, and then serve Young Master Darren's children as well.

But Young Master Darren was not the eldest son of the Potter family and would likely be unable to inherit the Potter family.

She had overheard this while secretly listening to Mr. Dumbledore's conversation today.

Mr. Dumbledore had been assuring someone that only Young Master Harry would inherit the Potter family.

But did that mean Young Master Darren had to be cast out?

She had not told Young Master Darren any of this, because she knew that even if she did, he would not fight for those things.

Young Master Darren was too kind. He certainly would not be willing to do such a thing.

Peeves should think of a way herself.

Veritaserum

Darren truly had no idea that his Peeves had been thinking so much.