Hogwarts: I Obtained the Paternal System

"Go on, child. Say goodbye to them."

Dumbledore spoke gently.

Darren shook his head and sighed softly. "No. After what happened, they should be afraid of me. I'd better not go, lest I scare them."

As someone who did not know the Obliviate spell, he "definitely" would not know that those people had forgotten what had just happened, so it was perfectly normal for him to worry that they would fear him.

[ Ding, Paternal Points +50 ]

After collecting the Paternal Points again, Darren finally withdrew his gaze from Kenli and the others.

He could consider this revenge for the original owner of this body. They probably would not cross paths again in the future.

After Darren said that, Snape had no intention of explaining anything to him. He impatiently grabbed Darren's shoulder, coldly said, "Hold on tight," and vanished from the spot.

He was sick to death of that man named Kenli.

Sick to death of this foolish boy constantly forgiving such a piece of trash.

When he heard Darren say he did not want to see him, he even let out a relieved breath.

At last, he would not have to hear Kenli's name again.

Phoenix Bloodline

Before Darren could react, the world spun around him, and he felt as though he had been forcibly squeezed out of a water pipe.

"Good boy, have some Chocolate. You'll feel much better."

Once Darren had steadied himself, Dumbledore's aged voice reached him, along with a large chunk of Chocolate.

Darren accepted it curiously.

He had heard that Chocolate in the Wizarding World was different.

It was said to lift one's spirits and ease fear, fatigue, and more.

When Harry had been frightened by an Obscurus, Lupin had given him a piece.

He cautiously took a bite.

A warm current flowed through his body.

"Magic is amazing!"

Darren could not help exclaiming.

Dumbledore nodded as well.

"Magic is a marvelous thing. Lumos. Severus, why have you made the house so dark?"

Dumbledore asked helplessly.

Snape curled his lip and replied sarcastically:

"Albus, if your brain were not stuffed full of couch grass, you should know that I haven't been home in a long time."

He would rather live at Hogwarts than stay here.

This place symbolized his painful childhood, and it also symbolized... Lily.

Snape's eyes grew even emptier.

Darren paid him no mind. He was busy curiously examining the layout of Snape's home.

It was a two-bedroom, one-living-room house. The curtains in every room were drawn tightly shut, making the place look extremely gloomy.

A massive fireplace stood in the living room, with nothing around it. Clearly, Snape had moved everything out of his house.

Even a thief would leave here in tears.

"Incendio."

Dumbledore pointed at the fireplace, and it immediately lit up.

With practiced ease, he picked up a large jar beside the fireplace and opened it. He took out a small handful of sparkling powder and handed it to Darren.

"This is Floo Powder. Throw it into the fireplace, then say 'Hogwarts,' and step inside."

Snape glanced at Darren, took a handful from the jar as well, then tossed it into the fireplace. He said, "Hogwarts," and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Darren blinked. Snape really is all bark and no bite. He was worried I wouldn't know how to use Floo Powder, so he gave me a demonstration first.

Under Dumbledore's encouraging gaze, Darren smiled shyly, tossed in the Floo Powder, and stepped into the fireplace.

After a dizzying whirl, Darren appeared in a spacious office.

Snape turned around expressionlessly. Once Darren arrived, he quickly swept up his robes and left.

Only a female wizard wearing a pointed hat remained. She looked exceedingly stern as she sat at her desk, writing something.

The moment she saw him step out, she rose swiftly. Her eyes were filled with amazement, and her lips trembled slightly as she said:

"Darren... So alike, so alike. Child, Dumbledore sent word that you had been found... I'm truly so happy. Soon, you brothers will be reunited..."

The female wizard turned away and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, trying her best to speak in a stern tone.

"Child, if Lily knew you had grown so much, she would be overjoyed!"

"All right, Minerva. Lily would certainly be very happy. Both her children have grown into adults, and Darren has not been lost to some grand adventure.

"But I still have some questions I need to discuss with Mr. Darren."

Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace, brushing soot from his robes as he spoke solemnly.

"No, Albus. Didn't you see the wound on this child's forehead? What he needs is treatment and bed rest!"

Professor McGonagall said with a frown, her stern face filled with a lioness's fury.

Dumbledore chuckled softly.

"That will have to wait a little while. Perhaps ten minutes. Mr. Darren and I have a few private words to exchange."

He insisted.

Professor McGonagall could only yield, though she pressed her lips together and insisted, "Ten minutes. I'll be watching the clock!"

"No problem. Darren, come with me."

Dumbledore led Darren briskly toward his office.

They came before a pair of ugly stone gargoyles.

"Password."

"Sherbet Lemon."

"All right, you are always right."

The gargoyles moved aside, and the wall behind them split in two, revealing a staircase.

Darren hurried after Dumbledore up the stairs.

This was another awe-inspiring scene from the original work.

Portraits of past headmasters hung here.

There were also many silver instruments, chiming and clinking away.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp..."

Darren also heard a burst of birdsong.

When he turned around, he saw an ugly, featherless little turkey standing on a perch and calling at him.

"Fawkes is a phoenix. He was injured a few days ago, so I simply allowed him to undergo rebirth. Once his feathers have grown back in full, then you will see his beauty."

Thinking Darren did not understand, Dumbledore explained with a smile.

Darren showed an amazed expression, but what he was really thinking was whether his Phoenix pet egg could hatch into something prettier than Fawkes.

Although phoenixes were described as beautiful in the original work.

What Darren saw was just a plucked turkey.

It was far too ugly.

Still, to maintain his persona, he asked worriedly, "Will he recover? Who could be cruel enough to hurt him like that?"

[ Ding, Paternal Points +20 ]

Why was it giving him less this time?

Darren scratched his head in confusion and heard Dumbledore answer calmly, "It was an accident, Darren. An accident no one expected."

"All right. He should be very beautiful in the future."

Darren said politely.

Fawkes tilted his head and studied Darren.

For some reason, he found Darren extremely appealing to phoenixes. If he had not already had an owner, he would certainly have found a way to become Darren's phoenix.

Dumbledore gave Darren a surprised look. Fawkes liked Darren so much—could it be that Darren, like him, possessed Phoenix bloodline?

Dumbledore pondered whether the Potter family had Phoenix bloodline.