Chapter Summaries

Darren tried to keep Malfoy from suing Hagrid after Buckbeak injured him, while Malfoy used the threat to pressure Darren into insulting Harry. A Paternal System mission then ordered Darren to obey Malfoy and punish himself, leaving him to decide whether to accept.

• Darren apologized to Malfoy on Harry and Ron's behalf and pleaded with him not to sue Hagrid.
• Ron protested that Hagrid's injury to Malfoy was not attempted murder, so Malfoy pretended his head hurt and threatened to write to his father.
• Darren offered to become Malfoy's lackey to protect Hagrid, alarming Harry and Ron.
• Malfoy demanded that Darren call Harry disgusting, and Darren refused while growing tearful.
• The Paternal System issued Darren a mission to insult Harry and punish himself with his wand in exchange for Boggart's ability to see through fear, and Darren accepted.

After Malfoy pressured Darren into insulting Harry, Darren secretly injured himself, leaving Harry distressed and guilty. Professor Lupin arrived to begin the lesson, while Harry resolved to wait until the matter with Hagrid was over before approaching Darren again.

• Darren accepted Malfoy's demand and insulted Harry, prompting Malfoy to feel guilty and drop the matter.
• Darren returned to the Slytherin table, then secretly cut his wrist and gained the ability to see through another person's fears.
• Darren healed the fake wound and wiped away the blood, but Hermione told Harry that Darren was punishing himself because of him and Ron.
• Ron urged Harry to leave Darren alone until the matter with Hagrid was settled, and Harry watched Darren go with regret.
• Lupin entered and checked on Darren, who insisted he was fine despite looking pale.

Lupin took his students to the staff room for a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, where he used Waddiwasi to drive off Peeves and stood up to Snape. After Snape left, Lupin began the lesson, and a cabinet behind him started rattling.

• Lupin led the students to the staff room for a practical lesson and found Peeves blocking the entrance with chewing gum.
• Lupin cast Waddiwasi, sending the gum after Peeves and impressing the students.
• Lupin entered the staff room, where Snape challenged him and mocked Harry.
• Lupin defended Harry, while Snape told Malfoy to visit his office after class before leaving.
• Lupin began the lesson, and the cabinet behind him started rattling as Darren gripped his wand.

Lupin brought a Boggart to class to help Darren confront the painful memories of the nine students who died, but Darren refused to have those memories removed. Lupin continued the lesson and encouraged Darren to face the Boggart, leaving the class believing he was afraid.

• Lupin revealed that the creature in the classroom was a Boggart and explained that he had brought it so Darren could confront his memories again.
• Darren pretended to struggle with his feelings, then said he wanted to keep the memories because he blamed his weakness for the deaths of nine students.
• The students tried to reassure Darren and urged him to let Dumbledore remove the memories, but Darren firmly refused.
• Lupin resumed the lesson, and Hermione explained that Boggarts took the form of people's fears.
• Darren explained that laughter and the Riddikulus spell could defeat a Boggart, earning ten points for Slytherin.
• Lupin urged Darren to overcome his fear, while Darren worried that doing so would prevent him from acting miserable later.

Darren accepted Lupin’s demand to face the Boggart rather than risk having his memories removed. After spending Paternal Points to fabricate the scene, he watched the Boggart take the form of Flint and pretended to be overwhelmed by guilt.

• Lupin told Darren he had to face the Boggart or have his memories removed, and Darren accepted the System’s mission to let it reveal a scene from his past.
• Darren approached the wardrobe while Lupin promised to stop the Boggart if he could not endure it.
• The System offered Darren the option to spend one hundred Paternal Points to fabricate his fear, and he chose to do so.
• The Boggart emerged as Flint, who accused Darren of failing to save him.
• Darren covered his face and acted as though Flint’s accusation had left him near collapse while Lupin urged him to pull himself together.

Darren faced the Boggart’s visions of people who blamed him for their deaths and struggled to overcome his guilt. He finally confronted the last vision, and Lupin rewarded him with twenty points for Slytherin.

• The Boggart showed Darren Conte blaming him for the suffering of others, then a dying Slytherin boy accusing him of causing his death.
• As Darren struggled to stand, Lupin chose to let him continue facing the Boggart, while Gryffindor and Slytherin students argued over whether it should be stopped.
• The Boggart became a bloodied boy who had died trying to distract Darren, and Darren rushed forward to pound it while declaring that he had done nothing wrong.
• The students cheered as Darren said he would no longer blame himself so much, and Lupin awarded Slytherin twenty points for Darren’s courage.

Darren faced the Boggart in class and later accepted Lupin’s offer to teach him a spell for subduing Obscuruses. Harry remained concerned about Darren’s apparent distance from him, while Ron and Hermione continued arguing over Crookshanks chasing Scabbers.

• Lupin had every student except Harry face the Boggart after Darren overcame his fear.
• Malfoy dragged Darren away after class and claimed Darren was his lackey, while Harry held back from apologizing so he would not make things harder for Darren.
• Lupin summoned Darren to his office, asked how he was feeling, and offered to teach him a spell for subduing Obscuruses.
• Darren eagerly accepted Lupin’s offer, and Lupin told him he could come to him with other spells or personal concerns.
• Harry saw Darren avoid him and believed Malfoy had forbidden Darren from approaching him, while Hermione and Ron continued clashing over Crookshanks chasing Scabbers.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione struggled to make amends with Darren while Hagrid's lessons continued with Flobberworms. Harry learned the Potter family planned to dismiss Peeves, who decided to go to Darren, leaving Harry to ask her to apologize for him.

• Harry felt ashamed and avoided the Slytherin table and common room, while Ron and Hermione argued over Crookshanks and Hagrid's lessons.
• Hermione berated Harry and Ron for refusing to try to sit with the Slytherins, and explained that Snape had threatened to expel them if he caught them entering the common room.
• At the beginning of October, Harry resumed Quidditch training with the Gryffindor team under Wood.
• Peeves told Harry that the Potter family considered itself bankrupt, but Harry was unconcerned after learning the vault still held around five hundred thousand Galleons.
• Peeves gave Harry a letter saying the Potter family planned to dismiss her, and she told him she would go find Darren.
• Harry asked Peeves to apologize to Darren for him.

After Peeves lost most of the Potter family’s fortune in a virtual-currency scam, Darren comforted her and offered to make her his own house-elf. Peeves accepted, and Darren learned how the aristocrats had tricked her into buying their worthless holdings.

• Peeves visited Darren and confessed she had left only about five hundred thousand Galleons in his vault, then punished herself for the loss.
• Darren stopped Peeves from hurting herself and took her to the Hospital Wing, telling her he valued her more than the family’s money.
• Peeves told Darren that the old master's portrait had driven her out because it no longer trusted her.
• Darren declared that Peeves was family and offered to make her his house-elf alone; Peeves accepted through tears.
• Darren asked how Peeves had been scammed, and she explained that aristocrats had sold her their virtual currency before its value collapsed.

Darren chose to keep Peeves despite the Potter family threatening to cut off his support, and he offered his Firebolt shares in exchange for the virtual currency she had brought back. A system mission promised him ninety percent ownership of the Firebolt Company if he made the trade, leaving Dumbledore stunned and Peeves overwhelmed by Darren’s faith in her.

• Dumbledore gave Darren a letter saying the Potter family had expelled Peeves and would provide Darren only twenty thousand Galleons if he accepted her.
• Peeves urged Darren not to risk his place in the Potter family for her, but Darren ordered her to stay and declared that he wanted her.
• The Paternal System issued Darren a mission to offer his ten percent Firebolt shares for Peeves’s virtual currency, promising him the identity of the company’s ninety-percent shareholder.
• Darren told Dumbledore he wanted to trade his Firebolt shares for the things Peeves had brought back because he trusted her judgment.
• Peeves wept with gratitude as Dumbledore looked into Darren’s eyes, still wanting to respond.

Darren gave Dumbledore the Potter family shares in exchange for the items Peeves had bought, leaving Dumbledore moved by his generosity. Harry learned Darren had become Malfoy’s follower because of Lucius’s threat against Hagrid, but Lupin explained the threat was baseless, and Ron wrote to Mr. Weasley for confirmation.

• Darren insisted Dumbledore give Peeves all the Potter family shares, and Dumbledore hugged him and said he would always be proud of him.
• The Potter family portraits agreed to Darren’s request, giving him the right to use their scrap-metal items and the shares.
• Harry learned what Darren had traded and felt guilty about their strained relationship, then waited outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts office to speak with him, but Darren left.
• Harry told Lupin that Malfoy had threatened to sue Hagrid and forced Darren to become his follower.
• Lupin explained Lucius only intended to sue over the Hippogriff incident and that the claim of intentional murder was nonsense.
• Harry realized he and his friends had failed to check the facts, and Ron wrote to Mr. Weasley that night to ask about the matter.

Harry learned that Lucius could only sue Hagrid over Buckbeak, not for intentional murder, and prepared to tell Darren that Malfoy had lied. Darren continued pretending to be estranged from Harry while his mission timer ran down, leaving Malfoy anxious as Harry confronted him in Divination class.

• Mr. Weasley assured Harry and his friends that Lucius could not sue Hagrid for intentional murder, and Professor McGonagall confirmed it.
• Harry realized Malfoy had deceived Darren and regretted not asking a professor sooner.
• During Divination class with Slytherin, Malfoy taunted Harry, who sat beside Darren and prepared to expose the lie.
• Darren coldly rejected Harry while secretly gripping his wrist and earning Paternal Points as he continued acting estranged.
• Harry announced that Malfoy could not sue Hagrid for intentional murder, and Malfoy nervously insisted that he could.

Darren learned Malfoy had lied about being able to sue Hagrid and beat him, then apologized to Harry for their past conflict. Harry reassured Darren that he would always be his brother, and later found him studying a sheet of paper with Hermione in the Gryffindor Common Room.

• Harry revealed that Professor McGonagall had said Malfoy’s claim about suing Hagrid was false.
• Darren angrily beat Malfoy while other students refused to help him.
• Darren offered to take Malfoy to the Hospital Wing and dared him to have his father sue.
• Darren tearfully apologized to Harry, and Harry told him he would always be his brother.
• Harry returned to the Gryffindor Common Room and saw Darren studying a sheet of paper with Hermione.

Harry felt guilty that Darren had to face Slytherins’ coldness, then became disappointed when he could not join the trip to Hogsmeade. In Hogsmeade, Darren discovered that Rookwood’s people were selling his potions and publicly explained why he shared his inventions, drawing a crowd that recognized him.

• Harry recalled feeling guilty about his earlier anger and was relieved that Darren had forgiven him and continued visiting the Gryffindor Common Room.
• When Darren offered to stay behind rather than go to Hogsmeade, Harry told him to go, but Professor McGonagall refused Harry’s request to have his permission form signed by Nicolas Flamel.
• Harry saw Hermione and Ron quarrel again, and Hermione stopped letting Harry and Ron copy her homework.
• Hermione and the others took Darren to Hogsmeade, where he sampled food and drinks before Hermione spotted his Wolfsbane Potion for sale in a shop.
• Darren recognized the disguised Rookwood and explained to Hermione and the gathered crowd that he wanted his inventions to help people, though he opposed making everyone share patents for free.
• People in Hogsmeade recognized Darren Potter, and he realized his fame had nearly caught up with Lockhart’s.

Darren met Luo Luo Zhang and her older sister, Cho Chang, in Hogsmeade, then spent the afternoon helping them search for their mother with Hermione. Meanwhile, Harry spoke with Lupin about Darren’s recent hardships before Snape entered Lupin’s office carrying a strange potion.

• Luo Luo Zhang asked Darren to wait for her to grow up so they could attend Hogwarts together, and Darren realized she was likely Cho Chang’s younger sister.
• Cho Chang found Luo Luo Zhang and nervously invited Darren to help search for their mother, while Hermione urged them to look for her first.
• Darren, Cho Chang, and Hermione spent the afternoon shopping in Hogsmeade, where Cho Chang bought Darren treats and a gift for Harry.
• Harry met with Lupin, who thanked him for revealing that Darren had been bullied and regretted failing to protect him.
• Snape entered Lupin’s office carrying a strange-colored potion and gave Harry a cold look.

Harry visited Lupin, where Snape forced Lupin to drink a potion and provoked Harry into losing Gryffindor ten points. After Harry returned, Ron confronted Darren and Hermione for enjoying themselves with other people while he spent the afternoon searching for them.

• Snape mocked Harry in Lupin's office and ordered Lupin to drink the potion he had brought.
• Lupin drank the potion, and Snape taunted Harry about Darren before docking Gryffindor ten points for shouting at a professor.
• Harry warned Lupin that Snape wanted the Defense Against the Dark Arts position and was interested in the Dark Arts, then left.
• Darren returned with Hermione, looking guilty, while Ron angrily accused them of abandoning him after he had spent the afternoon searching for them.

Darren gave Harry and Ron sweets and cake while explaining that he had bought Peeves’s virtual currency to support him, earning more Paternal Points. As the Halloween party began, Darren wondered whether Black would break into Gryffindor as he had before.

• Ron complained that Hermione had refused to share her leftover cake, so Darren gave him a piece he had saved.
• Darren gave Harry a large pile of sweets and a cake, explaining that Cho Chang had paid for them to thank him for helping her family.
• Harry offered Darren more Galleons and criticized him for taking virtual currency instead of Firebolt shares.
• Darren told Harry that he had bought Peeves’s currency to support him after his business failed, earning admiration and Paternal Points.
• Harry mentioned that Snape had brought Lupin an unpleasant-looking potion, but Darren paid little attention as the Halloween party began.
• Darren and the others went into the decorated corridors for the Halloween feast, and Darren wondered whether Black would break into Gryffindor.

After Black broke into Slytherin, Hogwarts students spent the night in the Great Hall while the professors searched the castle. Darren fell asleep before he could learn what Black had done, then woke to Snape suspecting that Black had been searching for him and had destroyed his bedroom door.

• After the feast, Darren reached Slytherin and found its entrance broken open, so Snape ordered the students away while he searched inside.
• Darren joined Harry and the other students in the Great Hall, where Dumbledore ordered everyone to stay overnight and the prefects to patrol.
• Harry gave Darren a sleeping bag and said he suspected Black had come for them; Darren promised to protect Harry, earning Paternal Points before falling asleep.
• Darren woke to Snape telling Dumbledore that Black had been looking for Darren and that his bedroom door had been smashed.
• Darren wondered whether Black had discovered his hidden Invisibility Cloak, but concluded that no one could have revealed it.

Darren suspected Black had another reason for entering Hogwarts after finding a page about his necklace folded in his notebook, while professors tightened security around him and Harry. The day before the Quidditch match, Lupin fell ill and Snape took over Defense Against the Dark Arts, where he berated the class before Harry arrived late and muddy.

• Snape accused Dumbledore of overlooking help from someone inside Hogwarts, but Dumbledore insisted Black had entered by an unnoticed method.
• Darren found a folded page in his alchemy notebook describing how to make his necklace and wondered whether Black had come to replace a broken one.
• Professors kept Darren under supervision, and Snape ordered him to stay with the Slytherins or remain beside Harry until Black was caught.
• Lupin fell ill the day before the Quidditch match, so Snape taught Defense Against the Dark Arts and criticized Darren's notebook and the class's work.
• Harry rushed into Snape's lesson covered in mud and began apologizing for being late.

Snape substituted for the absent Lupin and used a lesson on Werewolves to antagonize Harry and question Darren about his views. Darren defended good Werewolves, but the class still suspected Snape of acting maliciously, especially after Harry received a humiliating detention.

• Snape deducted Gryffindor points from Harry and Hermione, then assigned the class an essay on identifying and killing Werewolves.
• Snape asked Darren whether he hated Werewolves, and Darren said he judged individuals by their actions rather than their race.
• The class applauded Darren, while Snape awarded Slytherin twenty points and dismissed everyone except Harry.
• Darren told Hermione that Snape had not meant harm, but the students continued to believe Snape was malicious.
• Harry rejoined the group after Snape assigned him to scrub every chamber pot in the school.