Chapter Summaries

Darren reassured Hagrid that he had not given up on living, then learned about the upcoming Hogsmeade trip and promised to protect Harry from Black. Hagrid’s trial for Buckbeak was approaching, while Ron remained angry with Hermione over Crookshanks and refused to reconcile.

• Darren pretended to feel guilty about not stopping Black, and Harry and Ron reminded him that he had been drunk and could not handle everything alone.
• Hagrid urged Harry and Ron to be more understanding toward Hermione, explaining that she had helped him prepare for Buckbeak’s trial, but Ron insisted she should apologize and get rid of Crookshanks.
• Hagrid hugged Darren and asked him to keep living bravely, and Darren told him he had only been comforting Neville and still intended to protect Harry.
• Darren returned to Slytherin and saw that a Hogsmeade trip was planned.
• Harry worried that Black might have found the passage near the One-Eyed Witch, but Ron reassured him that the passage was likely safe.
• Darren promised Ron that he would protect Harry and kill Black if he appeared.

Harry sneaked out to Hogsmeade despite Hermione’s warning, evaded Snape, and joined Ron, Hermione, and Darren after visiting Zonko’s. At the Shrieking Shack, they overheard Malfoy boast that his father’s lawyers would get a monster sentenced to death, while Goyle recalled Darren nearly crying.

• Hermione threatened to tell the professors about the secret passage if Harry and Ron went to Hogsmeade, but they decided to go anyway.
• Harry tricked Neville, avoided Snape near the one-eyed witch, and escaped through the passage under his Invisibility Cloak.
• Harry met Ron at Zonko’s Joke Shop, where Hermione and Darren were also shopping, and bought prank toys.
• Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Darren went to the Shrieking Shack, where Harry remained under his Invisibility Cloak.
• Malfoy bragged that his father’s lawyers would have a monster sentenced to death and credited Darren with giving him the idea, while Goyle said Darren had nearly cried afterward.

Harry’s Invisibility Cloak was pulled down during a confrontation with Malfoy, who fled after seeing him. Darren hurried to Snape’s office, where Harry was being questioned over the Marauder’s Map, and claimed he had given it to him.

• Malfoy insulted Ron’s family, and Harry threw mud at him while hidden under the Invisibility Cloak.
• Malfoy tripped and saw Harry, then ran off with Crabbe and Goyle as Ron urged Harry to get back before they could report him.
• Darren accepted a mission to witness Snape being mocked by the map and went with Lupin back to Hogwarts.
• Snape confronted Harry over the map, whose writing mocked him, and demanded to know where it came from.
• Darren entered Snape’s office and claimed he had given Harry the map.

Darren gave Snape a copy of Lupin’s enchanted parchment and claimed it was a prank, but Snape summoned Lupin after realizing Lupin had given Darren the original. Lupin left with Harry and both parchments, while Darren remained with Snape and Harry waited in the corridor, where Ron arrived.

• Darren claimed his parchment came from his godfather and that he had copied it for Harry as a prank, completing a mission that earned him Peeves’ Loyalty.
• Snape recognized Lupin as Darren’s godfather and summoned him to his office, where he confronted him about the parchments.
• Lupin denied that the parchment proved anything, then left with Harry after Snape ordered Darren to stay.
• In the corridor, Lupin scolded Harry for using the Marauder’s Map and confiscated both parchments until Black was caught.
• Harry stood dazed in the corridor, and Ron arrived, panting.

Darren visited Hogsmeade and returned to Snape with only a few purchases, leading Snape to assume he had donated nearly all his money. Darren avoided revealing his actual wealth, and Snape was left worrying that the boy was too kind and foolish.

• Snape asked Darren where he had gone and what he had bought, and Darren showed him candy and a self-writing quill.
• Snape assumed Darren had little money left after donating and offered him a bag of money.
• Darren told Snape that he still had plenty of Galleons, earning paternal points.
• Snape demanded to see Darren’s money, and Darren claimed a teacher had given him a prototype Philosopher’s Stone that could turn stone into gold.
• Snape mocked Darren’s claim but privately concluded that Darren had donated nearly all his Galleons and worried about how to teach him.

Darren left Snape with gifts and reassured Harry and Ron that Snape had treated him kindly, while they insisted on having the gifts inspected. He explained how he had kept his godfather’s map secret and then learned that Lupin had taken it, leaving Harry guilt-ridden just as Hermione arrived in tears.

• Snape sent Darren away with Galleons, robes, cakes, and sweets, and Darren noticed that Snape seemed pleased afterward.
• Harry and Ron examined Darren and grew suspicious of Snape’s gifts, so Darren handed them over for inspection while asking them to apologize if nothing was wrong.
• Harry questioned Darren about the parchment, and Darren explained that his godfather had given it to him and that he had hidden its map because he feared Harry would take risks.
• Harry told Darren that Lupin had taken the map, and Darren comforted Harry while admitting he regretted not following him through the secret passage.
• Hermione hurried over with tears on her face, and Darren asked what was wrong.

Hermione told Darren, Ron, and Harry that Buckbeak had been sentenced to death, and the friends worked to support Hagrid and appeal the ruling. Malfoy tried to pressure Darren into becoming his lackey, but Harry and Ron clung to him as he resisted.

• Hermione reconciled with Ron and Harry after telling them Buckbeak had been sentenced to death and showing them the ruling and Hagrid's letter.
• Harry, Ron, and Darren tried to encourage Hagrid, who had lost hope after Lucius Malfoy's lawyers overwhelmed him at the appeal.
• Darren promised to make Malfoy withdraw the lawsuit and said he would do anything to save Buckbeak, but Hagrid and the others made him swear not to approach Malfoy.
• After Care of Magical Creatures class, Malfoy offered to drop the lawsuit if Darren became his lackey and tried to make him feel guilty about Buckbeak's fate.
• Harry and Ron grabbed Darren's arms to stop him from giving in, while Darren resolved that he would not become Malfoy's lackey again.

Hermione stopped Darren from accepting Malfoy’s offer to become his lackey, and Malfoy withdrew after Darren refused. Later, Darren used Professor Flitwick’s Cheering Charm on Hermione, who admitted she might need to drop some classes but still hurried to find out what she had missed.

• Hermione slapped Malfoy and drew her wand when he insulted her, so Darren pushed Malfoy back and demanded an apology.
• Hermione asked Darren not to become Malfoy’s lackey, and Darren refused the offer, saying his friends and Buckbeak did not want him to do it.
• Malfoy said they were even and left with Crabbe and Goyle.
• Professor Flitwick taught a Cheering Charm, and Darren cast it successfully on Harry and Ron, earning twenty points for Slytherin.
• Darren and the others found Hermione asleep in the Gryffindor Common Room, and Darren cast the Cheering Charm on her and urged her to drop some classes.
• Hermione agreed that she might need to drop classes but went to find Professor Flitwick to learn what she had missed.

Hermione quit Professor Trelawney’s Divination class after Trelawney predicted a deadly calamity for Darren, and Darren supported her decision. When Easter holiday arrived, the teachers assigned heavy homework, so Darren increasingly preferred working in the dormitory.

• Darren gave Hermione notes for the Cheering Charm lesson she had missed, reassuring her that she would do well on the exam.
• During Divination, Trelawney saw an ill omen in Hermione’s Remembrall and predicted that Darren faced a deadly calamity.
• Hermione argued with Trelawney, quit Divination, and left the classroom; Darren later told her he supported her decision to drop the class.
• When Easter holiday arrived, teachers assigned piles of homework, and Darren told Harry he preferred doing his work in the quieter dormitory.

Darren tried to avoid his homework and help Hagrid with his lawsuit while Harry and the others kept him from staying in the dormitory. On the day of the Gryffindor–Slytherin Quidditch match, Slytherin vowed to defend its Quidditch Cup title, while Darren expected Harry to win.

• Darren’s Auto-Answer Quill finished his assignments, so he searched for legal precedents and case files to help Hagrid, secretly doing most of the work at night.
• Darren hid Lezi and spent his days looking for the robotic cat, earning Paternal Points when others believed he had searched for Lezi and worked through the night.
• Hermione and Harry stayed busy with homework, Hagrid’s case, and Quidditch practice as tensions between Gryffindor and Slytherin intensified.
• Malfoy confronted Darren in the Slytherin common room and vowed to defeat Harry, but the team captain led him away before he lost his temper.
• On the morning of the match, Slytherin’s team vowed to beat Gryffindor and win the Quidditch Cup for the eighth consecutive year, while Darren expected Harry to come out on top.

Harry's team won their Quidditch match, and Darren later gained Paternal Points by acting devastated over the Ministry's plan to execute Buckbeak. As exams began, Darren impressed Professor McGonagall with his Transfiguration and shared a Charms exam with Cassandra; the chapter ended as the students faced their Care of Magical Creatures test.

• Harry's Quidditch team won, and Darren watched from the stands beside Cassandra.
• Darren reacted to Hagrid's letter about the Ministry hearing the appeal and executing Buckbeak on June 6, prompting his friends to reassure him that they could still help.
• Darren pretended to search the case files through the night and gained Paternal Points before exams began.
• Darren transformed a tortoise into an elegant Chinese-style teapot, then made Professor McGonagall a cartoon cat cup and earned a perfect score.
• Darren took the Cheering Charm test with Cassandra, whose expression became happy after he cast the spell.
• The next day, the students took their Care of Magical Creatures test.

Darren continued earning Paternal Points by acting distressed about Buckbeak’s impending appeal, while Draco privately regretted his hostility. He completed his Potions and History of Magic exams, but his professors remained worried about his lack of sleep.

• Darren asked Hagrid about Buckbeak’s chances of surviving the appeal and pretended to grieve, earning Paternal Points as Hagrid worried about his health.
• Draco felt guilty about his treatment of Darren but could not bring himself to apologize or abandon his arrogant behavior.
• Darren finished his Chaos Potion quickly, and Snape praised his work, gave him full marks, and told him to rest.
• Snape mocked Harry’s Potions ability, causing Harry to make a mistake and produce an ugly potion; Harry saw Snape mark several zeros on his grade sheet.
• Darren completed Professor Binns’s History of Magic essay, and Binns and Professor Sprout urged him to sleep because his dark circles had worsened.

Darren completed his exams and tried to reassure himself that he could save Buckbeak at the appeal. Cornelius Fudge revealed he had been asked to witness Buckbeak’s execution, while the appeal’s timing remained unknown.

• Professor Sprout gave Darren full marks on his Herbology exam after he agreed to rest once Buckbeak’s case was over.
• Darren faced a Boggart shaped like a beheaded Hippogriff during Professor Lupin’s Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, then overcame it with Harry’s encouragement.
• After the exam, Darren and Harry encountered Cornelius Fudge, who said he had come to witness a Hippogriff’s execution.
• Darren asked Fudge about Buckbeak’s appeal and presented a Ministry regulation he believed would save Buckbeak.
• Fudge questioned Darren’s confidence but did not tell him when the appeal would take place, and Darren noticed his smug expression.

Darren tried to attend Buckbeak’s appeal, but Fudge lied about its time, causing Hagrid to lose before Darren arrived. Darren confronted Fudge and asked to appeal again, while earning Paternal Points from his apparent distress.

• Fudge told Darren the appeal was at three-thirty, though it had taken place at two, and Darren went to his Divination exam.
• Darren pretended to predict that he would be hospitalized, and Trelawney praised his prophecy.
• Harry and the others told Darren that Buckbeak had lost the appeal, and Darren acted shocked when he read Hagrid’s letter.
• Harry suggested Fudge might have remembered the time wrong, and Darren rushed to find Hagrid and appeal again.
• Darren encountered Fudge outside Dumbledore’s office and asked to appeal for Buckbeak again, but Fudge feigned confusion.

Darren confronted Fudge over Buckbeak’s impending execution and the repeal of the regulation he had cited, then used a staged spell to make Fudge appear to have been attacked. Fudge lost consciousness, and Darren considered how to portray his regret and despair.

• Fudge told Darren that the regulation protecting Buckbeak had been repealed, and Harry tried to lead Darren away.
• Darren pointed his wand at Fudge and accused him of lying and retaliating against him, then begged him to spare Buckbeak.
• Darren claimed he would accept punishment or death, pointed his wand at his heart, and cast “Blade Like a Knife!”
• Dumbledore shielded Darren, and the spell rebounded onto Fudge, who collapsed as Darren cried out for the Minister.
• Darren received an Identity Card from the system and wondered how to show his apparent regret over Fudge.

Dumbledore erased and altered Darren, Harry, Hermione, and Fudge’s memories after Darren attacked the Minister, then healed Fudge and restored the appearance of a peaceful resolution. Darren remained distraught over Buckbeak and persuaded his friends to go see it after dinner, while preparing for the night’s events.

• Darren asked Dumbledore to arrest him and free Buckbeak, blaming himself for the danger facing his friends and Buckbeak.
• Dumbledore cast Obliviate on Darren, Harry, Hermione, and the others, and Darren used Paternal Points to keep his memories.
• Dumbledore healed Fudge, erased his memory, and implanted a version of events in which the regulation had already been abolished.
• Darren apologized to Fudge and left in despair, while Harry and Hermione stopped him from running off and agreed to visit Buckbeak after dinner.
• Darren ate several steaks, pudding, and ice cream under his friends’ pressure, then made them feel guilty by lamenting that Buckbeak was awaiting its death.

Darren, Harry, Ron, and Hermione visited Hagrid before Buckbeak's expected execution, and Darren insisted on staying to keep Buckbeak company. When Dumbledore and Fudge arrived at the hut, Hagrid urged the students to hide and leave.

• Darren and the others wore the Invisibility Cloak to reach Hagrid's hut, where they found him grieving over Buckbeak.
• Darren tried to comfort Hagrid, who blamed himself for Buckbeak's fate and said Dumbledore could not save him after the appeal failed.
• Darren and Hermione refused to leave, and Hermione discovered Scabbers in a jug beneath Hagrid's cabinet.
• Ron grabbed Scabbers and put him in his pocket as Dumbledore, Fudge, and several Executioners approached Hagrid's hut.
• Hagrid urged the students to hide and leave, but Darren insisted on staying with Buckbeak even if he was expelled.

Darren struggled to accept Buckbeak’s impending execution while Harry and Hermione tried to keep him from intervening. As Ron’s rat Scabbers went wild, Darren received a temporary mission instructing him to fake being stunned when Black attacked.

• Hagrid hid Darren and told him Buckbeak’s fate could not be changed, then urged him to leave so he would not be expelled.
• Harry, Hermione, and Ron concealed themselves beneath the Invisibility Cloak as Dumbledore arrived at Hagrid’s hut.
• Harry and Hermione dragged Darren away, but he begged to free Buckbeak and struggled to cope as the execution drew near.
• Ron stopped when Scabbers fought him and bit his fingers, while Darren insisted on staying with his friends.
• The Paternal System assigned Darren a mission to pretend to rush toward Hagrid after Buckbeak’s execution and fake being hit by Black’s Stunning Spell.

Darren accepted a task that required him to be stunned, then pretended Black’s Stunning Spell had knocked him unconscious. Harry, Ron, and Hermione fled toward the castle, where a huge black dog appeared and lunged at Harry.

• Darren accepted the task and used 500 Paternal Points to negate Black’s Stunning Spell while falling as if unconscious.
• Harry carried Darren toward the castle as Ron’s Scabbers escaped and Crookshanks chased after it.
• Ron caught Scabbers near the Whomping Willow, and the group prepared to return to the castle and alert the professors.
• A huge black dog lunged at Harry, and Harry tried to dodge while carrying Darren.

Harry, Hermione, and Darren followed Crookshanks and the black dog through the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack, where a gaunt man disarmed them and revealed his power over the group. The man restrained Darren as well, saying he would allow no accidents before someone died.

• The black dog dragged Ron beneath the Whomping Willow, and Crookshanks stopped the tree so Harry, Hermione, and Darren could follow.
• Harry carried the unconscious Darren through the passage to the Shrieking Shack while Crookshanks led them and the black dog watched from behind.
• A gaunt man disarmed Harry and Hermione, bound them, and carried Darren into an inner room.
• The man bound Darren with his wand too, and Harry demanded to know who he was.