Chapter 533 – Is He Selfish?!!
"So, Darren, do you understand now? You must pull yourself together and never lose control again.
"To be honest, I misjudged your condition. I thought you could recover on your own, or at least wait until school started.
"It almost went wrong. Fortunately, everyone managed to bring you and Harry back before anything irreversible happened.
"Otherwise, the entire wizarding world might have fallen into chaos because of the two of you leaving."
Dumbledore spoke solemnly.
Darren immediately showed a deeply guilty expression.
"It's my fault. My head was a mess. I only wanted to leave with my brother. I was selfish, reckless, and I kept causing trouble for everyone…"
[Ding, Holy Father value +100]
[Ding, Holy Father value +100]
[Ding, Holy Father value +100]
[Ding… ]
"If you are selfish, then selfish people don't exist in this world!"
"When you're in pain, you're still thinking about dying together with the Dark Lord—how is that selfish?"
"Calling Darren selfish is the biggest joke I've heard today."
The wizards seated around the room were full of helpless expressions.
None of them had expected to hear the word selfish come out of Darren's mouth.
To them, it was absurd.
"Alright, Darren. If you keep blaming yourself like this, we'll all end up crying first.
"You possess qualities that everyone here deeply respects—even I am moved by you time and time again.
"What I wanted to say just now was actually very simple: if you ever need help again in the future, you can always seek out Luna.
"And I believe that if Luna joins the Order of the Phoenix, there shouldn't be any objections anymore. Right?"
Dumbledore asked with a gentle smile.
Even Hermione subconsciously shook her head.
As long as Darren could recover properly, she felt that this was completely acceptable.
"Then, Luna will in the future—"
Dumbledore was about to announce it when Darren interrupted him.
He frowned slightly.
"I don't fully understand what the Order of the Phoenix is, but I suspect it's an organization created to fight Voldemort.
"If my guess is correct, then I oppose Luna joining the Order of the Phoenix.
"She's only fourteen—she's even younger than me.
"I can't allow her to enter such a dangerous organization just because she helped me, and be forced to face life-and-death situations!"
[Ding, Holy Father value +100]
[Ding, Holy Father value +100]
[Ding, Holy Father value +100]
[Ding… ]
"Darren… you're right," Remus said with a warm smile.
"The Order of the Phoenix is an organization founded by Dumbledore to fight the Dark Lord.
"But why would you think everyone in the Order is a frontline fighter?
"We have many support members, each with their own role.
"Luna hasn't even graduated yet. Her only task would be to help you with counseling, nothing more."
Darren froze.
When he finally reacted, his face slowly turned red with embarrassment.
"Then… I agree.
"But—can I join the Order of the Phoenix?"
He straightened his back and spoke loudly.
"Like Professor Moody—ah, I mean—"
He hesitated, unsure how to address him.
"You can just call me Alastor or Moody," Moody said with a grin.
"Don't worry, I wasn't the one who taught you for a whole year—though I'd be happy to!"
Darren nodded obediently and looked at Dumbledore.
"Yes," Dumbledore said, nodding.
"You may join. Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix."
Applause erupted around the room.
Clearly, Darren's joining was something everyone had been waiting for.
"I'll definitely take good care of everyone!"
[Ding, Holy Father value +100]
[Ding, Holy Father value +100]
[Ding, Holy Father value +100]
[Ding… ]
"No," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"For now, I don't need you to do anything like that.
"Your duty is still to study properly at school. When you graduate… perhaps you can take my place."
Whether it was a joke or a quiet test, Darren subconsciously looked around.
To his horror—not a single person objected.
Why?!
Wasn't he just a background character?
Was he really being prepared as a successor?
Before he could protest, Dumbledore raised his hand to stop him.
"Alright. Next, we have a meeting. Let's move to the conference room."
Mrs. Weasley immediately turned to Fred and the others.
"Children, all of you go back to bed—now!"
"Darren stays," Dumbledore added without hesitation.
Mrs. Weasley froze for a moment, but ultimately did not object.
"Then Darren stays. Everyone else—go to sleep!"
"No! We want to stay too!"
Fred shouted angrily.
"We're almost graduating—why can't we join the Order of the Phoenix?" George yelled.
Mrs. Weasley's face turned red with anger.
"Enough! If you want to embarrass yourselves in front of Dumbledore, I won't stop you!"
Fred and George clenched their teeth, furious.
But seeing Dumbledore's serious expression, they could only mutter under their breath and leave.
Harry lingered at the doorway.
He raised his hand hesitantly and asked,
"Headmaster… can I stay too? Darren is fine now, I should—"
"No, Harry. Next time."
Dumbledore shook his head and turned to speak with Moody, clearly ending the discussion.
Harry and the others were soon ushered out by Mrs. Weasley.
Before long, only the adult wizards remained—along with Darren, the lone minor.
As he sat there, Darren felt utterly speechless.
He had actually become a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
If he didn't know better, he'd think they were waiting for Dumbledore to die so he could inherit the entire organization.
No—he needed to find a way to at least slow things down.
He had no intention of becoming the vanguard of the Order at this stage.
"Alright," Dumbledore said, his tone turning formal.
"Now we can discuss serious matters.
"First, we have something worth celebrating—Darren's recovery.
"When I saw Luna calm the unicorn, I knew she was special, but no one imagined she could help like this.
"It was a brilliant decision. Otherwise, I fear Darren might truly have lost control."
Dumbledore laughed softly.
Darren immediately looked embarrassed and opened his mouth to speak, but Dumbledore shook his head.
"Enough. Let's just applaud this moment.
"Darren, don't speak. I don't want to start crying right now."
Dumbledore sighed.
The others nodded in agreement.
Clearly, none of them trusted Darren not to make things even more emotional.
"Now, onto the second matter.
"Dean Perkins is missing.
"He disappeared the day after we contacted him. We don't know whether he was attacked or went into hiding.
"So, I have a task for you."
Dumbledore looked directly at Darren.
"Go to this address and investigate any clues.
"This will be your first test mission as a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
"If you succeed, you'll be granted access to more information."