Chapter 3

The specific nature of the bloodline is a closely guarded secret of the Potter family, but it is said that the first Lady Potter possessed phoenix blood.

Could this child have inherited it? ### CHAPTER 19

Should I study Darren’s bloodline more closely?

Dumbledore wondered with curiosity.

However, he suppressed the thought; the bloodline of any family is not something an outsider should probe.

Even though Darren was still a child and very kind—and would certainly not refuse if he asked—he was unwilling to do such a thing.

He needed to investigate something else: whether Lily’s blood protection charm had been cast upon Darren.

That charm of Lily’s could protect all the family members she acknowledged.

Logically speaking, Darren should have it.

Yet, when he had traced the threads of that charm back then, there was no trace of Darren at all, which was why he had assumed Darren was dead.

Now that Darren was clearly alive, he wanted to know what exactly was going on with him.

Could it be that because Lily thought Darren was dead at the time, the blood charm did not settle on him?

That was possible, but unlikely.

Dumbledore cast several spells on Darren, his expression gradually darkening, but fearing he might frighten the boy, he forced a smile.

An Obscurus!

Darren was an Obscurial!

How could this be?

No wonder Lily’s blood charm hadn't settled on Darren; perhaps it had been neutralized by the Obscurus.

Both were considered dark magic; it was normal for them to cancel each other out.

Although Dumbledore hadn't witnessed the scene, he believed this was the only possibility.

It was common knowledge that Obscurials did not live past the age of ten.

That was why Dumbledore had never considered that Darren could be an Obscurial.

But now the fact was right before his eyes; Dumbledore couldn't deny it even if he wanted to.

Yet he had never seen the scene of an Obscurus appearing in Darren’s memories!

"Darren, have you ever felt an extra power in your body, something very strong, very evil..."

Dumbledore asked seriously.

Darren paused, only then realizing he must be talking about the Obscurus.

Fine.

Another fire added to his tragic childhood.

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore. When I was little, I often felt some strange power in my body. I was afraid to use it, and later it just disappeared.

Oh, right, it might still be hidden in my body... but these years it seems I've never seen it come out. I feel like it should be quite kind, as it has never hurt anyone, so I haven't worried about it."

Darren said in a simple, innocent tone.

It left Dumbledore stunned.

He understood magic turning into an Obscurus.

But he truly couldn't comprehend an Obscurus being kind.

Yet he roughly understood what Darren meant.

"You mean the Obscurus, that is, the power lurking in your body, has never appeared, and you subconsciously feel it poses no harm to you?"

Dumbledore summarized.

Darren nodded vigorously.

Although he knew this was a bit of a stretch, he couldn't exactly say his Obscurus was a gift from the system that cost 1,000 Saint Father points per minute.

He had no choice but to make it up.

Besides, the wizarding world was quite idealistic; Dumbledore should be able to understand that, right?

Dumbledore fell silent.

While it was true that wizards using magic was also idealistic—driven by a powerful will—he really couldn't be idealistic about an Obscurus being kind and controllable.

But to insist that Darren’s Obscurus was a dark force didn't seem quite right either.

After all, Darren had lived until now without ever using the Obscurus, nor had he used it to hurt anyone; he was completely different from other Obscurials.

Everyone knew that Obscurials originated from the time before Muggles hunted wizards.

It was a powerful force that emerged when wizards tried to suppress their magic to hide their identities and avoid persecution.

But as time went on, if wizards couldn't control them, they would be controlled by the Obscurus instead.

An Obscurus was an unstable, uncontrollable dark force that would suddenly launch an attack and then vanish.

Nowadays, it mostly appeared because young wizards didn't understand and grew to extremely loathe their own magic.

If an Obscurial didn't use magic, they would suffer a backlash.

If they used magic but couldn't control it, it would cause great damage to their body.

That was why Obscurials died young.

So, Darren’s Obscurus was very "un-magical"!

And it had appeared very strangely.

Logically, a young wizard had to be particularly hateful of their magic for it to appear.

Yet Darren was only a little afraid of his magic, and then the Obscurus appeared.

Then it didn't force Darren to use magic, but seemed to absorb all the magic in his body.

It hid in the deepest part of Darren’s body, letting him spend eleven quiet years like a Squib.

Wait.

Like a Squib?

No wonder Darren’s name hadn't appeared in the Book of Admittance.

Perhaps because of this Obscurus?

Then what was the catalyst for Darren’s name appearing in the Book of Admittance?

"Professor Dumbledore, before you came to pick me up today, I think I used this power."

Darren followed Dumbledore’s train of thought, hurriedly trying to clear his own suspicion.

Well, he certainly couldn't mention getting magic from the system, so he might as well push everything onto the Obscurus!

"Oh? Tell me in detail."

"It was like this, Kenley and his group wanted to give me trouble, so I..."

Dumbledore perked up.

Could this child be wanting to resist Kenley?

It seemed this child wasn't too foolish after all.

Darren didn't know his thoughts and continued: "So I planned to run a bit further away, I used a little bit, and then I really ran a bit faster."

Dumbledore: "..."

A wasted hope.

This silly child used an Obscurus just because he wanted to run a bit faster.

And the Obscurus actually obeyed and made him run a bit faster.

Hmm?

A bit?

It really wasn't "a billion" but just "a bit"?

Is an Obscurus really that controllable?

"I will teach you the simplest spell, Wingardium Leviosa, which can make objects float."

Dumbledore taught Darren twice, then handed his wand to Darren.

Darren took it carefully and felt a powerful energy appear in his body.

The Elder Wand!

Darren’s first reaction upon holding the Elder Wand wasn't that he had become powerful, but that this old silver-tongued fox Dumbledore was testing him. ### CHAPTER 20

Darren's first reaction upon receiving the Elder Wand was not that he had become powerful, but that the old schemer Dumbledore was testing him.