Chapter 5

Darren took the potion handed over by Madam Pomfrey, poked his head forward to sniff it, and then tentatively took a sip.

It wasn't as bitter as described in the original work; instead, it had a mellow, fragrant taste. ### CHAPTER 23

He lifted his head and drank it all in one go.

According to Madam Pomfrey’s tone, Moon Grass was added to this; perhaps it was a very precious medicinal herb?

It would be a waste not to drink it.

"Alright, this child has just taken his medicine and needs rest. You should leave!"

Madam Pomfrey waved her hands, shooing both Dumbledore and Snape out of the hospital wing.

Darren had just wanted to secretly mock them a little when sleepiness washed over him. He yawned and fell into a deep sleep.

When Darren woke up again, the sunlight outside was bright.

On the table were over a dozen bags of candy, two sets of black wizard robes, and two sets of Muggle casual clothes.

The clothes must have been bought by Snape.

Beside the clothes were over a dozen greeting cards.

Darren picked them up in confusion; they were all sent by Hogwarts professors.

One of them was signed by Quirinus Quirrell.

Darren stared at the name for a while and offered a premature moment of silence for this poor professor.

If nothing went wrong this year, this professor would likely end up without a corpse.

Darren laughed sadly.

Seeing him wake up, Madam Pomfrey hurried over with a smile to check his body, then let out a sigh of relief:

"Not bad, the wounds have completely healed, and the missing nutrition has been partially replenished. Severus’s potion is very effective."

Darren blinked his eyes; he did indeed feel very comfortable, and he hadn't slept this soundly in a long time.

"Madam, how long have I been asleep?"

It shouldn't have been long, right?

"Three days, my child. You have been asleep for three whole days.

If Severus and I hadn't checked several times and confirmed you were fine and just too tired, I’m afraid he would have insisted on sending you to St. Mungo’s."

Madam Pomfrey said with a smile.

Darren opened his eyes wide in shock.

Three days!

He had missed nine temporary tasks!

How could he have slept for three days?

He shouldn't have been greedy for Snape’s good medicine and drank it all at once.

No, wait, even if he wasn't greedy, he would have had to drink it.

So, did this count as a work-related injury? Would the system make up for the tasks?

Clearly not; the system didn't even bother with his unreasonable demands.

Darren felt so sad he could barely breathe.

"Alright, child, you can be discharged. I hope you won't be as mischievous as those Gryffindor students, always getting yourself into the hospital wing."

"Gryffindor?" Darren showed a blank expression.

At this moment, he was supposed to "not know" what Gryffindor was.

"Oh, right, child, I forgot you came from the Muggles.

Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin are the four houses of Hogwarts.

After school starts, the school will sort you into a house. However, I’ll give you a little secret.

During the Sorting, as long as you meet the requirements, you can actively request which house you want to go to.

For example, Slytherin requires pure blood, Gryffindor requires courage, Ravenclaw requires a love of learning, and Hufflepuff requires integrity.

If you possess the traits required by a house, the Sorting will be based on your subjective choice.

Back then, I actively requested to enter Slytherin just to pursue a Slytherin senior!"

Uh oh!

Before Darren could ask, Madam Pomfrey had already blurted out the situation about the Sorting.

He had thought his choice of house was very secretive; it seemed quite a lot of people knew about it?

"Oh, right, Madam, which professor will sort us into our houses?"

Darren asked "innocently" again.

This time Madam Pomfrey didn't tell him; she smiled mysteriously, with a hint of schadenfreude:

"Child, life needs a bit of the unknown to be interesting. When I enrolled, I heard from my brother that we had to fight a troll!"

She hummed a song and left, leaving Darren crying and laughing.

The wizarding world really knew how to tease children.

If he were truly a Muggle-born child who knew nothing, he would be panicking by now.

Fighting a troll... that was the protagonist’s business; what did it have to do with a Saint Father like him?

Darren complained, pulled the wizard robe from the table, and put it on.

The fit was just right.

Darren really couldn't imagine Snape picking out clothes for him with a gloomy face.

Dressed and holding a pile of greeting cards and candy bags, Darren walked out of the hospital wing and looked outside in a daze.

This time, he was truly dazed.

Although he had read Harry Potter, he hadn't carefully memorized the school map in the novel!

Where was he supposed to go now?

"Mr. Darren!"

Pop!

A house-elf with large ears, unusually large eyes, and about the same height as Darren appeared before him.

A house-elf!

"Mr. Darren, I am Pachi, a house-elf of Hogwarts. Mr. Dumbledore asked me to take care of you."

Darren unobtrusively and carefully sized up this house-elf named Pachi.

The house-elf described most in the original work was Dobby.

A free house-elf.

A house-elf who liked to punish himself at the slightest disagreement when at the Malfoy house, looking a bit neurotic.

But Pachi was not like that; it looked well-bred, looked at Darren submissively, and wore a tolerant smile on its face.

"Hello, Pachi. My name is Darren Potter; you can just call me Darren. I would like to know where I will be staying before school starts? I need to put my things down."

Darren said "obediently."

The smile on Pachi’s face deepened. It took Darren’s hand and said happily:

"Very well, Darren. Your accommodation is temporarily arranged in the Gryffindor dormitory. Professor McGonagall agreed that you can stay here before school starts."

PS: I see everyone in the comments section worrying that if he enters Slytherin, the protagonist might be suspected.

Actually, don't worry; as long as everyone votes for a result, we can add plot points.

For example, the reason for going to Gryffindor is wanting to be with Harry.

The reason for going to Hufflepuff is wanting to eat? Or being too kind-hearted.

The reason for going to Ravenclaw is yearning for knowledge.

The reason for going to Slytherin might be because the first person he came into contact with was Professor Snape, so he wants to enter his house.

So everyone, feel free to vote boldly; in the end, the author will choose the house with the most votes.

Right, everyone, please vote in the voting area.

Currently, there are two votes for Slytherin, two for Ravenclaw, and no one has chosen Gryffindor or Hufflepuff yet. ### CHAPTER 24