Chapter 677: Hermione

After Harry and Ron walked out of the Potions classroom, they discovered that Hermione and Darren had appeared.

But not long after, they discovered that Hermione had appeared again.

Hermione was lowering her head, pulling at the zipper of her schoolbag.

"Huh? Hermione, weren't you just there? How did you suddenly appear here?"

Ron asked suspiciously.

Hermione said in a muffled voice, "I just went to find Darren, so I was out for a while."

"Ah, that's great, is Darren no longer..."

Ron hadn't even finished his sentence when he froze.

Because at this moment, Hermione raised her head.

Her face was covered in tears.

"Don't tell me Darren lectured you..."

Harry and Ron were dumbfounded.

Because ever since Darren defeated the troll in their first year, Hermione had rarely cried like this.

"Must have run into a professor, and the professor lectured you, saying you failed your exam?"

Ron asked jokingly.

He and Harry were just joking with that sentence, because they didn't believe at all that Darren would lecture Hermione.

In fact, because of his kindness, Darren rarely even got angry at those truly bad kids.

So, Hermione crying definitely wasn't because of Darren.

But Hermione shook her head, choking up as she said, "Darren will never pay us any mind again. It's our own fault; we hurt him deeply."

She sniffled.

Large drops of tears fell.

She pulled at her schoolbag zipper hard without a word.

Then.

Riiip. Her schoolbag tore.

Hermione's books spilled all over the floor.

But neither she, Harry, nor Ron picked them up.

Harry said in disbelief, "How could Darren say that? Just because I said one bad thing about Slytherin, he really won't pay me any mind?"

"It wasn't just one thing..."

Hermione told Harry and Ron everything Darren had said in one go.

She wiped her tears and said, "Darren has been suffering grievances for a long time.

If it weren't for this sudden outburst, I wouldn't have known I usually do such excessive things.

I knew he was kind, yet time and time again I trampled on the things he cared about. This time, he must loathe us to the extreme..."

Hermione couldn't go on.

She squatted on the ground and began to pick up her books one by one.

"You guys help me take a few... I can't carry them anymore, and this Muggle Studies book—I cried for a whole class, and the professor punished me by making me copy the textbook..."

I don't want to take Muggle Studies anymore either; what is there to study?

I haven't even studied my own friends well, what am I doing studying Muggles... Hermione said, sniffing.

Harry felt his stomach churning non-stop.

He had never realized they had neglected Darren so much.

For example:

They had never eaten with Darren at the Slytherin table.

They had never gone to the Slytherin common room with him.

They had given even less respect to Darren's friends in Slytherin.

They hadn't even greeted those people.

For example, that Slytherin girl prefect, for example, that Cassandra...

They all knew they were good people, yet they always felt they were detestable Slytherins.

They could only guarantee not to speak ill of those people in front of Darren.

"I always thought that he had me and you two, and that was enough..."

Harry said miserably.

He knew, he knew Darren cared about Slytherin, yet he still didn't do anything about it.

"I can go apologize to Darren..."

Harry said, his eyes brightening.