That night, Eda, Fred, and George gathered in the common room, and when no one was paying attention to them, the three of them slipped out quietly.
With the help of Eda's Disillusionment Charm and the Marauder's Map, they made their way to the fifth floor. Since curfew had long passed, they didn't encounter any other students. They also didn't run into Filch or his cat, Mrs. Norris, as Filch was patrolling the second floor, far from their current location.
The three of them entered the secret passage one after the other, with Eda leading the way and the twins following closely behind. They didn't stay in the passage for long; after a brief exploration, they decided to head back.
The Marauder's Map didn't indicate any additional secret rooms within the passage, which made Eda feel more balanced.
After leaving this passage, Eda and the twins decided to check out the other secret passages marked on the map. They didn't know when the map was created, so it was necessary to personally inspect these passages.
However, while checking one of the new passages, they almost got caught by Filch. If they hadn't noticed Filch's movements on the map in advance, Professor McGonagall might have been disturbed from her sleep once again.
Eda, Fred, and George quickly left the passage and hid nearby. After a while, they saw Filch walking towards the passage.
He first searched the ground for something, then entered the passage, clearly noticing that Eda and the twins had disturbed the markers he had previously set.
This passage was now compromised. Filch knew about it and would set markers in advance, ensuring that anyone entering the passage would be discovered during his patrols. This passage was no longer a secret.
The three of them didn't say much as they walked down the corridor, but once they returned to the common room, they began to chat.
"Filch seems to know the school well, but I wonder how many other secret passages he knows about?" Eda asked.
The twins shook their heads simultaneously. They were also curious about this. They had underestimated "old Scumbag" Filch; he seemed to have some real skills.
"Do you think he knows about the passage by the Whomping Willow?" George asked with a mischievous grin after recalling the locations of several passages.
"I hope he does. I'd love to see him getting smacked around by the Whomping Willow," Fred said, bursting into laughter.
"Stop it, I can already picture it..." Eda said, and she could indeed imagine the scene of Filch being pummeled by the Willow's thick branches.
Eda, who usually didn't laugh much, couldn't hold back anymore and joined the twins in giggling. The previously quiet common room turned into a sea of laughter.
The three of them laughed until tears nearly came to their eyes. It wasn't that they disrespected Filch as an elder, but some of his actions made it hard to like him.
The holiday had ended, and they had to get up early for classes the next day. After agreeing to meet for breakfast, they each went to rest.
The next day, Eda got up early. She sat in the common room, silently memorizing spells while waiting for the twins to come down. After waiting for a while without seeing any sign of them, she realized that they were probably still sleeping in and wouldn't be coming down anytime soon.
Eda didn't want to wait any longer, so she walked straight into the boys' dormitory.
Seeing Eda suddenly appear, the boys were all startled, causing a chaotic mess in the dorm. They were still young; if Gryffindor had a matron, these boys would have been used to this by now.
Eda walked straight ahead without looking around, ignoring the commotion until she finally reached the twins' dorm room. Coincidentally, one of the twins' roommates was just about to leave, saving her the trouble of knocking.
Under the astonished gaze of the boy, Eda walked in without a hint of embarrassment. Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were all fast asleep in their beds, completely unaware of Eda's presence.
The dorm was a bit messy, but fortunately, there were no strange smells or the scent of broomstick polish, so Eda lowered the hand she had instinctively raised to cover her nose.
First, she walked over to Fred's bed and pinched his nose. The lack of air quickly woke Fred up, who looked bewildered at the sight of Eda.
Fred couldn't believe it, rubbing his eyes vigorously before yanking the covers up to shield himself.
"What are you doing here?"
"Who? Fred, what are you talking about? Who's here?" George sat up as soon as he heard his brother's voice. Seeing Eda, he also grabbed his blanket, "What are you doing here?"
"What's going on... Why are you yelling... Can't a person get some sleep around here..." mumbled the only one who hadn't woken up yet.
"Alright, you two, get up!" Eda clapped her hands, looking at the twins with disdain. "Put away those bashful expressions; they don't suit you two at all."
"Why is there a girl's voice... Am I dreaming?" Lee Jordan mumbled, still lost in his sleep.
Eda grabbed Fred's pillow and tossed it directly at the mumbling Lee Jordan. The pillow hitting him woke him up, and he mimicked the twins' actions, pulling his blanket up in surprise.
"What are you doing here?" The three boys, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, echoed in unison, their faces all equally bewildered, creating a real surround sound effect.
"Meet in the common room in ten minutes. Any questions?" Eda held a book in her hand, looking ready to throw it if necessary.
The three boys nodded in unison, too scared to argue, but they didn't move a muscle.
"Are you moving this slowly because ten minutes is too much time?" Eda threatened, hefting the book in her hand.
"Could you please step outside?" Fred requested humbly.
"Don't worry, I have no interest in seeing your scrawny bodies. I'm afraid I'd get an eye infection," Eda replied disdainfully, but she still left the dormitory, closing the door behind her.
After another round of chaos, Eda returned to the common room.
Five minutes later, the twins, along with Lee Jordan, appeared in front of Eda, who was already waiting calmly.
In the Great Hall, Fred once again brought up the earlier incident, asking, "Why were you in the boys' dormitory?"
George and Lee Jordan also looked at Eda, while Angelina and Alicia, intrigued, stared at her too. Eda nodded to them, confirming that she indeed went there.
The two girls' expressions became quite animated, showing a mix of surprise, reproach, and a hint of curiosity as if wondering why they weren't invited along—classic.
"Of course, it was to get you all to come to breakfast. What else?" Eda replied nonchalantly, sipping her porridge. You have to admit, the house elves' cooking was really good.
"We know that. We're asking how you got in," George persisted, craning his neck.
"I walked in..." Seeing the three boys' faces that looked like they wanted to strangle her, Eda decided to be honest. "At Hogwarts, girls can enter the boys' dormitory."
"Then..." a nearby boy interjected, having an unrealistic hope.
"But boys can't enter the girls' dormitory," Eda said, tearing a piece of bread, delivering the final blow.
The twins, Lee Jordan, and several other nearby boys exclaimed in unison, "That's not fair!"
Frustrated and indignant! When would Hogwarts' male students finally have equal standing?
"How did you know that?" Alicia tugged on Eda's sleeve, curious.
"During the holidays, I always went to the library with Senior Smith. She's a very talkative person," Eda explained.
"Anything else interesting?" The twins quickly moved past their disappointment, now curious about what the senior had shared with Eda.
"Does Snape not liking to wash his hair count?" Eda glanced at Snape at the staff table, then quickly looked down, not wanting to ruin her breakfast.
"That's common knowledge," Fred said dismissively.
"And Filch..." Eda started but was cut off by the twins.
"No one knows Filch better than us," they chimed in unison.
"Then there's nothing else. Senior Smith isn't like you two. She plans to work at the Ministry of Magic," Eda said.
This Senior Smith had indeed shared a lot with her, but it was mostly about studies and future careers—topics that first-year students typically didn't find interesting.
"Dad works at the Ministry of Magic," Fred said, unimpressed.
"Early mornings and late nights, working hard for a not-so-great salary," George added, echoing the same sentiment.
Looking at the two "second-generation officials" in front of her, Eda said, "Maybe one day the Weasley family will have a Minister for Magic, like Percy?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Percy will never make it," George said, waving his hand dismissively.
Fred swore, "If Percy ever becomes Minister for Magic, I'll eat your favorite armchair!"
Why bring the armchair into this? What did it ever do to you? Eda thought to herself.
"I heard from my family that there's going to be a change in the Ministry of Magic," Lee Jordan said. "Minister Millicent Bagnold is stepping down."
The boys began discussing who might be the next Minister for Magic. Whether it was their genuine interest or just immaturity, they seemed oblivious to the presence of the girls.
The twins had little interest in the topic, as they preferred the joke shop to the Ministry of Magic.
"It would be even better if we could open our own joke shop!"
_____
Read 12 Advance Chapters-patreon.com/Dragonel