The three people ran forward and did not dare to stop at all. They were about to get out.
The spiders were also running behind them, their eight huge legs and sharp claws were frightening, but when they reached the edge of the forbidden forest, they stopped chasing Eda and the twins.
But they didn't leave either. They anxiously paced in place, seemingly hesitant about whether to continue the chase. Losing their almost-caught prey left them quite displeased.
In the end, the giant spiders didn't leave the Forbidden Forest. They just stared resentfully at the gradually retreating Eda and the twins. Slowly, the spiders withdrew, leaving behind a trail of severed limbs and wreckage in their wake.
Eda and the twins finally exited the Forbidden Forest. They could clearly see Hagrid's hut now. Seeing the spiders retreat at last, the three of them felt relieved and began to catch their breath. The recent sprint had exhausted all three of them.
Eda panted heavily, hands on her knees, and said, "Why do we always encounter such bad things every time we come out?"
"No idea!" The twins shook their heads in unison. They were tired too, but less so than Eda, reflecting the difference in stamina between genders.
"We've been to the Forbidden Forest before," Fred said.
"But this is the first time something like this happened," George added.
"When it's just the two of you, nothing happens, but add me, and it does. Is it my fault?" Eda laughed and said, "Next time, don't call me for such things. I value my life too much for these scares!" The cold air she inhaled in large gulps made her body feel chilly.
"It's okay, you'll get used to it," the twins comforted her, though the reassurance sounded more annoying than helpful.
"Who's there?!" A gruff voice, accompanied by a bout of barking, pierced through the night. It was Hagrid's voice.
To avoid getting caught, the twins had to drag the still heavily panting Eda along. Being pulled along, Eda felt like her breathing sounded like a broken bellows.
After much effort, the three finally made it back to the warm castle. Fred used the Marauder's Map to locate Filch, while Eda continued to catch her breath. George gently rubbed Eda's back to help her regain her composure. With George's help and after resting for a bit, Eda finally managed to steady her breathing.
With Fred leading the way using the map, Eda and George closely followed as they made their way back to the common room.
Suddenly, George let out a chuckle and said, "Fred, what do you think about catching one of those Forbidden Forest spiders and giving it to Ron as a gift?"
"Brilliant idea! Just one the size of a basin should do. Anything bigger might hurt him," Fred said seriously, as if he were genuinely considering Ron's well-being.
Wow, Eda thought to herself, impressed and exasperated at the same time. Giving Ron a giant spider—what were they thinking?
"Please, I beg you, be reasonable!" Eda said. "Are you sure Ron wouldn't kill you both?"
"It's because of our mistake back then that he's so afraid of spiders."
"So as his brothers, we need to take responsibility and help him overcome his fear."
The twins spoke confidently, their righteous tone leaving Eda speechless. "Ron must have done something awful in his past life to end up with you two as brothers in this one."
"We're just helping little Ronny overcome his fear in our own way," the twins said again.
"Little Ronny is our family, and didn't you say the best way to overcome fear is to face it?"
Eda wanted to retort, "I didn't say that, you're making it up," but she couldn't because she had indeed mentioned that concept before.
Sorry, Ron, it's my fault. Eda thought to herself. She then remembered their little sister and asked the twins, "You won't do the same to Ginny, will you?"
"Ginny? Of course not," Fred replied, looking surprised.
"She's our sister!"
So the sister gets special treatment, but the brother doesn't, huh? Eda thought, feeling a pang of sympathy for Ron.
Once back in her dormitory, Eda fell asleep immediately. The night's running had exhausted her, and she slept very soundly.
The next day, Eda, Fred, and George saw Hagrid entering the castle. They greeted him and tried to leave quickly, still feeling awkward from their escape the previous night.
However, Hagrid didn't seem to notice their discomfort. Instead, he asked the twins with concern, "You two haven't been to the Forbidden Forest lately, have you?"
"No, you told us not to go!" the twins replied, trying to stay calm.
"That's good, that's good," Hagrid said, looking relieved.
Eda, not suspected by Hagrid, asked, "Hagrid, what's wrong?"
"Someone's been sneaking into the Forbidden Forest lately, even last night," Hagrid said in a low voice that was still quite loud. "Fred, George, the forest has been a bit dangerous these days, so stay away from it."
After exchanging a glance with the twins, Eda said to Hagrid, "Hagrid, I'll keep an eye on them and make sure they don't cause you any trouble. What's been happening in the Forbidden Forest lately?"
Hagrid looked around at the passing students, then lowered his voice again and said mysteriously, "Last week, someone went into the forest and hurt a lot of animals. Last night, someone went in again and killed many of Aragog's children."
Eda didn't know who had gone into the forest last week, but she realized that the ones who killed many of Aragog's children last night were likely themselves. These large spiders, indeed, were Hagrid's pets.
"I shouldn't be telling you all this. Just stay away from the forest for now," Hagrid said, pushing the three of them towards the Great Hall. "Dumbledore has been too busy this year, so these troublemakers think they can come to Hogwarts and cause problems."
Once inside the Great Hall, Eda saw Dumbledore, whom she hadn't seen for a while. He was sitting in the Headmaster's seat, smiling and chatting with Professor McGonagall.
Dumbledore had made it clear that he would not be running for Minister of Magic, once again turning down the position.
With Dumbledore back, all the lurking dangers seemed to vanish. Eda and the twins, who had been chased miserably by the spiders, didn't return to the Forbidden Forest. The twins no longer talked about catching a spider, and Ron wouldn't be receiving such a "gift" during the holidays.
As the weather improved, Hogwarts' Quidditch matches resumed, with Gryffindor scheduled to play this Saturday. Charlie had been intensively training the team, and Fred and George were happily participating as practice partners. Eda also joined in, continuing her role as the cheerleader.
However, on Friday, Eda missed Gryffindor's training session because she was kept after class again.
Eda had once again taken up her primary role of being Snape's main target, bearing the brunt of his attention. During this class, Snape's challenges had gone beyond the curriculum, asking questions that Eda couldn't possibly answer.
After class, a mountain of work awaited Eda, signaling the end of her evening plans. This time, Snape didn't brew potions in front of her but instead sat at his desk reading.
The two of them spent the evening in silence, as if in a competition to see who would speak first and lose.
Around eight o'clock, Eda finally finished all her tasks. She cleaned up the prepared materials and asked, "Professor, may I leave now?"
This night, Eda lost the silent competition. Snape had left briefly, presumably for dinner, and since bringing back food was not in his character, Eda was quite hungry.
Snape nodded, signaling that she could leave, adhering strictly to the principle that silence is golden.
Eda, having been given permission, started to put away her tools. She should have left immediately, but she had some questions she wanted to ask Snape.
"Professor, was it Wulfric who attacked Daniel?"
"That's none of your concern." Snape didn't even look up.
Eda asked again, "Was he the one who forcibly entered the common rooms of the four houses?"
"That's not for you to worry about." Snape looked up at Eda. For convenience in her work, Eda had tied her hair into a ponytail.
"What about the Forbidden Forest? Hagrid said someone had broken into it?"
"Your presumptuousness will eventually be your downfall." Snape lowered his head again, not wanting to look at her. "Winnie!"
A female house-elf suddenly appeared in the classroom, bowing deeply to Snape and Eda, her long nose almost touching the floor of the underground classroom.
"Winnie, take her back!" Snape ordered.
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12 Advance Chapters—Patreon.com/Dragonel