Hogwarts had returned to its regular class schedule, but Eda's relationship with the twins had not returned to normal.
For an entire week, the twins avoided Eda, making it harder to see them than reaching the stars.
They were either wandering aimlessly around the castle or hiding in their dormitory, refusing to come out. The only times Eda could catch a glimpse of them were during classes or meals in the Great Hall.
Although Eda understood why Fred and George were upset, she had clearly underestimated the consequences of the situation. She truly hadn't expected the two brothers to stay angry for so long, giving her no opportunity to make amends.
Without the twins, Eda found Hogwarts oddly dull.
Without their constant chatter and antics, even reading a book became difficult.
"Ugh..."
Life without their humor felt unbearably boring.
Over the past week, Eda had been running herself ragged. During the day, she attended classes and made time to help the house-elf Winnie clean up the Shrieking Shack. Yes, despite her falling-out with the twins, Eda hadn't given up on her "Shrieking Shack Renovation Plan."
Thanks to her and Winnie's efforts, the shack was now clean, leaving only the structural repairs and furniture restoration to complete.
At night, Eda still couldn't rest properly. Snape's biting "private lessons" were back in full swing, with an array of cauldrons of various sizes waiting for her attention.
These were part of her January assignments, and if she didn't complete them, Merlin only knew the kind of scathing remarks Snape would unleash.
On top of all that, Eda hadn't neglected her combat training.
She was no longer left bruised all over by the trial dummy; now, she could fight it to a draw and even gain the upper hand occasionally. However, she still hadn't cleared the current level, meaning she couldn't unlock the next difficulty yet.
In simple terms, Eda was stuck at a bottleneck. If she didn't want to spend money to level up, she'd have to put in extra effort. But it probably wouldn't be long before her hard work got her stuck at the next bottleneck.
Being busy every night also meant she sometimes ate poorly or didn't have time to eat at all.
In the past, when this happened, the twins would always prepare food for her in advance. But now, with the twins still upset, unless Eda prepared meals herself, she'd just have to go hungry.
The feeling of an empty stomach was unpleasant, making her mind sluggish and her sleep quality worse. If it weren't for the stash of snacks she kept in her dorm, she'd have had to visit the kitchen more frequently.
"Ok! They shouldn't be mad for a long time!"
After more than a week, Eda felt that everyone should have calmed down by now. She thought the three of them could finally sit down and talk things through peacefully.
"Ugh.."
But the twins weren't giving her any chance.
With the Marauder's Map in their hands, avoiding Eda was all too easy for them.
When problems arise, they should be solved, not avoided. Though Fred and George were only thirteen, Eda still "looked down on" their unmanly behavior of running away.
Exhausted from being "tortured" by Snape, Eda decided it was time to take matters into her own hands. She planned to force a conversation with the twins to resolve their issues properly.
While they could avoid her most of the time, they still had to attend classes. That made catching them in class her best chance. After enduring a grueling Herbology lesson filled with the cries of Mandrakes, Eda finally had the opportunity to talk to the twins.
However, the moment class ended, Fred and George left the greenhouse with Lee Jordan.
"Hey! Fred! George! Hey!"
Eda had no choice but to call after them as she followed.
Even though the twins clearly heard her, they showed no intention of stopping or turning around, continuing to head straight toward the castle with their heads down.
Unable to get the twins' attention by calling out to them, Eda had no choice but to run after them.
"Hey! Stop running!"
"Eh!.."
"Ouch!"
"Ow!"
Thud!
"Sorry!"
On the way, she bumped into several unsuspecting classmates. Finally, she managed to block the twins' path and said, "Huff! Huff! We need to talk!"
Lee Jordan, noticing the tense atmosphere between the three, wisely realized he was unnecessary here. Without a word, he excused himself, leaving Eda and the twins to sort things out. The trio moved away from the crowd, heading toward the Forbidden Forest.
"Haah... Do you find it fun to avoid me?" Eda asked as she walked ahead of them. The wind lifted her golden hair, making her look as if her anger had reached the tips of every strand.
The twins followed behind silently, neither saying a word. Eda suddenly stopped and turned to face them. Unprepared for her abrupt halt, the twins nearly walked straight into her.
Thud!
"Ow! Fine, sulk if you want to sulk, argue if you want to argue, but what's with the silent treatment? Why not go on a hunger strike while you're at it!" Eda exclaimed, pushing and lightly hitting Fred and George. She didn't use much force; it was more to vent her frustration.
Even teeth accidentally bite the tongue when eating—what's a little disagreement between friends?
Friends are bound to have conflicts; it's not a big deal. What infuriated Eda was the twins resorting to a cold war. This kind of behavior, she thought, was the quickest way to ruin their friendship.
Fred reached out and placed a hand on Eda's forehead, holding her at arm's length. "So, Miss Violent Twist, where exactly are you planning to take us?" he asked.
"Are you going to use the dark magic you just learned to kill us?" George added. "Because today doesn't seem like a great day for dying!"
Eda tightly gripped Fred's hand, which was pressing against her forehead. With a quick step back and a twist of her waist, she turned the tables, shoving Fred off balance and making him stumble.
Boom!
Fred, now on the ground, looked up at Eda with an innocent expression that seemed to say: It was George who said that! Why are you taking it out on me?
"Damn..."
George, standing nearby, made no move to help his twin up. Instead, his eyes sparkled with interest, clearly impressed by Eda's swift and decisive move.
"I'm already a bad seed," Eda said, her tone sharp. "Nothing I do should surprise you. In a moment, I'll dig a hole and bury the both of you in it." She turned and resumed walking toward the Forbidden Forest.
The twins didn't follow right away.
Hearing her words, they froze, stunned.
Up till now, Eda had been insulted with the term Mudblood, but they'd never heard her refer to herself as a bad seed in such a self-deprecating way.
George and Fred exchanged glances, an unspoken question passing between them: Did we go too far? Have we pushed her to the point where she's not thinking straight anymore?
Not hearing their footsteps, Eda stopped again and called back, "If you two don't hurry up, this new home of ours will just be mine."
The twins knew exactly what she meant by "new home." The Shrieking Shack wasn't marked on the map, and anyone entering it would disappear from the Marauder's Map. Over the past few days, Eda had been vanishing from sight—what she was up to didn't need explaining.
George grabbed Fred's hand and pulled him to his feet. The two jogged over to Eda, grinning from ear to ear, and took their places on either side of her, just like a week ago when they'd been searching for secret passageways together.
"Don't even dream about it. The house belongs to all three of us. Don't even think about hogging it for yourself!" Fred said with a straight face, looking less like a wizard and more like a lawyer.
"Mom told us to take care of you, so we can't let you pick up bad habits from Cecil, that old chain-smoker. We have to keep an eye on you," George added, his tone full of mock concern that even he didn't believe.
Heh~
Eda and the twins stood in front of the Whomping Willow once again.
This time, Eda didn't conjure a mouse but instead used a well-aimed spell to control a pebble, which struck the knot on the tree trunk with precision.
"Maybe we should find an easier way to get in," Fred suggested. The twins couldn't match Eda's level of magical control.
"Yeah, otherwise getting home will always be a big problem," George added. "And we need to set up some safety measures. Just because we know how to get in doesn't mean others can't figure it out."
The twins had a point, and Eda was already considering solutions for both issues.
The first problem was simple enough—she could train the twins rigorously until they mastered it. Another, albeit more labor-intensive, solution was to extend the length of the passageway so that the entrance could be moved from the Whomping Willow to another location.
The second problem, however, was more critical. No one wanted their home to be wide open and defenseless. For now, though, Eda hadn't come up with a solution.
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