Hogwarts Emerald

The incident of attacking Flint seemed to have blown over. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone else—perhaps he thought being defeated by a second-year girl was too humiliating to admit.

Flint's refusal to apologize to Charlie Weasley was likely his last shred of pride. Still, the incident wasn't entirely bad for him. At least his buck teeth had shrunk significantly, effectively giving him free dental work.

Eda's intentions were simple: to teach Flint a lesson and help Charlie vent his frustrations. Revenge was straightforward in her eyes—grievances should be repaid in kind. Living a second life, she didn't want to spend it cowering or being overly forgiving.

People who urge you to always be magnanimous? Stay away from them. When lightning strikes them, it might hit you too. As for sayings like "Forgive those who have wronged you because they made you stronger"—to Eda, those were complete nonsense.

Forgiving them was Merlin's business; Eda saw herself as merely the ferryman, responsible for sending them to meet Merlin. Flint's foolishness wasn't severe enough to warrant a meeting with Merlin, so a simple lesson sufficed. There was no need to utterly crush him.

If she dared to go that far, Professor McGonagall would be the first to make sure she faced consequences.

When Flint had injured Charlie, Professor McGonagall had already anticipated how things might unfold. She knew Eda would find a way to retaliate; she could hold Eda back for a while but couldn't control her for an entire school year.

Since stopping the incident outright was impossible, McGonagall focused on minimizing its impact. She preemptively set boundaries for Eda to ensure she wouldn't go overboard in a fit of rage.

And as things played out exactly as McGonagall had foreseen, she was satisfied with the outcome. As a result, she awarded Eda five points in Transfiguration class.

The five points made Eda feel a bit "overwhelmed." The last time Professor McGonagall had awarded her five points was back in their very first Transfiguration lesson a year ago.

After class, Eda received another gift—a meticulously organized set of Transfiguration notes, personally compiled by Professor McGonagall.

At the time, the classroom was empty except for the two of them. Neither the older woman nor the younger one spoke a word. Everything was understood in silence—a tacit understanding between women.

If Professor McGonagall's actions implied tacit approval of Eda's behavior, then Snape's response was completely incomprehensible to her.

Snape had done nothing.

He didn't make things difficult for her in Potions class, and even the November tutoring schedule continued as planned.

Eda didn't believe for a second that the head of Slytherin had failed to notice anything. Last school year, Snape had been aware of her wandering aimlessly around the castle—how could he possibly be oblivious now, when Flint had been thoroughly beaten?

It was impossible!

And yet, that was the situation. Snape showed no reaction and didn't give Eda any trouble, leaving her to enjoy a relaxed period.

While Eda was having an easy time, the Weasley twins were in utter misery. The brothers were on the verge of being driven mad by Oliver Wood.

Since Charlie's hospitalization, Gryffindor's Quidditch practices had been led by Vice Captain Wood. Known for his strictness, Wood frequently lost his temper during training sessions. Even Angelina and Alicia were often scolded, let alone the mischievous twins.

On the day before the match against Hufflepuff, Wood had even dragged the team out early in the morning to discuss tactics. But despite all his efforts, Gryffindor still lost the match.

Gryffindor dominated for most of the game, but Charlie's absence left a gap that couldn't be filled. The team's substitute Seeker was no match for Cedric Diggory. In the end, Cedric successfully caught the Golden Snitch, leading Hufflepuff to an unexpected comeback victory.

The second-year Cedric caught the Golden Snitch, earning 150 points and single-handedly clinching the match, becoming Hufflepuff's hero. He was the lion-slaying warrior of the day.

The Seeker position was crucial, capable of turning the tide of a game single-handedly, embodying a heroic flair that overshadowed other roles on the team.

Of course, if your Chasers managed to lead by more than 150 points, then even the opponent catching the Snitch wouldn't matter—but such scenarios usually occurred in professional matches. Hogwarts students simply didn't have that level of offensive firepower.

After putting in so much effort only to fall short, a sense of dejection hung over every Gryffindor player, including the twins.

Even Wood, who had been glaring fiercely before the match as though ready to devour his opponents, was deeply disappointed. But as the vice-captain, he had to hide his own frustration and try to comfort each team member, despite it not being his forte.

The team's mood was low, but it didn't last long. Slytherin also lost their match, falling to Ravenclaw with an equally incomplete lineup.

In the race for the Quidditch Cup, Slytherin now sat at the bottom after two consecutive losses. The satisfaction of having their archrival beneath them lifted Gryffindor's spirits considerably.

The cherry on top came the evening after Slytherin's loss, when Charlie Weasley, cool as ever, was discharged from the hospital wing. Not a moment too early, not a moment too late—his timing was impeccable.

With Charlie's return, Gryffindor's training finally returned to normal. The echoes of Wood's shouting on the pitch were no more, and the team was full of confidence for their next match.

Eda hadn't been going to Gryffindor's training sessions recently because she had a pile of books to get through. These books were all from the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library, and she needed to make the most of her time to read as many as possible.

Accessing the Restricted Section required a professor's signature. In her first year, Eda couldn't get one—Professor McGonagall thought she was too young and shouldn't be there.

Without the required permission, Eda had resorted to sneaking in whenever Madam Pince wasn't looking, which had even cost her house points.

But this year, Eda didn't have to sneak around.

She had finally obtained a professor's signature. Now, she could confidently hand the signed note to Madam Pince and stride into the Restricted Section to borrow books.

The signatures Eda obtained all came from the same professor—but it wasn't Professor McGonagall.

Instead, it was Glover Cecil, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who frequently called on Eda in class and awarded her points.

Cecil was so accommodating that if Eda handed him a blank piece of parchment, he would sign it without hesitation. He didn't care in the slightest what books Eda might borrow from the Restricted Section.

Not only did Cecil favor her during class, but he also went out of his way to answer all of Eda's questions after class. Even if her questions pertained to Dark Magic, he would answer them in full.

If Dumbledore hadn't forbidden Cecil from using Dark Magic on school grounds, he would likely have enthusiastically demonstrated its terrifying power to Eda.

The allure of Dark Magic, of course, lay in its unparalleled strength. But to wield such power, one needed exceedingly strong negative emotions. The more intense the emotions, the more potent the Dark Magic that could be unleashed.

If a person remains in a constant state of negativity for too long, it's only a matter of time before they break down. Eda had no desire to be controlled by negative emotions, and her interest in Dark Magic was strictly limited to understanding it. For this reason, she had never accepted Professor Cecil's enthusiastic recommendations.

After all, Glover Cecil himself was a living example—if not for the influence of Dark Magic, why else would he have done something he would regret for the rest of his life?

If Eda were to tell him outright that she wanted to learn Dark Magic, Cecil would undoubtedly teach her everything he had mastered over his lifetime, no questions asked.

The white-bearded old man with a penchant for smoking was utterly indulgent toward Eda, catering to her every request to a nearly doting degree.

In this world, love and hate never come without reason. Yet Cecil's excessive favoritism seemed utterly irrational, leaving Eda puzzled.

Eda had even discussed the matter with the twins more than once. However, despite their combined efforts, the three of them couldn't come up with any plausible explanation.

While the reason behind Cecil's behavior remained unclear, there was no denying that he had been of immense help to Eda. Whether in her studies or daily life, he had offered her invaluable advice time and time again.

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