Thanks to good old Harry for stepping up bravely—it really paid off that Eda had once taken the rain-soaked boy home. It just goes to show: good deeds really do get rewarded in this world!
This was already Eda's third year at Hogwarts, and it was the first time she'd ever had such an easy time in Potions class.
No harsh words from Snape, no one hovering over her shoulder giving unsolicited advice, and no one using a Vanishing Spell to make her potion disappear.
Eda finally experienced the joy of brewing potions—not to fulfill class requirements, not for Galleons, but purely for the satisfaction of watching a potion take shape in the cauldron, and the happiness that comes from seeing her hard work pay off.
Potions class continued on, and Snape still showed no signs of giving Eda a hard time. It was as if after that one question at the beginning, she had turned into an invisible, untouchable wisp of air, completely outside of Snape's field of vision.
The potion in her cauldron was already finished. Though its effect was to make a person irritable and reckless, its color was quite pale, and it actually smelled very pleasant. Just like how poisonous herbs often give off a sweet aroma to lure people in—if it smelled terrible, people would run at first whiff, who would stick around to try it?
Eda carefully bottled the completed Confusion Draught into a glass vial, labeled it with her name, and placed it in the box on the podium. All student potions were deposited here to await Snape's grading.
But this box was rarely filled to the brim—most student attempts were treated as garbage by Snape and discarded. Only finished, acceptable potions made it in.
Throughout the entire process, Snape continued to pay Eda little attention. After class, he even gave her potion an "O" for Outstanding!
In the past, no matter how well Eda did, the best she could ever hope for was an "E" (exceptable during exams). An Outstanding rating had always been out of the question.
Perhaps it really was a case of the new replacing the old—Harry Potter certainly sounded more impressive than Esmeralda Twist.
Between picking on the Boy who lived or picking on a Muggle-born student, clearly the former offered more of a challenge.
Eda was very happy at the moment. She naively believed that her hardships were finally over and never gave much thought to the hidden implications behind it all. She certainly didn't realize that her position was already on shaky ground—soon to become as overlooked as Ron's status within the Weasley family.
Over the weekend, Eda took Dumbledore's notes and headed to the Twilight Shack, where she began practicing nonverbal spells.
She started with some simple spells—ones she was most proficient at—like the Lumos Charm, and also the Levitation Charm. These were all spells she had learned in her first year.
At that moment, Eda was still basking in the joy of having more personal free time. She hadn't yet realized the seriousness of the situation, nor had she considered that those glittering golden darlings—Galleons—might soon leave her for good.
If Snape continued to ignore her, then her private tutoring sessions would naturally come to an end.
Without those sessions, where would Eda have the opportunity to earn Galleons through potions?
If things truly went on like this, she might end up right back in the days of utter poverty.
Unaware of all this, Eda continued practicing her nonverbal spells. She had already reached the point where she could make the sofa float without uttering a word. At her feet, Garlon had his puppy eyes wide open, staring in disbelief at the strange scene before him.
Just then, the twins pushed open the door and walked in. They flopped down onto the sofa that had just floated back to the floor, wearing rare expressions of concern on their faces.
"Yo, what's up with you two? Did Oliver lose his temper again? Or did he assign a whole bunch of new strategy drills?" Eda settled back into her rocking chair while Garlon had already leapt onto the twins.
The three of them had come to the Twilight Shack together in the morning, but the twins had left midway for a meeting—specifically, a Quidditch team meeting to discuss this year's team selections.
The captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team had been Charlie Weasley, with Oliver Wood as the vice-captain. After Charlie left school, Wood officially took over the role of captain.
Unlike Charlie, Oliver Wood was known for being strict with both himself and others, and he was especially famous for his explosive temper.
Even after serving as Charlie's assistant for two years, he still hadn't curbed that temper, and frequently lost it during team practices.
"Oliver lost his temper again—and it was the worst yet," said Fred.
"But today was just a meeting, wasn't it? What could've happened?" Eda asked, surprised. While Wood's temper wasn't news, this was the first time she'd seen the twins not joking about it.
George nudged Garlon off his lap and said, "Even though Quidditch tryouts won't start until next week, Oliver's been preparing since the first day of term. But the results so far have been pretty disappointing."
Actually, the lineup Charlie left behind was still solid—the Beaters were the twins, the Keeper was Wood himself, and the Chasers were Angelina and Alicia. This year, Katie Bell would be able to join the team as well.
It was an impressive lineup, strong in both offense and defense—almost too luxurious by school standards. The only issue was that Charlie's departure had left a vacancy in the Seeker position.
"Oliver hasn't found a suitable Seeker?" Eda poured three cups of tea, added a bit of cream to the twins' cups, and then handed them over.
"Yeah, it's the same group of people trying out every year—everyone already knows whether they're good or not," Fred sighed.
The twins were also deeply worried about the future of the team, but they only showed this side of themselves when they were with Eda.
"We can't expect some first-year brat to do the job! Besides, it's been years since a first-year joined the team. Even last year, when Katie did so well, Professor McGonagall still didn't approve," George added with a sigh. Everyone on the team was racking their brains trying to find a new Seeker.
Eda had missed the last Quidditch match of the previous year since she wasn't at school at the time, so she hadn't seen the match. Gryffindor had once again narrowly missed out on the championship—just a little bit of luck short.
If Charlie had stayed on the team for one more year, Gryffindor would've had the championship in the bag. But alas, Charlie had gone off to Romania to work with dragons.
Without Charlie, and with no excellent Seeker to replace him, the team felt adrift even before the season began.
Now Eda wasn't feeling cheerful anymore either. She wasn't exactly a die-hard Quidditch fan, but nobody liked to see their house team lose.
"Oh, right!" Fred suddenly shouted, startling Eda out of her thoughts. "How's your practice going?"
"Uh… it's going okay," Eda replied, not sure why Fred was asking that question. He couldn't possibly be thinking of letting her try out, right?
With help from the system and the twins, Eda's broom-flying skills had improved rapidly, but she still wasn't quite good enough to actually compete in a match—especially not in such a crucial position like Seeker. Besides, Eda didn't even own a broomstick.
The thought of emptying her small stash of gold to buy a broom made Eda hesitate.
Unless she was really going to be playing, a broomstick wasn't any more useful than Filch's old mop. At least Filch's mop could clean the floor.
"You're not seriously suggesting I sign up, are you? You two are insane!" Eda looked at the twins, whose eyes were getting brighter and brighter, and suddenly felt a wave of anxiety.
"Still better than those garlic heads—they're not even as good as the garlic in Quirrell's turban," Fred said. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. Just give it a shot."
"You've seen the past two years of tryouts. Don't tell me you don't know what they're like?" George began his persuasion tactics. "You've got this. You can do it. You're totally up for it."
Oh, give me a break—Eda wasn't buying this "if I go, we win" nonsense. If it was just for fun, sure, she could mess around. But actually playing in a match? She'd get crushed by Cedric in seconds! That would completely destroy her hard-earned reputation!
Seeing that Eda was flat-out refusing, Fred changed tactics. He reasoned, "Have you forgotten your own fearsome reputation? All you need to do is show up—who'd even dare race you for the Snitch?"
George could already picture the scene in his mind: the score was neck and neck, and the Golden Snitch appeared. Eda, riding her battered old broom, slowly trailed behind it. The opposing Seeker, terrified, intentionally held back and didn't dare pass her. In the end, they just watched helplessly as Eda snatched the Snitch and ended the game.
"Especially Slytherin—let's see if they dare play dirty anymore! Just use your wandless magic to knock them off their brooms one by one," George added, fully immersed in his fantasy. "Just like that thing you told us about—what was it, that ball… striker… thing?"
"Enforcer on the ice hockey rink," Eda supplied for George.
"Exactly, the Enforcer!" Fred exclaimed, his eyebrows practically dancing off his face. "Your main job is intimidation—the Golden Snitch is just your side gig."
Ice hockey was arguably the most "brutal" sport—fighting was practically a sanctioned part of the game. One-on-one brawls weren't unusual, and full-team melees were a regular occurrence. Without fights, hockey teams couldn't even sell tickets.
The Enforcer was the designated fighter on the team—arguably the top brawler on the ice. He didn't need to know how to play hockey well, but he absolutely had to know how to fight.
In her previous life, Eda had loved this sport. She even used to think that if rugby allowed fighting, it would be even more fun.
Eda had only brought up the Enforcer role to the twins as a casual remark, noting its similarities to a Beater: both worked by "taking out" key players from the opposing team to help secure a win. The difference was that one used fists, the other used bats and Bludgers.
"Leave this to us. We'll talk to Oliver—if he really can't find a suitable Seeker, then you'll take the position," George said decisively. "From now on, you're Gryffindor's Enforcer. Let's see who dares to challenge you for the Golden Snitch!"
Eda hadn't expected that a throwaway comment about ice hockey enforcers would stick with the twins for so long—and she definitely hadn't expected to fall into a trap she'd dug for herself.
Was this karma coming full circle? A case of hoist with her own petard?
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