The cheers from Slytherin and the discontent from Gryffindor below the pitch formed a stark contrast. Gryffindor found it hard to move even an inch on the field, while Slytherin had already successfully overtaken the score.
Slytherin's team was mostly made up of burly boys, while Gryffindor's Chasers were three girls. When the playing field was fair, they could rely on clever coordination to launch attacks, create openings, and eventually score.
But once Slytherin resorted to despicable methods—using dirty fouls and their fists—the girls' offense fell apart. Even holding the Quaffle became extremely difficult, let alone scoring goals.
Other Slytherin players would block the referee's view, leaving Gryffindor unable to even earn a penalty. The tide of the match began to tilt in Slytherin's favor.
The Slytherin stands erupted in wild cheers, celebrating as if the Quidditch Cup was already theirs.
But they forgot. They forgot that Eda was still on the pitch today—and Eda would never stand by and watch her teammates be bullied like this.
She didn't have her wand in hand, but that didn't mean Eda couldn't use magic. She wasn't one of those people who became completely powerless without a wand.
In Grindelwald's words, those people were trash. But Eda was no trash.
Controlling her Sweeping Seven-Star, Eda charged directly toward Montague, who was advancing with the Quaffle.
When she collided with him, Montague slammed into the protective shield formed by Eda's wandless magic—while her raised elbow struck him squarely on the brow bone.
Montague's face immediately turned out just like Wood's earlier, but Eda didn't let him off so easily. With a casual push, magic burst forth from her hand, and Montague spun away, getting flung far into the distance.
If he hadn't clung tightly to his broomstick, he would've been kissing the ground by now.
Although Madam Hooch blew the whistle to stop the match, she hadn't seen what had happened clearly. Eda had been discreet enough, and Fred and George were covering for her.
The twins positioned themselves between Eda and Madam Hooch, blocking her line of sight from Eda's actions.
Returning fire with fire!
Eda had never been some goody-goody. She already felt she had handled it gently enough. If this had happened on the ground, she would've shown them what real cruelty looked like.
With Montague forced to leave the field for treatment, Slytherin's offensive momentum came to a halt. This was Eda's retaliation—and her warning. The Slytherin players understood that perfectly well.
Flint looked at Eda, the culprit, and trembled with rage.
It wasn't like Flint hadn't tried to ram Eda—he had—but despite her seemingly thin and fragile frame, Eda came out completely unscathed, and he almost lost his balance.
Flint glanced over at his teammate Higgs. How the hell had he managed to knock into Eda earlier? Was Flint weaker than that pretty boy Higgs?
What Flint didn't know was that when Higgs and Eda had their physical contest, Eda hadn't cheated—she had relied on her body alone. Naturally, with her smaller build, she couldn't outmuscle Higgs.
But when it came to crashing with Flint and Montague, Eda had used wandless magic. If those two had actually been able to knock her over, now that would've been strange.
Her clash with Higgs had been within the bounds of fair play. Eda's pride wouldn't allow her to do something that violated the ethics of sportsmanship—if she couldn't win the collision, then it simply meant her skills weren't good enough.
But when dealing with cheaters like Flint and Montague, Eda had no such reservations. She did whatever it took—brutal and unforgiving. Her goal was simple: knock them off their brooms so they couldn't hurt her teammates.
Set a villain to catch a villain—Eda was that villain in Gryffindor's lineup. If there were a punishment like lifetime bans, neither the Slytherin players nor Eda would escape it.
The match continued.
While Eda was helping on defense and dishing out some well-earned retribution, she never forgot her real job. She kept a close eye out for the Golden Snitch—only catching it could bring this dirty match to an end.
Montague, after returning from getting his injuries treated, had noticeably mellowed out.
His moves were cleaner now. He had realized something important: he had been playing Quidditch with a side of fighting, but Twist was fighting with a side of Quidditch.
He couldn't afford to mess with her.
The grimy yet critical match pressed on, but this grueling ordeal was nearing its end—for both teams. Because Eda and Higgs had both caught sight of the Golden Snitch.
The Snitch zipped across the pitch at high speed, leaving a golden trail in its wake. Higgs was the first to spot it, with Eda following closely behind.
George, anticipating Higgs' trajectory, smashed a Bludger hard toward the space ahead of him. Higgs was forced to slow down, giving Eda a perfect opportunity to catch up.
Eda didn't let George's efforts go to waste. She and her Nimbus Seven Stars caught up to Higgs and even overtook him—pulling ahead by two broom lengths.
Gryffindor had Beaters, and so did Slytherin. Bole sent the other Bludger hurtling toward Eda.
In order to avoid being overtaken by Higgs behind her, Eda didn't slow down to dodge the Bludger. Instead, she used a "sloth grip roll" to evade the incoming ball.
Eda hung upside down from her broom, clutching the broomstick tightly with both hands and feet. The dangerous maneuver drew gasps from the stands. The move didn't significantly affect her speed, so Higgs wasn't able to overtake her—he still lagged slightly behind.
The Golden Snitch seemed to have a mind of its own. It wasn't about to let itself be caught so easily by the two pursuers, and suddenly it dove toward the ground.
Eda and Higgs simultaneously began a steep dive toward the ground—the outcome of the match now hung in the balance.
There was a famous feint among Seekers known as the "Wronski Feint." A Seeker would pretend to spot the Snitch far below and dive straight down, only to pull up at the last moment. The trick was meant to lure the opposing Seeker into copying the dive and crashing into the ground.
From the Wronski Feint alone, one could see that even professional players struggled to control their brooms in a high-speed dive—let alone two amateur players.
The rapid dive Eda and Higgs were now making was extremely dangerous. They could very well break their necks.
The Golden Snitch dove first, and Eda and Higgs followed. At this point, whoever chickened out first—would lose.
Eda's red No. 7 jersey flapped loudly in the wind.
This was her first time playing in a match—her first time falling in love with the feeling of flight.
Eda wasn't just testing her nerves against Higgs; she was also wrestling with herself. Would she choose fear, or charge forward with everything she had?
The Golden Snitch grew larger in her vision, and the ground came closer and closer. Higgs got scared. He stopped diving after the Snitch.
As he hovered in place, he watched the red No. 7 jersey—this substitute playing her first match—still chasing the Snitch without hesitation. In his mind, he could already picture that red No. 7 smashed and bloodied.
Everyone in the stands had stood up, their eyes fixed on Eda. Whether or not she caught the Golden Snitch, even if she gave up now, she would still earn their applause.
"This girl.." Dumbledore stood, watching the fearless Eda.
A soft spot in his heart had been stirred. Professor McGonagall had shut her eyes—she could no longer bear to look. She even hoped that Eda would give up this chance.
But Eda didn't give up. She stretched her arm as far as she could, trying to grasp the Golden Snitch that was right in front of her. The phrase "only when you need it do you regret your short reach" perfectly captured her feelings in that moment.
If you asked Eda why she was trying so hard, she probably wouldn't be able to answer.
Whether or not they won the Quidditch Cup wasn't all that important to her. Even if she failed in the end, Professor McGonagall wouldn't blame her. Her teammates wouldn't blame her. They all knew Eda had done her best.
And yet, Eda still fought with everything she had—fought so desperately.
It wasn't to prove how amazing she was, or to show that she was better than Harry Potter. Her opponent had always been herself, just like that trial puppet that looked exactly like her.
Eda's fingertips finally brushed against the Golden Snitch. She pushed her body forward, and at the very moment she lost her balance—she grasped the Snitch!
Eda fell from her broomstick. She had never planned on pulling up the Comet Seven Stars after catching the Snitch; she had already prepared herself for the fall. She just didn't expect the moment to come quite so soon!
Eda wrapped her arms around her head, forcing herself to adjust her body midair, doing her best not to fall headfirst.
At the same time, she continuously chanted the Slow-Fall Charm and Shielding Charm.
In the stands, nearly everyone's hearts clenched. No one could predict how badly Eda might be injured from falling off her broom. And even if they'd won—so what? Was it really worth it?
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