The British wizarding world is a tiny place—there are very few real secrets here.
As long as you want to know something and are willing to pay the price, you can always find some clues, let alone when it comes to something as serious as the crimes Sirius Black committed.
Blowing up an entire street with a single curse—just a small matter. Killing a brave, fearless, kind wizard with a single curse, leaving the Ministry of Magic with nothing but one of the wizard's fingers—also just a small matter.
What truly made Sirius Black infamous was his betrayal of a friend, his willing role as Voldemort's lackey. Black sold out his best friend, James Potter, allowing his master to locate James Potter.
In 1981, Voldemort cruelly murdered James Potter and Lily Potter. When Voldemort used the Killing Curse on Harry, the spell rebounded, and the dark clouds hanging over Britain vanished overnight.
The role Black played in all of this was not widely publicized, but there were by no means few wizards who knew the truth. Many wizards among the upper circles even knew more details—such as the Fidelius Charm and the Secret Keeper.
It was precisely because of this charm and the existence of a Secret Keeper that the Ministry of Magic identified Black as the culprit who had leaked the Potters' whereabouts. When Black was arrested, he offered no defense and made no resistance; he merely let out wild, piercing laughter.
There was no trial, no hearing—Barty Crouch directly sentenced Sirius Black to life imprisonment.
Throughout Hogwarts, there were plenty of people who knew that Black and Harry shared a blood feud that had destroyed Harry's family—but did you see anyone run up to Harry and mouth off about it the way Draco Malfoy did?
A dog's belly can't hold two ounces of sesame oil.
For that matter, what was Malfoy trying to achieve by saying all this? To let Harry know the truth, stir up his Gryffindor-style bravery, and send him off alone to fight Sirius Black to the death?
What kind of outcome would a thirteen-year-old wizard face when confronting the infamous Black? Anyone with a brain knew the answer.
Others might have misgivings and dare not face a Black with such fearsome notoriety, but Harry wouldn't bother with any of that. Gryffindor's number-one headstrong fool—did you think he was joking?!
Did Draco Malfoy really not know what kind of consequences his words could bring? If he didn't, Eda suggested that Mrs. Malfoy stuff him back into her womb; if he did, then it truly counted as malicious intent.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is the Gryffindor table, and you're not welcome here," Eda said. She didn't spell things out directly—Dumbledore and Mr. Weasley were clearly keeping things from Harry, and Eda naturally wouldn't run her mouth.
If Harry had been exceptionally powerful, Eda, as a friend, wouldn't have hidden the truth from him. But Harry didn't have that kind of strength; she couldn't very well tell him the truth and then watch him go get himself killed.
"This has nothing to do with you, Twist," Pansy Parkinson jumped in, saying rudely. "Go back to your France!"
Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin girl who looked very much like a poodle, was arrogant and sharp-tongued—a peculiar sort of woman who was irritating at first glance.
"Who's this—your new girlfriend?" Eda asked sincerely. Even though Pansy Parkinson's looks were so distinctive, Eda still couldn't recall her at all. What a waste of such creative features.
That question made Malfoy's face flush even redder; he seemed to feel a bit embarrassed. Pansy Parkinson, however, felt a secret thrill. She wasn't annoyed by Eda's disregard at all—on the contrary, she was pleased that Eda had called her Draco's girlfriend.
People are divided into ranks, into higher and lower levels—regrettable, but realistic—and pure-blood families are no exception. Although the surname Parkinson was also among the Sacred Twenty-Eight, it simply couldn't compare with top-tier families like the Lestranges, the Malfoys, or the Rosiers.
That was why Pansy kept clinging to Malfoy, acting like a devoted hanger-on. On one hand, she genuinely liked him; on the other, there were family considerations involved. Yet Draco Malfoy had never given her any response.
"I just find it strange that Scarhead Potter doesn't even know about this," Malfoy said darkly. "I was only kindly reminding him, letting him know about his—"
"Was anyone asking you to run your mouth?" Eda cut Malfoy off. "Plenty of people know about this—why does it have to be you shooting off your mouth? Or is your shallow brain only capable of remembering this much?"
As the sole heir of a wealthy family, Draco Malfoy's performance was truly a failing grade. Forget being deep and calculating—at the very least, he should have acted with some caution, knowing what could be said and what shouldn't.
Lucius Malfoy had warned him before, telling him not to oppose Harry when everyone was fawning over him. But what did Draco Malfoy do instead?
Compared to his father, Draco Malfoy fell short by more than just a little.
At the very least, Lucius Malfoy was someone who had made it onto Vinda Rosier's radar. Vinda's evaluation of him was that of a profit-driven fox—the first to come running at the scent of meat, and also the first to bolt the moment danger appeared.
"Watch your status! Don't think that just because you've climbed a high branch you can talk to me like this!" Malfoy said bitterly, raging in impotent fury—there was nothing he could do to Eda at all.
Yes, climbing a high branch—that was how the top pure-blood families described the Rosiers grudgingly acknowledging Eda.
They were intoxicated by their past glory and splendor, viewing Eda as a tool that could add icing on the cake, yet they never saw the potential she carried, nor did they regard her as someone capable of determining a family's rise or fall.
The attention of the surrounding students first shifted from Black to the argument, and now it had shifted to Eda.
It had been nearly a week since the start of term, and most students already knew that Eda had suddenly gained a new set of relatives—Rosiers from France. But as for the inside story, they weren't very clear on the details.
Malfoy's remark about "climbing a high branch" ignited everyone's gossip instincts; they wanted to figure out what was really going on. Fortunately, most people were still on Eda's side—what had happened over the past two years had changed how everyone saw her.
"Only someone as ignorant as you would think this is climbing a high branch," Eda said disdainfully. "Go call Alain Rosier over here—see if I call him 'Uncle' and whether he dares to answer."
There was no need to call Alain Rosier over; Eda could tell Malfoy with absolute certainty that he wouldn't dare accept that form of address. Not because he feared embarrassment, nor because he feared being looked down upon by other pure-blood families, but because it would genuinely put his life in danger.
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