The torrential rain that had poured down all day finally stopped. Yet Hogsmeade, washed clean by the storm, did not make anyone feel refreshed. The streets were a muddy mess without a single pedestrian in sight, and the once-bustling village was lifeless.
Eda didn't know when Dumbledore had left the hut. Perhaps it was when the rain began to ease, or perhaps right after the downpour stopped.
There had been no pit dug to bury her, no scheme to push Eda into doing anything. Dumbledore had only left behind a sorrowful and tragic story—a life overshadowed by misfortune.
The present-day Twilight Hut, once the Shrieking Shack—so this had once been Remus Lupin's safe house, his refuge. The secret passage, the Whomping Willow, and the Shrieking Shack had all guarded the greatest secret of the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.
No wonder—no wonder when Eda first came to the Shrieking Shack, the doors and windows had been nailed shut so tightly. It was not only to prevent anyone from peering into the hut, but also to stop the transformed werewolf Lupin from breaking out through a window and harming others.
No wonder the place had looked as though a fight had taken place, leaving behind so many claw and bite marks. During those unbearable nights, those traces had been left by Professor Lupin as he struggled to ease his pain.
Times had changed, and things were no longer what they once were. The former Shrieking Shack had now completely changed its appearance. If Professor Lupin were to stand here again, he probably wouldn't even recognize it.
Thirteen years had passed in the blink of an eye. Faced with Sirius Black, once his closest friend, what choice would Professor Lupin make? Would he personally seize Black and send him back to Azkaban, or would he stand aside and help neither side?
Eda didn't know what choice Professor Lupin would make in such a dilemma. If she were in his place, she felt she might very well go mad.
This question of life was not an easy one to answer. No matter what he chose in the end, it would only make Professor Lupin's life even more unfortunate. Life really was absurd—better not come back next time.
By nightfall, Hogwarts, with wind stilled and rain ceased, was left only with the marks of the storm's destruction. The moon overhead was no longer full; a piece was missing. Under the hazy moonlight, Eda returned to the castle.
The atmosphere in Gryffindor's common room was somewhat gloomy, as if Dementors had just passed through.
No one blamed Harry, but the loss of the match still had a huge impact on Gryffindor, making the road to defending their title fraught with difficulties. Gryffindor could not afford to lose another match.
Seeker Harry Potter was still lying in the hospital wing. Dumbledore's protection had spared him from serious injury, but to be safe, he still had to remain there for further observation.
For Harry, the physical injuries were not the hardest part—it was the pain in his heart that was hardest to let go. His luxury ride, the Nimbus 2000, was ruined, and completely ruined at that—the kind that couldn't be fixed even with magical tape.
If Fred and George hadn't retrieved the wreckage of the Nimbus 2000, then when Eda came out of the Twilight Hut, she probably would have seen something resembling a flying broom near the Whomping Willow.
With one blow after another, it was no wonder the common room felt so depressed. It would be hard for anyone to laugh happily under such circumstances—how heartless would someone have to be to do that!
The remaining matches allowed no room for error. That meant the team's good days were likely over, and Oliver Wood's hellish training sessions were about to begin again.
Wood, having cleansed his soul in the torrential rain, was already designing a new tactical system. The twins and the others sat around the armchairs by the fireplace, sighing and lamenting, as if Dementors had just swept through the room.
Fortunately, the defeat did not crush the little lions of Gryffindor. Brave and fearless, everyone returned to normal the very next day, throwing themselves back into life with renewed enthusiasm.
A steady stream of people went to visit and comfort Harry. Eda also found time to check on the unlucky boy and once again asked whether he needed help.
Eda felt that Harry could try learning the Patronus Charm, so she recommended the spell to him.
If he mastered the Patronus Charm, then if the Dementors appeared at school again, Harry would at least have a sliver of a chance to protect himself, instead of being as helpless as he was now.
The suggestion of learning the Patronus Charm was exactly what Harry needed. As soon as he was discharged from the hospital wing, he began preparing to study it.
With the help of his best friend Hermione, Harry found many books about the Patronus Charm and Dementors, and started trying to arm himself.
Unfortunately, Eda and Harry's schedules didn't quite match. She could only occasionally offer him some advice from her own experience, helping him deepen his understanding of the Patronus Charm.
Harry was in his third year. Although he had two additional elective courses this term, his studies were still relatively easy. He had plenty of time to practice the Patronus Charm with Hermione and Ron.
Eda, however, could not. She was already in her fifth year. Not only did she have to face a mountain of homework, she also had to shoulder the responsibilities of a prefect—patrolling the corridors and managing mischievous students.
At the same time, Eda had to privately brew the complicated Wolfsbane Potion and seize every moment to improve her own abilities. After all, Sirius Black was a man capable of blowing up an entire street in one go—he was no ordinary nobody.
If Dawn hadn't temporarily ceased its activities recently, Eda probably wouldn't even have been able to squeeze out this bit of time.
As Christmas approached, professors of every subject seemed to have gone mad. The length of assigned essays was measured in feet. Everywhere in the school, students could be seen holding books and memorizing key points—these students were either fifth-years or seventh-years.
There were still six months left before the Wizarding Levels examinations, but the pressure of the exams had already come crashing down. Quite a few students were overwhelmed by the oncoming stress.
Some of those with weaker nerves would burst into tears at the slightest provocation, and some cried so hard they nearly fainted.
That wasn't even the worst of it. Gryffindor's Patricia Stinson was even more frightening—she would faint from time to time, collapsing limply onto the floor and scaring everyone half to death.
The pressure from schoolwork, along with Wood's devilish training, drained an enormous amount of time and energy from everyone. All of them were exhausted.
Dawn had originally existed simply to help everyone practice—a supplementary study group of sorts. Since no one had the time or energy to train, it was better to suspend activities for the time being, allowing everyone to rest or adjust their mindset.
Besides, Eda also hoped this period would help dilute everyone's resentment toward Cedric.
That Quidditch match had been fair. The Dementors hadn't been summoned by Hufflepuff to cause trouble; Cedric had to face their interference just like Harry did.
A win was a win—there was nothing dishonorable about it.
However, most of Dawn's members were Quidditch players. Faced with such a helpless defeat, they inevitably felt uncomfortable. Eda was somewhat worried that they might not get along well, affecting their friendship.
It was for these reasons that, after discussing it with everyone, Eda decided to pause Dawn's activities and wait until this busy period had passed.
Eda was so busy she could barely keep up, and naturally she neglected managing her pet. With his owner inattentive, Garlon didn't feel the least bit upset. On the contrary, he was thrilled—his tail wagged even more vigorously than usual.
Having regained his freedom, Garlon immediately threw himself into the embrace of his "big brother," following Crookshanks around all day, leaping up and down behind him. That round of cat punches back at the Leaky Cauldron had firmly established Garlon's lower rank from that day on.
The ginger cat and the cream-colored Labrador were inseparable, appearing together in every corner of the Gryffindor common room each day, carrying out a merciless hunt against a certain rat.
The rat being hunted was none other than Ron's pet, Scabbers. Scabbers probably never imagined that his life as a rat would one day involve being chased down by a cat and a dog working together.
(～￣▽￣)～Read 12 Chapters ahead:
Patreon: Dragonel