ALL NOVEL Chapter 46: Telling Everything
"Of course, we want to hear!" Fred exclaimed.
"Why wouldn't we listen!" George perked up his ears.
The twins spoke simultaneously, expressing the same sentiment—they would seize any lifeline that came their way.
Eda beckoned them closer, and Fred and George leaned in. Eda whispered, "Do you remember when you asked me if I wasn't feeling well a few times?"
"Yeah, the first time was after History of Magic class. You looked like Filch had hung you from the ceiling all night!" Fred exaggerated.
Eda promptly gave Fred a flick on the forehead and said, "Not that time. Even if he had hung up and whipped, I wouldn't care."
"Was it that time in October?" George recalled, "You looked really out of it, like you were sleepwalking and fell into the Black Lake..."
Naturally, George received a flick on the forehead too. Eda said, "Yes, that time. Because the night before, I was wandering around the castle and ran into..."
Fred and George both gave her a look of surprise, as if to say, "We didn't expect you to be that kind of Eda." They had always thought her first night adventure was with them, but now they knew that wasn't the case at all.
Eda ignored their expressions and continued, "That night, I ran into Professor Snape and Fawley. They were discussing a secret..."
The twins' expressions became subtle, as if they realized they were hearing something significant.
"From their conversation, I gathered that Fawley came to Hogwarts with a purpose. He's looking for something behind Dumbledore's back, something that could change the wizarding world."
"Behind Dumbledore's back..." Fred's mind raced, and he lowered his voice further. "Could it be related to..."
"Is it related to You-Know-Who?" George also whispered, a rare look of fear crossing the brothers' faces. In Eda's memory, only an angry Mrs. Weasley had this kind of effect.
Eda shook her head slightly and said, "I don't know. I was discovered and didn't hear the rest."
The twins looked worried.
"Professor Snape found me, but instead of turning me in, he distracted Fawley, giving me a chance to leave," Eda explained. "Since then, I've been keeping an eye on Fawley."
"That was the first time. What about the second time?" George asked, then suddenly remembered, "Ah... I got it!"
"Daniel Bell?" The twins thought of it simultaneously.
Eda nodded and said, "Yes, after learning that a student had been attacked, I wondered if it had something to do with Fawley or the thing he was looking for."
"So, that's why you were so concerned about the attack," Fred concluded.
"We thought you were always worried because of your health," the twins said, looking at Eda with knowing expressions.
Eda looked at the twins speechlessly and asked, "You two seem to know quite a lot, huh?"
"Not really..." The twins detected the teasing tone in Eda's voice but still chose to shift the blame. "It's all because of Lee Jordan, you know he's always had a thing for Angelina..."
"Anyway! Afterward, nothing happened, so I temporarily put this matter aside," Eda continued, not lingering on the twins' precociousness. "After the Christmas holidays, you found the Marauder's Map, and I 'took over' the map, using it to monitor Fawley."
"So, did you find anything?"
"Did Fawley and Snape have another secret meeting?"
Eda didn't indulge the twins' curiosity and instead continued, "He walked through almost the entire castle at night until the theft incident happened."
"You mean the person who stole our homework could be Fawley?" the twins asked. They were good at convincing themselves of a story before anyone else.
"It's just my suspicion; there's no evidence," Eda clarified.
"Fawley has the motive, the time, and probably the ability."
Eda couldn't believe Fawley would be a weakling, especially when he's daring enough to do something under Dumbledore's nose.
Eda went on, "The last time Fawley kept me after class and said a few words, it made me feel like he was testing me..."
"No wonder you seemed a bit off when you came out of the classroom," Fred recalled the scene. "Why didn't you tell Professor McGonagall?"
"I already said I don't have any evidence. Who would believe a first-year witch's baseless accusation against a professor?" Eda wondered if the twins had been replaced by trolls to ask such a question.
"Dumbledore! The old man's the smartest person!" George said.
Eda rolled her eyes. "Dumbledore isn't the Dark Lord; he can't just do whatever he wants."
Though Voldemort's terror campaign was large-scale and terrifying, Eda thought it lacked sophistication. If he'd focused less on attacks, assassinations, and intimidation, and more on legitimate pursuits, he might have succeeded!
Eda felt the twins' recent thoughts had gone off track, while the twins thought Eda was stuck in her old ways of thinking. Both sides had valid points, but Eda hadn't fully adapted to the magical world's mindset.
"Is this the secret you've been hiding from us all along?"
"In that case, Fawley's departure is something to celebrate."
"Yes, at least I won't have to be on guard against him every day. You can't be a thief for a thousand days and defend against one for a thousand days," Eda nodded. "If I weren't afraid of losing, I would've had a friendly chat with him long ago."
The twins believed Eda would indeed confront Fawley, though they couldn't guarantee it would be friendly. They could ask Avery from Slytherin for confirmation.
"Why didn't you tell us earlier?"
"Keeping it all to yourself can easily lead to problems," they added.
"Because it might drag you into danger too, and I can't be that selfish," Eda said sincerely. She truly considered the twins her friends, even though they were brain dead trolls. Besides, she had many other secrets she couldn't share with them.
"You could have given us the choice instead of deciding for us," George said.
"Since you're still a little kid, we'll temporarily forgive you for making decisions on your own," Fred added.
Since Fawley was about to leave, it didn't matter much that the twins knew about this. However, Eda still warned them, "This has to stay between the three of us. Don't tell anyone else, especially Lee Jordan."
The twins made a gesture indicating they would keep quiet.
"Since this is something worth celebrating..."
"...let's go have some fun!"
"Like another trip to the Forbidden Forest?!!!" the twins suggested.
"Stop with your Gryffindor behavior and wait until Fawley leaves. Just a few more days," Eda said. "And how's your Arania Exumai practice going? I don't want to be chased by spiders the size of cars again."
Last time, being chased by spiders had been a humiliating experience for Eda, so she'd looked up some spells to deal with them. She wasn't the type to forgive and forget after all.
Eda's gritted teeth caught the twins' attention, and they remembered the previous disaster. Then they thought of Hagrid and the "children of Aragog" he'd mentioned.
"How about we visit Hagrid after lunch?" George suggested. With the weather so nice, it was a good opportunity to get some fresh air and gather information about the Forbidden Forest for their next adventure.
"Why bother Hagrid? Hasn't he been busy with something in the Forbidden Forest lately?" Eda got up from the armchair, realizing it was almost time to head to the Great Hall.
Fred chuckled, "It's definitely not for rock cakes. We've got nothing else to do, so let's just enjoy this beautiful spring day."
Eda still had nightmares about the potency of rock cakes; such a dangerously inedible food had no place in this wonderful world!
After lunch, feeling particularly hungry, Eda ate more than usual.
Bathed in the Scottish sunlight of April, Eda and the twins made their way to Hagrid's hut.
Eda was still in her "grudge phase" with Hagrid, so she wasn't visiting him per se—she was just eager to see Fang!
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