"Of course, we want to hear!" Fred excimed.

  "Why wouldn't we listen!" Gee perked up his ears.

  The twins spoke simultaneously, expressing the same sehey would seize any lifelihat came their way.

  Eda beed them closer, and Fred and Gee 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 css. You looked like Filch had hung you from the ceiling all night!" Fred exaggerated.

  Eda promptly gave Fred a fli the forehead and said, "Not that time. Even if he had hung up and whipped, I wouldn't care."

  "Was it that time in Octee recalled, "You looked really out of it, like you were sleepwalking and fell into the Bck Lake..."

  Naturally, Gee received a fli the forehead too. Eda said, "Yes, that time. Because the night before, I was wandering around the castle and ran into..."

  Fred and Gee 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 khat wasn't the case at all.

  Eda igheir expressions and tinued, "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 signifit.

  "From their versation, I gathered that Fawley came to Hogwarts with a purpose. He's looking for something behind Dumbledore's back, something that could ge the wizarding world."

  "Behind Dumbledore's back..." Fred's mind raced, and he lowered his voice further. "Could it be reted to..."

  "Is it reted to You-Know-Who?" Gee 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 ce to leave," Eda expined. "Sihen, I've been keeping an eye on Fawley."

  "That was the first time. What about the sed time?" Gee 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 ed about the attack," Fred cluded.

  "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 twied the teasing tone in Eda's voice but still chose to shift the bme. "It's all because of Lee Jordan, you know he's always had a thing felina..."

  "Anyway! Afterward, nothing happened, so I temporarily put this matter aside," Eda tinued, not lingering owins' 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 tinued, "He walked through almost the entire castle at night until the theft i happened."

  "You mean the person who stole our homework could be Fawley?" the twins asked. They were good at ving themselves of a story before anyone else.

  "It's just my suspi; there's no evidence," Eda crified.

  "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 st time Fawley kept me after css 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 ," Fred recalled the se. "Why didn't you tell Professonagall?"

  "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 repced by trolls to ask such a question.

  "Dumbledore! The old man's the smartest person!" Gee said.

  Eda rolled her eyes. "Dumbledore isn't the Dark Lord; he 't just do whatever he wants."

  Though Voldemort's terror campaign was rge-scale and terrifyihought it cked sophistication. If he'd focused less on attacks, assassinations, and intimidation, and more oimate pursuits, he might have succeeded!

  Eda felt the twins' ret thoughts had gone off track, while the twins thought Eda was stu her old ways of thinking. Both sides had valid points, but Eda hadn't fully adapted to the magical world's mi.

  "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 '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 front Fawley, though they couldn't guara would be friendly. They could ask Avery from Slytherin for firmation.

  "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

  "Keeping it all to yourself easily lead to problems," they added.

  "Because it might drag you into daoo, and I 't be that selfish," Eda said sincerely. She truly sidered the twins her friends, even though they were brairolls. Besides, she had many other secrets she couldn't share with them.

  "You could have given us the choistead of deg for us," Gee said.

  "Since you're still a little kid, we'll temporarily five 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 warhem, "This has to stay betweehree of us. Don't tell anyone else, especially Lee Jordan."

  The twins made a gesture indig they would keep quiet.

  "Sihis is something worth celebrating..."

  "...let's go have some fun!"

  "Like arip to the Forbidden Forest?!!!" the twins suggested.

  "Stop with yryffindor 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 tive and fet after all.

  Eda's gritted teeth caught the twins' attention, and they remembered the previous disaster. Thehought of Hagrid and the "children " he'd mentioned.

  "How about we visit Hagrid after lunch?" Gee suggested. With the weather so was a good opportunity to get some fresh air and gather information about the Forbidden Forest for their adventure.

  "Why brid? Hasn't he been busy with something in the Forbidden Forest tely?" 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 p this wonderful world!

  After lunch, feeling particurly 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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