Eda and the twins didn't stay at Hagrid's hut for long; they left after about an hour. Even while chatting with the three of them, Hagrid's hands remained busy, so Eda and the twins didn't want to intrude too much.

  As Hogwarts' gamekeeper, Hagrid was responsible not only for managing keys but also for overseeing and handling matters in the Forbidden Forest. Retly, some animals in the Forbidden Forest had been injured, and Hagrid had been busy tending to their wounds.

  From Hagrid's words, the three could sense his aowards the intruders who harmed those "adorable" creatures. He thought it was utterly heinous for ao hurt them.

  After leaving Hagrid's hut, Eda and the twio the Bck Lake.

  They wandered aimlessly along the shore, appreciating the unique beauty of the ndscape, even though the ke's color wasly like the sky.

  A giant squid surfaced, its tentacles spping the water and creating waves. As Eda watched, she couldn't help but wonder how big a griddle would be o cook such a massive squid.

  Perhaps because of the release of stress, Eda articurly lively today.

  She and the twins even had a petition to see who could skip stohe farthest and the most. She cheered when she made a good throouted when she didn't do well. Such a childish side of her rarely showed.

  They pyed by the Bck Lake for a long time, only returning to the castle when it started getting dark.

  The three walked back, ughing and chatting all the way.

  The twins seemed to have an endless supply of jokes and funny stories, making it impossible not to feel happy around them, as if ented by a happiness spell.

  With the threat from Fawley soon to be gone, all Eda had to do was wait and prepare for the final exams in a little over a month. She felt fident about seg first pce.

  Although Fawley's resignation had been accepted, he didn't leave immediately. Dumbledore wasn't heartless enough to kick out a former professor who was still injured.

  For the following week, Fawley stayed in the hospital wing, resting. No longer burdened with the role of a professor, his luck seemed to have improved, and his health began to recover.

  The girls from his fan club tio visit the hospital wing frequently to che him. Madam Pomfrey didn't stop them this time, but she did limit the visiting hours to prevent Fawley from being overwhelmed and worsening his dition.

  A few days ter, Fawley, now healthier, was discharged. He looked much better than before, more eid spirited. After returning to his offid quickly pag up his belongings, he left Hogwarts that very night.

  It seemed he couldn't wait to leave the school, departing faster than the best broomsti the market. As a result, the girls who wao see him off didn't eve a ce to say goodbye, merely watg his back disappear into the distand silently wishing him well.

  Eda was also among the crowd seeing him off. Being short and deliberately keeping a low profile, she wasn't noticeable among the group. However, she wasn't there to bid farewell to Fawley; she wao firm with her owhat he was truly leaving and that she was safe again.

  Even though Fawley had been hospitalized during this time, Eda couldn't rex until he was gohere was always the fear that he might pull a st-minute "rise from the sickbed" act.

  Now that Fawley was no longer a professor and had pletely left Hogwarts, Eda could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

  What exactly was hidden within Hogwarts?

  Who attacked Daniel?

  What was the unremarkable thief searg for when they ehe on rooms of the four houses?

  And who sneaked into the Forbidden Forest?

  With Fawley's departure, these matters suddenly had nothing to do with Eda, and she no longer had to worry about such troublesome issues.

  After Fawley left, the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor became vat. During this time, all students of every year were essentially on self-study during this css. Iy, everyone was already aced to this, as Fawley had often just read from the textbook in his ter days without much difference from self-study.

  Snape had personally hoped to bee the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but not only did he fail to get the position, he didn't even mao serve as a substitute teacher. His frustration from this failed transfer maed in Potions css, where his words became more biting, and his caustic remarks more damaging.

  The primary victims, of course, were the Gryffindors, with Eda bearing the brunt of it, maintaining her pce as the primary target of his ire.

  Snape tio "speak harshly" to Eda, seizing any opportunity to deduct points from Gryffindor, though the irrational level of unfairness he once dispyed had not reemerged.

  Eda hadn't bee after css for a long time, even though she and the twins had once agaily ventured into the Forbidden Forest during this period, yet there was no "post-css invitation" from Snape.

  The retionship betweewo, which had previously seemed to improve, returo its inal state: mutually disliking each other, yet strangely coexisting peacefully.

  This time, Eda and the twins were fortuhey didn't enter any rge creatures that wao make them a midnight snack or any other bizarre dangerous creatures during their trip to the Forbidden Forest.

  In the Forbidden Forest, they entered a taur. Although most taurs were not very friendly toward wizards, they were fortuo experience a rare exception.

  Firenze, a taur with a cream-colored lower body, was one of the few taurs who did not reject wizards. He had a gentle demeanor and politely persuaded the three adveo leave the Forbidden Forest.

  The friendly Firenze even escorted Eda and the twins to the edge of the forest, where it was safe before departing. Along the way, Firenze spoke many strahings. He would often look up at the stars in the night sky and say things that seemed voluted and difficult to uand.

  The twihhly fused by him; Firenze's obscure remarks made them question their uanding, as if they were speakiirely different nguages from the taur.

  Eda also couldn't grasp the meaning behind Firenze's words; she couldray useful information from what he said. Firenze, always unwilling to speak pinly, chose to unicate in a manner simir to riddles, attempting to vey something to them.

  Unfortunately, Eda and the twins couldn't prehend what he was trying to say. They didn't uand the steltions and other things Firenze mentioned, as they hadn't yet taken Divination csses, only Astronomy.

  Eda had always found the thinking of seers difficult to grasp. Why couldn't they be straightforward? All the information seemed hidden, making it hard for people to uand. It seemed that everyone skilled in or making a living from divination spoke in a mysterious way, as if they were exgi codes, as if that was the only way to prove they could see further than others.

  Having arrived in a magical world in an incredible way, Eda naturally believed in divination. After all, if magic existed, why couldn't divination? However, these diviners, who enjoyed speaking in enigmatic terms, made it difficult for Eda to trust them. The way they foretold the future felt all too familiar to her. Firenze wasly a street fortueller, and Eda wasn't paying for a sultation, so why did he have to be so cryptic?

  Hogwarts' Divination csses started ihird year, and acc to uppercssmen, the course was taught by a somewhat etric witamed Sybill Trewhis seemingly odd, slightly crazy professor was said to be the great-great-granddaughter of the seer Cassandra Trewney. However, most people agreed that she hadn't ied her aift.

  Eda wasn't surprised to hear that the Divination professor was a quirky, alcohol-loving person.

  sidering the other professors at the school, it made sehe stern, older woman with a pent for cats was the Transfiguration teacher, the greasy, sharp-tongued old bat was the Potions master, the ghostly, sleep-indug presence was the History of Magic professor... the list went on.

  The retively normal Defense Against the Dark Arts professor turned out to be an ambitious but unlucky man who left Hogwarts before the end of the school year.

  It seemed that being a normal person at Hogwarts meant you were out of pce among the faculty.

  Thus, Eda was no longer surprised by such things and didn't care what Trewney was like.

  Meanwhile, in her quarters, Sybill Trewney, sipping on her drink, had no idea that a student, who had yet to attend a single Divination css, already had such a poor impression of her.

  Eda and the twihe Forbidden Forest feeling bewildered. They returo the castle, fused, not even notig the anomaly on the Marauder's Map—a person who had already left the school had e back!!

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