The students all lowered their heads, not wanting to be the first to ehe s. Eda's description of the Hinkypunk had beehis creature could eat people. If somethi wrong and Professor Cecil couldn't intervene in time, wouldn't they get hurt?

  In the crowd, Fred and Gee were quite curious about this creature. They wao see what it looked like and if it could inspire them with any new ideas, as they had retly bee ied in such things.

  Professor Cecil sed the students, and each time he looked at ohey instinctively avoided his gaze. But he didn't seem to mind; he smiled and said, "I've decided who I'll pick."

  It 't be me, right?

  Eda thought to herself.

  As long as Cecil hadn't announced a he students couldn't rex. Their thoughts were simple: piyone, just not me.

  "Lee Jordan!" Professor Cecil announced loudly. "Let's wele our brave Gryffindor warrior."

  "Fuu~"

  Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, while Fred and Gee straio keep straight faces to avoid bursting into ughter. Lee Jordan, his face pale, wore a look of dread.

  Lee dragged himself out of the group, barely hearing Angelina's cheers of encement. His mind was filled with worries about whether Cecil could save him in time, whether he would drown in the s, or eveen.

  Professor Cecil patted Lee Jordan on the shoulder and whispered, "Rex, young man. As long as you don't give in to the temptation, you'll be safe. And I'll be here to protect you the whole time."

  As soon as the trembling Lee Jordan stepped into the s, a thick white mist rose, obsg him entirely from the students' view.

  The twins' expressions shifted from rexed to slightly anxious, and Fred asked, "Eda, do you think Lee will be alright?"

  If Professor Cecil dared to introduce Hinkypunks as a css topic, it meant he had the means to rescue any students from the creature's clutches. Failure to do so would result in a serious teag act, one no one could afford.

  Besides, sidering who Glover Cecil used to be—a former dark wizard—if he couldn't handle a Hinkypunk, he'd have no busieag Defense Against the Dark Arts.

  "It'll be firust Cecil. Even if Lee Jordan does fall for the trick, Cecil still save him," Eda reassured her friends, trying to ease their worry.

  Despite the thick fog, the students kept their eyes glued to the s, some shorter ones even standing on tiptoes to get a better look.

  Suddenly, a scream pierced the air from within the s—it sounded like Lee Jordan's voice. Standing beside the s, Cecil waved his wand toward the fog, which immediately dispersed, revealing Lee Jordan.

  Lee had one foot on the narrow path and the other deeply submerged in the s, his expression full of terror but with no immediate dao his life.

  "You two aren't pnning to tease him about this forever, are you?" Seeing that Lee was safe, Eda joked with the twins.

  "Absolutely!" the twins ughed, answering her question. They pushed through the crowd to help the frightened Lee Jordan back, and no fog rose around them as they stepped onto the s—clearly, Cecil was assisting them.

  Once back with the group, Lee started to calm down, though his normally dark face had turned a vivid shade of red.

  "What did you see? Or hear?" Fred asked, curious about what had tempted Lee Jordan.

  At first, Lee was too embarrassed to answer, but with everyone urging him, he finally mumbled in a voice as soft as a mosquito's, "I heard Angelina's voice saying..., and then… I fot I was in Defense Against the Dark Arts css…"

  As soon as he finished, Lee's embarrassment deepened—if there was a cra the ground, he would've gdly vanished into it.

  Angelina, blushing too, quietly moved away from him to stand on Eda's other side.

  Seeing that Lee was unharmed and that Professor Cecil could intervene promptly, the students rexed and started enthusiastically volunteering to cross the s. They lined up in a long queue, taking turns to traverse the bog.

  Some students made it through quickly, walking straight out the other side. Others moved slower, needira time to pass.

  A few were tempted by the Hinkypunk and sank partially into the s, but it was shallow enough not to truly trap them, and Professor Cecil watched closely, so no one was harmed by the s or the Hinkypunk.

  Fred and Gee safely crossed the s without beied, even feeling a bit disappoihey hadn't seen the Hinkypunk. When they returned, Lee looked even more dejected.

  Soon it was Eda's turn.

  As she was about to step into the s, Cecil approached her and said, "You're not allowed to use magic to forcefully clear the fog; today's task is simply to resist the Hinkypunk's temptation, remember?"

  After Eda nodded in uanding, Cecil allowed her to proceed.

  As soon as Eda stepped onto the sath, the thick fog rose once more. She didn't draw her wand but used her hand to push aside the mist in front of her, trying to get a clear view of the path underfoot.

  From the outside, the s didn't look very rge, but onside, Eda realized it was far bigger than it appeared.

  She wasn't sure if this was due to a Charm of Uable Extension, but she didn't have time to po—soon, the Hinkypunk began its temptations.

  In the s, Eda first saw a middle-aged couple waving her over, callio e home for dinner.

  "Ugh.."

  Ign them, she tinued walking forward.

  Then, she heard Mrs. Weasley's voice calling her home, but Eda still didn't respond.

  As she walked through the s, Eda saw many familiar faces and heard voices she knew well. She even saw Lady Mary, looking ill and much thihan usual.

  Outside, the students were murmuring, w why Eda was taking so long to e out. Eda's performan every css, except Herbology, was the best, so it seemed odd she was taking the loime here.

  The twins watched the s ily. It was too quiet ihere were no sounds at all. Though they knew she'd be safe, they couldn't help but worry a little.

  They hadn't fotten Eda's distressed state on Saturday. Fred and Gee were anxious, fearing that in her current dition, she might succumb to the temptations and fall into the s.

  As time passed and Eda still hadn't emerged, the murmurs in the stopped, repced by growing . Cecil stood by the s's edge, his wand ready in his hand, prepared to dispel the fog if necessary. But he didn't move.

  "Iing… su iing child," Cecil muttered to himself, though no one else heard him.

  Cecil couldn't see the illusions the Hinkypunk was creating, but he could see through the fog and khat Eda erfectly safe. She wasn't lingering because she couldn't leave—she stayed because she didn't want to.

  Ihe s, the Hinkypunk tinued juring various illusions, but none of these visions or sounds affected Eda. She khey were fake, desigo tempt her, and she was letting the Hinkypunk create them on purpose.

  Eda wao use this moment to say farewell to her past ahem o time.

  Other than Lady Mary, all the illusions she saw were ones she'd wao see. But Eda wasn't sure why Lady Mary appeared in this particur way.

  ...

  After what felt like ages to the other students waiting anxiously, Eda finally emerged. Her robes were , and not a hair was out of pce, as though she hadn't been deyed at all.

  Back by the twins' side, Eda stretched with a rexed yawn, looking like she'd just woken from a nap.

  "What took you so long?" Fred asked, not letting his worry show. "I thought you might be polishing shoes and washing socks today."

  "When has she ever polished her shoes?" Gee chimed in. "She's always using the ing Charm. Holy, Eda's the one in most need of a house-elf around here!"

  Eda rolled her eyes at the twins, then replied with a smile, "What's the rush? The Hinkypunk's illusions were pretty eaining. Someday, if I have a courtyard, I'll get a s and keep a few for fun."

  Her friends were stunned.

  "Damn.. now I really wanna know what you saw there."

  They hadn't expected her dey to be for that reason, and they couldn't help but marvel at just how much Eda enjoyed herself!

  ___________

  Read 12 Chapters ahead:

  Patreon./Dragonel