The fat chis peg in the yard had already returo their coop, and the night at the Burroeaceful.

  In the dead of night, the only people not sleeping soundly and iaking a walk were Eda and the twins.

  The night sky was filled with stars, and as the three of them strolled through the garden, it felt like it had been ages sihey had st gathered together, even though it had only been a little over a week.

  The Weasley brothers walked zily ahead, with Eda following behind them. The garden was rge and rown with weeds, long overdue for trimming. Though it appeared somewhat chaotic, it didn't give off an unpleasant vibe.

  The garden's walls were lined with twisted, grees, and there was a rge green pond where frogs croaked loudly—a quintessential summer night se.

  "We're very angry!" Fred said, puffing up with indignation.

  "Extremely angry!" Gee added, his temper fring at the mention of the topic.

  Initially, Eda had sidered writing a letter to the twins to inform them of her situation at the time. However, knowing the Weasleys were a rge family, Eda didn't want to burden Mrs. Weasley. After much hesitation, she ultimately abahe idea.

  There was another option—Eda could have written directly to Professonagall. If Magall received her letter, she might have taken Eda into her home immediately.

  The pros and s of this method were obvious. Staying with Professonagall would mean one-o, with little cat lessons resuming once more. But given Magall's striature, Eda's summer vacation would likely beuch less enjoyable, and her pns for w to earn some money would be out of the question.

  This is why Eda decided to bite the bullet and move into the Leaky Cauldron without telling anyone. If it hadn't been for old Tom meddling, Eda figured she probably wouldn't have been discovered until right before the start of term.

  Eda had thought carefully about what Ollivander had said in his wand shop. She was also afraid that she might lose herself to the temptation of power. Having the twins' pany and the Weasley couple's attentive care made Eda's journey in pursuit of power feel less lonely.

  With a smile on her face, Eda walked through the garden, her best friends ahead of her, and the Burrow just behind. Not even the sweetest butterbeer could give her this feeling.

  This was truly wonderful, all thanks to Tom. It was because of him that she could eacefully on a summer night in Ottery St. Catchpole.

  "We wish we could live out there too," the twins said longingly.

  "Out there must be full of the air of freedom," they added, faces full of yearning. The outside world seemed exg and attractive to them, and the hardships of that world didn't even cross their minds.

  "HeheI evely drank sherry and Firewhisky," Eda said mischievously, not willing to let the twins indulge in their fantasies too fortably.

  "We should tell Mrs. Weasley about this…" Fred said.

  "Exactly, let her know about the fine deeds Miss Twist has done," Gee echoed.

  "She doesn't eve us drink butterbeer!" the twins excimed together. "She thinks if we drink too much, we'll cause trouble!"

  The twins were filled with rese, and if it didn't snow soon, they'd sider it an insult from Merlin himself, rigging things against them.

  "I think Mrs. Weasley is right," Eda said. "You two cause trouble even without alcohol. If you drank too much, I 't even imagihe chaos. If Dumbledore were in front of you, you'd probably pull out his beard pletely!"

  To be ho, Eda was quite curious about what Dumbledore would look like without a beard. Maybe they should try it one day?

  "You just don't uand us well enough," Fred said, patting Eda on the shoulder.

  "If you did uand us, you'd know that we'd leave not a single hair on his head either. Anything less would be a failure," Gee said proudly.

  Just imagine Dumbledore showing up at the start-of-term feast looking like a bald egg—it would t his reputation as a mad old man among the udents.

  Hmm, it was kind of thrilling to think about...

  "So, what do those drinks taste like?" Fred asked eagerly. Being able to drink alcohol was one of the marks of growing up, after all.

  "They're just so-so. Nothing special. I still prefer chilled pear juice."

  "Juice 't pare to whisky!" Gee said indignantly. "Real men drink whisky!"

  "Have you ever heard of vodka?" Eda asked nontly. "Real men in those mase stories love that stuff, and they drink it straight, without mixing it with anything!"

  "Maybe we'll pass on that. Butterbeer is just fine," Fred responded quickly.

  "Are we the only ones living around here?" Eda asked. The Burrorotected by magic, so even though it looked strange, no Muggles could see it—not even the postman could find the pce.

  "Of course not, there are Muggles. They live in the vilge," Fred answered cheekily, fully aware that Eda was asking about other wizards living nearby, but choosing to give this answer anyway.

  "A few miles away, there's a wizarding family. Their son is in our year—Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff," Gee said, pointing in a dire.

  "Hmm.. oh! Isn't he the handsome boy from Hufflepuff?" Eda vaguely remembered him, a good-looking, sunny boy.

  "Handsome? What are you talking about?" Fred asked incredulously. "He's just a pretty boy! Only brainless girls like you would think that."

  "Hey!"

  Fred easily blocked Eda's pyful punch. As they grew, Eda was finding it harder to keep up with the twins in terms of physical strength.

  "The Fawcett family also lives nearby," Fred tinued.

  "The Lovegoods live on a hill. Their house is really odd, and so are they," Gee said, pointing to a mountain in another dire.

  Eda didn't reize either of these families and had never even heard of them. She said, "Should we find some time to visit the Diggorys? After all, we're cssmates."

  "No way. We're not ied in model students like Cedric, humph!" the twins said, crossing their arms as they walked ahead, ign Eda trailing behind.

  "Fine, fet it. I wasn't that keen anyway. W is exhausting," Eda said, quiing her pace to barely keep up with the twins.

  Gee stopped and asked, "You're still going to work? Just stay here with us. y during the day; why bother with a job?"

  "To support myself, of course. Why else?" Eda replied.

  Fred added, "Don't you get some financial aid? That should be enough to buy your school supplies."

  "I still o buy other things. Hogwarts requires b, so I 't work during the school year. If I don't earn some money during the holidays, what will I do after graduation?" Eda expined.

  "You're always thinking so far ahead. Doesn't that tire you out?"

  "Thinking that much will make you sick."

  Sihe twins had stopped, Eda ended up walking in front of them.

  She turned bad said, "I just want to live a bit better, and both Flourish and Blotts and the Leaky Cauldron are pretty iing pces."

  "Ok! Let's go back," Gee said as he led the way toward the house. "You should get some sleep early so you'll have energy for tomorrow."

  "I was thinking of taking you to catomes tomorrow, but we do that some other time. Let's go!" Fred added as he turned back.

  Eda followed them, saying, "I'll buy you guys a gift when I get paid!"

  "A broomstick?" Gee asked.

  "Not a Nimbus, but maybe a sweep or a et would do," Fred replied, as if he was sidering Eda's situation.

  "Do I look like I afford a broomstick? sweep, et... All you'll get is butterbeer, take it or leave it!"

  "We'll take it! Why not? And we'll drink until we get our fill." they said in unison.

  When Eda returo Ginny's room, Ginny was already asleep, with the pink rose lyio her pillow. Whatever the young girl was dreaming about, it brought a sweet smile to her face.

  The moonlight pently into the room as Eda y fortably in bed. She didn't tuck her wand under her pillow this time but tossed it onto the table instead. The Burrow gave her a strong sense of security, allowio sleep soundly.

  "Goodnight, Ginny. Goodnight, Weasleys. Goodnight, Burrow," Eda murmured as she y on her back. "And... goodnight, Esmeralda..."

  __________

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