Hearing Gilderoy Lockhart's voice, everyone in the classroom—including Filch—felt instantly annoyed.
Compared to his predecessor, to be so universally disliked by both people and animals alike, Lockhart truly surpassed him, outdoing the master himself.
Lockhart was like a moth to flame—he could never resist showing up wherever there was excitement. But he never came to actually watch; he always came to show off.
Today was no different. This classroom wasn't far from Lockhart's office, and he had naturally heard Mrs. Norris's sharp cry. So he came strutting out, hoping to flaunt himself while enjoying a bit of spectacle.
But Lockhart had miscalculated. The moment he entered the classroom, he saw Eda and the twins—the three biggest thorns in his teaching career.
At that moment, Lockhart wished he could slap himself twice. Why hadn't he just stayed quietly in his office? Why did he have to stick his nose into this?
Now, however, retreat was impossible. Filch seized him by the arm. As much as he hated Lockhart, that didn't stop Filch from treating him as an ally in this matter—after all, Lockhart still bore the title of professor.
"Professor," Filch said, "Twist and these students are violating school rules by holding an unauthorized gathering, and even dueling in private! It's absolutely disgraceful."
Lockhart nodded, thinking to himself, Yes, Twist is indeed unbearable. I've never met anyone as infuriating as her. But almost immediately, reason regained control, and he shook his head. But what can I do? The poor girl is one of my biggest fans!
First a nod, then a shake—what was that supposed to mean? Filch was utterly baffled by Lockhart's strange display. He pressed on: "Professor, they are breaking the school rules…"
"Mr. Filch," Eda loudly interrupted, "I'll say it again—our activities were approved by Professor McGonagall. It was only because of the incompetence of a certain useless professor that we had to establish this study group at all. That's why Professor McGonagall specially assigned us this classroom. There is absolutely no violation of the rules, as you claim."
All the students in the classroom immediately turned their eyes toward that certain useless, incompetent professor. Yet he pretended not to notice, saying instead, "Since they've received Professor McGonagall's approval, you shouldn't interfere any further. In fact, I think the idea of a Dueling Club is rather excellent."
Lockhart didn't even bother to glance at the approval form. He only wanted to escape this troublesome situation as quickly as possible. He went on, "Why, I myself once won the championship of a dueling tournament! When I returned to the school, I even wanted to spar with Professor Flitwick, but he always refused—probably afraid of getting injured and missing his lessons!"
"Oh, and if you truly are interested in starting a Dueling Club, if there's anything you don't understand, feel free to come and ask me anytime!" Lockhart fell into his old habit of bragging. But the moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them—for Eda actually opened her mouth to ask for help.
Of course, a dog can't stop itself from eating what it shouldn't, and Eda had no intention of letting him off easily. She decided to "help" him along, serving it up hot and ready.
"Professor, there are indeed a few things I don't quite understand—regarding Defense Against the Dark Arts…"
But before she could even finish, Lockhart bolted from the classroom in a hurry, leaving only his voice echoing behind: "Next time! We'll talk next time! I just remembered something terribly urgent I must attend to—very urgent—so we'll discuss this later!"
Watching Lockhart flee with his tail between his legs, the classroom erupted in a chorus of boos. Whether or not Lockhart actually heard them was anyone's guess.
Eda made a dismissive gesture toward Filch and said,
"Mr. Filch, our activity isn't over yet. Please leave now. If you have any concerns, you can report them to Professor McGonagall—but don't bring your cat here again. None of us here are particularly fond of cats!"
Filch truly had no way to deal with them, so he had no choice but to leave. But before he did, he responded to Eda's threat:
"Twist, if anything happens to Mrs. Norris, I swear I'll see you thrown out of this school!"
With his cat in tow, Filch left the classroom. Fred stepped up beside Eda and asked,
"What do we do now? Should we find a new place?"
Since Filch now knew about their gatherings, he was bound to keep an eye on them, waiting for a chance to catch them breaking the rules. While his interference couldn't actually harm them, it was still extremely annoying to be interrupted.
"No need," Eda said. "I actually want to see what tricks Filch thinks he can pull. This time I'm going to have a little fun with him. I refuse to believe I can't deal with him!"
Filch wasn't the only one affected by the miserable weather—Eda's mood hadn't been great lately either. Normally, she would've avoided this kind of hassle, since there was no need to waste energy getting worked up over Filch. But now, with her foul mood, she felt impulsive, almost eager, to put him in his place.
Because of Filch and Lockhart showing up one after the other, the Dawn's meeting ended early that day. After tidying up the classroom, everyone left and returned to the Gryffindor common room.
Outside, the rain was still pouring down in sheets, but inside the common room it was bright and cheerful. Firelight flickered over countless soft armchairs, where students sat reading, chatting, or doing their homework.
Eda and her friends gathered near the fireplace, while Fred and George slipped mysteriously back to their dormitory. Not long after, they returned carrying a box of Filibuster's Fireworks—and a fire salamander.
The salamander was one the twins had "rescued" during Care of Magical Creatures.
Fred and George stuffed the fireworks into the salamander's mouth. Luckily, there were no members of any magical creature protection groups in the common room, or the brothers would surely have been doomed.
Suddenly, the salamander, which had been smoldering quietly, shot into the air. It whirled wildly around the room, spitting sparks and letting off a string of loud bangs.
The group was stunned by Fred and George's "creativity." For the moment, thoughts of Wood's "tyranny" and Filch's meddling vanished, replaced by the dazzling spectacle of fireworks the salamander was producing.
From its mouth burst streams of orange-red sparks that bounced across the ceiling and walls, brilliantly lighting the space. With a series of explosions, the salamander darted into the fireplace and disappeared.
Percy immediately spotted the culprits. He stormed up to his twin brothers, rasping angrily as he scolded them harshly.
Life always has a way of bringing unexpected joys—though in this case, it was at the expense of both the twins and the salamander.
On Halloween Eve, Eda and the twins happily entered the newly decorated Great Hall.
Huge pumpkin lanterns and swarms of live bats hung everywhere, and rumor had it Dumbledore had even booked a troupe of dancing skeletons.
When the feast began, the legendary skeleton dance troupe really did appear.
But their jerky movements atop clattering piles of bones looked so bizarre and out of place that the hall quickly filled with laughter.
Dumbledore's little maneuver managed to win back some of his declining support. Because of Lockhart's presence, many students had begun to resent him, believing that hiring Lockhart as a professor was an act of irresponsibility on Dumbledore's part.
Unlike everyone else who was enjoying the Halloween feast, Eda kept glancing toward the doors of the Great Hall, half-expecting someone to suddenly burst in, shouting, Something's wrong!
Quirrell and Lupin—two Defense Against the Dark Arts professors from past years—had already shown Eda through their actions that Halloween was no ordinary day. On this day, "trick-or-treat" was very real.
Fortunately, all the way until the end of the feast, no one stormed into the hall to announce any terrible news. Halloween of 1992 passed as just a normal holiday, without any danger.
When the feast was over, the students slowly began filing out of the Great Hall. Eda and the twins followed the crowd back toward the common room.
Eda was still savoring the memory of the feast's delicious food, while Fred and George were goofing around, mimicking the comical moves of the skeleton dance troupe.
But when the three of them reached the 2nd floor, they found a crowd gathered there. The students who were supposed to be heading back to their common rooms were instead clustered around something. Naturally, driven by curiosity, Eda and the twins pushed their way over to see what was happening.
As soon as the students at the front saw Eda, they automatically stepped aside, opening a path. Just like that, Eda and the twins easily made it to the front, securing the best view of the scene.
The first thing Eda noticed was Ron, Harry, and Hermione—who hadn't shown up at the feast.
Then her eyes landed on Filch's cat.
Mrs. Norris was hanging by her tail from a torch bracket, her body stiff as a board, eyes wide open, staring lifelessly.
On the wall beside her, written in scarlet paint, were the chilling words:
The Chamber has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, beware!
"Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, mud—" Draco Malfoy had also squeezed his way to the front of the crowd, but when he caught sight of Eda on the opposite side, he swallowed the slur that was about to leave his mouth.
But his cold eyes gleamed, and his normally bloodless face flushed bright red. He stared at the stiff, unmoving cat hanging from the torch bracket, a twisted grin spreading across his face, as though he were already imagining who might be the next one to dangle there.
Eda ignored Malfoy's vile words. In her mind, two crisp dings suddenly rang out—the system that had been silent for so long had finally come online again.
[Ding! A thousand-year-old castle, a sealed chamber—Host, are you truly not curious? Before the end of this school year, find the clues to the Chamber and discover its location.]
[Ding! Perhaps it is just an inconspicuous item, yet it may play a hidden role. The Host must continue wearing the glasses provided by the system until the end of this school year.]
After reading the new mission prompts, Eda looked once more at Mrs. Norris, hanging lifelessly from the torch. She let out a sigh.
As expected—on Halloween, something was bound to happen…
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