If not for Vinda's presence, AlaIn Rosier and Vincent Rosier would have already had their seventh-day memorial rites finished by now.
Eda reached out and picked up the newspaper on the long table. Pointing at the ferocious-looking Sirius Black on the Daily Prophet, she said, "As far as I know, your mother comes from the Black family and is cousins with this fugitive. That means this infamous Black is your uncle. Why don't you go find him and persuade him to turn himself in—what do you think?"
Although pure-blood families all have tangled and complicated kinship ties, Draco Malfoy's uncle–nephew relationship with Sirius Black was absolutely genuine, without a drop of exaggeration.
The onlookers hadn't quite finished digesting Eda's gossip, when they suddenly found themselves eating Malfoy's gossip instead. Compared to Malfoy's habitual bluster, Eda's words were far more convincing.
The crowd began indulging in their own speculations—Black was a Death Eater, even considered a second-in-command, so what about Malfoy?
The more they thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed.
Fred laughed and said, "You know what, they do look a bit alike! Malfoy, go persuade your uncle—tell him to hurry back to Azkaban and stop causing trouble for the world."
"Exactly, exactly. No need to egg Harry on anymore—your uncle–nephew relationship is way more useful than Harry," George said. "You go persuade your uncle, and from then on you'll be the boss of the school. Anyone who doesn't obey gets beaten up by Eda!"
The peanut gallery was never afraid of watching things blow up, and they all joined in, heckling Draco Malfoy to go persuade Black. As for how he was supposed to persuade him, that wasn't something they cared about.
How else could he persuade him—other than with his life? Even if Malfoy were willing to acknowledge this fugitive uncle, would Black acknowledge him?
Malfoy chickened out. He didn't dare go looking for Black—he wasn't done living yet. He had only come over to mess with Harry Potter, show off a bit, and mock Harry Potter's weakness while he was at it. Why not enjoy himself?
When it came to being a coward, Malfoy had truly mastered his father's essence.
Looking at his ugly expression, the twins mocked him: "The chance to show off was handed right to you. You were given the opportunity, and you still couldn't deliver!"
At this moment, the noble Mr. Malfoy really wanted to ask: why is Esmeralda Twist everywhere? And also—are all the people in the Rosier family just freeloaders? Can't they keep their own in line and send her off to Beauxbatons?
"What are you all crowding around here for?" It was Snape's voice. The students' little gathering to watch the drama had caught his attention after all.
Snape's arrival broke the deadlock and gave Malfoy something to cling to. He looked toward his Head of House for help.
"Take your friends back to your own house, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said, not even glancing at him. He first looked at Harry, then said to Eda, "You still haven't learned what manners are, Miss Twist."
Eda said indifferently, "If manners mean swaggering around and shamelessly showing off, then I'll never learn them in my life."
"Detention. Tomorrow night at seven, Miss Twist." Snape was never one to indulge children, and Eda was naturally not getting out of this detention.
Seeing everyone disperse, Snape also left, as hurriedly as he had come.
Snape didn't indulge children, and neither did Eda. She called out to Malfoy, who hadn't gone far yet: "The chance was given to you—you were just useless. Remember this: it's fine to put on an act in front of others, but dare to put on an act in front of me, and I'll kill you."
...
At Hogwarts, students being put in detention is the most normal thing in the world.
No one is a saint—who can pat their chest and say they made not a single mistake over seven years of school?
Um, Percy Weasley, please sit down. It's not your turn to speak.
Is it normal for a prefect to be put in detention? It's a little abnormal. Generally speaking, prefects are considered student leaders and are supposed to set an example, so they should restrain themselves. Mistakes should be avoided as much as possible, and they especially shouldn't end up in detention.
Percy Weasley, please sit down immediately. Right now. You have no lines here.
But if the prefect in detention happens to be Esmeralda Twist—and the professor issuing the detention happens to be Snape—then the combination of the two makes it perfectly normal.
Professor McGonagall had long since prepared herself mentally for this. Her blood pressure wouldn't spike, and she didn't need any blood pressure medicine or headache pills. After all, for Miss Twist, if she didn't get detained a few times each school year, that year would be incomplete—flawed.
The students were also used to Eda being put in detention by Snape. Her free time was either spent in detention in Snape's office, or on the way to Snape's office for detention.
Only the first-year little kids would make a big fuss about it, looking like they'd never seen the world.
Those still-adorably-fresh first-years had their eyes opened. They finally realized that there was someone at school they absolutely couldn't afford to offend.
She not only dared to talk back to people, she even dared to do it right in front of professors. Not someone you could mess with—definitely not.
When it came to being "uncultured," they truly were uncultured. Back then, Eda had even wanted to make a move right in front of a professor. And that utterly non-intimidating professor was none other than Snape.
Draco Malfoy's willingness to throw his pride away for a test also sounded a warning for the Slytherins, reminding the little snakes of the fear of being dominated by Eda.
Even though she was already half a Rosier, Eda was still the same Eda, without the slightest change—when it came to talking back to Slytherin, she showed no mercy at all.
Unlike the new students of the other Houses, the young lions of Gryffindor finally understood the meaning of what Clark Gerald had said at the start of term: making this senior unhappy really did have serious consequences.
After breakfast, the students left the Great Hall one after another and began their busy day of classes.
They thought that Eda dressing down Malfoy that morning had already been exciting enough, but they had no idea that the real highlights of the day were only just beginning, because the third-years were going to have their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class in the afternoon.
This lesson was not only something the third-years talked about with relish, it was also a class that left students from other years laughing out loud when they heard about it. The content itself was actually quite simple: dealing with a single Boggart.
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