The rich aroma of meatballs, the sound of the family laughing and chatting, and Fred, George, and Ginny performing a war dance made this dark and gloomy house seem so warm and welcoming.
Even Moody's grim and frightening face wore a smile, and the movement of his magical eye kept time with the rhythm of the war dance.
The entertainment did not last long. Mrs. Weasley soon put on a stern face and sent the children off to bed. It was already getting late.
Eda had to squeeze into a bedroom with Hermione and Ginny. It was not that Number 12 Grimmauld Place did not have any spare rooms, but the other rooms had not been cleaned up yet.
The house belonged to Sirius. It had been his parents' home and had been unoccupied for a long time. Everything had been maintained by a house-elf.
However, the house-elf named Kreacher seemed to have been overly grieved by the death of his mistress. He had become somewhat abnormal and refused to do even the daily cleaning, let alone maintain the old house.
As time passed, Number 12 Grimmauld Place became what it was now, dirty and covered in dust, with traces of insect damage everywhere.
And so Eda stayed there, at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. However, when she woke up the next morning, she discovered that there was practically no real work being done at the headquarters of the anti-Voldemort operation.
After getting up and eating breakfast, Eda thought Moody would assign her some sort of task. Instead, Mad-Eye did not even look at her before leaving.
Hey! Seriously? I am one of the Order of the Phoenix's top enforcers, and you are just going to ignore me like this?
While Eda was still stunned, only a group of children remained around the long wooden table. Everyone else had already left.
Moody was the first to go, despite his limp. Sirius followed closely behind, with half a piece of bread still hanging from his mouth.
Tonks also ran off at full speed, accidentally crashing into the umbrella stand. Then a deafening stream of curses rang out, raising a cloud of dust in the entrance hall.
Fortunately, Lupin was right behind Tonks. He covered the portrait of a very difficult-looking old woman with a black cloth, and only then did the deafening curses gradually cease and the dust settle back onto the floor.
Fred secretly told Eda that the foul-mouthed old woman was Sirius's late mother, who was also the original owner of the house.
Eda nodded with lingering fear and swore that she would never provoke the old woman in that portrait.
The old woman's vocabulary was so filthy that if it were put on television, every single word would have to be censored.
Anyone who knew what was happening would understand that she was swearing. Anyone who did not might think a secret agent was transmitting intelligence over a radio!
Moreover, the old woman spoke as fast as a machine gun, leaving no gaps and giving no one a chance to get a word in. If you were cursed at by her, there was not even room to talk back.
Eda had no idea what the old woman had been like when she was alive, but she seriously suspected that the old woman had practiced rapping.
The last person to leave the house was Mr. Weasley. He first said goodbye to the children, then hugged his wife, and only after that did he leisurely walk out of the house.
Watching everyone use having missions or going to work as excuses to flee the house, Eda, whose brain was still somewhat muddled, finally came to her senses.
Although she had no idea what terrible things might happen if she stayed in the house, making a run for it was definitely the right choice.
Even though she had not finished her bowl of porridge, Eda resolutely stood up. She firmly headed toward the kitchen door, toward the entrance hall, and toward the free world outside...
However, before Eda's long legs could take even their first step, Mrs. Weasley had already blocked her path.
I really want to run away, but I just can't~
"Dear, where are you going?" Mrs. Weasley asked kindly.
"Er... I have a mission." Eda casually made up a lie. "So I have to go out for a while. I'll be back tonight."
Although Mrs. Weasley nodded, she said, "How come I don't know about it? Alastor clearly didn't assign you any mission just now!"
"A secret mission. Professor Dumbledore assigned it." Eda leaned toward Mrs. Weasley's ear and said mysteriously, wearing an expression that clearly said, "Trust me."
"Oh~!" Mrs. Weasley acted as though she had suddenly understood, but she did not believe Eda's lie in the slightest.
Mrs. Weasley shoved a feather duster into Eda's arms and continued, "I don't know anything about secret missions, but I do know that your top priority right now is cleaning the house."
The moment the feather duster was shoved into her arms, Eda instinctively gripped it. She knew Mrs. Weasley had seen through her and that she was not getting away.
But Eda was unwilling to give up. She stubbornly said, "Madam, I am a member of the Order of the Phoenix. I have bled for the Order of the Phoenix, I have rendered great service to the Order of the Phoenix, I..."
Mrs. Weasley simply stood there, expressionless, watching Eda make things up. Meanwhile, the other children had already picked up their respective "weapons" and filed out of the kitchen, beginning to prepare for the house cleaning.
Even the twins resigned themselves to their fate and left the kitchen, a mop in one hand and a bucket in the other.
"Anything else to say?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "If not, then go upstairs and start cleaning."
"Nothing else." Eda said, "But I haven't finished my breakfast yet. Wasting food is a bad thing to do. I've realized my mistake, and I am deeply ashamed of it."
As she spoke, Eda sat back down at the dining table, picked up her bowl of porridge, and started dragging her feet.
But no matter how big the bowl was, how much porridge could it possibly hold? Especially when half of it had already been eaten... In the end, Eda still could not escape the miserable chore of cleaning the rooms.
Number 12 Grimmauld Place was no cleaner than Nurmengard. If Mrs. Weasley had not spent most of the holiday working hard with the children, it would have been even dirtier and more chaotic.
In the rooms waiting to be cleaned, every step kicked up a huge cloud of dust. Everyone had to cover their faces with cloths, making them look like an entire gang of bandits had come out together.
After clearing away yet another nest of dead rats, Eda finally broke down. She cursed Dumbledore endlessly in her heart.
The old honeybee had clearly told her to come back early, yet after she returned, the old honeybee did not give her any tasks. Could it be that the old honeybee had insisted she hurry back just so she could clean Grimmauld Place?
You old bastard, I am absolutely never letting this go!
After venting her complaints and thinking about all sorts of nonsense, Eda's broken spirit finally pieced itself back together. She turned around and threw herself back into the heated battle.
...
As the days passed, Eda had an especially fulfilling summer during the holiday in which Voldemort had returned.
Really.
After being put through Mrs. Weasley's rigorous training, Eda had become quite skilled at housework. Even cooking, an extremely difficult task, was something she was gradually getting the hang of.
Hermione and Ginny had likewise been trained into capable young ladies who could handle themselves both in the drawing room and the kitchen.
Life at Grimmauld Place was somewhat dull. Every day consisted of eating, sleeping, and cleaning the house.
Only when the weather was good would Mrs. Weasley let everyone go outside for some fresh air. However, they were not allowed to go far and could only wander around the square.
Occasionally, members of the Order of the Phoenix would come and go. Sometimes they would stay for a meal, while other times they would only stop for a few minutes and exchange a few quiet words.
These were the most exciting moments for the twins, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, even though Mrs. Weasley never allowed them to participate.
As the youngest member of the Order of the Phoenix, Eda also attended a few meetings, but the content of these meetings was truly incredibly boring. They were either discussing giants and goblins, or the Ministry of Magic, which could not distinguish friend from foe.
There was nothing they could do about it. Who could blame Voldemort for hiding underwater like a cowardly turtle, refusing to show himself no matter what?
With Voldemort and the Death Eaters taking no action whatsoever, the members of the Order of the Phoenix could only repeat their discussions, checking whether there were still any weaknesses in their defenses and filling in the gaps.
During the meetings, Eda also saw Snape several times. Following Dumbledore's instructions, the Potions professor had infiltrated the Death Eaters once again and become a trump-card spy.
According to the information Snape brought back, there were two reasons for Voldemort's inaction. First, Voldemort was searching for something. Second, he wanted to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight.
Although Fudge had lost the battle over Harry's hearing, he had not stopped suppressing and persecuting Dumbledore.
He became increasingly troublesome, and the contents of the Daily Prophet grew more and more disgraceful.
If Rita Skeeter were pardoned by Fudge one day, Eda would not be surprised in the slightest.
The more the Ministry of Magic made a fuss, the happier Voldemort became. This was exactly what he wanted to see. He even wished that the Ministry and Dumbledore would clash head-on.
When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits.
Voldemort saw through it, and so did Dumbledore. Only the adorable Fudge knew absolutely nothing and devoted himself wholeheartedly to internal power struggles.
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