Hogwarts Emerald

In the days that followed, the little lions of Gryffindor became as quiet and cautious as kittens, taking great care in everything they did.

They were doing everything they could to protect their forty-point lead—it was no exaggeration to say it took a great deal of effort.

As the students who had lost the most points in the past two years, Eda and Fred and George naturally became the focus of everyone's attention. Percy and another female prefect even spoke to them separately.

Eda found those kinds of conversations extremely annoying, so she was rather unpleasant toward the two prefects. Still, she agreed to their requests—or rather, demands.

But even so, despite Gryffindor's unity and efforts, they still couldn't hold onto their lead.

On Sunday morning, the Gryffindors were met with a heartbreaking scene: they had lost a full one hundred and fifty points overnight, falling from first place to fourth.

A large group of Gryffindors gathered around the giant house point hourglasses. The red gems that had once filled the Gryffindor hourglass were now nearly gone, having vanished overnight. Only a pitiful few remained.

The worst-case scenario they had feared had come true.

Just a few days earlier, the House Cup had seemed within reach—and now, just days later, it had fallen back into Slytherin's hands.

The Gryffindors standing around the hourglass stared at the red gems in dismay, expressions full of disappointment. Passing Slytherins took full advantage of the moment, gloating and mocking the Gryffindors with no restraint.

The more they were ridiculed, the angrier the little lions became with Eda and the twins.

That's right—everyone naturally assumed it was Eda and the twins who had lost those one hundred and fifty points. After all, only they could possibly lose that many points in a single night.

After a while, Eda and Fred and George came walking over, deep in discussion about George's new idea for fireworks.

Even when they saw the crowd gathered around the hourglass, the three of them didn't stop; they kept chatting as they walked toward the Great Hall.

The Gryffindors gathered in front of the hourglass glared at the three of them with furious eyes. Some of the more hot-tempered ones, or those who simply didn't like Eda, stepped forward and blocked their path—seven or eight students in total.

The group began accusing Eda and the others of disregarding the bigger picture, acting recklessly, and losing the House Cup that was practically in their hands. Some of the words used were outright insults, all aimed at Eda—none directed at the twins.

At first, the three of them were confused when they were blocked by their own housemates. Eda had already slipped her hand into her robe and nearly gave these little lions a taste of "spicy roast." But after listening for a bit, they understood what the group was going on about. Still—what did Gryffindor losing points have to do with them?

"You're all talking over each other—who can even make sense of it?" George stepped in front of Eda, shielding her slightly. "Someone explain this clearly."

"You lot made the house lose one hundred and fifty points overnight. We're just asking what happened, so watch your attitude when you speak!" Kenneth Towler said.

Ironically, it was they who were speaking aggressively, yet in Towler's version, George was the one with the bad attitude. Still, compared to last year, Towler had indeed matured a bit.

A few students who had always disliked Eda's personality or behavior chimed in. When someone becomes outstanding enough, there will always be people barking behind them. If no one's barking, it just means you're not outstanding enough yet.

"We're just as upset about the house losing one hundred and fifty points overnight," Fred said. "But what does that have to do with us?!"

From the accusations and insults, Eda and the twins finally learned about the mysterious loss of one hundred and fifty points overnight. But what did that have to do with them? And what gave these people the right to block them at the entrance of the Great Hall first thing in the morning and say such awful things?

More and more students gathered at the entrance of the Great Hall. These people were so eager to witness Gryffindor's internal conflict that they didn't even care about breakfast. They, too, wanted to know how Gryffindor had lost so many points overnight.

"Who else could've lost that many points besides you lot?" another jeering voice said. "We know you're impressive, Twist, but you've cost the House its chance at the House Cup. Can't you at least say sorry?"

Even the bystanders agreed the student had a point—after all, losing that many points wasted everyone's year-long efforts. A simple apology would've been lenient.

"And which one of your eyes saw us lose the points?" George snapped, not bothering to hold back anymore. Everyone has their limits. "Or did someone tell you it was us? Professor McGonagall? Professor Dumbledore?"

None of the students present actually knew how the points were lost. Everyone had just assumed, based on the trio's past behavior, that it had to be their fault.

Eda, who had been silent until now, stepped between Fred and George and moved to the front. Smiling, she said, "First, those 150 points have nothing to do with us. We don't owe you an apology. Second, even if we had lost the points, what gives you the right to stand here blocking our way and shouting insults? What exactly do you want?"

Eda's gaze swept coldly across each of the students blocking them. She continued, "Do you want to beat us up? Or just go ahead and kill us? Umm, can you even do that?"

These two questions were like pouring oil on a fire. After hearing Fred and George's defense, the group had actually started to consider letting it go—maybe this really wasn't their fault. But now Eda's words had pushed them into a corner, leaving them no easy way out.

If they went forward, they couldn't actually beat anyone up like Eda said. But if they backed down, Eda's pointed words would hang in the air. Quarreling in front of so many students not only humiliated Gryffindor but would make them lose face personally as well.

Those who knew Eda well understood one thing clearly: when she smiled while speaking to people she wasn't familiar with, it meant she was angry.

Angelina and Alicia, having rushed over after hearing the commotion, quickly came to Eda's side, trying to pull her back. Lee Jordan also stepped up beside the twins, eyes fixed on the group opposite them—he was already sizing up who he'd take on if a fight broke out.

Percy pushed his way through the crowd and came over. He first said to Eda, "Eda, calm down. Calm down."

Then he turned to the others and announced, "This has nothing to do with Eda, Fred, or George. I've already spoken with the professors."

"That's impossible! Who else could it be besides them…" Kenneth Towler had been waiting for a chance to take Eda down a notch—half the people who had stepped forward just now were stirred up by him.

"It was me. I'm the one who lost the points. I let everyone down," a loud voice called out from the crowd.

Everyone turned to look at the speaker—and saw none other than the famous Harry Potter, the hero of two Quidditch matches. He was the one who had caused Gryffindor to lose so many points...?

Hermione and Neville, who stood beside Harry, also lowered their heads. But no one paid them much attention. Even Eda wasn't the focus anymore. The two of them were just foolish first-years—everyone's eyes were now on Harry Potter.

The crowd grew noisy. Some insults started being thrown around, but unlike earlier, no one surrounded Harry the way they had with Eda.

After all, he was the Harry Potter—they didn't dare confront him directly. All they did was mutter complaints under their breath.

Percy hurried to calm everyone down. He said, "This is all just a misunderstanding—everyone, go on into the Great Hall and eat. Let's disperse, alright?"

The seven or eight students who had stepped forward, as well as the rest of Gryffindor, all realized they couldn't do anything to Harry Potter. And since they had wrongly accused Eda, Percy's words gave them a perfect excuse to back down gracefully.

This was probably the most effective Percy had ever been—after he spoke, the Gryffindor students began to disperse. The students from the other houses, seeing there was no more drama to watch, also started to leave.

"Ahaha~ Hold it. Who said you could leave?~~"

Compared to the noisy crowd, Eda's voice wasn't loud, but it carried far. Everyone present heard it.

From the moment the crowd had blocked Eda and the twins to Percy telling everyone to disperse, only a few minutes had passed. In that short time, someone had already gone to notify the professors. Fortunately, the professors responded quickly, and they arrived at the entrance to the Great Hall just before Eda could take action.

Snape was the first to arrive. He stepped in front of Eda and said, "Put your wand away, Twist. And the rest of you—disperse."

Eda ignored Snape's warning. She raised her wand, stepping past him. Snape grabbed her right arm and said in a low voice, "Whatever you plan to do—put your wand down first!"

"Professor, stay out of it. Today, I'm going to show everyone whether mudbloods are really made of mud!"

It wasn't that Eda insisted on making a scene—if she let this slide today, when they'd cornered her without her even saying a word, what would they dare do next time? Would they actually lay hands on her?

And now, after the truth had come out, they hadn't even bothered to say a single "sorry."

Was she some toy they could push around as they pleased?

Dumbledore had tossed this sharp-edged toy aside once he felt it was inconvenient—was it now acceptable for his students to trample all over it as well?

"Enough of this nonsense!" Professor McGonagall finally arrived. She had left in such a hurry that her bun was slightly askew.

She stepped in front of Eda's raised wand. Eda, eyes reddened, was forced to lower her wand.

Seeing this, Professor McGonagall turned to the few students who had confronted Eda and said, "Apologize! I won't say it again."

The students who had blocked Eda's path began to apologize. The near-maniacal look Eda had just shown had scared them out of their wits.

Eda might very well be the only student in the school who dared to raise her wand in front of a professor.

"Prefects, take your housemates away from here," Dumbledore finally appeared, standing at the top of the staircase and addressing the prefects of each house.

"To all students involved in surrounding Twist and the two Weasleys, ten points will be deducted per person. You will also serve detention as punishment, lasting until the end of the school year," Dumbledore announced.

"As for you, Twist—you'll come with me to the Headmaster's office. Minerva, Severus, you two as well."

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