Hogwarts Emerald

After muddling through a dazed and weary day, Eda's life finally returned to its usual rhythm—there was still much to be done. Since she would have to face the storms alone from now on, she needed to grow quickly.

Only by defeating a training dummy as powerful as Professor McGonagall could she consider her life somewhat secure.

In the entire wizarding world, there were very few people who could match the combat level of Professor McGonagall or Professor Snape.

Only by reaching or surpassing that level could Eda stop worrying about threats from others. At that point, the only people who could still pose a threat to her would be Dumbledore and Voldemort.

Voldemort, of course, was a given. Their positions were fundamentally opposed—Eda's background destined her to be a target of the Death Eaters' purges.

Unless her unknown parents happened to be descendants of a pure-blood family—but among the Sacred Twenty-Eight, none bore the surname Twist.

As for the other potential threat, he wasn't really a threat at all. Dumbledore wasn't insane—he wouldn't do something utterly deranged... right?

In Eda's view, as long as she didn't interfere with or obstruct Dumbledore's plans, he wouldn't act against her.

Dumbledore wouldn't actively push Eda into opposing him. As long as Eda didn't show an explicit intention of standing against Harry, then she and Dumbledore were not enemies.

Anyone with a shred of common sense would try to gain more allies, not make enemies everywhere, nor establish their authority through bloodshed. Dumbledore wasn't just a sensible man—he was a brilliant one. He would never do something that harmed himself just to hurt others.

With the end of the Easter holidays, Hogwarts suddenly became a hive of activity.

While teaching new material, the professors also began reviewing previously covered lessons with their students.

Some students were grumbling about the heavy workload, while others suddenly realized that the final exams were drawing closer and closer. There wasn't much time left for them to relax.

Madam Pince was becoming increasingly irritable whenever she dealt with Eda. Every time she checked the books Eda borrowed, it would take her an unusually long time.

It was unclear whether she genuinely loved these books that much, or if it was simply because the library was getting more crowded with students.

Of course, it was also possible that since Eda had previously threatened Filch, Madam Pince—who was rumored to have a connection with Filch—was now venting her anger on his behalf.

Whatever the reason, Madam Pince had certainly grown more short-tempered. With a feather duster in hand, she patrolled every corner of the library, chasing out any student who violated library rules.

However, there was one person Madam Pince couldn't chase away. That person almost never set foot in the library—and that was Hagrid. His massive size alone made it impossible for Madam Pince to force him out.

Hagrid wore his usual out-of-season mole-skin coat and had recently taken to visiting the library to read.

It was hard to picture Hagrid carefully studying a book—but if every single one of those books was about dragons, would you really find it that strange?

Well, Eda certainly didn't.

The wizarding world had passed the Ban on Dragon Breeding back in 1709, and Hagrid had privately complained about it more than once, saying it restricted his passion for dragons. He had also repeatedly expressed his desire to raise a dragon of his own.

Hagrid's biggest shared interest with Charlie Weasley was dragons, and he wholeheartedly supported Charlie's decision to go to Romania to study them.

In fact, most of the magical creatures Hagrid raised were not permitted for private ownership. But he always had his ways of handling those dangerous creatures. So even if Hagrid were to suddenly pull a dragon egg out from inside his mole-skin coat, Eda wouldn't be the least bit surprised—in fact, she'd think that's exactly what Hagrid should be like.

That's her idol who dared kiss McGonagall. A real man raises dragons!

The only problem was—if Hagrid really did have a dragon egg, where did it come from?

Eda and the twins didn't bother going to ask Hagrid for the details. Even if he truly was raising a dragon, it had nothing to do with them. Where the dragon egg came from wasn't their concern either—there would naturally be someone else who would chase after the answers.

And sure enough, the moment Hagrid borrowed his books and left, Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed him right out.

Eda didn't even have to think about it to know that those three were definitely going to find Hagrid. Not only would they figure out whether Hagrid had a dragon, they'd also find out exactly where he got it from.

Eda's daily rhythm wasn't disrupted by Hagrid's sudden appearance in the library. She continued following her plans step by step. And by the time she had already forgotten about the matter, an unexpected incident—Ron being hospitalized—brought it right back to her mind.

On Thursday at noon, after finishing lunch, Eda and the twins went to the hospital wing.

Ron had been admitted, and as his older siblings, Fred and George naturally had to go see him.

Ron's arm had swollen to twice its original size, looking like a heavy club. Fred gave it just the slightest touch, and Ron let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered.

"Alright, spill it. What happened? How did it swell up like this out of nowhere?" George asked as he sat by the bed.

"Bitten by.. by a dog," Ron mumbled, clearly lacking confidence in his story. He was so unconvincing that no one could possibly believe him. If you want to lie, you have to convince yourself first—only then might someone else believe you.

Eda walked to the side of the bed and carefully examined the hand that had been bitten. She said, "Maybe I should take the bandage off and have Garlon bite little Ronnie-kins the same way. Then we'll know if it was really a dog bite."

"Right! Why didn't I think of that?" Fred clapped his hands in sudden realization. "Eda, you take off the bandage, George, you go distract Madam Pomfrey, and I'll go bring Garlon over."

"No, no, that's not necessary! I'll talk, okay…" Ron hurried to stop Fred, only to realize the three of them hadn't moved at all—they were just messing with him again. He'd fallen for it.

"It was a ..dragon. I got bitten by a Norwegian Ridgeback."

Ron confessed truthfully how he got injured and even explained where the dragon came from, including the part about them writing to Charlie. Whether Eda and the twins asked or not, Ron told them everything he knew.

His confession was honest and complete—maybe worthy of a lighter sentence.

Aside from the dragon, Ron also told them what Harry saw after the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff match—how Harry saw Snape threatening Quirrell in the Forbidden Forest. It was only after that encounter that they started persuading others to treat Quirrell better.

Ron's explanation cleared up Eda's earlier doubts about Hermione. So that was it—she had seen something with her own eyes again. That's why she had once more firmly aligned herself with Harry's view, believing that Snape was the one trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone.

After laying everything out, Ron looked at Eda, wanting to know her opinion.

But Eda had little to say about their interpretation. Whether it was Snape or Quirrell—both of them were deceiving them.

Quirrell had misled them into believing Snape was the villain, and Snape, going along with it, made them even more convinced that he was the one after the Stone.

These three first-years were being led around by the nose by a bunch of adults—never once thinking to peel back the surface and look at the truth hidden underneath.

What puzzled Eda most was that the three of them hadn't questioned the origin of the dragon egg at all.

That, more than anything, was what she found baffling. She hesitated—debating whether or not to say something to Ron.

If this had been before, Eda wouldn't have hesitated at all. She would've just gone straight to Hagrid's hut with the twins and voiced her suspicions. But now, Eda couldn't afford to act so directly anymore—hence her hesitation.

The sudden appearance of this dragon egg was just too coincidental, especially at such a sensitive time. It was so conveniently timed that it practically screamed suspicion.

Yet neither Hagrid, nor Harry, Ron, or Hermione had any doubts about the mysterious person who'd given it to Hagrid.

Hagrid, overjoyed to have a dragon, and given his nature, could be excused for not realizing. But Harry, Ron, and Hermione were already aware of the Philosopher's Stone and knew someone was after it—yet they still didn't suspect the stranger who handed over the egg.

That was a disappointing lapse in judgment.

"Ron, didn't you ever suspect anything about that dragon egg?" Eda finally decided to speak up and give them a nudge. Being overly cautious wasn't in her nature.

"Norbert? What could be wrong with Norbert?" Ron asked, confused. "Charlie's coming to pick him up soon."

Ron clearly didn't catch Eda's point, but George did. He explained, "There's nothing wrong with the dragon itself—but isn't the stranger who gave Hagrid the egg just a little too suspicious?"

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