There was neither joy from defeating Quirrell and protecting the Philosopher's Stone, nor disappointment from being deliberately ignored. Eda appeared calm in the face of everything that had just happened, as if she had done nothing more than a trivial task.
Defeating a professor head-on would be enough for any other student to brag about for a lifetime, but in Eda's view, beating Quirrell wasn't anything worth boasting about.
Putting aside the pitiful persona Quirrell had been acting out, even judging by his performance today, this wasn't the level he should have displayed — he had been weakened by the Voldemort possessing him.
Voldemort had taken possession of Quirrell and was sharing his body. This sort of "coexistence" inevitably interfered with Quirrell's spellcasting, preventing him from displaying his full strength. Meanwhile, Eda had just returned from her "advanced studies." With her power rising and Quirrell's hindered, his defeat was inevitable.
If something is bound to happen, what's there to be happy about? It wasn't worth boasting over either. If she could, Eda would've preferred another duel with Benedict Fowley, to reclaim the dignity she'd once lost. Unfortunately, unless someone broke him out of prison, Eda wouldn't have the chance to challenge her former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor again.
From Benedict Fowley to Glover Cecil, and now Quirinus Quirrell — in the three years since her enrollment, every Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had ended up entangled with Eda.
Two were taken down by her own hands, and one she watched walk away. Say what you will — Eda really seemed to clash with whoever taught that subject. A true Defense Against the Dark Arts professor slayer!
After leaving the hallway to the right of the 3rd floor, Eda ran into Professor McGonagall, who had hurried over after hearing the news. Because it was already quite late, the long-unseen student and teacher only exchanged a few brief words, not taking up too much of each other's time.
Although Professor McGonagall didn't know where Eda had been during this time or who she had met, she trusted Dumbledore's arrangements. She also knew that Dumbledore wouldn't expel Eda, so unlike Fred and George, she wasn't particularly anxious.
Professor McGonagall was also worried about Eda, but her concern was different from that of the twins. She was more worried about whether Eda had been comfortable outside, or whether she had gotten into trouble.
Although there was no blood relation between them, McGonagall treated Eda like her own junior, and similarly, Eda regarded Professor McGonagall as an elder.
After exchanging a few words, Professor McGonagall parted ways with Eda — she went to find Dumbledore, while Eda returned to the Gryffindor common room.
From Professor McGonagall's mouth, Eda learned that Ron's injury wasn't serious. He had already returned to the common room along with the twins and Hermione, which was why Eda went directly back to the Gryffindor Tower. If she hadn't run into McGonagall, she would have made a wasted trip to the hospital wing.
When Eda stepped into the long-missed common room, the twins were sitting in the seats closest to the exit, waiting for her. Once they confirmed she was back safely, they finally relaxed and went off to their dormitory to rest.
After saying good night to the twins, Eda also returned to her own dormitory.
Pushing open the door, everything before her felt so familiar and dear — the familiar bed, the familiar furnishings, and her familiar roommates.
Bathed in the dim light of night, Eda quietly tiptoed to her bed and sat down. She changed into her pajamas, lay down, and glanced at her sleeping roommates.
The corners of her lips curled into a faint smile.
The morning sunlight streamed in with a gentle, non-blinding brightness, lighting up the cozy dormitory. Alicia Spinnet was the first to wake up. As she rubbed her slightly tousled hair, she sleepily walked toward the washroom.
After coming out of the washroom, Alicia originally planned to crawl back into bed and continue sleeping. But as she passed by Eda's bed, she suddenly stopped.
She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things, and then—
"Ahhh!" A loud shriek woke up the other three in the dormitory.
"It's early in the morning, what are you screaming for like a ghost…" muttered Angelina, turning over and continuing to sleep.
Katie Bell didn't get up to check either. Alicia's scream was so full of energy that it didn't sound like anything serious. Katie mumbled, "Quiet down, get more rest. We've got a match at noon…"
Eda was also woken by the scream. She sat up in bed and said, "Don't make a fuss, you're overreacting…" Then she lay back down again, never even opening her eyes the entire time.
Hearing that familiar voice, the sideways-sleeping Angelina suddenly opened her eyes wide.
She sat up with a jolt and saw Alicia standing in front of Eda's bed — and Eda herself lying there, sleeping.
"Ahhh! When did you come back?" Alicia asked in surprise and delight. "Don't go back to sleep, answer me!"
"Who… who came back?" Katie Bell also got up. Yawning, she walked over to Alicia's side — and then saw Eda lying in bed.
"Oh My!!!!! Eda!!! You are back!!!!"
Eda didn't respond, clearly having fallen back asleep. At this point, the decisive Angelina had had enough. She walked over and stood by Eda's bed. Alicia, understanding her intentions immediately, grabbed Eda's arm from one side while Angelina took the other — and the two of them pulled the sleeping Eda up into a sitting position.
Two fists couldn't hold off four hands; even a fierce tiger couldn't withstand a pack of wolves. Under the joint assault of Angelina and Alicia, Eda finally woke up. She looked helplessly at her roommates and said, "Is this how you welcome your lovely roommate back?"
Angelina repeated Alicia's earlier question, "When did you come back?"
"Midnight last night. I should've woken all of you up then — would've saved me from being disturbed first thing in the morning, right?" Eda replied with a tone full of mock grievance.
"Where have you been all this time? Not a single message. Everyone said you'd been expelled — do you know how worried we were?" Alicia said, half scolding, half concerned.
"Sorry for making you worry." Eda finally opened her eyes, speaking sincerely. "I was away receiving punishment, so I couldn't send any letters. I guess making my friends worry was part of that punishment."
Alicia's tone softened. Holding Eda's hand, she continued, "Let this be a lesson — don't act so recklessly next time. We being scared is one thing, but if you really got expelled, what would we do then?"
"Next time—if there is a next time—I'll beat them up first," Eda said seriously. "Better than this time, where I got punished and didn't even get to vent my anger."
Back when she first arrived at Nurmengard, Eda had already stopped being mad at those people. What really frustrated her was herself—she hadn't even had the chance to do anything before the professors stepped in.
Alicia let go of Eda's hand, feeling like her words had gone in one ear and out the other. But Angelina just laughed and said, "Now that's the Esmeralda Twist I know. Still exactly the same."
After hearing that, not only did Alicia and Katie laugh, but Eda also lowered her head and laughed along with the three of them.
Life at Nurmengard had indeed changed her, but no matter how much she changed, some things would never change—she was still herself.
The bell-like laughter in the dormitory quickly attracted the attention of the other girls. Naturally, when they came to check, they saw the supposedly "expelled" Eda.
Soon, the news that "Twist is back at school" spread throughout Hogwarts.
Most students at Hogwarts didn't have particularly strong feelings about Eda—neither good nor bad. They didn't think much of her return. After all, it wasn't like they interacted with her much—was Eda going to cause them trouble for no reason?
Those students could afford not to care, but there were some who couldn't ignore Eda's return.
For example, a few Gryffindors led by Kenneth Stoller—they had once cornered Eda and said some very nasty things. They were both upset that the school hadn't expelled her, and anxious that Eda would take revenge on them.
The Slytherins were just as displeased—especially those who had suffered at Eda's hands.
Recently, Slytherin students had been acting more aggressively, and their clashes with Gryffindor were becoming increasingly intense. Flint and his lot, for example, had not only gotten into conflicts with Gryffindor but had even come to blows. They were worried Eda would come after them too.
Considering Eda's reputation for repaying every slight, their concerns weren't unfounded.
But they didn't have to worry for long, because soon another rumor started circulating around the school—one even more shocking than Eda not being expelled!
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