The stands desded into chaos as the professors worked to calm the students from both houses, stopping them from rushing onto the field.

  In the ter of the pitch, Dumbledore and Professonagall were examining Charlie's dition.

  The Gryffindor team had formed a protective circle around their captain, with the twins gring red-eyed at Marcus Flint. If not for their teammates holding them back, the two would have already lu him.

  Meanwhile, the Slytherin pyers stood behind Snape, defiantly fag off against the twins. Marcus Flint, the instigator, was shielded in the middle of the group.

  "That's my brother! Let me through!" Percy shouted as he ran toward the se. "Let me through—Charlie is my brother!"

  This was the first time Eda had ever seen Percy like this.

  His eyes were red, and he shoved cssmates aside one by ohout a sed thought. Normally, Perly ever looked this frantic whewieasing him, and even that was rare.

  The professors let Percy through, and Eda, taking advantage of the distra, slipped out of the crowd to follow him. As soon as Percy broke free, he made a beeline for the Slytherin team, clearly intending to pummel Flint.

  But with Percy's slight frame, attempting to take on seven pyers by himself would only end one way—with him being thhly overpowered aen.

  This was no time for recklessness.

  Eda quickly grabbed Perd tried to talk him down, urging him to calm down and not throw himself into a futile fight.

  Truth be told, Eda herself badly wao cast a Bat-Bogey Hex right in Flint's face, but Snape was standing right there. There was no way Snape would allow her to attae of his students.

  Still, Eda had no iion of letting Flint off the hook, especially since he showed no remorse whatsoever. Instead, he was smugly boasting about his as to his teammates.

  Flint noticed Eda and Percy watg him and deliberately met their gaze with a mog smirk. As Eda dragged Percy away, Flint's taunting smile lingered, making his face look even uglier.

  In the crowd, Charlie regained sciousness. His face ale, and his brows furrowed in pain. The twins and Percy immediately crowded around him, asking where he felt unwell.

  "Professor, how is Charlie?" Eda asked anxiously. The twins and Percy also turheir eyes torofessonagall.

  "His ribs are broken. He'll need some time to recover," Magall replied. She was furious, barely restraining herself from assigning Marcus a year-loion.

  "I think you should take your brother to the hospital wing as soon as possible," Dumbledore said. "I've already notified Madam Pomfrey; she'll have Charlie back to full health in no time."

  The twins, Percy, and the remaining team members carefully carried the injured Charlie off the field. Eda didn't follow them—she wao stay and hear unishment Marcus would face.

  Dumbledore walked over to Snape and said, "Severus, Marcus's as were truly appalling. I'm dedug fifty points from Slytherin. Marcus will also serve detention for the month. Additionally, while Charlie Weasley is uo py, Marcus is also banned from participating in any matches."

  With each sentence, Snape's sallow face darkened a shade.

  By the time Dumbledore finished listing the punishments, Snape's expression was darker than even Lee Jordan's skin color. He said nothing, simply leading the Slytherin team off the field in silence.

  After Dumbledore annouhe punishment, the rest of the students began to disperse, leaving the pitch behind.

  On the way back to the castle, Eda walked behind Professonagall. She wao gauge the professor's attitude and decide just how far her own pns for revenge should go.

  "You did well today. You weren't as impulsive as st year," Professonagall said, her tone clipped as if every word was squeezed out between ched teeth.

  "If Perd I had charged forward, Fred and Gee would have joined us for sure. The team has already lost Charlie; we 't afford to lose the Beaters too," Eda replied.

  As she had thought earlier, ag on impulse wouldn't have aplished anything. Snape wouldn't just stand by a his students get hurt, not to mention the number of professors present made aaliation impossible.

  "Learning to think before you act means you've made good use of this past year," Magall remarked. "Go visit Charlie ter on your own. I won't be going. Once you've checked on him, head back quickly—don't linger around."

  Even as they reached the castle, Eda still hadn't fully deciphered Magall's stan the situation. She couldn't tell what the professor's exact thoughts were.

  Just before they parted ways, Magall added, "I've retly piled some new notes on Transfiguration. If you're ied, you're wele to e by and take a look."

  "Uood, Professor!"

  Eda replied, finally grasping Magall's bottom line and gaining crity ouation.

  After separating from Magall, Eda headed to the hospital wing. There, Fred, Gee, and Percy were seated by Charlie's bed. Charlie, propped up with a chest brace, was chatting with them about something.

  Eda shared Dumbledore's punishment with the group. Charlie and Percy expressed no objes to the decision, but the twins still looked dissatisfied. It was clear they would have preferred to send Marcus to the hospital wing in Charlie's pce.

  The twins' dissatisfa didn't escape Charlie's notice, so he specifically instructed them, "Fred, Gee, you're not allowed to go after Marcus. Once I'm out of the hospital wing, I'll defeat Slytherin fair and square och—that will hurt him the most!"

  "Got it…" the twins replied half-heartedly.

  After all, Charlie was stu the hospital wing and couldn't physically stop them, right?

  "Keep an eye on them, Percy." pared to Charlie, the twins were still too impulsive.

  Perodded. "I will. I'll watch them." Calm once more, Percy had reverted to his usual bookish self—the same Percy who wasn't particurly popur.

  That evening, the on room was unusually quiet.

  With Charlie still in the hospital wing, there was no celebratory atmosphere for their victory earlier that day. Fred, Gee, and Eda sat in the armchairs by the firepce, whispering softly.

  Eda held a book in her hands, though she wasn't actually reading. Beh the book's pages y the Marauder's Map, which she had been staring at all afternoon.

  Across from her, Fred and Gee cracked their knuckles, the sharp sound breaking the room's silehey had been waiting for Marcus Flint to be alone. Currently serviion, Marcus would likely be unapanied o ended, giving Eda and the twins their ce.

  However, they still had one obstacle—Percy, the so-called infiltrator in their midst. He had been keeping an eye on them from within the on room the entire evening.

  Wheime was right, Eda and the twihe on room anyway. To their surprise, Percy didn't try to stop them. Instead, he turned his back to them, not even sparing them a gnce.

  The twins were utterly puzzled, uo figure out ercy to. However, Eda uood his message perfectly—Percy was a Gryffindor after all!

  Inside Snape's office, Marcus Flint was furiously writing lines. Over and over, he scrawled "I shouldn't attack others from behind" on rolls of part. He had been at it for aire evening, and his right hand was starting to go numb.

  After he finished yet another sheet of part, Snape finally allowed him to leave. Flint, shaking out his stiff hand, began making his way back to the Slytherin on room.

  He wasn't worried about being alone—if the Weasleys dared to e after him, he'd send them to the hospital wing to join their brother. He wasn't some weakling like Avery.

  The corridors were deserted. As Flint walked, he suddenly heard voices.

  "We've been waiting for you for a while," said one of the twins, blog the path to the Slytherin on room.

  Fli fident that he could hawo-on-one fight. Smirking, he sneered, "In a moment, you'll both be joining your brother in the hospital wing."

  "You owe Charlie an apology, Flint," Fred said. "Or we'll make sure you apologize in person."

  "You two are hirious," Flint mocked, ughing loudly. "What's the matter? Is your family so poor that it starved your brains?"

  Drawing his wand, he prepared to teach the twins a lesson they wouldn't fet.

  "You'd better listen to us," Gee said, gesturing behind Marcus. "If you don't want to get hurt, you'd better put your wand away."

  Flint turo look behind him and saw Eda standing a short distance away. Her hands were csped behind her back, and she was casually tapping her right foot on the ground, looking pletely at ease.

  In all of Hogwarts, Eda was one of the mnizable people. Even putting her appearance aside, her reputation alone made her unfettable: the know-it-all, one of Gryffindor's biggest point-losers, Snape's least favorite student, and tless other bels.

  Flint, of course, knew about Eda. But he had aken her seriously. To him, she was just a thirteen-year-old girl—not worth w about.

  "You Weasley scum really like stig together, huh?" Marcus Flint sneered. "Fine, I'll send all of you to join Charlie Weasley!"

  Raising his wand, Flint shot a spell at Eda. But his spell was weak and posed hreat to her.

  "Is that it?"

  Eda remarked, zily flig her wand to deflect the spell.

  She hadn't expected Flint to be this unimpressive.

  "You attacked me first," she tinued with a smirk. "Anything I do now is just self-defense, right?"

  _______

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