The m, Eda was woken up by the otion from the ghoul iic. It always made a racket when the house was too quiet, either by shrieking loudly or banging on pipes. As long as the ghoul felt it was too quiet, no one else could enjoy any peabsp;

  Yawning and with her hair down, Eda went downstairs. Her outfit was tidy, but the mirror o maill yelled at her, "Fix your hair! What kind of mess is this?"

  Mrs. Weasley was busy ing the kit. Cups, bowls, and utensils washed themselves in the sink, cttering together like they were pying a lively kit symphony. Hearing the mirror's voice, Mrs. Weasley turned and asked, "Did it wake you up, dear?"

  "Good m, ma'am," Eda replied, casually tying her hair into a bun, exposing her fair and slender nebsp;

  Ba the orphanage, only the very young girls had someohem with their hair. irls had to ma themselves, and no one ever taught them how to style it properly.

  Eda never spent much effort on her hair, so she usually wore it down. Occasionally, she would tie it into a single ponytail or, like today, twist it into a bun.

  While irls at school were focused on their appearances, Eda always had her nose buried in thick books. It was only her natural beauty and tough personality that spared her from being beled a nerd.

  Mrs. Weasley pced freshly cooked eggs and ba onto Eda's pte, piling it high like a small mountain. If Eda hadn't stopped her, Mrs. Weasley would have likely made it even taller.

  Eda had inally po head to Ottery St. Mary he River Otter after breakfast. It wasn't for fun but to send a letter to Mrs. Mary. However, Mrs. Weasley informed her that she could send mail directly from the vilge and didn't o go all the way to the town.

  The vilgers were early risers, and none of them gave Eda, a stranger, any odd looks. With Christmas just around the er, they merely assumed she was someone heading to town for a performanbsp;

  Some children were pying in the vilge, and the braver ones curiously approached Eda, asking if she was an actress from the town and what kind of performahere would be for Christmas.

  Ao no end, Eda finally escaped the group of noisy kids wheered the post office. Though called a post office, it was just one person w there. Eda arrived just in time; if she had been a little ter, the postman would have already left.

  Wheuro the Burrow, Ginny was following Mrs. Weasley around i, while the boys were helping Mr. Weasley decorate the house.

  In the er of the living room stood a Christmas tree that Mr. Weasley had just brought in. The twins were busy hanging bells and ribbons on it.

  Eda went into the kit and stood by the sink, peeling potatoes with a k that moment, she really envied Charlie, who could already use magic outside school. Eda had to resort to sneaking in some magic use, careful not to let Mrs. Weasley catch her.

  With so many hands helping, the Burrow was fully decorated by noon, exuding the festive spirit of Christmas everywhere. Pleased, Mrs. Weasley allowed the children to go out iernoon. They could py Quidditch as long as they ehe Muggles in the vilge below wouldn't see them.

  The boys, carrying their broomsticks, led the way, with Eda and Ginny following behind. The seven of them headed toward a paddo a hill he Weasley home. Surrounded by trees, the spot was well-hidden from the vilge below.

  Except for Ron, who was still young, the Weasley boys all used sweep-series broomsticks. The twins had sweep Fives, slightly old but still funal.

  Since Eda didn't own a broomstick, Charlie picked out an old one for her from the broom shed before they left the Burrow. Little Ginny also wao grab one, but Charlie and the others didn't agree.

  After arriving at the paddock, Charlie was the first to mount his broomstid take to the air. The others followed, starting a game of tossing and catg an apple. They couldn't py real Quidditch si would risk being seen by Muggles, and they kept their flying low to avoid attrag attention.

  The apple passed bad forth between the boys, who had been pying this game since childhood. Even Ron, the little boy, ha well, though his slower broomstick made him look less graceful than his older brothers.

  "e on, Eda, stop dawdling down there!" Fred began urging her impatiently. Everyone in the family knew she wasn't great on a broomstibsp;

  The other boys joined in, especially Perd Ron, eager to see Eda make a fool of herself. But they were destined for disappoi.

  While Eda's natural talent might have been g, the tless hours of practice she had put in weren't for nothing.

  "Good luck!" Ginny whispered encement before stepping aside.

  Eda mouhe broomstick, pushed off the ground with her feet, and rose steadily into the air. The boys stared in disbelief, and the twins' jaws dropped, letting in a gust of cold wind. The twins, who spent the most time with her, had no idea she had improved so much—they remembered her barely being able to stay aloft before.

  Eda wasn't suited to being a Quidditch pyer, but for basistick flying, she could manage just fine. She was a bit slower and o be more cautious, but she could hold her own.

  Ohe rookie flyer joihe game, however, their smooth apple-tossing became much less coordinated. Either Eda couldn't catch the apple, or her throws were too off-target, making it harder for the others to catbsp;

  If it weren't for Charlie's skill as a Seeker and his quick reflexes, the apple would have been smashed multiple times thanks to Eda's fumbling. Seeing this, Charlie called a pause to the game and reahe teams. He paired the twins with Eda, while he teamed up with Perd Ron.

  It was now three versus three, with roughly equal strength. Owins' team, Eda was a clear weak link, while on Charlie's team, her Ron nor Percy were on their house Quidditch team.

  The twins positioned Eda in the middle, ensuring they could cover for her if she missed the apple.

  With the new arra, Eda started to enjoy the game more and even mao catch the apple a few times.

  As the sun dipped lower on the horizon, the seven of them finally left the paddod made their way bae.

  "When did you get so good at flying, Eda?"

  Gee asked. If he had asked anyone else, it would have been mockery. But with Eda, it was genuine praise, sidering how poor her flying skills had been at the start.

  Fred and Charlie turo look at her as well, equally curious about her "sudden progress."

  They still vividly remembered how terrible she was at broomstick flying in their first year.

  "I've always told you, Fred and Gee, I'm a fast learner," Eda replied, keeping the secret of her system to herself. It was something she couldn't share with anyone. "Remember Exploding Snap cards from our first year?"

  The twins shuddered, recalling the sheer terror of being utterly dominated by Eda at the game. It had been both a mental aional humiliation.

  "How about a game tonight?" Charlie suggested. "Don't worry, Eda. I won't bully you."

  The twins shook their heads vehemently, trying to dissuade Charlie from walking into a disaster. But brimming with fiden his card-pying skills, Charlie insisted on challenging Eda.

  A fierce battle of Exploding Snap seemed iable.

  _______

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