When Eda first visited Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley, she was already on guard against everyone there — that was why she had changed her appearance. She only wanted to quietly make some money, nothing more.
When she was negotiating with the greedy Mr. Borgin, Eda immediately saw through his lies and knew that he wanted to buy the basilisk skin and horn. Eda had once experienced being offered 200 and ending up selling for 20 — she knew this kind of trick all too well.
She wasn't as skilled as Borgin in haggling and scheming, but Eda had her own advantages — she could "cheat," in a way.
Naturally, Borgin, who had been thoroughly outwitted, was unwilling to accept defeat, so he sent someone to dig into her background — just as Eda had expected.
Even today's attempt at a double-cross hadn't escaped her notice; otherwise, she would have gone straight back to the Burrow. Why else would she stop in such a deserted, out-of-the-way place?
The basilisk skin and horn, of course, came from the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets — it didn't need them anymore, and Eda happened to have use for them. Heh! She believed that the basilisk's spirit in the afterlife would be glad to know that even in death, it was able to help others.
Ever since the basilisk had been dealt with, Dumbledore had taken no action at all, leaving its corpse to rot in the cold Chamber.
Eda couldn't bear to see such waste, so she quietly tried to ask Professor McGonagall about it. Although Professor McGonagall didn't reveal much, it was clear that Dumbledore had absolutely no interest in the basilisk's remains.
Dumbledore might not have cared — but Eda did. She wasn't like Harry, rich enough to have his own vault at Gringotts. So, using her quick wits, Eda once again entered the Chamber of Secrets and brought out the basilisk's shed skin and the horn on its head.
As the one who discovered the Chamber and destroyed the diary, Eda thought it wasn't too much to take a single shed skin and a basilisk horn as a reward. In her opinion, that was perfectly fair — after all, she hadn't even touched the basilisk's fangs.
Choosing Borgin and Burkes had been a deliberate decision — Scott Warren's operation simply wasn't big enough. In his circle, there weren't many who would be interested in basilisk materials. Borgin and Burkes, on the other hand, would take any job and sell anything.
Being able to run such a shop in Knockturn Alley — without constantly being robbed or raided by the Ministry — already said plenty about its power. Maybe not enough to shake heaven and earth, but in that underworld, Borgin and Burkes was definitely one of the biggest predators.
Now, as the four men slowly closed in on her, Eda didn't show the slightest hint of fear. She even felt like singing "Baba Baba Black Sheep" to liven things up.
These days, the only people who could truly scare her were Dumbledore in a killing mood, Voldemort at full strength, or Grindelwald breaking out of Nurmengard — those three were genuinely unbeatable.
As for the rest? Eda could take down anyone she met. And even if she couldn't win, she could always run.
Led by Clive, the four men stopped talking. Since the girl was so stubborn, they'd just have to teach her a bloody lesson. All four struck at once — four spells shot straight toward Eda.
But every spell missed its mark. Only the sound of colliding magic echoed through the air; there was no body on the ground, and Eda's figure had vanished completely.
Blink — one of Eda's innate skills. She could actively trigger it to move a short distance in an instant. That was how she dodged their attack and leapt out of their encirclement.
From the way they'd attacked — the spells they'd chosen — it was obvious they intended to kill her outright, not leave anyone alive. So Eda saw no reason to hold back either.
With a sweep of her wand, a wall of blazing fire roared to life, surging toward the four men with the clear intent to cremate them on the spot.
The four men dodged frantically, barely avoiding being turned to ash in the first exchange. But when the wall of fire finally died down, they once again lost sight of Eda — as if she'd only wanted to set a fire and run away.
But how could Eda possibly run? Someone as peace-loving as her wouldn't do that, of course.
She had only gone to finish setting up the rest of her preparations.
Clive and the others gathered cautiously together, their expressions grim. None of them had expected that the seemingly young girl would be so formidable. The youngest of the four, Hill, looked visibly shaken, his hand trembling as he clutched his wand.
All four men had blood on their hands; this wasn't their first job for Mr. Borgin. But this particular target made them feel something new — fear.
Some of them realized this might well be the last job they ever did for Borgin.
Eda reappeared with fire once again — this time in the form of a great flaming bird that streaked across the sky before crashing down onto the ground, setting off a deafening explosion. Smoke and dust billowed everywhere.
Clive's group scattered to avoid the blast; the four who had just regrouped were separated once more.
By all logic — according to the "smoke-without-injury rule" — there should have been five people standing when the smoke cleared. But when it did, there were only four left in front of the small grove: Eda, Clive, the tall and burly Jimmy, and the black-haired Gary.
The youngest, Hill, now lay limp at Eda's feet, lifeless.
Ambushes weren't something Eda was good at — she was a proper, upright person.
How could she stoop to something as underhanded as a sneak attack?
The smoke had simply been too thick; they'd lost their way, and she'd accidentally run into him. That was all — it wasn't an ambush at all.
The remaining three didn't show sadness or anger at Hill's death — only calculation, as they weighed their chances of escape.
They and Hill were only coworkers, hired by Borgin. None of them thought Hill was worth avenging, nor did they think Borgin's pay was worth dying for. Borgin wouldn't send their families a single knut in compensation.
But what they didn't know was that it was already too late to run. Eda had no intention of letting them leave alive once she'd revealed her true face — and the preparations she'd just finished were precisely to make sure none of them could escape.
The Muggle-Repelling Charm was there to keep Muggles from wandering in and getting hurt by accident, while the Anti-Apparition Jinx was to prevent anyone from escaping with their life.
"According to Grindelwald, every drop of a wizard's blood is precious," Eda said coldly, "but that doesn't apply to those who dare raise their wands against me. Don't worry — after you're dead, I'll make sure to pay Mr. Borgin a visit on your behalf."
Once she finished speaking, Eda struck again. Since they were so ready to die, she had no reason to hesitate about burying them herself — sending them off wouldn't take much time anyway.
Clive, Jimmy, and Gary didn't just sit and wait to die; they attacked together. Even if they planned to flee, they had to suppress Eda first — otherwise, she'd have no trouble chasing them down later.
Outside the small grove, the sounds of spellfire, explosions, and shouting tangled together into chaos. The combined assault of the three men did manage to put a bit of pressure on Eda, preventing her from quickly gaining the upper hand and dealing another fatal blow.
But despite their numbers, Clive and the others couldn't seize the advantage.
They failed to suppress Eda's attacks, and defeat loomed over them at every turn. There was no opening for escape.
Eda lacked experience fighting multiple opponents at once, but she more than made up for it with her skill and power. Her defense was airtight, easily neutralizing every spell they threw at her, and her counterattacks were swift and deadly — every strike aimed to kill.
Fear began to creep into Clive's heart.
He didn't want to stay any longer; if the fight continued, death was all that awaited him. Taking advantage of the moment when Jimmy and Gary were flustered, Clive conjured a violent gust of wind. As the gale swept up around them, he turned and fled.
It was a clever idea — the wind obscured him from view, and with Jimmy and Gary still keeping Eda busy, he had a good chance of escaping alive.
But what Clive hadn't accounted for — what all his clever calculations had missed — was that this place had been sealed with an Anti-Apparition Charm.
Unable to Apparate, Clive had no choice but to rely on his legs — taking Route 11, as the saying went, to flee the scene. After all, this wasn't Hogwarts; a single Anti-Apparition Charm couldn't possibly cover too wide an area.
But his escape sealed the fates of those he left behind. The betrayed Jimmy and Gary were doomed.
Gary was the first to fall — Eda's "Mercy's Release" struck him squarely in the chest, and he collapsed instantly, sinking into eternal sleep.
Jimmy didn't fare any better. In his one-on-one with Eda, vines shot up and bound him tightly before he could react. Moments later, flames roared to life, consuming him where he stood — a seamless, one-step funeral service courtesy of Esmeralda Twist.
Hearing the screams of his companions behind him, Clive didn't stop. On the contrary, he ran even faster.
But betraying his teammates didn't bring him the sliver of survival he hoped for. Mid-sprint, Clive slammed straight into an invisible wall of air. The impact sent him reeling, dazed and disoriented, unable to tell east from west.
When he finally staggered back to his feet, battered and gasping, a dark green figure stood silently before him.
In the next instant, a flash of green light filled his vision — expanding, swallowing everything.
And at that final moment, Clive realized there was no color in the world more despairing than that shade of green.
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