Recently, the pets at Hogwarts really seemed to be having a streak of bad luck. Just after Eda had discovered Garlon's "betrayal," it was revealed that Ron's pet rat had died—and the culprit was Hermione's cat, Crookshanks.
The entire common room fell silent, filled only with Ron's shouting and Hermione's attempts to defend herself.
Many people were puzzled as to why Ron was so furious over the death of a rat. After all, it was just a rat—many people wouldn't even choose one as a pet, just like they wouldn't choose a toad.
Ron was extremely dissatisfied with Hermione, believing that she hadn't kept a proper watch over Crookshanks and was still making excuses for it. Hermione, in turn, was just as upset, emotionally insisting that Ron had no evidence to prove Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers.
Their argument gradually shifted from Scabbers to Crookshanks. Hermione believed Ron was biased against Crookshanks simply because it had hit him on the head back at the pet shop.
Hermione's voice began to tremble with tears. When even Harry said that all the evidence pointed to Crookshanks, Hermione completely broke down. She shrieked at Harry in anger, then stormed off back to the girls' dormitory, secretly wiping away her tears as she ran.
Ron, meanwhile, still couldn't accept the loss of his rat—he was practically ready to hold a memorial service for Scabbers.
The twins' attempts to comfort him only made things worse, causing him to reminisce even more about Scabbers' "good points." For example, Scabbers had once bitten Goyle for Ron, leaving a scar.
And for another example… well, that was about it. Aside from eating and sleeping, the rat really didn't have much worth praising.
Eda and Ginny chased after Hermione to comfort her. The strong image she usually maintained was gone—the girl was crying her heart out. Although Hermione repeatedly insisted that Crookshanks hadn't killed Scabbers, she still felt a bit guilty about his death.
It seemed that Ron and Hermione's friendship had come to an end.
The two of them now resented each other deeply. Unless Scabbers came back to life, or solid evidence was found proving that Crookshanks was not the real culprit, there was no way they could reconcile.
All this over a rat—making his future wife angry, even driving her to tears. It was hard to understand what Ron was thinking at this moment.
The next morning, as Eda was having breakfast with the twins, the Gryffindor students lined up in an exaggerated "honor guard" to welcome the Firebolt's arrival, and the Great Hall buzzed with excited chatter.
Even Ravenclaw, Gryffindor's opponent that day, couldn't help but marvel at the Firebolt. Penelope Clearwater from Ravenclaw even managed, through Percy, to get a closer look at it.
Percy also gave everyone a display of his terrible emotional intelligence—he had actually made a bet with his girlfriend Penelope on which team would win the match.
He even kept a close eye on her while she held the Firebolt, as if afraid she might sabotage it.
Among the Weasley family, Percy and Ron probably had the worst emotional intelligence. It was as if all their sense had been distributed to their siblings—truly selfless people!
The weather was clear, with a gentle breeze—a rare, beautiful day.
Students from the entire school flooded into the Quidditch pitch. Eda stood together with Hermione and Ginny, while Ron kept his distance from the three of them. The occasional glance he cast over was filled with resentment toward Hermione.
After Oliver Wood and Roger Davies shook hands, Madam Hooch blew the whistle to start the match.
Fifteen broomsticks shot into the air, and the commentator Lee Jordan's voice echoed through the stands. But this time, his commentary was different from before—he didn't favor Gryffindor, nor did he shower Angelina with praise. Instead, he kept enthusiastically advertising the Firebolt, as if he had been paid to do so.
Of course, there was no way he'd been paid. Just like Muggles love luxury cars, Lee Jordan's love for the Firebolt came straight from the heart.
It had been a long time since Gryffindor had played such a "well-equipped" match. The twins were riding Nimbus 2001s, which gave them much better control over the Bludgers, suppressing Ravenclaw's offense so thoroughly that they could barely lift their heads.
As for Harry, the Seeker, his Firebolt was even more advanced than the Nimbus 2001. Ravenclaw's Seeker, Cho Chang, was only riding a Comet 260.
Firebolt versus Comet 260—Cho Chang couldn't even get close to Harry.
Cheers from the Gryffindor stands rose higher and higher, quickly drowning out Ravenclaw's supporters. If Eda had taken a closer look at the Ravenclaw crowd, she would have spotted a familiar figure—Cedric Diggory.
The score soon reached 110 to 30, with Gryffindor leading by eighty points.
At that moment, Harry suddenly accelerated into a dive. Following behind him, Cho Chang thought he had spotted the Golden Snitch and also sped into a dive. But relying on his own skill and the Firebolt's excellent performance, Harry suddenly braked sharply, stopping mid-dive—while Cho Chang couldn't stop and kept descending.
Gasps erupted from the stands—some in admiration of Harry's superb skill, others in concern for the rapidly falling Cho Chang. Cedric, in particular, looked so anxious it was as if his eyes were about to catch fire, wishing he could rush onto the pitch to catch her.
Since Harry and Ron were good friends, it followed that Harry's emotional intelligence could also be a bit worrying at times. There wasn't a trace of chivalry in his mind—after shaking off Cho Chang, he shot upward like a bullet.
This time, it wasn't just to shake off his opponent. Harry had actually spotted the Golden Snitch—and he firmly caught the struggling Snitch in his hand!
The whistle blew, and Gryffindor won the match.
The point they had lost to Hufflepuff's Cedric was now made up for against Ravenclaw's Cho Chang. One couldn't help but wonder if this would make Cedric's long road to winning her heart even more difficult.
May Merlin bless Cedric Diggory. What? Merlin has been bewitched and imprisoned by the Lady of the Lake, Viviane? Well… never mind then.
The celebration was exuberant. Ever since losing to Hufflepuff, Gryffindor hadn't been this happy in a long time!
And how could celebrating on the pitch alone be enough? A grand party was held in the common room—anyone unaware might think Gryffindor had already won the Quidditch Cup!
The party went on all day and continued late into the night. Fred and George practically looted the Hogwarts kitchens—the celebration even featured a large supply of butterbeer and several big bags of Honeydukes sweets.
Only Hermione didn't join the celebration. Eda and Harry had just been about to comfort her and invite her to join, when Ron, from within the crowd, said sarcastically, "If Scabbers hadn't been eaten, he could've had a few of these fudge flies—he used to love them…"
Frustrated beyond belief, with the mindset of a worried mother, Eda almost wanted to strangle Ron on the spot just to make him shut up.
Professor McGonagall also joined the celebration at the end. Dressed in a tartan dressing gown and wearing a hairnet, she was forcibly pulled by the twins into dancing a tango.
Eda clapped her hands and laughed loudly, a familiar tune echoing in her mind: "The tango is walking while swaying, three steps forward and two turns back, five steps bend, six steps wave, then sway your way along again…"
This was too much—after the "older catgirl" image, Professor McGonagall had now gained the title of "Tango Teacher." Eda could no longer look at the usually serious and strict professor the same way.
At one in the morning, Professor McGonagall finally seemed to realize that her dignity was slipping away, so she put on a stern face and drove everyone back to bed. Although everyone obediently dispersed, no one was actually afraid of her—they all grinned and cheerfully wished her good night.
In the girls' dormitory, even though she was exhausted, Eda didn't go to bed. She stopped Hermione, wanting to talk to her about Crookshanks.
"What is it, Eda?" Hermione, completely worn out, rubbed her eyes. They were slightly red and swollen—partly from exhaustion, and partly because she had cried again at some point.
Eda brought up Crookshanks' "colluding with the enemy." Since Hermione was Crookshanks' owner, Eda felt it would be best to hear her thoughts and opinions on the matter.
But before Hermione could analyze anything, their conversation was interrupted by a loud crash, followed by a commotion coming from the direction of the boys' dormitory.
Something had happened!
(～￣▽￣)～Read 12 Chapters ahead:
Patreon: Dragonel