Throughout the long history of the Triwizard Tournament, Hogwarts had won the championship the most times, with Beauxbatons close behind. Meanwhile, Durmstrang, which specialized in the Dark Arts and sounded extremely formidable, was dead last.
As the headmaster of Hogwarts and also the host of the event, Dumbledore naturally did not want Hogwarts to lose the championship. If Eda did not exist, then the outcome would simply be left to fate and trust in the students' performance. But with Eda around, it was like putting a lock on victory itself.
With such an advantage available and not using it—did they think Dumbledore was stupid?
Just as Dumbledore had said, no matter how absurdly overpowered or unreasonable Eda's strength might be, once school started she would still only be a sixth-year student, with two full years remaining before graduation. She was a Hogwarts student. That point was beyond dispute.
Even if Madame Maxime and Karkaroff were dissatisfied, so what? She is a student of Hogwarts—what are you going to do about it! If you're so capable, go draw yourselves an SSR too! heh heh heh~~
Once the tournament officially began, once Madame Maxime and Karkaroff witnessed Eda's strength, their expressions would surely be spectacular.
Madame Maxime would definitely feel heartbroken. After all, the place where Eda now lived was so close to Beauxbatons, and several of Eda's cousins were also students there. Karkaroff would probably feel heartbroken too, because Louis had once been an outstanding graduate of Durmstrang.
Both of those schools had connections to Eda, yet in the end Hogwarts was the one benefiting from it all—the school that, on the surface, had practically nothing to do with her. But there was no helping it. Jessica was British, Louis had gone to Britain, and Eda herself had been born in Britain!
Such are the unpredictable twists of fate, making people sigh from time to time at how destiny toys with everyone…
After listening to Dumbledore's explanation and hearing his request, Eda's mind began spinning rapidly. The Triwizard Tournament… this actually seemed promising. She had already been wanting to do something to change the current situation, and now the tournament was being revived right at this moment. Wasn't this exactly like someone delivering a pillow just when she was feeling sleepy?
Although she was secretly delighted, Eda did not show it on her face. Instead, she deliberately put on an expression of great difficulty. After carefully considering her words, Eda said, "Professor, you know that Durmstrang is my father's alma mater, while Beauxbatons is…"
"No need to continue," Dumbledore interrupted her. "Let's be direct—just tell me what you want to do."
Eda's way of thinking was sometimes truly beyond ordinary people, and even Dumbledore could not quite grasp it. But the headmaster knew her personality well. She absolutely did not care about those two schools. This troubled expression she was wearing now was completely fake—inside her head, the little算盘 was definitely clacking away noisily.
No matter how cunning the hunter was, he still could not outmatch an old fox!
"Quite a few students at Beauxbatons are my sworn brothers and beloved friends…" Eda suppressed her joy with great effort and tried to sound sorrowful. "You'll have to pay extra!"
Hearing this, the fork in Dumbledore's hand dropped straight onto the table. He leaned back in his chair and spread his hands apart. The meaning was obvious: You're already living in a manor like this, and you're telling me to pay extra? What exactly are you thinking?
Eda "Grandet" Twist was not intentionally cosplaying as the "Pay More Lord." She had simply instinctively wanted to extort Dumbledore a little. But after thinking for a long time, Eda realized there was actually nothing she particularly wanted to obtain from Dumbledore.
Wealth? She did not need it. In this world, wealth was merely an illusory string of numbers. As long as one possessed sufficient strength, wealth would naturally come pouring in. Power? Power granted by others would never compare to power seized or earned by oneself. If someone could grant you power, they could naturally take it away as well. Magic? What Eda needed now was more reflection and understanding, not the accumulation of more spells—in other words, enlightenment.
After agonizing over it for quite some time, Eda finally stated something she genuinely wanted, something neither excessive nor unnecessary.
"I want to be Head Girl. Starting now!"
The position of Head Girl was usually held by a seventh-year student. For example, Percy and Penelope, who had just graduated, had both held the position during their seventh year.
Hearing this condition, Dumbledore was greatly surprised. He had thought Eda would ask for personal guidance from him! Dumbledore had already prepared himself for Eda to demand something outrageous, and this was all she wanted?
The position of Head Girl had already been intended for Eda and Cedric Diggory by Dumbledore anyway. It was merely a matter of getting it a year earlier or later. Sooner or later, the position would end up in Eda's hands regardless. Why was she in such a hurry? Besides being obsessed with money, was she also obsessed with official titles?
Dumbledore stared at Eda, the probing look in his eyes growing increasingly intense. The headmaster probably wanted to say: I truly cannot understand you at all!
The searching gaze was so intense that even Eda began to feel uncomfortable. She lowered her head to look at her clothes, thinking perhaps she had fastened one of her buttons incorrectly.
"Is that your only request?" Dumbledore finally withdrew his gaze. "You only have this one opportunity. Once today passes, I won't acknowledge anything I may have said."
A hint—an extremely obvious hint. Yet Eda nodded as though she had not understood it at all.
Eda was actually very interested in Dumbledore's past, such as his history with Grindelwald and with Voldemort. But those were Dumbledore's private matters, and Eda would not pry into someone else's privacy in this way.
"The badge will be delivered together with your supply list for next term," Dumbledore said, no longer continuing the hints. The headmaster preferred guiding others and giving them choices, but rarely forced anyone.
In the eyes of many people, Eda was childish, someone who acted recklessly according to her whims, and whose actions carried an extremely strong sense of purpose and utilitarianism. But in Dumbledore's eyes, she was not like that at all.
To Dumbledore, Eda was someone who understood boundaries very well, while also steadfastly adhering to the principles in her heart.
If such an Eda decided not to do something, then she would absolutely never cross the line even a single step. But if she decided to do something, then no one could stop her—unless she died.
The two silently finished their desserts. After the sweets were cleared away, Eda could not help asking, "Professor, are you prepared to face the darkness?"
Dumbledore shook his head and said heavily, "When facing darkness, there is never such a thing as complete preparation. When darkness arrives, you will realize that all the preparations you made beforehand were far from enough."
"Is there really no way for us to find him in advance?" Eda asked. "To strangle the darkness in its cradle before it arrives."
Call it prevention before disaster strikes, or striking first—it was all the same. The current passive defense, simply waiting for the darkness to descend, left Eda feeling dissatisfied.
"No. I have been searching for him all this time, but I have never found anything," Dumbledore shook his head again. "Tom is a genius. Along the path of his growth, he never received help from me or from Gellert, yet he accomplished things even better than you did."
"Eda, he has become stronger and stronger, even stronger than when you last saw him. I think you understand very well what that represents," Dumbledore continued. "All we can do is prepare as much as possible for his return."
They clearly did not know where Tom was hiding, yet Dumbledore somehow knew he was growing stronger. What channel was Dumbledore using to obtain information? Eda suddenly thought of something. Lowering her voice until it was barely more than a mosquito's buzz, she asked, "Professor Snape?"
Dumbledore nodded, confirming Eda's guess. "I trust him. Although he has many selfish motives, I still trust him. When it comes to important matters, he absolutely will not be as foolish as he was this year."
"One last question, Professor," Eda asked again. "Why did Harry return to the Dursleys this summer instead of staying with Sirius and the others? They're truly the worst Muggles I've ever seen."
"That is because the Dursleys are Harry's last remaining relatives," Dumbledore said without hiding anything. "Before Lily died, she left an extremely powerful ancient magic on Harry. This magic can protect Harry from harm by others. But if this protection is to continue, Harry must maintain his current connection with the Dursleys."
So the Dursley household was basically used to recharge Harry! Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were human-shaped power banks!
No wonder, no wonder Dumbledore had been so at ease letting Harry face Quirrell alone back in first year. So that was how it was.
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