Giving up at the right time was Snape's advice and concern. He did not want Eda to put herself in danger.
But Snape knew that saying this was probably futile, a waste of effort. Even so, he still had to say it, to give Eda a warning and make her take the third task seriously, so that she would not easily fall into someone else's trap.
The third task was of the utmost importance. Not only would it determine who would win the Triwizard Cup, the dark forces secretly waiting to make their move would inevitably be watching this task as well. This was their final opportunity of the school year.
Quitting was naturally impossible, and deliberately holding back during the competition was not Eda's style either. However, in the face of the hidden dangers, Eda knew that she had to keep her eyes open.
Even the usually calm and composed Snape had warned her, so the third task was bound to be filled with danger. Someone might even lose their life because of it.
She could not afford to be careless. She had no choice but to guard against it.
After saying goodbye to Snape, Eda walked alone to the 7th floor of the castle and stopped opposite the tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy being beaten by trolls. Eda concentrated on the kind of room she needed and walked past that section of wall three times.
When Eda stopped again, a smooth door appeared on the wall. Eda glanced left and right, then pushed open the door and entered the Room of Requirement.
Unlike during the Dawn Gathering, the Room of Requirement was very spacious this time. The rows of bookshelves were gone, and the cushions on the floor had not appeared again.
This was the kind of space Eda needed. What she needed to do was fight, not play a turn-based game where they took turns hitting each other.
She retrieved the Trial Puppet from the system. It had been a long time since they had met. Ever since Eda had achieved the three-star achievement in Hard Mode, she had not used the puppet even once.
The Trial Puppet was still the same as before. It looked exactly like Eda, its clothes were identical, and even the patterns on its wand had been perfectly replicated.
Only this time, the puppet was different from before. It now possessed strength equivalent to Dumbledore's. Perhaps it was slightly weaker than Dumbledore, since the puppet did not have the Elder Wand's assistance.
The battle began at once. Eda struck first. Her philosophy was that offense was the best defense.
Boom!
Stunning Spells and Blasting Curses shot out one after another, carrying dazzling light as they headed straight for the Trial Puppet. Facing the fierce attacks, the puppet remained completely calm. With casual movements of its wand, it dispelled Eda's attacks.
There was an indescribable elegance and composure to it. Even the puppet's seemingly casual movements of its wand had profound meaning. They could both defend against Eda's next attack and allow it to switch from defense to offense at any moment.
Wizards generally had high offense and low defense. Their magic gave them tremendous destructive power, but their bodies were no different from those of ordinary people. They could grow old, die, and be injured.
Therefore, a powerful wizard had to be capable of both offense and defense. If someone could simply knock you down with a brick, then no matter how much power you possessed, you would still be at their mercy.
Both Eda and the Trial Puppet were capable of this, so the battle inside the Room of Requirement quickly turned into a contest of offense and defense. Spells flew back and forth between them, looking almost like two people firing guns at each other.
Although they still did not know exactly how the Room of Requirement worked, the room was only so large, so both Eda and the Trial Puppet held themselves back.
If the two of them went all out, the Room of Requirement would probably end up like the underground giant room.
Even so, Eda gradually fell into a disadvantage. She had not yet reached the point where she was struggling desperately, but she could no longer gain any advantage at all. Defeat was only a matter of time.
The limited space restricted both of them, but at the same time, it invisibly magnified the Trial Puppet's advantages.
Eda could not circle around her opponent or create distance to find opportunities and build an advantage. She could only choose to fight head-on. This made things even more difficult for her, since she was already at a disadvantage in strength. The fight was particularly frustrating.
After another exchange of spells ended, Eda, who was already on the losing side, called GG. There was no point in continuing the fight.
Apart from the difference in raw strength, Eda had not gained much else from today's battle. Or perhaps, for Eda, simply practicing mechanically could only help consolidate her existing strength. It could not help her improve any further.
The Eda of today was like a giant moving with shackles on her hands and feet, or like a carp trying to leap through the Dragon Gate.
The shackled giant struggled to move, restrained at every turn. The carp attempting to leap through the Dragon Gate had only one path in its eyes, swimming upstream, while forgetting that it could use the force of the water to ascend the Dragon Gate.
Her understanding of rules, magic, and spells, along with those conventional ideas repeated by everyone else, had instead become Eda's burden. They were the giant's shackles and the carp's frail body.
Only by breaking free from the shackles of convention and escaping one's own restraints could one soar freely beneath the vast sky and leap freely through the boundless sea. Though it was not as mystical as suddenly attaining enlightenment, the two ideas had something in common.
After calming her chaotic breathing, Eda put away the Trial Puppet and then left the Room of Requirement. However, just as Eda pushed open the door and stepped outside, she saw a familiar figure.
"Ah, what an unexpected way to meet. You always manage to bring me surprises."
The white-bearded old man, who was more than a hundred years old, was standing in front of the tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy being beaten by trolls, calmly watching Eda emerge from the Room of Requirement.
"Professor, did you get lost looking for the bathroom again?" Eda asked politely.
Keep pretending, go ahead and keep pretending. If you can't figure out how to use the Room of Requirement, I'll write my name, Esmeralda Twist, backwards!
Older men tended to have some minor physical problems. It was like how many men always bragged about how big they were and told others to bear with it. Dumbledore did not respond to Eda's "polite" teasing. Instead, he said, "Hogwarts is like a treasure. Sooner or later, you will discover its wonders when you least expect them."
Eda stood beside Dumbledore. The old man and the young girl both looked toward the smooth door of the Room of Requirement as it gradually shrank until it disappeared.
The wall opposite the tapestry returned to normal. There was no trace that a door had ever existed there. Eda asked, "When did it come into existence?"
"I don't know," Dumbledore answered without the slightest hesitation. "Perhaps it truly exists, or perhaps it is merely a shared illusion of ours. Who can say?"
A room that changed according to what one desired in one's heart was simply too magical, even in the wizarding world.
"But it does exist. I imagine quite a few people have known about it over the years," Eda said. "If something exists, there must be a reason for it, right?"
Dumbledore smiled. "You always manage to bring me surprises."
"Professor, you just said that." Eda turned her head toward Dumbledore. "Don't pretend to be forgetful. It doesn't fit your image as a wise and intelligent man."
"No, no, you cannot make such demands of a man over a hundred years old, even if that man happens to be Albus Dumbledore." The Headmaster beckoned to Eda. "Come along. I'll show you something different."
With that, Dumbledore headed toward his office first. Eda wiped the sweat from her forehead and followed the Headmaster.
It was still the same ugly stone statue, and sweets were still used as the password. The Headmaster's office remained just as it had always been.
The former headmasters were dozing in their respective portraits, snoring loudly enough to shake the castle. Yet they kept themselves propped up and would occasionally open one eye, secretly watching the teachers and students inside the office.
Two cups of apple juice, cold mist rising from them, sat on the spacious desk. They had appeared only after Dumbledore and Eda entered the office.
Eda sat in a chair and took small sips of the chilled juice. She wanted to gulp it down, but the juice was too cold and gave her an ice-cream headache.
Dumbledore walked toward a half-open cabinet and took out a shallow stone basin. Strange, irregular carvings covered its rim.
"A Pensieve, an interesting magical object." Dumbledore placed the Pensieve on the desk and continued, "Perfectly suited to an old, forgetful man like me. It can help me recall many details that I have already forgotten."
Eda casually placed her juice on the desk and carefully examined the silvery Pensieve. Inside the shallow basin flowed something that was difficult to tell whether it was liquid or gas, looking like bright silver.
Eda leaned down and carefully observed the flowing substance. Then she seemed to see a series of tiny, lifelike figures inside, performing a silent play at the bottom of the basin.
What was this, watching a movie?
Was there still time to prepare some popcorn?
...
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