As the weather gradually warmed, the biting winds outside the castle no longer lashed at people's faces.
The gentle spring sunshine returned to Hogwarts, bringing new life to everything. But Eda's mood remained gloomy, as overcast as ever.
She hid it well. Other than the twins, no one knew what occupied her thoughts every day. Those two troublemakers could always tell when something was weighing on her mind.
Recently, Eda had suddenly grown fond of looking down over Hogwarts from the Astronomy Tower. She always made a point of setting aside some free time to climb to the top by herself.
She did not know why she had become so attached to the view. After all, she used to hate climbing towers so much that she even disliked Astronomy class because of it.
Perhaps looking out from such a height broadened the mind, or perhaps gazing down on everyone below like tiny ants greatly satisfied her vanity. She could not really say.
One day near the end of March, Eda climbed to the top of the Astronomy Tower as usual, resting her hands on the battlements as she looked into the layered clouds. Below her, Hogwarts was full of renewed life.
The piles of snow covering the grounds had begun to melt away, revealing the fresh green hidden beneath. Spring was everywhere.
Eda lightly tapped the battlements with her fingers. There was no particular rhythm, but the tapping was steady. She was thinking about two recent newspaper reports. One was titled: Barty Crouch's Mysterious Illness. The other: Ministry Witch Still Missing.
A fully grown adult who could take care of herself had been missing for several months. Eda felt that "missing" was no longer the right word. Bertha Jorkins was most likely already dead.
Albania. Albania again!
Eda simply could not understand it. Did British wizards have nowhere else to vacation? Why did every one of them insist on going there?
Quirrell had gone there. Bertha Jorkins had gone there too. One came back possessed by Voldemort, while the other vanished without a trace, and was probably dead. That place was practically cursed.
The report about Barty Crouch was even more headache-inducing. The newspaper claimed that Crouch had not made a single public appearance since November... that no one had lived in his home for a long time... and that St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries had no record of him receiving treatment...
It seemed that the mastermind Eda had suspected had either gone into hiding, or had himself been made to "disappear," just like Bertha Jorkins.
Someone had once said, "Do not hate your enemy. It clouds your judgment." Eda herself had once said something similar to Harry, telling him not to let his prejudice against Snape stop him from judging him objectively.
Now she realized she had made much the same mistake.
Her assumptions, her opinion of Barty Crouch, had all been far too subjective. Everything had been viewed entirely through her own perspective.
Setting aside her assumptions and her bias, Eda tried to examine Barty Crouch again as fairly and objectively as possible.
But she suddenly realized that she did not actually know the Ministry official at all. His personality, his preferences, everything about him was a mystery to her.
In fact, everything she thought she knew about him might have been nothing more than a carefully maintained disguise.
Someone had once said, "The person who knows you best may very well be your enemy."
Eda decided she needed help. She needed someone who understood Barty Crouch, or at least the Crouch family. As it happened, Hogwarts had exactly such a person.
That person was Sirius Black. He had recently been staying at Twilight Cottage. Sirius claimed he had come to visit Harry and cheer on his godson, but Eda suspected he was actually here to report to Dumbledore.
Once Eda had an idea, she acted on it immediately. That had always been her way. The moment Sirius came to mind, she left the Astronomy Tower and headed straight for Twilight Cottage.
She walked out of the castle and followed the gentle grassy slope until she reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
The Whomping Willow stood there, fresh buds sprouting from its branches once again that spring. But Eda, hurrying along, had no mind to admire its renewed vitality.
Before the Whomping Willow could "fly into a rage" and unleash its newly practiced flailing attack, Eda had already pressed the knot on its trunk, ducked low, and slipped into the secret passage.
Inside Twilight Cottage, Sirius was chatting with the twins. The devoted prank enthusiasts were discussing a new "brilliant idea," and the atmosphere was relaxed and full of laughter.
Sirius grabbed a handful of cashews from the plate on the coffee table and stuffed them all into his mouth at once. Speaking through a mouthful of nuts, he mumbled, "Since when did Eda start liking these? Doesn't she prefer chocolate?"
"We asked the same question," Fred replied. "She said they're good for the brain."
"She says she's been using her brain too much lately and needs to replenish it," George added. "Personally, I think powdered dragon claw would work better. Better yet, she should play detective a little less."
"No, George, you're wrong," Fred argued. "Eda doesn't need brain food. She's just too smart. Smart people all have the same problem. They think too much and make life too exhausting for themselves."
Sirius grabbed another handful of cashews. Suddenly thinking of something amusing, he burst into laughter.
"Always thinking so much," he said between laughs. "Do you think Eda will go bald someday?"
The image instantly appeared in Fred and George's minds. The twins burst out laughing too, and had already begun planning where to order Eda a wig.
There was a saying: joy comes before sorrow. It perfectly described Sirius and the twins at this moment. First came the joy, then came the sorrow.
The cottage door was pushed open from outside. Although it made no creaking sound, the three of them were more frightened than if it had. There was no need to ask why. Eda was standing in the doorway. She had obviously heard every word.
The twins' smiles vanished immediately, their expressions becoming rather awkward. Sirius quietly put the cashews back onto the plate and brushed the crumbs out of his beard.
"Eda, perfect timing," Fred said, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere. "We were just about to look for you. I think we need to hold an expanded shareholders' meeting. Sirius, he..."
Halfway through the sentence, Fred could not continue. He was afraid he would burst out laughing if he said another word.
George chose a different approach.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "You came here in such a hurry. Did something happen?"
George had noticed how rushed Eda looked. It was obvious she had suddenly thought of something important and come straight here. He was trying to steer her attention back to that and away from the topic of the bald girl.
"It's nothing," Eda replied. "I just came so you could all admire me while I still have hair."
"After all, every glance might be the last."
Sirius and the twins all lowered their heads guiltily at the same time, awkwardly rubbing their noses. Their movements, expressions, and posture were perfectly synchronized, though each of them was thinking something different.
After glancing at the three guilty faces, Eda decided not to pursue the matter. She had something much more important to discuss.
She walked over and sat on the sofa opposite Sirius.
"Sirius, how much do you know about Barty Crouch?"
"So you've come to the same conclusion," Sirius said. "You've started suspecting him too."
Sirius straightened his back, the joking expression disappearing from his face.
"I wouldn't say I know Barty Crouch particularly well, but disappearing for so long and handing all of his work over to other people... that's not his style. He wouldn't do something like that."
"I don't think he's actually sick, or at least not sick enough to explain all this. But for some reason, he has to make himself appear seriously ill," Sirius continued. "Do you understand what I mean?"
Eda nodded. Of course she understood.
Sirius meant that Crouch might be under someone's control or coercion. His current behavior might not be of his own free will.
During the height of Voldemort's power, Barty Crouch had been one of his most determined opponents.
It was Crouch who had authorized Aurors to kill Dark Wizards and Death Eaters instead of merely capturing them alive. That uncompromising policy had come directly from him.
A man like that had no reason to suddenly side with Voldemort now, unless he had been forced to do so, or had simply fallen under the Imperius Curse.
"Is there anything else?" Eda asked again, wanting to know more. "For example, his family, his wife, or his son, Barty Crouch Jr.?"
...
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