Over in Little Hangleton, Dumbledore was discussing matters with Sirius and Fudge at the village pub. Meanwhile, Vinda took Laura and Eda back to Hogwarts.
It was late at night and the streets were quiet. The three of them appeared in Hogsmeade and walked along the main road for a while. After turning a few corners, they soon saw the solitary Twilight Cottage.
They pushed open the door, and before Vinda and the other two had even stopped moving, the twins hurried into the entrance hall. They had heard the sound of the door opening. Behind the twins were Mrs. Weasley, Professor Lupin, and Harry, all looking worried.
After Dumbledore called off the competition, the students returned to their respective common rooms and were taken care of by the professors. Harry, disguised as Sirius, went to Twilight Cottage accompanied by Mrs. Weasley, while Professor Lupin was responsible for protecting him.
The twins each gave Eda a big hug to celebrate her safe return. Mrs. Weasley went into the kitchen to prepare some food for the three who had just returned.
Back in the living room, Eda did not eat anything. Instead, she hugged a water jug and kept drinking to replenish her fluids. She felt as if she were about to dry up.
Only after drinking three large jugs of ice water did Eda tell everyone what had happened in the cemetery that night. When Harry heard that Voldemort had returned, he clenched both fists. His knuckles turned white from how tightly he was gripping them.
After hearing Eda's account, Professor Lupin comforted her gently, "Eda, what happened tonight was not your fault. We were simply too careless. We overlooked one detail, which led to our failure tonight."
At the cemetery, Eda and Sirius had acted separately, so Sirius did not know exactly what had happened on her side. But Eda still needed to give an explanation, because Sirius had been captured through the combined efforts of Barty Crouch Jr. and Fowley.
Eda's explanation was that she had dodged the spell, but because they were too close to each other, she had not had enough time to get out of the way. She had been knocked unconscious by the impact of the spell striking the gravestone.
As for why Barty Crouch Jr. had spared her, how would she know what he had been thinking? Maybe he had simply been careless.
Eda's explanation sounded somewhat reasonable at first, but the more carefully one thought about it, the more far-fetched it seemed. However, whether it was the people present or the two who had remained in Little Hangleton, no one was going to press the matter. People had hearts, after all.
"Thank you, Professor Lupin," Eda said. She was indeed somewhat frustrated, angry at her own carelessness and lack of caution.
"Just call me Remus, or Lupin. I'm no longer your teacher," Lupin said. "Don't think about anything tonight. Get some good rest. We still have a long road ahead of us."
It was deep into the night. Outside the window was an impenetrable darkness. Eda lay on her side in the soft, comfortable bed, her eyes wide open.
Despite being exhausted, she could not fall asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see Voldemort's ghastly pale, snake-like face, and her sleepiness vanished instantly. It was not fear of Voldemort, but rather a sense of unease about the war that was about to come.
War was always cold and cruel. There were never any victors, only people who survived, accompanied by countless nightmares.
It was only when the sky gradually changed from dark blue to white that Eda finally fell into a deep sleep. She slept all the way until evening. If she had not been unbearably hungry, she probably could have slept for much longer.
After staring blankly for a while, the gloomy sky outside the window left Eda confused for a moment, and she could not tell what time it was. She could not even tell what day it was anymore, nor whether it was day or night.
Once Eda's mind had fully emerged from sleep, she sat on the bed and called out loudly twice. No one answered from inside the cottage. It seemed that everyone was gone.
She got out of bed, washed up simply, and wandered into the kitchen in her pajamas, looking for something to eat. But aside from a few slices of leftover toast, she could not find any food.
Just as Eda sat cross-legged on the sofa, dryly chewing on slices of bread, Fred and George returned to the cottage. The first thing they saw was Eda with her hair completely disheveled.
Taking food right out of someone's mouth, Fred snatched the dry piece of bread from Eda's hand and, as if performing a magic trick, tossed her a bag of finger biscuits. They were obviously made by the Hogwarts kitchen.
George took a copy of the Daily Prophet from his robe pocket. He shook out the newspaper, then pointed to an article and showed it to Eda.
The newspaper's report on the Triwizard Tournament was only a few short lines. The gist was that the competition had ended successfully and Eda had won the Cup.
There was not a single mention of the Portkey in the center of the maze or the fact that Barty Crouch Jr. had disguised himself as Moody and infiltrated Hogwarts.
If Fleur and Krum had not withdrawn halfway through the third task, the championship probably would not have fallen to Eda, even though she had indeed obtained the Cup.
George turned the newspaper over again. The other side was about the fire in Little Hangleton. The report was still only a few short lines, saying only that the Fiendfyre had been caused by a dark wizard and that the Ministry of Magic was doing everything it could to hunt him down.
That was all. The newspaper's report went no further. Forget mentioning Voldemort's return. It did not even mention Barty Crouch Jr. or Fowley. The names of Dumbledore, Sirius, and Harry were even less likely to appear.
Covering it up. After all, only a handful of people knew the truth, so Fudge chose to deceive himself and cover everything up. Aside from whitewashing the situation, Eda could not think of a more appropriate term.
"If you ask me, I think Fudge forced them to keep quiet," George said.
"Stupid jelly!" Fred said sarcastically. "When I saw the newspaper this morning, especially after hearing Laura's assessment of Fudge, I was embarrassed that our family once supported him."
Chewing on a finger biscuit, Eda said indistinctly, "It's just as expected. He can only be a greedy politician. He will never be a leader."
After swallowing the biscuit, Eda continued, "What about everyone else?"
"Grandmother Vinda is taking a walk by the Black Lake, and Laura is accompanying her," George answered. "Harry went back to the castle with Ron and Hermione."
"Mum and Bill went back to the Burrow, but Bill didn't seem to want to leave," Fred said. "Sirius and Remus left the school. Dumbledore probably had something for them to do."
As they spoke, the twins suddenly remembered something else. They said in unison, "Oh right, Karkaroff ran away. He disappeared last night."
Fred and George had heard this from the Durmstrang students. From last night until now, the Durmstrang students had searched for their headmaster for a long time, but had been unable to find him.
"Karkaroff is a Death Eater. He betrayed his fellow Death Eaters," Eda said. "He's afraid of retaliation, so he ran away. Perhaps it won't be long before we hear news of his death."
Voldemort could never let a traitor like Karkaroff off the hook, nor would he accept him back. If Karkaroff were spared this time, it would be difficult to manage the ranks of the Death Eaters.
At dinner, Eda and the twins went to the castle. The atmosphere in the Great Hall was still lively.
The students did not discuss the Triwizard Tournament much. Only a few people who were relatively familiar with Eda congratulated her. Everyone felt that Eda deserved the Cup, and no one was dissatisfied or confused because the competition had been stopped.
Instead, everyone was very interested in the fire in Little Hangleton Village. They enthusiastically discussed which dark wizard could have caused it and when the Ministry of Magic would be able to catch him.
Hardly anyone realized the connection between the Triwizard Tournament and Little Hangleton Village. Nor did anyone realize that danger was quietly approaching and that the peaceful days would soon be gone.
At the long teachers' table, Eda saw the real Professor Moody. He looked especially nervous and uneasy. Whenever someone spoke to him, he would jump in alarm.
Nearly ten months of captivity had made Moody even more suspicious and paranoid. Apart from Dumbledore, he trusted no one's word.
Karkaroff's seat was indeed empty. The Durmstrang students did not seem particularly worried. It was hard to tell whether they were simply unconcerned or whether they genuinely disliked their headmaster.
At the long table, Eda also saw Professor Snape. He did not look very well. His face appeared even paler than usual, and his black eyes were somewhat vacant. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
There was at least one good thing at the teachers' table. Hagrid had once again attached himself to Madame Maxime's side, as if someone had cast a Permanent Sticking Charm on him.
...
(～￣▽￣)～Read 12 Chapters ahead:
Patreon: Dragonel