That night, because of a single offhand comment from Esther, Ernie spent the entire night tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.
The next morning, he appeared at the Great Hall with two unmistakable dark circles under his eyes, drinking milk in large gulps as if his life depended on it, determined to grow into a towering giant two meters and thirty centimeters tall.
Very well. To be precise, that last part existed entirely within Esther's imagination.
That very morning, she received a reply from her parents. The letter was written by her mother, and its contents were gentle and reassuring, saying that they trusted her ability to handle relationships with her classmates. If she ever encountered problems she could not solve on her own, she was to remember that her family was always there for her.
At the very bottom of the parchment, several lines appeared in a completely different handwriting. Those belonged to her father.
The message was astonishingly brief, consisting of only one sentence.
"If anything happens, let that silly brother of yours handle it."
Well, how should she put this. Somehow, she felt that if her father had not been a Muggle-born wizard, there was a rather high chance he would have been sorted into Slytherin.
With that lingering worry finally eased, Esther believed she could at last enjoy her magical school life properly.
She was wrong.
Very wrong.
Because she had left such a deep impression on Professor Snape during the very first lesson of the school year, that grudge-holding professor now made a habit of calling her name whenever Potion class began, as if her existence alone brought him a certain grim satisfaction.
At the same time, Professor Flitwick also remembered her well. Perhaps it was because during the first few lessons she was always seated at the very center of a tightly packed circle of Hufflepuff students, or perhaps it was simply because she answered questions too earnestly. Whenever he could not decide whom to question, she became his first choice.
Esther suffered in silence.
In order to avoid deducting points from her house, she had no choice but to study diligently in advance, making sure that she answered every question correctly whenever possible.
Professor Flitwick was kind enough. Even if she answered incorrectly, he would gently guide her and rarely deduct points. Professor Snape, however, showed no such mercy. He seized every opportunity to deduct points from houses other than Slytherin, and his tongue was sharp enough to slice through one's dignity without using a single swear word.
If he delivered his sarcastic remarks toward other students, Esther might have marveled at the creativity of his verbal cruelty. When it was aimed at her, however, she could only endure it with quiet misery and polite obedience.
Unfortunately, her diligence soon backfired.
As a result of over-preparing and her genuinely fast learning ability, Professor Flitwick soon mentioned Esther during one dinner conversation with the other professors, praising her intelligence and her impressive progress in Charms.
Being praised by the head of Ravenclaw, a house renowned for wisdom and scholarship, immediately drew the attention of the other professors. From that point onward, nearly every professor took great pleasure in calling on her during class.
The only exceptions were Professor Binns and the newly appointed Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Lockhart.
The former did not eat, as he was a ghost, while the latter was not particularly well regarded by the other professors, so unless absolutely necessary, they avoided interacting with him.
Thus, under the collective attention of nearly every professor, Esther was forcibly molded into a top student.
She was even frequently called on during Flying lessons, which were practically equivalent to physical education.
Esther found herself utterly speechless.
All she wanted was to blend into the background like an unremarkable little badger, yet she had been pushed into becoming the second Hermione Granger.
"Esther, you earned another three points today. That is amazing. If this keeps up, we might actually have a chance at third place in the House Cup this year."
That evening, the moment Esther reached the Hufflepuff table, she was immediately swept into a warm embrace by Jessica, the seventh-year female prefect. The older girl was so excited that she even bent down and planted an affectionate kiss on Esther's cheek.
She was tall and well-built, which made Esther look like a small child by comparison.
Although, to be fair, eleven years old did still count as a child.
Several older students were seated nearby, and they all laughed warmly at the scene.
"If this continues, we might actually avoid coming in last this term and aim for at least third place."
Another older female student happily ruffled Esther's hair and handed her a handful of sweets.
Hufflepuff truly lived up to its reputation. Their expectations were refreshingly modest. As long as they were not last, everyone was delighted. Competing for second or first place was not even mentioned.
Some people might consider that a lack of ambition, but Esther liked it very much.
She accepted the sweets naturally. Recently, she had been receiving an endless stream of snacks from older students, and her motions when accepting food had already become extremely practiced.
"Yes, it is all thanks to Esther and Cedric. You two are truly the pride of Hufflepuff."
Another older student praised them enthusiastically.
Esther smiled shyly and said nothing.
She had heard this kind of praise countless times recently. The little badgers' enthusiasm showed no signs of fading, especially among the older girls, who adored her. Nearly every upper-year female student had already taken a turn ruffling her hair.
For Esther, this was a sweet burden.
Mainly because she was worried that she might be rubbed bald at such a young age.
To clarify, this concern carried no hidden meaning. It was purely a matter of personal anxiety.
Just yesterday, they had discussed this very issue. Ernie had asked, in his usual earnest confusion, why Esther was so popular with the older girls.
Justin had rolled his eyes at him and said, "It is not that she is popular only with girls. Plenty of boys like her too, but it would be inappropriate for them to start ruffling her. Girls do not have that concern, so it looks like she is especially popular with them."
Ernie had stared at him blankly for a moment before asking, "Is Esther really that popular?"
"Of course," Justin replied. "Hufflepuff rarely produces students who are both academically strong and pleasant to look at. Her popularity is already catching up to Cedric Diggory. At this rate, she might become the most beloved student in Hufflepuff."
Esther was just as stunned as Ernie. She had never suspected that she possessed such overwhelming charm.
Could it be that she actually had the potential to be a protagonist?
That thought lasted for exactly one second. Considering the events that would soon unfold, she decided that the role of protagonist was far better suited to Harry Potter.
She would continue to lie flat and take it easy.
Returning to the present, as someone mentioned her name again, Cedric beside her smiled gently and spoke modestly and shyly.
"You are all exaggerating. I am really not that impressive."
Esther's gaze drifted toward him almost unconsciously.
The boy was tall and slender, with refined, handsome features. His smile was warm and gentle, like sunlight on a clear day, clean and quietly dazzling.
He was genuinely very handsome.
Esther sighed inwardly.
There were very few boys in all of Hogwarts who could compare to him, which was rather unfortunate.
Perhaps her gaze lingered a little too long. Cedric noticed but did not seem offended. Instead, he smiled at her kindly and handed her another handful of sweets.
"These are Fizzing Whizzbees from Honeydukes in Hogsmeade. You should try them."
Esther accepted them in surprise and thanked him softly.
"You are welcome," the boy replied with the same gentle smile. "I heard you are doing quite well in Flying lessons. Keep it up. When you reach second year, would you consider trying out for the Quidditch team?"
So that was the reason.
Cedric was not only handsome and academically capable. He was also an excellent Quidditch player and the Seeker for the Hufflepuff team.
Esther smiled shyly in response.
"I am not sure yet."
She would decide later. She did fly quite well, though she was not a natural talent like Harry. Even so, she was already flying better than second-year Ernie after just a short time.
She simply lacked enthusiasm for the sport.
Cedric did not press the matter. He merely extended a gentle invitation.
"If you have time, you can come watch our practices. They are quite interesting. You might grow to like Quidditch."
After chatting briefly with the handsome Cedric and exchanging a few words with the older girls, Esther finally excused herself and eagerly went to find her roommates for dinner.
Of course, by the time she left, both of her pockets were completely stuffed with sweets.
***
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