NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16: Charlie Weasley
During dinner, Eda sat on the Gryffindor bench with a depressed look on her face. She was sitting in a position where she could see every student entering the hall.
The Gryffindors who walked into the hall were initially angry about losing so many points, but when they found out it was due to a fight with Slytherin—and that they had won—they weren't as upset.
In Gryffindor, this could almost be considered 'politically correct behavior'.
However, since they had lost so many points at once, no one would go up to the younger students and tell them "well done" or anything like that.
The atmosphere at the Slytherin table was completely different. Losing points and losing the fight—there was no way they could be happy.
Professor Snape, sitting at the staff table, had a very long face, looking extremely displeased.
Everyone was silently praying that their next Potions class wouldn't put them in Snape's crosshairs. Wouldn't it be nice to stay alive?
The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, full of curiosity, looked unsurprised after learning the reason for the incident. But they still grabbed their seats, ready to watch the drama unfold.
Professor McGonagall had punished both houses, so the matter was considered settled from the school's perspective. But for those involved, it wasn't over.
Eda had become famous in all four houses again, following her previous reputation as "Miss Know-it-All."
Eda herself rejected this notoriety. Now, if she parted her hair down the middle, someone might even come up and call her "Big Boss."
The other main character of the incident—Cody Avery—was now a laughingstock, funnier than anything from Zonko's Joke Shop.
His insults toward Campbell, the Weasleys, and Eda before the fight had also spread, making him look even more like a brainless villain from a children's story.
Some students, with a strong sense of justice, even thought about going to the infirmary to beat him up again or waiting until he was discharged to send him back.
That's just how righteous and proactive Hogwarts students could be.
Avery had become a joke. When students chatted about him, they always mentioned how he got sent to the infirmary by a girl.
Forget about sneak attacks or any such details—people would only remember Avery being knocked to the ground while his classmates "valiantly fought," and all he could do was lie there and wail.
Is there anything more embarrassing in this world?
Yes, fist fighting with a muggle-born girl!
Is there anything even more embarrassing than that?
Yes, losing the fight!
Is there anything more embarrassing still?
Yes, being beaten so badly you end up in the infirmary!
However, Avery, lying in the infirmary, didn't yet know how the other students were reacting.
He also didn't know that some were planning to beat him up again. In fact, staying in the infirmary was a lucky break for him. At least he didn't have to show his bruised and swollen face to everyone, which would only cement his reputation as a clown.
Cody Avery, whose mouth had gotten him into trouble, probably didn't expect that his idle boasts under the sunset this afternoon would lead to such a beating...
When they returned to the Gryffindor common room, the other two Weasley brothers, Charlie and Percy, didn't ignore Eda and the twins.
Charlie and Percy walked over together. Charlie sat down in an armchair next to his twin brothers, dragging a hesitant Percy along.
"You fought and broke the school rules!" Charlie said sternly.
The twins didn't argue with their second brother. Charlie held a lot of authority in their minds.
The two brothers resignedly lowered their heads, waiting for their brother's scolding.
After Charlie, Percy would be waiting to lecture them too.
However, Percy... well, Percy could say whatever he wanted, but next time they'd make sure he got what was coming to him. The twins shared the same thought.
"Uh, Charlie, they fought because of me. It's my fault they got involved," Eda quickly explained. I, Esmeralda Twist, would always stand up for my friends.
Who wouldn't call me a just and noble person?
"I know, Eda. You don't need to cover for them. They were already looking for a fight; you just happened to get there first," Charlie said.
Then Charlie added a few more critical remarks toward the twins, making them bow their heads even lower.
Suddenly, Charlie burst into laughter. Realizing he shouldn't be laughing, he quickly put on a serious face again and said earnestly, "These criticisms are from Charlie Weasley, Prefect of Gryffindor House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now, I want to say a few words as your brother Charlie."
The twins finally looked up, curious about what their brother had to say.
"Well done, you should have given those kids a good beating. That's the spirit of a Weasley man!" Charlie said, patting his two brothers on the shoulders encouragingly. "Don't worry too much about the points; we can earn them back. Next time those Slytherins dare to cause trouble, you keep on giving them what they deserve! But..."
As soon as he said "but," Fred and George's expressions, which had just brightened, visibly darkened again.
"But, the fact that neither of you managed to throw the first punch before Eda, a 'little' (Malnutritioned) girl, did—I'm very disappointed! Very disappointed!" Charlie said seriously.
Eda, caught in the crossfire, looked speechlessly at Charlie. In her mind, she thought: Look at my fists wanting to make contact with your smug head, Charlie Weasley, I'm giving you a chance to rephrase that.
"This incident happened so suddenly, Charlie—" George began.
"It won't happen again, Charlie," Fred added.
"We just didn't expect Eda to be so fierce. She usually seems so gentle and weak..." the twins said, but upon seeing Eda's threatening look, they swallowed the rest of their words.
"Those are just excuses, don't use excuses as reasons," Charlie said, then put on a curious expression. "I didn't expect that, you usually seem so well-behaved."
Charlie's inquisitive gaze made Eda get goosebumps. The way Charlie looked at her now was just like how he looked at his dragon books.
Unable to stand this "fiery" gaze, Eda started glaring back. Her small eyes cut at Charlie like little knives.
Unfortunately, Charlie was oblivious and kept talking to himself: "I heard about the conflict. Your bravery reminded me of my younger days! But... Eda, you should be more careful. Acting like this could get you hurt. Next time, leave this kind of thing to Fred and George."
Charlie then looked at the twins, waiting for their response. Fred and George nodded eagerly, like chickens pecking at grains.
After receiving the twins' dual promises (to try not to break school rules and to throw the first punches in future fights), Charlie nodded in satisfaction, then stood up and pulled Percy, who had been standing to the side the whole time, over.
"I won't tell Mom about this, and neither will Percy," Charlie promised, giving Percy a warm smile. "Right, Percy?"
Percy forced a smile that looked worse than a cry and reluctantly said, "I won't tell Mom either, Fred, George."
Percy, what's wrong?
If you're being kidnapped or threatened, just blink! Eda thought to herself.
She had expected Percy to write to Mrs. Weasley to tattle.
But Eda misunderstood Percy. Percy didn't think the twins fighting was such a big deal, especially since they won.
He just couldn't stand their rule-breaking and point-deducting behavior. He didn't like such destructive and unruly actions, which is what bothered him the most.
Satisfied with the answer, Charlie dragged Percy away. Fred and George said in unison to Eda, "So, you saw it. Next time something like this happens, can you let us go first?"
Eda nodded dumbfoundedly.
She didn't have much interaction with Charlie Weasley and had assumed that, with his nice-guy face, Charlie would be someone like Percy. But now she realized she was wrong.
"Charlie seems pretty interesting, unlike Percy," Lee Jordan mumbled with his mouth full of snacks.
"Bill and Charlie are both interesting! They're both prefects, and Bill was even Head Boy," Fred said.
"Charlie is also the Quidditch captain. And they aren't as rigid and pedantic as Percy, who's such a stickler for rules," George added.
"Unpopular Percy!" they said in unison. "Percy the prefect!"
Eda nodded in agreement, and even Angelina and Alicia expressed their concurrence.
Although it had been less than half a month since school started, Percy's reputation among his peers wasn't great.
Percy constantly tried to manage his twin brothers, making them behave and avoid losing points for Gryffindor.
But his methods were hard to accept, and his stubbornness only strained the relationship between the brothers.
Imagine having an elder brother like that—it would be quite frustrating.
After chatting a bit more, everyone returned to their dormitories to rest. However, before parting, Fred took Eda's homework notebook.
Lying on the soft bed in the dormitory, Eda felt waves of soreness wash over her body.
She turned over and tightly gripped her wand.
The yew wood wand seemed very upset with Eda for ignoring it today, strongly expressing its protest to its owner.
Feeling the wand's discontent, Eda gently stroked it, calming it down.
In fact, after calming down, this was something that made Eda very dissatisfied.
In that moment when she took action, Eda forgot her identity as a witch and instinctively chose to punch like a Muggle!
A witch should act like a witch!
Swinging fists is not magical at all!
Eda hoped to cultivate the act of waving her wand and casting spells into a natural instinct.
She wanted to ensure that when danger came, her first response would be to solve the problem with magic, rather than throwing punches like a brute or standing helplessly.
Life had been too comfortable, causing complacency! Eda silently reflected on this.
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