Hogwarts Emerald

Cecil had thought his friend had tracked down the original culprit, but that wasn't the case. It was as if the Dark wizard had vanished from the face of the earth, leaving no trace behind. His friend had only found information on the wizard's family.

The excitement Cecil had felt crumbled into disappointment.

After his friend left, a tormented Cecil drank himself into a stupor, smashing up his home in a fit of rage.

The next morning, sober and exhausted, Cecil had an idea: he would stake out near the family's home and wait for the Dark wizard to come back.

Amid the chaos of the wrecked room, Cecil frantically searched for the parchment his friend had left, which held detailed information on the family.

Cecil found the location and settled nearby, watching and waiting for the Dark wizard to appear. He was determined to kill him with his own hands in front of his family to avenge his mother and sister.

A whole year passed, and the Dark wizard never showed up. The endless waiting and bitterness slowly drove Cecil mad, making him increasingly volatile.

Seeing the family living happily each day was a cruel reminder of the happiness Cecil had once known, which had been ruthlessly taken from him.

In his frustration, Cecil made a new decision...

"P-Professor.. What decision did you make?" Eda asked.

"…There aren't many Dark wizards in Britain," Cecil explained, packing his pipe with fresh tobacco. "During Grindelwald's rise to power, many flocked to his side. When Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald, most of his followers perished. I thought perhaps my Dark wizard had joined Grindelwald and been killed. Or maybe he died somewhere else—dabbling in Dark magic is always dangerous."

"So…" Eda trailed off, already guessing where this story was headed.

"Yes. I hurt his family."

"I.. I redirected my hatred toward them," Cecil confessed, full of remorse. "It's the decision I regret most in my entire life."

Eventually, Cecil's actions couldn't be kept under wraps, and the Ministry of Magic uncovered the dark deeds he'd committed. With the terror Grindelwald had spread only recently subdued, the Ministry was determined to prevent similar incidents within Britain.

They launched a thorough investigation, vowing to bring the culprit to Azkaban.

The investigation ultimately led to Cecil.

The then-Minister Taft sent numerous Aurors to capture him and even granted permission for them to use Unforgivable Curses, revealing the Ministry's firm stance against him.

Many Aurors had worked alongside Cecil before, and they found it hard to believe that the once-charming young man had turned into a Dark wizard capable of such cruelty.

Initially, Cecil had no desire to harm those pursuing him; he kept fleeing, even considering escaping abroad.

Before leaving, he wanted one last visit with his family. But, because of his obsession with Dark magic and the unforgivable acts he had committed, his father had fallen ill with anger, and his brothers confronted him in disgust. Everyone in the family regarded him with shame.

Disheartened, Cecil left, but on his way to the smuggling point, he faced another onslaught from the Ministry's Aurors. The last thread of his sanity snapped, and in his frenzy, Cecil resolved to kill all who hunted him.

The Aurors were no match for him and were in grave danger, facing possible death. In that critical moment, Dumbledore arrived.

During Grindelwald's reign of terror, Dumbledore had been the one wizard capable of standing against him, finally defeating him in 1945. If even Grindelwald couldn't best Dumbledore, Cecil had no chance.

Dumbledore subdued him but chose not to kill him.

Instead, he sent Cecil to Azkaban, where he remained for thirty years.

"The Dementors guard Azkaban, and in that place, you feel not a trace of happiness. Every day I spent there was full of suffering; the faces of those I killed or harmed would appear in my dreams," Cecil said, his face twisted with pain. "If it weren't for my mother and sister's memories, I might have died there—or gone mad."

"After leaving Azkaban, I did many things to try to make up for my past mistakes. Even though I knew nothing I did could truly make amends, I still tried." His story concluded, and Cecil squatted down, grief-stricken and unable to calm himself.

"And your family? Did you ever go to see them?" Eda asked gently.

"No, I haven't had the face to see them. My father never forgave me, not even when he passed," Cecil replied. "But I have never regretted studying Dark magic. I regret that I did something as ruthless as the killer himself—that I became as merciless as him."

"Sometimes I wonder if, instead of going after him alone, I had gone with other Aurors, maybe I could have captured him myself. Or, if I hadn't been blinded by power, perhaps I wouldn't have become a murderer." Cecil continued, "But all those thoughts are just what-ifs. Wrong is wrong, and what happened has already happened. There's a price to pay."

Watching Cecil close his eyes in anguish, Eda was at a loss for words to comfort him.

Compared to him, her own life felt as empty as a blank sheet of parchment.

Glover Cecil—a pitiable yet contemptible man, one whose remaining days would be filled only with sorrow and regret. Perhaps this was Merlin's ultimate punishment for him.

Eda didn't understand why Cecil had shared his story with her. They had only known each other for a mere two weeks, nowhere near enough time for such confidences.

Even if Cecil "saw potential in her," it didn't seem reason enough to share such intimate parts of his past. Eda couldn't make sense of his motives for doing so.

Cecil stood up from where he crouched, facing the Black Lake with tear-streaked cheeks. With a wave, he motioned for Eda to leave; he needed some time alone.

Eda took Garlon and walked back to the castle, but Glover Cecil's desolate figure by the lake lingered in her mind. She looked back once more, seeing him standing there, solitary by the lake's edge—a bleak and somber scene.

That afternoon, Eda returned to the underground chamber.

Despite her preparation with protective charms and ointments for bruises, she left the chamber with her body covered in fresh marks once again.

Throughout her sparring with the trial dummy, Eda couldn't focus. Her attacks and defenses were clumsy, as if she were a beginner again. Unable to concentrate, she ended the session early, dragging her weary self back to the dormitory.

All day, Eda felt a tightness in her chest, like something blocking her.

She began recalling her past, revisiting mistakes and the regrets they left behind. She wondered if, had she handled things differently, things might have turned out better—less riddled with regret and remorse.

It wasn't that Eda was easily influenced, nor was Cecil's story particularly moving to her. What trapped her was her own past, a world of memories she herself had woven.

Life, whether long or short, has those few moments filled with regret and things we wish we could change. Though people are meant to let go of such painful memories, they're often the ones that linger the longest.

After dinner, Eda sat in a lounge armchair, staring blankly at the book in her hands, which she hadn't turned a page of in ages.

The twins sitting across from her had been observing her. They had noticed her strange demeanor since the afternoon and thought she seemed enchanted, lost in some trance.

The twins hovered around Eda, peppering her with questions, but her responses were half-hearted, even a bit absent-minded. They tried to make her laugh, but her smile held a faint sadness, like the forced cheer of a clown in the circus.

With no other options, the twins let Eda return to her dorm, then sank back into their armchairs, deep in thought. They knew they needed to find some way to bring her back to her normal self; the way she was now, it was only a matter of time before something went wrong.

Since it was already late, they decided to try the library first thing in the morning, hoping to find a way to help Eda escape her current state.

Lying in bed, Eda was overwhelmed by her own sad memories, unaware of the lengths the twins were going to for her.

She didn't know about the heated debate taking place in the headmaster's office on the castle's seventh floor for her sake, nor did she know that the lonely old man by the Black Lake, after she left, had a faint smile on his face.

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