The first meeting of "Dawn," though somewhat bumpy and less than perfect, could still be considered a success.
A whole evening of relatively intensive practice left everyone feeling exhausted, yet each person wore an excited expression as they left the classroom. Eda stood by the door, thanking her friends for their cooperation and feeling genuinely happy about each of their improvements.
At the beginning, Eda hadn't taken "Dawn" too seriously—what mattered more to her was spending time with her friends and strengthening their bonds. She had never planned to form a faction within the school.
During the first meeting, Eda had won the leadership position with an overwhelming six-to-one vote. The lone "one" had been her own—she had voted for Angelina, since the group had been founded in the first place thanks to Angelina's proposal.
But now, Eda felt as though a weight of responsibility rested on her shoulders. She wanted to work hard together with her friends, to witness their growth firsthand.
At the same time, Eda was increasingly worried about the standard of education at Hogwarts. No wonder some ill-intentioned wizards could learn just a bit of shallow Dark Magic and still leave others utterly defeated.
After October began, the weather at Hogwarts turned downright miserable. The skies were always heavy and gloomy, pressing down on everyone's spirits.
In the days leading up to Halloween, it poured rain for several days in a row. Raindrops as large as bullets rattled fiercely against the castle windows, the lake rose higher, and the gardens turned into a muddy swamp.
And yet, even such torrential downpours couldn't dampen Wood's passion for training—you could always see the Gryffindor team returning to the castle, soaked to the bone and caked in mud, utterly exhausted.
Among the members of "Dawn," five were starting players on the Quidditch team, so the group's activities had to adjust around the training-obsessed Wood.
Eda also accommodated her friends by cutting down the study and practice workload—the originally planned spell drills and free dueling sessions had to be shortened.
Even so, her friends still showed up utterly exhausted and sluggish, leaving "Dawn's" practice results greatly diminished.
Whenever Eda felt the urge to push them harder, she would see them trudging into the classroom, soaked like drowned rats from training in the rain. At that sight, her heart would soften again.
After all, they were different from her—their time to grow wasn't so pressing, and they didn't need to force themselves the way she did.
On the Saturday night before Halloween, Eda arrived at the 2nd-floor classroom with Lee Jordan and Leanne. Since the three of them weren't part of the Quidditch team, they came a bit earlier than the others.
Before the rest showed up, Leanne suggested that she wanted to practice a bit with Lee Jordan, and soon the girl was dragging him into a free duel.
Leanne, a third-year, had a somewhat gentle nature—usually quiet, almost invisible. If Katie was like the little tail that followed Angelina and Alicia around, then Leanne was Katie's little tail.
She had only come to join "Dawn" because Katie had dragged her along.
Eda sat cross-legged on top of a desk, as casually as if she were perched on the edge of her own bed at home. She felt genuinely pleased with Leanne's progress, a sense of accomplishment welling up inside her.
From being a girl who once didn't even dare to speak, to now taking the initiative to challenge Lee Jordan to a duel—that progress wasn't just in magic, but also in confidence.
A training game—truly entertaining. Eda found herself more and more able to understand some of Dumbledore's odd little amusements.
Just as Leanne's wand went flying from her hand, the twins finally arrived. The moment they stepped into the room, they began grumbling about Wood's "tyranny." Even the comforts of Hogwarts' baths hadn't managed to wash away their resentment.
"Why on earth are we training in this kind of stormy weather?" Fred shouted. "Doesn't Oliver worry about us getting struck by lightning?"
Angelina rubbed her sore arm and shot Fred a glare. "Isn't this your and George's fault? Sneaking off to spy on Slytherin's training—fine, but then you came back bragging about how fast their broomsticks were. You basically handed Oliver an excuse to pile on extra practice!"
"We were just trying to understand our opponents better. What's that phrase again…" George turned his head toward Eda, who was sitting cross-legged.
"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you'll never lose a battle," Eda reminded him.
"Exactly, that's it!" George clapped his hands hard. "That's the whole reason we spied—so we can defend the Cup!"
Fred squinted and squirmed, trying to force out a tear, but nothing came. Finally, he sighed dramatically. "You think we wanted to watch them? Staring at those big dumb lumps all the time—you've no idea what kind of torment that is!"
Angelina, Alicia, and Katie all exchanged exasperated looks. They'd only wanted to complain a little, and yet the twins had rattled off a whole string of excuses, as if they were the ones suffering the greatest injustice in the world.
Watching Fred and George act like a pair of resentful housewives, Eda clapped her hands and hopped down from the desk.
"Alright, moaning here won't help. Better to practice your spells properly—and then deal with the one who caused all this trouble: Oliver Wood."
Of course, Eda wasn't actually urging them to attack Wood. She only wanted them to turn their frustration into energy, to throw themselves into today's practice with enthusiasm.
But clearly, she had overestimated their frustration—or rather, underestimated Wood's "cruelty." Instead of a rousing cheer, what she got was a chorus of groans.
"Ugh… can we practice a little less today… I really can't take it anymore…" That was Angelina's voice. Usually so tough and independent, even she was giving in today.
"Please, Eda, just send Wood to the hospital wing for a few days!" Alicia groaned, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. "If you can play Keeper for him, I don't mind if he stays in bed longer…"
Katie didn't say anything so blasphemous, but she pitifully leaned against Leanne, looking weak and powerless.
Fred and George were the most direct. They simply flopped onto the floor, playing dead. With the mats spread out and a warm fire glowing in the hearth, the twins weren't feeling any chill at all—if anything, they looked perfectly comfortable.
But complaining was one thing; when it came down to it, Angelina, Alicia, and Katie soon started their warm-ups for the evening, even dragging the twins off the mats before they could fall asleep on them.
Out of the eight members, five were completely exhausted from Quidditch, so Eda didn't introduce any new material. Instead, she let them review what they'd already learned and then pair up for sparring.
But they had barely started when a cat suddenly darted into the classroom. It was none other than Mrs. Norris, letting out a sharp yowl—calling for her master.
Mrs. Norris's sharp eyes lingered on each person in the room, as though confirming who the culprit was. But when they landed on Eda at the very back, her body gave an uncontrollable shiver. Her back arched, and she fixed Eda with a piercing, unblinking stare.
The classroom door was shoved open roughly, and Filch marched in, muttering, "Let's see who you've caught this time. I'll make sure these little brats learn a proper lesson!"
The past few days had left Filch in a foul mood.
He had caught a cold, the miserable October weather only added to his temper, and students kept dirtying the castle with mud. Just earlier, he had nabbed Harry Potter, dripping with mud, but the boy had stumbled across Filch's Squib secret. Humiliated and infuriated, Filch had driven him out of his office, his loss outweighing his gain.
And now Mrs. Norris had found another group of mischief-makers—how could that not thrill the already raging Filch? He was eager to string the guilty students up from the ceiling.
Eda stepped forward to meet him. "Mr. Filch, we're holding a study group session. If there's nothing else, we'd like to continue our activities."
Filch craned his neck past her and peered inside. The classroom was a mess—mats scattered everywhere, wands lying on the floor… His sluggish mind churned, and he growled, "A study group? Looks more like you're holding an illegal dueling session to me!"
"Leanne!" Eda called. The girl quickly plucked the Dawn approval form off the wall and hurried it over to Eda. Holding it up, Eda said calmly, "This is our authorization form. Everything we're doing is fully within school rules. As for how we conduct our activities, Mr. Filch, that's really none of your concern."
Filch scanned the form, then let out a cold laugh. "Professor McGonagall may have allowed you to form a study group, but she certainly didn't permit you to establish a dueling club!"
"What's this about a dueling club?" came Lockhart's voice from outside the classroom.
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