In March, a few mandrakes in the third greenhouse held a lively, noisy little dance, and Professor Sprout happily announced the good news to the students.
This meant the mandrakes would soon be mature, and Colin Creevey and Justin Finch-Fletchley — who had been lying in the hospital wing — would soon return to everyone's side.
The students were thrilled by the announcement, passing the good news eagerly from one to another.
By this time, everyone had already gotten used to the mirrors that appeared everywhere in the castle. They no longer found the mirrors at every corner strange.
But Harry hadn't adapted at all — in fact, the sudden appearance of so many mirrors only made him more suspicious.
Harry thought that Hagrid's secret had been exposed, that the school already knew about the monster in the Chamber of Secrets, and had come up with a way to deal with it.
He became anxious, firmly believing that the kind-hearted Hagrid had never meant to harm anyone. He worried that his big friend would be taken away.
Although Harry could be stubborn and impulsive, he was actually very clever — otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to memorize the Disarming Charm after seeing it only once.
It was just that the enemies he faced were too powerful, and he was still too young, lacking experience.
That was why he had been so easily influenced by Tom Riddle's diary, and had believed the memory he saw without question.
Luckily, every hero has his companions — and Harry had Ron and Hermione.
The three of them repeatedly discussed the memory Harry had witnessed that day.
After several discussions, Harry finally noticed something wrong — he realized he had made the same mistake as before.
Just as Eda had once said to Hermione: "Is what you saw necessarily true? Is what you believe necessarily right?"
Harry stopped being stubborn and began to think carefully.
He remembered the information Eda and the twins had traded with him, and became certain — he had been deceived by Tom Riddle. Hagrid was not the culprit at all.
The three of them restarted their discussion about the monster in the Chamber of Secrets and went over everything that had happened once more.
This time, they discovered even more suspicious details.
The future Madam Minister — Hermione Granger — stood up. When she spoke, her back no longer ached, and her legs no longer felt sore.
Miss Beaver had finally stepped out of the shadow of her transformation into a cat-girl.
The mirrors placed all over the castle gave Hermione a great deal of inspiration.
She once again went to the library — and at last, she solved the question of what the monster inside the Chamber of Secrets really was.
While Harry, Ron, and Hermione were racing against time to investigate clues about the Chamber, Eda had finally become free.
She didn't need to attend Quidditch practice, nor did she have to spend her days buried in the library anymore. She even had time every day to take Garlon out for a walk.
These days, Eda was personally taking care of what seemed to be a sick Garlon.
Previously, she had been so busy chasing clues that she had completely neglected her puppy — letting him roam freely without supervision — and so she hadn't noticed anything wrong.
Now, Garlon was visibly thinner and had become unusually alert — even the slightest sound would make him bark like mad.
That had never happened before.
What's more, Garlon was no longer simply distant from Ginny — he was terrified of her.
Every time he saw Ginny, he would tuck his tail and run far away.
Animals are often far more sensitive than humans — they can sense danger long before we do.
Garlon's fear and avoidance of Ginny caught Eda's attention again, and she began to wonder about the changes in the girl.
The Ginny who had just entered school this year seemed different — strange, even.
The little girl was either absent-minded or teary-eyed all the time, completely unlike the Ginny Eda knew — as if she had become someone else altogether.
Eda began secretly observing Ginny, hoping to find the reason behind the girl's change.
Unfortunately, Eda's attention came a little too late. Other than Ginny's poor mental state, she couldn't find anything else suspicious about her.
But the more it seemed that way, the more worried Eda became.
Something unusual must have happened to Ginny — something big enough to completely change this first-year girl.
One night in the middle of the month, Eda had planned to continue observing Ginny — but she unexpectedly received a message from Dumbledore.
Rank has its privileges, and Eda had no choice but to obey the summons.
This was also the first time that year she would be alone with the Headmaster.
At nine o'clock that evening — already past curfew — Eda arrived at the girls' bathroom.
Water was leaking constantly from under the tightly closed door, flooding the floor outside.
Dumbledore was already standing there, waiting for her.
Eda walked over and stood beside him — though unlike Dumbledore, she didn't step into the dirty water.
Instead, she used her magic to keep the puddles from touching her shoes.
A male headmaster and a female student standing together at the door of a girls' bathroom — the scene was unspeakably awkward and eerie.
It reminded Eda of another movie that had once left her with psychological trauma.
The bald, middle-aged man in that film had made an unforgettable impression on her — a perfect representation of the world's malice.
Fortunately, though Dumbledore's hair was white, he hadn't gone bald like so many other British men — so the resemblance wasn't quite as strong.
"I'm very glad to see how much you've grown this year," Dumbledore said first, breaking the silence.
Perhaps he, too, felt the awkwardness — the two of them couldn't very well keep standing there at the door of the girls' lavatory like that.
Eda always accepted praise without argument.
"Thank you, Professor," she said. "Professor McGonagall said the same thing."
After that, silence fell between them again.
Eda's clarity in love and hate was one of her strengths — but also one of her flaws.
Seeing that Eda had no intention of asking questions, the century-old Dumbledore had no choice but to take the initiative.
"Eda," he said, "do you know why I asked you to come here?"
"Not really," Eda answered honestly. "But it should have something to do with the Chamber of Secrets.
Although… isn't this just where Moaning Myrtle stays?"
"That's right — Moaning Myrtle," Dumbledore replied, his tone tinged with sadness.
"But I prefer to call her Myrtle Warren."
That finally piqued Eda's interest.
She turned to look at Dumbledore and saw a faint look of remembrance on his face — after all, this ghostly senior of hers had once been one of his students.
Wait—
Eda suddenly remembered something important. She had overlooked such a crucial person!
"It seems you've realized it," Dumbledore said softly.
"Fifty years ago, the Chamber of Secrets was opened once before. A girl died that year — and that girl was Myrtle."
Back in her first year, Eda had once invaded Myrtle's territory.
To fend off Eda's "invasion," Myrtle had complained endlessly in her ear about her tragic life — yet she had never once mentioned the cause of her death.
Driven nearly mad by the ghost's whining, Eda had finally abandoned the bathroom, returning sovereignty to its rightful owner.
Now, she slapped her forehead lightly.
She had once been that close to the truth — almost within arm's reach.
"Would you like to go in and take a look first?" Dumbledore asked.
"Myrtle's the only one inside. For some reason, she's flooded the place again."
Eda nodded, turned the doorknob, and stepped inside alone.
She stopped in front of one of the stalls and knocked gently on the door.
Immediately, Myrtle's shrill voice echoed through the bathroom: "Go away! This is my place! Go away!"
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