The Rosier family in France had gained a half-blood witch. This news did not reach only the French pure-blood families; the pure-blood families in Britain knew about it as well.
Moreover, compared to their French counterparts, the British pure-bloods were clearly more familiar with Eda. After all, they were closer to Hogwarts.
In the past, no matter how extraordinarily talented Eda was, these people looked down on her and derisively called her a Mudblood. Now, although they still looked down on Eda, the degree of contempt had lessened somewhat.
At the very bottom of the pure-blood hierarchy were Muggles and Mudbloods. One level above them were half-blood wizards, above that pure-blood wizards, and at the very top were the sacred pure-blood families themselves.
Eda was still the same Eda. It was only because her father came from a pure-blood family that she had become a half-blood witch, moving up one rung on this hierarchy. It was deeply ironic.
Besides that, Eda was also the sole heir of Vinda Rosier. This meant that after Vinda's death, Eda would inherit all of Vinda's estate. They did not know how vast this inheritance would be, but judging from how the Rosiers had always coveted it, it was undoubtedly an astronomical fortune.
Exceptionally gifted, outstandingly talented, and now backed by an inheritance of astronomical proportions—quite a few pure-blood families suddenly felt that the half-blood Eda was no longer so unpleasant to look at.
A half-blood, it seemed, was not entirely unacceptable after all.
Voldemort, Tom Riddle, was a half-blood. The Potions Master, Severus Snape, was also a half-blood. With such shining examples before them, they began to look favorably upon the potential Eda possessed.
If they could be on good terms with Eda, then they should be. Improve the relationship where possible; and even if they could not become friends, there was no need to make an enemy of her. Peaceful coexistence would be enough.
This situation arose along with the change in Eda's status and was unavoidable. In the genealogies of pure-blood families, the words "noble and pure" are written crookedly all over the place.
Yet in the gaps between those words, they are filled to the brim with the two characters for "eating people."
It was precisely for this reason that Cody Avery took the initiative to show goodwill toward Eda, hoping to improve the relationship between them. Beyond that, Cody and his parents had other designs as well.
The main line of the Avery family were all Death Eaters. Old Avery was a friend of Voldemort, and young Avery was a classmate of Snape. They controlled the vast majority of the family's wealth.
Cody and his parents, however, were only a collateral branch. They needed a huge sum of money for their own extravagance. At this moment, Eda appeared—good-looking, well-proportioned, and extremely wealthy. Who could be more suitable than her?
Once they married her into the family, they would obtain Eda's "dowry." As for this half-blood daughter-in-law, she could go wherever it was cool and stay there. Cody Avery was not the first to dream of eating swan meat, and he certainly would not be the last.
Their petty calculations rattled away noisily, but they had overlooked the core of the issue. They ignored Eda's own wishes and had no idea just how doting Vinda was toward Eda.
If their sordid intentions were discovered by Vinda, the old lady would certainly cross the sea to teach them what it meant to be vigorous in old age.
Eda herself had never entertained such thoughts. Men would only slow down her spellcasting. She had always believed that someone with her kind of personality was destined to grow old alone. What were people coming to her for anyway? What, to swear brotherhood or something?
It was only because Eda did not yet understand the situation and simply thought that Cody Avery had changed his ways.
If Eda were to learn the truth, she would definitely beat that toad until he could no longer take care of himself.
Then she would go to the Averys' house and warmly ask whether their family had already chosen a burial plot.
From funeral arrangements to burial, Eda was a true professional. If you don't believe it, go ask Clive, go ask Peter Pettigrew—everyone who's used her services says they're excellent.
In the prefects' carriage, Percy went on and on about the plans for the new school year and the code of conduct he had personally set for the prefects. His speech alone knocked out more than half the people in the carriage.
Honestly, if Percy didn't go to the Ministry of Magic after graduating, he'd be doing himself an injustice.
The train sped northward, and at some point it began to rain outside the windows. Heavy raindrops pattered against the glass, annoyingly enough.
"…I hope that in the new school year, we can work together wholeheartedly and set an example for the students. Thank you all for your cooperation! That's all!" Percy finally brought the tedious prefects' meeting to an end.
The compartment door opened, and the prefects from each house filed out. Eda bolted out at the very first moment—Cedric hadn't even reacted before the seat beside him was already empty.
The prefect badge pinned to her robes gleamed brightly, yet Eda showed not the slightest sense of prefectly self-awareness as she headed straight for her own compartment.
"Twist! Twist!"
Hearing someone call her name from behind, Eda turned to look back and saw Clark Jerral walking toward her. She asked, "What is it?"
"Um… well… we're prefects," Clark Jerral said. He looked somewhat afraid of Eda and spoke very carefully.
"Yeah, so what?" Eda said. "Don't worry, I'll cooperate with your work."
Jerral hurriedly waved his hands and reminded her, "That's not what I mean. I mean, as prefects, we need to patrol the train corridors."
As student leaders, prefects must fulfill their duties while enjoying their authority.
Prefects not only have to patrol the corridors on the express train, but also patrol the school corridors after arriving at Hogwarts. Prefect responsibilities include many other duties as well, all recorded in the Code of Conduct.
However, Eda hadn't flipped through a single page of that thin booklet. She hadn't prepared herself to be a prefect at all—or rather, in her way of thinking, she had never regarded herself as a Gryffindor prefect.
Perhaps because of this concern, the usually quiet Clark Jerral had been chosen as the other prefect. Jerral was a model student and a very responsible person. With him constantly reminding her at her side, Eda would be able to remember that she was already a prefect.
After Jerral's reminder, Eda didn't head back to her own compartment. Instead, she carried out her prefect duties together with Jerral, patrolling the train.
Jerral truly was conscientious and responsible. He didn't let any student who broke the rules slip by, nor did he abuse the authority in his hands. His attitude toward every student was very gentle.
But because of this, Jerral lacked a certain air of authority and couldn't quite keep the more troublesome students in line.
At this point, Eda came in handy. As the biggest troublemaker in the school, she didn't even need to say a word to intimidate everyone. Seeing Eda standing behind Jerral, those troublesome students naturally didn't dare spout any more nonsense and obediently returned to their respective compartments.
The train continued racing northward. The rain grew heavier and heavier, and the windows turned into a watery gray blur, gradually darkening. The lights in the corridors and on the luggage racks all flicked on at once.
The train running along the tracks made clanking sounds, while raindrops hammered wildly against the windows. Outside, the wind howled; inside the carriage, the temperature dropped lower and lower, and white mist puffed out with every breath.
Before long, the train began to slow down—slower and slower. The sound of the wheels gradually faded away, while the wind and rain battered the windows even more loudly than before.
Jerral glanced at his watch and asked, "We haven't reached Hogsmeade yet. What's going on?"
"Take out your wand, Clark!" Eda drew her wand. She felt a faint sense of unease, as if some danger were lurking in the darkness.
All throughout the carriage, countless heads poked out curiously from compartments. With a sudden jolt, the train came to a stop. Then, for no apparent reason, all the lights went out, and they were plunged into complete darkness.
The darkness came too suddenly, and the carriage instantly descended into chaos.
Eda stared into the distant darkness, where shrill squeaking sounds echoed. The noise seemed to scratch at everyone's hearts, filling them with fear.
"Lumos!" Clark Jerral's wand-light illuminated a small section of the carriage.
As a prefect, although Clark also felt uneasy and afraid, he still shouted loudly, "Please remain calm, don't panic, and watch out for trampling!"
A streak of light cut through the darkness, and a flame slowly rose from the tip of Eda's wand. It didn't light up the carriage like daylight, but the warmth radiating from the fire calmed the students considerably.
"I am Esmeralda Twist. Anyone who knows my name, stay honestly inside your compartments!"
(～￣▽￣)～Read 12 Chapters ahead:
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