The sky was clear and deep blue. Along with the swinging of the clock's pendulum and the chiming of the hour, the evening glow unknowingly crept across the horizon.
Eda leaned against the back of her chair with her eyes closed, deep in thought. Her right hand held the twins' letter, while her left hand rhythmically tapped the armrest.
Amid the silent melody, Eda kept thinking about the final sentence in the letter.
She had no idea why Dumbledore was in such a hurry to have her return. During the holiday, she had exchanged letters with the headmaster.
The first time, Dumbledore had asked Eda to receive Hagrid. The most recent time was a week ago, when the headmaster had instructed her not to act rashly.
From Dumbledore's letters, Eda knew that he had gathered an organization called the Order of the Phoenix.
When Voldemort started the First Wizarding War, Dumbledore had relied on the Order of the Phoenix to resist the second Dark Lord.
Eda did not have any particular feelings about the name Order of the Phoenix. She neither liked nor disliked it.
Albus Dumbledore had a phoenix named Fawkes. It was also said that his Patronus took the form of a phoenix, although Eda had never seen it. It was also said that whenever any Dumbledore needed help, a phoenix would descend.
So there was absolutely nothing wrong with the organization established by Albus Dumbledore being called the Order of the Phoenix. It was perfectly reasonable.
It was just that Eda felt shouting, "This is an order from the Order of the Phoenix!" was not imposing enough. It lacked intimidation and was not very satisfying.
However, after thinking about the physique and appearance of Arthur, the Birmingham boxing champion, and then thinking about Mr. Weasley's physique and appearance, Eda decided that the Order of the Phoenix was fine after all.
After all, the fog above London was not smoke blown out by the Order of the Phoenix, nor was Dumbledore's blood flowing with whisky. Chilled lemon juice or a pile of cockroaches, perhaps.
The evening glow on the horizon was as red as burning flames, bright enough to make one's eyes sting slightly. At that moment, familiar footsteps sounded in the suite.
"Bookworm, it's time for dinner." Laura leaned against the doorway and said, "Henry and Hector are here too."
Eda sat up and put the twins' letter away. She asked, "Why is he here?" She was referring to Henry. Eda had barely seen him during the holiday. Her cousin seemed to have been very busy lately.
"I don't know. You can ask him yourself later." Laura shrugged. "But I suggest you probably shouldn't touch that sore spot."
Seeing that Eda looked rather interested, Laura continued, "Someone introduced Henry to a girl from another equally ancient family. I heard she is quite pretty, but she has a bit of a young lady's temper."
Eda pursed her lips. She was not going to ask. She did not want to listen to Henry pour out his troubles, and she was also afraid Henry would pester her to introduce him to a girlfriend. Eda stood up and walked out of the suite with Laura.
"How do you know so much about it?" Eda asked. "Did he tell you himself?"
"How could that be!" Laura said. "It was Daniel. Henry told him, and then he told me."
There was no expression on Eda's face. She merely asked calmly, "Are Daniel and Henry very close?"
"Well... how should I put it..." Laura frowned and thought for a moment. "Daniel has a special kind of feeling toward Henry. From childhood until now, Daniel has always liked Henry very much."
Then Laura added, "But you can rest assured. In Daniel's heart, Vinda's orders come first. Even Henry cannot make him change his mind."
Eda gave no response. There was no need for her to show one.
Whether Daniel Dubois was loyal or not could not be proven by Laura, even though Eda and Laura got along very well. The existence of the system was equivalent to having a set of scales in Eda's heart. She only needed to know the truth clearly in her own mind.
Dinner was very pleasant. Henry did not pour out his troubles during the meal. As always, he joked around and kept the atmosphere lively, displaying his goofy side to the fullest.
After dinner, Henry hurriedly said his farewells and returned to his apartment in Paris under the cover of night, while Hector stayed behind to spend the night at the manor.
Spending the night was one thing. Staying with relatives was perfectly normal. It was just that Eda had dodged the first day but failed to escape the fifteenth. She had avoided Henry, but she could not avoid Hector.
That night, Hector awkwardly came to Eda's suite. At that moment, Eda had once again picked up a massive ancient book and was studying it diligently.
Hector said nothing, and Eda said nothing either. They simply dragged it out, waiting to see who could outlast the other.
They dragged it out like this for half an hour, and in the end Hector could not hold out any longer. He stammered, "Fleur has decided to stay in Britain. She found a language tutoring class there and also found a job."
Eda put down the book in her hands. "I know about that. I heard her say goodbye to Harry Potter on the day we left Hogwarts."
Actually, Fleur Delacour's English was quite good. It was enough for writing and everyday life. It was just that there was still a slight problem with Fleur's pronunciation. She sounded as though she had too much phlegm in her throat.
"What, you want to go to Britain too?" Eda asked with a smile. "Didn't they pull some strings to get you into the Ministry of Magic for training? If you don't report for duty, they're going to break your legs!"
"I'll report to the Ministry of Magic." Surprisingly, Hector shook his head. His expression was very dejected. "There's no point in continuing to follow Fleur anymore..."
Had he changed his personality? Or had he finally realized that love was not worth it?
Eda leaned forward and carefully observed the expression on Hector's face. It did not look fake. Eda asked, "What's wrong? You're giving up on your Fleur Delacour just like that?"
Hector's expression became even more miserable. He said gloomily, "Fleur has someone else over there! What's the point of following her in a situation like this?"
He sounded so aggrieved, as if Fleur had been cheating on him behind his back.
Fortunately, Hector was only sad and did not cry, nor did he put on a tearful expression. Otherwise, Eda would definitely have smacked him hard across the neck.
"Do you know who it is? Have you figured out where you lost?" Eda asked curiously. Although giving Hector relationship advice was boring, gossip was genuinely interesting.
"William, William Weasley."
Upon hearing this name, Eda froze. She did not seem to know a Weasley named William! Who was that?
After thinking for quite a while, Eda finally remembered who William Weasley was. Even so, she was more accustomed to calling him Bill.
He had lost, and he had lost completely. Aside from family background and wealth, there was not a single thing Hector could match Bill in. His loss was not unfair.
"How did you find out? Did Fleur tell you?" Eda's gossiping spirit continued to burn.
"No, I figured it out myself." Hector said, "On the day the Third Task was held, Fleur's gaze toward Bill was extremely intense. She had never looked at anyone like that before, especially not a man!"
Eda reached out and symbolically patted Hector on the shoulder, comforting her cousin after yet another heartbreak. This time, it might have been a complete heartbreak.
At a time like this, Eda should have poured Hector a drink, but she had no alcohol here, so naturally she could not let her cousin "drink bitter wine until it hurts his heart, gulp gulp gulp gulp gulp gulp."
Besides, Eda's appetite for gossip had already been satisfied. Sleepiness was beginning to creep over her, so she decided to cross the river and tear down the bridge.
She said, "Finished venting? If you're done, go back and rest. If you happen to run into Laura wandering around, you can ask her to have a drink with you."
Anyway, Eda would never drink with Laura for the rest of her life. Whoever wanted to go could go. That woman was the type who drank straight from the barrel!
Hearing this, Hector raised his head in shock, his eyes wide and round like a pair of glass marbles. He said, "No, I still have one more thing to say!"
"Then hurry up and say it." Eda yawned. "Don't tell me you want me to introduce you to a Muggle-born witch too! I'm afraid I'm powerless to help with that."
Hector pursed his lips and clenched his fists, seeming somewhat conflicted.
Just as Eda yawned again, Hector said solemnly, "No matter what other people say about you, I believe in you and support you! You-Know-Who... has returned... that night, that night..."
Unexpectedly, unexpectedly, the first person among the Rosiers to say that he supported and believed in her would be Hector Rosier. Not Thierry, not Henry, but the inconspicuous hopeless romantic, Hector.
For a moment, Eda did not know what to say. She was stunned.
...
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