As Eira approached the carriage, she noticed a familiar figure stepping out. It was Gabrielle Delacour, her long silver-blonde hair catching the sunlight in a way that immediately marked her as Fleur's sister.
Eira smiled warmly. "How are you, Gabrielle? Have you gotten used to being here?"
At once Gabrielle gave a dramatic sigh, her little shoulders slumping. "Do not say anything about it. Madame Maxime insists that I must study every day. She is teaching me herself, as if she has decided my entire life already."
Eira chuckled softly. "Well, you do have to study. You will be attending school next year, will you not?"
Gabrielle nodded, then squinted up at Eira with an impish look. "Are you here to see your girl?"
The phrasing amused Eira, though she answered without hesitation. "Yes, I am here to see my girl."
Gabrielle rolled her eyes and snorted. "Shameless. Well, your girl is not at school."
That caught Eira off guard. "She is not here? Where did she go, leaving you alone?"
Gabrielle folded her arms and said, "She went out with Madame Maxime to buy training supplies, and something else they did not tell me. Anyway, I am going to meet my friend."
"And who is this friend of yours?" Eira asked, curious.
"The girl with the blond hair. Her name is… Greengreeen, or something difficult. But she said her name is Astoria," Gabrielle explained with a frown of concentration.
Eira's expression softened. "So you have made friends with Astoria Greengrass. That is good. She is a kind girl."
Gabrielle gave another roll of her eyes. "Even though I cannot understand English perfectly, whenever Astoria speaks, your name always comes up."
Eira laughed lightly. "Then go on. It is a good chance for you to practice English with her. By the next couple of months, you will speak fluently."
Gabrielle shook her head but smiled. "Thank Merlin Maman forced me to learn it when I was little."
"Then let us go to the castle," Eira said gently. "Since you have to meet her, I will walk with you."
Gabrielle nodded. "Yes, she said she would be waiting for me in the Great Hall. She is not feeling well and cannot walk around much."
They walked together through the courtyard, Eira matching her steps to the younger girl's. When they reached the great oak doors of the castle, Eira paused.
"You can enter from here," she said kindly. "If you want, you may even go into the Slytherin common room with Astoria. You will be able to talk comfortably there."
Gabrielle hesitated. "I do not think they will allow it. Astoria told me yesterday that Slytherin never lets outsiders in."
Eira gave her a small, confident smile. "Do not worry. If someone asks, simply say that Eira White was the one who brought you. They will not bother you. And if by chance they do, you can tell me who it was, and I will take care of it."
Gabrielle's lips curved into a mischievous grin. "Well, it seems you are not entirely useless after all." She gave a little laugh and skipped inside, her silver hair bouncing as she disappeared through the doors.
Eira's lips twitched at the cheeky remark, but she shook her head in amusement. With a faint smile, she turned away from the castle entrance and began to walk towards the library.
After a long walk, Eira finally reached the library. Pushing open the heavy doors, she stepped inside and was greeted by the familiar hush that ruled the place. Few students were there at this hour. The faint scratching of quills and the occasional whisper drifted between the tall shelves, yet the atmosphere remained almost sacred. Madam Pince's reputation for iron discipline kept even the most careless of students in rigid silence.
Eira let her feet carry her between the rows of books, her fingertips brushing along the spines. She enjoyed the library. It was a place of order, knowledge, and secrets—though sometimes, if one paid attention, even drama.
As she turned down another aisle, her eyes caught on a curious sight. Near one of the shelves stood Viktor Krum, the Durmstrang champion. He was tall, broad-shouldered, his posture stiff as though he carried a heavy weight even in stillness. His expression was as usual—serious, perhaps even sullen—but something was wrong.
He kept reaching for books and pulling them partway from the shelf, only to push them back again without really looking. Occasionally, he flipped one open, glanced at a random page, then snapped it shut. All the while his dark eyes shifted toward a certain direction across the library, and on his usually stony face flickered emotions that seemed out of place. Once his brow softened, almost tender. The next moment, his jaw tightened in something that looked suspiciously like jealousy.
Eira arched a brow. Viktor Krum, the fearsome Seeker, behaving like this? Curiosity bloomed instantly. She drifted silently around the shelves, positioning herself so she could see what drew his gaze.
And there it was. Near the tall windows where sunlight fell gently across the wooden tables, two students sat across from each other. One boy and one girl. Eira recognized them easily. Their heads were bent over books, but their hands betrayed them. Instead of speaking, they slid a scrap of parchment back and forth across the table. The boy would write something quickly, push it toward the girl, and lean back with an expectant smile. The girl would read it, her lips curving in quiet amusement, before scribbling her own reply and nudging the parchment back.
It was like watching a secret conversation unfold in plain sight, more intimate than words spoken aloud. The air between them seemed charged, private and romantic.
Eira's lips curved into a sly smile. So this was what made Viktor Krum so restless. The mighty Durmstrang champion had a crush, and it was on the girl at that table. A crush unreturned, if the parchment sliding was anything to judge by. The thought made her chuckle silently. A love triangle was beginning to take shape, and Eira had stumbled upon it like a reader opening the first page of a particularly juicy novel.
She leaned ever so slightly forward, eager to watch more of the drama, when suddenly a sound broke the stillness.
"Ahem."
The soft clearing of a throat came directly behind her.
Eira jumped in fright, spinning on her heel with her heart skipping. Her relief came at once when she saw the intruder was no threat, only a familiar friend.
Clutching her chest, she hissed in a whisper, "Damn girl, you scared me."