The Three Broomsticks was packed with people, mostly Hogwarts students enjoying an afternoon of freedom, though there were all kinds of witches and wizards from the wider magical world as well.
Compared to the filthy, rough-and-tumble Hog's Head, or Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop with its overwhelming pink decor and sickeningly sweet atmosphere, the Three Broomsticks was clearly the better choice, a perfect place to pass the time.
The pub was especially crowded today. After standing at the entrance and looking around for quite a while, Eda and the twins finally spotted Charlie in a corner.
Compared to when he had been a student at Hogwarts, Charlie had become much more muscular. His rolled-up sleeves revealed a large, shiny burn scar left by dragon fire.
Making their way through the crowd, Eda reached Charlie's table and sat across from him, while Fred and George headed to the bar to buy drinks.
"Didn't I tell you we'd be seeing each other again soon?" Charlie said with a grin. "See? I wasn't lying."
The second son of the Weasley family now studied dragons in Romania. He had been Gryffindor Quidditch captain and a prefect during his Hogwarts days. But anyone who thought Charlie Weasley was a well-behaved model student would be completely mistaken.
With his thick eyebrows, bright eyes, and freckles, Charlie looked every bit the dependable good guy. In reality, however, he was deceptively kind-looking, sly, and full of mischievous ideas.
Eda had already fallen for Charlie's tricks more than once, and even the twins had been thoroughly kept in line by their second brother.
"I thought you were just saying that," Fred said as he struggled through the crowd carrying two bottles of Butterbeer before sitting beside Charlie. "I didn't expect you to actually come back to Hogwarts."
"Where's Bill? Didn't he say he was coming too?" George asked. He carried a mug of hot cocoa, making his way through the crowd much more easily than his twin. After all, hot cocoa was hot, and people didn't want to get burned.
Charlie took a sip of his Firewhisky, making the twins look at him with obvious envy.
Setting his glass down, Charlie said, "Bill's been a little busy lately. He's trying to transfer back from Egypt, even though no one over there wants to cut off his earrings or chop off his hair."
Bill's appearance was certainly fashionable by wizarding standards. His long hair was tied into a ponytail, and one ear was adorned with an earring that dangled a small fan-shaped ornament.
To put it simply, every time Eda saw Bill, she thought he looked less like someone who worked at a bank and more like a rock singer, and a very handsome one at that.
Looking around at all the students in the pub, Charlie said enviously, "Hogwarts really is wonderful. Life here is always full of laughter. Especially this year."
"If you'd gone to Hogwarts during Harry's time, besides all the laughter, you'd also think it was incredibly exciting," Eda quipped before listing all the major incidents that had happened at Hogwarts every year since Harry enrolled.
Each and every one of them was enough to make people sigh in sympathy. This wasn't school life at all. It was more like a survival adventure confined to a designated area, and you only got one life to clear it.
"Eda, have you ever considered that maybe Harry isn't the only problem?" Charlie asked cautiously, as though he feared Eda, who was blowing on her hot cocoa, might get worked up and splash the drink all over him.
Fred stroked his smooth chin.
"Now that you mention it, that does seem true. When Fawley caused trouble, Harry hadn't even started school yet. That Halloween wasn't exactly peaceful either."
"That was an exception. Look at the second Halloween. Nothing happened that year (The professor made trouble after the school year!)." Eda replied confidently. "How could it possibly be my fault? It's all Harry Potter's fault."
"Fine, fine. You're right," George said. "It's all because of Harry that Halloween became a real fright." Whether it was surrender or compromise, George's tone was incredibly punchable.
Charlie changed the subject.
"So, how's your preparation for the tournament? Mum's been really worried about you. Ever since she found out Harry became a champion too, she's been losing sleep."
"I can responsibly tell you, Charlie," Fred said, "that Eda hasn't prepared a single thing. She just goes about her days as usual, like nothing's happened."
Hearing that, Charlie frowned.
"Overconfidence is a serious mistake. I know you're exceptionally capable, but you should still prepare in advance."
That was easy enough to say, but it all came back to the same problem. None of them knew what the first task actually was, so how were they supposed to prepare? Aside from knowing it would take place in one week's time, none of the four champions knew what the task would be.
Charlie gave a couple of theatrical coughs, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously, "That's exactly why I'm here. Why I made time out of my busy schedule to meet you."
The twins immediately widened their eyes and carefully considered Charlie's words.
Logically speaking, Charlie should have been in Romania looking after his fire-breathing beauties, not back here cheering Eda on. So he probably hadn't returned to Hogwarts because of Eda, but because of the Triwizard Tournament itself.
"The first task is..." the twins said in unison.
"Shh... It's enough that you know. No need to say it out loud." Charlie wore the same smile he always had after successfully tattling on the twins. "You can also let Ron in on it."
The twins nodded frantically. The moment they realized the first task involved dragons, they could barely contain their excitement. What other competition let you watch wizards fight dragons? It was simply too thrilling!
"Eda, what do you think?" Charlie asked. "Dragons aren't exactly easy creatures to deal with."
What did she think? They're only dragons. I'd just do a slide tackle...
"No," Eda replied seriously. "I really don't have any special strategy. What I want isn't just to win. I want to completely crush every other competitor, including the task itself."
If Eda simply performed steadily during the tournament, then even if she still won in the end, the publicity would inevitably be much less effective. It would only show the level expected of an outstanding seventeen-year-old witch, nothing especially remarkable.
But if she really did as she intended and overwhelmed every other champion by several levels, then achieving her goal would be much easier.
Eda wanted to increase her fame and reputation. That way she would earn more respect and save herself a lot of unnecessary trouble in the future.
In the corner of the Three Broomsticks, Charlie gave Eda a crash course on dragons.
For example, dragons had extremely high resistance to magic, and many spells were ineffective against them. The dragons brought here this time were nesting females guarding their eggs, and a dragon's weak point was its eyes.
Eda actually knew a fair amount about dragons already, but certainly not as much as Charlie, who lived alongside them every day in Romania.
Eda had always believed that professionals should handle professional matters, and amateurs shouldn't tell them how to do their jobs. A person should know their own limits and never use a hobby to challenge someone else's livelihood.
"Mum also read Rita Skeeter's article in the Daily Prophet," Charlie said. "When she read the part about Harry, she cried her eyes out."
Then Charlie began imitating Mrs. Weasley's voice.
"How could they let him enter that tournament? He's far too young! I thought they'd all be safe. I thought there would be an age limit! He's still crying over his parents! Oh, Merlin, I had no idea!"
Charlie's imitation was perfect. The twins laughed so hard they could barely breathe. Trying to suppress his laughter, George said, "Whatever you do, don't let Harry find out about this. Trust me, he'll want to crawl into a hole and never come out."
"Mum hadn't even finished wiping away her tears before she got to the article about Eda," Charlie continued. "She was furious. She cursed Rita Skeeter through gritted teeth and tore the Daily Prophet to pieces. Every time I see her working in the kitchen now, I feel like she's imagining the food on the chopping board is Rita Skeeter."
Charlie spoke earnestly.
"Eda, I know you're furious right now, but I hope you'll stay calm and not do anything impulsive."
After being slandered like that, Eda hadn't reacted at all or taken any revenge. That simply wasn't like her. Charlie considered himself to know Eda fairly well, and he was worried she might go directly after Rita Skeeter.
It might feel satisfying, but it would be neither wise nor smart. In fact, it would only confirm all the accusations Rita Skeeter had made about her.
"Don't worry. I already have a brilliant plan, and it's progressing nicely," Eda said. "I'll keep it a secret for now. Once my plan is complete, Rita Skeeter won't even have the chance to crawl over to me, even if she gets down on her knees and begs for my forgiveness."
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