Chapter 65: Chapter 65: I Got a Flower!
At the Leaky Cauldron, Eda had promised to keep Mr. Weasley's secret, so being loyal, she didn't betray him.
She said, "No, Mr. Weasley picked me up from the pub, and we came straight back. The smell of alcohol must have rubbed off on us there."
Mr. Weasley gave Eda a quick, secretive wink and added, "There were a lot of customers at the pub today, all drinking. That's probably where the smell came from."
"Today, some guests at the Muggle shop spotted Harry Potter, so everyone at the pub was really excited and drank a lot," Eda continued, trying to make the lie more convincing.
"Harry Potter? What does he look like?" Ginny asked excitedly, gripping Eda's arm and bombarding her with questions.
"Ginny really admires Harry Potter."
"She's practically obsessed."
The twins explained to Eda, still sitting quietly in their seats, not daring to speak to her.
"I'm not sure. The person didn't say. But the next time I see him, I'll ask for you."
"Okay!" Ginny replied, still happy even though she hadn't heard what Harry Potter looked like. Having an older sister was great; sisters were more attentive than brothers, Ginny thought to herself.
Mrs. Weasley placed the finished dishes on the table. Dinner had actually been ready for a while, but Mrs. Weasley had been waiting for the head of the family to return and also needed to scold the twins, so she hadn't called everyone to eat earlier.
During dinner, Mrs. Weasley kept piling food onto Eda's plate, worried that she wouldn't have enough to eat. By the end, even with Eda's usual appetite, she was completely full, which showed just how enthusiastic Mrs. Weasley was.
After dinner, Mrs. Weasley went upstairs to tidy up Ginny's room, as Eda would be staying with Ginny during the holiday.
Meanwhile, the rest of the family gathered around the sofa to chat.
The twins were curious about how Eda had spent the past few days.
They weren't particularly interested in what had happened at Flourish and Blotts, but they thought it was pretty cool that Eda had been also working as a waitress at the Leaky Cauldron.
Ron and Ginny were equally curious about Eda. The twins' letters home always spoke highly of Eda, so they gathered around her, leaving the twins unable to get close.
Everyone was very welcoming, and Eda blended in naturally, as if she had grown up in this family.
Mrs. Weasley, having just finished tidying the room, looked at the scene before her and felt as if she had two daughters.
"Eda, would you like to come upstairs and see the room? Let me know if you need anything," Mrs. Weasley called from the stairs, waving to Eda.
"Coming!"
Mrs. Weasley led Eda and her little shadow, Ginny, up to the third-floor landing of the Burrow, where Ginny's bedroom was located.
The room wasn't large, but it was well-lit. On the wall hung a large poster of the witch band "The Weird Sisters." In front of the open window stood a desk, through which one could see a small makeshift Quidditch pitch outside, where the Weasley brothers often played.
There were two beds in the room, one on the left and the other on the right. The single bed on the left, with a few stuffed animals on it, was Ginny's. On the right was a bunk bed, covered with thick, soft mattresses that felt very comfortable to the touch.
Eda's suitcase was placed in the corner by the door, next to a double-door wardrobe. Mrs. Weasley had already put Eda's clothes away in the wardrobe, and her books were neatly arranged on the desk.
After Mrs. Weasley left, Eda and Ginny sat down on their respective beds.
"Eda, weren't you scared working at the Leaky Cauldron? The people there seem a bit.. strange," Ginny asked curiously.
"Not really scared. After all, I'm a witch too. Don't Muggles think we're strange as well?" Eda replied as she folded a piece of paper. "But it did take some getting used to at first."
"I wish I could go to Hogwarts sooner. All my brothers have gone..." The little redhead frowned as she spoke.
"Pfft.. All your brothers have gone... Ginny, where does that leave Ronald Weasley? Oh! ..Or is he really adopted?" Eda thought, feeling a pang of sympathy for Ron once again.
"No, no.. I didn't mean it that way.. I just want to go to Hogwarts.."
Eda reached out and gently stroked Ginny's hair.
'No wonder people liked to pat little girls on the head—it really feels nice.'
She smiled and said, "It won't be long. In two years, you'll get your letter, and then Hogwarts will have another excellent witch!"
"Here." Eda handed the paper flower she had just folded to Ginny.
"Thank you!" Ginny said happily, playing with the paper flower. She thought to herself, 'Sisters really are better than brothers!'
"Can you tell me about school?" Ginny asked, holding the paper flower in her hands and looking adorable. "Fred and George make it sound amazing, while Percy only talks about studying hard and following the rules..."
In the Weasley household, the sibling closest in age to Ginny was Ron, only a year older than her. However, since Ron hadn't started school yet, he couldn't tell Ginny much about Hogwarts.
Bill and Charlie were quite a bit older than Ginny. While they adored their little sister, they couldn't really play with her in the same way. Eda's arrival perfectly filled that gap.
Eda shared many stories about school with Ginny—about Professor McGonagall, who seemed stern but genuinely cared about the students, and about the small but powerful Professor Flitwick, among others. She focused on the warmer, more comforting aspects of Hogwarts.
"..Really? Dung bombs! Then what did they do with that?"
"Oh! They flooded his office with it!"
When Ginny heard about the twins teaming up with Peeves to prank Filch, she collapsed onto her bed in laughter, the little girl smacking her mattress with joy.
The two girls talked for a long time.
Initially, Eda did most of the talking while Ginny listened. But soon, Ginny began asking questions, and Eda answered.
Ginny's curiosity about Hogwarts was boundless, and she fired off questions like a rapid-fire quiz, chattering away nonstop.
"Harry Potter will start school next year, and I should be the year after that. Do you think he'll hate me?" Ginny, the ultimate fangirl, was more obsessed with Harry than with Hogwarts itself.
Perhaps because she hadn't grown up in a wizarding family, Eda didn't quite understand why Ginny idolized Harry so much. But that didn't stop her from comforting Ginny.
"Who at Hogwarts wouldn't like a pretty little witch like you, Ginny?" Eda said, once again stroking Ginny's hair, finding it impossible to resist the soft texture. "I've recently learned a new spell. If anyone doesn't like you, I'll hit them with a 'Bat-Bogey Hex!'"
"Then you'll have to teach me, and we'll do it together!"
"Alright, we'll make sure their face is covered with bats!"
The alliance between the two Bat-Bogey Hex devils was humorously formed in that small bedroom.
"Ginny, Eda, are you two resting?" came the twins' voices. "Eda, want to come out for a walk?"
"Just a moment."
Eda asked Ginny to place the paper flower they had made earlier in her palm, then told her to clasp her hands together. Eda placed her own hands over Ginny's. After doing this, Eda said, "Now, blow on your hands, and your wish will come true."
Obediently, Ginny blew on her hands. "And then?"
"Now, we open our hands, and it's time to witness a miracle!" Eda said excitedly. "One, two, three…"
The two girls opened their hands, and the paper flower in Ginny's palm had transformed into a blooming pink rose, fresh and dewy, as if it had just been plucked from a bush.
The magic of turning the flower appeared advanced because Eda didn't use her wand, but in reality, it was just a small trick.
Eda had acquired this spell as a reward during her time working as a bartender. It was similar to the sleight-of-hand tricks Muggle magicians use to create flowers, but instead of skillful hands, Eda used magic.
If a guy had this skill, he could easily win over anyone in a bar, but for Eda, it wasn't particularly useful. At this stage, the spell was only good for creating flowers and plants. What it might become in the future, Eda had no idea.
"Go to bed early, good night Ginny." Eda put her wand in her pocket and touched Ginny's hair before leaving.
Ginny nodded blankly. She had been focusing on the flowers in her hand and didn't even notice that Eda had gone out.
Her family was full of wizards, so she shouldn't have had such a reaction to the flowers. It was just that she had never seen Eda cast a spell in this way, so she found it a little....
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