Chapter 112: The Evolution of Modern Dark Magic

Ever since transforming the Shrieking Shack into Twilight Cottage/Shack, Eda had been spending a lot of time there. In the cottage, she could read in peace without anyone disturbing her, nor would she have to suffer the sight of couples in the library. Most importantly, no one would fight her for a chair anymore. 

On cold, gloomy days, she could sit on the sofa by the fireplace. If the weather was clear and sunny, she would relax in a rocking chair by the window—one she had asked the house-elf Winnie to bring for her. 

Swaying gently in the rocking chair, whether reading or taking a short nap, was pure bliss.

A small table beside her held elf-made pastries, accompanied by a steaming cup of tea. This lifestyle was almost decadently bourgeois. 

With just herself, Garlon, and a book, Eda could sit there for an entire day. Meanwhile, Fred and George would be downstairs in their rooms conducting experiments, with occasional explosions echoing up—providing the only source of noise in the cottage. 

The saying goes, "A land of beauty is a hero's grave," but Eda was no hero. So, the comforts of the cottage never managed to erode her resolve. Whenever she had no other plans at night, she would still go to the underground room to train with the trial mannequin. 

After nearly two years at Hogwarts, Eda still wasn't anywhere close to "punching Dumbledore and stomping on Voldemort." In fact, she couldn't even beat Professors Snape or McGonagall yet—how humiliating! 

To make things worse, her system was unbelievably laid-back, rarely giving her any quests. Even when it did, failing them resulted in no punishment whatsoever. Its presence was almost nonexistent. 

The biggest pity was that such a great system had a mouth and actually talked.

Sitting by the window, Eda was holding a book titled A Beginner's Guide to Ancient Runes. She had specially ordered it from Flourish and Blotts after selecting the course, intending to preview the material in advance.

With the system's help, Eda could have completely skipped the class if she wanted to. However, as the saying goes, "two heads are better than one." With Professor Bathsheda Babbling's guidance, her progress in learning Ancient Runes would likely be much faster.

Setting the book aside, Eda needed a break. These rune symbols, which might as well have been written in an alien language, were giving her a headache. She needed something lighter to read to relax.

On the small table beside her were three other books. One was The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a birthday gift from Fred and George. Another was Significant Magical Events of the 20th Century, which she had bought before starting her first year and had already finished long ago.

The last one, however, was more of a pamphlet than a book. Titled The Evolution of Modern Dark Magic, it was something Eda had recently found in the Restricted Section. It had been hidden within another book, and she had only stumbled upon it by chance. Though thin, the pamphlet contained a wealth of information, all handwritten in minuscule script.

It recorded the lives of several Dark wizards, as well as some of the Dark spells they had used. The author had even noted the effects of these spells and their side effects.

Eda thought the pamphlet's title was completely misleading. Instead of The Evolution of Modern Dark Magic, it would be more fittingly named A Dark Wizard's Crash Course—or perhaps A New Crime Every Day: Your Guide to Azkaban. The more you read, the closer you were to a prison sentence.

The book didn't include the author's name—probably because they didn't dare to write it. If the Ministry of Magic ever caught them, they'd surely reward the author with a Dementor's Kiss on the spot!

Eda had just reached the part about Gellert Grindelwald traveling to America, shortly after leading his followers in multiple attacks across Europe. From the book's descriptions, every gesture and movement of Grindelwald was dripping with style—no wonder he was one of the most powerful Dark wizards in history.

Aside from his combat prowess, Grindelwald had an incredibly persuasive way with words. His famous phrase, "For the Greater Good," struck deep into people's hearts. That was probably why he had so many followers and managed to extend his influence across both Europe and America.

Fred and George came upstairs, interrupting Eda's contemplation of "For the Greater Good."

"What's got you so absorbed?" Fred asked, picking up a piece of pastry from the table and popping it into his mouth.

George poured two cups of steaming hot tea, adding milk to both. This was the British way of drinking tea, though to Eda, it was basically milk tea.

Shaking the book in her hand, Eda said, "A crash course on getting sent to Azkaban. Want to learn?"

"Nope. Absolutely not." George stirred his tea and scoffed, "To hell with bloody Azkaban."

"It's a book on the history of modern Dark magic, but the author added quite a bit of personal commentary," Eda said, placing the book back on the table and refusing the milk Fred tried to add to her cup. "I was just reading the section on Grindelwald."

"Who do you think was more fearsome—Grindelwald or the Dark Lord?" Eda asked. Maybe it was because she had never lived under Voldemort's rule, or perhaps because she hadn't grown up in the wizarding world, but she didn't fear him the way others did.

If not for the twins, she would have directly said Voldemort instead of using the Dark Lord or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

"We can say Grindelwald's name without hesitation, but we don't even dare to utter the Dark Lord's name," George said. "Isn't the answer obvious?"

Fred nodded in agreement, completely standing by his twin's reasoning. Compared to Grindelwald, they feared Voldemort far more—and so did the rest of the British wizarding world.

Even though Grindelwald once cast a dark shadow over Europe, his influence and terrifying acts never extended into Britain. But Britain had always been Voldemort's stronghold, and most of his atrocities were committed here.

Besides, Grindelwald had been defeated by Dumbledore all the way back in 1945. So many years had passed since then that people's fear of him had faded with time.

His place as the most feared Dark wizard had long been usurped by Voldemort, and since Voldemort had only fallen a decade ago, his shadow still loomed large in the minds of witches and wizards.

Eda's question was flawed from the start.

By the time Voldemort rose to power, Grindelwald had already been personally defeated by Dumbledore. The two Dark wizards had never faced each other, and their styles were entirely different. Comparing them directly just didn't make sense.

"My dear Miss Twist, what about you?" Fred asked. He knew Eda wasn't particularly afraid of Voldemort, so he was curious about her choice. 

"For the greater good!" Eda declared. If it were purely up to her, she would lean slightly more toward Grindelwald over Voldemort. After all, Grindelwald had once waged a brutal war that swept across the entire world. 

"What?" George didn't quite understand what she meant. 

"I think the Dark Lord is more fearsome too," Eda changed her answer to Voldemort. "After all, I'm a muggle-born orphan. With my background, I'd be at the very top of his and the Death Eaters' hit list." 

To Voldemort, Eda was nothing more than a lowly, filthy Mudblood—someone unworthy of learning magic, a stain that needed to be wiped out. But with Grindelwald, at least she'd have a chance to survive. Her abilities clearly marked her as an elite, and Grindelwald was willing to let people like that exist. 

"Why even think about this? The Dark Lord was defeated by Harry Potter ages ago," Fred said. "You should be focusing on something more important—like what's for dinner." 

"Besides, we have Dumbledore," George patted Eda's shoulder reassuringly. "He's the greatest wizard of all!" 

"Alright, alright, I was just talking nonsense," Eda stood up and straightened her clothes. "Let's head back to the castle. I'm hoping for some pudding at dinner!"

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