Chapter 133: System's Kill Rewards

In the Twilight Cottage (formerly the Shrieking Shack), Eda was dozing in a rocking chair by the window, so deeply asleep that she didn't even notice when Ancient Runes: A Beginner's Guide slipped from her hands and fell to the floor.

Like owner, like dog—her cream-colored puppy, Garlon, was curled up at her feet, also fast asleep.

It had been half a month since she returned from St. Mungo's. That day, after Mrs. Weasley left the ward, Eda, unwilling to stay in the hospital any longer, once again requested to return to school.

Since all necessary check-ups had been completed and Eda's health was confirmed to be fine, Professor McGonagall agreed to her request. That very evening, she took the eager-to-return Eda back to Hogwarts.

Once back at school, Fred and George carried on as usual—dragging Eda off to study when it was time to revise and pulling her along to have fun when they wanted to play. Neither of them ever brought up what had happened. Forget Lady Mary, they didn't even mention Lady—even the Fat Lady, Gryffindor's portrait guardian, was simply referred to as "that fat woman who watches the door."

The twins acted as if nothing had ever happened, as if Eda had never left the school, hoping to use this approach to ease her sorrow. However, what they didn't know was that Eda had already adjusted. Their obvious attempts at avoiding the topic were truly amusing—especially when they slipped up, making her laugh so hard she thought her stomach might burst.

Watching them rack their brains to avoid certain words was hilarious, but in the end, Eda reassured them that she was fine and told them they didn't need to tiptoe around the matter anymore. With the twins back to normal, she suddenly found herself missing the fun of watching them struggle. Perhaps she should have waited a couple more days before telling them—her spellcasting had made her tongue too quick.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts class was canceled yet again. The students were hardly surprised—completing a full academic year of this subject was practically a miracle. Everyone knew what had happened to Cecil; after all, The Daily Prophet had made it quite clear in its follow-up reports.

Dumbledore had asked Eda if she wanted to attend Cecil's funeral, but she declined. She truly didn't know how she should face him.

Glover Cecil's funeral was desolate—so much so that it could hardly be called a funeral at all. Dumbledore was the only person in attendance, and he handled all the arrangements himself.

Maybe one day, when Eda had sorted out her feelings, she would visit his grave, lay down a wreath, and say a few words to him.

After a few peaceful days, June's exam week arrived.

Professor McGonagall had granted Eda special permission to skip the exams, which made the twins so jealous their eyes turned red.

But Eda still took the final exams anyway—she wanted to remind her yearmates that as long as she was around, they were all competing for second place.

Especially Cedric. If he hadn't won against Gryffindor earlier, Professor McGonagall would have been able to lift the Quidditch Cup this year!

Eda also took some time to claim her system's kill rewards—three in total. In the end, Joan had gone to reunite with her comrades. That was for the best; it was a far better fate than being bedridden for the rest of her life.

The three rewards were spell enhancement opportunities, essentially upgrading existing spells to increase their power or reduce their difficulty. However, Eda couldn't choose which spells to enhance—the system selected them randomly. Yes, randomly again.

The first spell to be upgraded was the Fire-Making Charm. Its maximum temperature and range had been significantly increased—if it was just a tiny matchstick before, now it was a full-blown torch.

Too bad Eda couldn't clone herself. If she could, she might have been able to start her own Five Fireball Sect and become unstoppable.

The second spell enhancement was applied to the Torture Curse—the one Eda had used to get revenge on Flint. Now, the curse carried an electric shock effect, making it look as if she was wielding lightning itself.

With this, she had practically mastered the Five Consecutive Lightning Whips. Very nice, very powerful.

The final enhancement went to a spell Eda had often seen but never actually used—the Killing Curse.

This was an incredibly sinister spell. The moment a wizard used it on another person, they might as well start packing for a one-way trip to Azkaban, where they'd enjoy the lifelong hospitality of the Dementors.

Since Eda had never used the Killing Curse, she had no idea what kind of enhancement it had received.

The Killing Curse couldn't be blocked or reversed—once it touched a target, death was certain. How was it even possible to enhance it?

It wasn't like the system had turned it into an area-of-effect spell, allowing her to wipe out a whole group at once… that would basically make it a weapon of mass destruction!

Aside from the Fire-Making Charm, Eda was dissatisfied with the other two upgrades. But since all the enhancement opportunities had been used up, there was nothing she could do about it.

Of course, if she were completely deranged, she could go on a killing spree until she figured out the results. But she was a normal person—there was no way she'd do something that horrifying.

Creak

A sound of the door opening echoed through the small house, pulling Eda out of her nap. She picked up the book from the floor and placed it on the table beside her.

Garlon also woke up.

The little cream-colored pup lifted its head and started barking furiously at the entrance, as if trying to see which reckless fool dared to disturb its sleep.

Fred and George walked in and plopped themselves down onto the soft, cozy sofa without a care. As soon as Garlon saw that it was the twins who had entered, the little dog immediately changed its attitude, wagging its tail excitedly as it ran over to them.

It was as if that fierce barking just moments ago had come from a completely different dog.

"The final exam results are out! You're first in the year again—even in Herbology, you got an Outstanding!" Fred announced. "Cedric has to settle for second place again. This is amazing!"

"Just being first in the year, what's the big deal?" Eda wasn't surprised in the slightest—this result was exactly what she expected. She was actually more curious about how the twins had done. "What about you two? Did your butts survive?"

"They did! Our grades are about the same as last year, so Mum has no reason to punish us!" George said excitedly, slapping the sofa with enthusiasm.

While Eda had been away from school, the twins hadn't slacked off. In fact, they had studied even harder.

After all, since they usually didn't pay attention in class, they had no choice but to cram at the last minute. Miraculously, their last-minute effort had actually paid off—their grades were at least passable. Half of their butts had been saved.

"Don't celebrate too soon. I think only half of your butts are safe," Eda said as she smoothed down her slightly messy hair. "Mrs. Weasley visited me at St. Mungo's, and guess what? Professor McGonagall was there too. Take a guess—what do you think she told your mum?"

This revelation hit Fred and George like a bolt from the blue—worse than losing the Quidditch Cup. The two of them immediately crouched down on either side of Eda's rocking chair, helping to gently rock it back and forth.

"Eda, for Dad's sake, help your brothers out here!" Fred pleaded.

"Mum likes you best! Please, help us out—think of something! We promise to do whatever you say during the summer!" George pleaded earnestly.

Right now, Mrs. Weasley was still a formidable force in the twins' eyes. Getting smacked around a little was one thing, but what they feared most was the endless nagging. Of course, if they could avoid a beating altogether, that would be even better.

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. Professor McGonagall didn't say anything, and Mrs. Weasley's expression looked fine. If she were really angry, you would've already received a Howler by now—do you think she'd let you stay worried this long?"

Eda said with a grin. "But listen, don't get up to mischief like last summer. Otherwise, you might actually lose the other half of your butts."

She couldn't help but give them a little warning. She was just too soft-hearted—she really couldn't stand the thought of the shrieks of agony that would echo through the Burrow if things went south.

The twins, who had been too caught up in their panic to think clearly, suddenly realized she was right. No Howler meant things weren't as bad as they'd feared—their butts were safe after all.

Fred and George immediately abandoned their act. They stopped rocking Eda's chair, plopped back onto the sofa, and even crossed their legs, perfectly embodying the phrase "burning the bridge after crossing it."

"You're not even going to pretend for a bit? That switch-up was way too sudden!" Eda sat up straight in the rocking chair, eyeing them in disbelief.

"We're done acting. When you first got back, we put on such a show—it was exhausting. Might as well take a break today." George sprawled out lazily on the sofa, looking completely unbothered.

"Not acting means we're being sincere, unlike some people who are always thinking about how to take advantage of a situation to maximize their own interests," Fred said, shooting a look at Eda.

There were only four living beings in the room—three people and one dog. Fred obviously wasn't talking about Garlon, so who else could he mean?

"You could just call me out directly next time, no need to be so roundabout," Eda said, raising an eyebrow. Then, she asked casually, "By the way, do you two happen to like the phrase 'kicking someone when they're down'?"

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