Eda and the twins had no idea that after they left, Professor McGonagall had gone to speak with Dumbledore. Naturally, they had no way of knowing what the two had discussed.
The three of them also no longer had time to test Quirrell. Although they'd been kicked out of McGonagall's office, Eda and the twins still didn't escape punishment. It may have been delayed, but it came all the same.
Putting aside Quirrell's hidden identity, Eda and the twins' behavior had already gone beyond simple disrespect toward a professor. The punishment was well-deserved—they were lucky they didn't lose house points.
Officially, the punishment was for showing disrespect to a professor, but in truth, it was a warning from McGonagall. She was warning Eda and the twins to stay far away from the Philosopher's Stone and stop getting involved in the matter.
Eda, who naturally disliked doing chores, was punished by being made to scrub the trophy room. The energetic twins, on the other hand, were sent to the library to maintain order. McGonagall's punishments were well targeted, and the three of them were absolutely miserable.
In the library, the twins were nearly driven mad from having to sit still, while Eda was exhausted from all the scrubbing in the trophy room.
She couldn't help but complain—why on earth did Hogwarts have so many trophies that needed cleaning?
Tormented and "battered" by the punishment, the trio's resentment toward Quirrell only deepened.
Every time they saw him in class, they gritted their teeth in fury—they were itching to skin him alive.
This was an outcome McGonagall had not anticipated. She hadn't expected her punishment to backfire so completely. Not only did it fail to make Eda and the twins forget about the Philosopher's Stone, it actually intensified their grudge against Quirrell.
Fortunately, the torment was almost over. Their punishment would end just before the Christmas holidays, and Christmas was fast approaching.
Just as Eda and the twins were packing their luggage in preparation to return to the Burrow, old Errol braved the swirling snow and arrived at Hogwarts, bringing a letter from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to their children.
After careful consideration, the couple had decided to visit Charlie in Romania during the holidays.
The children would stay at school for the break and wouldn't return to the Burrow. Since Charlie had only just gone to Romania this year, it was natural for the Weasley parents to worry about him.
Their visit came as no surprise—though it did mean that Eda, who had just finished packing, now had to unpack everything again.
The day before the Christmas holidays began, students gradually left the school. Hogwarts became eerily empty, and even in the Great Hall, barely a soul could be seen during meals.
Upon learning that Eda would be staying at school for the holidays, Snape promptly decided to give her extra lessons, leaving her no free time to wander about the castle.
His reasoning was simple—rather than have her stirring up trouble all over the place, it was better to keep her right in front of him brewing potions, where she couldn't cause chaos elsewhere.
After dinner, Eda headed straight to Snape's office for her extra lesson, only to be turned away with a dark look. Snape told her to go to another classroom instead—Dumbledore would be waiting for her there.
Snape's expression looked very familiar to Eda—it reminded her of young teachers in her past life who had finally managed to secure a rare P.E. class, only to be forced to hand it over to a more senior teacher.
And she?
She was the unlucky student whose P.E. class had just been taken away... Um.. Nah, Dumbledore's class was probably better than the brooding bat's.
Following the directions Snape had given, Eda found the classroom. Dumbledore had not yet arrived. She looked around—it was filled with chairs and desks stacked against the walls, overturned wastebaskets… the classroom clearly hadn't been used in a long time.
In the classroom stood an imposing mirror—it clearly didn't belong there. It must have been moved in recently, since everything else in the room was covered in dust, while the mirror was spotless.
The mirror reached all the way to the ceiling, framed in ornate gold, supported at the bottom by two claw-shaped feet. At the top, an inscription was carved:
Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.
Eda walked up to the mirror, but the reflection wasn't her own.
Inside the mirror was a pair of unfamiliar young parents, holding a newborn child in their arms. The couple gazed lovingly at the baby, their faces full of warmth and joy, as if this child were a precious gift from the heavens.
Then the image changed. The unfamiliar family vanished, replaced by the face of a young man.
He no longer looked pale and sickly—his rosy complexion made him appear strong and healthy.
Eda didn't continue watching. She stepped back a few paces, turning her attention instead to the inscription at the top of the mirror.
"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi," Eda murmured softly. She began to pace around the classroom, repeating the line over and over.
By around the tenth circuit, she finally understood the meaning. Reversing the letters and spacing them properly revealed the true message:
"I show not your face but your heart's desire."
Realizing the meaning of the inscription, Eda now understood why the mirror hadn't shown her reflection. It had shown her deepest desire.
Eda longed for the love and care of her parents—and for a healthy body. What she desired most were things she didn't possess.
"I'm glad you didn't lose yourself in front of this mirror, wasting away your time," came Dumbledore's voice from the doorway. "It seems you've already understood its magic."
"Professor?" Eda exclaimed in surprise. "When did you…"
She truly hadn't noticed when someone else had entered the room. If it had been an enemy, she'd already be a corpse by now.
"When you were pacing circles around the mirror," Dumbledore replied as he walked over and stood beside her. "Don't underestimate yourself—I am, after all, Albus Dumbledore."
Dumbledore had seen through her thoughts. Compared to him, Eda was like a newborn infant.
"Would you mind telling this old man what the young Miss Twist saw in the mirror?" Dumbledore asked.
Eda replied meaningfully, "I saw myself using the Philosopher's Stone to create piles of gold—so much I couldn't spend it all in a lifetime. And you, Professor?"
"I saw someone giving me a pair of wool socks," Dumbledore said with a smile. "People always give me books, but no one ever really knows what I want. I imagine you've had similar troubles, haven't you?"
They both knew the other wasn't telling the truth. What they'd seen in the mirror was surely different from what they said—but neither of them pressed the point. Some things didn't need to be made perfectly clear.
Eda nodded and said, "Of course. Books are great, but getting books all the time gets boring. I'd rather have a big box of Chocolate Frogs."
"Minerva and Severus have both come to see me recently," said Dumbledore, gazing into the mirror. There was longing in his eyes, though he hid it well—Eda didn't notice it. "Why don't you guess who they came to see me about?"
"Well, obviously me. Otherwise you wouldn't be standing here with me, looking into this mirror," Eda replied.
"Exactly. That's why I've shown you this mirror—the Mirror of Erised, which reflects one's deepest desires," Dumbledore said, gently resting his hand on the glass. "I will use this magical mirror to protect the Philosopher's Stone. You needn't worry about its safety."
Eda wasn't too worried about the Stone anyway. Quirrell's every move was under Dumbledore's control. If Quirrell still managed to pull something off under those circumstances, then Dumbledore might as well dig a hole and bury himself.
"I'm just a little jealous of Quirrell, to be honest," Eda said, changing the subject. "I have ideas about the Philosopher's Stone too, but I can't do what he's doing."
She added, "But honestly, Quirrell is just so useless—it's frustrating to watch. Makes me want to help him out a little."
"..."
"Professor..? I-I'm just kidding.."
"Pfft~ Ahaha~ It's good to be young."
Watching Eda wave her arms dramatically, Dumbledore looked like he'd seen something amusing. He laughed heartily.
Desiring the Philosopher's Stone wasn't a crime in itself. The key was whether one merely thought about it or actually acted on it. Eda only thought about it—and could openly admit her desire—while Quirrell was acting in secret. That was the essential difference between them.
"Professor, just saying—how about lending me the Philosopher's Stone for, say, two days?"
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