When the Hogwarts Express finally arrived at the station, Fred and George let out a long sigh of relief. They had lost miserably. If they had really agreed to wash socks, they might as well have spent the entire next school year washing Eda's. The title of Gryffindor's gambling queen was well deserved.
Of course, Eda never actually intended to make the twins wash her socks. It was just to raise the stakes a little, so everyone would take the game more seriously and have more fun.
Grabbing their luggage, Eda and the twins stepped off the train and quickly spotted Mr. and Mrs. Weasley on the platform. A short while later, Charlie and Percy joined them.
With everyone gathered, the Weasley family left King's Cross Station and headed back to the Burrow in the village of Ottery St. Catchpole. The summer of 1991 had officially begun.
Charlie was unusually quiet on the way home, looking preoccupied. Mr. Weasley, on the other hand, kept bringing up dragons and Romania. It seemed like he and Charlie were planning to tell Mrs. Weasley about Charlie's desire to go to Romania.
Noticing the heavy atmosphere, the twins started cracking jokes to lighten the mood. Eda joined in, doing her best to be a good buffer.
But the twins' minds jumped from topic to topic too quickly—one moment talking about Charlie, the next dragging Percy into the conversation. Eda couldn't keep up with their rapid shifts, so she eventually gave up and let them do their thing.
Only Ron and Ginny, who knew nothing about what was going on, kept laughing along, completely entertained by Fred and George. Their laughter helped ease the tension during the ride home.
That evening, after a feast prepared by Mrs. Weasley, all the kids gathered in the living room. Percy sat on the couch, lost in thought, probably pondering his own future.
Meanwhile, the twins were playing cards with Ginny. Having lost so badly to Eda earlier, they were now taking it out on their little sister. Right in front of her, Fred and George shamelessly hid and stole cards—cheating against a ten-year-old girl without the slightest bit of remorse.
And the person responsible for it all, Eda, was currently playing wizard's chess with Ron. When it came to family hierarchy, Ron was firmly at the bottom. In the entire Burrow, no one had a lower status than him.
Ron had been dragged into the chess match by Eda, who had bribed him with a promise to buy him snacks if he played with her. Under Eda's carrot-and-stick approach, Ron reluctantly agreed to play a few rounds with this hopeless chess player.
Charlie and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley weren't in the living room. The three of them were upstairs in Charlie's room, discussing his plans after graduation. While Mr. Weasley was undoubtedly a little reluctant to see Charlie go, he wholeheartedly supported his son's desire to go to Romania. He was willing to help his children pursue their dreams.
The father and son had kept this decision a secret until today, and only now were they breaking the news to Mrs. Weasley. It was hard to predict how she would react — whether she would support her second son's dream or not.
After playing with Ginny for a while, the twins finally stopped teasing her. After all, she was their sister, not a brother — they couldn't bear to go too hard on her. Besides, they were more interested in watching Eda's inevitable defeat. Was there anything more satisfying than watching Eda get utterly crushed in a game?
Of course not. Such a rare sight was worth savoring, analyzing, and then bringing up later to poke fun at Eda whenever the opportunity arose.
On the small wizard's chessboard, Eda was completely at Ron's mercy. It didn't matter whether she opened with the Sicilian Defense or the French Defense — she would soon find herself overwhelmed. Step by step, she stumbled into Ron's carefully laid traps, only to be checkmated without fail.
Eda had anticipated losing, but she hadn't expected to lose this badly. She couldn't even manage a draw. One game after another, she was forced to topple her king in defeat. If she wanted to stand a chance against the great Ron Weasley, she had a long, long way to go.
Among the Weasley boys, Ron had always had a low sense of presence. He wasn't as outstanding as his older brothers and often seemed a bit insecure. But within the world of the 64 black-and-white squares, the ordinary Ron shone brilliantly.
A proud grin spread across Ron's face. He held up five fingers, waving them in front of Eda as a reminder that she had already lost five games to him. It was his subtle yet triumphant demand for her to keep her promise.
The twins were just as ecstatic, as if they had been the ones to win the matches. They high-fived Ron in celebration, their excitement impossible to contain.
(〃￣︶￣)人(￣︶￣〃)
"Today is a day worth celebrating because our dear little brother has defeated the Gryffindor She-Devil!" Fred announced dramatically, shooting Eda a series of exaggerated winks. His face was practically plastered with the words "You had this coming!"
"Our little brother shall be crowned king today — the great King Ron, who has personally vanquished the ferocious and savage dragon!" George declared, enthusiastically flapping his arms to imitate a dragon. Though, to be fair, he looked more like a clucking hen in the Burrow's yard.
"You two!!"
Eda, now thoroughly frustrated, chased after Fred and George with the intention of giving them a good thumping. But how could the mischievous twins ever be caught? One chased, while the other two darted away, their laughter echoing through the house. The playful commotion was enough to lift the heavy mood lingering over the Burrow.
"Kids, I just heard something about Ron defeating a dragon. Can anyone explain what happened?" Mr. Weasley's voice came from the stairs as he made his way down. It seemed like their family discussion had come to a conclusion.
Following behind him, Charlie descended the stairs, his arm gently linked with Mrs. Weasley's. Both mother and son had reddened eyes, as though they had shared a heartfelt conversation.
"Dad! It was Eda!" Ginny exclaimed, running up to her father. "Ron just beat Eda five times in a row at wizard's chess!"
"Oh, really? So our Eda has things she's not good at too," Mr. Weasley said, looking at Eda, who had finally stopped chasing the twins. "That's perfectly normal. Everyone has areas where they don't excel."
"Dad, Eda has plenty of things she's bad at…" Fred began, but before he could continue, Eda dashed over and clamped a hand over his mouth. Muffled protests escaped from Fred, but his words were effectively silenced.
Unfortunately, while she managed to stop Fred, she couldn't do the same for George. Standing a safe distance away, George gleefully continued, "Eda's Herbology is absolutely dreadful! She even killed a rare magical plant. Professor Sprout was practically furious with her! And—"
"And what?" Mrs. Weasley's voice interrupted, thick with a nasal tone that made her sound like she had a cold. "Perhaps the two of you should voluntarily share your end-of-term results with me?"
The twins immediately shut their mouths, a sheepish look crossing their faces.
"Alright, now I have an important announcement to make," Mr. Weasley said, clapping his hands together to gather everyone's attention. Once the chatter had died down, he continued, "Your brother Charlie has officially graduated from Hogwarts. He'll be heading to Romania to study dragons and pursue his dream. Let's all wish him the best!"
Mr. Weasley led the applause, though the clapping was somewhat subdued. Aside from Ron and Ginny, everyone else had already known about Charlie's plans. In fact, Eda and the twins had been aware of it even before Mr. Weasley himself.
Charlie scratched the back of his head, smiling a little shyly.
With Bill already out in the world, now another Weasley child was leaving home to chase his ambitions. The twins and Eda instinctively turned their eyes toward Percy. It wouldn't be long before he was next in line to graduate.
_______
Note:
Sooo... I disappeared for two days (Was it three?) because I did something incredibly dumb. Picture this: me at a party, see a fancy-looking Parmesan Pizza, decide to live my best life, and grab a slice. One bite in—delicious. Ten minutes later—chaos. Why? Because I'm allergic to eggplant... and guess what the pizza base was made of? 😭💀
Anyway, I've survived my tragic villain origin story, recovered from my eggplant betrayal, and I'm officially back in the game. Let's do this!
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