On the first night of the new school year, the Gryffindor common room was lively. Students from every year had gathered there in small groups, discussing the Triwizard Tournament and whether it would be possible to fool Dumbledore and force their way into the competition.
The moment the age restriction of seventeen was announced, Dumbledore's approval rating among the students plummeted, almost catching up to Snape's. Even though everyone knew this decision had not been made by Dumbledore alone, they still could not help blaming the headmaster.
The general sentiment was probably something like, "Why didn't you just fight the Minister over it?" More or less that kind of thinking.
This age line eliminated the vast majority of students, leaving them without even the chance to enter. The only ones eligible were seventh-years and a portion of the sixth-years.
For example, sixth-years like Eda and Cedric were both eligible to enter. Both of them had been born in 1977, but when Hogwarts started in 1988, neither of them had yet turned eleven, so their enrollment had been postponed until 1989.
Eda would turn seventeen in October, at which point she would be able to enter, while Cedric would turn seventeen slightly earlier than Eda.
Hermione's enrollment situation was similar to Eda's, but unfortunately for her, she had been born in 1979. Even if she had her birthday before the registration deadline, she still would not be seventeen.
In the common room, Eda and the twins sat in armchairs in the corner, with Angelina and the others nearby. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were there as well.
Everyone was discussing what method Dumbledore would use to prevent students under seventeen from entering.
"Who do you think the impartial judge choosing the champions will be?" Harry asked.
"No idea," Fred turned toward Eda and asked, "Didn't Dumbledore tell you? He even told you they were bringing back the Triwizard Tournament."
"He did, but not really," Eda recalled her conversation with Dumbledore. "Dumbledore said the champions would be chosen by 'a magical object,' but he didn't reveal what that object was."
George waved a hand dismissively and said, "Doesn't matter. Whether it's a person or a magical object, we just need to trick it somehow."
"That's right. I think one or two drops of Aging Potion should do the trick. So, any of you interested?" George glanced around at the people nearby, hoping someone would join the twins in sneaking past the restriction.
Hermione said in a worried tone, "But a lot of people died! The Triwizard Tournament is really dangerous!"
"Yeah, it's dangerous," Fred said indifferently, "but if life doesn't have a little adventurous spirit, then what's the fun in it?"
"Besides, we're only entering, not actually competing," George said. "Even though admitting this is annoying, the Head Girl will probably be chosen anyway... Ah! Why did you hit me?!"
"Sorry, I just wanted to stretch my arm and accidentally bumped into you," Eda said without the slightest sincerity.
Lying through her teeth. That loud "smack" just now had been so clear, and she was saying it was an accident? Who would believe that? George covered the back of his head and looked at Eda resentfully.
Did that "smack" sound good just now? If it sounded good, then it was a good head.
"Ron, don't say we never think of you. Want to give it a try with us?" Fred encouraged Ron like a little devil. "Participation is what matters. Just imagine how brave this would look. How do you think those girls who usually ignore you would see you then?"
Smack!
"Why did you hit me?! I didn't even mention the Head Girl!" Fred also covered the back of his head. Nice sound, definitely a good head.
Even though Eda had been single since birth for many years, she still possessed basic observational skills.
She had already noticed some clues. At a moment like this, Fred bringing up other girls to Ron really could not have been more tactless. Truly screwing over his younger brother from every possible angle without leaving a single blind spot.
"Do I need a reason to hit you two?" Eda looked at Fred and George respectively, speaking as though it were only natural.
"Why wouldn't you need a reason to hit us?" Fred and George asked in unison.
"Do I need one?"
"Don't you?"
...
Amid the endless back-and-forth of "Do I?" and "Don't you?" between Eda and the twins, the discussion on the first night of school finally came to an end.
Probably many people at Hogwarts would be having wonderful dreams tonight, dreaming of themselves winning the Triwizard Tournament.
The next morning, the storm had passed, though the ceiling of the Great Hall was still filled with gloomy clouds. Eda, Fred, and George ate breakfast while comparing this term's class schedules.
After passing the fifth-year O.W.L. examinations, Hogwarts students entering sixth year had to choose their classes again, and this time the selection went both ways between professors and students.
The professors would establish the entry requirements for their advanced classes according to their own standards.
For example, Snape's Potions class required an "O," meaning only students whose exam grades reached Outstanding could continue studying Potions.
The entry requirement for Potions was very high. It was already pretty good if all four houses combined could produce more than a dozen students qualified for it.
Of course, there were also subjects with relatively low requirements, such as Herbology and Charms.
The professors established the admission standards, while students selected courses based on their grades and arranged their schedules accordingly. It felt somewhat like choosing between arts and sciences streams, except magic could not simply be divided that way.
Eda's O.W.L. results were perfect across the board. In theory, she could choose every course, but she felt she could appropriately give up a few subjects and increase her free time.
Whether that "saved" time was used for relaxing or improving her own strength, it was far better than wasting it sitting in class.
First of all, History of Magic was definitely being dropped. After enduring five years of Professor Binns' hypnotic torture, Eda did not want to suffer through it anymore. Fighting against sleepiness was truly an extremely difficult thing.
Professor Binns, if Hogwarts ever held an award for model workers, Eda would absolutely vote for her ghost professor. But continuing to attend History of Magic? That was completely unnecessary.
The second subject she dropped was Astronomy. Stargazing strained her neck, and climbing the Astronomy Tower exhausted her legs, so Eda gave up the class. Sorry, Professor Sinistra.
Actually, Eda had also wanted to drop Herbology and Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Herbology was simply because Eda did not like taking care of magical plants, but for Professor Sprout's sake, and for Potions as well, Eda ultimately kept Herbology on her schedule.
The reason for wanting to drop Defence Against the Dark Arts was simple. Eda and the teachers of that subject simply clashed by fate, so naturally she wanted to abandon the course. However, Professor McGonagall did not allow Eda to do so, so Defence Against the Dark Arts also remained on her schedule.
As for Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes, which had already been electives to begin with, Eda had planned to drop both of them too. But after thinking about it for a while, she still kept Ancient Runes because listening to Professor Babbling's stand-up style lectures was actually pretty entertaining.
Hagrid, I'm sorry!
Charms, Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Herbology, and Ancient Runes. Those were all the subjects on Eda's schedule.
This course load could not exactly be called heavy, but it also was not light. Compared to true academic monsters, Eda's schedule was pitifully small, but compared to most sixth-year students, it was actually quite full.
Take Fred and George beside her for example. Even combining the number of Outstanding grades the two of them received, they still did not equal the number Eda earned by herself, so naturally they chose fewer courses than Eda.
That also meant Fred and George now had even more spare time outside class. Nothing else to say except: a moment of silence for Filch.
However, before the Triwizard Tournament registration deadline arrived, Filch probably did not need to worry too much about Fred and George's enthusiasm. Right now, the twins' main focus was figuring out how to make themselves one year older.
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