The miniature debate tournament at the Hogwarts library ended in a rather nebulous manner. Both sides had debated whether Snape was the true culprit. The match was conducted in a friendly atmosphere, with both debaters showing restraint and all remarks made using civilized language.
The cordial tone of the debate was largely thanks to Eda. Her self-restraint kept the debate from turning hostile. It was precisely this restraint that allowed both parties to end on peaceful terms, with neither side defeating the other.
Of course, one could also say that both sides were winners, as neither was swayed by the other's arguments. Each remained firmly convinced that their own stance was the correct one, and that the other had simply been misled.
Harry Potter believed that Eda had been deceived by Snape's past behavior — that everything Snape had done before was in preparation to steal the Philosopher's Stone. He believed he alone had discovered the truth and seen through Snape's facade, which was why Snape wanted to kill him.
Everyone else was blind drunk, and he alone remained sober — who else but him could shoulder the responsibility of protecting the Philosopher's Stone?
That was how Harry felt now. He would stop Snape at all costs, even if it meant sacrificing his life. He absolutely could not let the Stone fall into Snape's hands!
Likewise, in Eda's eyes, Harry's stubbornness made him a pitiable figure. So she didn't care about the way he looked at her, nor would she waste effort trying to correct his views.
Right now, what Eda really wanted to know was when Quirrell would expose himself, or when he would make his move to steal the Philosopher's Stone. What kind of preparations had Dumbledore made? Eda didn't believe Dumbledore would rely solely on a single unreliable three-headed dog.
And of course, there was one more thing Eda didn't know: that Harry, at such a young age, already had such conviction — that he was truly prepared to sacrifice himself to protect the Philosopher's Stone.
If Eda knew, she would surely stand up, remove her hat, and offer Harry her deepest respect.
Because of her personality, Eda was a somewhat selfish person. She couldn't bring herself to do something truly selfless, nor could she become someone like that. To her, not causing harm to society was already the greatest contribution she could make to it.
But that didn't stop Eda from respecting those who carried noble ideals in their hearts. They were the heroes of this world.
No matter the time, the world always needed heroes. Without them, the world would lose much of its beauty and could very well fall into darkness.
As the saying goes, "Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together." Naturally, Eda and Harry, who couldn't even hold a proper conversation, went their separate ways. In the days that followed, each focused on their own matters.
Those who were supposed to keep an eye on Quirrell continued to monitor his every move. Those who were dead set on holding onto Snape didn't let go either. Both fronts had to be maintained, and both were unyielding.
The cunning and shrewd Dumbledore was probably smiling in his dreams—someone was helping him keep an eye on the real culprit, Quirrell, while someone else was watching Snape to make sure he wasn't slacking off.
It was the perfect two-pronged approach, a win-win situation.
As the weather grew colder, several rounds of snowfall blanketed Hogwarts, covering the entire school in white.
The snow piled higher and higher, and the classic snowball-fight tactic of digging pits to bury people reappeared at Hogwarts. All around the school grounds were white "graves," in which the losers of the snowball fights were "buried."
Perhaps it was the cold Scottish winter that dampened Quirrell's passion for the Philosopher's Stone, or perhaps he was just that much of a coward. Ever since he used a troll to "celebrate" Halloween and tried to harm Harry Potter in full view of everyone, Quirrell hadn't made a single move.
Quirrell now didn't seem like a villain plotting to steal the Philosopher's Stone at all—he looked more like someone loafing around at Hogwarts, just passing the time.
After collecting a year's salary as a professor, Quirrell would simply return to wherever he came from.
He had no ambition, like a salted fish that had lost its dreams, too lazy even to flop over.
Eda had only two words for Quirrell's behavior—utterdisappointment.
Compared to Benedict Fowley, who pushed through minor injuries without ever retreating from the front lines, Quirrell was absolutely useless as a villain. He was practically toying with the hopes of the masses—he-tui!
Back in the day, Benedict Fowley was full of bold and unpredictable moves. Ever since Halloween, he charged headfirst toward destruction, refusing to back down even when injured.
Eda and the Weasley twins were all growing anxious on Quirrell's behalf. The semester was nearly halfway over and he still hadn't made a move—what was he waiting for?
Eda almost wanted to give him a push, hand him some acceleration, heat up his packed lunch, and send him on his way early.
If it weren't for Snape also keeping a close eye on Quirrell, Eda would've started to wonder whether she'd misunderstood the man entirely—maybe Quirrell wasn't pretending to be a coward, maybe he was genuinely that timid. Even Garlon had more courage than him!
Although Quirrell was unreliable, thankfully Eda had other things to focus on—no need to hang herself on one tree.
During the end-of-term review from last year, several of the spells Eda frequently used were already close to leveling up. After a recent period of intense practice, these spells had finally upgraded.
The Stupefy spell, which she often used in combat, was the first to level up. Now it came in two versions: the standard Stunning Spell, and a new one with additional effects.
When Eda infused enough magical power into the Stupefy spell, there was a 15% chance it would trigger the "Merciful Release" effect. As the name suggested, this was Eda's gift to her enemies—a benevolent release from combat, one they could not refuse.
With the "Merciful Release" effect, the Stupefy spell became as lethal as the Killing Curse. Aside from dodging or using objects as shields, Eda's opponents had no way to defend against it. Their only hope was for Eda to miss—otherwise, there was nothing they could do.
Additionally, the power of Stupefy under the Merciful Release effect was significantly increased. Any target hit by it would fall unconscious without fail—possibly never to wake again, finally and fully released from the burdens of the mortal world.
A 15% chance might not seem high, and probability was always a fickle thing—but this time, the upgrade came with a surprising level of consideration.
As Eda's proficiency with the Stupefy spell increased, or as she triggered the Merciful Release effect more frequently, the chance of the spell becoming unblockable would also rise. Reaching 100% wasn't out of the question—so long as Eda was determined enough to grind.
Other spells that had maxed out their proficiency had also received various upgrades. For instance, the Disarming Charm—Expelliarmus—had improved its disarming effect.
Now, the Disarming Charm had become "smart." It could automatically identify the enemy's weapon and prioritize neutralizing the one posing the greatest threat to Eda.
Among all the upgraded spells, there was one defensive spell that pleased Eda greatly: the Shield Charm. It had now become a passive state, like a constant buff.
The presence of the Shield Charm increased Eda's defensive capabilities. When a spell hit her, the Shield Charm would weaken its effects, minimizing the damage it inflicted on her.
But this kind of protection wouldn't last forever—it had its limits. Once the accumulated damage from spells exceeded its threshold, or if a single attack surpassed that threshold, the protective effect would dissipate.
For example, if Dumbledore were to cast a spell at Eda with full power, the Shield Charm would reduce the damage once, and then its protective effect would vanish. To regain such protection, Eda would have to reapply the buff from scratch.
Eda had thought about casting the Shield Charm repeatedly, layering it indefinitely to trigger a qualitative change through sheer quantity.
Unfortunately, the system had blocked this loophole—each time she cast the Shield Charm, the protective effect would simply refresh. Her grand plan of "stacking the thickest armor to endure the deadliest hits" was thus stillborn.
Despite its flaws, this protection was still a significant upgrade for Eda. In the future, if she encountered an evenly matched opponent—or someone she couldn't defeat—this protective effect would give her a chance to take a desperate gamble.
As long as her opponent wasn't spitting out Killing Curses like green-light Gatling guns, Eda could use a trade-of-injuries strategy to bring down her enemy.
Just like in the earlier battle she had gotten tangled with because of that Glover Cicil—if Eda had this protective shield then, she could've taken the Confringo spell from that fat lump Ternab Brian head-on and gone on to kill that Jeremy guy directly.
Eda believed that as her strength continued to grow, the defensive effect of the Shield Charm would surely improve as well. Maybe, one day, she'd even be able to take a Killing Curse head-on.
And if she really reached that level—wouldn't she be worthy of the title "The Girl Who Lived"?
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