Myrtle's Mistake

'What should you do when you are caught sneaking into a girls' bathroom in the middle of the night?'

Edmund's mind ran faster than most spell chains.

He had removed the Disillusionment Charm after leaving the pipe. That had been careless. Worse, the person who caught him was not alive, which meant ordinary memory tricks were useless. Moaning Myrtle could scream through half the castle before he finished explaining.

So Edmund did the only thing he could think of.

Fog burst from his wand, filling the bathroom in a rolling gray cloud. His face vanished behind it.

Myrtle floated backward in alarm. "Who are you?" Edmund lowered his voice until it sounded ridiculous even to himself.

"I am Harry Potter."

Myrtle blinked. Edmund committed to the lie.

"I came here secretly because I heard about the poor, tragic girl who died in this bathroom. I wanted to see whether you were all right."

Myrtle's expression changed at once.

"You... came to see me?"

"Of course," Edmund said solemnly. "Your story moved me deeply."

It was absurd. It was shameless. It worked. Myrtle drifted closer, suddenly shy.

"No one ever comes to see me. They only laugh or complain when I flood the toilets."

"That is very unkind of them."

"Do you really think so?"

"Naturally."

Edmund edged toward the door through the fog.

Myrtle clasped her transparent hands. "Will you come again?"

"Next time, I will dress more properly."

"You promise?"

"Harry Potter never breaks a promise."

Edmund slipped out of the bathroom before the lie could grow any more dangerous.

Only after reaching a safe corridor did he let the fog fade from his robes. He leaned against the wall and covered his face.

"Sorry, Harry."

As compensation, he decided, he would teach Harry a few extra spells later.

The next day, Edmund slept through half the morning. When he finally woke, he drank an energy potion, washed, changed, and went to the seventh floor.

The Room of Requirement opened for him.

Inside, Harry, Hermione, Cho, Fred, George, and Draco were already waiting. Draco stood a little apart from the others, chin lifted, trying to look as though he had not spent the entire time wondering whether he would be thrown out.

Harry was less subtle.

"Why is he here?"

"Because he paid," Edmund said.

Draco's face darkened. "I did not pay. I provided collateral."

"Expensive collateral."

Fred looked interested. "How expensive?"

George leaned in. "Do we accept collateral?"

Draco ignored them.

Hermione crossed her arms. "Can he be trusted?"

"No," Edmund said.

Draco's head snapped toward him.

"Which is why he is going to sign a contract before leaving," Edmund continued. "He will not reveal this room, this training, or anything he sees here. If he breaks it, the contract will punish him."

Draco looked slightly paler but did not object.

Cho glanced at Edmund. "So what are we doing today?"

"Fixing your dueling habits."

He looked over the group.

"Most students duel like they are standing in a classroom demonstration. They face each other, raise a wand, shout a spell, and wait. Real fights are not that polite. Speed matters. Accuracy matters. Movement matters. Spell combinations matter."

Fred raised a hand. "Does cheating matter?"

"Cheating matters very much."

"Excellent."

George nodded gravely. "We are ready." Edmund smiled.

"Good. Then today we begin properly."

He lifted his wand.

The room stretched. The walls faded. The floor beneath them became polished stone. Above, illusionary banners hung in the air, and the space took on the shape of the Great Hall during the Dueling Club.

Everyone stared. Draco forgot to look superior. Hermione's eyes brightened despite herself.

"This is not an ordinary illusion," she said.

"No," Edmund replied. "It is training."

He tapped the floor with his wand.

"Prepare yourselves."

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