Hogwarts Emerald

"Lumos!"

Eda lit up her wand, its glow far brighter than the twins' but soft and non-glaring.

"Ok. The passage is leading us away from the castle..." George said, looking at the map in his hand. "But where it leads, we have no idea—"

"—Wherever it goes, we need to stay cautious," Fred murmured.

Just as Fred was about to take the lead, Eda stopped him. The passage might be safe, but Eda thought it best for her to go first. If there was any danger, she could deal with it immediately.

The three of them widened their eyes, bending low as they slowly moved forward. The tunnel stretched endlessly ahead, and they had no idea how much farther they had to go.

Eda silently estimated the distance in her mind, feeling that it was at least as long as the passage leading to Honeydukes.

When the tunnel began to slope upward, Eda turned to the twins behind her and said, "Judging by the distance, we should be in Hogsmeade now. But where exactly the exit is, I'm not sure."

"Hopefully, it's not some remote forest. That would be so boring." Fred remarked.

"The cellar of the Three Broomsticks would be great. We could sneak out some drinks…"

"Why do I feel like stealing drinks isn't your main goal here?" Eda looked back at Fred, her eyes filled with disdain.

After walking a bit further and rounding a corner, they came upon a small exit ahead of them. Eda signaled for the twins to stay still. She raised her wand and slowly moved forward to check out the situation ahead.

It was a room—a messy, gray, dilapidated room. The wallpaper was peeling, the floor was stained, and the furniture was all broken.

It looked like some kind of struggle had taken place here, with the windows boarded up tightly.

"Fred, George, come on up!"

Eda called, still holding her wand aloft. Although it was daytime, the room was dim, with only a faint glimmer of light seeping in through the cracks in the boarded-up windows.

"Where is this?" The twins climbed out of the tunnel, squinting into the eerie darkness around them.

To Eda's right was a door. She pushed it open, revealing an even darker hall beyond.

The floor was coated in dust, suggesting that no one had been here for a long time. Unlike the other shops in Hogsmeade, this place felt entirely abandoned—more desolate even than the Hog's Head.

The three of them began to inspect the house, the floorboards creaking loudly under their feet. The sound echoed through the house, adding an unsettling layer of tension.

Carefully, they ascended a staircase that looked as though it might collapse at any moment. Each step stirred up thick clouds of dust. At the top of the dim landing, they encountered a tightly closed door.

The trio exchanged glances.

Eda raised her wand to shoulder height while the twins flanked her, one on either side.

"Haah!"

Together, the twins pushed the door open, and Eda rushed in with her wand raised, scanning for any potential threats. But the room appeared empty, with nothing inside that could harm them.

The layout of the house felt eerily familiar to Eda. The tightly boarded-up windows were especially striking. A realization began to dawn on her, but she needed confirmation. She hurried to one of the windows and squinted through the narrow gaps between the boards, trying to see outside.

George, meanwhile, stood beside a dusty four-poster bed draped with tattered curtains.

He glanced around uneasily and said, "What the hell is this place? Why does it feel so familiar?"

Fred chimed in as well, "I've got that feeling too. Like we are seeing the insides of a house we have seen many times from the outside.."

"Don't tell me this is…"

The twins turned simultaneously to Eda, their expressions expectant. They needed the cleverest of the three to confirm their suspicions.

"You're right.."

"We're in Hogsmeade. This house is the infamous Shrieking Shack."

Earlier, she had pried the gap between the boards a little wider and caught a glimpse of the outside.

"Isn't this place supposed to be haunted?" George said, his tone laced with curiosity. "Never seen a ghost here before. Guess today's the day to witness something!"

"George, what do you think the ghosts here are like?" Fred asked excitedly. "Do they look beautiful? Or terrifying?"

"Tch! These guys."

The twins, bursting with questions, were clearly fascinated by the rumored hauntings of the Shrieking Shack. Thankfully, their wands remained firmly in their grips, ready for anything.

Eda moved cautiously, her wand lighting the way as she surveyed the room and recalled what they had seen downstairs. The floors, walls, and furniture of the Shrieking Shack bore signs of extensive damage. Deep gouges and claw marks were etched everywhere, as though a ferocious struggle had taken place. Animal bites were visible on some of the furniture, further adding to the eerie atmosphere.

The scene before her sparked vivid imagery in Eda's mind, almost like a tragic story unfolding in a book.

She imagined a once-happy family living in the Shrieking Shack, enjoying a carefree life in this fairytale-like village. But one day, their enemies—or perhaps someone they had wronged—came for revenge, bringing destruction and death to this idyllic home.

The abandoned Shrieking Shack had fallen into disrepair.

In the harsh winters, animals would occasionally take refuge here from the cold, leaving behind the bite marks and clawed surfaces. As for the unfortunate family who met a tragic end, their spirits were said to linger, crying out in anguish each night.

Frightened villagers boarded up the house, sealing it away to prevent any harm or mischief from the restless ghosts.

It was a compelling narrative, the framework of a dramatic tale neatly falling into place.

Yet one glaring issue remained—where were the ghosts?

Eda and the twins had been wandering the house for quite some time without encountering so much as a flicker of a ghostly presence.

And to think, they had arrived here through a secret passage from Hogwarts. A secret passage leading to a supposedly haunted house—it felt more like a joke than anything else.

Brushing off the dust from an old sofa, Eda slumped down onto it, feeling a deep sense of disappointment.

The words spoken by Professor Glover Cecil by the Black Lake echoed in her mind: The answers will find you themselves.

While Eda's magical prowess wasn't on the same level as Professor Cecil's, the current situation seemed to perfectly match his sentiment: the answers truly had come to her.

What started as a mere exploration of the secret passage had led them to the Shrieking Shack, a place that was proving to be nothing more than a dust-filled, desolate house.

"Why hasn't the ghost shown up yet?" Fred muttered under his breath, sounding almost impatient.

"Well, am I not looking like a ghost?" Eda replied gloomily. She sat with her head bowed, making it hard for the twins to see her expression.

The twins rushed over. Fred grabbed Eda by the shoulders and shook her gently, his voice trembling. "Eda, what's wrong? Are you okay? Did a ghost really possess you?"

"Aa—ok! Stop shaking, stop shaking!"

"Then don't scare me like that!" 

George said nothing, but the worry etched across his face spoke volumes as he kept a watchful eye on the two of them. 

Dizzy from Fred's shaking, Eda swatted his hands away and said, "I'm fine, just a little disappointed. To think we ended up in the Shrieking Shack so easily... All the effort I put in before was just a waste of time!" 

"You scared me half to death! I thought you were really possessed!" Fred exhaled in relief. "Don't do that again—it's way too freaky." 

"Isn't this place supposed to be haunted? Your preparations won't go to waste," George said, trying to comfort her. 

Still feeling dejected, Eda replied, "How long have we been hanging around here? If the rumors were true, those ghosts would've come out and torn us to pieces by now. What are they waiting for—Easter?" 

The twins had also started to suspect as much, though they were reluctant to admit it. After all, the legend of the haunted Shrieking Shack was far more appealing than the reality of this decrepit old house. 

With a shared sense of resignation, the twins sat down on the sofa beside Eda, their heads drooping just like hers. In what was reputed to be Britain's most terrifying haunted house, the three of them sat in the same defeated posture, sighing in unison. 

The dark, claustrophobic room no longer inspired fear in them—only an endless, lingering disappointment.

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