The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 363 The Final Weakness
It should have been late at night, but there were two night owls active by the fountain pool. Looking at the empty ball-shaped wine glasses in their hands, they looked like impatient drunkards.

Laura's attitude was already very clear, she was waiting for Ada to speak out her thoughts so that she could give some advice from a senior in life.

Ada actually had nothing to hesitate about. Putting aside Laura's embarrassing identity, she was still Ada's subordinate. It was not a good idea for the boss to cut off his subordinates' face on his first day in office.

Ada is not Grindelwald, who has an overwhelming charm; Ada is not Voldemort, who likes to use terror and intimidation to control the Death Eaters. And some things cannot be hidden. Anyone who pays close attention to Hogwarts will find clues.

"Can I trust you?" Ida asked, a useless nonsense.

Ada looked at Laura, her face was flushed with a drunken and charming blush. This woman should have been very beautiful and attractive, but the scar from her forehead to the corner of her mouth ruined a beautiful face.

The corners of his mouth moved because of his smile, making the scar even more hideous and ugly.

"Yes, and no." Laura's words were contradictory and self-contradictory. She filled the glass again and drank it all in one gulp. Wine was not her way of drinking. She seemed to really want to get herself drunk.

"Many times, I feel like I'm a lunatic and I can't even trust myself." Laura continued, "But I have an inexplicable confidence that makes me feel like you can trust me."

Ada took the bottle and poured some for herself and Laura. While pouring the wine, she said, "You may be really drunk. You are starting to talk drunkenly."

"I've been drunk for years and never got sober."

Drunken talk or mad talk? Perhaps this is why Laura Fournier slashed her cheek after Louis Rozier died.

Ada didn't beat around the bush any more, she told him what she had been hiding since the summer vacation. Actually, it couldn't be called a worry, but rather a worry, because since she entered Hogwarts, except for her second year, every year had been unsettled.

In the first grade, Foley wanted to find something in school, hoping to bring Voldemort back; in the third grade, Voldemort attached himself to the back of Quirrell's head and came to the school in person, wanting to steal the Philosopher's Stone and make a comeback with the help of the power of the Philosopher's Stone; in the fourth grade, he caught up with Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, and finally fell into Voldemort's hands, the sixteen-year-old Voldemort; in the fifth grade, Sirius escaped from prison, and Peter, who had been hiding for twelve years, found out after a detour that this matter was still related to Voldemort.

In the last five years at Hogwarts, four of them were related to Voldemort. In the remaining year, Dumbledore invited Cecil to teach in order to find out what Foley was looking for.

All of these things are inextricably linked to Voldemort. Voldemort, who has caused countless bloodshed and killings, seems to be coming back. He should be hiding somewhere now, secretly accumulating strength, ready to stir up darkness again at any time.

The storm is coming, the peace will be broken, darkness will descend upon this land again, and those who don't like darkness will choose to rise up and resist. Once the war begins, it means death.

Although death is inevitable, it is still hard to accept that such a thing happened to friends and relatives, and Ada did not want to see such a scene. However, staying out of it, hiding in France and living a life of luxury in the Rose Manor, this is not Ada's character.

That's why Ada was confused and hesitant for a moment. What Ada was afraid of was not Voldemort, not the war, nor her own death. What she was afraid of and worried about was also losing.

There are many things that once you have them, you don’t want to let go.

As she was talking, Ada figured it out on her own without Laura's persuasion or any advice. She realized that it was because she thought too much that she was timid and afraid of both wolves in front and tigers behind.

I am not myself anymore. This is not the way to be a person who wants to be at the top. I will do it with all my heart and strength. No matter what the world becomes in the end, I will have a clear conscience.

Ada also imitated Laura and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, but she choked a little because she drank too quickly. Ada coughed a few times and said self-deprecatingly: "It's so embarrassing..."

I don’t know if Ada was saying that it was embarrassing to be hesitant, or that she was embarrassed because she choked on the wine, or maybe both.

"I have always been paying attention to you. You have done very well." Laura said, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Nothing in this world is perfect. It is because of imperfections and regrets that the world becomes colorful." Laura looked at the brick-red building and said sadly, "Although Vida was very sad because of Louis' death and even felt that everything was her fault. However, if she hadn't adopted Louis, Louis might not have met Jessica, and there would not have been a girl named Esmeralda born into this world."

"What would Vida be like without you and the rest of you?" Laura continued, "Just do it and leave the rest to fate. Regret and hesitation are the most useless things in the world."

The summer night in Versailles was quiet. In the garden, there was only the sound of two women clinking glasses, and a large bottle of cognac was quickly finished.

Shaking the empty bottle, there was no sound. Reluctantly, Ada put her eyes close to the mouth of the bottle and looked inside. As expected, there was not a drop of the clear amber liquid left.

"No more, not a drop left..." Ada muttered while holding the bottle, "It's all your fault. Why do you keep drinking when you have nothing to do?"

"You look quite smart, why did you do such a stupid thing?" Laura said with a smile, "It's obviously a glass bottle. You can tell at a glance whether there is still wine in the bottle. Why are you looking at it from the mouth of the bottle?"

I, Esmeralda Drizzt, the smartest person in Hogwarts, how dare someone call me stupid? Ada was very dissatisfied and immediately glared at Laura fiercely, as if she regarded herself as the basilisk in the chamber of secrets. I will stare at you to death!

"Nonsense!" Ida said loudly, "What if this broken bottle deceives me? How can I be assured if I don't see it with my own eyes?"

It is usually impossible to reason with a drunk person, so Laura gave up the idea of ​​persuading Ada. Instead, she watched Ada carefully to prevent her from falling due to losing balance.

If she fell, it would be a disaster. The headlines tomorrow morning would be: A teenage girl accidentally fell into a pool and drowned because she was drunk. Is this a distortion of morality or a loss of humanity?

Ada, holding the bottle, was still mumbling, saying strange things like "How come it's gone?" or "This is not magic at all."

No one had ever seen Ada like this, let alone Laura Fournier.

It’s a little unbelievable. Ada has always been very cautious, but she got herself drunk in front of Laura. It has to be said that this is a somewhat strange behavior.

Maybe Laura is really charming, or maybe this is Rose Manor, and Vida is here, who knows! The thoughts of a drunk person are somewhat difficult to understand, full of wild and fantastic ideas.

Looking at Ada in front of her, Laura was a little dazed. Ada's eyebrows and eyes were similar to Louis, and she also had some of Jessica's shadow. She completely inherited the best qualities of her parents.

Faced with the weird and cute Ada, Laura finally couldn't help it and she took action!

Laura suddenly reached out to Ada, gently pinched Ada's cheek, and exclaimed with a smile: "Obviously she is just a stupid kid, why does she look so cute!"

The bright moonlight shone on the two of them, covering Laura and Ada with a layer of transparent gauze. The scars that were moved by their smiles no longer looked hideous or ugly.

Laura pinched Ada's cheeks to her heart's content, feeling the smoothness and tenderness from her fingertips, and feeling the trust that Ada gave her.

Maybe Laura will never know that when she reached out her hand to Ada, Ada's body subconsciously dodged. The reason why Laura didn't notice it was because Ada forcibly stopped the dodging action, making herself look like she was shaking because of drunkenness.

Laura would never know in her life that she was so close to death the moment she reached out her hand.

(End of this chapter)