"Malfoy, come over here," Audrey called to Draco Malfoy. "I need to talk to you."
Draco ran over like a little puppy, completely abandoning the dignity of a pure-blood heir. Crab and Goyle were already used to this, while Pansy slammed her fork into her plate again in frustration.
"Cousin," Draco greeted quietly, then whispered, "What is it?"
Audrey strolled toward the Slytherin common room as she spoke. "Gringotts is planning to borrow from the major wizarding families. Notify your father immediately. No matter how high those goblins promise the interest to be, do not lend them anything."
Draco tilted his head in confusion.
"Why not?"
"Because they cannot repay it," Audrey warned coldly. "I'm telling you this out of respect for Aunt Narcissa. If you or your father dare to spread this around, the consequences will be on you."
Audrey's tone was icy, though her words were a warning. Draco nearly felt like he was going insane.
Still, he knew when to act carefully and hurried back to the common room to write a letter.
Audrey casually walked outside the Great Hall, pondering what gift she could give Mrs. Weasley in return.
She had been so busy lately—rolling excitedly in bed, remotely directing Edmond and his team to acquire assets—that she completely forgot the Christmas gift she was supposed to return.
Mrs. Weasley had thoughtfully knitted a sweater and scarf for her. Normally, a Gryffindor would only use red and gold yarn—but for Audrey, she'd specially prepared green and silver yarn, a painstaking effort.
Though the Slytherin-colored sweater with Audrey's name embroidered on it was ugly beyond words, the thought behind it was the most sincere of all the gifts she had received.
The main point was warmth.
The second most sincere gift came from Etheline—a pure-gold Greek-style water jug. Truly, a best friend who understood her!
Third was from an anonymous mysterious donor: a Slytherin-colored mask inlaid with two exquisite emeralds. The mask was an alchemical artifact, automatically casting the Iron Armor Charm. Audrey tested it and found the enchantment was far stronger than her own. Who the donor was remained unknown.
But none of this mattered as much as the gift she needed to return.
Yes… what should she give the Weasleys?
Gold Galleons? Too ordinary!
A tank, perhaps? Mr. Weasley would surely like that!
And maybe a cookbook of Chinese cuisine for Mrs. Weasley?
…
While lost in thought, Audrey was intercepted by Harry Potter and his friends.
Caught off guard, she jumped slightly, feeling the unmistakable vibe of being a "villain" confronted by the protagonist trio.
"Audrey, we need your help!"
They led her to a secluded stairway by the Great Hall.
"We need your help, Audrey!" Harry said seriously, with Hermione and Ron nodding furiously. "During Christmas, Snape tried to sneak into the fourth-floor corridor to steal the Philosopher's Stone but was stopped by the three-headed dog!"
Audrey: ????
Wait… what? Snape had been "watching" her over Christmas like a bodyguard. How did he find time to sneak back into Hogwarts to steal the Stone?
And hadn't the trio's original progress in discovering the Stone taken months after flying lessons and Draco's provocations? Now, after just a single holiday, they were already on the same track?
That's some intense plot correction!
If Harry could even see "Snape," it meant someone was up to something.
It wasn't Quirrell… so there was only one possible explanation:
Dumbledore himself was orchestrating this.
Audrey shrugged. "How did you even think to come to me for help?"
Hermione, serious as ever, explained, "We're Gryffindor. Following Snape is too obvious. So we thought of you."
Harry added, "Audrey, can you keep an eye on Snape for us? Dumbledore and Hagrid don't believe us. You're the only one we can come to."
Ron nodded eagerly. "Yeah! If Snape gets the Stone, he'll revive the mysterious person! Everyone knows he's a Death Eater!"
Audrey glanced at a countryside painting on the stairwell wall. A farm girl in the painting was cutting grass, subtly watching them.
Noticing Audrey's gaze, the girl gave a sly wink.
Alright, Dumbledore is watching.
Normally, Audrey wouldn't bother getting involved—but now she had a perfectly good reason: Dumbledore requested it.
"How did you know the Stone was there?" she asked.
"Hagrid!" Hermione said. "He let it slip—mentioned Nearly Headless Nick."
Harry added, "We know Nick was one of your tutors before term started, so we did a little research and figured it out."
"Great!"
Audrey gave them a thumbs-up. "But I still have OWLs to study for! I've already skipped ten classes this year just to save time for self-study in my dorm… so I don't really have extra time to shadow Snape."
Hermione covered her mouth, shocked. So the rumors from Slytherin that Audrey was lazy? False!
Audrey stayed in, studying diligently all along. Realizing this, the Gryffindors felt they'd imposed unfairly.
Audrey continued, "But I can keep an eye on Professor Snape. If anything unusual happens, I'll notify you."
What could be unusual? Snape was one of the plot's masterminds—he knew the Philosopher's Stone was a fake!
This kind of low-effort goodwill? So Slytherin!
Harry nodded gratefully. "Thank you! We… we didn't expect you'd be this busy. I feel so bad… but you're willing to help! Audrey, you're truly a great person!"
After parting ways, Ron suddenly remembered something. "Wait, didn't Audrey have a concert over Christmas? Was she really busy studying?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "That's called balancing career and study! To perform for those ten days, who knows how much sleep she sacrificed to catch up on lessons!"
See? Fan-filter activated.
Harry, as Audrey's biggest fan, supported this wholeheartedly. "Exactly, Ron. Don't doubt her!"
He then refocused. "Even if Audrey's willing to help, we can't fully rely on her. Protecting the Stone is still up to us."
Ron nodded. "Right, Harry. It's up to the two of us!"
…
Audrey left the trio and moved somewhere unnoticed.
"Shlaa!"
When she appeared again, she was lying on her bed.
Ah… she only intended to inherit the Lestrange fortune, but now, suddenly, she was on track to become the richest witch in the wizarding world!
Hmm… how should she spend all that money?
Plowing fields with golden hoes? Ridiculous.
Wearing gold-threaded jade robes? Yuck, that's for the dead—not lucky.
Tasting cuisines from around the world? Pfft, that wouldn't even cost a fraction of her fortune.
Living in a mansion? Please… Hogwarts itself counted as her property. Could it get any bigger?
Audrey had no clue how to indulge herself.
The ultimate fantasy: dig a huge cavern, fill it with gold and jewels, and bury herself inside for a long nap.
Suddenly, it felt a bit boring… maybe a golden toilet would be better!
"Shlaa!"
Momo appeared in the room, interrupting her thoughts.
"Momo, shouldn't you be busy in the kitchen?"
"Master," Momo rubbed his hands, "Headmaster Dumbledore wants to see you."