Hydrus Lestrange's name was strange. Hogwarts' admission book listed her as "Audrey Astley," and the Marauder's Map also showed her as Audrey. The house-elves had even tried sending letters to Hydrus via owls—but the owls couldn't find her.
It seemed that name magic didn't affect Hydrus.
It was as if "Audrey Astley" was truly her real name.
"That's nothing unusual, child," Dumbledore said, sipping his pumpkin juice with delight. "When billions of people associate you with Audrey Astley, no magic, however strong, can determine your true name. In their eyes, you are Audrey Astley."
Audrey nodded, understanding.
Dumbledore pulled a thick stack of letters from his drawer and tossed them onto the table. "These are letters from Gringotts this week, begging me to find Miss Hydrus Lestrange." His eyes sparkled with curiosity. "What exactly did you do to them?"
"Nothing," Audrey replied casually. "I simply didn't lend them money. After all, they asked to borrow from me only to turn around and lend back to me. I'm not a fool—why would I agree to that?"
Without the Lestrange and Malfoy loans, it wasn't a big deal—Gringotts still managed to gather 2.4 trillion Kuban credits before Audrey's deadline.
But the international currency market was volatile. After Audrey stopped "generously" sending cheap supplies to Ukraine, the Kuban credit began to depreciate.
In just half a month, it dropped by 20%.
For Audrey, it was meaningless; all her Kuban credits had already been converted into assets.
But Gringotts wasn't so lucky.
The goblins panicked. Losing 20% in just two weeks? That meant nearly 400 billion Kuban credits lost—equivalent to over 600 billion Galleons!
Eventually, the goblins consoled themselves, attributing it to post-independence "growing pains" of Ukraine. They believed the Kuban credit would rise again once the government stabilized.
Only Audrey and Grindelwald knew the truth: Kuban credit would never rise again. This flimsy paper currency would continue to lose value, eventually reaching a point where 1.3 million credits could barely buy a steak.
Gringotts' massive fortune—or rather, the combined wealth of European and American wizarding families—would ultimately become nothing more than the hoard of a greedy dragon.
What had started as a simple fleecing of Gringotts had unintentionally plucked the entire Western wizarding world clean.
By mid-March, the weather was warming. Nature shook off the winter frost, blooming with vitality.
Well… except for some frazzled house-elves.
Audrey had spent two months eating and sleeping. Were it not for Transfiguration and Dark Arts Defense classes, she could have stayed in her dormitory until the OWL exams.
Good news came from Edmond: the Black Sea shipyard had been renamed Astley—a shipyard capable of building aircraft carriers!
To celebrate, Audrey decided to visit the Forbidden Forest and play with the cute little creatures. Gold Tiger had long since passed away. Even without her dragon, she needed companions to keep her sane. After all, she was human, not an actual fire-breathing dragon—loneliness would make her stir-crazy.
As for Isaline? She was in the same year and buried in OWL preparations. Ten weeks from exams, she had no time to keep Audrey company.
"Heidi!" Audrey called deep into the Forbidden Forest.
Not only did the unicorn Heidi appear, but other magical creatures emerged as well. Audrey vaulted onto Heidi's glossy back and gently patted her neck. "Has anything happened in your herd recently?"
Heidi shook her head, softly neighing.
Good—Professor Quirrell hadn't been sneaking into the forest to drink unicorn blood. Audrey was satisfied. Spending 2,000 Galleons on the safety of these little ones was money well spent.
Heidi ran through the forest, followed by creatures of all sizes, creating a magnificent, almost stampeding scene. The ground trembled slightly under the stampede.
Near the forest edge, Audrey spotted Hagrid rushing toward her.
"Wow, oh…" Hagrid exclaimed. "It's Audrey!"
"Hagrid?"
He let out a deep sigh of relief. "I thought something serious was happening in the forest. Didn't expect it was you!"
Audrey slid down from Heidi's back and waved at the magical creatures. "Go on back, everyone! I'll come play again next time!"
Watching them reluctantly leave, Hagrid marveled, "Audrey, I didn't realize magical creatures liked you so much—it's amazing!"
Audrey laughed. "I've always attracted animals—it's probably a talent of mine."
Hagrid stroked his huge beard. "A talent to envy! If I had that, I'd wake up laughing in my dreams every night."
"By the way, Hagrid," Audrey said, "the feathered hat you gave me for Christmas was amazing! I still hadn't found the chance to thank you."
Hagrid chuckled. "Christmas was almost four months ago! I haven't seen you since the January Quidditch match. Understandable—you must've been exhausted from OWL prep!"
He defended her efforts. "I don't know what the Ministry was thinking, making you learn in one year what others need five! Hermione told me you locked yourself in your room, staying up all night to study!"
Audrey laughed awkwardly. Hagrid had led her to the small hut. "You needed a break today," he said.
She was about to say goodbye when she noticed Hagrid standing still, lost in thought.
"Hagrid?"
"Oh, oh!" he snapped out of it. "Audrey, I think I need your help."
Audrey tilted her head. "If it's within my power, just say it."
"Come in! I need your affinity with magical creatures."
Inside the hut, a blast of heat hit them—it was spring, yet Hagrid's hut felt like a furnace.
A baby Norwegian Ridgeback was wreaking havoc—biting, clawing, breathing fire. Unicorn hair and precious magical materials were being destroyed. If this were her own dragon, Audrey would have scolded it severely.
"Audrey, you don't seem surprised at all," Hagrid said half in awe, half in envy.
"Surprised? I'm stunned," Audrey replied casually. She approached the baby dragon, who froze.
The little creature, named Norbert by Hagrid, seemed almost in tears, then clambered toward Audrey. She scooped him up and scratched under his chin. He closed his eyes in bliss.
"Incredible," Hagrid said, "you look like his mother!"
Audrey stroked his spiky back and asked, "What's his name?"
"Norbert! A Norwegian Ridgeback!"
Audrey chuckled. "Hagrid, why give a girl a boy's name?"
"Girl?" Hagrid's eyes widened like apples.
"Yes, it's a little girl."