Draco followed Audrey out of the suitcase in a daze.
He had not only seen the fire dragon, but also touched it—and even held it. This was an experience he had never had, not even at his own dragon breeding grounds.
Yet instead of pure excitement, Draco felt a bit overwhelmed. He sensed that his cousin could explode at any moment, radiant as the sun, capable of generating a massive mushroom cloud.
"All right, you can leave now," Audrey said. "Do you know why I invited you here?"
"Ah? Oh…" Draco snapped back to reality, thinking for a moment. "To help Miss Astrey reply to her fans?"
"Mm, that's a good enough reason." Audrey nodded in approval and waved her hand, signaling he could leave.
At that moment, the double-sided mirror in her arms began to heat up. Audrey took it out and, without hiding anything from Draco, connected the communication link.
"Audrey, Pansy Parkinson broke into your room. She's been transmitted to the Black Sea shipyard by the protective magic circle."
Audrey frowned. "She saw everything?"
"She did."
"Troublesome!" Audrey muttered, sighing. "Then send her over. I'll handle it."
"Understood."
Ten seconds later, Pansy Parkinson appeared in Audrey's room holding a chamber pot—thanks to Grindelwald, Dumbledore had temporarily removed the Apparition restriction on a tiny space within Audrey's room, allowing them to support her at any time.
The space was minuscule. Only those in the know would have guessed there was a hidden backdoor in Audrey's room.
Apparition worked, of course, and so did a key—Pansy's chamber pot was actually a temporary key crafted by Edmund.
"A-Astrey!" Pansy trembled. "I-I didn't know anything! You're not part of the Purist Party! You don't have a secret base abroad!"
Draco: ???
Audrey sighed, drew her wand, and waved gently. "Obliviate."
Pansy collapsed instantly as the silver light from the wand connected to her forehead.
"How should I modify this memory? Let's say you and Draco were invited by me to reply to fans. You got so tired that you fell asleep?"
"Too plain. Add some drama… hmm… Draco flirted with you while replying, leaving a sweet memory."
"Not enough, not realistic… Ah! Draco stole a kiss! You misinterpreted me, felt guilty, and decided to obey me from now on!"
Draco: …She really is an evil witch!
He had wanted to protest, to ask his cousin not to alter things so dramatically, but then he recalled the mushroom-cloud scene from before and shut up immediately. These were trivial matters. As long as Audrey was happy, that was enough.
What was important? Of course—it was to prevent her from getting angry.
…
After modifying Pansy's memory, Audrey nodded in satisfaction. Her skills as a storyteller were unmatched.
If she ever switched to writing novels, she would undoubtedly become a superstar in the literary world!
In just an hour, she had crafted a tale of love, hate, and ambition in a wealthy family—of young people defying society to fight for love!
Unbeknownst to her, while editing Pansy's memories, she glimpsed the girl's inner world. Despite her outward resentment, Pansy had actually been a devoted fan of Audrey for three years!
Truly, love could make a young girl abandon everything.
"Draco, forget everything Pansy just said. Otherwise, I won't hesitate to Obliviate you too."
"What? Cousin, what are you talking about?" Draco looked bewildered. "I was just spacing out. I didn't hear anything!"
His acting was terrible. His trembling legs and shifting eyes gave him away.
Audrey didn't care. She only required the right attitude.
Of course, Draco's attitude satisfied her, but a precautionary note was still necessary:
"If any strange rumors spread outside, it'll be because of you. Understand?"
Draco clapped his hands over his mouth, nodding frantically.
"All right, send Parkinson back to her dorm. Don't let anything slip."
"Yes, yes!"
…
This was just a minor incident in March.
Since Audrey had adopted Norberta and prevented Draco from bothering the Trio, the storyline of the four little ones venturing into the Forbidden Forest never occurred. Even if it had, they wouldn't have run into Professor Quirrell drinking unicorn blood.
However, the blame on Snape only strengthened. Harry and Ron were convinced Snape had broken into Vault 713 to steal the Philosopher's Stone.
Unlike the original timeline, this time it seemed Dumbledore himself had pinned the blame on Snape. Perhaps the Headmaster had some reservations about favoring his own house?
After Easter break, the Slytherin vs Hufflepuff Quidditch match was scheduled to begin.
The so-called "point-deducting trio" was heading to the Quidditch pitch.
"I haven't seen Audrey in weeks," Harry said. "I wonder if she's been keeping an eye on Snape."
"Come on, Harry," Ron complained. "I'd rather she stayed in her dorm. Last week, I heard Snape called her out for OWL prep, assigned four potions with short brewing times, and gave Slytherin forty extra points!"
Hermione scowled. "It's unfair! Even if we perform well, Slytherin is already ahead by almost seventy points!"
But she looked concerned. "I just don't know how Audrey is doing. The OWLs are coming. Can she handle it?"
Ron shrugged. "Passing all twelve subjects isn't required to graduate. With her spellwork and potion skills, she'll be fine."
Harry nodded, but Hermione added: "I heard the Ministry set a rule: if she fails even one of the twelve subjects, she cannot advance to the sixth year."
Harry exclaimed, "That's too harsh! She has only one year to learn five years' worth of material! Passing all twelve at once is impossible!"
Ron shook his head repeatedly. "I couldn't do it. But why is she playing Quidditch now? Shouldn't she focus on studying?"
Harry whispered, "It's Snape! He forced Audrey to participate. She had no choice."
Hermione shook her small fists in frustration. "Snape again! Obsessed with the House Cup, I bet. How could he!"
Ron asked curiously, "Harry, how do you know all this?"
Harry smiled. "George and Fred tried to eavesdrop on Slytherin tactics to inform Hufflepuff, but overheard Marcus Flint's complaints instead."
Ron didn't care that his brothers told Harry and not him. "Complaints about what?"
"About Snape using every trick to find a teammate who never trained."
…
By the time Harry and friends reached the pitch, the stands were packed with spectators, including professional players and management.
The professors had to temporarily expand the seating. Even then, Harry and the others squeezed next to two house-elves.
Ron whispered to Harry, "Why are house-elves interested in Quidditch?"
"I have no idea!" Harry replied.
Ron shrugged and leaned closer: "I heard elves smell weird… not sure if true."
Because the seats were so cramped, half of Ron's backside hung over the edge.
"What's going on today? So many people came…" he muttered, suddenly widening his eyes. "Look, Harry! Look! Over there!"
Ron babbled excitedly, leaving Harry confused.
"That's the Chudley Cannons! That old man must be their manager! Wow! Are they here for Audrey?"
He continued at breakneck speed: "Makes sense. Audrey's a future star who set the fastest match record!"
"Ah! If Audrey joined the Cannons, that'd be amazing! Harry, that's my favorite team! With her, they could win the championship!"
Ron suddenly realized something and hastened to clarify: "Harry, I'm not saying you're worse. You're younger—one day, you'll be just as good as her!"
Harry smiled. He didn't care about that. He pointed to the other side of the pitch. "Look, those people aren't from our school either. Do you know them, Ron?"
Ron looked—and nearly dropped his jaw.
"That's… the Kenmare Red Falcons!"
"The Potterly Madmen!"
"The Wigtown Wanderers!"
"By Merlin's beard… the Wimbourne Wasps!"
Half of England and Ireland's teams were here! Ron exclaimed loudly: "Audrey's still a student, how can she attract so many professional teams?"
Harry shrugged. "That's not magic at all!"