An: and now I have surpassed him 😊🥹😊🥹😊
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"Next week is OWLs, Audrey! How are you still lazing in bed?"
Etheline Windsor shook Audrey awake. "These are OWLs! Better not practice singing right now!"
Although Etheline had never actually seen Audrey wake up at four in the morning to practice, she was absolutely convinced that Audrey did exactly that. After all, she was a professional singer. Yes, a professional!
Audrey sat up groggily.
"Oh, it's you, Etheline," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Last night, Edmond had quietly purchased the Gringotts headquarters at the property auction, and she had spent several rounds inspecting the underground vaults—completely exhausting herself!
Audrey's wizarding bank was still in preparation, so vaults that hadn't yet been emptied—like Harry's family vault—were temporarily managed by the Ministry. This brought quite a few complications.
Of course, Edmond handled all the messy work. Audrey herself was only responsible for overseeing her territories and maintaining relations with that blind Ukrainian "iron belly."
"OWLs are no problem, I'm ready already!"
Audrey tumbled out of bed, tapping her fingers on herself to complete washing, brushing, and using the bathroom all in one motion. When she first arrived at Hogwarts, she had enjoyed a few days of MoMo's personal care—but it was far too troublesome. Nothing compared to the convenience now.
Etheline rolled her eyes. "Be careful. Your situation is unique. If you accidentally became Hogwarts' first ever repeating student, that would be terrible!"
"Alright, alright, let's eat. Stop nagging!"
The Great Hall was as lively as ever, like a bustling marketplace: clattering cutlery and dishes, chattering young witches and wizards, wings of owls fluttering in, and the occasional curse as an owl fell into a soup bowl.
"Oh, our owl is far too old," Ron said, pulling Errol out of the soup. "Terrible, the letters are soaked through."
"Merlin!" Ron exclaimed. "Errol delivered the wrong letter! This one's for Audrey!"
"What? What?" Fred came over. "Mum sent Audrey a letter? That's rare!"
George chuckled maliciously. "This is troublesome—Audrey hasn't eaten in the Great Hall for nearly two months!"
"Poor Ron, having to take that dripping letter all the way to the Slytherin common room."
Ron shook the letter angrily, then his eyes lit up. "Audrey!"
Audrey and Etheline entered the hall laughing, only to see the youngest Weasley running toward her, holding something unidentifiable.
What was it?
A long, wax-colored strip, wet, covered in vegetables, mushrooms, and… cheese?
Audrey guessed it was some kind of fried dough, similar to youtiao, adapted by the house-elves from her own way of dipping youtiao in soy milk.
Though dipping it in mushroom soup was unusual, Audrey imagined the taste… perhaps surprisingly good?
"Audrey, this is a letter from my family for you!"
Audrey: …
"Thanks, Ron," she muttered, levitating the soggy "letter" and instantly cleaning it up.
Even after a Cleaning Charm, Audrey refused to touch the paper, letting it float in midair.
"Audrey:
Tank received your gift—thank you so much! This is the best present I've ever seen; Muggle craftsmanship is astonishing!
Molly wasn't fond of Tank, but upon learning its value—tens of thousands of Galleons—she immediately changed her attitude!
I must say, your gift was so extravagant that, were it not for my Muggle friends, I might have been tricked—this is no 'Soviet-era Ukrainian transport vehicle'!
Molly was thrilled with the Chinese recipe you sent; she never imagined food could be prepared that way!
She insists I invite you to our house this summer. Molly is eager to show you her newly learned cooking skills!
Your application to establish a new wizarding bank on the original Gringotts site has received broad approval, with Mr. Barty Crouch supporting it—if he's your fan, do tell me, as I cannot imagine why he's so invested.
However, Minister Cornelius Fudge seems uninterested in a new wizarding bank. He appears to believe that opening unclaimed vaults at Gringotts and taking the Galleons inside is sufficient, making the Ministry's salary concerns irrelevant during his term.
So the proposal for a new bank might be stopped by Fudge. Though it's only a rumor, I thought you should know in advance.
Finally, thank you for taking all the Gringotts curse-breakers under your wing. Bill and our family are very grateful for that generous compensation!
May Merlin bless you!
Your loyal friend,
Arthur Weasley"
Cornelius Fudge!
Audrey narrowed her eyes. The entire Gringotts vault was now her territory. Anyone trying to take Galleons that didn't belong to the Ministry? Fudge was dreaming!
…
"Malfoy!"
Audrey walked up to Draco.
"Tell your father, from now on, not a single Knut shall go to the Ministry!"
Draco nodded, bewildered. This wasn't his concern; he was content to act as messenger.
Seated next to Etheline, Audrey's breakfast magically appeared, carefully prepared by MoMo.
But her expression remained grim, causing Etheline to worry.
Damn it. That Fudge.
Audrey's mind was consumed with vault affairs; even hot noodles tasted bland.
So she finished breakfast quickly, bid Etheline farewell, and returned straight to her dormitory.
She moved so fast that Dorka Axley didn't even have time to rise—ending his twelfth confession attempt before it began.
"Edmond!"
Audrey lay on her bed, the Two-Way Mirror hovering midair. She was furious.
"Miss, who made you angry this time?"
Pouting, she clenched her fist. "Cornelius Fudge wants to seize the unclaimed Galleons in our vault."
By "unclaimed," she meant vaults left untouched for decades due to the extinction of pureblood families. These Galleons, long neglected by the goblins, were technically theirs, lying quietly in the vaults for decades or even a century.
"When we purchased the entire Gringotts headquarters site, did that include these unclaimed vaults?"
Edmond nodded. "Yes. The wealth in those vaults couldn't be immediately accounted for, and the Ministry was eager to appease the pureblood families. They roughly accounted for a million Galleons from these vaults."
"We've already checked over the past half-month. Those unclaimed vaults weren't worth that much; we actually lost about two hundred thousand Galleons here."
Audrey waved it off. "Fine, but what matters is Fudge is eyeing that money!"
Edmond smiled. "Don't worry. The purchase contract is crystal clear."
Audrey shook her head. "Never overestimate Fudge's principles." She paused, then instructed:
"Transfer all the Galleons from the vault to our main base immediately. And if Fudge tries to seize them, tell him the goblins emptied the vault before leaving—after all, these Galleons were made by their own hands. By goblin law, they belong to them!"