To express her anger and indignation, Hydrus Lestrange hung a sign at the entrance of the Astre estate:
"Albus Dumbledore and Nifflers Not Allowed."
Naturally, the sign was enchanted—ordinary Muggles couldn't see it.
As a result, Dumbledore was mocked by his old friend Grindelwald for several days straight, and even Nicolas Flamel started giving him strange looks.
August arrived, and Hydrus was finally free from the double torment of alchemy and dueling.
She could happily go sing again!
Although Barty Crouch had sent word that the "absurd order" still hadn't been found, she wasn't worried at all—there was still a month left. As long as it was resolved before school started, everything would be fine.
So when she set foot on American soil, her mood was excellent—especially since Fawkes had abandoned his original owner and chosen to follow her instead, which made her immensely satisfied.
Old bee, see that?
Even your pet has defected to the light side!
Next step: abduct Grindelwald and convert Nicolas Flamel,
and turn you into
a
lonely
widower!
Fantasy aside, proper wizarding entry procedures still had to be followed. After all, she was here for a concert, not for poaching.
At the Magical Congress of the United States of America, the staff handling her entry suggested that she place a Transfiguration or Confundus Charm on the phoenix so it wouldn't look so… conspicuous.
Hydrus readily agreed.
So now, to Muggle eyes, Fawkes looked like a very large parrot.
…
The concert went ahead as scheduled. The venue was packed, fans from all over the world gathering together. Those who couldn't get tickets crowded outside the stadium—because they knew Hydrus's voice couldn't be contained. Even outside, they could still hear her heavenly singing.
The opening song was Rick's Never Gonna Give You Up.
Maybe this world would never experience a "Rickroll," but a classic was still a classic. Rick twisted his hips on stage, the audience twisted below, and everyone had a great time.
The concert started at nine in the evening, and night had already fallen.
For some reason, the sky that night felt especially lonely—no moon, no stars, its face pitch-black.
When Rick finished his song, all the lights suddenly went out. Darkness engulfed the venue, and panic rippled through the crowd.
"Shhh—quiet—"
Hydrus's voice drifted through the darkness, instantly calming everyone.
"Come on, everyone! Let's make some noise together!"
The moment she finished speaking, a spotlight shone on the center of the stage.
Hydrus stood there in a crisp air force uniform, heroic and commanding.
A massive parrot perched on her shoulder, making her look exactly like a pirate captain from the age of sail.
Three seconds after her appearance, guitars and bass roared to life, drums joined in, spotlights swung wildly, and the atmosphere exploded.
"You don't understand what love is,
Your heart's only damn business and trade,
And I can't keep waiting for you anymore;
Tonight the sky has no color,
All my damn worries can get lost,
Let me say one last bye-bye to you!"
The lights blazed on. Screams and howls erupted as Hydrus's voice seized the crowd's emotions.
They seemed to see a woman who had suffered endless grievances, kicking open a door and stepping toward her future.
"Night doesn't mean despair,
Before dawn arrives—let's get high!"
The parrot suddenly spread its wings and took flight, and Hydrus grabbed its legs, being lifted straight into the air!
"Oh my God, how did she do that?!"
"Amazing!"
"That's unbelievable!"
"Look! There's a wire behind her!"
"So that's it! She's going all out—I'm about to cry!"
That wire, in truth, had no load-bearing ability at all. It was nothing more than a prop to mislead the eye.
Just before the chorus, the band abruptly stopped playing, and the entire venue fell silent.
One second.
When Hydrus's voice suddenly soared alone into the sky and the accompaniment followed like jet exhaust, goosebumps erupted across the crowd!
"Fly with me!
There's nothing you can't let go!
Bottling things up only makes it worse—say it out loud!"
(Writing lyrics is exhausting and unpaid—let the author slack off a little. You get the idea.)
Carried by Fawkes, Hydrus flew above the concert, occasionally sweeping over the fans' heads and triggering wave after wave of cheers.
"Look! Hydrus's parrot is so smart!"
"Yeah, she's always been great with animals!"
"Didn't she used to have a cat? Why don't we see it anymore?"
"This parrot's so clever—do you think it can dance?"
Wizards mixed in with the Muggle crowd scoffed at the discussion.
Parrot?
What a joke—that was a 4X-class extremely rare magical creature.
A phoenix.
Some wizards who had come all the way from Britain felt uneasy.
That phoenix looked awfully familiar… wasn't it Headmaster Dumbledore's?
…
Outside the venue, fans who couldn't see the performance were frantic. Hydrus's voice was wonderful, but judging from the noise inside, she was clearly pulling off another insane stunt—like the magic tricks at her last concert.
They wanted to see it so badly!
Among the crowd outside stood two short figures in hooded cloaks, their faces hidden.
"Grandfather, there are a lot of Aurors here."
"Hmph. In the past, I could have killed them all."
"Grandfather, we can't even handle a single Astre anymore. Charging in recklessly will only put us in danger!"
"The ancient magic beneath Hogwarts—I must have it! Tytus, you have no idea how powerful it is!"
Tytus shook his head. It was powerful, yes—but hadn't you been defeated by it?
Rather than obsessing over that power, wouldn't it be more reliable to gather ancient magic knowledge from ruins around the world?
Power is finite. Knowledge can mass-produce power.
"Let's go!" Ranrok ground his teeth for a while, then decisively turned and left. His strength had waned—and with it, his courage.
"Grandfather, I do have an idea," Tytus said.
"There are rumors that the Gray family is a branch of the Rackham family. Bode Gray—the one Hydrus Lestrange defeated and sent to Azkaban—should know some ancient magic."
"Do as you see fit," Ranrok replied coldly.
"As long as I gain the power sealed in Hogwarts' Guardian Vault, I don't care how you do it."
…
While the Astre siblings' concert blazed on, the British Ministry of Magic convened an emergency meeting.
Barty Crouch spoke first.
"Recently, we've received many letters signed by Headmaster Dumbledore. However, due to doubts about their authenticity, our correspondence department assumed they were prank letters and discarded them."
He shook his head helplessly.
"Yet the daily operations of the Wizengamot—normally coordinated by Dumbledore—have suddenly come to a halt. The reason is simple: we haven't received a single letter from him in over half a month."
"Crack!"
A white-bearded old man in purple robes appeared in the chamber.
"My apologies, everyone. I'm late."
"No, your timing is perfect, Professor Dumbledore," Barty said.
"We were just discussing your letters."
"My letters?" Dumbledore asked in confusion.
Barty turned to Rudy Lupin from the correspondence department.
"Mr. Lupin, could you explain on what basis you determined those letters were pranks rather than genuine correspondence from Professor Dumbledore?"
Rudy Lupin, a wizard in his thirties with dark freckles dotting his face, looked aggrieved but spoke frankly.
"Minister, for decades, Professor Dumbledore's letters have always been delivered by his phoenix, Fawkes. Never a single exception."
He raised his voice, clearly defending himself.
"But recently, all those letters were delivered by ordinary owls! I had every reason to believe they weren't truly from Professor Dumbledore!"
Dumbledore sighed.
He had set aside the heavy preparations for the new school term to attend this emergency meeting—only for this?
Awkwardly, he said,
"Well… my phoenix ran away from home recently."
"Children grow up. They want to see the world…"
Barty smiled just as awkwardly.
He certainly wasn't going to tell anyone that the last time he met Hydrus Lestrange, there had been a phoenix perched on her shoulder.