"Fawkes?"
Audrey spread her hands innocently. "Professor Dumbledore, don't you think you might be mistaken about one thing?"
She stood up with a bright, shameless smile.
"I've never restricted Fawkes's freedom. Truly—he's completely free. Besides, unless I eat him, I don't have any way of restraining him. He's a phoenix, after all."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, and Audrey continued without missing a beat.
"Perhaps someone unfairly wronged a sweet, innocent girl, made poor Fawkes feel physically uncomfortable, and so he chose to abandon the darkness for the light?"
She blinked, flashed a wide grin, and—without giving the Headmaster any chance to respond—vanished from the office with a sharp crack.
In practice, Audrey's "sixth year" was a curious thing.
Read as sixth year.
Written as fifth year.
Because she was retaking her OWLs, the entire sixth-year curriculum had nothing to do with her at all.
For the whole academic year, Audrey existed in a pure OWLs-prep state. All fifth-year classes were exempted—
—except Defense Against the Dark Arts.
After all, there was a new professor.
But really, was Gilderoy Lockhart's Defense Against the Dark Arts class anything more than a live theatre performance?
And Lockhart himself was entertaining enough. This year's DADA lessons made for an excellent way to kill time.
Audrey couldn't help but sigh in reflection.
Other people suffered during school and enjoyed their holidays.
She was the opposite—school was bliss, vacations were exhausting.
Unfortunately, Miss Iselin Windsor seemed determined to carry out her lifelong mission of preventing Audrey from falling into depression.
Before eight o'clock, she barged into Audrey's dormitory without ceremony.
—She was one of the very few students with permission to enter Audrey's room. The only other was Audrey's younger cousin, who sadly could not cross the threshold of the girls' dormitory.
"Audrey! Wake up! Let's go eat in the Great Hall!"
"Iselin, stop it…"
Half-asleep, Audrey grabbed a handful of gold coins and tossed them in Iselin's direction.
"Let me sleep a little longer! I stayed up late watching movies last night!"
With a practiced flick of her wand, Iselin froze the coins midair, then let them scatter harmlessly to the floor.
"No! You must eat in the Great Hall today! You need to make new friends!"
Audrey rolled over. The coins beneath her rustled and cracked softly.
She made up her mind to ignore Iselin. She didn't have class anyway. As long as she held out until eight, Iselin would have to leave for lessons on her own.
Seeing Audrey's utterly shameless laziness, Iselin was so angry she laughed.
She cast two layers of Iron Skin Charm on herself and jumped straight onto Audrey's golden bed.
—No charm, no courage. Audrey was monstrously strong. If she kicked in her sleep, it would hurt.
Blanket yank.
Hot breath in the ear.
Tickling under the arms.
A devastating three-hit combo.
Audrey burst out laughing and rolled straight off the bed.
"Alright, alright! You win, you win!"
She climbed up from the floor—and in the blink of an eye, the just-awakened Audrey was already washed, dressed, and in her house robes.
"Let's go."
She headed for the door, then glanced back.
"But Iselin—do this less often. Or you'll lose me forever."
Though it was still early, the Great Hall already had a few students eating.
The Gryffindor table, however, was unusually lively.
After sitting down, Audrey asked Gemma Farley beside her, "What's going on over there? Why are they so happy?"
Farley replied, "Apparently, two idiot lions flew a car to school yesterday. Ran into Dementors on the way, fell straight out of the sky, and nearly died!"
Audrey blinked. "They almost died, and they're happy?"
"Probably because surviving Dementors sounds cool to them."
Audrey nodded thoughtfully.
Flying car. Two idiots.
Because she'd learned about Black's escape during the Auror inspection, Audrey had subconsciously assumed this was third year.
But it wasn't.
It was only second year.
Which meant those two idiots could only be—
Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.
Sure enough, over at the Gryffindor table, the know-it-all girl wore a thunderous expression as Ron bragged endlessly. She looked utterly unconvinced by her two useless men.
On this matter, her opinion was likely in perfect alignment with Slytherin's snakes.
So… Dobby had still intervened.
Audrey tapped the table. Another bowl of Clear Cabbage Soup appeared.
She really loved this dish.
"Oh? And isn't this the great star Audrey Astre?"
A childish male voice rang out.
Audrey looked up and saw an unfamiliar face.
—She'd been zoning out during the Sorting. People irrelevant to her rarely earned her attention.
"And you are?"
The boy frowned deeply, as if her failure to recognize him were a crime.
"I'm Vegisas Carrow! Of the Carrow family!"
Audrey nodded politely. "Hello. What can I do for you?"
Vegisas Carrow lifted his chin, looking down at her soup.
"Look at what you're eating. Cabbage soup? Hogwarts doesn't charge you for food. Is this really necessary?"
He sneered. "Or do you just like eating trash like this?"
Iselin stood up sharply.
"Vegisas Carrow, please don't embarrass yourself. You're disgracing Slytherin. That soup is a renowned delicacy—worth ten Galleons a bowl."
Though only eleven, Vegisas perfectly mimicked the arrogance of his elders.
"You half-blood—shut up!"
He huffed angrily. "So you're saying she's rich?"
"Hmph! A Mudblood is still a Mudblood, no matter how much money they have. And talking about wealth in front of the Carrow family?"
He laughed loudly.
"My family has one hundred million Galleons deposited in Gringotts!"
Audrey blinked.
She almost laughed.
Seeing her silence, Vegisas grew bolder.
"Scared now, Mudblood? One hundred million Galleons! Wealth you couldn't imagine in your entire life!"
"VEGISAS CARROW!"
A furious roar thundered from the staff table.
Professor Snape descended like a massive bat, looming over the boy, eyes brimming with lethal intent.
"Have your parents never taught you that Mudblood is a word forbidden at Hogwarts?"
"I—I mean, Professor… she is from the Muggle world, I—"
"Enough," Snape snapped.
"Vegisas Carrow. Insulting a fellow student—Slytherin loses two points. One month of detention. Report to my office after classes."
Snape swept back to the staff table. On the way, he glanced at Audrey, his expression complicated.
His suspicion toward her had faded considerably—especially after last term's Quirrell incident, in which Audrey had played no part.
Still, it was a shame she was exempt from Potions this year. Slytherin had lost many potential points.
Vegisas watched Snape leave, his face twisted with rage. He glared at Audrey and hissed, "Just you wait."
Then he stormed off, walking as if the world owed him obedience.
Audrey turned to Iselin. "What's wrong with him? I've never even met him."
Iselin shook her head. "His mother is a Fawley. She's sisters with Aronia Roll's mother."
"And Aronia's mother went mad after that incident."
"So… his aunt went insane, and he's taking it out on me?"
"I suspect Aronia said something to him."
Audrey sighed. "Unjust disaster. But seriously—how do you know everything?"
Iselin leaned in and whispered, "To avoid disgracing the royal family, understanding one's subjects is a required course."
Indeed—even wizards were, in legal terms, subjects of the Crown.
Audrey finished her meal quietly and returned to her dormitory.
Iselin's intention had been to help her make friends.
Instead, she'd gained nothing but irritation.
Though Audrey knew Vegisas Carrow's school life would soon become miserable—the Audrey Guard was not to be trifled with—
If revenge was within arm's reach, she preferred to take it immediately.
She decisively pulled out a two-way mirror.
"Edmund?"
Audrey spoke calmly.
"A kid named Vegisas Carrow just called me a Mudblood. He also bragged about how rich his family is."
On the other end, Edmund Grindelwald sighed helplessly.
"Alright. I understand. His family will be poor very soon."
Audrey was deeply satisfied with the grandnephew her teacher had arranged for her. He had already resolved countless inconveniences.
"Oh, Audrey," Edmund added, "our people have located Bode Gray. He's with the goblins, currently in Northern Europe. Thoughts?"
"They're probably trying to crack the ancient ruins themselves," Audrey replied lazily. "Have our people keep watch. Ancient ruins aren't that easy."
Thinking of Hogwarts's magic—complex enough to rival a CPU—she shook her head.
"As long as they don't bother me, let them try."