"Audrey! Audrey!"
That night, at ten o'clock sharp,
Iselin arrived at Audrey's room with Gemma in tow, shaking her with all their strength in an attempt to wake her.
Yet Audrey—normally extremely alert—was sleeping unusually deeply.
Something was clearly wrong. But Iselin and Gemma had no choice; they had to wake her.
"Audrey! Your gold's been stolen!"
Duang!
Audrey shot upright like a launched missile.
"Who dares steal my gold?!"
Iselin rolled her eyes. "You're finally awake!"
Audrey gasped for breath, heart pounding. Bloody hell—this girl really had nerve. Using that to trick her.
She had nearly risen and cast an Avada Kedavra on reflex.
Yes—Grindelwald had, in fact, secretly taught Audrey all three Unforgivable Curses.
Audrey had mocked him for fearing Dumbledore like a tiger. Grindelwald had snapped back immediately:
"A little brat who hasn't even grown her feathers—what do you know?"
"Iselin," Audrey said darkly, "don't joke about that. I get angry."
"I didn't want to," Iselin replied helplessly. "But nothing else would wake you!"
Audrey steadied herself, suppressing the lingering discomfort of being startled awake.
"What happened? It's not even morning yet."
"Of course not. It's only ten at night."
"Are you insane?" Audrey stared at them. "Or is Slytherin throwing a midnight party?"
"No, Audrey," Gemma Farley said gravely. "The criminal Sirius Black infiltrated Hogwarts and attacked the Gryffindor dormitory."
Audrey waved a hand dismissively.
"That's Gryffindor's problem. What does it have to do with Slytherin?"
"That's an extremely dangerous fugitive!" Gemma raised her voice. "A vicious Dark wizard with countless lives on his hands!"
Audrey rolled her eyes again.
Setting aside the fact that those Muggles had actually been killed by Peter Pettigrew—
Even if all fourteen deaths were pinned on Sirius Black, this so-called "vicious Dark wizard" still hadn't killed as many people as she had.
Counting it up—
the Gray family, the Water Serpent's Fang, goblins…
She was already past twenty.
"Enough. Stop dawdling," Iselin cut in. "The professors ordered everyone to assemble in the Great Hall. We're all sleeping there tonight."
"I'm not going!" Audrey protested. "I can't sleep without my gold!"
...
In the end, Audrey still went along obediently.
As Gemma put it:
"If we don't bring her to the Great Hall, that's our fault. But once she's there, if Audrey leaves—that's the professors' problem."
Not wanting to cause trouble for her friends, Audrey reluctantly made the trip.
The Great Hall had been completely cleared.
The four long house tables were gone—no one knew where the professors had put them.
The floor was covered in sleeping bags, and every student in the school was gathered there.
Audrey and her group were the last to arrive.
Seeing her late entrance, Dumbledore said nothing and simply announced:
"Very well. Everyone is present.
"Earlier tonight, the fugitive Sirius Black entered the Gryffindor dormitory. He was discovered by Ron Weasley and escaped. His current whereabouts are unknown.
"For everyone's safety, you will all rest in the Great Hall tonight.
"I ask the prefects to guard the entrances. The Head Boy and Head Girl will maintain order. Any irregularities are to be reported to me or the professors immediately."
Audrey stared at the sleeping bag assigned to her.
She was utterly speechless.
When she made no move to climb inside, Professor Snape strode over.
"What is it, Miss Astre?" he sneered. "Do you require instruction on how to use a sleeping bag?"
Audrey sighed.
"Professor, is this really necessary? One Sirius Black, and you're acting like this? If Voldemort himself showed up, what would you do then?"
"That is not for you to consider, Astre," Snape snapped, clearly in a foul mood.
"Now—get into your sleeping bag. Immediately. I will not repeat myself."
Audrey looked toward Dumbledore.
In her opinion, the Headmaster's philosophy was fundamentally flawed.
Excessive protection did not produce excellent wizards.
At the first sign of danger, herd all students together and shield them with professors?
Did he think young wizards were chicks?
A Sirius Black without a wand—how many students could he really defeat?
Even simple jinxes—Leg-Lock, Bat-Bogey, Buck-Teeth—would overwhelm him.
Not to mention the upper-year students who already knew advanced spells.
"I need to speak with Professor Dumbledore."
Audrey walked past Snape and straight toward the Headmaster, leaving Snape seething.
"Professor Dumbledore," Audrey said, her voice compressed into a thin thread audible only to him,
"I'm going back to my dormitory to sleep."
Dumbledore knew her quirks well.
He also knew that Sirius Black was no threat to Audrey whatsoever.
"Of course, my child," Dumbledore said gently.
"But with so many students present, your sudden departure may cause… unnecessary administrative difficulties."
If everyone slept in the Hall, no one would complain.
But the moment one person received special treatment, resentment would follow—
even if that person was Audrey Astre.
"Troublesome."
Audrey rolled her eyes, then sat down cross-legged.
She cleared her throat.
Every eye in the Great Hall turned toward her.
"Moonlight ripples upon clear waves,
Lake mist paints a hazy dream.
I long to row away my worries—
Yet fear the night water's chill…"
Her voice was soft and flowing.
Students stopped whispering across sleeping bags and listened quietly.
The resentment of being dragged here was gently washed away by her song.
By the second verse, Audrey subtly wove a Sleep Charm into the melody.
Dumbledore was shocked.
Her spellcraft had reached this level?
The professors were able to resist the enchantment—
All except Gilderoy Lockhart.
The famed Defense Against the Dark Arts professor collapsed face-first onto the floor, falling asleep faster than most students.
The remaining conscious professors stared at Audrey in disbelief.
They had never seen anyone fuse magic directly into song.
This child had exceeded all expectations.
Within moments, not a single student remained awake.
"All right, Professor Dumbledore," Audrey stood.
"Everyone's asleep. May I leave now?"
"Of course, Audrey," Dumbledore said. He had no grounds left to keep her.
"Though… about Fawkes. I'll be quite busy these next few days. I need him to deliver letters."
"You can summon him anytime," Audrey smiled. "I'm not stopping him."
"Though," she added cheerfully, "he's newly married. Probably won't answer your call."
"Professor Dumbledore," Audrey suddenly grinned,
"you're more ruthless than a capitalist. Who works a bird like this?"
"An employee gets married—don't you at least give him honeymoon leave?"
With that, Audrey vanished from the Great Hall in a sharp rip.
"Married…?"
Dumbledore froze.
Fawkes… married?
Which meant—
Audrey possessed not one, but two phoenixes?
"Albus," McGonagall approached, "did you grant Miss Astre Apparition privileges within Hogwarts?"
"No, Minerva," Dumbledore replied calmly.
"She is a prodigy. Hogwarts' anti-Apparition wards cannot restrain her."
"You shouldn't have let her leave!" Snape strode over angrily.
"Black infiltrated Hogwarts—someone must be guiding him! Her insistence on leaving is highly suspicious!"
"No, Severus," Dumbledore said gently.
"You've seen her dormitory."
Snape's expression turned strange.
"Without her… collections," Dumbledore continued,
"she likely can't sleep. She simply—recognizes her bed."
"She doesn't even have classes tomorrow! She can sleep all day!"
Snape realized he had overreacted and hastily found an exit for his pride before storming off.
Damn Potter, he thought. He's made me paranoid.
...
...
Audrey had no idea what sleeping on the cold stone floor of the Great Hall felt like.
All she knew was that she slept straight through until lunch.
Apparently, the previous night's sleep quality had been excellent.
Iselin didn't even come to wake her for breakfast.
"Audrey! Quick—look at the Daily Prophet! Something huge happened!"
Iselin rarely sounded this panicked, instantly piquing Audrey's interest.
"Bigger news than Hogwarts—the 'safest place in the world'—forcing all students to sleep in the Great Hall because of one Dark wizard?"
"Stop joking," Iselin smacked her.
"The Norwegian Ministry of Magic was attacked—massacred! If not for a mysterious individual killing the perpetrator, the entire Ministry might have been wiped out!"
In Audrey's mind flashed the image of the boy who had casually sunk a ship from kilometers away.
Dead?
Good.
Whoever did it—Audrey mentally gave them a thumbs-up.
The two-way mirror grew warm.
"Iselin, go ahead. I need to deal with something."
Iselin paused at the door, turned back, and stared at her in silence.
"Relax," Audrey smiled. "I'll definitely come."
After ushering Iselin out, Audrey pulled out the mirror.
"Edmund, what is it?"
"I think you should come to Heavenly Bank headquarters immediately."
"Why?"
"We have a very interesting guest."
"…Who?"
"Sirius Black."
"Rip."