In a foul mood, Audrey walked out of the hospital wing, with Dumbledore following behind her.
"Try not to worry too much, my child. I will think of something," Dumbledore said, doing his best to comfort her. "I have many elderly friends—perhaps they…"
"You are the most powerful white wizard alive, Professor Dumbledore," Audrey interrupted. "If even you can't wake Iseline, I don't believe anyone else has that ability."
"I am not as great as you imagine," Dumbledore replied gently. "In alchemy, I cannot compare to Nicolas. In magical creatures, I fall far short of Newt. In historical interpretation, I am not even a fraction of Bathilda…"
"Alright, alright," Audrey said flatly, shaking her head. "You come up with your solution. I'll use mine. One way or another, I won't let Iseline remain unconscious like this."
Watching Audrey disappear down the corridor, a sharp glint flashed through Dumbledore's wise eyes.
So… it's beginning?
…
…
Audrey did not return to the dormitory immediately. Instead, she went back to the corridor where Iseline had been attacked.
Aside from the suit of armor, there were no portraits here.
Such portrait-less corridors were exceedingly rare in the castle—and that made investigation far more difficult. No witnesses.
What kind of curse had Iseline been struck with?
Audrey searched carefully, examining every brick and stone. Ancient magic echoed everywhere like flowing water—but all of it belonged to the castle itself. None of it was related to the curse.
Suddenly, a chilling, icy, evil voice whispered in her ear.
"The Master is summoning you, young Master. Go to the second floor. Search there. The entrance is there… This is the Master's test for you."
Familiar with the plot, Audrey knew immediately—
This was the Basilisk.
And the "Master" it spoke of…
Recalling Salazar Slytherin's sudden scene-stealing during the Sorting Ceremony, Audrey immediately formed a hypothesis.
Could Iseline's curse be the work of her body's ancient ancestor?
A test?
She hated tests more than anything.
But for Iseline's sake, she had no choice but to go.
Even if the trope was painfully cliché—Iseline was the only friend at school Audrey genuinely acknowledged.
She recalled that night: the girl in armor, trembling, yet still forcing herself to come to her aid…
…
Naturally, Slytherin's first test meant nothing to her.
Because she already knew exactly where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was.
"Momo!"
With a rip, Momo—wearing a shimmering unicorn-hair pillowcase—jumped out of thin air.
"Young Master!"
"Get me some bread."
Chewing as she walked, Audrey headed straight for the abandoned girls' bathroom on the second floor—the one permanently occupied by the ghost Moaning Myrtle. That was the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
"Oh, Audrey!"
Seeing her favorite ghost-catnip, Myrtle eagerly pressed herself against her. "Ah! This feeling is so wonderful!"
Audrey's face darkened. "Get lost, Myrtle. I don't have time for you."
"Just a moment! Just a moment! I never felt this good when I was alive!"
Audrey instantly switched to her unicorn constitution.
Holy aura burst forth.
Myrtle screamed, panicked, and dove headfirst into a toilet stall, splashing water everywhere before vanishing completely.
Audrey walked up to the sink with the small snake carved into its faucet.
"Hiss hiss hiss."
[Open]
The faucet emitted a blinding white light. The sink began to spin rapidly. When it vanished entirely, a massive pipe was revealed beneath it.
Looking at the pipe walls—thick with centuries of grime and sticky unidentified substances—Audrey frowned.
"Flame Ward!"
Blue fire wrapped around her body.
She leapt into the pipe.
Switching to her Dementor constitution, she floated downward—far more suitable for such a narrow space.
The filthy water dripping from the pipe walls evaporated before it could touch her, burned away by the flames.
With no more concerns, Audrey descended rapidly.
The pipes twisted and branched endlessly, but she followed the thickest one without hesitation. After an unknown amount of time, she finally reached the bottom.
Boom!
The Flame Ward ignited accumulated methane gas.
A violent inferno surged through the pipes!
The blue flames completely blocked the shockwave of the explosion. Audrey scratched her head.
She'd been in the wizarding world so long that she'd forgotten basic Muggle common sense…
At the same time, hot steam erupted from multiple sewer outlets throughout Hogwarts, frightening several students.
But this was Hogwarts. No matter how strange something was, it barely warranted reporting to a professor.
Moments later, the methane burned out—but the stench remained.
Centuries of Basilisk waste couldn't be cleansed by a single fire.
The smell was overwhelming.
If a traditional Chinese doctor came here, they'd probably go mad with joy—this place was full of top-grade human yellow and human white…
Or rather—snake yellow and snake white?
Audrey didn't understand Chinese medicine.
But free association helped distract her from the fact that she was literally standing in the Basilisk's shit pit.
The blue flames illuminated the tunnel as she advanced. Animal skeletons littered the ground.
Audrey frowned deeply.
This Basilisk had no table manners.
She didn't believe it carefully stripped flesh from prey and spat out bones.
Which meant these skeletons were… leftovers.
Disgusting. Everywhere.
Calling this place a shit pit was clearly an inspired decision.
The blue flames purified everything, vaporizing anything that made Audrey uncomfortable. The tunnel—already partially cleared by the gas explosion—underwent a second round of cleansing.
She moved forward, leaving a spotless passage behind her.
Rounding a bend, Audrey saw the massive shed skin that had once terrified Ron in the original timeline.
Now it was charred black, with sparks still flickering across it.
Ignoring the enormous Basilisk skin—something Snape might have considered priceless (though who knew whether burnt Basilisk skin still had value?)—Audrey continued onward.
The tunnel twisted endlessly, as if it had no end.
Finally, she reached a wall carved with two entwined serpents. Their eyes were set with flawless emeralds.
Audrey carefully examined the magical echoes within the wall.
After confirming that no magic flowed through the serpents' eyes, she decisively pried out four emeralds, each the size of an egg.
She didn't know where Salazar Slytherin had obtained such gems—but she did know they were hers now.
"Hiss hiss hiss."
[Open]
The blind serpents separated.
The stone wall split down the middle and slid apart, revealing a vast chamber.
And then—
BOOM!
The Chamber exploded.
This was a completely sealed space, filled with what Rowling had described as "thick, green, shimmering mist."
At that concentration—visible to the naked eye—if it didn't explode, what would?
Audrey had no time for regret.
Judging that Flame Ward probably wouldn't withstand this blast, she Apparated away instantly.