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Chapter 46 – A Night Visit to Hogwarts
Dumbledore was both amused and exasperated after hearing Audrey's story.
He had seen the ghosts clustering around her during lunch and dinner that day, but he hadn't expected the situation to trouble the girl so badly.
"Headmaster, I saw Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall banishing those ghosts today. They said it was within a professor's authority…"
Audrey looked at Dumbledore with reddened eyes. "Could you give me the same authority?"
Dumbledore spread his hands helplessly. "That won't be possible. This is ancient magic left behind by the four founders when they bound the castle together. Even as Headmaster, I can only act within the rules they established."
He produced a large pile of sweets from somewhere and slid them towards her, motioning for her to help herself before continuing, "Unless you become a Hogwarts professor, I can't grant you that authority. Otherwise—"
Audrey's eyelid twitched. Her attempt to play the victim had failed completely.
"I've noticed that ghosts can't enter the dormitories. Is that true?"
"Yes," Dumbledore replied. "With the exception of four—The Fat Friar, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, the Bloody Baron, and the Grey Lady—who may enter their own House common rooms, no other ghosts are permitted there. Dormitories, professors' offices, the kitchens, and the library are places ghosts cannot enter without a professor's permission."
Audrey nodded. "I understand, Professor Dumbledore."
She stood up and hesitated for a moment before asking, "Could you at least ask them not to enter the Great Hall during mealtimes?"
Dumbledore gave a small nod. "I'll speak with them. I'll ask them to try not to disturb you."
Audrey noticed his wording—try.
That was only natural.
The ghosts listened to the Headmaster and the professors out of respect, but if they chose not to comply, there was very little anyone could do. They were bound to the castle itself—Hogwarts' past made manifest.
She couldn't rely on the Headmaster forever.
"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore."
"Child," Dumbledore said gently, "you can simply call me Professor. 'Headmaster' sounds rather distant, don't you think?"
"Well… Professor Dumbledore," Audrey replied, her spirits too low to manage even a polite smile. "Good night."
"Good night, Audrey."
Crackle.
Audrey vanished from the office.
"…Should I install anti-Apparition wards against students in here?" Dumbledore muttered to himself.
After a moment's thought, he shook his head. "No, that would mean cleaning the office myself. I'll just have to be more careful next time I read a letter."
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Audrey reappeared in her dormitory.
She carefully examined her surroundings.
If, as Dumbledore said, dormitories were off-limits to ghosts, then powerful warding magic must be embedded into the room itself.
And if she could unravel the enchantments on the long tables in the Great Hall, there was no reason she couldn't decipher ghost-repelling magic as well.
Ancient magical echoes clung faintly to the walls—complex runes, interwoven lines, and nodes she didn't recognise.
She studied them for a long time and still couldn't fully understand their structure. For the first time, she felt genuine regret that she hadn't learned more from Nicolas Flamel.
Fortunately, her memory was exceptional. She committed every trace of the magical echoes to mind.
Since Dumbledore had mentioned that professors' offices, the kitchens, and the library were also restricted areas for ghosts, she decided to investigate them one by one.
By comparing the magical echoes in different locations, she might be able to reverse-engineer the spell.
Transforming into an invisible beast, Audrey slipped out of her room.
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The Slytherin common room was lively.
Some students were hunched over homework, others were playing Wizard's Chess, while a few gazed silently through the windows into the depths of the Black Lake.
Audrey carefully avoided them as she passed through the common room and exited.
"Draco, did someone just leave?" Pansy Parkinson asked suddenly.
Draco Malfoy, buried in his parchment, snapped irritably, "Don't distract me, Parkinson. Have you finished today's homework?"
Pansy covered her mouth with a laugh. "Since when does Young Master Malfoy work so hard?"
"Didn't you see Charms class today?" Draco snapped. "That Gryffindor Mudblood was showing off again. We can't let him keep outshining us!"
Pansy was about to reply when a cold voice interrupted her.
"Draco Malfoy. May I have a word?"
Draco looked up to see a sharp-featured older girl standing before him.
"Senior Aronia," he said, recognising Aronia Rohl at once. As members of the Twenty-Eight Sacred Families, they were familiar with one another. "What do you need?"
Aronia flicked her gaze towards Pansy and tilted her chin slightly.
Though the Parkinson family was hardly weaker than the Rohl family, Aronia's presence was overwhelming. Pansy hesitated for only a second before standing up and walking away on her own.
"Draco," Aronia said coolly, "do you know why everyone's been avoiding you lately?"
"…Why?"
He genuinely didn't understand. As the son of a Hogwarts governor and a Malfoy, he shouldn't have been treated this way.
"I heard what you said on the Hogwarts Express," Aronia continued. "That Audrey Astray was a street performer."
Draco's quill slipped from his fingers, splattering ink across the parchment.
He understood immediately.
With Audrey's rising influence, no Slytherin would dare associate with someone who had publicly humiliated her. No one wanted to risk offending her.
"Do you want things to go back to normal?" Aronia asked softly.
Draco nodded without hesitation.
A smile curled across Aronia's lips, slow and triumphant. "It's simple. Ruin Astray's reputation. Once she's discredited, no one will side with a Mudblood."
Her voice was low and persuasive, like a serpent whispering temptation.
"And you, Draco Malfoy, will naturally be welcomed again."
---
Audrey, unaware of everything happening behind her, made her way toward Snape's office.
Why not Apparate?
First, it was too conspicuous.
Second, Hogwarts deserved to be explored properly—and Apparition only worked reliably in places she had already been to.
Along the way, she saw ghosts drifting through corridors, searching for her.
Filch and Mrs Norris patrolled tirelessly.
The Weasley twins crept towards the kitchens with practised stealth.
None of it concerned her.
Snape's office lay at the far end of the corridor opposite the Potions classroom.
Audrey had just begun examining the ancient magical echoes on the wall when the door flew open.
Severus Snape strode out, black robes billowing.
Some detection enchantment must have been triggered.
"I know you're here," Snape said coldly, his gaze sweeping the corridor. "Come out. Don't make me hunt you down."
Audrey didn't move.
After peering briefly into the future, she confirmed it—he was bluffing.
She focused entirely on memorising the runic structures etched into the magic, completely ignoring Snape's threats.
I see you!
I know you're here, you little brat!
Old bat. Liar.
Once the patterns were fully imprinted in her mind, Audrey silently withdrew.
With her control over her body, even a footstep was optional.
Next stop—
The kitchens.
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