Chapter 51: The Eloquent Audrey
The Slytherin hourglass fluctuated like the stock market—rising one moment, crashing the next—leaving the young wizards utterly bewildered.
Still, classes had to be attended.
Over the next two days, Audrey was officially exempted from Astronomy, History of Magic, and Charms.
Astronomy was simple: her memory was absurd. Star charts? She'd memorised them long ago.
Charms needed no explanation at all. The instructor was Grindelwald himself. With nothing but raw magical control, he possessed combat power equivalent to three Professor Flitwicks combined. Teaching fifth-years with him present was pure dimensional suppression.
As for History of Magic—Dumbledore personally forced her exemption.
Professor Binns would cling to her every time she attended class, circling endlessly, refusing to read from the book, droning on emotionally for once in his undead existence.
She had actually tried to exempt Defence Against the Dark Arts as well.
Quirrell had refused.
Audrey sighed inwardly.
Definitely Voldemort's idea.
But honestly—Quirrell, what is with that fatherly gaze?
Believe it or not, the thing on the back of your head would beat you senseless.
---
It was Friday.
After successfully dodging Muggle Studies, Audrey was stopped in front of the Great Hall by Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley.
She had been eating in her dormitory for the past two days, but Isabel's insistence had finally dragged her out today.
She just hadn't expected to be intercepted by three enthusiastic fans.
"Audrey!" Harry said excitedly. "Hagrid invited us to his hut this afternoon. Would you like to come?"
Hermione quickly added, "Rubeus Hagrid—the gamekeeper. The tall man with the beard. You saw him at the welcoming feast!"
Audrey, of course, knew Hagrid.
She'd wanted to visit for a long time—not just because Hagrid was a hidden billionaire at Hogwarts, but because she'd always wanted an excuse to explore the Forbidden Forest and its magical creatures.
Of course, wanting and doing were two very different things.
But now—
Invited by The trio themselves.
Perfect.
"All right," she nodded. "What time?"
"Three o'clock!"
The moment she agreed, the three of them lit up.
Hermione hadn't even been on the original invitation list, but Ron—reasoning that Audrey seemed closer to Hermione—had dragged her along despite his deep, instinctive dislike of this overachieving know-it-all.
And so, by a twist of fate, the trio was assembled early—because of Audrey.
---
When they arrived at Hagrid's hut just after three, Audrey was already waiting outside.
The pumpkins in the small garden were thriving, clearly being cultivated for Halloween two months later. Hagrid had obviously put a lot of care into them.
A massive crossbow and a pair of rubber boots hung outside the hut. The crossbow was enormous—but in Hagrid's hands, it would probably look like a toy.
Harry knocked.
The door cracked open, revealing a face that was more beard than skin.
"Wait a moment!" Hagrid said hurriedly. "Back! Fang!"
Audrey watched with amusement as Hagrid ushered them inside while dragging Fang away by the collar.
The hut wasn't luxurious, but the hams and pheasants hanging from the rafters and the bubbling pot gave it a lively, homely feel—though the smell was… challenging.
The moment Fang was released, he ignored Ron completely and bounded straight toward Audrey.
Instead of knocking her over, he stopped obediently, sat down, tongue lolling, tail wagging like a propeller, eyes shining expectantly.
"Oh!" Hagrid said in surprise. "This is Miss Audrey Astray. Fang's never liked anyone this much."
He rubbed his hands together. "And—I really like your songs. Especially The Forest Dweller. Absolutely brilliant!"
Audrey scratched Fang's chin and smiled politely. "Thank you, Hagrid."
Harry began introductions.
"This is Ron."
"Oh! Another Weasley," Hagrid said cheerfully while pouring tea. "Your two older brothers give me no end of trouble. Took half my strength just to keep 'em out of the Forbidden Forest!"
Ron laughed awkwardly.
"And this is Hermione."
"I've heard of you!" Hagrid said happily, placing rock cakes on the table. "They say Gryffindor's got a witch more Ravenclaw than Ravenclaw. Professor McGonagall must be proud—she was the same at your age!"
He gestured for everyone to sit, then added regretfully, "Shame Audrey went to Slytherin."
Ron reacted instantly. "Exactly! The Sorting Hat must be senile! How could Audrey be a Slytherin?"
Hermione asked worriedly, "No one's bullying you, are they?"
Audrey picked up a rock cake and bit into it.
Crunch.
"Fortunately," she said calmly while chewing, "my singing career helps."
Hagrid slammed his thigh. "They're trying to ride your fame, those crafty little snakes!"
Audrey swallowed. "Hagrid, I am a Slytherin."
"Oh—right. Sorry. Not you."
Seeing Audrey eat the rock cake without hesitation, the other three followed suit.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Their expressions froze.
Was this… stone?
Audrey calmly picked up another and ate it.
The three stared in awe.
Is she… incredibly eloquent?
"Why aren't you eating?" Hagrid asked warmly. "They're delicious!"
Aside from the rock cakes, the visit was delightful.
They laughed, chatted, and listened to Hagrid rant about Filch. When he heard about Arjunia Roll's confession, his grin was wider than a naan.
And when Slytherin's point loss came up, Hagrid was so happy he nearly danced—completely unaware that Audrey had quietly added more points than they'd lost.
When Snape and the Gringotts incident were mentioned, Hagrid still took the opposite side of Harry.
Audrey said nothing.
Main plotlines were not her business.
"Hagrid," she asked casually before leaving, "do you have any unicorn hair?"
"Course!" Hagrid nodded. "They shed every year."
"May I have some? I'd like to knit a jumper."
Hagrid rummaged around and produced two thick bundles of unicorn tail hair and some mane.
Ron stared, dumbfounded.
That much unicorn hair was worth a fortune.
Poverty had limited his imagination.
Audrey accepted it, then said, "In return, I'll help your pumpkins grow."
"…Pumpkins?"
Before anyone could react, Audrey raised her wand.
Ancient magic—plant magic, inherited from Hufflepuff.
Her second magic circuit surged, magic flowing like liquid silver.
Under the starlight, the pumpkins expanded rapidly, growing larger and larger.
"Merlin's beard!" Hagrid gasped. "I thought they were hopeless this year! Now they'll break records!"
Audrey stopped.
The largest pumpkin reached Hagrid's stomach—yet still unripe, vibrant and young.
"Is that Transfiguration?" Harry asked.
"No!" Hermione exclaimed. "This isn't Transfiguration!"
"Godric's beard," Hagrid whispered. "Only Lady Hufflepuff herself was said to do magic like this. Audrey—you should've been in Hufflepuff!"
Audrey only smiled.
"Don't forget to feed them well," she said, waving. "I'm off. See you!"
She vanished.
Ron sighed. "Why didn't she walk back with us?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "She's a Slytherin. People would talk."
Ron snorted. "You think you're clever? She's annoying."
---
Had Audrey returned to the castle?
Of course not.
Since she was already here…
The Forbidden Forest awaited.
Come on, she thought cheerfully.
All you adorable magical creatures—hand over your extraordinary abilities.
---