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Chapter 61 – Halloween Night, When All the Little Devils Come Out
Quirrell's collapse instantly threw the Great Hall into chaos.
Celestina Warbeck rose from the Gryffindor table and shook her head as she looked at the panicked expressions of the younger generation.
Kids these days really had no courage. Back in her time, the moment Gryffindors heard there was a troll, they would have charged straight at it without hesitation.
Dumbledore raised his wand, and purple smoke burst forth, spreading through the hall. The magical display quickly caught the students' attention and calmed them.
After all, they had Albus Dumbledore, the greatest white wizard of the age. What was there to fear?
"Prefects," Dumbledore said in a steady, commanding voice, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately."
The prefects moved at once. Students from all four Houses began filing out of the Great Hall in orderly lines.
As Audrey watched the Hufflepuff group pass by, she spotted two small figures with hair the colour of tomatoes mixed with eggs—one of them sporting a particularly vivid red head.
She smiled faintly.
After tonight, Hermione had finally fully integrated into her little circle.
Still, Audrey had no interest in following them to see how things unfolded. Her attention was fixed elsewhere—on Granda Chitock, who had quietly blended into the Slytherin group and was heading towards the dungeons.
Among everyone present, Granda was the one person Audrey absolutely could not afford to lose.
After all—
Granda still owed her three thousand Galleons.
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The group arrived at the Slytherin common room. At some point, Granda slipped away unnoticed, heading deeper into the castle.
Audrey shifted into her invisible beast form and followed closely.
What exactly was Granda trying to do?
She wandered through twisting corridors, passed two concealed doors, and finally stopped before a bare stone wall.
Audrey dared not approach too closely. She could only catch fragments of Granda's low, intermittent voice.
"…Professor… look at you…"
"…unstable… must persist… we need to strengthen it…"
Only then did Audrey realise—
Granda was speaking to a portrait.
"Audrey," Granda suddenly said, her voice calm but sharp, "you can come out now. You've followed me long enough."
Audrey's heart tightened.
How had she seen through the invisibility of her beast form?
Since she had already been discovered—and even called out by name—there was no point hiding any longer. Quietly retreating now would only look suspicious.
Audrey dispelled her transformation and revealed herself, smiling politely.
"Senior Chitock," she said, "what brings you here?"
Granda beckoned her closer. "I should be asking you that. Why were you following me?"
Audrey stopped three metres away, refusing to move another step.
"Because you still haven't paid me the three thousand Galleons you owe me."
Granda had considered dozens of possible reasons for being followed—but debt collection had not been one of them.
"…I see."
She flicked her wrist, and a parchment letter drifted lightly into Audrey's hand.
"With this authorisation," Granda said, "you can withdraw three thousand Galleons from my Gringotts vault."
Audrey blinked. "No cash?"
Granda shook her head. "What era do you think this is? Carrying cash? Three thousand Galleons would take several heavy money bags. That's terribly inelegant—positively nouveau riche."
Audrey: …
I have no proof, but I strongly suspect you're insulting me.
"Alright," Granda continued, "now that you've got what you came for, hurry along. Don't interrupt me while I'm reminiscing about my student days."
Reminiscing?
If Audrey hadn't overheard those broken fragments earlier, she might have genuinely believed Granda was here for a secret romantic rendezvous.
Still—everyone had their secrets.
She was only planning to lie low for three years before disappearing anyway. No need to pry.
Before leaving, Audrey glanced once more at the lone portrait on the wall.
It depicted an elderly wizard with silver-grey hair.
He looked uncannily like the father from Jackie Chan Adventures, only with a more restrained hairstyle.
Audrey recognised him instantly.
Professor Fig, a Hogwarts professor from over a century ago—the mentor of the protagonist in Hogwarts Legacy. A man who had sacrificed himself to seal away ancient magic.
A truly admirable wizard.
Granda Chitock knew Professor Fig?
But logically speaking, Professor Fig had been dead for nearly eighty years by the time Granda was born.
Could it be that Granda had been an isolated student and used to come here for counselling?
That didn't match her cheerful, commanding presence on stage at all.
"Audrey," Granda called, "what are you waiting for?"
"Oh—nothing," Audrey replied immediately. "I'm leaving now."
She turned and walked away without hesitation.
She firmly believed in one rule:
The fewer secrets you know, the longer you live.
Besides, she was a Slytherin—not a Gryffindor.
Goodbye, senior.
She left without waiting for Granda's reply.
Granda chuckled softly and turned to the portrait.
"Professor Fig," she said, "what do you think of this girl?"
"She's far cleverer than you were back then," the portrait replied calmly.
"Mulph."
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Audrey returned to her dormitory using hidden passages and concealment charms.
Granda Chitock was no ordinary witch.
But what did that have to do with her?
She scattered Galleons across her bed, happily burying herself in the pile, then picked up a novel to pass the time.
Feeling something was missing, she snapped her fingers.
Momo appeared instantly, offering her a glass of freshly squeezed juice.
This—this was the life she wanted.
If everything could be done for her, why would she ever want to go adventuring?
Eating hot pot and singing songs—wasn't that perfect?
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Deep within a hidden passageway of Hogwarts.
Bode Grey was furious.
"Isn't Hogwarts supposed to be the safest place in the wizarding world?" he snapped.
"How did a troll get inside?"
"Audrey Astray has already gone back to her common room!" someone reported anxiously.
"How are we supposed to capture her now?"
Bode Grey and the remaining members of the Grey family, along with their Hydra's Fang subordinates, were all wrapped in white sheets—disguised like students playing Halloween pranks.
The plan had been to use the chaos to abduct Audrey.
But the sudden incident had completely derailed everything.
If they missed Halloween, they would lose their cover. A group of unfamiliar adult wizards roaming the school would be far too conspicuous.
Alan Ash spoke up hesitantly. "What if we wait until midnight and grab her from the dormitory?"
"That's right," another Grey chimed in. "Alan knows the password to the Slytherin common room."
"The only problem," someone added, "is that boys aren't allowed into the girls' dormitories."
Bode Grey's expression eased slightly.
"A restriction like that is no obstacle to me," he said coolly.
"Alan—do you know which room Audrey Astray lives in?"
Alan froze.
He had attended Hogwarts for years and had never once set foot inside the girls' dormitory.
How could he possibly know?
Useless. All of them—utterly useless.
Bode sighed inwardly.
It seemed the infiltration would have to become a raid.
Eliminate all witnesses.
Then it would still count as a perfect infiltration.
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Meanwhile, Severus Snape sat grimly in his office, applying potion to his wounds.
The injuries left by the three-headed dog were not easily healed.
The troll incident was clearly a diversion.
The real target could only be the Philosopher's Stone.
Hidden beneath the trapdoor on the fourth-floor corridor, guarded by Fluffy, lay the Stone.
Unfortunately, Hagrid's dog had shown no respect whatsoever for Snape's authority as a professor—and attacked him without hesitation.
Three heads.
No warning.
Utterly unreasonable.
As if that weren't enough, that infuriating child Harry Potter had actually confronted a troll head-on.
If the boy died, how was Snape supposed to face Lily in the afterlife?
Gryffindor.
The bullies of his childhood were Gryffindors.
The three-headed dog belonged to a Gryffindor.
And now the child giving him endless headaches was also a Gryffindor.
Therefore—
Starting tomorrow, Gryffindor would suffer double deductions.
What Snape didn't know was that the student he suspected most—Audrey Astray—had not appeared anywhere near the fourth-floor corridor or the dungeons.
Could it be that she truly had no ulterior motives?
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At the same time, Audrey Astray was already fast asleep.
In her dream, she bought a small island, built a castle, and slept soundly atop an enormous pile of gold.
Laughing happily, she rolled over—
Several Galleons fell from the bed and clinked onto the floor.
The sound woke little tiger( her cat).
He opened his one good eye, glanced at Audrey smiling in her sleep, then shook his head.
Just as he was about to fall asleep again, he heard faint, unusual noises from outside.
It was half past midnight.
…Were there still little wizards wandering around at this hour?
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