"Momo, aren't you coming down?"
After descending four or five steps, Audrey looked back and called to Momo.
Momo stood there awkwardly, shaking her head. "This is Lady Hufflepuff's trial for Little Mistress. Momo cannot go down."
Nodding slightly, Audrey turned, took out her wand, lit the tip, and delved deeper.
It was a long, winding passage that seemed to have no end.
The moss underfoot was damp and slippery. The slightest carelessness risked a fall.
"Why did these ancient people dig their basements so deep?"
Audrey complained as she walked for more than ten minutes, finally arriving at a stone chamber.
The stone chamber was the size of two Transfiguration classrooms. As soon as Audrey entered, the torches lit up.
Several unadorned stone pillars supported the huge room. Yes, unadorned. The entire room was unadorned.
No decorations, no carvings.
Only a cauldron in the center of the room.
The large cauldron was set over a pile of wood. As Audrey approached, a line of golden text floated up before her.
"O thou who comes after, only by making a satisfactory dish can you enter my vault and obtain abundant knowledge!"
The next moment, a projection of the Hogwarts kitchen pantry appeared in the huge chamber.
'Well, well, spatial displacement!'
Audrey's attitude toward the vault was actually one of indifference. If it was too much trouble, she would have just left.
But since she was already here, it felt wrong not to do something.
So she summoned eggs and tomatoes and, in a flash, casually made some scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
When the dish was complete, the golden text appeared again.
"Excellent creativity, a perfect combination. Hufflepuff's vault of knowledge opens for you!"
'Alright, the ancient English diet really was terrible. Confirmed.'
The roomful of ingredients disappeared, and a portal appeared where the cauldron had been.
A twisted oak doorframe, verdant green leaves, and a curtain of magic shining like glass.
Audrey stepped in, but behind the door was not some secret room, but a space as vast as the universe. At this moment, she was suspended in the cosmos, as if wandering among the stars.
A meteor flew straight toward her at high speed. She wanted to dodge, but there was no purchase anywhere. Unable to switch to her flying constitution in time, she could only watch helplessly as the "meteor" flew into her forehead.
The next moment, she felt as if her head would explode from the knowledge!
The influx of vast knowledge... even her magical body, steeped in magic for sixteen years, couldn't withstand it.
In just a few seconds, she fainted.
...
Audrey didn't know how much time had passed when she opened her eyes. She found herself lying on a table in the Hogwarts kitchen, surrounded by a group of house-elves, looking at her with worry.
"Little Mistress, you're finally awake."
"Urgh," Audrey sat up, rubbing her throbbing head. "How long was I out?"
"It's already eleven o'clock, Miss Astley."
"Do you need me to take you back to your dormitory, Little Mistress?"
"No, Momo," Audrey shook her head, feeling like she could manage. "I still have things to do. I'm not going back yet."
"Alright then, Little Mistress. I'll go make your bed!"
Leaving the kitchen, Audrey headed for the Great Hall, sorting through the new knowledge in her mind as she walked.
The bulk of the knowledge was Plant Magic, Household Magic, and a branch of Household Magic, Cooking Magic.
Household Magic, Cooking Magic... these were not much different from today's popular magic, but there was a lot of it, including many lost household spells.
But Plant Magic was true ancient magic. Without the second magical circuit, it would be difficult to use, and its power would be worlds apart.
So-called Plant Magic was the control of plant growth.
For example, it could make a seed instantly grow into a towering tree, or control magical plants like Devil's Snare.
Audrey thought about it. This magic was actually very powerful. It could make potions mature quickly, but she didn't need it...
'I'm going to be a rich woman sleeping on Galleons! Who wants to do farm work!'
Thinking this, she arrived in front of the library.
Some might wonder how she found the library so easily this time.
The answer was that Hufflepuff's legacy included a map of Hogwarts!
Although it didn't include the method for controlling the ancient magic of Hogwarts Castle, just having this map was a huge help to Audrey!
...
Suddenly, Filch came walking toward Audrey from inside the library.
Audrey took two steps back, clearing the doorway, and passed Filch. He was completely unaware, but she was spotted by Mrs. Norris.
"Meow~"
Mrs. Norris walked two circles around the invisible Audrey. Filch asked strangely, "My sweet, what's wrong with you?"
'My sweet?'
Audrey didn't quite get it. 'What kind of pet name is that?'
Mrs. Norris meowed twice at Filch. Filch took two steps forward and picked her up. "You must be exhausted. It's alright, we'll just walk two more rounds and go back."
Mrs. Norris's gaze followed Audrey as she walked into the library. She meowed anxiously twice more.
Filch, seeing her meowing into the library, comforted her: "That's Professor Quirrell in there. It's fine. He's a professor."
Filch walked away, hunched over, muttering softly: "But Professor Quirrell seems different this year than in the past, so jittery..."
Audrey didn't hear the conversation between Filch and Mrs. Norris; she had no interest in it. This led to her getting a shock when she ran straight into Quirrell.
Quirinus Quirrell darted out from behind a bookshelf, less than half a meter from Audrey!
Fortunately, her body control was extremely strong. She turned sideways, put her left foot out, and stopped her momentum.
But it still unavoidably kicked up a small breeze.
"Why is there a breeze in the library?" Quirrell muttered to himself. "That's very strange."
"Fool!" A high-pitched voice sounded from the back of Quirrell's head. "Someone is here!"
Audrey was alarmed and was about to turn and flee, when she heard the high-pitched voice suddenly speak: "Is that my little Hydrus?"
Audrey's footsteps stopped. Her heart was in turmoil. 'I haven't even shown my face, how does he know me!'
"No need to hide," Voldemort's voice softened. "I know you're here. It's been almost ten years since we've seen each other, hasn't it?"
Audrey turned around, undid her Metamorphmagus transformation, and also her invisibility. Facing Voldemort, she knew very well that even in this state, she was far from his match.
"Yes, it has been ten years," Hydrus Lestrange said calmly, ignoring Quirrell's shocked expression. "My Lord."
Voldemort wasn't surprised at all that Hydrus recognized him. After all, "my little Hydrus" was his exclusive name for her.
"No, child,"
To Quirrell, Voldemort's voice was unprecedentedly gentle, although to those unfamiliar with him, it still sounded arrogant, mad, and fierce.
"You don't need to call me 'My Lord.' Didn't your mother tell you? You are, in fact, my daughter."
Her inner actress taking over, Hydrus put on an expression of extreme shock. "What? You are... you are..."
"Yes, I am your father!"
A huge bombshell. Even Quirrell was stunned.
Hydrus's mind raced. Running into Voldemort on the first day of school... this was the worst possible scenario.
'He recognized me, so there's no danger. Even if an ordinary student had been caught, it would be a "Obliviate" at most. Voldemort wouldn't expose himself this early.'
'But things will be very troublesome, because Voldemort has wanted me to fight Dumbledore since I was a child!'
'What to do, what to do?'
'If he asks me to steal the Philosopher's Stone, or to steal unicorn blood, how should I handle it?'
'I can't think of a way for now. I'll just stall with acting!'
Her inner melodrama heroine immediately took over. Hydrus shook her head repeatedly, taking a few steps back in shock.
"How is this possible? How can this be possible?"
"If you're my father, then who is Rodolphus Lestrange?"
"No! I don't believe it! I don't believe it!"
"It's true, child. I am indeed your father. If not for our blood connection, I wouldn't have recognized you at once,"
Voldemort said. "I know you've had a hard time all these years, even being driven out of Lestrange Manor by that group of traitors, the Grays."
"But it doesn't matter. What they've done to you, Father will help you get it back!"
Hydrus understood several things in an instant.
First, Voldemort knew the Grays had driven her out.
Second, Voldemort didn't know she was hiding in the Muggle world under the alias Audrey Astley—of course, arrogant as he was, why would he pay attention to a Muggle singer?
Hydrus quickly made a judgment. Right now, it was most advantageous to act like a stubborn daughter who refused to accept her father!
"No need," Hydrus said. "The mere Gray family... I will deal with them myself."
"Spirited!" Voldemort praised. "Just like my daughter!"
Hydrus's voice was still cold, with a tremor: "Is there anything else? If not, I'll go back and rest."
Hydrus played the part of a daughter abandoned by her father for over a decade—resentful, aggrieved, stubborn!
Her performance deserved at least an eight out of ten.
Her cold attitude didn't anger Voldemort. Instead, he felt her reaction was completely normal.
"Go, go. If you have any trouble at school, come find Quirrell. He can help you."
"Got it!" Hydrus turned to leave, but then stopped. Her act wasn't over.
"What's wrong with your body?"
'A moderate amount of concern could lower Voldemort's guard.'
Voldemort chuckled: "It's a small matter, just a little accident. I will recover soon. Don't worry about Father!"
Hydrus nodded, then turned invisible again and disappeared from the library.
"Master, she..."
"She is indeed my daughter."
"Do you really want me to help her? Won't doing so at school risk exposure?"
"Hmph," Voldemort snorted coldly. Quirrell's whole body began to ache, his muscles spasming. He bit his jaw to stop himself from crying out. Voldemort's voice sounded: "She is an important piece in my game against Dumbledore. I missed ten years of fostering a relationship with her. Now, I must make up for it."
He continued: "Her power... is worth me playing the part of a good father."
"She... must become a sharp sword in my hand!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]