Audrey cursed her bad luck. As soon as she left the library, she wanted to Apparate back to her dormitory.
But suddenly, she saw a familiar figure on the first floor, sneaking along the wall.
'Draco Malfoy?'
Audrey immediately followed. He was her cousin, after all. It wouldn't be good if he got caught by Filch on the first day of school.
But she watched as Draco turned left and right, eventually ending up at Filch's caretaker office.
'What is this kid doing? Is he afraid he won't get detention? Is he trying to beard the lion in his den?'
Audrey was bewildered.
'Oh, well. I'll keep watch for him. If Filch suddenly comes back, I can delay him a bit.'
Standing in the corridor, Audrey's thoughts drifted. Running into Voldemort so early was something she had not expected at all.
'Report it to Dumbledore? Only a fool would do that. When I chatted with Dumbledore before, I only mentioned the strong dark magic aura on the back of Quirrell's head; I didn't expose Voldemort. I had even achieved the best possible outcome: Dumbledore telling her not to interfere! What she wanted was neutrality! Neutrality! Helping neither side, staying far away from the whirlpool!'
While she was pondering, Draco came out of Filch's room, looking extremely sneaky.
'This kid... if he weren't a Malfoy, he'd definitely be a Gryffindor! Stealing from Filch's room... I'd call you the sixth-bravest in Hogwarts!'
... ...
The second day of the new term.
Audrey arrived at the Great Hall, dejected.
After returning last night, she had carefully studied the ancient magic echoes in several locations.
Although her memory of the library was incomplete, it was close enough. After comparison, Audrey found she couldn't determine which line was for repelling ghosts.
Because the magic lines in Hogwarts were as chaotic as the wires behind a tech-nerd's computer!
Trying to find the functional block she wanted by comparison was nearly impossible!
"Good morning, Audrey!"
Audrey looked up, saw it was Isaline, and replied, "Morning, Isaline."
Isaline sat three seats away from Audrey—she had no choice, it was too cold around Audrey, who was haunted by ghosts.
"Did you sleep well last night?" Isaline asked. "Was it okay, your first night sleeping in a Hogwarts bed?"
"Of course. I'm not picky about beds."
"..."
Breakfast wasn't heavily flavored, so naturally, it wasn't poisoned by the ghosts. Audrey finally managed to eat a hot meal.
Last night, Dumbledore had summoned the four house ghosts and expressed his wish for them to stay away from Miss Audrey Astley.
However, the pure magic emanating from Audrey was more attractive to them than drugs to an addict!
How could they give up their pleasure over a few words from the old man?
It was clearly September, but Audrey felt like she had entered a harsh winter three months earlier than everyone else.
She sighed deeply. It seemed that in the future, she could only eat in her dormitory. She'd have to trouble Momo to deliver it directly!
More and more students arrived in the Great Hall, and it was almost full.
Just then, Quirinus Quirrell began to walk back and forth between the four long tables.
"Th-this, th-this is a n-new ex-exorcism ritual I've l-learned. Fr-from, fr-from Ja-Japanese m-magic..."
Quirrell explained as he moved. The strong smell of garlic forced the students to cover their noses. It was killing their appetites.
Fortunately, Professor Quirrell only walked two laps before returning to the staff table, making the young wizards sigh in relief.
Audrey didn't even glance at Quirrell. She believed her Metamorphmagus abilities couldn't fool Voldemort's perception—he had recognized her yesterday even when she was invisible!
'Whatever. Exposing Audrey's identity to Voldemort was no different from exposing Hydrus's identity to Dumbledore. In three years, I'll be gone anyway!'
... ...
After Quirrell finished his meal, he hurried back to his office.
The Master's anger was too intense; he could hardly bear it.
He rushed into the office, closed the door, and activated the soundproofing charm.
Voldemort's furious voice immediately filled the room.
"Damn Grays! Damn Grays!"
His voice was so ferocious it seemed capable of destroying the world. "That is my daughter! My pure-blood daughter! You dare force her to run off to the Muggle world to be a singer!!"
At his instruction, Quirrell had wandered the Great Hall precisely to find Hydrus.
Because Hydrus Lestrange was not among the school's students.
Although he didn't know how Hydrus had fooled the Book of Admittance, she clearly hadn't used her real name (the name issue is explained later).
So Voldemort wanted to confirm which student Hydrus had transformed into.
He never expected that the sixteen-year-old Muggle singer was his own daughter!
This was something Voldemort absolutely could not tolerate! 'His daughter, the daughter of the great Dark Lord, was singing in the Muggle world!'
'And the Gray family, who caused all this, must die!'
"Master, Master," Quirrell tried to placate him. "We should focus on getting the Philosopher's Stone first..."
He said cautiously: "Once you have the Stone and your body is restored, won't the fate of the Gray family be yours to decide with a single word?"
"No, no!" Voldemort's rage was unquenchable. "This weekend! This weekend, I want the Gray family to become history!"
"All Grays must die!"
... ...
Draco Malfoy felt some regret.
Why had he, in a moment of hot-headedness, listened to Miss Rolle's suggestion?
'Give Astley Amortentia, make her pursue the old and ugly Filch... that would indeed make her reputation plummet.'
[The original book doesn't explain how Amortentia precisely targets someone. There are many theories online. This book will use a method similar to Polyjuice Potion, using a body part of the intended target as an ingredient to achieve precise targeting.]
Yes, he had added Filch's hair to the Amortentia.
His eyes darted about. He walked up to Audrey, hesitant, his voice as quiet as a mosquito:
"Astley, I misspoke the day before yesterday," he handed Audrey a bottle of juice. "This is my apology. Top-quality Serpentscale fruit juice. Please accept it and forgive me!"
Serpentscale fruit was a rare fruit, only found in the territory of the former Swamp Hags. It was sought after by wizards for its clear, sweet taste and its ability to clear the mind.
Audrey smiled. "You're very thoughtful."
Serpentscale fruit... Audrey had eaten it as a child. Er... Mr. Voldemort had gotten it for her. It really did taste good.
Opening the bottle cap, Audrey took a sniff.
'Hm?
Why does this juice smell like Galleons?
Galleon-flavored juice?
Do Galleons have a smell? Audrey, who had slept on Galleons for five years, could tell you: Yes!
And Audrey, who had self-studied Potions for ten years, immediately had the name of a potion pop into her head.
Amortentia! Amortentia's scent varies from person to person; people only smell what they like most.
For example, Harry smelled a fragrance at the Burrow, which was actually Ginny's floral scent. And Hermione smelled parchment, grass, and... Ron's hair!'
'Holy crap! My own little cousin is trying to harm me!
I was even keeping watch for you last night!
Wait, last night!
Draco Malfoy went into Filch's room last night!
Holy crap!
Holy! Crap!
Holy mother of crap!
By Merlin's grandma!
Malfoy, you son of a...!'
Thinking that she had almost been made to fall madly in love with Filch, Audrey immediately broke out in goosebumps.
Audrey's gaze instantly turned cold, as cold as Malfoy was currently, enjoying the cold air-conditioning from the ghosts.
It was the kind of cold that washes over you from head to toe.
'Draco Malfoy is only a first-year. The likelihood of him carrying Amortentia is minuscule.
So he was instigated.
The only one in Slytherin who's openly against her is...'
Audrey glanced toward the Slytherin table. Arjonia Rolle was, sure enough, paying close attention to them.
'Heh, knocking your tooth out didn't teach you a lesson!
Fine, then. I'll return the favor in kind!'
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]