Stingy, she is just too stingy!
I used to think Rowena Ravenclaw was just a woman of few words, but I never expected her most prominent trait would be her extreme stinginess!
Audrey had obtained full authority over Hogwarts Castle and was now officially its master; however, when it came to the Ravenclaw inheritance, she only received the knowledge regarding alchemy puppets.
Seeing Audrey's disdainful gaze, Ravenclaw spoke a long sentence for once:
"All my knowledge is left in the library. You want it? Go and get it yourself!"
Audrey rolled her eyes and stopped paying attention to Ravenclaw—did she want to start some 'Great Era of Knowledge'?
Audrey really just wanted to seal away that annoying pest Gryffindor right now.
However, Godric Gryffindor had long since merged with the castle itself. Sealing Godric would mean Hogwarts would lose many functions—including temperature control and the magic supply in the castle.
Audrey, feeling as disgusted as if she had swallowed a fly, held her nose and set a new rule—a radius of one hundred meters around herself was now a Godric Gryffindor-free zone!
Hmph, let's see if I can't deal with you, you old ghost!
...
...
The O.W.L. exams were plain and unremarkable.
As a major benefactor who had personally stepped in and overturned the original system, it would have been far too embarrassing if Audrey didn't pass.
Twelve 'O's were the grades Audrey turned in for her second O.W.L. exams.
Voldemort's curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position didn't seem to have taken effect, as Audrey entered the summer break safely; Snape, who had covered classes for three grades, only ended up with a heavy cold.
This suddenly gave Dumbledore confidence again—the confidence to successfully hire a professor for the next semester!
"Audrey, when do you plan to go to Ukraine?"
Isaline asked Audrey before boarding the train.
"I don't know," replied Audrey, who had been forcibly dragged along to see her off. "It depends on my concert schedule. You have no idea, my Muggle fans are going absolutely crazy waiting!"
"That's true," Isaline nodded. "Being cooped up in the dormitory with you these past few days, I almost forgot you're a popular star!"
"Alright, alright, hurry up and get on the train! When everything is arranged, I'll send you a letter!"
"Don't you dare forget! I'll be waiting for your news!"
"Fine, I got it! Definitely, definitely!"
Watching Isaline board the Hogwarts Extra Slow, Audrey disappeared from the platform with a 'crack'.
...
...
Norway.
Moster Island, west of the city of Bergen.
Wind and snow raged together.
At the foot of a mountain, by the edge of a dense forest, stood a solitary small stone house.
Faint black smoke rose from the chimney on the roof, indicating that someone lived inside.
From far away, coming from the direction of the harbor, a man and a woman were walking toward the small house.
It was Arjonia Filch (Wait, Rolle) and Alan Ash.
They carried supplies on their backs, trudging forward with every step sinking deep into the snow.
After a long while, they reached the house.
Shivering, they pushed open the door.
As soon as they entered, they quickly brushed off the snowflakes on their bodies.
The firewood in the fireplace was burning brightly, and the warm environment made both of them exhale a long, simultaneous sigh of relief.
"Did you buy the supplies?"
In a chair by the window that was stained black with oil sat an old man with a broken leg and only half a face.
"We bought them, Mr. Gray," Arjonia answered cautiously. "It went quite smoothly; we didn't run into anyone from the Norwegian Ministry of Magic."
Bode Gray nodded and gently patted the sleeping child in his arms.
"Come here, take care of your child yourself." He handed the infant, who was less than a year old, to Arjonia. She took him with a look of joy, as Bode Gray asked again, "Is our bounty notice still active?"
Arjonia's heart was entirely focused on the child, so Alan Ash answered, "Yes, sir. The bounty notices for both you and Thetis are still there."
"Damn it! Magni has clearly been defeated, so why is the Norwegian Ministry of Magic still under his control!"
Alan sighed. "It can't exactly be called a defeat. That mysterious woman was also quite badly injured. After all, Magni is the biological son of that Thor, the God of Thunder. His recovery speed is surely greater than us humans."
Bode Gray said no more and stood up with difficulty, heading toward the inner room.
Upon entering the inner room, the pungent stench of decay made Bode frown.
There were four beds in the room. On the bed closest to the wall lay a petite woman.
As he walked to the bedside, the woman opened her eyes slightly. "Is there still no way to leave?"
"Yes, Thetis. The bounty notices are still there, and the space-blocking magic covering all of Norway still hasn't weakened."
Thetis shook her head with a bitter smile. She gently pulled down the quilt with her left hand and then sat up.
Her entire right arm was gone from the shoulder, the wound exposed and hideous.
For some reason, the wound inflicted by Dalton simply would not heal. They couldn't leave, and they didn't dare go to a magical hospital for treatment. If there wasn't a turning point, Thetis probably didn't have many days left.
"I truly regret it. If we hadn't rashly opened that ruin, we wouldn't have provoked such a troublesome matter." Thetis's face was ashen. "Mr. Gray, do you think we still have a chance to escape?"
"Of course, we certainly have a chance!"
Thetis shook her head. Gray said there was a chance, but he didn't believe it in his heart, and Thetis, who possessed natural Legilimency, understood that better than anyone.
"We weren't the ones who killed Dalton. Why does Magni vent his anger on us?"
"Heh, you want to reason with a god? In ancient times, whether it was you humans or us goblins, we were all just slaves to those gods."
Thetis said faintly, "Would you reason with your house-elf?"
The healthy side of Bode Gray's face twitched. It was a low blow; even at the height of its prosperity, the Gray family had never owned a house-elf...
"Bang!"
A loud sound of a door being kicked in came from the outer room.
Followed by Alan Ash's angry roar and the crying of the baby.
Bode Gray rushed out limping, and even Thetis struggled to get out of bed—at such a time, everyone had to fight for their lives!
The door was wide open, and the cold northern wind, carrying snowflakes, rushed into the house.
Standing at the doorway was a person—a woman.
A woman with bright red pupils, her entire body emitting a black aura.
"You certainly made me look for a long time."
The woman spoke, her voice gentle and not at all as fierce as her appearance suggested.
"But fortunately, I finally found you."
The woman walked into the room, and the door behind her closed automatically, once again isolating the world of ice and snow.
The warm air made her shiver comfortably, and the black energy on her body seemed to recede quite a bit.
Talking to herself, she walked to the fireplace and sat on the floor, rubbing her hands together vigorously.
"If Professor Fig saw me like this, he'd nag me again!"
Arjonia and Alan leaned against the window—perhaps the window would be a good escape route—Arjonia held the child tightly, looking completely lost.
"Shiver... shiver... shiver..."
Bode Gray carefully observed this woman with the terrifying aura. He identified her for a moment and suddenly cried out in shock:
"Glenda Chittock?!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]