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Chapter 36 Fan Meeting in the Train Carriage
A little girl hid behind Molly, peeking out as she watched her brothers eagerly help Audrey carry her luggage.
This was Ginny Weasley, the youngest daughter of the Weasley family. She found her brothers' behaviour a little embarrassing—Miss Astray only had one suitcase, yet all four of them were fighting over it.
"Oh, Miss Astray, your luggage is really light."
"You don't need to be so polite. Just call me Audrey, George," Audrey said with a smile. "There's only one cat inside my suitcase. He's been sleeping a lot lately, but I don't think he'd appreciate being shaken like that."
George froze and stared at her in surprise.
"Wait—we only just introduced ourselves. How did you know I'm George and not Fred?"
Fred and George were identical twins—so alike that even their own mother, Molly, sometimes mixed them up.
Seeing George immediately steady his grip on the suitcase, Audrey smiled.
"Maybe it's a woman's intuition?"
"But even Mum doesn't have that intuition!" George protested.
Fred, however, caught onto something else entirely.
"Hold on—you said you only have one cat in your suitcase. Then where's the rest of your luggage?"
Audrey blinked at him.
"Take a guess?"
Having many brothers created a warm, lively atmosphere.
Watching them bicker while searching for seats, Audrey suddenly felt a flicker of envy. A household this noisy and energetic… actually seemed rather nice.
…
…
With the help of the red-haired Weasley brothers, Harry Potter had just managed to stow his trunk inside a compartment when he saw them immediately leap back out, crowding around a girl and chatting animatedly.
She's really pretty, Harry thought, carefully hiding behind the compartment curtains and sneaking glances outside, afraid of being caught staring.
The train began to move.
The youngest girl of the Weasley family ran alongside it, laughing and crying at the same time, until the train slowly pulled away and she disappeared from sight.
The compartment door slid open, and the youngest red-haired boy stepped inside.
"Is there any space left?" he asked gloomily. "Everywhere else is full."
Harry shook his head slightly, and the boy sat down.
"Oh—hello. I'm Ron Weasley."
"Hi," Harry replied. "I'm Harry. Harry Potter."
"Harry Potter? You really are Harry Potter?" Ron stared at him in disbelief. "Fred and George said they saw you—I thought they were joking!"
Harry smiled shyly.
"I should probably thank them for helping with my luggage."
Ron suddenly pointed at Harry's forehead, eyes shining.
"So… it really is there…"
Harry brushed his hair aside, revealing the lightning-shaped scar.
"Wow… was that really done by You-Know-Who?"
"I don't know," Harry said quietly. "I was too young to remember."
Ron looked as though he might burst with excitement.
"Today's the luckiest day of my life! First I met Audrey Astray, and now I'm sharing a carriage with Harry Potter!"
"Audrey Astray?" Harry paused. "The older student you were talking to earlier?"
Realising something, Harry quickly added, "I wasn't trying to spy or anything—your brothers helped me earlier, so I just glanced over a few times."
"It's fine," Ron said cheerfully. "Yeah, that's really Audrey Astray! She's much younger—and way prettier—than in the photos!"
Harry let out a quiet breath of relief, then suddenly widened his eyes.
"Wait—Audrey Astray? That singer?"
Ron blinked in confusion.
"She's incredibly famous in the Muggle world. You don't know her?"
Harry shook his head.
"I've only heard her songs on an old radio. I've never seen her in person—or even a picture. My cousin has loads of her posters, but he never lets me look at them."
Ron sighed dramatically.
"That's… honestly tragic."
Harry hesitated, then asked softly,
"If Miss Astray is here… that means she's—she's a…"
"Yes!" Ron said proudly. "She's a witch! She just started school a bit late. When the news broke, our whole family celebrated for days!"
Harry's eyes lit up instantly.
Ever since he was six, whenever he felt lonely or miserable, he would turn on the radio—and Audrey's voice would always be there.
Her singing soothed something deep inside him, and without realising it, he had developed a sense of warmth and familiarity toward her.
And now, the seemingly unreachable Audrey Astray was about to become his classmate.
She had even become a bridge between him and Ron, ensuring their friendship wouldn't start awkwardly.
"Harry!" Ron suddenly said excitedly. "I know which carriage Audrey's in. Let's go see her!"
Harry couldn't refuse.
"Okay, Ron. Let's go!"
Compared to Audrey Astray, even the presence of Harry Potter felt less sensational.
The closer they got to Audrey's carriage, the more crowded it became.
Young witches and wizards kept pouring toward it.
From a distance, Ron heard his brother's voice:
"I'm Percy Weasley—new Gryffindor prefect! Stop pushing! Maintain order!"
Percy's bright red hair bounced as he straightened up proudly, completely unaware of how chaotic it looked.
"Ron, is that your brother?" Harry asked.
Ron nodded grimly.
"Yeah. This is the first time I've ever hoped his 'authority' would actually work."
As the crowd surged forward, Harry overheard a platinum-blond boy their age speaking arrogantly to two larger boys behind him.
"Crabbe, Goyle—so Audrey Astray really is a witch."
"Yes, Draco. I always thought it was just a rumour."
Draco Malfoy sniffed.
"Well, even if she's magical, her birth can't be that impressive. Still, her singing's decent. She's worth getting to know."
Ron leaned in and whispered angrily,
"That's definitely a Slytherin. A complete idiot obsessed with blood purity."
Harry, who understood very little about the wizarding world, simply nodded.
…
…
Inside the carriage, Audrey held Golden Tiger in her arms while watching George and Fred struggle heroically to keep the crowd outside.
Opposite her sat a Black boy with dreadlocks—Lee Jordan, the twins' roommate.
He sat rigidly, clutching a box tightly, clearly afraid the large spider inside might scare Audrey.
Outside, the noise grew louder.
"We want to see Miss Astray!"
"You don't have the right to block us!"
Audrey smiled at the two sweaty Weasley twins.
"Brave knights, do you require assistance?"
"No! Audrey, we've got this!"
"Yeah! Worst case, we throw dungbombs!"
Fred paused.
"Hey—how do you still have some left? Mum confiscated them!"
"I hid two in my trousers."
"Oh, Fred," George gasped. "You're a legend! If one of those went off down there, you'd be famous all over Hogwarts!"
"Yeah," Fred nodded seriously. "Probably even more famous than Audrey."
Audrey laughed.
Despite their jokes, it wasn't easy holding back such a crowd. Their hair was completely wrecked, and George somehow had two fingers lodged in his nostrils.
Audrey finally raised her wand and gave a light flick.
The compartment expanded.
And expanded.
And expanded again.
In moments, it had transformed into a massive space capable of holding hundreds of people.
George and Fred froze as the crowd surged in.
Only Audrey and Lee remained seated—the original seats and windows unchanged, looking strangely out of place within the vast room.
"The Undetectable Extension Charm!" George gasped.
"And a flawless one!" Fred added. "But we're not allowed to use magic outside school—how did you—"
Audrey laughed lightly.
"I haven't officially started school yet."
That single sentence convinced the twins completely.
She's one of us.
Of course, that was only because they hadn't yet seen Audrey's true nature.
"Miss Astray! Could I have your autograph?"
"My whole family loves you!"
…
…
It was worth noting that Audrey's songs were adapted from music that wouldn't exist until after 2010.
In the 1990s, their musical concepts were decades ahead of their time.
That overwhelming cultural impact was why both the Muggle and wizarding worlds idolised Audrey Astray so fervently.
Not to mention—her voice itself was almost magical.
"Audrey Astray, I think we should get acquainted."
A sharp, arrogant voice cut through the noise.
Audrey looked up and saw a platinum-blond boy lifting his chin, speaking down at her through flared nostrils.
"For a Muggle-born witch, it's an honour to meet the heir of the Malfoy family."
Audrey fell silent.
Looking at the boy and the two hulking followers behind him, she felt a powerful urge to be sarcastic.
Little cousin,
maybe think before you speak.
Have you already forgotten how you were teased mercilessly by your dear cousin when you were little?
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