"Alright, Miss Astley," Dumbledore switched back to this name, signifying that the conversation not meant for a third person was over. "Why don't you guess why the home visit, which was supposed to happen in August, was moved up by a month?"
Audrey's expression darkened.
In Hogwarts Legacy, when the protagonist first encountered the wizarding world, Hogwarts sent Professor Fig to give him one-on-one guidance.
If it was the same for her, it meant she would have no free time at all before school started...
"Don't tell me... Hogwarts is arranging for a professor to tutor me in advance?"
Dumbledore clapped. "Absolutely brilliant. Correct. Starting tomorrow, we will dispatch a master of magic to give you two months of preschool education!"
'What the hell, "preschool education"!'
Audrey covered her face with one hand. "In that case, don't tell me this professor is going to move into my house?"
"Entirely correct," Dumbledore almost clapped his belly in delight. "What a clever girl!"
The old man's face showed an expectant smile. "Given that your academic pressure will be heavy, and also to ensure the quality of your learning, I myself will also come by from time to time to check on your progress and offer some guidance."
Audrey sighed. The good old days were gone anyway. One person teaching or two, it didn't really make a difference.
"Brother!!" Audrey shouted upstairs.
As a singer, her vocal pressure was immense. A single shout penetrated the walls and brought Rick out.
"What is it, Audrey?"
"Starting tomorrow, a professor from the school is coming to our house to give me pre-school training! First thing tomorrow, have Miss Capas prepare a guest room!"
Miss Capas was the maid they employed, responsible for all the housework in the villa.
"Okay, no problem," Rick agreed readily. "But I have a question, Headmaster Dumbledore."
"Please, ask."
"Your school actually provides preschool training for students? Is the service really that good? Is it possible you have many competitors, and your school lacks a competitive edge, so you must improve your services to attract students?"
Dumbledore's face darkened. "No, Mr. Astley. Hogwarts is the best magic school in Britain. Bar none."
Audrey explained, "It's not like that, brother."
She looked at Dumbledore's expression, amused. "Normally, young wizards enroll at eleven, but I'm only enrolling at sixteen, and I'm starting as a fifth-year. The school is afraid I won't be able to keep up, so they arranged for a professor to teach me."
"Ah! So that's how it is!" Rick looked as if he'd had an epiphany. He understood—Audrey was eleven when he first met her. Perhaps her amnesia had masked her magical talent?
"I see. So, Audrey, you've decided to go to school?"
"Yes."
"Alright then. I'll tell Mr. Waterman tomorrow."
Dumbledore suddenly interjected, "No need to bother. Mr. Peter Waterman has already received notice that Miss Astley will be pursuing advanced studies in music. He will arrange everything."
Audrey's eyes widened at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore said with a straight face, "At that time, the whole world will know that Miss Audrey Astley has been accepted as a personal disciple of Professor Culin Macmillan of the [Royal Academy of Music]."
"Master Culin Macmillan!" Rick exclaimed. "That's one of the top vocal masters! Becoming his student is harder than climbing to heaven!"
Audrey was quite calm. "This Professor Culin Macmillan... is he from the Macmillan family? He wouldn't also be one of your students, would he?"
"No, he is not my student. I just happen to know him. He is a Squib."
Macmillan. One of the Sacred Twenty-Eight.
Audrey shook her head. No matter how famous Culin Macmillan was in the Muggle world, as a Squib, he had no power to resist an "order" from the wizarding world. This was the tragedy of being a Squib.
...
...
The next morning at ten o'clock.
There was a knock on the door of the Astley villa.
The siblings were already waiting in the living room. Rick immediately got up to open the door.
A gentleman stood outside.
He was tall, nearly 1.9 meters, wearing a dashing wool overcoat, his leather boots shined to a gleam.
Backlit, he looked very imposing.
When they saw his face clearly, however, they realized he was an elderly man.
His hair was white, yet held faint traces of blond.
His blue eyes were bright and sharp, though the blue of his right eye was slightly paler.
Time had left its cruel marks on his face, but beauty is in the bone structure. His bone structure would make anyone think he must have been a great heartthrob in his youth.
"Mr. Astley?" The man spoke, with a slight Danish accent. "I am Professor Depp, Gael Depp. I am here to provide pre-school tutoring for your sister."
"Oh, hello!" Rick greeted him warmly. "Please, come in! Headmaster Dumbledore has already told us about you!"
Professor Depp followed Rick into the house.
Audrey stood up to greet him. "Hello, Professor."
But in her heart, a storm was raging.
Having read Harry Potter three hundred times, Audrey knew very well that this man was not a Hogwarts professor.
She remembered now. What Dumbledore had said last night was "master of magic," not "Hogwarts professor"!
Gael Depp smiled brightly, looking at Audrey with a kind face. Yes, although he looked imposing, his expression at this moment was benevolent.
"Hello, Audrey," Gael said, taking off his overcoat. "Please allow me to call you Audrey. You will be very busy for the next two months. I hope you are mentally prepared."
"Ah, Professor Depp," Rick spoke up. "There's no rush to study. Why don't I show you to your room first?"
"Thank you for the trouble."
...
...
Professor Depp put away his luggage, walked out of the room, and said to Audrey, "Audrey, we need to buy a wand now."
Gael Depp took Audrey's hand without warning. "I will be using a spell called 'Apparition.' The process might be a little uncomfortable. You'll need to bear with it."
Pop!
Professor Depp and Audrey disappeared. Rick, standing aside, yelped "Whoa!" in fright. He looked left and right, ran up and down the stairs several times, and finally understood one thing—that imposing professor had teleported away with his sister.
"How incredible!"
The two appeared in front of the Leaky Cauldron.
Audrey, of course, would not suffer from Apparition sickness. She hesitated for two seconds, but ultimately decided to play the part of a little Muggle Apparating for the first time.
"BLEH!!"
She wondered if her dry-heaving performance was convincing...
"Audrey, you don't need to do that," Professor Depp said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Your situation... Al... Albus told me everything. I know who you are..."
Audrey's eyes went wide with shock, which made her look extremely cute.
"But... but you specifically warned me that 'Apparition' would be uncomfortable, didn't you? If you knew about me, why add that extra sentence?"
Professor Depp smiled. "That was for your brother to hear."
"..."
Ignoring Professor Depp, Audrey pushed open the door to the Leaky Cauldron.
This was the first time she had appeared here with this face.
As soon as she pushed the door open, someone immediately recognized her.
"Look! Isn't that Miss Audrey Astley?"
"It is her!"
"I heard she received an acceptance letter from Hogwarts!"
"I told you, she had to be a little witch! How could a Muggle have such a beautiful voice!"
"Miss Astley! Can I have your autograph?"
The customers in the pub swarmed them at once.
Audrey was momentarily at a loss. She knew her songs had some popularity in the wizarding world, but she hadn't expected it to be any less than it was in the Muggle world!
Professor Depp, seeing the crowd close in, immediately looked displeased.
He stamped his foot lightly. An invisible wall of air instantly expanded from him and Audrey, blocking the pub-goers.
The person closest to them looked like a Muggle who had run face-first into a glass door—pitiful and comical.
Audrey maintained her professional smile, waving to the patrons as she walked to the courtyard.
Seeing that no one else was following, Audrey let out a long sigh of relief.
"Audrey, you handled that well. You have a great talent for calming people."
Professor Depp commented, opening the entrance to Diagon Alley.
Audrey was a bit dazed. 'Calming people? That's probably not on the O.W.L.s, is it?'
Since he knew who she was, Audrey didn't need to pretend to be an ignorant novice.
She walked straight towards Ollivanders wand shop, her familiarity with the path far exceeding Professor Depp's.
Pushing open the door, a crisp bell rang inside the shop. Before them was a narrow storefront, with small boxes stacked to the ceiling.
"Good morning," a soft voice sounded. Mr. Ollivander was standing in front of them. "Your first time in my shop, I take it?"
Audrey nodded. "Yes, the first time."
"Oh, you must be Audrey Astley! The new fifth-year!" Old Ollivander looked as if he'd just realized. "I listen to Miss Astley's songs often. I'm a loyal fan!"
The old man smiled and walked up to her.
"Come now, let's see," he pulled out a tape measure with silver markings. "Which is your wand arm?"
"Both hands work, but I use my right slightly more."
"Every Ollivander wand has a core, either a phoenix feather, or a unicorn..."
"Mr. Ollivander," Professor Depp cut in. "Please don't tell us things we already know. Speed it up, we're in a hurry."
He explained, "Miss Astley needs to take her O.W.L.s this year. There's no time to waste!"
"Ah, that really is..." Old Ollivander quickly measured Audrey, remarking, "That really is a heavy burden!"
Audrey nodded repeatedly. 'Yes, yes, it's a heavy burden. I don't want this at all.'
"Try this one. Holly and unicorn hair. An excellent combination."
Audrey took the wand, and it instantly burst into a dazzling light, like a holy light descending from heaven.
"Oh! To find such a highly compatible wand on the first try!"
Audrey shook her head. "Sir, could I try another?"
A unicorn hair wand was too gentle, not suited for her, even though this wand showed "excited" and "happy" emotions in her hand.
"Then try this one. Thirteen and a half inches. Chestnut. Dragon heartstring. A bit stiff, but reasonably supple."
Audrey took the wand and immediately had a feeling of 'this is how it should be.'
The wand began to glow with golden light along its gold-thread-like grain, like runes, mysterious and beautiful. It also looked like a huge pile of Galleons glowing softly in a vault.
"Heavens! This!"
Mr. Ollivander's mouth fell open, almost speechless. In all his years in the business, he had never seen such a phenomenon.
A moment later, he closed his mouth and summarized, "Chestnut wands are often drawn to experienced tamers of magical creatures, wizards with talent in Herbology, or highly skilled fliers."
"Miss Astley will certainly shine brightly in these fields!"
'No doubt about it!'
Audrey nodded inwardly. Leaving aside the fact that magical creatures were drawn to her, her ability to switch between magical creature constitutions at will was a perfect match for this wand.
But there was one thing Ollivander didn't say, because he felt it wasn't very flattering.
The combination of chestnut and dragon heartstring was best suited to a wizard who indulged in luxury and was not too particular about the means of obtaining it.
What he didn't know was that this trait also perfectly matched Audrey...
"Alright," Professor Depp clapped his hands together and said, "Since Audrey has chosen her wand, it's my turn."
Audrey: ?
Ollivander: ???
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]