The little cousin's presumptuous words made the young wizards look over.
But after just one glance, no one paid him any more attention, all busy asking Audrey for autographs.
Audrey had no time to bother with Draco, either. The brat needed to be taught a lesson, but not in public. After all, he was family; she had to save him some face.
Although Rodolphus Lestrange wasn't her biological father, Bellatrix was indeed this body's birth mother.
And Draco Malfoy's mother was Bellatrix's biological sister!
Blood-wise, Draco was her actual cousin, a first cousin at that.
There would be plenty of opportunities to educate him properly in the future.
Seeing Audrey ignore him, Draco felt he had lost a lot of face. He wanted to push through the crowd, but was firmly blocked by the young wizards.
'What a joke. If you want an autograph, get in line. Who do you think you are, forcing your way in?'
...
"Miss Astley, do you remember me?"
Brown curly hair, cute front teeth.
"It's Hermione Granger. We're really fated to meet," Audrey smiled. "Are you here for an autograph too?"
"No," Hermione blushed. "I just heard you were here, so I came to see. I've collected all your albums, both records and tapes! Every single one has your handwritten autograph. They're all stored safely at my home!"
Before, Audrey would have avoided protagonists like Harry and Hermione at all costs. But her mindset had changed—she only had to endure three years before graduating. The world was her oyster, what did she have to fear?
So she didn't distance herself from Hermione like at the concert, but instead chatted with her patiently.
Seeing this, Draco Malfoy completely lost it.
'Before, when Audrey Astley ignored me, I could say it was because she was busy signing autographs. But now, she's actually chatting happily with a Mudblood?'
This was absolutely unbearable!
How did he know Hermione wasn't from a wizarding family?
Because Hermione had a strong Muggle aura. She hadn't changed into her wizarding robes yet, and her clothes were clearly Muggle fashion.
Besides, Draco knew of, or had at least heard of, most wizarding children his age. Surnamed Granger? Sorry, no such name in the wizarding world.
"Astley!" he shoved forward hard, shouting, "Let me through! I'm Draco Malfoy! My father is a school governor!"
The status of a governor's son was still useful. He successfully pushed forward several steps, only to be blocked by a tall seventh-year student.
"Get back, you ill-mannered brat!"
The person shoved Malfoy back. "The son of a traitor, acting all arrogant here!"
Draco was pushed back several steps and fell to the ground, unbalanced.
He was about to erupt, but when he saw clearly who had pushed him, his temper vanished.
Draco knew this person. It was Dorca Yaxley. His father was a loyal Death Eater, whose status before the Dark Lord was even higher than Lucius Malfoy's, and his uncle was also one of the Hogwarts governors!
Draco didn't have the guts to go against Dorca. He silently climbed up and retreated to the back, humiliated.
But he was too furious. He couldn't bring himself to get back in line, so he shouted at Audrey, who was surrounded by the young wizards: "What's so great about her! Just a Muggle wizard! Nothing but a singer!"
In the end, he didn't dare call Audrey a Mudblood in this situation. He was afraid her zealous fans would beat him up. Draco was at least that clever.
To be fair, Audrey's music had made many pure-blood wizards forget she was a "Mudblood." They firmly believed that Audrey was different from other Mudbloods.
Audrey's voice came out: "Since you look down on my status, sir, the door is right there. Please, help yourself."
She was being kicked out.
Draco swung his arm fiercely and walked toward the door.
'What a disgrace! An utter disgrace!'
Draco took the "New Era" album he was carrying from his pocket. On the cover, Audrey and Rick were standing back-to-back, smiling like flowers.
He really wanted to snap the record, but in the end, he couldn't bear to, and silently put it back.
"Harry, hurry up! Audrey is in this compartment!"
Ron led Harry through the flow of people into the compartment.
"Wow... this compartment," Ron searched his brain for a word, finally sighing, "is really big!"
Harry's mouth twitched, worried about Ron's vocabulary: "Yes, it is big," but he had to give his new friend some face. "Why is this compartment different from ours?"
"It's an Undetectable Extension Charm," Ron said in awe. "My family has a car that my dad used an Undetectable Extension Charm on, but it's not this big!"
Ron truly was a master at ratting out his dad, blurting out Arthur Weasley's illegal use of an Extension Charm just like that.
As for Audrey using an Undetectable Extension Charm... she was a new student, ignorant of the rules; besides, the Ministry was currently hoping Audrey would inherit ancient magic, they wouldn't harass her over such a small thing; most importantly, she was currently under Dumbledore's protection (poses proudly, hands on hips).
Draco, who was about to leave, stopped. Goyle and Crabbe couldn't stop in time and slammed into him, making him stumble.
He shot his two followers a vicious glare and said to Harry, "You must be Harry Potter, right?"
Harry nodded. "Yes, I am."
A smile appeared on Draco's face. He enthusiastically extended his hand. "My name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."
The plan to meet Audrey had failed, but his luck wasn't all bad; he'd met Harry Potter. 'He's also a good person to get to know,' Draco thought.
Ron coughed lightly to stop himself from laughing out loud. Draco shot him a sideways glance. "Is my name funny? I don't even have to ask to know who you are. My father told me all Weasleys have red hair, and more children than they can afford!"
He ignored Ron and continued speaking to Harry: "Potter, you don't want to befriend someone from a wizarding family like this, do you? Riff-raff like him will only be a bad influence on you!"
Looking at Malfoy's outstretched hand, Harry didn't take it. Instead, he stood firmly in front of Ron. "I think I can judge for myself who my friends are."
Draco was about to die of anger. Not a single thing had gone his way since he entered this compartment.
He was just about to lash out at Harry when he saw an angry girl walking toward him.
"Apologize!"
It was that Mudblood who was talking to Audrey. Draco's face immediately turned ashen.
"You just insulted Miss Astley. You must apologize!"
"Just a Muggle..."
"Whether a person deserves respect has absolutely nothing to do with their blood status," Hermione said emotionally. "You insulted Miss Astley, so you must apologize!"
Harry and Ron's expressions also changed.
"How did he insult Audrey?" Ron was at that age where he'd ignite at a spark. His favorite "big sister" had been insulted, how could he bear it?
"He said Miss Astley was just a singer!"
'How outrageous!' Harry glared at Draco. 'Audrey Astley is his spiritual mentor! How could she be humiliated like this?'
The Gryffindor Big Three had united early because of Audrey.
Seeing the three of them advancing on him, Draco actually felt a little intimidated. He shouted, "I was telling the truth! She is just a singer!"
After saying that, he fled out the door. Goyle and Crabbe had already assumed fighting stances, but seeing Draco leave, they could only follow awkwardly.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other. Hermione was the first to ask:
"Are you two also Miss Astley's fans?"
"Yes!" (x2)
"I'm Hermione Granger."
"I'm Harry Potter."
" The Harry Potter?"
"Er... yes."
"My name is Ro..."
"I heard you're the only one who survived the Killing Curse from You-Know-Who! How did you do it?"
"I don't know..."
"My name is Ro..."
"Well, that's not really important. As long as you're a fan of Miss Astley, we can be friends..."
"My name is Ron Weasley!"
"Oh, right. Nice to meet you, Ron Weasley."
Ron was a little unhappy, taking an instant dislike to the little witch. But the next moment...
"I brought a Walkman. We can listen to Miss Astley's songs. Want to join?"
Although Ron didn't know what a Walkman was, he suddenly felt that this little witch's two large front teeth were actually quite cute.
...
RUMBLE...
With a loud bang, the Hogwarts Express suddenly shuddered hard. The young wizards, due to inertia, fell over each other.
The train's speed gradually slowed until it finally stopped.
"What happened?"
Harry climbed up from the floor, adjusting his crooked glasses.
"I don't know, but something must have forced the train to stop."
Panic spread among the young wizards. The Hogwarts Express was a direct train; it wouldn't stop easily.
"The moon shines on the clear waves,"
"The lake mist writes a haze,"
"I wish to row a boat to ease my sorrow,"
"But fear the night water will chill my heart..."
Audrey's singing voice rang out, like drinking a handful of clear spring water, refreshing the heart. The young wizards instantly calmed down, as if they had found their anchor.
Percy Weasley seized the opportunity to shout: "Everyone, please leave in an orderly fashion and return to your compartments! Please do not move around until we know what happened!"
With the Weasley brothers' efforts, all the young wizards left. The compartment was empty again—after all, as appealing as Audrey was, she wasn't worth risking their own safety.
Audrey waved her wand, and the compartment quickly returned to its original size.
Harry and Ron hadn't left.
So now the compartment held Audrey, Lee Jordan, the twins, Harry, and Ron. Percy, loyal to his duty, had already left.
Ron pulled Harry over to Audrey: "Audrey, this is my new friend. He's also your fan. His name is Harry Potter."
"Hello, Harry," Audrey smiled. "I've long heard your name."
Harry's face flushed. He had never dreamed of speaking to the superstar Audrey.
But after that magical letter arrived at his aunt's house, his life seemed to have been turned upside down!
'Dudley, do you see this? The superstar on your treasured posters is sitting right in front of me, talking to me!'
However, after his elation, Harry sadly discovered he was too nervous to say even a single word.
Lee Jordan was whispering with the twins: "Is that the famous Harry Potter?"
"Yeah, that's him."
"Wow, what kind of crap luck did I have today?" Lee Jordan's expression was exaggerated. "I'm sitting in the same compartment as two legends!"
Audrey had seen many little fans like Harry and naturally knew how to handle it. "Harry, do you need my autograph?"
Harry hung his head in shame, his tongue finally able to work properly:
"I'm sorry, Miss Astley, I... I've never even bought one of your records..."
"That's not a big deal, Harry," Audrey smiled. "Anyone who likes my music can be my fan. It has nothing to do with buying records."
—'Harry Potter is loaded. Just because he didn't buy records before, doesn't mean he won't in the future. Hmm, the VIP custom record project needs to be put on the agenda!'
Audrey gently took off Harry's glasses.
As he watched in confusion, Audrey took out her wand and used a Severing Charm to engrave a line of text on the temple arm:
"To Harry, may you always be happy, Audrey Astley."
Harry took the glasses back, stroking the temple arm, extremely moved: "Oh, thank you, thank you..."
"Brilliant spellcasting!" Fred shouted. "Audrey, do you really live in the Muggle world? With that Severing Charm just now, I bet no more than ten people in all of Hogwarts could do that! Including the professors!"
Audrey was about to explain, but the compartment door was violently thrown open.
"Is Audrey Astley in here? Come with us."
Audrey looked at the door. There were three adult wizards, wearing dark green robes, with masks on their faces.
The masks were silver. The left half was blank, and the right half was carved with a snake.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]