Dumbledore didn't know whether to laugh or cry after hearing Audrey's account.
Dumbledore had seen the ghosts surrounding Audrey at lunch and dinner today, but he hadn't realized it was causing the girl so much trouble.
"Mr. Headmaster, I saw Professor Snape and Professor McGall expel those ghosts today. They said it was a professor's authority..." Audrey gazed at Dumbledore with teary eyes. "Could you possibly give me that authority too?"
Dumbledore spread his hands. "That, I cannot do. It is ancient magic cast on this castle by the four founders. As headmaster, I can only use it according to the rules they set."
He took out a large pile of sweets and offered them to Audrey, signaling her to take whatever she liked, then continued: "Unless you become a Hogwarts professor, I can grant you this authority. Otherwise..."
Audrey's eye twitched. Her pitiful act had been for nothing.
"I noticed that ghosts can't enter the dormitories. Is that right?"
"Yes," Dumbledore said. "Apart from the Fat Friar, Sir Nick, the Bloody Baron, and the Grey Lady, who can enter their respective house common rooms, other ghosts cannot enter the common rooms. And the dormitories, professor's offices, the kitchen, and the library are inaccessible to all ghosts, unless they receive a professor's permission."
Audrey nodded: "Understood, Headmaster Dumbledore." She stood up. "Could you forbid the ghosts from entering the Great Hall during meal times?"
Dumbledore nodded: "I can. I will speak to the ghosts shortly. I will also ask them to try not to bother you."
Audrey noticed the Headmaster used the word "try."
That was to be expected.
The ghosts were willing to listen to the headmaster and professors out of respect for the school's active staff; if they didn't want to listen, the headmaster and professors couldn't do anything about it, because they were part of the castle and predecessors of Hogwarts.
So, she couldn't count on the Headmaster to completely stop the ghosts from pestering her.
"Alright then. I hope they can listen to your advice, Headmaster Dumbledore."
"Child, you can call me Professor. Calling me Headmaster is a bit too distant, isn't it?"
"Alright, Professor Dumbledore," Audrey's spirits were very low, and she couldn't even be bothered to maintain her professional smile. "Goodnight, Professor Dumbledore."
"Goodnight, Audrey."
Swish!
Audrey disappeared from the Headmaster's office.
"Should I set up an anti-house-elf Apparition device in the office?" Dumbledore muttered to himself, but immediately dismissed the idea. "But then I'd have to clean the office myself. Oh well, I'll just be more careful when reading letters next time..."
... ...
Audrey appeared in her bedroom.
She carefully examined her room.
Dumbledore said bedrooms were a restricted area for ghosts, which meant a ghost-repelling spell was at work.
So Audrey wanted to study it herself.
'If I can decipher the magic on the Great Hall tables, there's no reason I can't decipher the ghost-repelling magic!'
There were many ancient magic echoes on the bedroom walls—all runes, lines, and nodes that Audrey didn't recognize.
She looked for a long time but couldn't make any sense of it, feeling a little regretful. Why hadn't she studied these things properly with Nicolas Flamel?
Fortunately, her memory was astonishing. She managed to imprint all these echoes from the room into her mind.
Recalling what Dumbledore had said, that professor's offices, the kitchen, and the library were also "by invitation only" forbidden zones for ghosts, she decided to go take a look.
'By comparing the magical echoes from several places, maybe I can discover the ghost-repelling spell.'
Switching to her Demiguise constitution, Audrey left the room.
The common room was lively. Little snakes were doing homework, playing wizard's chess, or staring into the depths of the Black Lake through the windows.
Audrey carefully avoided them and left the Slytherin common room.
"Draco, did someone just go out?" Pansy Parkinson asked.
Draco Malfoy was buried in his homework. He said impatiently, "Don't bother me, Parkinson. Have you finished today's homework?"
Pansy covered her mouth and giggled. "Why is our little Master Malfoy suddenly working so hard?"
"Parkinson! Didn't you see in Charms class today? That Gryffindor Mudblood was showing off! We can't let that Mudblood continue to be smug!"
Pansy was about to say more but was interrupted by an older student.
"Draco Malfoy, I trust I'm not disturbing you?"
Draco looked up and saw a rather fierce-looking female face leaning toward him.
"Senior Arjonia," Draco recognized this person as Arjonia Rolle. As they were both from the Sacred Twenty-Eight, they naturally knew each other. "Is something wrong?"
Arjonia glanced at Pansy and lifted her chin slightly.
The Parkinson family was no weaker than the Rolle family, but Arjonia's aura was overwhelming, making the eleven-year-old Pansy stand up sensibly and walk away.
"Draco, do you know why people in the house have been ostracizing you these past two days?"
"Why?"
Malfoy really wanted to know. He couldn't figure out why he, the son of a governor and a descendant of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, was receiving such a cold shoulder.
"I heard you publicly called Audrey Astley a 'singer' on the Hogwarts Express?"
She didn't need to say more. Draco understood immediately.
Due to Audrey's huge influence, many Slytherin students wanted to get on her good side. At a time like this, it would be strange if Draco Malfoy, who had insulted Audrey, was welcomed. Everyone was afraid of getting on Audrey's bad side because of Malfoy.
"So that's why?"
The quill in Draco's hand rolled onto the parchment, adding a few ink blots to the blank space.
"Want to get out of this predicament?"
Draco turned to Arjonia numbly and nodded.
Arjonia showed a triumphant smile and whispered: "It's simple. Just ruin Astley's reputation, and those people won't stand behind her—no one will invest in a Mudblood with a ruined reputation." Arjonia's voice was soft and full of temptation, just like the serpent in Eden: "And you, Draco Malfoy, will naturally escape your predicament and be accepted by everyone again."
... ...
Audrey left the common room and headed for Snape's office.
Why not Apparate?
First, she might be seen.
Second, since she was out, she might as well explore Hogwarts and "open the map"—Apparition required having been to the place before.
Along the way, she saw ghosts searching for her everywhere; Filch and Mrs. Norris patrolling diligently; and the sneaky Weasley twins sneaking toward the kitchen.
However, none of this had anything to do with her.
She arrived at Snape's office—a room at the other end of the same corridor as the Potions classroom.
Audrey carefully identified the ancient magic echoes on the wall, only to see the door suddenly fly open and Snape walk out.
It seemed Audrey had triggered some detection spell, alerting Snape.
Snape's eyes swept the corridor. He said, "I know you're here. Come out at once! Don't make me come and get you!"
Audrey didn't move. By peeking one and a half minutes into the future, she saw Snape was just bluffing.
She just focused on memorizing the magical echoes on the wall, completely ignoring Snape's ruse.
"I see you!"
'See my foot! You big liar, old bat!'
Audrey memorized the runic patterns displayed by the magical echoes on the wall and quietly retreated from the corridor, soundlessly.
'Are you kidding? With her control over her body, she'd lose if she made even the slightest sound while walking!'
Next stop, the kitchen!
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]