"Audrey, what's wrong?"
Audrey had maintained that posture for a while. Dumbledore thought she might be in trouble, so he asked, "Do you need our help?"
"No, Professor Dumbledore," Audrey sighed, looking at Isaline's peaceful face. "I… I'll be finished shortly."
She suddenly raised her right hand, and immediately black mist streamed out of Isaline's seven orifices. The black mist consolidated in the air, gathering and taking shape. A few seconds later, the spectral image of an old man in green robes appeared suspended in mid-air.
Dumbledore: !!
Snape: Sa… Salazar?
"I am Salazar Slytherin, the greatest of the four Founders, an outstanding strategist, thinker, educator, and master of magic; my achievements are unparalleled. Hogwarts, the greatest school of magic, was established under my leadership…"
Salazar Slytherin incessantly boasted about himself, leaving the Headmaster, the four Heads of House, and Madam Pomfrey wide-eyed in astonishment.
Audrey, who knew the content of this projection, was so embarrassed she wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it. Equally awkward was Snape, the Head of Slytherin.
Audrey could still pretend to worry about Isaline, tucking her blanket and smoothing her hair to mask her embarrassment. Snape, however, could only keep his head down, his face so dark it looked like water might drip off it.
—Why did I ever join Slytherin? Wouldn't Gryffindor have been better? I could have been with Lily!
At this moment, everyone's mind seemed to conjure up a smiling, greasy-looking, self-praising little figure with blond hair, slowly merging with the image of Slytherin. No, no, no, this was a Founder of Hogwarts, one of the greatest wizards! How could he possibly be compared to that man who couldn't even handle Cornish Pixies? This was blasphemy!
Fortunately, Slytherin's self-aggrandizement didn't last too long. He cleared his throat:
"Alright, enough idle chatter," he regained his aloof demeanor, and authority returned to his form. "There is only one thing I wish to announce."
He pointed at Isaline. "The curse on this girl was a test for my heir, Audrey Astley. Audrey passed the test smoothly, so from this moment on, she is my heir, the heir of Salazar Slytherin!"
The phantom of Slytherin blinked. As he spun in the air, the projection dispersed, and the black mist quickly vanished into the air.
Dumbledore and the others remained immersed in shock: "Audrey Astley is the Heir of Slytherin??"
Just then, Isaline Windsor slowly woke up.
"Audrey?" She sat up, surprised. "Professors!"
Dumbledore recovered from his shock. "The curse has been lifted. Audrey surely has much to discuss with Miss Windsor," he said, looking at the others. "We should leave quickly and give the young people some space. They can't chat with us here."
The others dispersed, and Isaline grabbed Audrey's arm. "Audrey! Do you know how long I waited for you at lunch? I waited until it was almost class time, and you still didn't show up! You jerk! You stood me up!"
Audrey paused, then said, "Isaline, it's already the next day. You've been lying in the Hospital Wing for a whole night."
"Hmph! None of that matters. Tell me, how are you going to make up for standing me up?"
"How about I have Momo cook a few of your favorite Chinese dishes later?"
"Hmm…" Isaline almost blurted out "Good," but she felt she shouldn't let Audrey off easily. "That's not enough!"
The tried-and-true method failed, forcing Audrey to think of another plan.
Chapter 113: The Heir of Slytherin
She took a diadem out of her pouch and handed it to Isaline. "How about adding this?"
Isaline took the diadem. She glanced at it and immediately gasped: "This is the Crown of Edward the Confessor! The St. Edward's Crown that has been lost for a thousand years! How do you have this?"
Audrey regretted giving away the crown the moment she did it, and now her heart was aching. She managed a strained smile and replied with difficulty, "Is this compensation sincere enough?"
"This is too valuable!" Isaline gently stroked the crown, as if seeing the past through it.
"Since you think it's too valuable, let's choose a different form of compensation then!"
"No, this is perfect! Consider this a prepaid balance for future times you stand me up! Hmm, you can stand me up ten more times, no, five, no, three times!"
Isaline, you've changed. Can our friendship really be measured in money? I can give you friendship, can you give me the money back?
…
…
Snape returned to his office. He rummaged through drawers and pulled out a notebook. It was the journal of a Slytherin Head of House from the 18th century.
"Based on the documentation, I discovered the location of Slytherin's secret vault. The entrance is located between the third and fourth pilasters on the west wall at the end of the Slytherin dungeons. However, I tried every method but couldn't open it. It wasn't until the arrival of Gaunt Gaunt that the entrance magic reacted to him, but in the end, we still failed. It appears that Gaunt's talent was not recognized by Slytherin's secret vault. But at least we understand one thing: to enter Slytherin's secret vault and become the true heir of Slytherin, one must possess Slytherin's bloodline. Damn! Does this mean no one other than the Gaunts can become the heir now?"
To enter the vault and become the heir, one must be a descendant of Slytherin!
Severus Snape narrowed his eyes, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Audrey Astley!
Other than that person, where else in Britain could Slytherin's bloodline still exist? I never realized you were that person's daughter!
…
Then who is her mother?
As a veteran Death Eater, he was Voldemort's trusted aide before the Potters' deaths. Judging by Audrey Astley's age, the woman beside Voldemort at that time… Bellatrix! It was Bellatrix Lestrange! She was the only witch frequently visiting the old Gaunt house during that period! It was during that time that Hydrus Lestrange, whom Voldemort treasured, was born!
Snape pulled out Audrey's student file. Name: Audrey Astley. Date of Birth: May 22, 1975. Snape remembered clearly that Hydrus Lestrange's birth date was the same day because a child who nearly killed her mother with a magical outburst upon birth was too rare to forget.
There were no such things as too many coincidences in this world!
So it was you, Hydrus Lestrange.
Dumbledore must have known all this already, or he wouldn't have spent so much effort trying to clear Hydrus's name. So is this your set-up, Dumbledore? Pit the daughter against the father! How ruthless!
"Hoo…" Snape exhaled the turbid air from his chest. He knew well that hatred for a person should not be extended to their innocent child. At least for now, Audrey had committed no wicked deeds. On the contrary, she was quite useful.
"Audrey Astley, 50 points to Slytherin for lifting a curse from a classmate!"
He was too shocked earlier and forgot to award the points. He would add them now!
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