Regardless of how Fudge had been shut out by Malfoy, or how he absolutely couldn't find Hydrus Lestrange, the O.W.L. exams arrived as scheduled.
On the morning of the first day was Charms.
Audrey passed easily. She felt that the bony Professor Modi only had a combat power of slightly more than 1 Ludo. If they were to really fight, he probably wouldn't last two rounds.
On the afternoon of the first day was History of Magic.
Although some questions were quite obscure, with her accumulated knowledge from treating History of Magic like bizarre fiction novels during her eleven years of pretending to be a Squib, and some secrets revealed by Nicolas Flamel, getting an 'E' was a breeze for her.
On the morning of the second day was Transfiguration.
This was the only course Audrey had attended for the entire school year. Under the strict guidance of the older catgirl, if she couldn't get an 'O', she might as well go kill herself.
...
...
The exams went so smoothly that Audrey seemingly saw the carefree life of two years later, where the sky was high enough for birds to fly and the ocean wide enough for fish to leap!
She wanted to retire!
She wanted to enjoy life!
She wanted to go to Ukraine and be the Emperor Emeritus!
Until the final subject, Muggle Studies...
The moment Audrey got the exam paper, she was completely dumbfounded.
Those questions... it was simply absurd's mother opening the door for absurd—absurd arrived home.
The following three questions are excerpts from the 1992 Ordinary Wizarding Level examination paper:
What is the power source of a Muggle car?
A. One hundred hamsters
B. Water
C. Horse
D. Magical Hub
Audrey: "..."
Why did Hitler fall from power?
A. Did not consult the stars
B. Did not listen to wizards' prophecies and divination
C. Destroyed a wizarding village in Denmark
D. His mustache was displeasing
Audrey: "This..."
What is the most popular sport in the Muggle world?
A. Parading
B. Chopping off the King's head
C. Having babies
D. Hunting wizards
Audrey: 'I think it's zero-dollar shopping.'
...
Anyway, when Audrey walked out of the exam hall, she was in a daze. Her worldview had suffered a severe impact.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I doing?
Isaline, who came out at the same time, saw that Audrey's expression was off and went up to ask:
"Audrey, what's wrong?"
Audrey turned her head like a robot, jerking pause by pause, suffering from severe frame drops. "What is the power source of a Muggle car?"
Isaline answered without thinking, "It's a horse, because their unit of power is horsepower!"
Audrey asked again, "How did Hitler lose?"
Isaline answered matter-of-factly, "He didn't consult the stars. Because when he ordered the attack on the Soviet Union, it was cloudy that night and the stars couldn't be seen."
"Then what is the most popular sport in the Muggle world?"
"Having babies. Otherwise, how could the Muggle population be so much larger than the wizarding population?"
Audrey's vision went black. Isaline Windsor, you are from the Muggle royal family, for goodness sake! Do you want to listen to what you are saying right now?
Isaline suddenly covered her mouth. "Audrey, you didn't skip reading the Muggle Studies textbook, did you?"
"You are confused! Although that textbook is full of messy stuff and filled with prejudice against Muggles, that's just how this subject is. It tests on those things. Even if it's absurd, you have to memorize it by rote. Just treat it as reading a joke."
Audrey could no longer listen to Isaline's words. She waved her hand, and with a swish, appeared directly in the Headmaster's office.
"Oh, finished the exams? Big banker?"
Dumbledore was writing a letter. He didn't even lift his head, and candies immediately flew in front of Audrey.
"Wait a moment for me to finish writing this letter—this is a very important letter, it cannot be delayed for a moment."
Audrey sat down; she was in no mood to eat anything.
She had definitely failed Muggle Studies. According to the agreement with the Ministry of Magic, she would probably have to repeat the year.
This wasn't really a big deal; Newt Scamander was also a dropout.
But the first student in Hogwarts history to repeat a year—this would definitely be recorded in Hogwarts: A History!
She couldn't very well go on a killing spree and beat Hogwarts: A History into A History and Another History, could she?
Dumbledore quickly finished the letter and said to the phoenix, Fawkes, "Fawkes, please help me send this letter to him!"
Fawkes let out a cry, grabbed the letter, and disappeared into a burst of flames.
"Alright, Audrey, time to snap out of it!"
Dumbledore looked at Audrey with amusement. The girl's eyes were currently blank, in a strange state.
Audrey stopped thinking...
Dumbledore snapped his fingers, and one of Audrey's hairs extended into her nose.
"Achoo!"
Seeing that Audrey had finally come back to her senses, Dumbledore asked, "What's wrong, child?"
Audrey spoke up, persistent, resolute, and firm: "I want to drop out!"
Dumbledore roughly guessed the reason for her abnormality and asked with a smile, "Because you didn't do well in the Muggle Studies exam? Predicting that you'll have to repeat the year?"
"Audrey is Going to Repeat a Year?"
Audrey suddenly became angry. "You call that a course?? Isn't that just a collection of jokes? And this is an official level examination! How can it be so absurd!"
"Whose exam tests brain teasers! A car's power is a horse because the power unit is horsepower? Who told them that? Merlin?"
"Car engines burn gasoline. That thing is called gasoline!! An Incendio spell igniting that stuff is enough to burn their stupid brains into charred brain tofu!"
"..."
Dumbledore just watched Audrey throw a tantrum, quietly waiting for several minutes.
After Audrey stopped on her own, Dumbledore said, "The misunderstanding between the wizarding world and the Muggle world has existed for a thousand years. Ever since the wizarding world and the Muggle world isolated themselves from each other, the gap between the two has become even wider."
He took a sip of water. "We are working hard to eliminate that gap. Including you, aren't you also making efforts to integrate wizards into the Muggle world? Take it slowly, there's no rush. Sooner or later, Muggle Studies will become history!"
Wait a minute... when did I make efforts to integrate wizards into the Muggle world?
Audrey was a bit confused, but on second thought, Dumbledore probably meant the Ukraine matter.
But that wasn't what she wanted to talk about today!
"Whether Muggle Studies disappears in the future or not, what does that have to do with me? The problem now is that I'm about to repeat a year!"
Audrey pouted. "I can't afford to lose face like this, so I must drop out!"
"Audrey," Dumbledore said very seriously. "We had an agreement back then. I was responsible for helping you revoke the wanted order and restore your reputation. In exchange, you would come to Hogwarts to attend school."
Audrey paused. Indeed, she had made such an agreement with Dumbledore back then.
"Now Hydrus Lestrange has had her reputation restored. I have fulfilled my promise. What about you?"
Audrey's lips moved slightly, but in the end, she didn't say words of reneging.
"Then can I not repeat the year?"
Audrey unleashed all the pitiful cuteness she had accumulated over two lifetimes in this instant. Her two big eyes were watery, and her little expression was so aggrieved that anyone who saw it would be dazed.
But who was Dumbledore?
His motto was "Women only affect the speed at which I draw my wand" (false)!
He completely ignored Audrey's act of being cute and said firmly, "This is required by the Ministry of Magic. I cannot make the decision."
It was a good thing Audrey hadn't turned on her natural Legilimency constitution right now, otherwise she would have discovered the truth in this moment: there was no such requirement from the Ministry of Magic at all.
The Ministry of Magic, at Gringotts' request, had indeed mandated that Audrey must enroll in Hogwarts.
However, the requirement that Audrey must pass everything to advance to the sixth year—the Ministry of Magic had never said that!
The reason Dumbledore told this lie was that after Grindelwald made a prophecy, Professor Trelawney also made a prophecy, a true prophecy.
"The Daughter of Destiny who solves the wizard's thousand-year myth has appeared.
She will inherit the Guardian's knowledge and bring the gospel;
She comes from a Parseltongue family, yet was betrayed by servants;
She was ignored by the Book of Admittance until marriageable age;
Experiencing two fifth years, to return great power to herself;
She resolves differences, eliminates barriers, and unites hearts;
Walking between darkness and light, breaking the game with profit;
When the ancient shadow descends again,
The Daughter of Destiny will lead her faithful followers,
To compose a hymn for humanity."
The first half of Trelawney's prophecy was largely the same as Grindelwald's. They both mentioned that Audrey's student career must involve repeating the fifth year.
Dumbledore believed this prophecy and took action for it.
rejected by Dumbledore, Audrey felt depressed, but she wouldn't just sit and wait for death.
Since the root of the problem lay with the Ministry of Magic, why not just overturn the Ministry?
If the person raising the problem is gone, naturally there is no problem!
There was nothing wrong with this logic!
How should she do it?
As long as she threw out a little bait, the pure-blood families who had suffered heavy losses would become her vanguard. Forcing Fudge to step down would not be a problem at all!
Anyway, Fudge had been targeting her lately; she had wanted to pull him down for a long time.
Old Barty had given her a lot of face recently, so she could support that old man to take the stage.
He owed me a favor. Then, having him cancel the unreasonable decree that she couldn't advance to sixth year without passing her O.W.L.s—he surely wouldn't refuse such a small request, right?
He hadn't yet repaid the kindness of her not reporting him earlier!
Although it was a bit of a detour and a bit troublesome, she wasn't the one doing the work!
The more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. Audrey began to feel restless.
Dumbledore noticed Audrey's oddness.
Who was she plotting against now?
"Audrey, what are you thinking about?"
"Huh? Nothing!" Audrey said with a grin. "Professor Dumbledore, if the Ministry of Magic retracts the order, I won't have to repeat the year, right?"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]