### Chapter 98: I'm Not a Parrot, I Can't Dance
To express her anger and resentment, Audrey hung a sign at the entrance to Astley Manor.
"Albus Dumbledore and Nifflers Are Not Allowed to Enter!"
Naturally, the sign was enchanted, so ordinary Muggles couldn't see it.
As a result, Dumbledore was mercilessly teased by his old friend Grindelwald for several days. Even Nicolas Flamel began giving him strange looks.
At last, August arrived, and Audrey was finally free from the double burden of studying alchemy and training in dueling.
Now she could happily go on tour and sing!
Although Barty Crouch Sr. had informed her that the "messenger" still hadn't been found, she wasn't worried. There was still a whole month left. As long as the matter was settled before the new school year began, everything would be fine!
So when Audrey set foot on American soil, she was in an excellent mood. The fact that Phoenix Fawkes had abandoned his master to follow her made her even happier.
Old Bee, look at that! Even your pet has joined the light side!
Next, I just need to win Grindelwald over and turn Nicolas Flamel against you.
Then you'll be…
ALONE! HOMELESS! AND WIDOWED!
Of course, even a witch had to go through the normal entry procedures when entering another country. Audrey was there to hold a concert, not to poach someone else's magical creatures.
At the Magical Congress of the United States of America, the immigration officer suggested that Audrey use a Transfiguration Charm or a Confundus Charm on Fawkes to make him look a little less… unusual.
Audrey readily agreed.
And so, in the eyes of the Muggles, Fawkes now looked like a rather large parrot.
…
…
The concert went ahead as scheduled, drawing an enormous crowd of fans from all over the world.
Even those who hadn't managed to get tickets gathered outside the stadium. After all, they knew that Audrey's voice couldn't be contained by mere walls! Even if they couldn't enter the venue, they could still enjoy her ethereal singing from outside.
The opening song was Rick's Never Gonna Give You Up.
Perhaps the legendary Rickroll would never come into existence in this world, but a classic was still a classic. Rick wiggled his hips onstage while the audience danced along below, creating a moment of pure joy for performers and fans alike!
The concert had begun at nine in the evening, and darkness had already fallen.
For some reason, the night sky seemed especially lonely that evening. With neither moon nor stars in sight, the heavens looked terribly dark.
Just as Rick finished his song, all the lights suddenly went out, plunging the entire audience into darkness and causing a wave of panic.
"Shhhhhhhhhhh…"
Audrey's voice drifted through the darkness, and the audience immediately began to calm down.
"Come on, everyone! Let's have some fun!"
The moment she finished speaking, a spotlight illuminated the center of the stage.
Audrey stood beneath it, dressed in a crisp Air Force uniform. She exuded an imposing aura, like the embodiment of British air power itself.
A huge parrot perched on her shoulder, making her look like a captain from the age of pirates!
Three seconds after Audrey appeared, the guitar and bass kicked in, followed by the drums. Flashing spotlights swept across the venue, instantly igniting the atmosphere!
You don't understand what love is.
All you care about is buying and selling.
But I can't keep waiting for you.
Tonight, even the stars have lost their color.
Leave all your troubles behind!
Let me say goodbye to you one last time!
The lights blazed to life. Screams and cheers erupted as the crowd was swept away by Audrey's singing.
In that moment, they seemed to see a woman who had endured countless injustices finally kicking down the door that held her back, ready to pursue a future of her own.
Night doesn't have to mean sorrow.
Let's go wild before dawn!
Suddenly, the parrot spread its wings and took flight. Audrey grabbed one of its legs and was carried into the air!
"Oh, look! How is she doing that?"
"Amazing!"
"That's incredible!"
"Look! There seems to be a wire behind her!"
"I see it! She's working so hard. I'm practically in tears!"
In reality, the wire had absolutely no load-bearing capacity whatsoever. It was nothing more than a decoy.
Just before the chorus began, the band abruptly stopped playing, and the entire venue fell silent.
One second passed.
Then Audrey's voice suddenly soared into the sky, accompanied by music that surged after it like the exhaust of a jet engine.
Everyone was so excited that goosebumps rose across their skin!
"Fly with me!"
There's nothing you can't let go of!
The more you bottle up your frustration, the worse it becomes. So why not let it all out?
…
(Writing song lyrics is exhausting, and nobody's paying me for this, so please forgive me for being lazy and only writing these few lines. You get the idea.)
Carried by Fawkes, Audrey flew above the concert venue, occasionally swooping over the heads of the fans and drawing wave after wave of excited cheers.
"Look! Audrey's parrot is so clever!"
"Exactly! She's always been great with animals!"
"I remember she used to have a cat as a pet, didn't she? What happened to it?"
"This parrot is incredibly smart. I wonder if it can dance, too?"
The wizards mingling among the Muggle audience couldn't help scoffing at their comments.
A parrot? What a joke! That's an extremely rare XXXX-rated magical creature—a phoenix!
One wizard who had traveled all the way from Britain was particularly bewildered.
Why does that phoenix look so familiar? It looks just like Headmaster Dumbledore's!
…
Outside the venue, the fans who couldn't see the performance were growing increasingly restless.
Audrey's singing really was beautiful, but judging by the commotion inside, she must have had another trick up her sleeve—just like the magical spectacle at her previous concert!
They desperately wanted to see it for themselves!
Among the crowd stood two short figures wearing hoods that concealed their faces.
"Grandpa, there are so many Aurors here."
"Hmph! In the past, I could have killed every last one of them!"
"Grandpa, we can't take on Astley alone. If we rush in recklessly, we'll only put ourselves in danger!"
"I'm determined to obtain the ancient magical power hidden beneath Hogwarts! Tethys, you have no idea how powerful that power is!"
Tethys shook his head inwardly.
That power really is formidable, but weren't you defeated by it too?
Rather than obsessing over that one source of power, wouldn't it be more practical to seek knowledge of Ancient Magic from ruins around the world?
Physical strength had its limits, but knowledge could continually be transformed into power!
"Let's go!"
Ranrok gritted his teeth for a moment before decisively turning away. His strength was no longer what it had once been, and even his courage had diminished.
"Grandpa, I have an idea," Tethys said.
"Rumor has it that the Grey family is a branch of the Rackham family. Bode Grey, who was defeated by Audrey Astley and imprisoned in Azkaban, should know something about Ancient Magic."
"You can do whatever you want," Ranrok replied impatiently. "As long as I can obtain the power hidden in Hogwarts's Secret Vault, I won't interfere with anything else!"
…
…
While the Astley siblings' concert was in full swing, the British Ministry of Magic was holding an emergency meeting.
Barty Crouch Sr. addressed the assembled officials.
"Recently, we've received numerous letters bearing Headmaster Dumbledore's signature. However, because their authenticity was questionable, our colleagues in the Ministry's Mail Management Department assumed they were prank letters and threw them away."
He shook his head helplessly.
"But the Wizengamot's daily affairs, which Dumbledore was supposed to coordinate, have suddenly ground to a halt. The reason is simple: we haven't received a single letter from Headmaster Dumbledore in over half a month!"
Whoosh!
An elderly man with a white beard and purple robes suddenly appeared in the hall.
"Sorry, everyone. I'm late."
"No, Professor Dumbledore, you've arrived at exactly the right time," Barty Crouch Sr. replied. "We were just discussing your letters."
"What happened to my letters?" the old wizard asked curiously.
Barty Crouch Sr. turned toward Rudy Ruby of the Mail Management Department.
"Mr. Ruby, could you explain the basis on which you judged those letters to be pranks rather than genuine correspondence from Professor Dumbledore?"
Rudy Ruby was a wizard in his thirties. His face was covered in dark freckles, giving him a rather unkempt appearance.
"Minister," he replied, sounding somewhat aggrieved but remaining firm, "Professor Dumbledore has sent his letters by phoenix—Fawkes—for decades. Not once has he used any other method!"
He raised his voice, as though appealing to his colleagues for understanding.
"But every one of these recent letters was delivered by an ordinary owl! Therefore, I had every reason to conclude that they weren't sent by Professor Dumbledore himself!"
Dumbledore sighed.
He had put aside the considerable work involved in preparing for the new school year to attend this emergency meeting at the Ministry, only to discover that this was what everyone had been discussing.
He replied somewhat awkwardly, "Well, the truth is that my phoenix has been away from home for a while…"
"The child has grown up. He needs to go out and make his own way in the world…"
Barty Crouch Sr. gave an awkward laugh.
He certainly wasn't going to tell anyone that, when he had met Hydra the other day, he had seen a phoenix perched on her shoulder!