Dumbledore supported his chin with his right hand; he had a massive headache.
Horcruxes!
He knew very well what this meant.
—Voldemort would not be so easily killed, especially considering he might have made several Horcruxes.
"BOOM!"
A cluster of flames ignited in the room, and a phoenix appeared in the office.
"Fawkes!"
Had the ungrateful son finally decided to return of his own accord?
However, the next moment, he recognized that the one who came was not Fawkes.
"You should be the phoenix adopted by Audrey, shouldn't you?"
Ao nodded slightly, flew onto Fawkes's bird stand, and dropped a bald little bird on it.
"Screech!" [Grow your feathers well. Once you've returned to your original form, come find us mother and daughter again! I don't want the child to think her father is an ugly bird!]
Fawkes nodded piteously. Having just completed his nirvana, he was still very weak and completely unable to resist his wife.
With a "boom," Ao departed without the slightest hint of lingering—she still had to go back to look after the child!
Dumbledore left his desk and walked to the bird stand.
"Fawkes?"
He laughed happily.
"You've undergone nirvana? That's truly good news!"
Fawkes gave him a look of utter despair, turned his body around, and left his backside to Dumbledore.
...
...
At this time, Audrey appeared in the Ministry of Magic.
She had to complete the process for changing the Muggle Studies textbooks before Christmas.
Otherwise, she wouldn't make it in time for the O.W.L. exams—if the textbook change was too late, perhaps this year's O.W.L.s would still use the old "joke collections" to set the exam questions!
"Audrey, you're here!"
Arthur Weasley guided Audrey to the third underground level of the Ministry of Magic. This was the floor for the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, and the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee was located here.
Actually, the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee might not open once in ten years, because disputes involving Muggles were often resolved very crudely by wizards using Memory Charms.
Audrey entered a bright but not very spacious room.
Around a round table, four people were already sitting.
Besides Minister of Magic Barty Crouch, there were four other guests.
These four were the greatest obstacles to Audrey's revision of the Muggle Studies curriculum: the authors of the current Muggle Studies textbooks!
The author of Muggles Who Notice, Blenheim Stalk, a man in his seventies who looked very kind; his receding hairline left a deep impression on Audrey.
The author of My Life as a Muggle, Daisy Hookum, an orange-haired lady around thirty years old wearing glasses.
The author of Philosophy of the Mundane: Why Muggles Prefer Not to Know, Mordicus Egg; he had sharp eyes and wore a frayed greatcoat, a standard wizarding look.
The author of Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles, Wilhelm Wigworthy, an elderly man who looked somewhat neurotic.
"Audrey!"
Old Barty stood up and warmly shook hands with Audrey.
Although the four authors found it a bit strange why the Minister showed such unusual closeness to a young witch,
Their stance dictated that they would definitely not give this ignorant little brat even the slightest bit of a good face today!
"These four are the authors of the current Muggle Studies textbooks at Hogwarts. Regarding your plan to update the Muggle Studies textbooks, these four hold opposing views."
Old Barty, with his back to the four authors, gave Audrey a wink.
Audrey understood perfectly. The reactions of these four were too intense, and it wouldn't be good for the Ministry to forcefully issue an administrative order. After all, these four writers still held a certain status in the wizarding world, and their rallying power was not to be underestimated.
But in other words, as long as she dealt with these four, the Muggle Studies textbooks could be updated in an instant!
"Hello, gentlemen and lady,"
Audrey greeted them, sitting on the chair opposite them with a smile.
"I would like to know why you four are so opposed to me changing the Muggle Studies textbooks? Since you four have had a deep understanding of the Muggle world, you should know that the textbooks I've provided reflect the most authentic Muggle world."
Blenheim Stalk said, "Miss Astley, the worldview of Muggles is different from ours, and the angles from which we understand things are also different. If we want wizards to be able to better understand Muggles, we cannot think from a Muggle perspective!"
"So you proposed that the reason Hitler lost was because he didn't look at the stars?"
Blenheim Stalk curled his lip. "Was it not?"
"Of course not!"
Audrey shook her head. "Looking at wizarding history, since the tenth century, there haven't been any wars on a scale that matches the two World Wars. In terms of warfare, Muggles have much more experience than wizards. Your viewpoint is a typical example of using a peasant's perspective to interpret a king's administrative motives; it is extremely naive and laughable."
"You!"
Blenheim Stalk turned red with rage as he pointed at Audrey.
"You, you, you..."
Daisy Hookum gently patted Mr. Stalk's back.
"Mr. Stalk, calm down," she looked at Audrey. "Miss Astley, no matter what, Mr. Stalk is a senior. Your rudeness makes me doubt your character!"
"I don't need you to judge my character,"
Audrey still maintained her smile. "You wrote in your book that a Muggle's favorite sport is having children; that's absolutely ridiculous!
Such views are filled with discrimination and prejudice, and your prejudice against Muggles is just like your prejudice against me now—completely without theoretical basis and entirely untenable."
"..."
The five of them thus engaged in a fierce debate in the small mediation room of the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee.
Old Barty sat to the side, shaking his head slightly. Getting these 'intellectuals' of the wizarding world to accept new things was truly harder than climbing to heaven. It seemed Audrey Astley was going to hit a wall this time.
He couldn't help but wonder: if the Muggle Studies textbooks couldn't be replaced in time, would Audrey be able to pass her O.W.L. exams?
Then he thought that even if she didn't pass that one exam, it wouldn't be a big deal; she had 'O's in all of her other eleven subjects, which was enough to make her stand above the rest.
"In any case, I will not agree to replace the Muggle Studies textbooks!"
"I don't agree either!"
"Disagree!"
"Seconded!"
The reaction of the four writers was not beyond Audrey's expectations. She had already thought before coming that if the textbooks were replaced, these four would lose a massive amount of royalty income.
This was the root of the conflict.
"What a shame,"
Audrey crossed her hands over her stomach and leaned back comfortably against the chair's back.
"If the Muggle Studies textbooks could be successfully replaced, I had originally intended to gift each of you fifty thousand Galleons as compensation for the loss of your royalty income,
But since everyone disagrees, let's just forget about it!"
Audrey shook her head and stood up, making a move to leave.
"Wait a moment!"
Blenheim Stalk stood up urgently.
"Miss Astley, don't be in such a hurry to leave! We can still discuss this!"
Wilhelm Wigworthy also stood up.
"I've thought about it carefully, and the wizarding world indeed needs new ideas; it truly needs a fresh understanding of the Muggle world..."
Mordicus Egg stood up as well.
"Exactly. The Muggle world has changed tremendously in recent years; we must keep up with the times!"
Daisy Hookum refused to be left behind.
"Miss Astley's move is a noble and righteous deed for the wizarding world! It shows that she is someone who cares about the world!"
"We feel that the Muggle Studies textbooks indeed need to change!"
Old Barty Crouch blinked.
Although he had seen many such fair-weather people, the shamelessness these four writers displayed at this moment still made him see them in a new light.
This young girl, Audrey Astley—no, perhaps she should be called Hydrus Lestrange—
She clearly possessed immense power and could have easily used force like her father, but she preferred to use profit...
Muggles Who Notice was published in 1972, and the book had brought Blenheim Stalk over four thousand Galleons in revenue—note, that was the total revenue over twenty years!
So, it really wasn't that their bottom line was low, but rather that Audrey had offered too much! To earn fifty thousand Galleons from these textbooks, they would have to wait two hundred years!
No wonder they changed their stance in a second!
Audrey's money power was truly terrifying!
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]