Audrey said seriously, "The Memory Charm only erases their memory of the event, but the memory itself still exists—it remains etched into their spirit body."
"Then what can you do?"
"My current plan is to return every few days and use a certain method to delve into their inner world. I'll try to communicate with the deeper parts of their subconscious to help them overcome their fear and come out of this self-protective state."
As she spoke, Audrey turned to Madam Longbottom. "Of course, this is just an idea. I can't guarantee it will work."
"That's perfectly fine."
A faint smile appeared on the old lady's face. If she had initially believed Audrey was merely grasping at straws, then after hearing the old doctor—her longtime friend—endorse Audrey's view, she now truly saw a glimmer of hope.
The two elderly women warmly escorted them out of the hospital. Madam Longbottom didn't forget to hand over some food and warm clothes she had prepared for Neville, asking them to bring them back to her grandson—however strict she was with Neville, her love for him ran just as deep.
———
By the time they returned to Hogwarts, night had already begun to fall.
Audrey first found Neville and handed him the things his grandmother had sent. Then she gave him the small gifts she had bought in Hogsmeade earlier that day—sweets, prank items, and the like.
"Thank you," Neville said, surprised and flattered. Aside from his strict grandmother, very few people gave him gifts.
But he quickly realised something and asked, "Did you go to the hospital to see my parents?"
"I did."
"They..."
Neville looked nervous. "Are they...still doing okay?"
Audrey smiled and replied, "Mm, I found a way to treat them—but it might take a long time."
"Really?"
Afraid he had misheard, Neville's eyes widened as he looked at her for confirmation.
"Really."
"Thank you—thank you so much!"
Neville bowed deeply. He was so overwhelmed with emotion that he could barely speak, unsure of where to place his hands and feet. Then, in a flustered move, he handed the gifts she had just given him back to her. "These...these are for you!"
"Uh..."
He immediately realised how awkward that was, and his face flushed bright red with embarrassment.
Seeing this, Audrey picked up a small piece of the snack Madam Longbottom had made. "I'll try one of your grandma's pastries, then. Alright—do me a favour and go get Hermione and the others, will you?"
"Okay! Right away!"
Not long after, Hermione, Harry, and Ron came over, curiosity written on their faces—only to be greeted with an assortment of candies and little gifts. Hermione and Harry were relatively indifferent—they weren't exactly poor and didn't have much interest in such things. Ron, on the other hand, was overjoyed and, for a moment, felt that Audrey treated him better than his own mum did.
"Did you go to Hogsmeade today?" Ron asked as he munched on a Chocolate Frog. "Is it really as fun as the upper years say?"
"Even more fun!"
Audrey smiled, continuing the fine Hogwarts tradition of older students teasing the younger ones.
Ron immediately fell into a wide-eyed daydream.
"Alright, don't forget to share the extras with the other first-years."
"Got it~"
After finishing up with Gryffindor, Audrey returned to the Slytherin common room and started distributing the rest among the first-year snakes. When she realised there was still plenty left, she simply handed them out to anyone she came across, further boosting her popularity among the younger Slytherins.
Finally, Audrey hung the last small bag of candy on Professor Snape's office door before returning to the common room.
She was just in time to see Malfoy approaching her. He looked hesitant and asked in a low voice:
"Can you...really see into my mind?"
"In a sense, yes."
"Then what if it's something even I don't fully remember...no, I mean—if I had a dream while I was asleep, and when I woke up, I could only vaguely recall the gist of it—could you see what I dreamed about?"
"We could give it a try," Audrey replied with a sly smile, squinting slightly. "Why? Did you dream about killing someone?"
"..."
Malfoy flinched and took two steps back. This woman—this woman really can read minds!!
Damn it, she really is a freak!
But he quickly regained his composure and pretended not to care. "That's right. I dreamed about killing Harry Potter last night. But when I woke up, I forgot exactly how I did it."
"Do you need help remembering?"
"No, thanks."
Malfoy lifted his chin in disdain. "I'm a pure-blood aristocrat. I'd never sully my hands with something as crude as murder. Even if I hated someone to death, I'd have a thousand other ways to take care of them!" He was clearly imitating his father Lucius's tone and mannerisms.
"Oh? How impressive."
"Of course."
With that, he sauntered out of the common room.
Audrey watched him thoughtfully: So Malfoy dreamed about killing someone—and now thinks he actually did?
But dreams and reality were usually easy to distinguish—so why would Malfoy believe that something from a dream had actually happened?
The Imperius Curse?
Audrey quickly came up with a theory: when someone broke free from the Imperius Curse, the memories of what they did under its influence often lingered in their mind like fragments of a dream.
So, Malfoy had been under the Imperius Curse...or at least, he believed he had been!
At dinner, Audrey shared her theory with Edward. After a quick discussion, the two of them reached a consensus at once: they had to tell Dumbledore!
They hastily finished their meal and made their way to the headmaster's office.
Ever since deciding to run for Minister for Magic, Dumbledore had been busier than ever—reaching out to members of the Wizengamot, wavering pure-blood families, and Ministry officials who didn't align with Fudge.
Fortunately, he hadn't gone out tonight.
"You suspect that someone used the Imperius Curse on Malfoy to make him commit murder?"
"That's right," Audrey replied. "Do you remember how the Chamber of Secrets incident still left some questions unanswered? Like—who stabbed the basilisk's eyes?"
Dumbledore fell into a moment's thought. "Actually, after you mentioned last time that Malfoy might be involved, I've been keeping an eye on him. But I didn't find anything unusual."
"Hmm. Did you use Legilimency?"
"I'm afraid not. I didn't think it appropriate to use Legilimency on Draco based solely on suspicion."
After a pause, he added seriously, "Let's go see him tonight."
———
After dinner, Malfoy was about to head back to the dormitory with Goyle and Crabbe when he saw Snape walking toward him, his face expressionless.
"Malfoy, come with me."
"What is it, Professor?"
"You'll see soon enough. Goyle, Crabbe—you two head back."
The two looked at Malfoy, then quickly left.
Malfoy had no choice but to follow Snape all the way to his office. The moment he stepped inside, he caught a faint whiff of a sweet, herbal scent. Just as he was wondering what it was, his vision blurred and his body suddenly went limp.
Snape caught him and laid him carefully on the couch.
Dumbledore, Edward, and Audrey lifted their Disillusionment Charms and gathered around the now-unconscious Malfoy.
"You're sure he's...connected to the Dark Lord?" Snape asked.
"We're not sure, Severus," Dumbledore replied with a calm smile. "That's why we need to find out tonight." He turned to Audrey. "Would you like to do the honours, or shall I?"
"I'll do it," Audrey said immediately—she would never miss an opportunity to perform.
Snape eyed her suspiciously. "Are you sure she's capable of this?"
"Oh, absolutely, Severus."
Everything was prepared.
As always, Audrey began by trying to communicate with Malfoy's mental body through Telepathy.
"Malfoy, did you kill someone?"
"I don't know," he murmured. "But I've been dreaming about killing people—again and again."
"Tell me about your dreams."
"I...I dreamed I stabbed out the eyes of a huge snake...I dreamed I cast the Killing Curse on someone...I dreamed people around me were lying on the ground, calling me 'Master'..."
Snape's expression changed instantly.
"When did the dreams start?"
"After the Petrification was lifted."
"Before that, did you feel anything strange?"
Malfoy frowned. "I don't know...I think—I think I had some memory gaps..."
"When did that begin?"
"Start of the term..."
Audrey paused to think, then asked, "Before term started, did anything unusual happen to you? Did you meet anyone—or come into contact with anything odd?"
"No."
This time Edward spoke up: "Ask if he received anything."
"Did you receive anything...unusual?"
Malfoy's face twisted in discomfort. "At the start of term, I...I...there was a black diary in my trunk...it just appeared...and I talked to it—through writing."
Just as they suspected.
Edward looked to Dumbledore. "That's Voldemort's old diary. The very first Horcrux he ever created!"
In the original timeline, that diary had been entrusted to Lucius Malfoy for safekeeping. Later, fearing a Ministry crackdown on Dark artifacts, he had slipped it into Ginny's cauldron when disposing of cursed items—but that was supposed to happen in the second year...
"And where's the diary now?"
"I don't know. It just disappeared."
"Did the diary ask you to do anything?"
"I forget."
"Had you ever seen it before you opened your trunk?"
"No."
Audrey continued asking a series of diary-related questions, but Malfoy had no memory of any of it.
Dumbledore was silent for a long moment, then asked, "Voldemort's diary was able to converse with Malfoy—so it possesses consciousness?"
Audrey suddenly remembered something. "Didn't I mention before that the state of Voldemort in the Chamber seemed...strange? He barely used any spells. He relied almost entirely on controlling the basilisk and Wormtail. And I could tell he seemed to exist in some strange overlap between reality and illusion."
"And Wormtail's behaviour toward him was both obedient and evasive—something that didn't match her usual cowardly nature."
Dumbledore nodded slowly, realisation dawning on him. "So what you're suggesting...is that the Voldemort we saw in the Chamber wasn't the real Voldemort—but rather...something tied to the diary."
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.