With the vacation over, the "Astley Siblings" got busy again.
Following the United States, Japan also extended an invitation to them. It seemed the duo was well on their way to becoming world-class superstars.
The most incredible part was that it had only been just over three months since their official debut!
In 1986, the famous Tokyo Dome was still under construction and not yet in use.
Therefore, the Astley siblings' concert was held at the Nippon Budokan.
The Nippon Budokan, ever since The Beatles visited Japan in 1966, had become a "holy land" for Japanese rock musicians. Countless Japanese artists considered it their dream venue.
The concert was scheduled to start on December 14th and run for seven consecutive days!
By the time they finished here and returned home, it would be almost Christmas.
Truth be told, the Japanese admiration for the West was practically ingrained in their bones during this era.
From the moment Audrey stepped off the plane, she received meticulous care.
There was also a dense crowd of enthusiastic fans waiting to greet them at the airport.
"Audrey," Rick looked at his sister, feeling a bit uneasy. "These Japanese people are too enthusiastic. I can't quite handle it."
Audrey smiled, waving at the frenzied fans separated by police and security guards, while replying, "This is probably just the Japanese fans' etiquette for singers they love? Brother, you don't need to worry too much."
Jinhu, in Audrey's arms, also nodded slightly. Muggles were always making such a fuss.
"Audrey-san, Aishiteru!"
"Audrey-san, daisuki!!"
"..."
In reality, Rick didn't need to be nervous at all, because most of the fans shouting frantically were calling for Audrey...
Rick's breakout song had yet to be released. In the eyes of the public at this moment, he was primarily the songwriter and supporting act in the group.
Like the "Yo-Yo" guy in a certain legendary duo, he was purely a foil in the early stages. But when he fully unleashed his abilities, he would shock everyone.
...
On the day of the concert, Audrey stood near the stage entrance, watching with great interest as the "shrine maidens" on stage performed a purification ritual.
The young shrine maidens, holding gohei wands, danced gracefully on the stage.
When they came off stage, Audrey was surprised to find that their robes were actually pink.
Shouldn't shrine maiden attire be red and white?
Audrey was full of doubt.
She then saw one little shrine maiden who didn't leave with the main group. Instead, she stood near Audrey, facing her, and spoke softly with her head bowed.
"Tocci, come quick!"
In her previous life, Audrey had been immersed in Japanese anime for ten years, so she could understand some simple Japanese.
The little shrine maiden clearly wasn't calling her.
But there was no one else around?
Next, she heard the little shrine maiden say anxiously:
"Don't do that, Tocci, I'll be expelled from school!"
Hm?
Was something hugging her thigh?
Audrey looked down. There was nothing there.
But the sensation of touch was real.
Looking at the little shrine maiden again, she was on the verge of tears.
Hydrus seemed to think of something and reached out, feeling around.
Furry. It felt nice.
The next moment, Audrey mastered a new magical constitution.
She couldn't help but smile. This was a very useful constitution.
Demiguise.
The Demiguise named Tocci gradually materialized before Audrey's eyes. Although it was still in an invisible state, Audrey could now see it.
"Hello, is your name Tocci?"
Audrey crouched down and spoke to Tocci.
Surprise filled Tocci's large, melancholic eyes. It opened its arms and gave Audrey a big hug.
This magical creature, resembling an ape with silver fur, was gentle by nature. However, because its pelt could be used to make invisibility cloaks, it had been over-hunted by wizards and was now an endangered species.
Audrey took its hand and walked over to the little shrine maiden, placing the Demiguise's small paw into the girl's hand.
"This is your Demiguise, right? Take good care of it next time\~."
"You, no, Muggle?"
Evidently, they taught some English at Mahoutokoro, but this little witch didn't seem to have learned it very well.
Audrey just smiled and didn't answer.
"Miss Audrey, I, Kamo Tsuruko, please take care of me."
"..."
The two chatted briefly and then parted ways, as the language barrier was indeed a problem.
The little Demiguise, Tocci, was very reluctant to leave Audrey, practically being dragged away by Tsuruko, its large, melancholic eyes looking even more melancholic.
...
This was just a small interlude, but it brightened Audrey's mood considerably for the next few days.
After all, she had obtained another very practical magical constitution.
Besides being able to turn invisible, Demiguises also had some ability to foresee the future.
You read that right, foresee the future. Although it couldn't see far, this was practically a god-tier skill.
...
...
When the siblings returned to the UK, it was already December 23rd.
After the concert, they had participated in recording two variety shows in Japan, which delayed their return.
"Mr. Waterman, I'm exhausted!" Audrey complained bitterly to Peter Waterman, who had come to pick them up at the airport. "From now on, apart from singing, don't make me do anything else! If you dare force me, I'll go on strike!"
As an eleven-and-a-half-year-old child laborer, if Audrey really wanted to strike, Mr. Waterman would be helpless.
In special fields like arts and sports, talent generally needed to be cultivated from a very young age. If one waited until the child was older, the optimal learning age would be missed.
So, as long as it was registered with the relevant departments, it was actually legal for minors to work in certain special industries.
But Audrey was a minor, after all. If word got out that Peter Waterman Ltd. was exploiting and oppressing its underage artist, the Waterman company would be finished.
Public opinion could be lethal.
Not to mention, Audrey was currently Waterman's greatest treasure. He naturally wouldn't refuse Audrey's request.
Anyway, from now on, she just had to sing.
Right, singing was something she liked. That truly wasn't tiring.
Anything else?
Get lost. She wasn't going to bother.
With that spare time, wouldn't it be more comfortable to lie on her Galleons at home?
...
...
December 24th.
Hydrus, wearing Kamo Tsuruko's face, arrived at the Leaky Cauldron.
This time, she didn't bring Jinhu. After all, calico cats weren't common in the UK and could easily expose her identity.
She had come this time, firstly, to buy some Christmas presents for Rick in Diagon Alley, and secondly, to gather some news from the wizarding world.
Her last visit to the pub had been extremely profitable, after all!
Now, more than two-thirds of the space in her pouch was piled high with Galleons!
It was noon, so the Leaky Cauldron wasn't very crowded.
Hydrus would have preferred to come at night, but Christmas Eve had to be spent with family.
She sat for a long time but didn't overhear any interesting news.
"Mr. Tom," Hydrus waved. "Do you have the Daily Prophet from the last month? Oh, and another Butterbeer!"
Old Tom came out from behind the bar, holding a Butterbeer in one hand and a stack of newspapers in the other.
"Here!"
He handed the items to Hydrus, took the money, and turned to walk back.
"Mr. Tom!"
Old Tom was called back again. He shook his head helplessly, turned around, and said very seriously, "Child, my last name is Abbot. You can call me Mr. Abbot or Old Tom."
'What on earth is "Mr. Tom"?'
"Alright, Old Tom," Hydrus smiled, pointing to a wall on the side of the pub where several wizards were prying at the bricks. "I noticed they've been busy over there for a while. Is the pub expanding?"
"No," said Old Tom. "There's a little singer in the Muggle world named Audrey who's become incredibly popular lately, so popular she's even a hit in our wizarding world."
He said, "The Wizarding Wireless Network plays her songs every other day. Many people are saying this little singer is actually a little witch."
He gestured with his chin towards the wizards working on the wall. "See, next to our pub is a Muggle record shop. They play Audrey's songs all day long. This caused many customers, who originally came to drink, to gather at the entrance just to listen."
"How can we have wizards gathering in large numbers in a Muggle area? So, I got warned by the Ministry of Magic several times. I have no choice but to have people come and modify the wall, so the music from the record shop can travel into our pub."
So, it was a "music-borrowing" project. The fact that her own songs were so well-liked made Hydrus quite happy.
Hydrus agreed, "Exactly. I love listening to Audrey's songs too. She's just fantastic! Of course, your idea, Mr. Abbot, is also brilliant. It would be wonderful to hear Miss Astley's songs in the pub."
"Yes, I think so too!"
Old Tom turned and left.
Hydrus took a large gulp of Butterbeer, then unfolded the newspaper and began to read intently.
Shame! Fooled by an old servant, the foolish Ministry of Magic, by Rita Skeeter.
It was an article describing how the Ministry of Magic was being run in circles by Bode Gray.
'Bode was exposed?'
Hydrus was very surprised.
But as she continued reading, she realized it was just another nonsense article by Rita Skeeter.
The entire piece was filled with words like "possibly," "perhaps," and "should," with not a single hard fact.
To put it bluntly, aside from the headline, which hit the truth by accident, the rest was just a gossip column she had written, describing an improper deal and a relationship 'beyond friendship' between Bode and a certain Ministry official.
However, it had to be said, if read as a novel, Rita's writing style was still decent.
"There's a new wanted poster!"
The voice arrived before the person.
The pub door opened, and two Aurors walked in, holding a stack of wanted posters.
"Bode Gray! Robbed a gold transport carriage, murdered the guards, defrauded the Ministry of Magic of compensation! Vicious and heinous! Reward: 20,000 Galleons!"
Hydrus blinked. It wasn't that she didn't understand; this world just changed too fast.
Bode Gray had become a wanted criminal too?
"Mr. Auror, what's this about Bode Gray?"
A patron immediately raised the question.
This kind of thing was what pub-goers cared about most. Official news heard directly from an Auror's mouth was excellent material for bragging in the pub later that evening.
"Bode Gray robbed the Rosier family's gold transport carriage two days ago and was caught in the act by Aurors whom the Rosier family had hired for protection. You see, to ensure the safety of the Thestral carriages, our Ministry has started an Auror protection service."
It seemed the Ministry was really scrambling to salvage the reputation of the Thestral carriage service.
The Auror continued, "After a fierce battle, several Aurors were injured, and Bode Gray escaped."
"Afterward, the Ministry conducted an investigation at Gringotts and found that after the Gray family received the 17,000 Galleon compensation from the Ministry, their vault's deposits increased by nearly 40,000 Galleons. For the Gray family, who was selling off assets just last quarter, this clearly didn't add up."
"Connecting the dots, we concluded that the one who robbed the Malfoy and other families' transport carriages earlier was, in fact, Bode Gray."
"Bode Gray is now at large. The Ministry has ordered the Gray family to hand over all the stolen goods and the funds defrauded from the Ministry. If they fail to pay by the deadline, the entire Gray family will be arrested."
This turn of events was so bizarre... truly befitting the wizarding world.
Bode Gray, who had put her on a wanted poster with his own hands, was now wanted himself.
What Hydrus didn't know, however, was that it was precisely her two uses of the vault-shifting magic that had forced Bode Gray into this desperate move.
Hydrus looked at Bode Gray's wanted poster, hanging side-by-side with her own.
In the photo, Bode Gray wore a silver half-mask covering the left side of his face. He was grinning menacingly, like a hungry hyena.
As his neighbor, Hydrus, despite always roaring, looked much cuter in comparison.
'This is the best Christmas present.'
Hydrus thought.
'This is truly gratifying!'
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]