20: The Combat Techniques of the von Draugr Family

Before the unsteady, one-armed enchanted armor, Nolan executed a stunning sequence of high-difficulty, high-combo combat techniques.

He skillfully employed his fists, elbows, knees, and feet, utilizing every part of his body. With explosive muscle strength and spiraling momentum, his strikes landed with rapid, sharp sounds, disassembling the enchanted armor into shards of metal with astonishing speed.

Clang, clang...

The Ravenclaws and Slytherins watched in stunned silence as fragments of armor scattered across the floor. Nolan, meanwhile, landed gracefully after a mid-air turn and stood back on the ground. Two seconds later, his robes fell back into place, leaving him looking as if nothing had happened.

Nolan, utterly indifferent, seemed unaware of the awe radiating from the Ravenclaws and Slytherins around him.

"Alright," Felicia Von Draugr clapped her hands sharply, snapping the students back to attention. "Let me be clear: you don't need to compare yourselves to Nolan. I've been training him in combat since he was a child. If he hadn't learned at least this much, it would mean my brother truly is an idiot. Now, I want you to form groups of three and practice escaping from the enchanted armor. It will relentlessly pursue you, and, let me warn you—if it hits you, it will hurt. Or so I've heard..."

The young witches and wizards buzzed with excitement. To them, Nolan's techniques were far cooler than the monotonous act of standing still and casting spells.

The students quickly formed groups. Though Ravenclaws and Slytherins bore no real grudges, they didn't exactly get along either, and most stuck to their own housemates. There was only one exception.

An Asian girl came running up to Nolan, her footsteps quick and her chatter quicker.

"Nolan! How did you do that? Merlin's beard, you never told me you could do those things! Was that some kind of Muggle acrobatics? I think you'd make a great acrobat! When I was little, my mom took me to an amusement park where we saw people walking on tightropes really high up—it was so cool!"

Marietta, standing behind Cho Chang, frowned. Though she admitted Nolan was both skilled and handsome, she couldn't forgive him for making her cry on the Hogwarts Express. She tried to pull Cho away, but Cho brushed her off.

"Oh, Marietta, I think you should try forgiving Nolan. He's not a bad guy, you know. Didn't you hear? He turned a stupid Slytherin into a toad. He's on our side! Let's team up with Nolan. I'm sure he can teach us loads about fighting!"

At that moment, Nolan felt a tug on his sleeve.

It was Eve, her eyes red-rimmed as though she might burst into tears at any moment.

"Nolan, can I be in your group?" she asked timidly. "I don't think anyone in Slytherin likes me. They all treat me like I'm cursed..."

Cho hesitated, glancing between Nolan, who looked utterly disinterested, and Eve, who was on the verge of tears. With a pout, she relented.

"Fine, if you insist..." she muttered before pulling Marietta away.

Nolan ended up teaming with Miles Bletchley and Eve, watching as the two younger students struggled to deal with the pursuing enchanted armor. Despite having no mind of its own, the armor was an impressively intelligent magical construct. Miles's attempts to outsmart it proved futile; he even took a punch that knocked out two of his front teeth.

"You shouldn't have kicked its legs—you're not strong enough to do any damage," Nolan said casually as he walked forward.

Just then, the armor swung a massive punch at Eve, who clutched her face and screamed in terror.

Nolan leaped into action, twisting mid-air to deliver a spinning kick that shattered the armor's arm in one fluid motion.

Nolan pulled out his wand and attempted to regrow Miles Bletchley's bloodied front teeth. While doing so, he muttered softly, "The key to combat is nothing more than strength and speed. If you lack both, then, as Felicia said, run. In fact, what Felicia really wants you to learn here is... how to escape."

"I can never do it as well as you…" Miles admitted reluctantly, then frowned. "Uh, Nolan, I hate to say this, but you made my teeth too long."

Miles gingerly touched his newly grown front teeth, which were now twice the length of the others, giving him the unfortunate look of a beaver.

Nolan blinked and then offered a soft suggestion. "Just grind them down a bit, Miles. I'll take responsibility and buy you a chew toy. Besides, this gives you a unique look."

Miles looked unconvinced, but before he could protest further, the class ended.

The session had passed quickly. Everyone seemed in high spirits because both the physical activity and the thrilling challenges had worked wonders to relieve stress—even for young witches and wizards.

As the Ravenclaws and Slytherins scattered to enjoy their first weekend at Hogwarts, Nolan stayed behind. He used his wand to help Felicia repair the enchanted armor—or at least make it look repaired.

"Well done, Nolan, but I know you can't truly fix it. I'll have that short one help patch the damaged parts," Felicia said, her tone softening as she spoke. "Our time is limited, and I think you understand that."

Her expression shifted into one of teasing warmth as she approached Nolan. Smiling mischievously, she kissed him on the lips, rubbing her cheek against his affectionately before adding, "From today onward, I'll be teaching you the Von Draugr family's combat techniques."

Nolan's demeanor grew serious for the first time since arriving at Hogwarts.

"I understand" he responded solemnly.

"Good!" Felicia clapped her hands and began pacing, her voice brimming with enthusiasm. "Today, we'll start with something simple. Nolan, you already know that the Von Draugrs specialize in weaponry. But have you considered that using weapons requires a strong physique? That's right—even vampires, with our innate strength, have limits. Now, between vampires and werewolves, who do you think is stronger?"

Nolan immediately answered in his mind—werewolves.

"Exactly," Felicia continued. "Werewolves are naturally stronger because quadrupeds have greater raw strength than primates. But... what if we could transform into wolves ourselves?"

Felicia rolled up her sleeve, revealing a pale and slender arm. With a sharp snap, her veins bulged, and claw-like talons emerged from her fingertips.

"A vampire's greatest weapon will always be our mastery of transformation," she explained. "Remember this, Nolan: the purpose of transformation is to enhance oneself, not to show off. See? I've altered the internal structure of my arm to mimic a wolf's. It's now far stronger and faster than before."

A realization dawned on Nolan. He had always regarded wolf forms as powerful but ultimately unsuited for combat due to their lack of versatility. However, he had never considered maintaining his human shape while adopting internal wolf-like enhancements to boost his abilities.

"Felicia, I imagine this requires exceptional skill in transformation magic," Nolan remarked as he toyed with his sister's transformed arm, squeezing and prodding it experimentally.

Felicia giggled, her voice lilting with amusement as she wrapped her free arm around Nolan. "That's precisely why I didn't let you learn the Von Draugr combat techniques when you were younger. You had to wait until all your vampire abilities awakened. My darling Nolan, don't worry—your sister will teach you so much more…"

She whispered the last part into his ear, her breath warm and teasing as she lightly nibbled on his earlobe.