7: A Chance Encounter at the Bookstore

At the pile of used books near the entrance to Flourish and Blotts, Nolan noticed two red-haired, freckled boys arguing with their mother.

The short, plump woman argued adamantly, "You two won't be sorted into different houses, right? One set of textbooks should be enough. You can share and take turns when doing your homework."

One of the boys pleaded with a hint of a whine, "Oh, no, Mum! That'll make us look like a pair of idiots!"

The woman smiled sweetly. "Well, they wouldn't be wrong, because the two of you are a pair of idiots. Now hurry along, George. We still need to buy your brother a new set of robes… I can't believe Charlie's graduating this year."

"Mum, I'm Fred!"

"So sorry, dear. Let's go."

"No, he's George. I'm Fred!"

The boys continued their silly banter with their mother as they walked past Nolan. Both boys froze for a moment as they saw him and Libera.

"Oh my goodness, it's Libera Rousseau!"

"Mum, it's your fault! I could've talked to her!"

"Do you think she'd go out with me? I heard witches love young gentlemen!"

Nolan glanced at Libera mockingly, smirking. "Seems you have some admirers."

Libera rolled her eyes, about to retort when the manager of the bookstore approached. He enthusiastically insisted that Libera leave her autograph on the shelves of the store—right next to that of the "idiotic" Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Absolutely not!" Libera shouted in anger. "That idiot tried to sign my robes with a permanent magical marker the last time he saw me! I'll give you an autograph, but only if you remove his books from the shelves!"

After some deliberation, the shopkeeper decided that Gilderoy's name still had more pull than Libera's, much to her frustration.

Nolan casually picked up a book and flipped through it, sneering. "Travels with Vampires? Is this guy out of his mind? Oh…, the general facts about us here are actually correct. Though the story is absurd."

Libera, having finished her argument with the manager, stormed back over. She glanced at the book in Nolan's hands and whispered, "Gilderoy Lockhart… he's hiding quite a few secrets. I can guarantee he's not the adventurer these books claim he is, but he knows a lot of things."

Nolan shrugged indifferently, placing Travels with Vampires back on the shelf before pointing to another book. "And what about this one?"

"That's a Monster Book. Apparently, it's bound in werewolf hide and can be very aggressive when awake. Back in my sixth year, a second-year Slytherin girl's cat got killed by one of these in the common room."

Nolan nodded. "No wonder it reeks of hostility."

After selecting the spellbooks needed for first-years, Libera eagerly carried them, and the two made their way to the register.

On the way, Nolan was suddenly bumped into. He turned to see a young Asian girl with black hair and a flustered expression. Her dark eyes darted around nervously. "I'm so sorry, but I've lost my mum. Have you seen her? She's Asian like me, but she's a Muggle. Oh gosh, I can't imagine what might happen to a Muggle lost in a wizarding place!"

"…Don't worry," Nolan said nonchalantly before turning to Libera. "What's the spell to amplify one's voice?"

Libera replied, "You can say Sonorus."

Nolan drew his unicorn wand, pointed it at the girl's throat, and enunciated clearly, "Sonorus." Feeling the spell take effect, he said to her, "Now you can call out to her."

The black-haired girl opened her mouth and shouted, "MUM!"

The sound of that one word was amplified to a deafening degree, echoing around Flourish and Blotts and nearly shaking the shelves.

Before long, a black-haired Asian woman came running, sobbing as she embraced the little girl. "Ashley, I'm so sorry! I got distracted by the self-cleaning brooms. I thought I'd never find you again!"

The little girl cried as well, saying, "Mum, you're so mean!"

Her voice was still thunderously loud.

Now, everyone in Flourish and Blotts was curiously watching the mother and daughter pair. They were whispering to each other, but every single syllable the little girl uttered was absurdly loud. Blushing furiously, she lowered her voice and asked Nolan, "Can you help me undo the magic?"

"Oh, that's easy." Libera drew her wand and gave it a quick flick. "Quietus."

The little girl tested her voice and found that it was no longer booming. She smiled shyly. "You know magic! Are you a student at Hogwarts?"

"No, I'm a new student too." Nolan gestured toward the large pile of books in Libera's arms. "I noticed you bought the same books. Did you also get a letter from Dumbledore?"

The little girl's face turned beet red as she nodded excitedly. "Dad said Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of this century. I can't believe he sent me a letter! Even though Professor McGonagall wrote it on his behalf, I've already had the envelope framed!"

After paying for their Galleons and leaving the bookstore, Libera looked at Nolan with interest. "I thought you didn't care about wizards, but you were willing to help her."

Flipping through The Standard Book of Spells, Nolan replied indifferently, "She has a scent I like."

"What scent?"

Nolan glanced at her, his voice low. "The scent of a virgin... And by the way, you have it too."

With that, he strode forward, leaving Libera standing there, her face flushed crimson.

...

The rest of the days passed in relative monotony.

Not that it mattered much—after all, as vampires, they were used to a life where excitement was rare. Most of their long existence was spent in boredom. Vampires typically passed the time in their coffins, but Nolan had found an alternative.

Somehow, he had procured a brick-like gaming console and was completely absorbed in a game about capturing 151 little monsters.

Baron Dura, for his part, couldn't understand what was so enjoyable about it. Yet, he was intrigued enough to purchase a set of his own. From then on, he was often heard muttering, "Who knew painting a mouse yellow could make it so adorable?"

And so, the video game became a trend in the Randall Gorge vampire community.

In a way, perhaps vampires weren't so out of touch with modern culture after all.

Incidentally, just three days before September began, Felicia seemed to suddenly remember the existence of Countess Eloise Constantine. That very evening, she drained her blood and turned her into one of her undead kin.

And so, the Sistine's Manor welcomed one more resident.