The long-haired vampire behind Lockhart opened his mouth, baring long, slender fangs, and leaned in to bite his neck.
"Wait! You can't do that!" Garr quickly interjected.
"That's right, Artemis." The brown-haired man next to Garr said, "That's this brother's prey; he should be the first to taste him."
"Alright," the long-haired vampire reluctantly let go of Lockhart, saying, "I'm really hungry."
His snake-like gaze swept over Lockhart's neck, leaving Lockhart stiff and looking at Garr for help.
"Listen to me—" Garr's mind raced, trying to use a "vampire-esque," extremely hungry tone. "This blood meal is very rare. He's a Wizard... so I thought, after everything's done, we could invite everyone to slowly enjoy him."
Lockhart was so scared he could barely think. Hearing this, he looked at Garr in horror, with an expression that screamed, "I can't believe you're this kind of person."
"A Wizard?" The long-haired vampire instantly became alert. He searched Lockhart, pulled out his Wand, and snapped it in half with ease. Only then did a drooling smile appear on his face. "I'm looking forward to it... By the way, what's your name?"
"Oliver!" Garr's heart skipped a beat. He blurted out a common name. "I'm Oliver Williams!"
"Oliver? Haha, you're the third Oliver I've met! I'm Jack Roberts."
The brown-haired man clapped him on the shoulder heartily, saying happily, "Even though the first two didn't taste very good, I think we'll get along great!"
Garr nodded with a forced smile. "Absolutely! Absolutely!"
At the same time, he looked longingly at the sky, hoping the Owl delivering the package would notice his predicament and bring his uncle to rescue him.
But the Owl had already flown far away. He did, however, see two more bats flying in the distance.
What's going on? A vampire convention? So close to Hogwarts? Are they crazy?
Garr had a compelling reason to be there. He couldn't understand why these vampires, who weren't being hunted by Dementors, had also come to this place.
He wanted to ask about it, but he was afraid of revealing that he wasn't one of them. So, he didn't dare say another word, only vague agreement to a few things before falling silent, observing with a hint of dread.
Afterward, the group walked together towards the edge of the village. Lockhart's hands and feet were bound, and his mouth was gagged. Two vampires escorted him, making him look like a drunkard.
Beyond the central commercial district, Hogsmeade was much like any ordinary village. Most areas were quiet, with houses sparsely scattered along the roadsides. Some reclusive individuals lived in very secluded spots.
But the place the vampires were heading to was somewhere even Lockhart, who had studied at Hogwarts for seven years and taught there for half a year, had never been. It was almost at the farthest western edge of the village.
It was an old wooden house, two stories high, with seven or eight windows. Some thin branches even grew up from near the ground.
Lockhart didn't get to see more. The moment he entered, he was thrown into a dirty storage room, getting a mouthful of dirt.
He struggled to lift his head and saw that another person was tied up in the storage room.
A young woman, dressed in gray Robes, sat in the corner, her head down, covering her face, crying softly. She seemed very scared.
"Be careful," Lockhart heard someone say. "Didn't you hear what the new guy said? This one's a Wizard."
"Got it." Another person came over with tape and quickly bound Lockhart's mouth and fingers, then left them and departed.
Hearing the door close, Lockhart's face was filled with despair.
Even if he had mastered the Nonverbal Wandless Spell, it wouldn't be easy to remove this very sticky tape... and he didn't even know it.
Lockhart lay on the ground, shedding tears of regret.
If only he had seriously learned the Nonverbal Wandless Spell back at school... or if he hadn't abused the Obliviation Charm just to chase fame...
No, no, no, the biggest mistake was coming to Hogwarts. This place was practically cursed. Ever since he accepted the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor position, one unlucky thing after another had happened, never stopping.
Why was life so hard?
Accompanying the long-haired woman's cries beside him, the speechless Lockhart silently shed tears for a while, developing a sense of camaraderie with the person next to him.
He struggled to turn his head, wanting to ask the girl for help with his eyes—Perhaps she's one of my fans?
Even if not a fan, at least her hands seemed free. If she could find a way to remove the tape from him, that would be enough.
The long-haired woman was still crying, as if her tears were endless. Lockhart tried to hum twice to alert her to his presence.
The crying stopped slightly, and the woman slowly raised her head, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes and a face with only one nostril.
...
Garr could also hear the crying, like an Owl's wail. He watched the door close and asked uneasily, "Who else is in there?"
"The owner of the house," a red-haired vampire said.
"What?" Garr said in surprise. "This is her house? What if... what if someone comes looking for her and finds us?"
"Don't worry, that's a Banshee. No one wants to go near them." The red-haired vampire pushed him inside, saying, "Come on, almost everyone's here."
Garr stumbled a step, entering the living room, and saw that there were twenty or thirty vampires in this small house. The living room was dimly lit and smoky, and dozens of faintly gleaming eyes looked at him.
Garr couldn't help but take a step back.
Then he was bumped back by Roberts, who was walking behind him.
"What's wrong?" Roberts asked strangely.
"I... I'm a little worried about the blood meal I brought..." Garr found an excuse offhand. "He's with a Banshee; he won't get killed, will he?"
"Read a book, mate," Roberts scoffed. "Banshees are harmless. Those guys just like to cry under the windows of the dying."
Garr had no choice but to walk in anxiously, then someone handed him a stemmed glass.
He lowered his head and sniffed, discovering it was fresh human blood, mixed with a strange, cedar-like scent.
"Special Banshee flavor," the vampire who handed him the cup winked and chuckled. "You'll love it, brother."
Garr took two sips, feeling every cell from his throat to his stomach satiated.
During his time on the run, opportunities to drink human blood were rare. And the refrigerated blood from hospitals had additives, making it far less palatable than fresh blood.
If his life weren't still in danger, Garr would have excitedly shouted, "Another one!"
Even more fortunately, after listening for a while, he realized that the others present weren't familiar with each other either. They were all just vampires in similar dire straits who had received a "mass invitation."
"Hi there." A young vampire girl approached him, smiling as she clinked her cup against his. "I'm Sophia."
Garr quickly replied, "I'm… I'm Oliver."
He almost forgot the fake name he had casually made up.
Sophia took a sip of blood, then leaned closer and asked, "Do you think what the invitation says is true?"
"Huh? Uh…" Garr had no idea what the invitation said, so he vaguely replied, "Probably? You don't think it's credible?"
He tossed the question back.
"Who knows?" The girl leaned against the counter, looking at the room full of vampires with dark circles under their eyes. "It said everyone would get at least thirty thousand Galleons after it's successful. I wouldn't even dream of such a good thing…"
—How much? Did you say how much?
Garr was so shocked he nearly spat out the blood in his mouth. He craned his neck and swallowed it all down with a gulp, finally understanding why all the vampires in the room had that expression.
That greed… that yearning… it wasn't because they, like him, rarely drank blood. It was because they yearned for more tangible, glittering gains.
—In the vicinity of Hogwarts, could there really be such a good thing? What kind of operation could bring in hundreds of thousands of Galleons?
Although he didn't yet understand the full story, Garr felt a strong sense of impending danger and desperately wanted to escape.
He drained the blood in his cup, set it down, chatted for a few moments, then clutched his stomach and groaned, "Sophia, I think I might be allergic to Banshee blood. Could you tell me where the restroom is…"
But Sophia's gaze suddenly shifted diagonally upwards, and she said, "Look! That's probably our inviter."
Garr turned his head and saw a man and a woman descending the stairs. The man had a dark aura, exuding the feel of a "Dark Wizard"; the woman looked like an ordinary housewife, but her eyes gave off a dangerous impression.
"Welcome, welcome, fellow brethren."
The man smiled and said, "Thank you for accepting my invitation. I truly miss the days when we worked together. It's a shame that since the Organization's bases were successively destroyed, we all seem to have become lost souls. I hear many of you have had a very difficult time recently…"
"Enough with the pleasantries, Byrd."
A vampire with a scar on his face said, "We were all just cannon fodder thrown into battle by the Organization, lucky to survive, unlike you, a favorite in front of the superiors."
"That's right, we just want to hear what this big business you speak of is," another vampire with terrible burns revealed a sinister smile. "If you're lying to me, I swear I'll tear you to pieces!"
Garr could tell that most of the people there didn't actually believe in any "big business" worth hundreds of thousands of Galleons. Their greed was simply at play, and they decided to come and see anyway.
And for most of them, even if it wasn't twenty thousand Galleons, getting a few thousand… or even a few hundred Galleons, would be worth doing some dirty work.
"After you hear it, you'll know why it'll earn so much money. In fact… the real number might be even higher."
Byrd revealed a mysterious smile.
...
"Are you kidding me? Kidnap a Hogwarts student? And Wade Grey, no less?" Roberts roared. "Do you want to die? If you want to die, don't drag me into it!"
He turned to leave, but was blocked at the door by the scarred vampire.
"Considering the sales of his various works, Wade Grey's vault truly might contain hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of Galleons. But with Dumbledore around, no one can touch him."
The scarred vampire calmly asked,
"Byrd, I assume you don't want to commit suicide either, so what's the plan?"
"I received news that Dumbledore needs to meet with the Headmaster of Beauxbatons this weekend."
Byrd chuckled, "Hogsmeade Weekend, gentlemen. The little wizard brats are all running around the village. No one will notice if one or two disappear."
"Are you suggesting we rush into the crowd and abduct such a conspicuous wizard?" Roberts sneered. "I bet Dumbledore would appear within three seconds if you tried that!"
"Yes, which is why someone needs to lure him here, where no one will notice even if he's caught," Byrd said. "I've already arranged the hardest part. Someone will bring Wade Grey here then. Any other questions?"
"Even so…" Artemis said nervously, "it's not foolproof. He might bring friends, and a Hogwarts professor might suddenly appear…"
"That's why I invited you, gentlemen! If it were truly foolproof, I'd do it myself!" Byrd stated bluntly. "But if it goes smoothly, it'll be as easy as picking money off the ground!"
"What if it doesn't go smoothly? Besides Dumbledore, Hogwarts has many powerful professors, and even this village is full of wizards…" Artemis said worriedly.
"If you get caught, then yes, you might die." Byrd shrugged, a smile on his face. "—And then the others will have more money to share."
At the thought of a glittering mountain of gold, the vampires' eyes instantly grew more avaricious.
The burned vampire licked his lips and said, "It's certainly worth a shot. Byrd, how will we split the profits?"
"I just need the person, alive," Byrd said. "All the assets in the boy's vault are yours."
"Once you've got him, how do you plan to escape?" the scarred vampire asked. "Do you have a Portkey?"
"No such luck. The wizard in the Organization who could help make Portkeys was killed by Grindelwald," Byrd said regretfully. "We can only use Floo Powder. Luckily, this house has a fireplace."
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
The fireplace in this house could only accommodate two people at most at a time, meaning it would take a considerable amount of time to transfer everyone to a safe location.
Because they couldn't clearly and accurately state their Floo Powder destination while simultaneously transforming into bats.
If the capture operation was exposed too early, the vampires left behind would be as good as dead. At that point, they might even start fighting amongst themselves for a chance to escape.
However, conversely, as long as it wasn't exposed within half an hour—or even twenty minutes—it would indeed be an easy money-making operation.
No one thought that dozens of vampires couldn't catch a teenage child; they were only worried about becoming the cannon fodder left behind.
After a moment of silence, everyone tacitly suppressed their worries and fears and began to discuss the details of the operation.
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