Seeing Harry finally silenced, Cassandra turned her attention elsewhere. "Since you're all so concerned," she began, crossing her arms and affecting a casual tone, "how about this? Tom and I..."
"Ahem..."
Shooting a quick, impatient glance at Nagini, Cassandra continued, "I'll squeeze in with her and Tom, and the rest of you can have the other two rooms." By now, she had completely forgotten her earlier pronouncements to the ghost waiter about merely "sitting and resting." Honestly, why just 'sit and rest' when there's sleeping together to be done? I, Cassandra Volle, have standards!
Tom, sipping the coffee Nagini had personally brewed, smiled faintly at Cassandra. "That will not be necessary. I do not actually require sleep."
"..."
I hate you, Tom.
...
Meanwhile, elsewhere...
Lenore Tepesh flew cheerfully down the corridor as a small bat, arriving at her father's office door.
"Daddy!"
Bang!
Lenore burst through the door.
"Oh, my darling little sweetheart~" Frederick Volle quickly put down his Muggle book, How to Win Over a Grumpy Boss, and gazed at his little bat with a loving smile.
"Daddy, guess what? I met someone very special..."
It's been so long since I've seen my little bat so happy. She's so adorable.
"He's so... handsome! His eyes are so beautiful! And not just his eyes; everything about him is..."
The little bat has grown up! I wonder when she'll meet her other half in her vampire life, like I met her mother... I'll be heartbroken when that day comes! I'm so unwilling to accept it! Just thinking about those brats stealing my daughter makes me want to drink their blood and eat their flesh!
"He looks about my age, Daddy. Don't you think we'd make a perfect match?! Daddy, do you think he'd agree if I suggested running away with him?"
The little bat wants to leave, too...
"What?!"
Volle, jolted from his thoughts, slammed his hand on the table. "What did you just say?!"
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Lenore asked, puzzled. "Daddy, do you think he wouldn't let me leave with him? What should I do?"
"No... no!"
Volle was so enraged he could barely speak. He took a deep breath, then gritted his teeth and asked the question that burned in his mind: "Who is he?"
There was one more thing Volle didn't say: Whoever "he" is will face the wrath of the vampires for daring to kidnap my daughter!
Hearing Volle's question, Lenore seemed slightly confused, but she paused to consider. "Hmm... he has very beautiful green eyes, like a snake's, or like noble emeralds!"
"..."
Volle had a sinking feeling. The bloodshot rage in his eyes began to recede, and his fangs subconsciously retracted.
Lenore, oblivious, continued, "I overheard the others in the hotel calling him... Riddle..."
"Mr. Riddle?" Volle's tone was dangerously calm. "Tom Riddle?"
"Yes! That's the name!" Lenore squealed with delight. "It suits me perfectly! Daddy, what do you think about naming our future son 'Lauren Tepesh Riddle'?"
"..."
Frederick Volle seemed deaf to his daughter's words, his face paling as he slumped back in his chair.
Who kidnapped my daughter? ...Oh. It was Tom Riddle.
"Daddy? Daddy?" Lenore pouted. "You should help me think of something. It might be too late otherwise."
"??!"
Volle snapped back to reality, sitting bolt upright and looking at his daughter with utmost seriousness. "Listen to me, Lenore. He... that gentleman... I'll speak to him. Why don't you return to your room and rest?"
Lenore looked aggrieved. "Why? Isn't Mr. Riddle a good person?"
"..."
No, my dear daughter, how am I supposed to answer that? If I dared suggest he's "not a good person," you could inherit my inn today. You wouldn't even have to pay for a funeral because your father isn't sure he'd leave behind any ashes.
Volle coughed twice. "Ahem... Mr. Riddle is certainly a good person."
Hearing this, Lenore grew even more anxious. "Is he not good enough? Or am I not good enough? Why aren't we suitable?"
"..."
Not good enough? In the entire magical world, no! In almost the entire history of magic, you couldn't find anyone more outstanding than him. But precisely because of that! Daughter, we can't handle this!
And precisely because of this, Volle felt incredibly uneasy about Lenore appearing before Tom. Because he was powerless to protect her.
"He wields power of an extraordinary degree, arguably the most talented wizard in the entire magical world. Even Albus Dumbledore, celebrated as the 'greatest white wizard of the century,' might not compare." Unable to directly criticize Tom, Volle had to find another angle. "But what if... he has already fallen for another witch? You know, Mr. Riddle is so remarkable; many witches must be drawn to him. The chances of him already being infatuated with someone else are not..."
"Then I'll simply outlive that witch." Lenore didn't seem concerned. "Vampires live much longer than wizards, and he's so powerful; he'll undoubtedly live a very long time. As long as I outlive that witch you mentioned, we can be together, right?"
"..."
Daughter, what you said actually makes sense. Where in the world did she learn that?! I really shouldn't have bought those random books for her!
Volle was on the verge of tears. He wanted to offer a few more comforting words, but Lenore only replied, "Dad, you just don't understand him."
Damn it, I feel like I'm dying.
Ultimately, Volle reluctantly agreed to allow Lenore to see Tom, but under one condition: he would accompany her. That way, if Lenore did anything to offend Tom, he could smooth things over.
This made Lenore a little unhappy; she had hoped to create some "private time" with Tom.
But she couldn't refuse Volle's request, so she reluctantly agreed. "Since that's settled, let's return to our earlier topic. Dad, what do you think we should name our daughter if we have one?"
"..."
"Okay, perhaps what's more crucial for me now is to establish a basic relationship with him. How about we start as husband and wife?"
"Hmm?! Daughter, isn't that 'basic' leap a bit too large?"
"Is it? Okay, then let's be boyfriend and girlfriend!"
"..."
---