135: The Dock and the Veela

"Classmates?" Bai frowned slightly, glancing at the group of girls sitting in the corner, gossiping about her relationship with Nolan. She sneered, "They don't even know magic. They're just a bunch of Muggles. I don't care about them at all."

Nolan set down his tomato juice and asked softly, "Even though you're a Muggle yourself?"

Bai's face instantly turned an ugly shade of green. After a long silence, she muttered in a low voice, "I'm not a Muggle..."

"No, you are." Nolan's tone was calm as he looked into her wavering dark eyes. "'Muggle' isn't an insult. It's simply the term wizards and magical creatures use for people who lack magical abilities and know nothing about the wizarding world. Your father is a wizard, and your sister is quite a talented witch. But you… are a Muggle."

"Is there any way for me to become a witch?" Bai still carried a hint of desperate hope in her voice.

"In ancient times, some old witches tried brewing potions to turn Muggles into wizards," Nolan said, shaking his head. "But you know as well as I do—it never really worked. Turning a Muggle into a wizard is as impossible as turning a weak, ordinary sorcerer into someone like Dumbledore."

Bai lowered her gaze, her voice filled with dejection. "But it's not my fault that I wasn't born a witch…"

"Of course, it's not your fault."

"But I can't accept this," she said bitterly. "Cho gets to live in the magical world, while I have to study things like physics and chemistry with a bunch of clueless Muggles... Help me, Nolan. Cho says you can do anything. You must be an incredible wizard, right?"

"I can't help you."

Hearing Nolan's firm refusal, Bai's expression twisted with anger. "So, you look down on me too, just because I'm a Muggle! Just like Cho—you're all laughing at me behind my back! I hate you!"

With that, she stormed off, dragging her equally clueless classmates along with her.

After Bai left, Ligeitoli, who had been too nervous to speak the whole time, cautiously looked at Nolan. When she was sure he wasn't angry, she hesitated before saying, "I thought you'd be mad at her…"

"Why would I be mad at a little girl?" Nolan replied indifferently before adding, "Hurry up and eat. We'll miss the train otherwise."

"Oh… okay!" Ligeitoli quickly stuffed big bites of her hamburger into her mouth, completely ignoring any sense of elvish grace.

But today, Ligeitoli learned something important—Nolan wasn't as cold or short-tempered as she had imagined.

That was a good thing, wasn't it?

The next day, at a dock in Manchester, Nolan stood waiting for a boat with a black cat in his arms, while the little elf in a dress stood beside him.

There were many other people waiting to board as well, but they were all Muggles.

Nolan had no interest in guessing why they were traveling to Ireland. Instead, he focused on stroking Miss Nancy's soft, glossy fur. The elf, on the other hand, was full of curiosity, glancing around at the people who would be sharing the boat with them.

An elderly woman standing nearby smiled kindly at her. "You're such a lovely child. Would you like some financiers?"

The old lady held up a basket filled with rectangular almond-flavored pastries.

"Oh, you're so kind!" Ligeitoli's face lit up with delight—she hadn't eaten enough at breakfast. "Really? Then I'd like two, please!"

"Have as many as you want, dear," the grandmotherly woman said warmly. "I baked them myself. My daughter loves financiers the most. The way you eat reminds me of her—you take such big bites, just stuffing them in one after another. I always worry she'll hurt her poor little mouth… But, unfortunately, she's not as pretty as you."

Nolan thought to himself, Forget your daughter—even if you were in your prime, you wouldn't be as stunning as this little elf.

The old lady was quite the chatterbox. "If my daughter were as beautiful as you, she wouldn't have been dumped by that banker and ended up with that awful baseball player instead. But alas, she has a terrible personality too... Oh, young man, would you like a financier as well?" She pulled out another pastry and tried to hand it to Nolan.

Nolan declined indifferently. The old woman didn't seem upset, though—instead, she continued encouraging Ligeitoli to eat more.

"That's right. You'd better eat more now so I won't have to take you to a Muggle restaurant after we land." Nolan said coldly.

Ligeitoli, her mouth stuffed full, let out a muffled protest.

But Nolan ignored her.

At that moment, the dock suddenly fell silent, as if the world had been plunged into a deep and soundless midnight.

Everyone's gaze was locked onto a single person—more precisely, a girl.

She was young, no more than fifteen or sixteen. Her silver hair was so light it was almost transparent, her skin as pale as fresh snow. She was breathtaking—ten out of ten men would be instantly captivated by her.

Every single man on the dock stared at her, entranced. Their expressions were so enraptured, it was as if they wanted to peel off their own faces and paste them onto her body just to get closer to her.

The boys gazed at the silver-haired girl with obsessive fascination, while their girlfriends shot them venomous glares, their faces dark with fury.

Nolan noticed that a couple not far away had already begun arguing—undoubtedly because the boyfriend couldn't tear his eyes away from the silver-haired girl, much to his girlfriend's displeasure.

"If you like her so much, then go to her! Why are you still clinging to me?!" The furious girlfriend swung her suitcase at her boyfriend with a loud thud! The suitcase burst open, sending an assortment of embarrassing lingerie flying into the air.

As the wind carried the delicate fabrics aloft, the silver-haired girl casually tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a faint smile curling on her lips.

That tiny smile was all it took to utterly destroy the remaining willpower of most of the boys present.

Nolan heard a desperate voice cry out from somewhere nearby: "She smiled at me!"

Another voice snapped back, "No, she's obviously interested in me! She'll be my date!"

At least three couples broke up on the spot.

Lingerie fluttered through the air like drifting petals, slowly falling around the girl, whose face was as delicate as a porcelain doll. The entire scene was absurdly comical, yet layered with an undeniable sense of chaos.

Nolan let out a disdainful snort and leaned toward Ligeitoli, whispering, "See? This is exactly why I hate Veela. They use their abilities to interfere with other people's lives, and they're proud of it."

"But I'm an elf, not a Veela! I only have a tiny bit of Veela blood—just a tiny bit!" Ligeitoli protested, desperately trying to defend herself.

Nolan ignored her completely. "I don't understand what's so admirable about this. She's not as attractive as she thinks she is."

"But all the boys are going crazy over her!"

"Because that's a Veela's special ability. She can make any man believe she's irresistible—provided he has no magical resistance."

Just as Nolan finished speaking, he noticed the silver-haired girl looking straight at him.

She seemed genuinely surprised to find a boy in the crowd who wasn't affected by her charm. Though he looked young, this was still unexpected—after all, a Veela's allure was supposed to be unfailing.

With a playful smile, she strolled over to him.

"Hey there, cowboy."