231: A Switch for Vampires

"Stephanie is really this powerful?"

Even Duchess Felicia was stunned upon hearing about the necromancer's achievements. She circled around Penelope twice as if she were inspecting some rare specimen. The poor little creature whimpered and immediately shrank behind Nolan, as if she were avoiding a natural predator. Seeing this, Felicia nodded in satisfaction. "Yes, this is the Penelope Clearwater I wanted! This is the student I spent so much effort training!"

"Being your student sounds like absolute hell," Nolan muttered, clicking his tongue.

"The first rule of being my student is obedience!" Felicia raised a finger and wagged it. "If she doesn't listen to me, why should I bother teaching her? This is much better. Now, hand over your paw."

Almost by instinct, Penelope's small hand curled into a fist and was placed obediently in Felicia's palm.

A faint trace of clarity returned to Penelope's eyes, but the moment she realized what she had done, her face turned beet red, and her eyes welled up with shame and frustration. She looked as if she were about to cry.

Felicia, on the other hand, burst into triumphant laughter. "Stephanie truly is amazing!"

"What do we do now?" The initial amusement of having a new "pet" had worn off, and Nolan found himself with a headache. "There are only a few days left in the holiday. I can't take Penelope back to Hogwarts like this—Professor Flitwick will kill me."

"That's easy!" Felicia snapped her fingers. "Stephanie is a master of soul magic. All she needs to do is temporarily suppress Penelope's animal instincts and enhance her human consciousness."

"Can't we just turn her back to normal?" Eve sighed, holding onto Penelope's trembling hand. She couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy, as if she were watching a fellow creature suffer. "It's awful seeing her like a puppy."

"What do you mean?" The Von Draugr siblings spoke in unison. "Isn't this great?"

Eve rolled her eyes and pulled the frightened girl into a hug, offering comfort to the witch who, despite being three years older than her, seemed more vulnerable than ever.

Meanwhile, Felicia continued, clearly pleased with herself. "Stephanie will cast a suggestion spell. From now on, Penelope will be a little puppy in front of us, but at Hogwarts, she'll still be the wise and sophisticated Ravenclaw!"

"A switch… a toggle…" Nolan muttered, mulling over the idea. Then suddenly, like a machine that had momentarily malfunctioned, he froze completely.

"Nolan? What's wrong?"

"I understand now. A switch!" Nolan shot up from his seat, his expression filled with intensity. "That's the solution to the incompatibility between vampire and wizard magic! If we create a special magic that suppresses a vampire's unique traits, we can switch between our vampire abilities and normal wizard life at will."

"Something like that is even possible?" Eve sounded as if he were talking about an impossible fantasy.

"Of course it's possible!" Nolan's voice brimmed with rare excitement. He paced the basement like a madman, running a hand through his hair. "How could I have not seen it sooner? I've been too caught up in wizarding logic for the past two years—I completely ignored the way Muggles think! A switch! That's all we need! I just have to create a magical switch to control whether we use our vampire powers or not!"

Then he turned to his sister and lover, his eyes alight with fervor. "If I can design this switch, I can rewrite what it means to be a vampire. When the switch is off, we could eat regular food like Muggles! We could walk in the sunlight freely!"

"That won't be easy, Nolan."

Even Felicia, who was usually overconfident, now wore a rare expression of solemnity.

After all, they weren't just discussing a simple experiment. This was a life-changing breakthrough—one that could determine the survival of all vampires.

"Of course it won't be easy. This will require Transfiguration, Charms, even Dark Magic and Necromancy. The magic for this switch will be incredibly complex—at least ten times more intricate than Ancestris." Nolan's golden eyes gleamed with fierce determination. "But I will figure it out. There's no problem I can't solve! And besides… both Penelope and I are living proof that wizard magic and vampire traits can coexist. If I can understand how we manage that balance, then my switch theory is completely possible."

He turned to Felicia and Eve, his voice firm. "I'm going to start researching it immediately."

Felicia and Eve exchanged glances. They were both taken aback by the sheer conviction in his voice.

It wasn't often that Nolan showed such unshakable determination, but when he did… it was exhilarating. That single sentence—There's no problem I can't solve—sent a ripple of excitement through them both. Even Penelope, who was still recovering from her humiliation, couldn't help but be awed.

What kind of person had the confidence to say such a thing?

Stephanie's magic had restored Penelope's human consciousness.

Now that she was fully aware of herself again, the sheer humiliation of the past few days settled over her like a heavy weight. She felt utterly mortified. However, what was done was done, and there was no point dwelling on it. All she could do now was look forward… or, perhaps, she was simply running away from reality.

At that moment, Penelope was sharing a bed with Eve. The two Hogwarts witches huddled together under the covers, whispering in the dark.

"I think I finally understand why so many girls at Hogwarts have fallen for Nolan," Penelope mumbled, voice muffled by the blanket. "That confidence of his… it's actually quite attractive. Even though he's three years younger than me."

Eve tilted her head. "Wait… so you're saying you've never felt anything for Nolan?"

"That's strange. Cho and I both knew you wrote to Felicia on purpose, just to get close to him."

Penelope sighed. "He was eleven, Eve. I was fourteen. How could I possibly fall in love with a little boy?" She shook her head with a bitter smile. "You know how difficult it is for witches to find a good partner. At the time, I thought Nolan had the perfect background—his family was rich, his sister was famous, and she was even invited to teach at Hogwarts. That seemed like the ideal match for a witch."

She paused, noticing Eve's slightly sulky expression. Lowering her voice, she asked, "Are you looking down on me?"

"Not exactly… It's just…"

The truth was, Eve did look down on her a little. As someone who believed in love over practicality, Penelope's calculating nature seemed far too cold and mercenary.

Penelope sighed. "I guess I'm being punished for it. If I had chosen someone less wealthy, less powerful, but truly devoted to me… maybe I wouldn't have ended up like this. Maybe I wouldn't have been treated like—like a pet. If Nolan keeps me as his little puppy forever… I think I'll lose my mind."

"That won't happen, Penelope. At the very least, I won't let it happen."

Eve's voice was soft but determined.

Hearing that, Penelope let out a bitter chuckle. "I really regret my choices… But honestly, who could have predicted that Nolan was a vampire?"

The room fell into a deep silence.

After a long pause, Eve suddenly asked, "By the way, Penelope…"

"Hmm?"

"When Stephanie treated you like that… did you really not enjoy it?"

"...Not one bit!"