Chapter 817: The Vampire Bar
Chapter 817: The Vampire Bar
As Albert stepped into the swirling green flames, he felt as if he were being sucked in, spun rapidly by the whirling fire. Once the sensation of solid ground returned, Albert swayed slightly before steadying himself.
"Welcome to the Spanish Ministry of Magic," a voice said.
As soon as he emerged from the fireplace, Albert heard the greeting from an unfamiliar elderly wizard standing nearby.
Of course, the old wizard probably didn't expect the visitor to understand Spanish and was merely following the custom of greeting travelers who arrived via the International Floo Network.
After all, wizards who used the International Floo Network were quite rare these days.
Albert turned to look at the old wizard sitting in a chair, reading a newspaper, and took in his surroundings. Noticing that the green flames in the fireplace had ignited once more after just dying down, he quickly stepped aside.
Bade emerged from the fireplace, brushing off the soot that had landed on his clothes, and greeted the elderly wizard in fluent Spanish. "Oh, Rodriguez, it's wonderful to see you. I'm surprised you haven't retired yet."
"I quite like it here," Rodriguez replied, setting down his newspaper and stepping forward to give Bade a simple hug. "I get to read the newspaper every day, do very little, and still receive a decent monthly salary."
"You must be close to retirement yourself," Bade said with a hint of regret. "I heard that the Ministry has been discussing whether to shut down the International Floo Network and replace it with International Portkeys."
"Don't you worry about that," Rodriguez assured him. "Unless the Ministry finds a means of transportation that is both stable and swift, they won't be getting rid of the International Floo Network anytime soon." Rodriguez wasn't exaggerating. While the International Floo Network might not offer the most comfortable mode of travel, it was safe and swift, far superior to portkeys, which often caused key-travel sickness in wizards.
Albert found the tone of the two elderly men's conversation rather peculiar, as if they were a pair of old rivals.
"And who might this young man be?" Rodriguez asked, turning his attention to Albert.
"This is my student," Bade introduced with a smile. "This is my old friend Rodriguez. Don't be fooled by his appearance now; in his heyday, he was a Duelling Champion, a winner of the Barnabas Finkley Prize for Exceptional Spell-Casting, and an honorary elder of the Anti-Dark Force Union."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rodriguez," Albert said, shaking the old wizard's hand. "I'm Albert, Albert Anderson."
"The name sounds familiar," Rodriguez said, narrowing his eyes as he studied Albert, trying to place where he had heard the name Albert Anderson before.
"It's no surprise you've heard of him," Bade said proudly. "Albert here is the reigning International Wizarding Chess Champion and the Magic School Potions Champion. He's quite the rising star."
Rodriguez's expression soured slightly, realizing that once again, Bade had managed to one-up him.
"Well, we should be off," Bade said cheerfully, leading Albert out of the Spanish Ministry of Magic. Noticing Albert's curious glance, he explained, "Rodriguez has always been one to flaunt his accomplishments. Once, he went a bit too far, and I decided that from then on, I'd make it a point to rub my achievements in his face whenever I could."
Albert couldn't help but find the situation amusing. As they exited the Ministry, he was surprised to see that it was disguised as a supermarket, with a sign on the dusty door proclaiming that it was "Closed for Renovations."
The surrounding buildings were abandoned, ensuring that there would be no Muggle witnesses to their comings and goings.
"Where are we headed now? To register for the competition?" Albert asked.
"First, we'll find a place to stay temporarily," Bade said, gesturing for Albert to follow him.
The two made their way to a dilapidated building about a hundred meters from the supermarket. However, upon entering, they discovered that it was far more than it seemed—a secret lay within.
It was a bar, much cleaner than the Leaky Cauldron, and it was bustling with wizards conversing in hushed tones.
As the pair walked in, several customers sitting near the entrance stopped their conversations to give Albert and Bade curious glances.
"The Barnabas Finkley Exceptional Spell-Casting Competition will be held here," Bade explained. "It used to be held elsewhere, but after the owner of this bar sponsored the event, they moved the competition here and even renamed the bar 'Barnabas' in honor of the occasion."
"That owner must be quite clever," Albert remarked, taking in the surroundings. The bar reminded him of a Muggle establishment. He suspected that most of the patrons were wizards who had come to participate in the competition.
"Indeed, very clever," Bade agreed, leading Albert toward the bar counter as he continued his explanation. "This bar sponsors various international competitions each year. By the way, the owner is half-vampire, in the literal sense."
"A vampire-owned bar?" Albert found the concept intriguing.
In this world, vampires were quite different from werewolves. Like veelas, they were considered humanoid magical creatures capable of producing offspring with humans, rather than through the so-called 'turning' process.
However, due to their uncontrollable urge to feed on blood, which sometimes resulted in the death of their victims, vampires were not well-regarded by wizards. Rumors also circulated about their fangs being used to create a highly potent love potion, making them frequent targets of vampire hunters.
The two approached the bar and reserved two luxurious rooms, for which Bade paid a small bag of gold coins.
The magical currency used in Spain was similar to galleons but of lesser value. Galleons, on the other hand, were the standard international currency.
"If I were you, I'd be wary of any drinks offered to you," Bade advised as Albert retrieved his suitcase from his Undetectable Extension Charm bag. "The bar owner's daughter, Diana, is known for her fondness for charming handsome young men with potential."
"Do half-vampires still drink blood?" Albert asked, intrigued.
"Most half-vampires are still partially affected by their vampire heritage," Bade explained, revealing a surprising amount of knowledge on the subject. "Blood excites them."
Albert eyed Bade skeptically, suspecting that he might be speaking from personal experience.
"I've had my fair share of encounters," Bade admitted.
Had it not been for the sake of warning Albert, Bade probably wouldn't have brought up those embarrassing incidents.
"Tell me more about the Barnabas Finkley Exceptional Spell-Casting Competition," Albert said, wisely choosing not to pry into Bade's past.
Despite having Voldemort's spell-casting skills in his skill panel, Albert had no idea how the competition was structured or what to expect.
"The competition isn't quite what you might imagine," Bade began to explain. "The judges will evaluate the contestants based on their magic wand performances, assessing their spell-casting abilities. After several rounds of rigorous selection, a champion will be crowned. And, I might add, ever since the competition moved to this bar, the champion's trophy has always been made of pure gold, so you don't have to worry about it being merely gold-plated." As he finished, a faint smile played at the corners of Bade's mouth.
(End of Chapter)
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