The next day, at four in the afternoon, Noah opened his eyes in bed. His head was throbbing unbearably, and though he didn't know why, there was one thing he did know.
The person in the living painting in his room, Mavis, was looking at him strangely.
"You've slept long enough, young man. I think it's time to get up," Mavis said from inside the painting.
When Noah heard these words, he became irritated and sat up in bed, frowning. Looking at the huge window in his room, he saw that it was raining heavily.
When the young man finally got out of bed, he made himself a cup of milk tea in the kitchenette in his room and drank it with a few biscuits.
Then he got dressed and left his room.
Thinking that Professor Snape was still teaching potions, he made his way to the potions classroom and peered inside through the open door.
He heard Snape's cold, calm, and incredibly slow voice.
When Snape looked at him with curious eyes, Noah signalled with his hand that he could wait, and that's what he did.
The lesson had lasted almost an hour and a half. It was definitely a longer lesson than Noah had expected. When the young man finally saw the students leaving the classroom, he entered and said calmly, "We need to talk urgently."
Noticing Noah's words and the concern in them, Snape set aside his usual sarcastic persona and gestured for Noah to sit down.
He then closed the classroom door with his wand.
Noah uttered a single sentence:
"I suspect Professor Quirrell."
Noah's directness made Snape frown. Quirrell was not particularly well-liked in Snape's eyes either, but to say he was guilty of yesterday's incident was a bit far-fetched...well, not exactly. To be honest, even Snape suspected Quirrell, but it was just a little bit too much.
Especially when they knew literally nothing about where the troll might've gone inside the castle.
"May I ask why you think that?" Snape inquired, his curiosity piqued.
Noah calmly replied, "A senior wizard and experienced enough to work in a place within Albania where dark magic is rampant and powerful is trembling in front of a troll and is scared enough that the troll could knock him out."
Then, without waiting, he asked,
"Don't you think something is wrong?"
Snape thought for a few seconds in response to his question. Those few seconds turned into dozens of seconds, and then this answer came out:
"Professor Dumbledore himself knows Professor Quirrell. He is the one who hired him. Don't you think the Headmaster could have noticed his evil?"
When Noah heard this question, he locked his eyes directly onto Snape's and then asked, "Just like he noticed yours?"
Snape took a deep breath at this counter-question. This breath was not taken in anger; rather, it was as if Snape had been struck by an abstract blow.
"Fair point," said Professor Snape.
After saying this, the pale-skinned man lifted his robe slightly and showed the scratch on his leg.
"Last night, I went to visit the three-headed dog, as you thought. After all, it was more likely that the troll was a distraction. The dog was alert and angry, and unfortunately, I was injured... Still, when I left the room, I saw Quirrell. He was supposed to be unconscious. It made no sense for him to wake up and come to visit the dog."
As Snape spoke these words, Noah took a deep breath and then said, "We both know very well what the dog is hiding. It is the only thing in this world as precious as my own blood. Nicolas Flamel acted a bit foolishly, and unfortunately, it has worked against us. We must be careful, Professor. I'll leave Professor Quirrell to you. I'll check Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley."
Snape shook his head, and Noah got up from where he was sitting and left the classroom. It didn't even occur to him to consult Professor Dumbledore, and he quickly set off for Diagon Alley.
Diagon Alley... If one word could describe this place, that word would definitely be 'interesting'.
It was possible to find anything here, and when this was mentioned, everything seemed to be the dominant word. Perhaps it wasn't possible to find everything in the daylight areas of this alley, but the side and back streets, where darkness was more prevalent, were fraught with serious dangers.
Noah was aware of this. He would check to see if there was anyone selling mountain trolls.
That was why he had come to Diagon Alley.
After walking for minutes on the open streets, he had almost left Diagon Alley. After a few side streets and passages, he had entered Knockturn Alley and had begun to notice the eyes on him.
Here, it was possible to find dozens of hookers or dozens of different types of people, from assassins to spies.
Still, there was one thing Noah knew for sure:
[These hookers, assassins, or spies could approach him, but Death Eaters, at least the incredibly weak ones, would not approach him.]
They were too cowardly for that.
After wandering around calmly for a while, the young man had carefully reached the area he really wanted to get to.
When he stopped in front of the shop, he read the name on the sign above it:
"Borgin and Burkes."
He hadn't wanted to come here at all, actually. Truth be told, he didn't like Mr Borgin, the shop's co-owner, one bit.
He was a sneaky, disgusting man with rotten teeth, who didn't even know how to take care of himself, greedy, untrustworthy, and who practically worshipped wizards much more powerful than himself.
It would be accurate to say he was the type of person Noah despised.
When Noah entered the shop, every wizard present looked at him, and within seconds, each one had left the shop.
Of course, the dark wizards knew who Noah was. What he did was not widely known, but the mere fact that he was a High-Arch Vampire was enough to frighten others, and no dark wizard would take such a risk in broad daylight, especially in a place like Knockturn Alley.
Noticing the shop had emptied because of Noah, Mr Borgin emerged directly from behind the counter, brushing his hands together and forming a smile on his face. Then, with his usual ugly expressions, he spoke:
"Welcome, Mr Noah. It's been a while since I've seen you. What brings you here?"
Noah sniffed at Borgin's words. After looking around the shop for a moment, he turned to the middle-aged man and said, "I'm here to buy information."
Mr Borgin paused for a moment at Noah's words. Noah had visited this shop many times, but each time he had come only to buy and destroy items covered in dark magic.
So Mr Borgin was surprised by this statement.
"May I ask what kind of information you seek, my dear sir?" Borgin asked politely.
"I want you to answer me properly, Mr Borgin. Recently, especially in the back streets, in Diagon Alley or Knockturn Alley, have you encountered anyone dealing with trolls, or heard of such a person?"
When the young man asked this question, Mr Borgin thought for a moment and then replied, "Actually, yes. Not a troll, but someone who appears at the Leaky Cauldron. He rarely shows up, plays a few games, and sells magical creatures in exchange for the games or puts them up as prizes. Perhaps this is the person you are looking for."
Noah looked at Borgin in surprise at this answer. It was clear that he had not expected this response.