In the evening, the magic lock on the door of Lulu's room disappeared, so she decided to go to the dining room since she hadn't eaten anything all day. Sophie chose to stay and, for greater safety, climbed back into the closet, where, in her opinion, it was much safer.
When Lulu got to the spacious dining hall, she noticed that two students were absent from dinner. One of them was probably attacked, so she should be in the infirmary right now. And what happened to the other one, Lulu didn't know. Perhaps that girl decided to stay in her room because she was afraid of being bitten.
"Is something wrong?" Lulu asked the first person she met.
"Didn't you leave your room at all?" The student looked at her suspiciously. "Two students were attacked in the morning and afternoon."
"What?!" Lulu was surprised. "I only heard about one victim."
"Yes, they say that a vampire did it," another student joined the conversation.
"The alchemy teacher, Mistress Sophie, is also missing," a third sighed. "I hope she's okay."
"Or maybe she is the bloodsucker."
"Don't be silly, she's too cute for that."
Well, then, during the meal, Lulu was able to hear a hundred and one stories about all kinds of creatures living in the secret rooms of the Witch Academy. Of course, most of them were invented by undergraduates to scare young witches. But some of these stories inspired horror and fear, forcing everyone to quickly return to their private quarters, locking the door, and get under the covers.
But Lulu couldn't just run away, she had to find a real vampire and thereby save Sophie from false accusations. She decided to walk through the corridors, and study rooms and look at the crime scene.
"I might find something," she thought. "The first attack was carried out near the restroom, and the second in the corridor near the entrance to the abandoned wing."
While Lulu was looking at every corner, a deep thought process was going on in her head. She imagined herself as a brave, experienced inquisitor looking for evidence at the crime scene.
"So, what did they usually do in books? — Lulu began to remember the novels she had read. "For example, the victims could be connected by interests or even be familiar with each other. The first girl is from the fourth year and the second from the third. One played the flute, the other liked to arrange practical jokes, put up stuffed ghosts and scare people."
Lulu sighed sadly:
"They are not connected in any way. Maybe I'm not fit to be an inquisitor. Think, Lulu, think."
And fate presented her with a gift in the form of an inconspicuous little thing lying in the corner of the corridor. It was a black button with the image of a snake's head. Turning the find over in her hands, Lulu smiled:
"It is clearly not from the students' robes, as it is too expensive. So it belongs to a teacher or a mysterious vampire. But I still need to make sure of it."
Lulu immediately ran to the infirmary to compare the found thing with the buttons of the bitten students. And as soon as she was in the infirmary, the pungent smell of tinctures hit her sensitive nose, from which she sneezed with all her might.
"May the Moon protect you," Helga wished her.
She sat at the table and, like any self-respecting medical worker, filled out numerous medical records.
Helga only cast a sidelong glance at the student who entered and smiled:
"Lulu, I haven't seen you for a long time. Have you come for another dose of panacea?"
"No," she shook her head. "I wanted to check on the victims. Are they alive?"
"Yes, but we lost a lot of blood," Helga sighed and added, "Just don't tell anyone."
"Everyone already knows that a vampire did it."
"Not really. I studied the victims and it turned out that the wounds are too deep and there is no special substance in them that gets into the victim's blood from a vampire."
"And this means that someone is imitating a vampire, but why?!" Lulu was indignant.
"I don't know, it's not my job," Helga shrugged. "The victims have not yet recovered, so they cannot help us in any way."
"It's good that they're alive. And thanks for that."
Lulu compared the found button with the buttons on the robes of the victims, and, as she assumed, the find belonged to someone else.
"Then I have a real clue in my hands!" she beamed. "Inquisitor Lulu is on the trail of a dangerous creature. Now we need to check the teachers."
There weren't many teachers left in the academy, but it was impossible to approach them just like that, it required an excuse.
"It will be harder to look at Felix's buttons," Lulu shuddered, remembering this slimy guy who accused her of the crimes she allegedly committed. "Most likely, he is the copycat!"
After saying goodbye to Helga, Lulu went out into the corridor and ran into Mrs. Krivda. Bowing, she greeted the head of the academy.
"Lulu, have you seen Sophie?" — Krivda looked at her sternly.
"No," Lulu lied, knowing full well where the mentor was hiding.
"You remember that if you find her, you have to notify me," Krivda reminded her.
"Of course, Mrs. Krivda," Lulu nodded.
"That's nice, and now go to the hall!" The head of the academy ordered her. "There will be an urgent meeting."
Lulu had to obey, and when she arrived there, all the teachers and students had already gathered there. Only Mrs. Krivda and Helga were missing, as well as Sophie since she was sitting in the closet in Lulu's room.
How many times have meetings been held in this large room with high ceilings, huge chandeliers with thousands of candles burning with magical lights? The hall could accommodate five courses, a whole bunch of teachers, as well as a small troupe of musicians who were invited to festive celebrations on the occasion of the end or beginning of the academic year, however, when the head of the academy found money for them.
In recent years, the academy has been experiencing financial difficulties and pressure from the Inquisition, so it has slowly withered, like a flower left without water. So now another double attack on students will cause a violent reaction from the magic council. This organization has long disliked witches, so this case will be a gift for them. They will inflate this case to such heights that the inquisitors will come here this very second and will not leave a stone unturned from the academy.
Of the teachers at the academy, there are only a few people left, Felix is a master of protective charms, Glum is an expert on magical creatures, Cassandra is a specialist in curses, and another teacher who teaches levitation at senior courses named Wilma. It was her lessons that most of the students were waiting for since every girl dreamed of soaring into the sky and feeling free like a bird.
Finally, Mrs. Krivda came up, followed by Helga. The two women took their seats in front of the students and, after counting everyone, began the meeting. The head of the academy liked to talk a lot, so Lulu didn't really listen to her monologue.
"For security reasons, you are forbidden to leave your rooms until the troublemaker of our academy is caught!" Krivda spoke loudly and expressively.
"What about breakfast, lunch, and dinner?" discontent was heard from the audience. "And we will go crazy from idleness and boredom!"
"Silence! A real witch must be prepared for the hardships of deprivation. Be glad that you live in a cozy castle. Your long-time predecessors had to bury themselves in dugouts and eat carrion in the woods," the head of the academy said threateningly.
"Children, this is for your own safety," Felix supported her.
"Sycophant," Cassandra muttered.
He glared at the dark magic teacher:
"How rude, I just agree with our head of the academy."
"Curfew is not a way out, but a dead-end," Wilma sighed. "Mrs. Krivda, when will it be possible to go on a well-deserved vacation?"
"I'm afraid only the Inquisitor can answer that question," she spread her hands. "We will wait for his decision."
With that, the meeting ended, and all students had to return to their private quarters. But Lulu couldn't go to her room right now. She needed to inspect the robes of all the teachers. And she even came up with a little excuse to get closer to them.
"Excuse me, can I ask you a question?" she went up to Mrs. Krivda.
"Yes, what do you have?"
"I just wanted to know, is Margot's caretaker at the academy? I haven't seen her for a long time," Lulu quickly looked at the robes of all the teachers.
"Margot?" thought Krivda.
"Does that old hag still work for us?" Glum chuckled. "I thought she died of some kind of illness a couple of years ago."
"I'm sorry, but Margot has been gone for a long time," the head of the academy shook her head.
"Is she dead?!" Lulu didn't believe them. "But I saw her with my own eyes, and she talked to me as if she were alive."
"Baby, you clearly need to lie down in the infirmary," Helga smiled. "Come on, I have a sweet tincture for you."
"No, I'm fine," Lulu started backing away, but a woman in a white coat grabbed her arm and dragged her along.
"Don't worry, medicine will help you."
As a result, the button did not fit any of the teachers' robes. And Lulu was back in the infirmary and, with her head down, was waiting for another torture from Helga.
"Why? I'm a healthy girl!" she tried to break free.
"Mrs. Krivda told me that you were also bitten by a vampire, so I want to do some tests," Helga explained to her.
"I'm not a guinea pig!" Lulu insisted.
The woman in the white coat finished her research and exclaimed:
"Yes! There is a large concentration of "V-cells" in the blood, which means that you really were bitten by a vampire."
"And what do these "V-cells" threaten me with?"
"Actually, nothing. The main thing is that there are no others that cause the curse."
"Isn't it only magic that can cause it?" Lulu didn't know anything about it at all, that's why she asked a lot of questions.
"Of course!" Helga said. "Medicine does not stand still. Vampirism is a disease that can be cured at an early stage, which is why Krivda has instructed me to take care of you. However, in your case, some strange vampire got caught, who does not want to increase the population of his own kind."
"I'm glad to hear that," Lulu thought. "Sophie cares about me…"
"You can go, and try not to mention Margot's name again," Helga advised her.
"But why? I really saw her, and she's the caretaker of an abandoned wing!" Lulu was angry.
"She used to be," Helga sighed. "What you saw is called a ghost or a phantom. They are generated by dark magic, so stay away from these creatures. And who knows what they can do to you."
"Thanks for the advice," Lulu nodded.
Now she knew exactly from whom she had to look for answers to her questions…