Homeward Bound (Yi-seul)

[lucrezia conti]

Summer 2025
The Leaky Cauldron

Ripam de Sanguinem. Lucrezia hadn't known whether to laugh or cry at the name of the blood bank the first time she'd seen it. Whoever had set up shop originally had used the Latin for bank—as in, say, a riverbank—and incorrect though it was, it had stuck. And so it had stayed when she had bought the place and spruced it up. It had been about ten years since then, though the benefit was that she didn't grow tired of it. She couldn't, not when she relied on blood to survive. The availability of an adjoining flat a few years after that had been pure luck, and owning a place of her own in which she'd been able to put a concealed door between it and the blood bank was an ideal arrangement. Between that and the blackout curtains, she could come and go between the two as needed with less concern for the time of day or the weather outside. It was unusual, perhaps, but it worked for her.

To keep costs down, she had had various flatmates over the years. Some of them were vampires who appreciated the convenience; others were witches or wizards looking for whatever they could. Lucrezia tried to keep things reasonably priced, at least. The flat itself was plenty big enough for two people, especially taking into consideration that she didn't really use the kitchen for much other than storing blood. That was enough to turn some people off of living with her, and perhaps it wasn't for the overly squeamish. Beyond that, though, she kept to herself, cleaned up after herself, and didn't throw any wild parties. She was just a vampire trying to make the best of being forever twenty-four.

If a potential flatmate could handle all that and the fact that she was far closer to eighty than to thirty, with a daughter and granddaughter to show for it, then they were a keeper. At least, that was Lucrezia's thought process as she entered the Leaky Cauldron to meet up with the only person who had answered her most recent advertisement, a young woman who had apparently come from Korea. It wasn't unexpected, though. Lucrezia was upfront about her vampirism, wanting to make sure that people knew what they were getting into. She wasn't a danger—far from it—but tolerating vampires existing in the magical world and choosing to live in close quarters with one were two different things, in her experience.

The pub itself was busy, given that it was evening, but there wasn't much that Lucrezia could do about the noise from the other patrons, unfortunately. Hopefully someone open-minded enough to consider living with a vampire wouldn't mind the inconvenience.

@yiseul

[Deleted]

▲

Meeting about a potential living situation at night had never seemed reasonable to Yi-seul before, but the lack of time off during the day certainly helped when it came to this one. It sort of made sense the more she thought about it as she traveled from her new job at the record label in Leeds, to London. The commute was negligible, as apparation solved the distance problem instantly. If the flat that was proposed was actually in Horizont Alley, that was absolutely worth whatever the monthly rent happened to be. Being picky wasn’t really an option when it came to needing a place to live immediately. Having the shopping districts so close too would be unbelievably useful, as well as instant access to London. Living out of the Airbnb in Leeds was starting to add up, despite her parents offers to pay for everything. That wasn’t going to be happening anymore if she could help it.

Arriving at the Leaky Cauldron, she gently pushed her way inside and was met with a considerable crowd for the middle of the week. Apparently it was a main thoroughfare to Diagon Alley, though she had never taken that entrance when she had previously lived in England and attended Hogwarts. Both times. Even as a WADA student, she had found easier ways to get there than to trapeze through London and awkwardly enter the street-level door. Magical protection from muggles or not, it felt weird to do that. At least the entrance from Diagon was easy enough and having a brick wall moving around didn’t draw any onlookers. Half the time it was already open because of the amount of traffic between the shopping district and the pub. That’s how it had been tonight, and she could see why now.

Unfortunately, all Yi-seul had was a name of her potential landlord: Lucrezia Conti. She had provided her own details to the woman, so she opted to sort of wander around the pub aimlessly until she could find someone that looked like they were waiting on her. On a less busy day, this wouldn’t have been a problem at all. Maybe all the pub goers were gathering for a Quidditch match later? Otherwise, she had no idea what this was about.

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[lucrezia conti]

Summer 2025
The Leaky Cauldron

Lucrezia found herself a free table as soon as she could and sat down, not wanting to lose out on that opportunity if she didn't stake her claim. Sitting at the bar itself wouldn't be conducive to conversing with her potential flatmate, really. A table wasn't too much better; the background noise would be audible regardless, but that was the nature of meeting in a pub that was also used as something of a gateway between the magical and non-magical worlds.

As she tapped her fingernails against the wooden surface of the tabletop, she wished that she had some better way of knowing whom she was meeting other than making assumptions based on appearance, though she saw a young woman walking past who appeared to fit the description of what—or whom, rather—she was looking for. That, and she looked like maybe she was looking for someone, Lucrezia thought. Taking that chance, she called after the stranger. "Excuse me," she started, her voice reflective of her Italian origins. "Are you… Yi-seul?" Lucrezia hoped that she had done an acceptable job of pronouncing the name, but she knew that she probably hadn't said it as it was meant to be pronounced.

@yiseul

[Deleted]

▲

The longer she wandered the Leaky Cauldron (which wasn’t for very long at all), the more she should have realized that finding her potential new landlord was actually sort of easy. Her initial assumption that the crowded pub was due to a Quidditch match had been right on the nose as a good majority of the young wizards crowded around the bar were sporting their team’s jersey. Observational skills were clearly lacking today, and that group was easily removed from her search through the establishment. To add, the Leaky Cauldron wasn’t a large place. She came to the conclusion that because it was a thoroughfare into Diagon Alley, all she had to do now was scan the seating area to find the woman she was looking for. Of course it didn’t take long to hear something resembling her name cutting through the loud cheering of the Quidditch fans at the bar. Even with one of them excitedly pounding his fists onto the counter as two friends raced beers.

Turning, she spotted a woman sitting close by, who could seemingly be the origin of the voice. She looked to be about a similar age as Yi-seul, though it was hard to really tell. Could someone in their mid-twenties be a landlord? The advertisement did list that the spot was for a flat mate, so maybe it was her mistake in misunderstanding who Lucrezia was. Or maybe she was both? Regardless, if this was the person she was looking for, she seemed to be similar in age but was sporting an almost unhealthy pallor that Yi-seul could see from across the room. Then again, the Leaky Cauldron had poor lighting. She probably looked horrid under these conditions too. “Yes? Miss…Conti?” she answered with her own question of the woman’s name. How was she even supposed to address her if she was going to be the landlord and/or flat mate? They’d probably sort out the details throughout the meeting if it went well.

Deciding that this was definitely who she was looking for, Yi-seul took a seat across from the woman and started to pull out a small notepad so that she could take down details about the flat. Before she could get it all the way out of her bag and on to the table, she realized she had been staring at Lucrezia the entire time, specifically at the red eyes she hadn’t noticed as she walked over. “Y-You’re looking for someone to fill in a spot at your flat, right?” Yi-seul found herself stuttering over the start of her sentence. Red eyes certainly weren’t a normal eye color, and combining it with the extremely pale complexion. She hadn’t seen someone take goth culture so seriously in years!

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[lucrezia conti]

Summer 2025
The Leaky Cauldron

The young woman she believed was her potential flatmate-slash-tenant, Yi-seul, confirmed her identity, seeming hesitant about how to address her. "Miss Conti" worked as a formality for the time being, perhaps, but Lucrezia couldn't see herself answering to that unnecessarily around the flat. Then Yi-seul sat down, still looking nervous as she pulled out a notepad.

"Y-You’re looking for someone to fill in a spot at your flat, right?" Yi-seul asked. It was clear that her voice was shaking.

Had she never met a vampire before? Lucrezia wasn't sure how that was going to go, in that case. She had to hope that Yi-seul was only temporarily apprehensive about the situation.

"I am," Lucrezia replied, though she was slightly distracted by Yi-seul's reaction to her. Wanting to make sure that Yi-seul didn't think that this was nothing but a ploy to have a live-in source of blood—or worse, potentially—she changed the subject. "…And I am a vampire." If that was going to be a problem for Yi-seul, then they needed to go ahead and get that out of the way; it wasn't exactly irrelevant. "But I have no reason to drink your blood," she added. She had the blood bank available to her, and she could have fed from Yi-seul already if blood were her goal.

@yiseul

[Deleted]

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Her mouth hung open a little as Lucrezia plainly explained that she was a vampire. Well that explained the pale skin and red eyes, and now that they were closer to one another, the fangs. Yi-seul had never seen a vampire in person before, though she also was never out and about at the same hours that a full vampire probably would be. School had always consumed any concept of a nightlife, and WADA was more about running amok in the non-magical world. A distraction from their usual constraints is how she had viewed those years. “N-No, I know that,” she forced out in response to the blood drinking. There was a blood bank or something in Horizont Alley for that, wasn’t there? She remembered that much from wandering around the shopping district over the years whenever she was in London.

Taking a deep breath, she let out an exhale and corrected herself. This was just like any other interview or audition she had been to. Obviously none of those had taken her for a role yet, but she was still experienced in the art of interviews. WADA had prepared her for that at least. “That’s not a problem for me, you being a vampire. You’re just the first one I’ve ever met,” she explained. She also still needed a place to live, so that sort of played into it. “I am still interested in the flat you have to offer. Especially if it’s in Horizont.” Which now that she thought about it, was unbelievably convenient for a vampire landlord to be so close to the blood bank like that.

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[lucrezia conti]

Summer 2025
The Leaky Cauldron

Just as Lucrezia had suspected from her reaction to her, she was the first vampire that Yi-seul had ever met. She wasn't rude at all and confirmed that it wouldn't be a problem for her. That was better than most, Lucrezia felt. Even if vampires didn't face extreme discrimination, she knew that not every non-vampire really wanted to live with a vampire if they could help it. Yi-seul didn't come across as having met with her out of desperation, though, and she said that she was still interested in the flat, especially if it was in Horizont Alley.

"It is in Horizont Alley. It's directly beside the blood bank," Lucrezia responded. That was more of a perk for her than it was for Yi-seul, of course, but it was worth mentioning. "Connected, actually," she noted. "But I own the blood bank." That felt rather necessary to point out, too, for Yi-seul's peace of mind. They wouldn't have random vampires popping in and out at all hours. It was a way to facilitate her going between home and work without needing to step outside, and that kept her from unnecessary exposure to the sun. "It's a very convenient location," she continued. "It's easy to walk to the shops… or back through the Leaky Cauldron"—Lucrezia gestured slightly because it was where they happened to be at that moment—"and out to Muggle London."

@yiseul

[Deleted]

▲

It almost made too much sense for a vampire to live directly beside the blood bank. Why live so far away that it became a hinderance? She could get behind that reasoning, only because a similar thing was happening for her right now too. Getting to the record label from a magical location was so much easier than trying to get her hotel or Airbnb set up to the floo network, let alone trying to disapparate out of a nearby alley. Taking public transport was sort of out of the question too from where she was currently at. Needless to say, Horizont would suit her needs well and scratch the itch she had to be around other magical folk.

The trick to the flat being near the blood bank was that it was connected, and Lucrezia the owner of it. Yi-seul's stoicism when it came to the vampirism turned back into surprise again at this. But the other woman looked so young! Obviously that was due to being a vampire, but she was still shocked by it. "I've always liked the homey feel of Horizont," Yi-seul stated. Location, once again, meant she'd be right around the shops that intrigued her the most. Not that Horizont was less traveled than Diagon - personally she just enjoyed that it held more of a community feel to it compared to the crowded cobbled street that the stores of Diagon Alley inhabited.

When it came to the flat's location, she couldn't recall seeing anything that looked like an apartment building, or housing in general, next to the blood bank. But usually she was speeding past it on her way to the next shop. Anything that didn't allow her to browse for hours was virtually pointless to stop into, especially a bank meant to disperse blood to vampires. Unless they offered transfusions to non-vampires too? "And how much for rent?" Yi-seul asked as she pulled a pen and a small note pad out of her bag. She knew the area well enough so it wasn't like they'd need to go over that. "And amenities?"

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[lucrezia conti]

Summer 2025
The Leaky Cauldron

Yi-seul explained that she had always liked the feel of Horizont Alley, and Lucrezia agreed. While she certainly couldn't have pictured herself living in a magical district in London when she was a firmly non-magical twenty-something set on seeing the world beyond Italy, Horizont Alley was nice. It wasn't too far off the beaten path, and it made the most sense for her. Because she wasn't a witch before being turned, her magic was solely that of a vampire. She had never minded it much; she couldn't miss what she had never had, though she had seen the ease with with witches like her daughter were able to accomplish things that she could not.

Perhaps that was part of why Lucrezia had never seen the point in shunning the rest of magical society to live solely amongst other vampires like herself. There were benefits, true, but there were also drawbacks. It was much better to live with wizardkind, especially, in a symbiotic sort of relationship. Feeding from them meant not jeopardizing magical secrecy in the face of the non-magical world, and that was of benefit to everyone.

When Yi-seul asked, Lucrezia went on to clarify the cost of rent each month, along with the cost of utilities. Altogether, it was less of an expense than if she weren't also living there—and inexpensive for the area as a whole. Besides, vampirism gave her the benefit of not having to deal with some of the challenges that would have come into play for someone of her age, chronologically speaking, so she could afford to keep fees lower. Lucrezia had a good century and a half before she needed to worry much about her own aging. "…All I ask is no garlic, silver, or Patronus Charms in the flat," she said finally. Apart from sunlight, none of those three things were particularly healthy for her to be around. She had always likened it to an allergy, as she had heard some other vampires do, but it was sort of different. "I keep curtains on the windows, but you are welcome to open them if I'm not around." She was largely nocturnal anyway, which also kept her from having to deal with the sun shining in. Otherwise, she didn't really think that she had to worry that Yi-seul would cause her any problems. She hadn't struck her as that sort of person in any regard.

@yiseul

[Deleted]

▲

The rent was doable. Especially for what she could be getting. A lot of the flats in Diagon and Horizont were comparable to closets, and she liked to have a little room to stretch out. Why landlords didn't charm their spaces to allow more room was something she couldn't wrap her head around, as that made so much sense to do. Magical building ordinances maybe? All of that was out of her league, but she knew what she wanted to stay away from, and those tiny studio apartments were not going to cut it for her anymore. Once upon a time, sure, or if she was trying to strike it big in New York City. Not in Horizont though.

Scratching the monthly rent and everything included down onto her notepad, her eyes flicked up when Lucrezia brought up the stipulations: no garlic, no silver, and no Patronus charms. That was easy enough. Her patronus was incorporeal, so it was virtually useless on anything that wasn't directly in front of her. To be fair, she had never actually used it outside of class, so there was no telling what it could be now. Yi-seul nodded her head as her potential landlord also laid out the rules surrounding the curtains. Again, nothing she should have been surprised about considering the woman was a vampire. Already she was thinking about swinging by Flourish & Blotts after this and picking up a book on them, just to make sure she wouldn't be stepping on any toes if she ended up renting this place.

"Errm...is it possible to take a look at it before I decide?" she inquired. Gently setting her pen down on her notepad, Yi-seul quickly scanned the bullet points she had made thus far. Based on that, this was definitely the front runner (and honestly the only contender).

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[lucrezia conti]

Summer 2025
The Leaky Cauldron

Everything in her conversation with Yi-seul was going well, Lucrezia thought. It was all very normal. Yi-seul didn't seem objectionable, though she was a bit hesitant at times, including as she asked if she could see the flat. If that would help Yi-seul to make a decision, Lucrezia didn't mind showing her. She had nothing to hide, and she got no red flags from Yi-seul that showing her where she might possibly be living would be a bad idea.

"Please," Lucrezia confirmed casually, trying to make Yi-seul feel less unsure about interacting with her. She was free to see the flat. "Would you like to see the flat now, or would it be better for you to organize a meeting for a different time?" The present time was, perhaps, a little unconventional for showing where she lived, but she wasn't an estate agent. There was also little that was truly conventional about her life, though Lucrezia knew that she would have to ease Yi-seul into her life gradually, if they were to live together. Sharing one's living space with a vampire was one thing; sharing one's living space with a vampire old enough to be one's grandmother would be another.

@yiseul

[Deleted]

▲

The possibility of going over to the flat today had certainly crossed her mind, but also seemed like one of those things where the owner would want to push it off to another time. Lucrezia clearly was different than a lot of the landlords she had dealt with so far, and maybe that had to do with the fact that this was being kept within the magical community. Yi-seul doubted there would be much competition in getting a lease signed simply because of the whole vampire thing. And above the blood bank where all of the other vampires in the area went to get their meals. Somehow she didn’t feel skeeved out by it even though seeing anything more than a vial or two of her own blood at the doctors made her head spin. An entire building full of it right beside her was definitely a lot of blood. But she also knew that she would never actually have to go in there.

“If it’s ready to be viewed, then absolutely,” she responded quickly. If she could get all of this out of the way and have a flat by the end of the week, then her parents would stop hounding her about the amount of money she was spending in her current lodgings. Even if she was technically financially independent of them, their concerns and worries immediately became hers. And then usually the questions about moving back to wherever they were and taking up a junior position in their diplomatic office. While an excellent fall back plan and prime example of nepotism, she wasn’t quite at that point yet. Maybe she’d omit that the landlady is a vampire if she ended up living in this place.

Assuming that they’d be heading the few blocks to Horizont immediately, Yi-seul started to pack her notepad away and gather her other things. A rogue barfly almost bumped into her as she stood up, a slurred apology sent her way before he ended up back at the counter. It was certainly time to escape the Leaky Cauldron. The regulars looked like they were starting to show up.

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[lucrezia conti]

Summer 2025
The Leaky Cauldron

"If it's ready to be viewed, then absolutely," Yi-seul replied without the hesitation she had shown earlier in their conversation. They hadn't been speaking with each other for very long, but it apparently had been long enough that Yi-seul didn't appear to have any reservations about viewing the flat.

Yi-seul had already begun to pack up the notebook that she had brought with her as Lucrezia nodded. Viewing the flat could be arranged. She wouldn't have offered for her to see it then and there if it weren't ready to be viewed.

"Unfortunately, we won't be able to Apparate there," Lucrezia informed her, just in time for another, more inebriated patron of the pub to avoid knocking Yi-seul over by mere millimeters. Checking her own surroundings as she stood up to make sure that she wouldn't end up in a similar position, she continued to speak. "I was a Muggle when I was bitten, so I can't perform the magic of witches and wizards."

@yiseul

[Deleted]

▲

In her extremely limited knowledge of vampires, she did know that non-magical humans could be turned. She didn’t think her potential landlord was like that though, as Yi-seul had incorrectly assumed anyone in Diagon Alley had magic of sorts. There was a lot she had been wrong about today though, but if she came out of this with a place to live then she could learn as she went. Living with a vampire and above the building that supplied all of the vampires with their blood sounded like it belonged in a drama. As long as there wasn’t a throng of hot vampire dudes that loitered around outside, she was pretty sure she was going to be fine with this arrangement. Assuming the flat suited her needs. But that was what she was going to be finding out here in a moment…

“That’s fine, it’s a nice evening out,” Yi-seul responded to not being able to apparate. It would almost feel weird to do so with Horizont Alley so close by anyways. While she sort of knew where the blood bank was, going there on foot would give her a better idea of how to get there from the Leaky Cauldron, and thus, Diagon as a whole. So many new shops had popped up from when she had spent time here in her youth. Getting reacquainted with everything again was sort of fun. “I’m all set, if you are,” she stated as she collected the last of her belongings. There was a bit of nervous anticipation with that statement, as she had a pretty good feeling about the viewing.

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[lucrezia conti]

Summer 2025
Horizont Alley

With Yi-seul's confirmation that she was set to leave the pub to view the flat for herself, Lucrezia nodded. She made sure that Yi-seul stayed close by her so that they wouldn't lose track of one another as they made their way back through Diagon Alley and then over to Horizont Alley. It was a nice evening outside, and the walk wasn't a bad one in any weather—except maybe in direct sunlight, from Lucrezia's standpoint, but direct sunlight was always dangerous for her.

Shortly thereafter, they arrived to the flat beside the blood bank. They didn't need to cut through the blood bank, especially not that that time of day, so they used the exterior door instead of the one from the bank on the inside.

Lucrezia unlocked the front door and held it open for Yi-seul. She had already checked earlier to make sure that there would be nothing off-putting visible in case her prospective flatmate wanted to take a look at the place. "Please, come in," she told her. It was all very normal; photographs of her daughter and granddaughter, her vinyl records.

@yiseul