"Cousin, you never told me about my parents." Sitting in the armchair with a book in his hands, Asterion heard Ophelia's question. They were both in his room, a privilege only Daphne had previously enjoyed.
Shifting his attention from the book and looking at the girl in front of him, Asterion blinked a few times, thinking, and then responded calmly, "What do you want to know about them?"
Even though Ophelia knew the truth about her father's death and might start hating him because of it, Asterion really didn't care. He had killed Voldemort; would he be afraid of a thirteen-year-old girl who had just entered the magical world?
However, even without those consequences, he still would have told Ophelia the truth. She had the right to know who her real parents were; he had no way to prevent that. Lying about who Ophelia's parents were had never crossed Asterion's mind. It was so low that he never considered the idea.
"Who are they, and are they still alive?" Ophelia spoke with a slightly trembling voice. She was anxious and scared. On one hand, she wanted her parents to be dead because it meant they hadn't abandoned her, but on the other, she wanted them to be alive so she could ask why they had left her.
Looking into her eyes, which held a mixture of emotions, Asterion answered, "Although your lineage has not been determined with certainty, your possible father is dead."
Asterion saw Ophelia's face show a sad expression and couldn't help but think that Ophelia was probably the only person to mourn Voldemort's death, even though she didn't yet know who her father really was.
"Your possible mother is Bellatrix Black, my cousin." Asterion observed the sadness on the girl's face disappear almost instantly.
"Bellatrix Black." Ophelia murmured repeatedly, her eyes growing brighter and more excited each time she said the name, finding it more beautiful in her mind.
Asterion looked at the girl lost in thought and shook his head. He really wanted to know if Ophelia could ignore her own morals and love Bellatrix.
At the same time, Asterion was absolutely certain that Bellatrix would not be a good mother. He even assumed that Bellatrix never wanted to have children in the first place. He could imagine how Bellatrix would react when she saw Ophelia.
Seeing Ophelia all excited and joyful, knowing she had a mother still alive, Asterion didn't know how long this excitement and joy would last. If he were in her place, he might love Bellatrix regardless of her crimes and madness, but he didn't know if Ophelia could do something similar.
-
Hogwarts Library.
Ginny, wearing Slytherin robes, sat at the table with her two friends, Astoria and Ophelia. The three had been practically inseparable during this first month."
"The other magic schools will arrive at Hogwarts tomorrow." Ginny heard Astoria whisper. She could sense her friend's excitement, not that she wasn't excited herself. Just imagining participating in such a big event made the red-haired girl's lips curl into a happy smile.
At the same time, she couldn't help but reflect on her experiences this past month in Slytherin. It was totally different from what she had imagined. There were no fights, and if there were any, they were resolved through duels. She learned that in Slytherin, the strongest were the most respected.
This was made very clear to her: it didn't matter if you were right or wrong; defeating your opponent was what mattered most. This made her uncomfortable for a while; respecting the strong and using the weak felt wrong to her.
It took her some time to get used to this, but after a month, with the help of Astoria and her friends, she adapted to Slytherin's way of thinking. She even thought that this ideology was correct: this wasn't a kind world, and kind people died early.
Another thing she was extremely grateful for in Slytherin was having private lessons with a special grade wizard! If she were to tell her other friends in other houses, they would definitely die of envy.
Even having only three private lessons this month, she felt at least 30% stronger than when she started at Hogwarts! Her control over her magic had reached a very good level, and she received many compliments from Professor Flitwick because of it.
In short, she was loving her stay in Slytherin. She had everything: luxury, privileges, and even power, something she never imagined she would have. Especially with her older brothers supporting her, although Ron had made it clear that she was a traitor. But Ron had been an idiot long before that, and she wasn't surprised by his childish attitude.
"Look at Ophelia's silly smile; it looks like she found a boyfriend." Astoria teased her friend, seeing the dreamy smile on Ophelia's lips.
Ginny blushed at the words but also looked at her friend with curiosity.
Ophelia's cheeks warmed hearing Astoria's words. She looked at her friend angrily and replied in a low tone, "I'm not dating, Astoria!"
"That I know; you don't know how to use your feminine charm. Which boy would want a girl who doesn't care about her appearance?" Astoria tossed her long golden hair and replied with an arrogant tone, which naturally made Ophelia grit her teeth in frustration.
"Humph!" Ophelia just huffed coldly and responded, "I'm not going to argue with you, princess, but I'm smiling because my cousin finally told me my mother's name." The smile on her face showed how happy she was at that moment.
The arrogant smile on Astoria's face disappeared, and she congratulated her friend sincerely, "Congratulations, Ophelia."
She knew how much Ophelia wanted to know her parents.
"What's her name?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Bellatrix Black." Ophelia said, not noticing that Astoria's and Ginny's eyes widened in total disbelief.
Ophelia continued talking, oblivious to her friends' expressions. "I tried to find a Hogwarts yearbook with some information about her when she studied here, but I haven't found anything so far."
Astoria and Ginny exchanged looks, recognizing the same thought in each other's eyes.
We mustn't let Ophelia know the truth about Bellatrix!
They knew that if their friend discovered the truth about her mother, she would probably be devastated. After all, finding out that your mother was a serial killer and a crazy dark witch was not exactly great news.
"I don't think the yearbook is in the library. It must be kept in a more restricted place, like the headmaster's office," Astoria said calmly, subtly trying to shift the search to a place Ophelia couldn't access.
Ophelia's face fell slightly upon hearing this. She knew that if it was in Dumbledore's office, it would be extremely difficult to access the yearbook to learn more about her mother.
"Still, I'll look a bit more in the library." Ophelia said, sighing at the end. Her expression became resolute as she stood up from the chair and resumed searching the vast Hogwarts library.
Seeing this, Astoria and Ginny exchanged glances and followed Ophelia without hesitation. They prayed to Merlin that there wasn't a copy of the Hogwarts Yearbook in the library; otherwise, Ophelia would likely leave the place heartbroken.
---
Author's Note: The Tournament is about to begin. I think there are about three or four more chapters according to my outline.
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New Novel: (I Am The Prince of Hell)
Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 119 - I Decided to Seduce Daphne (1), Chapter 120 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (1), Chapter 121 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (2), Chapter 122 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (3), Chapter 123 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (4), Chapter 124 - Conspiracy In Progress (1), Chapter 125 - Conspiracy In Progress (2), Chapter 126 - Ophelia, Narcissa And Andromeda (1), Chapter 127 - Ophelia, Narcissa And Andromeda (2), Chapter 128 - The Four Representatives of Hogwarts (1), Chapter 129 - The Four Representatives of Hogwarts (2), Chapter 130 - The Four Hogwarts Representatives (3), Chapter 131 - The First Trial (1), Chapter 132 - The First Trial (2), Chapter 133 - King's Game (1), Chapter 134 - King's Game (2), Chapter 135 - King's Game (3), Chapter 136 - King's Game (4), Chapter 137 - King's Game (5), Chapter 138 - King's Game (6).