Bellatrix glanced at her child with indifference.
She was truly disgusted by the child, and it seemed like it just wouldn't die.
Her love was solely reserved for the Dark Lord. No one else could have it—neither her parents, her husband, nor even her child. Her marriage to Rodolphus had been nothing more than a "pure-blood wedding" that she had always wanted, but she never expected to have children.
Even though her child was pure-blood, Bellatrix felt nothing but disdain for the pregnancy. She had known early on that she was carrying a child, but she kept it a secret. The baby belonged to the Lestrange family, not the Dark Lord. Bellatrix hadn't yet "seduced" him, so she hated the child even more.
As a strict follower of pure-blood traditions, she couldn't abort the child, so she tried everything she could to cause a miscarriage. She deliberately avoided eating well and even subjected herself to a barrage of damaging spells. But the child refused to fall. Even after eight months of pregnancy, when she risked being hit by her cousin, who had betrayed their bloodline, and shattered her armor and bones, the baby still wouldn't die.
This left Bellatrix infuriated.
When the Dark Lord learned that his most loyal follower was carrying a child, he gave Bellatrix and her husband "maternity leave," though Bellatrix didn't want it.
Now, after having the baby, she still looked at him with annoyance. Why couldn't he starve to death already?
Tony, however, was sure that his mother was trying to starve herself. She hadn't breastfed him at all, and she had been giving him poisoned milk on purpose, hoping that he would die. Tony realized that this was something Voldemort might have done. It was no surprise, given his deranged nature.
Despite everything, Tony remained unharmed. The [Lamp of Another World] absorbed the souls around him, including a complete wizard soul. This made it easier for Tony to grow stronger through the energy of the soul.
The blood hunter system seemed to be more about creating equipment rather than directly making Tony stronger. If he wanted to get stronger quickly, he needed to rely on absorbing souls. Tony was sure that as he got older, he would be able to try absorbing more souls to enhance his power. For now, he had the potential to become a powerful wizard in this life.
Tony also couldn't help but find it ironic that Rodolphus Lestrange seemed completely unaware of what was going on. He probably thought that the house-elves were to blame for the baby's condition. Every time he came home, he only checked to see that Tony was still alive, before leaving to discuss business with his brother Rabastan.
The world of pure-bloods was full of ignorant, deluded people. They thought they would rise to power again under Voldemort's leadership, but in reality, they were all caught up in a web of lies and deceit.
In the following days, Tony remained unaffected by anything except his immortality. Bellatrix didn't feed him, but she did feed him poisoned milk. Even with the poison, Tony's enhanced body, thanks to his transformation from [God's Blood], couldn't be harmed. He had an immunity to venom, making it difficult for most natural poisons to have any effect on him. Tony was curious, though—would his immunity extend to venom from a Millennium Basilisk?
Bellatrix might have tried to starve him, but at least he was sure that he couldn't be killed by her. It gave him a sense of reassurance. If Tony had been anyone else, he would have been dead within a week.
Soon, the day of his full moon arrived, and despite Bellatrix's disdain, she held a banquet to celebrate. It was tradition in pure-blood families to host a feast on such an occasion, and it gave Bellatrix an excuse to show off her pure-blood child.
The event was even more significant now that Voldemort's followers had gained more power. Many Death Eaters attended, all hoping that they would be able to restore pure-blood supremacy under the Dark Lord's rule.
At the banquet, Bellatrix paraded Tony around, introducing him to the other wizards. Tony pretended to be an ordinary baby, staring innocently at the guests with wide eyes. But he could see that most of them were Death Eaters, individuals with blood on their hands and haunted souls. Many were still in human form, though their minds were corrupted by dark magic, which made them difficult to control. It seemed that no one in this world had bothered to study true "morphological transformation" magic, as most pure-bloods despised magical creatures and wouldn't willingly transform into them.
Among the guests, Tony spotted a few familiar faces. His little aunt, Narcissa Black Malfoy, who was the mother of Harry Potter's childhood rival, Draco Malfoy, was there with her husband, Lucius Malfoy. They stood out as the picture of aristocracy, far more elegant than their parents, who had become completely consumed by darkness.
Tony also saw his grandfather, Signus Black, a small middle-aged man. Tony was puzzled at how someone like him could have fathered two beautiful daughters. Then again, Tony's mother, Bellatrix, was only 28 years old, and his grandfather was just 41. Despite his small stature, Tony's grandfather had impressive lineage—he was from one of the 28 pure-blood families, and even his name was connected to the Cygnus constellation.
Finally, Tony's attention was drawn to someone else—a young man standing in the corner, who seemed out of place with the rest of the crowd. This young man, about 18 or 19 years old, had freckles on his face, but his presence was significant. He was none other than Regulus Black, the current patriarch of the Black family, one of the most respected and influential families in the wizarding world.
Tony couldn't help but be intrigued by the people around him, knowing that they were all part of a world that would shape his future.
As the banquet went on, Tony silently observed the adults around him. He wasn't just a helpless baby; he was already gathering information and strategizing for what was to come in this new life.
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