Isolde’s gaze was glued to the nearby Bellatrix, and she forgot to look away for a moment.
That aggressively beautiful Black was chatting casually with a classmate nearby wearing a Slytherin school uniform.
Isolde silently withdrew her gaze, picked up the pumpkin juice on the table, and took a sip, but her heart churned endlessly.
The capture target was so dazzling, yet she had busied herself for two years without ever walking into the other person’s line of sight.
Continuing like this really made her want to give up completely…
Placed a year ago, she might have still struggled and yelled at the system a couple of times.
However, after two full years, she had long known that the system was a hands-off boss.
She had already given up fiercely.
The ball was a rare grand event for Hogwarts students, and almost everyone was busy looking for dance partners.
Third-year students could directly attend the ball, while first and second years could only ask upperclassmen to invite them along.
Therefore, Isolde hadn’t participated in the past, and because her appearance was quite good and her grades were also excellent, a few classmates had come over to invite her early on, but Isolde politely declined them all.
She quietly raised her eyes, looked at Bellatrix again, and her mind uncontrollably began to scheme.
If she could invite Bellatrix to dance, would that count as close-contact interaction?
Maybe it could trigger the system’s hidden quest; even without a quest, it could break the current situation where they had no intersection other than dueling.
After all, over the past two years, apart from being in the Dueling Arena, she had basically no chance to say a single word unrelated to dueling to Bellatrix.
But as soon as this thought popped up, she fiercely extinguished it herself.
Leaving aside whether Bellatrix would agree, just the matter of “two girls dancing together” was sensational enough in Hogwarts.
At that time, it would definitely become the focus of the whole venue and attract countless discussions.
What’s more, the other party was Bellatrix Black, that haughty, strength-obsessed Black The Handmaiden who was full of disdain for herself.
Sometimes she had to be glad she was a Pure-blood, so that Black would occasionally be willing to accept her dueling challenge and exchange a couple of words.
Running over to invite her to dance now would probably result in a fierce rejection on the spot, or even being mocked by her with scathing words, and by then it would truly be embarrassing beyond measure.
Isolde clenched her palms, her heart so conflicted it was about to twist into a ball.
Two years of effort, repeated failures in duels, and silent pursuit time and time again—wasn’t it all so that Bellatrix could truly look at her squarely and get a little closer to the other person?
Anyway, in front of Bellatrix, she had long lost countless times, and there was already no so-called face to speak of.
Even if rejected, it would just be one more setback, which was better than watching the opportunity slip away and regretting it bitterly later.
At worst, she would be laughed at by the whole audience and treated with cold eyes by Bellatrix; she would just consider it going all out for the capture target.
If all else failed, she would let her sisters help brainstorm some ideas.
Ultimately unable to suppress the restless thoughts at the bottom of her heart, she turned her body slightly and looked at the three neatly seated roommates beside her.
Yes, they happened to be sitting in a row.
Taking a deep breath, she lowered her voice extremely low, carrying a hint of nervousness she hadn’t even noticed:
“Um… I want to ask you a question. If I want to invite someone from another house to dance, is it feasible?”
As soon as these words came out, the blonde roommate who had been lowering her head to eat suddenly raised her head.
Her azure eyes were filled with pleasant surprise, and she reached out to gently poke Isolde’s arm, her tone exaggerated and affectionate:
“That goes without saying, my dear; Merlin, to be honest, I’m a bit shocked!”
“Our Winnier The Handmaiden, who is wholeheartedly immersed in the Library and the Dueling Arena, would actually take the initiative to want to invite someone to dance? Quick, let us guess just who the lucky person is!”
At this moment, her face was full of gossip, instantly arousing the interest of the other two.
The quiet roommate sitting in the middle, wearing round-rimmed glasses, pushed up the glasses on the bridge of her nose.
Her gaze swept seemingly without intent across the direction of the Slytherin long table not far away.
She spoke slowly and leisurely, her tone certain:
“Oh, I guess it’s Lestrange.”
These words exploded like a thunderbolt in Isolde’s ears.
Her whole body instantly froze, her pupils dilating slightly.
Unconcealed shock hung tightly on her face, and even her breathing paused for half a beat.
Oh my Lestrange!
No, is that possible?
Rodolphus Lestrange, that Slytherin boy who had always been following by Bellatrix’s side—anyone could see his intentions towards Bellatrix.
The original plot’s future marriage partner of Bellatrix.
How could she possibly go invite him!
This misunderstanding was way too big!
Isolde opened her mouth, wanting to eagerly refute, her cheeks uncontrollably flushing with a thin layer of red.
Seeing this, Lucy, who was sitting on the outermost side, hurriedly smiled to smooth things over.
She reached out and gently patted the blonde roommate’s hand back, then turned to look at the blushing Isolde.
Her tone became much gentler:
“Stop teasing Isolde; can’t you see she’s already nervous.”
“Don’t mind their joking; then who do you want to invite?”
“Looking at your tangled expression, you aren’t sure of the other person’s intention, which is why you want us to help brainstorm ideas, right?”
Isolde looked as if she had grabbed a straw to save her life, nodding heavily, her long eyelashes trembling gently.
This smart little eagle roommate understood her too well!
“I, I want to… want to invite…”
She stammered, brewing herself up several times.
How should she properly chat and explain to her roommates that the person she wanted to invite was a girl?
Lifting her eyes, her gaze quickly glanced at Bellatrix in the distance, then quickly retracted, her voice lowering.
“Black.”
The three people who were just full of gossip smiles instantly fell into dead silence.
Lucy’s gentle smile froze at the corner of her mouth, and her hand extended in midair paused.
The blonde roommate widened her azure eyes, the exclamation that was about to escape stuck harshly in her throat, hurriedly reaching out to cover her mouth so that the cry wouldn’t spread across the entire Ravenclaw long table.
Even Leah, who was always steady and wore round-rimmed glasses, fiercely pushed up her sliding glasses, her eyes behind the lenses full of incredulity.
What.
What on earth?!
Three pairs of eyes stared uniformly at Isolde’s face, the shock in their gazes almost turning into substance.
Isolde’s cheeks grew even hotter from their stares, wishing she could bury her head under the table.
Yet she still hardened her scalp, her hands gripping her skirt hem tighter and tighter, meeting her roommates’ astonished gazes.
“Merlin’s dentures! Black?”
The blonde roommate finally put down her hand covering her mouth, her voice lowered extremely low.
Yet she still couldn’t control herself from raising it a few notches, her tone full of disbelief.
“Which Black?”
There was more than one person surnamed Black in Hogwarts, but among those studying at school who could keep Isolde on her mind, there was obviously only that one.
Before Isolde could reply, she reacted herself, taking a sharp gasp of cold air and asking with a trembling voice:
“Bellatrix Black?”