A few days passed…
Because Isolde’s proactive attempts to strike up conversations time and time again in the past were met entirely with cold rejections and scathing mockery.
The request for advice handed over during breakfast was choked into speechlessness by a blunt “No way.”
Before the Charms class, she tentatively brought up wand materials, only to be publicly mocked for her meager magical power and inability to even master basic charms.
The teasing gazes of the surrounding Slytherin students felt like tiny needles, making her cheeks burn.
Tsk, this path won’t work…
Having hit a wall repeatedly, Isolde inevitably lost her patience a bit and tried to communicate with that “black conquest system”.
“——System-kun, what should I do if Bellatrix ignores me?”
“——System, what does it mean when Bellatrix gives me a contemptuous look? Uh… Well, she’s still willing to give me a look, how is that not a kind of progress?”
“——System, I can’t take it anymore, I am a conqueror, not a bootlicker!”
“——System… Why are you, too, ignoring me?”
When saying the last sentence, Isolde was already on the verge of tears.
What a trash system ahhh!!!
As things stand, she could only figure it out on her own.
But then again, Isolde truly had no romantic experience.
At night…
Ravenclaw Common Room…
After washing up with her roommates, she sat propped up against her bed holding a book.
Isolde asked: “How do you think people close the distance in their relationships when getting along? Where does it start?”
Lucy was shocked: “What? Why are you suddenly asking this kind of question.”
The blonde roommate answered: “I think… everything is in the details.”
This sentence made Isolde think for a moment; it made some sense.
Alright, adopted!
“You’re right.”
And what she didn’t know was that the gazes Lucy and the others gave her had noticeably turned strange.
Merlin’s pink-bubble romance!
Having obtained this suggestion, Isolde began to summarize her interactions with Bellatrix.
That sentence, “My appreciation for you is limited to the train, for being able to make Lestrange bite the dust”, fell into the bottom of her heart like a seed.
Make Rodolphus Lestrange bite the dust, huh?
Approaching yielded no results, so she would polish herself first.
Then, at the fixed window seat in the Library, there appeared someone who buried herself in hard study every day. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Lucy: My roommate has finally fallen in love with studying!
No longer intentionally detouring to the Slytherin dining table, no longer chasing after Bellatrix’s back in the hallway to strike up conversations, all her spare time was plunged entirely into the Library and the Dueling Arena.
While others were chatting idly in the Great Hall, she was silently writing out spell incantations in the Library.
While others were playing in the courtyard, she practiced spells over and over until her arms were sore, until the tip of her wand could steadily emit a stable glow, controlling herself so that no magical turbulence occurred.
Theory and basic charms alone were far from enough; Isolde was very clear that what Bellatrix recognized was the ability to suppress Rodolphus Lestrange.
To be precise, it was the strength to beat members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight.
As a Slytherin Pure-blood student with a wealthy background, Rodolphus had received magical training since childhood and had a solid foundation in charms.
Arrogant and pugnacious in personality, he was quite a famous presence among the Slytherin students.
If she wanted to prove herself, she had to defeat him head-on.
Hogwarts’s Dueling Arena became her second permanent residence.
At first, she only practiced alone, casting spells at imaginary targets, alternating between basic offensive and defensive spells, constantly adjusting the rhythm of her magical output to make up for her shortcomings in reaction and force.
Occasionally, students from other houses came to duel, and she would take the initiative to step forward and spar with them.
Even if she lost, she would carefully note down the opponent’s moves and her own flaws, practicing specifically against them afterward.
Sweat soaked the cuffs of her wizard robes, and the spells that were previously slightly stiff were cast more and more smoothly, with increasingly precise magic control.
After persevering for about a semester, she was already able to skillfully use the Impediment Jinx to restrain her opponent, disrupt their rhythm, and then cast offensive spells.
Basically, she knew how to use combinations of spells in actual combat.
A week later, Isolde cornered Rodolphus Lestrange in the corridor.
At that time, he was laughing and talking with several Slytherin companions.
Seeing the Ravenclaw girl blocking his way, his eyebrows raised a trace of disdain and vigilance:
“Oh, you are that… Winnier? What do you want to do again?”
A few jeers came from around.
Isolde’s expression was calm, looking straight into his arrogant eyes, her voice clear and firm:
“I want to duel you, a fair and square one.”
The smile on Rodolphus’s face paused, then turned into even thicker mockery:
“You?”
“Whether you dare or not is entirely up to you.” Isolde gripped her wand tightly, not yielding an inch.
“This is a challenge.”
These words stirred up Rodolphus’s competitive spirit and arrogance.
“Fine, I’d like to see where you get your confidence from. See you in the Dueling Arena, Winnier.”
The news quickly spread in a small circle, and many students, holding a mentality of watching the commotion, swarmed into the Dueling Arena following them.
The Ravenclaw classmates broke out in a cold sweat for Isolde, especially Lucy.
They often went to the Library together and did homework together, and by now they had more or less built up some emotional foundation.
“She can win, right…”
As a clever little eagle, Isolde wouldn’t do things without certainty, right!
The Slytherin students, on the other hand, were certain that Rodolphus would win easily, and the murmurs were full of disapproval and lack of confidence in Isolde.
On the Dueling Arena, the two stood opposite each other.
The self-recommended referee raised his hand, gave an order, and the duel officially began.
Rodolphus struck fiercely and swiftly, an Impediment Jinx heading straight towards Isolde with full oppressive force.
Isolde was well prepared; she shifted her body to the side while waving her wand, accurately casting a shield charm to block the attack, and then countersued with a “Stupefy”.
Caught off guard, Rodolphus staggered slightly.
A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, clearly not expecting this “rude” Ravenclaw girl to actually have such reactions.
The two went back and forth, their spells colliding in the air to spark tiny flashes of light.
Relying on her precise magic control practiced over days, Isolde continuously dodged and defended, looking for her opponent’s flaws.
Rodolphus had a solid foundation and fierce offenses, but he was slightly impetuous, his magic output fluctuating between strong and weak.
After dozens of rounds, Isolde seized an opening of his, hitting him with a precise spell, and immediately trapped him with “Petrificus Totalus”, completely securing victory.
The whole audience fell silent for a few seconds, then burst into murmurs.
Isolde panted slightly, the tip of her wand still shimmering with a faint magical glow, looking at Rodolphus who was trapped in place with an incredulous face.
There was no excessive ecstasy in her heart, only a down-to-earth certainty.
Having won this duel, Bella will at least look at me a few more times…
This matter quickly spread to every corner of Hogwarts, and naturally reached the ears of Bellatrix Black.
At that time, she was sitting on the sofa in the Slytherin Common Room, and classmates around her were talking endlessly about how Isolde Winnier of Ravenclaw won the duel against Rodolphus.
Featuring the motto “no obligation to miss out on gossip”.
Her fingers holding the page paused slightly, and a trace of extremely faint surprise flashed through her grey eyes.
Just for a split second, she recovered her usual arrogance and indifference.
This Ravenclaw who always came to strike up conversations had some tenacity, but she didn’t expect that the other party could really rely on a fierce drive to improve her strength in a short time and defeat Rodolphus.
This was only one semester, right.
Rodolphus was actually defeated by a girl from another house in the same year.
Bellatrix inadvertently hooked the corners of her lips, and could be considered to have developed some interest in this.
She didn’t find Rodolphus that pleasing to the eye anyway.