In her view, fine control in magic was indeed very important.
Not only in Charms, but it also played a significant role in Transfiguration.
But—
In duels between true powerhouses, the benefits of fine control were not that significant, especially after she learned the true nature of the Dark Arts.
The treacherous and unpredictable nature of the Dark Arts made them difficult to guard against, and at that point, even the finest control could hardly turn the tide.
Therefore, she wanted to contemplate her own path in magic.
While she was lost in thought, students kept trickling into the classroom for class.
After entering the room, the Slytherin students would all nod and greet Bellatrix upon seeing her, showing a great deal of respect.
Driven by the habits formed over the past year and the prefects’ instructions, her status within Slytherin had grown increasingly unique.
This class was shared between Slytherin and Ravenclaw.
By the time Professor Flitwick arrived, everyone was already prepared.
There were no reckless troublemakers in these two houses, so the entire class went very smoothly.
It had to be said that after a few years of getting used to things, these newly appointed Professors had all grown increasingly proficient.
Bellatrix could clearly sense that Professor Flitwick and the others were much more at ease during their classes.
They paid closer attention to the students’ actions and took precautions in advance, which resulted in a lot fewer farces in the classroom.
Furthermore, the quality of their explanations had improved significantly.
However, it still couldn’t compare to Lord Voldemort’s overarching vision that went straight to the core.
Indeed.
Although Lord Voldemort had only taught her a few critical issues, Bellatrix still felt that learning from a Master of Magic like him was truly rewarding.
She felt it was a pity that Lord Voldemort could not serve as the Professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, which significantly diminished the value of the course.
Throughout the entire last year, the Professor for that subject was sickly and took leaves of absence from time to time, so she had to rely entirely on self-study.
This year was even more absurd; the Professor they hired was a Witch who always droned on about theory straight from the textbook and never shared a single piece of knowledge outside of it.
It seemed that for this class, she would still have to rely on the knowledge of the House of Black to make up for the deficiency.
After Charms Class ended, just as Bellatrix was heading out, she was stopped by Professor Flitwick.
“The Handmaiden Black, I heard that you’ve been invited to join Professor Slughorn’s Potion Club?”
“Yes!”
Bellatrix had no idea what Professor Flitwick’s purpose was in bringing this up.
“Well, you modified Charms last year. What about this year? Have you made any new discoveries?”
He still didn’t state his purpose directly, choosing instead to ask about Bellatrix’s recent endeavors.
Unfortunately, her main focus right now was on learning the Dark Arts and practicing Potion.
As for Charms, she had only managed to master them and had no interest in modifying them.
At first, the Professor looked slightly disappointed, but when he heard that Bellatrix had already taught herself fifth-year Charms, his eyes lit up once more.
Then he said with eager anticipation, “Would you be interested in joining the dueling club I’m planning to start? On one hand, you can practice Charms better, and on the other hand, you can also enhance your practical combat skills.”
Upon hearing about practical combat skills, Bellatrix instantly felt a jolt of alarm.
Was this another probe from Dumbledore?
Testing whether she had any plans to get involved in the war?
If it were a club meant to improve one’s mastery of Charms, she would have had some interest.
But improving practical combat skills?
It was best not to touch Dumbledore’s sensitive nerves.
After all, as a member of the House of Black, she was already standing in the spotlight.
“Sorry, Professor, my energy is limited, so I probably won’t be able to make it.”
She expressed her apologies, explaining that she genuinely lacked the time and energy.
Professor Flitwick sighed and helplessly dropped the subject.
After leaving the classroom, Bellatrix finally calmed her pounding heart.
In that brief moment, she had even envisioned her tragic fate of being dragged into their conflicts in the future.
On her way to the Great Hall, Bellatrix caught a glimpse of what looked like Dumbledore out of the corner of her eye, sending another chill down her spine.
Fortunately, after that, everything seemed to temporarily quiet down.
That evening, introduced by Rodolphus, she met two other seniors who were also members of the club and gathered some information from them.
The club was primarily a place for Professors to answer students’ questions, clear up confusion, and help expand one’s network.
Once inside, one only needed to be careful not to criticize other people’s Potion, unless one had a better recipe. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Saturday afternoon.
Bellatrix arrived at the basement punctually.
Inside the classroom, Professor Slughorn was already chatting with a few scattered groups of people.
Seeing Bellatrix walk in, he didn’t interrupt his current conversation, merely gesturing for her to find a seat.
It was then she noticed that several workstations had been set up in the center and around the room, surrounded by several sofas arranged around the middle.
Some were occupied, while others were empty.
The Professor was right in the middle, chatting with an older male student without caring if others overheard.
Those around them were either listening intently or quietly reading their own books.
As Bellatrix listened to their conversation, the topic was about Potions, and she only managed to catch a few vague sentences.
“…If you add an extra half-turn while stirring… it can improve the final product’s potency by thirty percent…”
“…That won’t work… The medicinal properties become unstable that way… You could try adding some man-eating crocodile scales…”
“What about replacing the vampire vine with a carnivorous flower?…”
“…You can try,…I don’t think it’ll work…”
They seemed to be discussing a Potion recipe Bellatrix had never heard of.
Realizing she had nothing to do for the moment, Bellatrix followed everyone else’s example, pulling out a fourth-year Potion textbook to read.
When the voices gradually quieted down, she raised her head and, at the Professor’s signal, walked over to his side.
“Clap! Clap!” Two claps drew everyone’s attention.
The Professor excitedly announced, “This is Bellatrix Black, only a second-year student this year, and a Potion prodigy I carefully selected. Everyone join me in welcoming her to her first meeting with us.”
Immediately following that, the senior she had met earlier led the room in warm applause.
As the applause died down, the Professor asked her to give a brief self-introduction.
“Compared to everyone here, my knowledge of Potions is still quite limited. I hope you can all offer me your guidance and advice.”
Of course, this was mostly polite convention; anyone invited into the club was capable of brewing perfect Potions, and everyone had a prideful side.
However, Bellatrix concealed her abilities very well, which instead won the others’ favorable impression.
After that, they resumed discussing various Potion-making techniques, and Bellatrix also consulted them about a few tips for enhancing Potion efficacy.
Once the exchange concluded, the Professor even demonstrated a self-created Potion recipe for them on the workstation, leaving Bellatrix feeling she had learned a great deal.