Bellatrix didn’t actually hear the conversation clearly that day; it might have been blocked by magic.
But she knew that starting from that day, the Black Family had cast a portion of its support toward Lord Voldemort, not because of some appearance, temperament, or anything like that.
According to what Cygnus later told Bellatrix, they saw the shadow of a Master of Magic on Lord Voldemort that day; in other words, from their perspective, the struggle between Lord Voldemort and Dumbledore had a chance of victory.
Yet Bellatrix knew that in this era, Dumbledore was the undisputed protagonist.
Just like in a novel, an era always had its protagonist, and only after Lord Voldemort’s curtain fell would Dumbledore exit the stage—not to say that after that, he wouldn’t be strong anymore.
Rather, after that, it was as if he lost his destiny and could be targeted and killed.
Dumbledore ultimately dying due to the scheme involving the Resurrection Stone was actually the result of him truly holding on for too long while no longer having destiny on his side.
Thinking of this, Bellatrix’s vision darkened.
What about her?
Could she truly break free from the shackles of fate and then wantonly pursue magic?
Perhaps it was because Bellatrix’s enrollment was approaching, or perhaps it was the pressure given by Lord Voldemort, but Cygnus began to loosen his restrictions on Bellatrix.
She could enter the study to read some magic-related books.
And the textbooks required for Hogwarts were also prepared in advance.
Although Andy had always been looking for books to read in the study, Bellatrix knew that what she could see were all things related to family culture, or rather, some Muggle works.
The true heritage of the family had long been hidden in a mysterious space within the study.
And this time, Cygnus also brought Bellatrix inside.
The books in this space were a part of the true heritage of the House of Black; of course, they were not complete, as the most complete collection was actually in the ancestral home.
Only those who inherited the position of patriarch could obtain them.
But Bellatrix was not in a hurry; she knew that if things followed the plot’s development, the House of Black would subsequently face a wipeout ending.
Slightly different from what she thought, the first book Cygnus gave her was Defense Against the Dark Arts Techniques”.
She looked up in surprise, and Cygnus seemed to know what she wanted to ask, yet counter-questioned with an apparently unrelated query: “What do you think the Dark Arts are?”
Bellatrix tried hard to recall the content she had seen from the Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook, and then replied, “The Dark Arts refer to some spells including curses, hexes, etc., that will cause extreme harm to people, and even some spells will cause irreversible damage…”
Before she could say much, she was interrupted by her father, “These are all things rewritten by Hogwarts; in reality, the Dark Arts are simply a kind of evil.”
“This kind of evil, not only for the enemy, will also cause an impact on oneself.”
“Therefore, before using the Dark Arts, we need to minimize its side effects as much as possible.”
“So troublesome…” Bellatrix looked up in confusion.
Cygnus directly supplemented her question, “Then why still use it? I also asked my father back then, and his explanation was just one sentence—— Because it is strong.”
“Compared to many so-called White Magic, the Dark Arts possess stronger lethality and are more deterrent on the battlefield.”
“At the same time, it is also a typical representative of being easy to learn but hard to master. Many Dark Arts only require mastering the corresponding emotions; even if there is a problem with the spell or a casting error, it can still play a certain role, but its side effects…”
Bellatrix understood; if a problem occurred while casting a spell, perhaps the Dark Arts would directly harm herself, which would be killing one hundred enemies while self-damaging one thousand.
At this, Bellatrix felt a bit like retreating.
She wanted to explore the mysteries of magic, and she knew the plot and could live for a very long time, so she had plenty of time to explore magic, and thus the Dark Arts…
Cygnus seemed to see through Bellatrix’s thoughts, but he wasn’t angry; instead, he praised, “Bellatrix, remember your mindset at this moment; only by To Live is there a chance,” but he continued speaking,
“The House of Black is a Dark Arts family, and generation after generation of ancestors have researched the Dark Arts. Whether openly or secretly, the power of the Dark Arts has long penetrated deep into our bloodline, which also gives us a great resistance to the Dark Arts.”
“To all newly entered members, we will give this book. It tells how to truly resist, how to choose, and how to utilize it. As long as one masters this book, coupled with the Black bloodline, the damage of the vast majority of the Dark Arts will no longer be terrifying!”
“And at the same time, you will also shoulder the mission of the House of Black, researching it down and then passing it on.”
As her father kept recounting, Bellatrix momentarily forgot the horror of the Dark Arts, perhaps due to the affinity inherent in the bloodline itself.
Even this Chamber of Secrets was no longer gloomy, but instead looked somewhat amiable.
Then Cygnus brought Bellatrix to leave the Chamber of Secrets.
“You read this book first; remember you can only read it in the study, and don’t let Andy and Narcissa see it.”
After that, he walked out of the study.
Bellatrix, sitting in front of the desk, did not start reading directly as Cygnus thought; instead, she fell into deep thought.
After all, she had the memories of an extra lifetime, and after coming out of the Chamber of Secrets, she still felt something was a bit off.
She seemed to have changed a bit too quickly.
Was it a problem with the Black Family’s bloodline?
Or was there a problem with the Chamber of Secrets itself?
Carrying her doubts, she opened the book.
The contents inside were quite normal; some even had been told to her by Cygnus during idle chats before, but the book was much more detailed.
However, she found a line of small text on the very last page of the book.
‘The Dark Arts are an abyss in themselves; we are deep within them and unable to extricate ourselves.
Unless…’
The words cut off at a crucial point, and even more bizarrely, this line of small text vanished into thin air when she looked at it again.
Bellatrix suddenly gave a start and then dropped the book.
For a moment, she was somewhat shaken and unsettled, “This… what on earth is going on?”
She hastily put the book away and then decisively returned to her Room.
Why had her father never mentioned that there might be such a change?
Was it her problem?
She didn’t quite understand, but starting from that day, she only dared to look at that book when Cygnus was at home, and on ordinary days, she mostly read Hogwarts’ basic textbooks.
Although these things were very basic, after all, they were the essence accumulated over many years, and there were also aspects worth learning.
Perhaps due to the fusion of Bellatrix’s two lifetimes of consciousness, she learned very quickly.
Just the day before enrollment, she finally finished reading the Hogwarts first-year textbooks, and at the same time finished reading that book of Dark Arts education from the House of Black.
During this period, she also took time to go to Ollivander’s wand shop located in Diagon Alley to buy her exclusive wand.
However, some words Ollivander said at that time made her somewhat concerned.