bacchusnovels Chapter 151 Bella's Test of Fidelity
Chapter 151 Bella's Test of Fidelity
Chapter 151 Bella's Test of Fidelity (Part 1)
The night was as dark as ink, deep and heavy, as if it would devour all light.
In the dimly lit study, a desk lamp cast dappled light, adding a touch of mystery to the quiet room.
Sean sat alone at his desk, his fingers gently turning the pages of the thick book, his gaze deep and focused on the words, while he murmured the eerie incantation softly.
"Your father's bones, given unintentionally, can bring your son back to life; your servant's flesh, given voluntarily, can bring your master back to life; your enemy's blood, given under duress, can resurrect your foe..."
As his voice echoed through the empty study, the surrounding air seemed to grow heavy, the wind outside the window began to howl, and the IV drip rustled like a whispering ghost.
The sound of pages turning under your fingers, intertwined with the sound of the wind outside the window, created an indescribable atmosphere of terror.
"Father's bones... servant's flesh... enemy's blood..." A subtle, enigmatic expression flashed across Sean's face, a black-covered diary lying beside him.
These three items are the three ingredients of a potion, the famous "Potion of Regeneration," which is also considered an "ancient black magic" that can restore a mutilated or disfigured wizard to his true, complete physical form.
This also applies to non-physical wizards; in the original story, Voldemort used this potion to restore his complete body.
Sean believes that if this potion were placed in the Middle Ages, it would definitely be very popular among some people in the court.
If he wants to help Voldemort finally achieve his resurrection, he needs to collect these three items, all of which are easy for Shaun to obtain: his father's bones are in the graveyard, and the flesh of his servants and the blood of his enemies are currently in the Gryffindor common room.
His main goal was to find an excuse to injure Harry, collect some blood, and then conveniently take Ron's rat cage. That would complete his mission.
But is it really that simple?
If Voldemort is just a soul now, how can he be reborn by soaking in this potion?
In the original story, Voldemort had Peter Pettigrew concoct potions to create his juvenile body, which, combined with some spells and artifacts invented by Voldemort himself, sustained his life during the period when he regained his powers.
The two main ingredients of this potion are unicorn blood and Nagini snake venom.
Voldemort had to drink this potion every few hours.
However, that was all Sean knew. Unicorn blood could be obtained by spending a lot of money on the black market, but Nagini's snake venom was not so easy to get.
Moreover, he had no idea about the spells and artifacts created by Voldemort that required this... So, this path was clearly not feasible for Sean.
But Sean clearly has another option.
He's got cheat codes.
[Life Potion]
[Description: This product is made primarily from a mixture of inferior "Undying Spring" (Caribbean pirate) and various other ingredients, providing the user with a large amount of vitality.]
[Note: This was the best choice for both Ying Zheng and George II.]
First, we can learn from the different tests conducted in the original work.
Riddle can emerge from the diary and materialize, becoming able to touch and interact with objects, provided the diary is given a large amount of life force.
However, the length of his existence is directly proportional to the vitality required.
In other words, the more vitality one has, the longer Riddle can remain in existence.
In this way, Riddle can be immersed in the regeneration potion.
But what Sean cares about now is Riddle's current age.
He was only eighteen years old when his soul was severed and made into a Horcrux. Even if he regained his physical body, he could only return to his appearance at eighteen.
This is completely contrary to Sean's plan.
He wanted to control a fully realized Voldemort to compete with the Voldemort who was now barely surviving and whose whereabouts were unknown, and to inherit the political legacy left by the original Voldemort from the First Wizarding War.
This will help him effectively complete the initial accumulation of capital and save him a lot of trouble.
And he was able to remain calm and collected, without revealing his identity as "Sean Phillips,"
To become the mastermind behind the scenes.
In other words, in his plan, Riddle would become his front man, doing things for him that he himself wasn't suited to do.
Even in the end, he could have Riddle instigate the Third Wizarding War in the coming years. He would cooperate with Riddle in his act, pretending to defeat Riddle several times, and quickly accumulate prestige to become the headmaster of Hogwarts and eventually the Minister of Magic, while Riddle would help him eliminate his rivals.
Once he had secured his position, he and Riddle staged an "ultimate battle" under the spotlight. Riddle either faked his death, surrendered, or was actually killed by him, and he naturally became a hero of the entire wizarding world.
At that time, people only knew him as Sean, not "Dumbledore," or perhaps "Dumbledore" had already died, and the words of "Sean Phillips" were like imperial edicts, which no one dared to refuse.
Of course, everything mentioned above is just Sean's most perfect fantasy, and the reality is that moving towards the ideal requires going through countless setbacks. All of this is predicated on taking the first step.
Getting back to the main point, Riddle, after being resurrected and appearing as an 18-year-old, clearly had some difficulty accepting Voldemort's political legacy.
Because, apart from a very small number of people, very few can connect the handsome and upright 18-year-old student council president with the dark lord whose appearance has begun to become distorted several years later.
(PS: Splitting one's soul multiple times to create Horcruxes would cause one to lose their handsome appearance, which is one of the main reasons why Sean was unwilling to split his soul to create Horcruxes.)
Therefore, Sean needs to let Riddle devour the souls from other Horcruxes, which will not only solve the problem...
It can also strengthen its soul to be like the main soul, so that it will not be at a disadvantage in the battle against Voldemort.
Sean had already summarized the locations of several Horcruxes, and with the plan about to begin, the Christmas holidays were the few days he had the most free time—he could briefly leave Hogwarts to collect Horcruxes.
Of course, the first stop for collecting Horcruxes is the Room of Requirement in Hogwarts Castle, which is closest to him right now.
Today is the day Sean prepares to take action.
After sprinkling some of the life potion on his diary, Sean tucked it into his pocket, glanced at the clock on the wall, picked up his briefcase, and left the room.
Sean walked through the dimly lit corridor, up the stairs, and arrived at the location on the left side of the seventh floor of the castle.
They stopped beside a tapestry.
This location is easy to find because the tapestry is eye-catching enough—it depicts Barnabas trying to teach the trolls to dance ballet.
Sean silently repeated to himself, "The house of Ravenclaw's crown of wisdom," "I need a storage room."
After passing the tapestry three times, as he took his last step, the wall opposite the tapestry seemed to sense some mysterious call and began to tremble slightly.
The stones on the wall began to move slowly, as if propelled by an invisible force, gradually forming a crack. The crack widened and widened, eventually transforming into a door.
This is the entrance to the Room of Requirement.
Sean took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and went inside.
The room was dimly lit, but Sean's eyes quickly adjusted to the environment.
He looked around and saw that the room was filled with piles of clutter and antiques, with all sorts of rare treasures and lost items scattered everywhere. These were things that students from all over the years had lost or hidden here.
However, Sean had no time to admire the items. He knew what his mission was: to find the Horcrux containing the Ravenclaw Crown of Wisdom among the mountain of objects.
He began his search cautiously, constantly moving various items in an attempt to find clues to the hidden crown. As time went on, the mountain of objects was moved to the other side by Sean, and finally, in an inconspicuous corner, he found an ancient wooden box.
The wooden box was covered in dust and looked unremarkable, but Sean keenly sensed the faint light it emitted.
He carefully picked up the wooden box and gently blew away the dust.
The moment the wooden box was opened, a mysterious aura wafted out.
Inside lay a crown adorned with oval sapphires, its surface inscribed with the Ravenclaw motto: "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."
(Infinite wisdom is humanity's most precious treasure)
This is Ravenclaw's Crown of Wisdom, one of the Horcruxes that Shaun is looking for.
That's it.
Things went much more smoothly than Sean had imagined.
Instead of taking out the crown on the spot, Sean carefully closed the wooden box again and put it in his pocket.
After doing all that, Sean turned his gaze back to the small mountain of items.
Look, what else did he discover?
A flight catapult.
A frisbee with fangs.
A mask.
There was also an ancient book that exuded an indescribable sense of strangeness.
Sean packed them into his briefcase one by one, muttering to himself as he did so, "I picked all of these up."
This is probably one of the main reasons why he brought his briefcase over specifically tonight.
He naturally believed that he had made his own contribution to environmental protection and the reuse of old items.
You never know when you might need these things.
Having more things is always better than having nothing.
So Sean returned home with a full load tonight.
The next day.
Sean woke up just as the first faint light of dawn appeared on the horizon.
He lay quietly on the soft bed, his eyes fixed on the gradually brightening sky outside the window.
The pale light gradually expanded, as if the sky was gently lifting a corner of the night curtain, heralding the start of a new day.
Today, Sean's objectives are the Hufflepuff Cup in Gringotts and the Slytherin Locket at Black's Old House.
Both of these things require Bella's help.
So Sean gently turned over, his gaze falling on Bella, who was fast asleep beside him, her breathing even and steady.
They were still seemingly lost in a beautiful dream.
It has to be said that the year or so that Bella spent with Sean was the year with the best sleep quality she had since graduating from Hogwarts.
She no longer had to live in fear and hide like before, nor did she have to worry about waking up to find countless Aurors surrounding her or being back in Azkaban.
Because Sean was by her side.
Moreover, her task was much simpler than when she was a Death Eater.
She used to wander from place to place, either killing people or torturing other wizards.
Now, her daily task is very simple: just gently open her legs and enjoy the pleasure.
Such behavior can help the owner quickly provide emotional value.
Of course, she also received emotional value feedback.
Sean reached out and gently nudged Bella. Her body trembled slightly, then she slowly opened her eyes.
Her eyes were initially somewhat confused, but as she regained her senses, they gradually focused on Sean's face.
"Bella, it's time to get up," Sean said in a low voice, gesturing for Bella to get dressed and get ready to leave.
Bella nodded, sat up, and began to tidy the bed and clothes.
Under Sean's watchful eye, Bella's movements were swift and methodical. She donned a black robe, tightened the belt around her waist, and casually tied her long, black hair behind her head.
Her face gradually regained its usual cold and aloof expression, her eyes flashing with a sharp light.
"No, no, no, that's not it," Sean suddenly said. "Have you forgotten our plan last night?"
"What plan?" Bella seemed a little confused; clearly, she had been so engrossed in her pleasure last night that she hadn't heard Sean's words clearly.
"We need to change your appearance," Sean explained with a hint of helplessness. "You're still wanted by the Ministry of Magic, and you can't get into Gringotts looking like this."
Bella paused, as if recalling something. "You mean last night... that I should dress up as that bitch Andromeda Tonks?"
In fact, the "bitch" Bella was referring to was her sister, who was also Tonks' mother.
The two women look very alike, and in the original story, Harry initially mistook them for the same person.
The reason Bella was needed to accompany them on this trip to Gringotts was because Bella had previously cast two spells in the Gringotts vault.
One is the replication spell—any item touched by someone other than the owner of the vault will multiply in number.
One is an object protection charm—it makes objects as hot as fire, scorching the body of anyone who tries to take them without authorization.
Only by bringing Bella herself can they successfully take the Golden Cup.
The reason he dressed up as Tonks' mother was twofold: firstly, the two looked almost identical; and secondly, as Bella's sister, entering her vault would receive far more attention than an outsider like himself.
Therefore, after considering all of Sean's factors, it was most suitable for Bella to dress up as Andromeda.
Upon hearing Sean's words, Bella didn't hesitate at all. She took off the robe she had just put on and found what she thought best suited her bitch sister's aesthetic in the wardrobe of her briefcase world—an extremely tacky pink robe.
Bella changed into the robe and deliberately adjusted her expression to be softer, even somewhat silly, to better resemble the image of Andromeda in her mind.
She practiced that somewhat empty yet naive smile in front of the mirror for a while until she felt she could perfectly mimic the "bitch's" demeanor.
Watching Bella's transformation, Sean couldn't help but admire her acting skills and adaptability, just in case.
He also thoughtfully used magic to turn Bella's hair and eyes brown.
What he didn't know was that Bella's significant improvement in acting skills was inseparable from the role-playing games the two of them played on a daily basis.
"Very good," Sean nodded in approval. "You look like a completely different person now."
Bella gave herself a final check in the mirror, checking her outfit and expression one last time. Then she turned to Sean and said seductively, "Professor Phillips, please don't play these weird games with my daughter. If you don't mind, could you consider taking me along? We could play together, mother and daughter..."
This sudden turn of events almost made Sean lose his composure.
Bella was well aware of everything that had happened between him and Tonks during this time. Every time he arranged for Tonks to come to his home for tutoring, he would inform Bella in advance and put her in his briefcase.
Suppressing the throbbing in his body, Sean quickly composed himself.
He put on a dark outfit and then donned his ever-present three-piece disguise.
Once the two were ready, Sean put Bella back in his briefcase, checked his belongings one last time, and then went through the Floo Powder passage through the fireplace to Knockturn Alley.
It only took a few seconds.
He then successfully arrived at Flip-Over Alley.
Knockdown Alley was still as desolate as ever. After finding a deserted corner, Sean quickly released Bella from Knockdown Alley.
Like a gentleman, he gently took Bella's arm and led her to Diagon Alley.
This is Bella's first visit to Diagon Alley in nearly ten years.
The bustling streets of Diagon Alley unfolded before her, with colorful shops, all sorts of wizards and witches coming and going, and a dazzling array of magical goods on display.
Bella was slightly taken aback; this place seemed both familiar and strange to her.
Ten years of life on the run made her almost forget this prosperity and excitement.
This is what a wizarding world should be like.
Instead of the dark and hopeless Azkaban.
Sean sensed Bella's emotional change and gave her a look. The two continued walking in tacit understanding, without saying much, simply quietly sensing the surrounding atmosphere.
But fate often surprises you.
What a person fears most is often what they will face.
A voice that sounded familiar to Sean suddenly appeared on the other side, "Mom, what brings you here?"
Sean looked up and saw a familiar witch standing at the entrance of the Morkin Robe boutique, waving enthusiastically to the two of them.
It's Tonks.
Nymphadora Tonks.