Watching the girl walk towards the Slytherin table, Dumbledore saw the shadow of her father overlapping with the girl. A flash of concern reflected in his blue eyes but disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
Rising from the head seat, the entire Great Hall suddenly fell silent. Dumbledore smiled at all his beloved students and began to speak, his voice reverberating through the hall.
"First, let us welcome all the new students!"
With his words, all the students started clapping, a barrage of applause sounding extremely loud, causing the new students to look at the Headmaster with excitement. As the applause died down, Dumbledore continued speaking.
"Some rumors are circulating about a supposed tournament of magic and witchcraft." Dumbledore paused and looked at the visibly anxious and excited students with a smile, then continued, "The rumors are true. Hogwarts will host the International Magic and Witchcraft Tournament."
As soon as he finished speaking, the hall erupted into complete chaos, with screams of excitement and joy! Even the older students, accustomed to fighting cursed spirits, could not hide their excitement at this moment.
"We must win!" Gryffindor shouted loudly, full of bravery.
"We will win with our minds!" The Ravenclaw students, not wanting to be left behind, shouted together.
"We will win together!" Hufflepuff shouted loudly.
"We will win at all costs!" The Slytherin students followed suit and shouted loudly together.
For the first time in hundreds of years, all four houses of Hogwarts seemed truly united for a moment. This made the professors look at each other in surprise and smile at one another. Seeing something like this brought a very pleasant feeling to them.
Dumbledore smiled at the scene in front of him and resumed speaking when the applause and shouts ceased.
"Twelve magical schools around the world will participate in the tournament. It has been decided that each school will present four representatives to compete in the International Tournament." Dumbledore patiently explained a few things, and all the students listened attentively, afraid of missing any details.
"A selection will be held to decide each representative of Hogwarts. You will be able to vote for whom you believe can bring victory to Hogwarts. The date of the selection will be the same day all the schools arrive at Hogwarts." Dumbledore finished explaining and turned his gaze to the teachers' table, where a man in a beautiful blue suit and a charismatic smile stood up, drawing everyone's attention. Those who already recognized the man stood up and shouted, trying to get their idol's attention, especially the girls, who seemed to be seeing their god.
Dumbledore looked at the blond man with a deep gaze and announced with a smile, "After the disappearance of Professor Quirinus, we are pleased to announce that Gilderoy Lockhart is our newest member of the Hogwarts teaching committee. He will assume the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in place of Professor Quirinus." With that said, the Headmaster of Hogwarts took the initiative to clap, followed by everyone else, welcoming the new professor to Hogwarts.
Dumbledore sat back in his seat while bringing the metal goblet to his lips, watching Lockhart and narrowing his eyes thoughtfully.
"Thank you for the kind words, Professor Dumbledore," Gilderoy first thanked Dumbledore and then looked at all the students with a sense of pride. "You are lucky to have the best teacher you could ever have." He began, causing some girls to scream with joy. Winking elegantly at the girls, Gilderoy continued speaking with a broad, impeccably white smile. "I will fulfill the sacred duty of teaching young witches and wizards with all respect and pride. By the way, be sure to purchase the latest edition of my book, *Vampires and Their Macabre Stories*."
Snape, at the teachers' table, scowled at the shamelessness of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. His eyes, dark as two black holes, stared at Gilderoy with a touch of dissatisfaction. The other professors were also displeased that a peacock like Gilderoy had secured one of the most coveted positions in British magical society.
At the Slytherin table, Asterion looked at the fraud with a hint of disgust in his eyes. Weak, Gilderoy was terribly weak, not even a level 2 wizard. At the same time, he wondered why Dumbledore had chosen such a worthless piece of trash to be a professor at Hogwarts, especially for one of the most important classes—Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Sipping some wine from his goblet, Asterion looked at the man sitting in the head seat at the teachers' table, who seemed to feel his gaze and raised his goblet, greeting him with a smile. Asterion raised his own goblet and smiled back at the man over a hundred years old. Then, his smile completely disappeared as his gaze fell upon the girl beside Astoria and Ginny, his supposed cousin—Ophelia Riddle.
Bellatrix had a daughter with Voldemort. That was the only possibility he could think of at that moment. But if such a thing happened, Bellatrix would certainly have told him; he did not doubt his mad cousin's loyalty.
So, one option remained: Voldemort had used Obliviate on Bellatrix, making her forget she had a daughter with him. Only a powerful wizard like Voldemort could use Obliviate on an extremely powerful witch like Bellatrix Black. Any other wizard would have had their head ripped off before they could cast the spell on Bella.
If it were true, then Ophelia was his cousin, and he had killed the girl's father. If Ophelia grew up without a father or mother, then Asterion was almost sure that Ophelia would hate him if she found out her true parentage. After all, only an orphan or someone abandoned knows how lonely it is to grow up without someone by their side.
Any orphan yearning for parental love would give anything to grow up with their parents, regardless of whether those parents were good or bad. Love truly was an extremely complicated feeling. Suddenly, Asterion felt a delicate hand intertwine with his. He turned his head and saw Daphne looking at him with a calm and somewhat concerned expression.
"You seem worried," Daphne whispered, gazing at him with her beautiful icy blue eyes. It was the first time she had seen such an expression on her fiancé, who had always been confident and calm in any situation. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew it had something to do with the new Slytherin student—Ophelia Riddle.
The resemblance between Asterion and Ophelia was obvious; all the Slytherins had noticed it, but no one said anything to avoid creating an awkward atmosphere.
"Come to my room tonight, and I'll tell you everything," Asterion whispered, deciding to tell Daphne about Voldemort's true identity. Letting out a tired sigh, he felt that the coming days would be stressful, but first, he needed to talk privately with Ophelia and question her amicably.
Daphne nodded and asked no more questions. She began to lift the atmosphere at the table with a few words, making it more lively and relaxed for the new freshmen.
With the end of Gilderoy's presentation, dinner was served, appearing suddenly on the table, shocking the new Muggle-born students. They were still amazed by this new magical and beautiful world, but they didn't know that behind this beauty lay a very cruel and cold world. But that they would have to face at another time. For now, everyone focused on the delicious food on the tables, enjoying the most magical moment of their lives.
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Author's Thoughts: Initially, Ophelia was supposed to be Sirius's daughter, but when I saw Alkole's comment on Patreon, I changed my mind at the last minute. I had to redo some scripts and so on, but everything turned out well in the end. Thank you for the comments, and I hope you enjoy the chapters. :D
Support me to write more and read chapters ahead of all regular readers!
P-atreon.com/HPSCB
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Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 115 – Ophelia (2), Chapter 116 – Doubts (1), Chapter 117 – Humbug (1), Chapter 118 - Ophelia's Mother (1), Chapter 119 - I Decided to Seduce Daphne (1), Chapter 120 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (1), Chapter 121 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (2), Chapter 122 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (3), Chapter 123 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (4), Chapter 124 - Conspiracy In Progress (1), Chapter 125 - Conspiracy In Progress (2), Chapter 126 - Ophelia, Narcissa And Andromeda (1), Chapter 127 - Ophelia, Narcissa And Andromeda (2), Chapter 128 - The Four Representatives of Hogwarts (1), Chapter 129 - The Four Representatives of Hogwarts (2), Chapter 130 - The Four Hogwarts Representatives (3), Chapter 131 - The First Trial (1), Chapter 132 - The First Trial (2), Chapter 133 - King's Game (1), Chapter 134 - King's Game (2).
The entire ceremony for the new students ended, and the house Monitors led the new students to their respective houses, heading toward their common rooms.
"The password to enter the Common Room is 'pure-blood,'" Marcus Flint, who took over as the Slytherin Monitors after his predecessor graduated, told all the new students. "Don't forget it, or you'll have to sleep outside or wait for someone to open the door for you."
Beside him, guiding the girls, was Clarissa Higgs, the female Slytherin Monitors who took over after her predecessor left. "Slytherin has strict rules, but you can read the rules in your respective dormitories," Ginny heard Clarissa say as she looked around, mouth agape, at the elegant and luxurious environment of the Common Room. Glancing out the window, she swore she saw a huge octopus tentacle appear for a moment.
"Are all the common rooms like this?" Still shocked by the luxurious appearance of the place, Ginny asked her new friend, Astoria, who was beside her.
"From what my sister said, each common room is unique in its own way, but only Slytherin's is this rich. We have individual or double rooms if two people want to share. In Gryffindor, you have to share the room with four or five other girls," Astoria replied in a whisper, her tone full of pride for Slytherin. Mentioning Gryffindor, Astoria herself felt a shiver run down her spine. Just thinking about sharing her own room with other people without a hint of privacy left a rich girl like her very uncomfortable.
Although she felt she wouldn't be too bothered by sharing a room with other girls, Ginny still nodded while continuing to look around the common room with great curiosity. Her gaze finally fell upon two chairs that resembled thrones next to the fireplace.
Something that the new students also looked at with curiosity, after all, were two thrones, even for the descendants of minor noble houses, it was something they had never seen before. Marcus Flint, seeing the looks from the new boys and girls, smiled and proudly introduced, "These are the seats of Lord Asterion Black and his fiancée, Lady Daphne Greengrass." He seemed so proud that one might think he was talking about himself.
The name of Asterion filled all the descendants of the minor noble houses with admiration and envy. After all, it was the name of the war hero who defeated the most evil wizard ever to set foot in Britain.
Hearing her sister's name, Astoria couldn't help but look with envy at the silver throne beside the black throne. Every girl was vain and very proud, always wanting to be the center of attention. She was no different in that regard, but Astoria knew she could never surpass her sister's popularity.
Clarissa Higgs, the female Slytherin Monitor, spoke at this moment, looking at the thirteen-year-old girls. "Girls can enter the boys' dormitory, but boys cannot enter the girls' dormitory, so no bringing boys into the girls' dormitory."
"Why would we bring boys into the girls' dormitory?" Ginny asked, confused by the rather specific rule.
Beside her, Astoria looked speechlessly at the innocent redheaded teenager. "Isn't it obvious?"
"What's obvious?" Ginny asked, genuinely confused, looking at Astoria.Seeing those innocent eyes, Astoria was at a loss for words. Had her mother not talked to her about these things?
Though surprised, Astoria didn't answer. She didn't want to tarnish the girl's innocence but thought it would be amusing to see her reactions when she found out about these things.
When everyone was about to head to their respective dormitories, Asterion's voice drew everyone's attention.
"Marcus, Clarissa. Miss Riddle will stay with me for a moment." Asterion, who had just arrived in the common room, looked at the girl with black hair and red eyes.
Marcus and Clarissa weren't surprised by Asterion's arrival. It was obvious given Ophelia's appearance that this would happen.
Looking at Ophelia, who didn't object, Marcus and Clarissa nodded and led the new students to the dormitories. Astoria and Ginny looked at their friend with concern for a second but followed Clarissa to their rooms.
---
Observing the boy sitting on the black throne by the fireplace, Ophelia's crimson eyes met his ruby ones. The notable resemblance between them had not escaped her since the moment she laid eyes on him.
"Miss Riddle." His voice, though calm, was as confused as she felt in this strange moment.
Even though she was new to this world that had just opened its doors to her, Ophelia knew the identity of the handsome boy in front of her.
Asterion Black. There were as many rumors about him as mushrooms sprouting after rain. A powerful Special Grade Wizard—though she didn't fully understand what that meant, she knew the young man before her was someone powerful in this magical world. And for some reason, given how similar they looked, this powerful figure had some blood relation to her, bringing conflicting feelings to the teenager's mind.
Growing up alone for thirteen years in a wealthy orphanage, believing she was alone in the world, it was a surprise to know she had some relative. This brought mixed feelings of joy and fear to her heart. Joy at knowing she wasn't alone and fear that it was just a coincidence they looked so alike.
"Believe me, I am more surprised than you are." Noticing the negative emotions growing within the girl as she looked at him, Asterion spoke calmly, waking her from her thoughts.
"Your appearance indicates that we are related, of that I have no doubt. This leads me to know who your parents are." Asterion spoke calmly, looking at the very nervous girl.
The girl seemed to relax with his words and looked at him with obvious joy, and probably many questions on her mind.
"I grew up in a very wealthy orphanage in West Yorkshire. I don't know who my parents are, but the headmaster of the orphanage said he found me in a basket on a winter night with a note bearing my name," Ophelia spoke each word without hesitation, her voice much happier as she looked at Asterion with a bright gaze. Their similar appearances made her feel an almost instant connection, knowing they were related.
A wealthy orphanage? Does such a thing exist anywhere?
Voldemort probably created a false orphanage to raise his own daughter in secret, something ironic given that he was also raised in an orphanage.
Asterion thought, looking strangely at the girl. Observing her confident and cheerful aura, he confirmed his thoughts. Orphans usually don't possess much of that while growing up, not only due to the bullying they suffer but also due to the less-than-luxurious conditions given the number of children an orphanage raises.
"Tell me about your childhood." Asterion crossed his legs and placed his hands on his knees. Any information about her would be useful in determining some questions in his mind.
---------------------------
Support me to write more and read chapters ahead of all regular readers!
P-atreon.com/HPSCB
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 116 – Doubts (1), Chapter 117 – Humbug (1), Chapter 118 - Ophelia's Mother (1), Chapter 119 - I Decided to Seduce Daphne (1), Chapter 120 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (1), Chapter 121 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (2), Chapter 122 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (3), Chapter 123 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (4), Chapter 124 - Conspiracy In Progress (1), Chapter 125 - Conspiracy In Progress (2), Chapter 126 - Ophelia, Narcissa And Andromeda (1), Chapter 127 - Ophelia, Narcissa And Andromeda (2), Chapter 128 - The Four Representatives of Hogwarts (1), Chapter 129 - The Four Representatives of Hogwarts (2), Chapter 130 - The Four Hogwarts Representatives (3), Chapter 131 - The First Trial (1), Chapter 132 - The First Trial (2), Chapter 133 - King's Game (1), Chapter 134 - King's Game (2), Chapter 135 - King's Game (3), Chapter 136 - King's Game (4).
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