Hogwarts: The Witch Education Handbook

"Don't you think your 'master's' voice sounds a lot like the black-robed man we met in the forest?" Sean suddenly asked.

Bella's expression froze, before she could grasp the deeper meaning behind Sean's words.

The plot on the screen then reached its climax.

Quirrell slowly raised his hand and removed the scarf from his head. As the scarf slipped off, Quirrell turned around, and Voldemort's pale face appeared in the center of the screen.

"Look what I've become!" the face said. "All that's left is a shadow and steam..."

But Ms. Bellatrix Lestrange was no longer interested in listening to the characters' conversations on screen.

Her wide eyes were filled with that face—the face that had once filled her with awe, that she had followed, and that, to some extent, had redefined her existence.

Bella racked her brains trying to piece together the memory of the arrogant and domineering Dark Lord from the depths of her mind with the broken soul of the person in front of her, like a stray dog.

However, just as a broken mirror can never be put back together, there is an insurmountable chasm between the two.

The Dark Lord in my memory was powerful, ruthless, and charismatic, a symbol of dark power, capable of unleashing a storm with every wave of his hand; but the remnant soul before me was so weak and pathetic, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.

Bella's heart trembled, her faith wavered, her mind was filled with struggle and pain, and her world was about to collapse at this moment.

She didn't know how to face this cruel reality, or whether she should continue to follow this already decaying Dark Lord.

Bella's feelings were now too complicated to describe.

She was shocked, disappointed, and even felt a sliver of... pity. Yes, you heard right, pity.

If waiting in darkness for more than a decade only resulted in the shattering of hope, then why didn't she die when she was defeated?

That would mean that all the glory and splendor of the past would vanish along with the soul!

There's a reason why a small group of people can stand up to the majority—they're ruthless to others, but even more ruthless to themselves.

The principle is that only by enduring what ordinary people cannot endure can one achieve what ordinary people cannot achieve.

Sean's physical torture of Bella had ended, but the mental torment he inflicted on her had only just begun.

The movie was still playing normally on the screen.

In her delirium, Bella vaguely saw that her former master couldn't even do anything to a first-year wizard who had just started school.

This intense sense of disparity forced her to close her eyes.

She didn't want to look anymore, nor did she wish to.

Some people can fail countless times in their lives, while others only have one chance.

...

With a cloud of black mist, Voldemort's frantic escape, and Quirrell's cold corpse, the movie finally ended.

The room returned to silence once more.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but when Bella came to her senses again, Sean was leaning back in his large chair, sipping his tea.

Noticing Bella's gaze, Sean showed respect for the first time—if you know Sean well enough, be wary of his next move; this behavior usually occurs before he "brainwashes" someone.

"Would you like a cup of tea? Honey lemon black tea, it's really good," Sean recommended.

Bella didn't speak, she just nodded.

Sean personally pulled out the chair opposite Bella, and after Bella sat down, he poured her a full cup of black tea and handed it to her.

Bella subconsciously took the black tea, took a small sip, and her previously empty eyes finally showed a slight change.

Seeing this, Sean slowly spoke.

"As you can see, his situation is not optimistic." Sean's tone revealed a subtle hint of compassion.

To be honest, his statement was far too conservative.

Sean simply didn't want to kick Voldemort while he was down in front of Bella at the very beginning of the conversation, as that would only make him look bad.

Bella didn't respond immediately, but silently sipped the black tea in her hand, as if savoring the bitterness and sweetness in the tea. The warmth of the black tea was transmitted through the porcelain cup to her palm, bringing a touch of warmth to her cold hands.

"Yes, I saw it," Bella finally spoke, her voice hoarse and low. "I never imagined he would turn out like this."

"Life is unpredictable. Who could have imagined that the once-powerful Dark Lord would end up like this?" Sean sighed softly. "To put it bluntly, he's in a state that's neither human nor ghost, just drifting around like a parasite."

"Every time he makes a move now, he has to absorb the magic and life force from the wizard he is parasitizing. Even so, he still cannot recover to his peak level."

"Poor Quirrell, his skills were not weak, but such an excellent wizard was turned into a dried-up corpse after being 'used' by him only two or three times."

"I'm not intentionally belittling Voldemort, I'm just stating a fact objectively," Sean said calmly. "Leaving aside whether he can be resurrected, just how many wizards' lives would he have to absorb to achieve his original state through this parasitic method?"

"And how many wizards would willingly allow themselves to be parasitized?"

"And is this kind of magic he gains through parasitism truly his own power?"

The atmosphere grew increasingly heavy, and Sean's continuous words were like sharp blades piercing her heart.

Sean did not choose to focus on Voldemort's abandonment of Quirrell.

Because in the survival rules of dark wizards, it is considered a matter of course to sacrifice others in exchange for one's own survival.

For some leaders, such behavior is even praiseworthy.

Therefore, he was simply calmly analyzing for Bella the chances of Voldemort succeeding in his current state.

His approach was effective, and Bella listened to his advice.

Bella's silence was the best answer to him.

"Sometimes, I really sympathize with you." Sean paused, then continued, "All your years of perseverance, the hardships you've endured, and the suffering you've suffered, are just for a goal that is fundamentally impossible to achieve."

"If you know it's impossible to succeed, why do it anyway?" Here, Sean deliberately confuses the logical relationship, "Were you just thinking that you should have died in that final battle more than ten years ago?"

"You even thought... he might as well have just died back then..." Sean's deep, powerful words seemed to pierce through the depths of Bella's heart...