Bella lounged in a comfortable beach chair, reading from the librarium. She didn't have access to Marlow's personal notes and books — but the libraries of Beauxbatons and Hogwarts — with their handy search functions — were more than enough. Each book was peppered with Hal's comments and bookmarks, so there was no need to wade through hundreds of pages of filler just to find a few lines of real value.
Black had never liked reading, not since her school days — when she'd been forced to copy endless, meaningless passages with a quill on parchment. Why memorize the exact movement of your hand when you already knew how to do it? She was a practitioner, not a theorist — she'd rather get burned by a charm a couple of times than spend hours memorizing textbook gestures.
But once she gained the ability to instantly grasp the essence of a book — especially after that incredibly useful volume on mental magic by Arthur and Hal — she… Well, she didn't fall in love with reading to the point of devouring books nonstop, but she did develop a taste for it.
And lying on the beach, with the quiet roar of the waves, the trill of birds, and the sounds of the jungle all around — there was something romantic and soothing about it. Mental magic, Marlow, and a month of rest had given her a kind of inner balance she'd never known before.
Strictly speaking, she hadn't needed the diadem for about a week now — but it was simply pleasant to wear. Her thoughts were so clear and sharp, and headaches were a thing of the past.
"Relaxing?" came a voice from behind.
Bella nearly tumbled out of her chair in surprise. She'd been alone here for so long, and Sebastian and Florentina only appeared when she called — as proper, ideal servants should. What they did in their free time, she neither knew nor cared. They weren't her house-elves — though, honestly, she wouldn't mind having a pair like them.
"You certainly took your time," she said, steadying her racing heart.
Arthur and Dorothea settled into the neighboring chair. Imagine sneaking up on her like that. Or maybe she'd just let herself relax too much.
"Only forty minutes passed in reality — thousandfold acceleration does that," Arthur said, closing his eyes and hugging his familiar, who practically purred with pleasure. With a wave of his wand, he changed them into beach clothes. It wasn't transfiguration, but portkeys on their clothing. With his true form, quick changes were a necessity. "I'm going to change a bit now — so please don't start throwing charms at me. Oh, this feels good."
"Merlin almighty," Bella muttered, half in horror, half in awe, as the guy transformed before her eyes. His skin shimmered with iridescent, sparkling scales. He grew to over two meters tall, black claws sprouted from his hands and feet, and his legs lengthened, seeming to bend backward — though really, it was just his feet stretching. She'd only seen anything like this in werewolves.
Black-green wings unfurled behind him, sheltering them. But he didn't look like a monster — if anything, this bastard had acquired a kind of alien beauty.
"What the hell is this?" she demanded.
"I'm a metamorph. This is my true form. One of the rituals didn't go quite as planned, and this is the result. But it feels so good to be in my own body," he said. At that moment, Dorothea lifted her head and — with a sly wink — shifted into her nymph form. Her swimsuit — already scandalous by Bella's conservative standards, just two strings really — strained dangerously, barely containing her familiar's assets.
Marlow stroked his girlfriend's fiery red hair and continued, "And Dorothea, as you can see, is a nymph."
"And there's no way to fix this?" Black asked, noting that no one seemed about to attack her. Arthur wasn't worried about Bella — if she tried anything, Hal would just eject her from Availon.
"In magic, there's no such thing as 'impossible,' with rare exceptions. It's always a matter of price and complexity. Besides, this body gives me all sorts of advantages — not just physically, but magically too." Marlow conjured a detailed figurine of Bella dancing, right on his palm. It was made of hellfire — no wand, no incantation.
If she hadn't seen it herself, she'd never have believed it. Though Arthur was cheating a bit — he summoned the fire with his ring, but controlled it himself. He snuffed out the flame — not wanting to make her nervous.
"By the way, how are you doing here? Sorted out the cockroaches in your head?"
"Cockroaches?" Bella blinked, not catching the idiom at first, but she wasn't stupid. "Is that some kind of euphemism? If you mean me, there weren't cockroaches — there were whole dragons. I've fixed the worst of the damage, but there's still a lot to do."
"Well, that's encouraging. Then let me ask you something else. Do you know about the Black family curse?" Arthur asked.
"Do I know about my own family's curse?" She actually laughed. "Of course I know about the Black madness."
"I mean, do you know where it came from?"
Bella paused. She'd never really wondered about that before.
"Our enemies cursed us?"
"For a curse like that to last even a couple generations, you'd have to anger an archmagus of Maleficence. But he'd hardly leave his enemy alive and well. No, I see traces of old curses and new ones, and plenty of Cruciatus scars — those leave marks on the body and soul — but the main cause is something else."
"Close blood relations have a terrible effect on a child's soul. Magic tries to compensate, but it can't. In your case, it shows up as a kind of mental degradation," Arthur explained.
"And why are you telling me this?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Because I can fix it."
"But there's a catch, right?" Black guessed. Arthur hadn't offered this lightly — he'd talked to Hal first, and after a month of watching Bella, Hal decided she was sane enough to work with.
"You'll stop being a Black. We can use Dorothea's blood to restructure yours. If you want, we can add some non-inheritable body improvements — you'll be stronger, faster…"
"I agree. What do I have to do? Sign another contract?"
"Become a vassal. What I'm about to do must never leave Availon," Marlow said seriously. "And if you become my vassal, removing your mark will be much easier."
"Trading one slavery for another?" she said bitterly. "But if it helps my revenge, I'm in."
"Oh, I've heard Blacks are temperamental, but this is something else. I'm not making you a slave. A vassal oath just means you can't betray me, and I can't betray you — that's all. The wording can vary," Arthur explained, pinching the giggling Dorothea, who squeaked.
"Look at this green giggler — we have a bond a hundred times stronger than any vassal contract, but she still laughs at me. I don't need slaves like Voldemort — I need allies."
"If that's really true… you're better than I thought."
The oath didn't take long, and thanks to the wording, it felt more like an agreement between equals. Now Arthur wasn't afraid to share his most dangerous secrets with Bella.
But first, he put her through the full set of rituals he'd once endured himself — flesh severance, aura densification, strengthening the soul-body connection. It wouldn't save her from Avada, but it would keep her soul from being knocked out completely. He cleansed her of astral parasites and curses, and gave her the same soul-restoring potions he'd once taken himself — there were plenty in stock.
They decided not to remove the mark entirely, leaving only the signal and apparition parts, which she could turn on and off herself. This way, no one would get suspicious. But because the mark was anchored to her astral body, they had to burn it out along with part of that body — so she had to drink the soul-restoring potions.
Only then did Arthur dare to perform a ritual similar to what he'd done for the house-elves.
"Well, what now? Haven't finished me off yet?" Bella asked wearily when Arthur approached again. After everything, formalities felt pointless.
"I think it's time to assemble your body," Arthur said with a smile.
"And I'll help!" Dorothea plopped down next to the grimacing Bella. It wasn't that she couldn't stand her, but for an introverted pessimist, being around an extroverted optimist was… like a frog basking in the sun — nice at first, then exhausting.
"Hal, show her both forms," Arthur said. Two rotating figurines of Bella appeared before her. And they were naked.
"Were you spying on me?" Bella flared, drawing her wand.
"Relax, Hal scanned you ages ago. How else would we make your image — clothes grown into your skin?"
"Fine," she grumbled, "but I'll remember this."
Hal took only a few minutes to create the image — he had plenty of practice. But for the girls to adjust it to their liking took hours.
Arthur got tired of waiting and went to nap on the beach while Bella and Dorothea argued over every detail — the shape, size, and firmness of her butt and breasts, the thickness of her waist, her height, every facial feature.
He didn't complain. He understood this was every girl's dream — not to settle for what nature gave, but to make everything exactly as she wanted. He only suggested they ask Hal for an idealized image of Bellatrix to start from — or they'd never finish.
Ironically, it was that ideal image that once made Arthur realize perfection isn't always good. Finally, when the girls had chosen, Hal woke the only guy in this flower garden.
Bella was shy about being naked, but when she saw Marlow looking at her more like a doctor than a man, she relaxed — though it stung a little.
How could she know he'd already seen enough of Dorothea and Florentina's perfect bodies? Black's attractive but ordinary body didn't move him much, and he kept his impulses in check with mentalism and emotional control.
Since the change had to be anchored at the genome level, quite a bit of blood was needed. But this ritual had already been tested on house-elves — so no complications were expected. And there weren't any.
Outwardly, Bella kept her general features, but hundreds of subtle changes turned a beautiful girl into a queen.
"Hm, looks like we overdid it again," Marlow said, covering her with a sheet. "Florentina, take our guest to her room and prepare food and restorative potions."
"It shall be done, master," the house-elf said, bowing and vanishing with Bella, while Marlow began cleaning up the ritual site.
"What do you mean, overdid it?" Dorothea asked.
"Exactly that. People don't change this much in an hour. She'll have to wear cosmetic charms on her face. There's a certain irony — most girls use them to look prettier, but Bella will use them for the opposite reason," Marlow chuckled.
"I'm more interested in why you're always surrounded by girls. First Pandora, now Bella," Dorothea pretended to pout.
"What can I do?" Arthur spread his arms and wings, nearly knocking over a vase. "It's not my fault I'm so handsome. Or are you jealous?"
"How could I be jealous when I feel everything you feel?" She hugged him. "Honestly, if you like a girl, I'll probably like her too — you know, in that way."
"Just don't fall for some other guy," Arthur shuddered at the thought.
"For that, I'd have to find someone better than you — and that's impossible," Dorothea whispered, reaching for his lips. He didn't hesitate to respond. Hands wandered, and soon, as he carried her to bed, Arthur wondered how he'd ever lived without empathy and telepathy.
How would an ordinary girl act now? She'd drive him crazy with jealousy or start ignoring him — there could be a hundred ways to misunderstand. But soon, he had no time for stray thoughts — his fiancée wasn't satisfied yet.
***
After Bella's transformation, the risk of her madness returning dropped dramatically — veela almost never go insane. Their soul matrix and genome are extremely stable, which is why my own transformation took so much energy.
She didn't gain a second hypostasis, but she did develop a tendency toward fire and the beginnings of an aura. If she wants, she can develop it. If not — that's her choice. I wasn't about to lecture a girl who'd already suffered enough.
Yes, I realized my methods were a bit like Voldemort's, but… in law, there's such a thing as motive. You can talk all you want about good intentions paving the road to hell, but it's motive that separates accident from crime.
Even in my past life, I heard a story —
Teenagers kept breaking into a man's country house. They stole from him, drank all his alcohol, broke everything. He couldn't catch them, so he left bottles of methyl alcohol labeled as regular booze.
He came home, found three dead teenagers, and called the police. He wouldn't have faced charges — the kids broke in, drank the methyl themselves, and what was in the bottles? Whatever he'd poured in.
But the man admitted he'd left those bottles on purpose. That was it — they locked him up, because he'd meant to poison them, knowing they could die.
That's why the phrase about the road to hell is sophistry. We can't know in advance where our actions will lead — but it's motive that separates good from evil.
While Bella slept, I made eight magicomputers. I already had a reserve for emergencies, but it's better to be prepared. Then I started trying to recreate Ravenclaw's diadem.
Hal began analyzing it after I ran it through diagnostic charms and rituals. And what can I say? Great minds think alike, and everything new is just well-forgotten old. Rowena also used spirits of reason, but she didn't give them her matrix or make them independent — she housed them in the artifact.
Basically, the diadem was an absorber merged with a spirit of reason, and it worked, as people would say, like an expansion slot. Like a symbiont, it boosted the wearer's mental abilities at its own expense.
But the artifact also had a kind of primitive mind, which is why it could resist the dark wizard's soul fragment and help restore Bella's psyche.
The most interesting thing was that, when activated, the artifact was impossible to distinguish from the person's own mind — it merged completely, which gave me an obvious idea.
"Hal, could we create a mask for Bella — a second stream of consciousness?" I asked my Availon keeper. His illusion appeared before me.
"Quite possible. We have enough data to simulate 'mad' Bella, though it's better to actually train the spirit than just pour a matrix into it. That could have consequences," Hal told me what I already knew.
"I agree. Better to take Bella's current matrix and train it — if not to average, then at least close. Can you handle it?"
"That will take time," my vassal smirked. "Good thing you're a time mage."
"I'd call myself a time artificer, and even that's more Phineas's achievement. He devoted his life to it — I'm just using his work."
"But you created me — don't sell yourself short."
"If I get cocky and say, 'Look, I'm the coolest guy on the planet,' I'll stop growing. I'd rather be an eternal fool who always has something to learn," I said, shaking my head.
There was a knock at the workshop door, echoing with chimes — the room was almost isolated, so signal charms were the only way to let me know someone wanted me. Well, that and Hal or the house-elves — but why bother them all the time?
Turning off the isolation, I left the workshop and nearly collided with a very distracted Bella in a white summer dress with flowers. She looked quite cute.
"Did you want something?" I asked. "You seem… off. Did the ritual go wrong?"
"More like too right," she muttered, stepping back. Her emotions were a mess, so I didn't intrude. "It's like I've been carrying a heavy burden my whole life and suddenly dropped it."
"No wonder — now you don't have to compensate for your body's flaws. And when your astral body fully recovers and adjusts to the new matrix, it'll be even better."
"I don't understand why you did so much for me." We moved to the living room and sat across from each other. Dorothea was fussing with her plants again, and I didn't interfere — every mage has their own path. "Yes, I gave a vassal oath, but…"
"But not every lord does this much for a vassal? Spends their strength, money, and time?"
"Yes, that's exactly it," she nodded.
"I already told you about my teacher's request to help the Blacks. That's one reason. The second is that I'm a perfectionist — I can't take on a task and stop halfway, saying I've done enough.
Only when I'm truly powerless to teach or help my vassal or student can I say, 'That's it, I've done all I can — now it's up to them.' And third, I really liked the Sumerians' and Phineas's approach to teaching. They prepared their students thoroughly," I explained, ordering apple juice from Sebastian.
As I drank, Bella gave me a strange look — she must have known how much it cost.
"All right, so what are your plans for me after all this," she twirled her wrist, "ends? If I survive."
"You'll survive — where would you go?" Before I forgot, I took out one of the rings with changeable stones from spatial storage. Not the mass-produced ones, but the same kind as mine and my closest friends'.
"You know, I was joking about marriage," she said, a little nervously. But what surprised me was that, deep down, she was ready to go through with it. There was no romance in her feelings — just sympathy, duty, and gratitude.
"I already have a fiancée, and a harem isn't for me. I'm too old for that," I chuckled, and Bella smiled in relief. "This is an artifact. It works like what you already have, but the content is completely different."
I told her about the piercer, threat detection, protection charms, healing, the veil of secrets and death — the last one surprised her most.
"A shield from Avada?" I'd never seen such an expression on the always-aristocratic Bella. I mentally asked Hal to record it — I'd make a statuette or painting later.
"What surprises you? I mean, a whole world in a suitcase, time acceleration, my elves and Hal don't surprise you, but a shield from Avada does?"
"You don't understand," she shook her head, quickly regaining her composure. "There are many wonders in the magical world, but some things are considered impossible. Like blocking Avada with magic."
"Or Gamp's exceptions, which aren't exceptions at all," I said, taking out a circle with a food matrix and materializing food — "violating" the first exception. "Gamp was right that you can't create humans, food, magical objects, or precious stones with transfiguration. But that's what transformation magic, materialization, and alchemy are for. And even about the last one, he lied — there's eternal transfiguration."
"Impressive," this time she kept her cool.
"Want to learn? I can teach you." Bella nodded, holding back her excitement.
***
Bella had thought that, coming from one of the oldest families, she knew almost everything. But after Marlow opened his research and Sumerian knowledge to her, she realized just how far she was from the true horizon of power.
After restoring her soul, she went through a course of potions and rituals from the mysterious Lerach, which made her already magnificent body even more conductive. Strong, agile, fast, and — let's be honest — beautiful.
Now, in the mornings, she lingered in front of the mirror, naked. She'd never been vain, but now she tried to find flaws and couldn't. Even her virginity had returned — at her own request.
A new body, untainted by bastards, had thrown off another "cockroach," as Marlow put it. But she wouldn't be looking for a man anytime soon — not after everything she'd been through.
She had nothing against Arthur, and if he'd shown interest, maybe she would have given in — even in his true form. But Dorothea had mentioned that, for Arthur, sex and relationships without the bond that connected them seemed pale and uninteresting.
After two months in Availon — or an hour and a half in reality — she was getting ready to leave. The ring slipped onto her finger and vanished, as did the diadem.
Next came silk underwear and the dress she'd arrived in. To her embarrassment, Arthur had enchanted the underwear to clean itself during her period and maintain a comfortable microflora.
The bra didn't squeeze her chest or strain her back. Instead, it seemed to reduce its weight and lift it with charms — so she barely felt it. Marlow said that for a true mage, there's nothing shameful about it.
Now Bella thought — magicomps, rings — forget that. Sell this underwear in different styles and you'd be a millionaire! Especially since in magical England, you'd never find such "debauchery" as lace underwear, so it would be wildly popular just for the style.
Marlow went quiet for a long time after hearing this and said he'd think about it. Bella couldn't understand how someone like him could have been thrown out by Walburga and Orion — what a loss for the family!
But she'd long since lost faith in her family, especially after her memories returned.
"What filth, thinking about that pathetic half-blood — and a monster at that. How pathetic you are!" came a voice in her head.
"Selina," Bella addressed her assistant, "you're going too far."
"I'm just practicing!" Selina smirked. "I need to fool that bastard."
"Bastard?" Bella couldn't help but laugh. "Well, it fits."
Heading downstairs, Bella realized she didn't want to leave Availon. It was quiet and peaceful here, and she could practice magic as much as she wanted.
She'd shown real talent in combat magic and curses — not just wand curses, but true maleficence: ritual, by body part, by aura, or just by looking someone in the eye.
Marlow was delighted and asked her to curse animals first, then himself, so he could learn to fight this nasty kind of magic. She also did well in metamorphism and fire magic, though not as much as in curses — developing those would take years.
Arthur taught her martial arts and blinking — not for fighting, but to get close to an enemy and hit them with a curse at point-blank range, or to retreat.
"Hello," Dorothea greeted her at the table. Over the month, they hadn't become best friends, but Bella liked this cheerful, slightly naive, yet strangely wise girl. With her plants and fire, she could twist anyone into a pretzel.
But neither of them could match Marlow, who — with his quick movement and teleportation — simply didn't let anyone hit him. His versatility let him stay effective at any range.
Bella thought that, if he wanted, Arthur could probably beat Voldemort. But only one-on-one — which was unlikely.
"Arthur will be out of the bathroom soon."
"Were you two at it like rabbits again?" Bella teased, hitting the mark.
"Are you jealous?" Dorothea asked, unfazed. She had her own ideas about shame and morality — she'd been born without those unnecessary things.
"Maybe, maybe," Bella drummed her fingers on the table.
"Hello, everyone," Marlow teleported into the dining room. Bella had been startled by this habit at first.
"Can't you ever come down like a normal person? On foot, maybe?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Florentina and Sebastian appeared, bowing to Arthur.
"The more you use magic in daily life, the better you get," he said, lifting the pastrami on his plate with telekinesis and sending it to his mouth. "And it's convenient."
Everyone fell silent for the meal. Table etiquette was observed for safety and politeness — no one liked food or spit flying at them.
"Are you leaving today?" Arthur asked, wiping his mouth.
"Be careful out there, Bella," Dorothea said, making a sad face.
"Well, just for you," Bella laughed.
"And for me?" Arthur pretended to be offended.
"For you, I can only marry," she shot back — a classic jab by now.
"No, no, I don't need that kind of happiness," he said, raising his hands. "But seriously, Hal is linked to your Selina, so unless Voldemort is an archmagus of mentalism — and with his crude methods, he's not — he won't get into your mind. He'll be brainwashing simulations. And if anything happens, Selina will pull you into Availon."
"Thank you for everything, Arthur. I don't know how, I don't know when, but I'll repay you for all you've done — even if it takes my whole life."
"I don't need that kind of sacrifice."
"It's not a sacrifice — it's my pride and honor. Don't take those from me."
"All right, I won't. But know that for me, it's enough that by saving you, I fulfilled my teacher's request," Arthur said, frowning — he wasn't used to such heartfelt thanks.
"I know. Thank you again. I'll try to make it to your second teacher's birthday tomorrow… But you know how it is. Who knows how things will turn out," she said, spreading her hands.
"I understand," he said, waving. "And… good luck."
***
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Thank you for the help with the power stones!!!