Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

"The Mourning Willow, when its branches touch a living thing, will ooze a corrosive sap containing intense despair, it's hard to say whether it's more intense than the Dementors."

Bloodthorn vines grow on battlefields or massacre sites, nourished by the negative magic left in the soil. Their flowers emit hallucinogenic pollen, causing people to repeatedly experience the fear of death.

If you believe you are dead, then you are truly dead.

There's also the mournful mushroom, which only grows in places where large numbers of organisms die unnaturally. When it matures, it emits a sound similar to a dying wail, and anyone who hears it will immediately face death.

For each one she mentioned, Dumbledore would nod.

"But I won't tell him. If he asks, I'll just say 'sunflower ebony thicket'," Professor Sprout added, then changed the subject. "Because at least, that direction is upwards."

Dumbledore's smile faltered slightly. He picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and glanced away.

After a while, he looked at Professor Sprout again, but only saw the determination in her eyes.

He sighed softly, stood up, the hem of his robe brushing against the edge of the wicker chair, a hint of helplessness flashing in his blue eyes, as if he had admitted defeat.

He was also aware of the persistence of this colleague he had worked with for twenty years.

"I understand, Pomona, we all care about our students in our own ways."

"I just hope that when Mr. Blake comes to you again, you can trust him a little more."

After Dumbledore left, Professor Sprout sat in the wicker chair for a long time.

She is certainly not just a professor of herbalism in a greenhouse.

She is the Dean of Hufflepuff, and her duties include holding faculty meetings, grading papers, and handling all the mundane yet important tasks within the college.

Which student's family has suffered a misfortune? Which child is being ostracized? Who is secretly researching dangerous magic?

Most Hufflepuffs are mild-mannered and slow-paced, but such young wizards can often have serious consequences if they go to extremes.

She was also aware of the situation outside.

The faction of pure-blood families, the expansion of Voldemort's power, and the increasingly sharp and confrontational statements in the Daily Prophet.

She knew what the surname Blake meant.

But the approach she chose was never direct intervention.

She grows her plants, teaches her classes, hands her students a cup of hot tea when they need it, or listens to their complaints for ten minutes.

Some children will write back years later and say, "Professor, what you said back then helped me a lot."

That's enough.

She knew Albus's thoughts, and she accepted them, but not entirely; she had her own way of doing things.

......

After dinner, Regulus went to the library.

Avery and Alex followed behind him, neither of them speaking, but their steps were remarkably synchronized.

Regulus's eyebrows twitched slightly. Last semester, these two had reluctantly accompanied him to the library a few times, but they hadn't come along again since.

He knew that Avery wanted to follow now because after the Astronomy Tower, the concept of "we are together" suddenly became concrete.

Having been through that kind of thing together, it feels awkward to go our separate ways again.

Going to the library isn't just about studying; it's more about confirming that the community is still functioning and that you're still a part of it.

Avery may not be able to articulate the feeling, but he has already followed suit in action.

Alex was similar; perhaps the memory of being protected was too deep, so it transformed into an awkward sense of belonging.

Regulus didn't stop him; wanting to learn is always a good thing, regardless of the motivation.

As long as you sit at your desk and open a book, your time will not be wasted.

He can be surrounded by arrogant people, hypocritical people, cowardly people, selfish people, insidious people, vicious people, and people who are strong or weak.

But there can be no illiteracy; that's the bottom line.

The three of them found a long table by the window and sat down.

Regulus pulled out "An Introduction to Wand Materials Science," which he hadn't finished reading yesterday, while Avery grabbed "A History of Medieval Wizard Duels."

After hesitating for a long time, Alex chose "The Guide to Raising Common Magical Creatures".

The first twenty minutes were relatively quiet, with only the sound of pages turning and the scratching of quills across parchment.

Regulus thought Avery would be the first to get restless, but he didn't expect it to be Alex.

He shifted his body slightly, his eyes drifting away from the book, scanning the library entrance, and then returning.

As he floated past for the third time, he stopped and nudged Avery beside him with his elbow.

Avery was staring at an illustration of a duel in the book, where two wizards were exchanging spells that were now forbidden, a spectacular scene but utterly devoid of any practical value.

He frowned immediately after being bumped, turning to glare at Alex, his eyes conveying his message.

You'd better have something serious to do.

Alex didn't speak, but gestured with his eyes towards the door.

Avery looked in that direction.

Lily Evans was standing at the lending desk at the entrance, talking to Mrs. Pince, the librarian.

The red-haired girl was facing away from them, holding several thick books in her hands, with ink stains on the cuffs of her long robe.

Avery instinctively wanted to purse his lips; as a pure-blood, he had an almost instinctive contempt for Muggle-borns. But just as his lips moved, he caught a glimpse of Regulus out of the corner of his eye.

For some reason, he suppressed the urge to sneer and instead nudged Regulus across the table with his knee.

Regulus looked up from the book.

Avery gestured towards the door with his chin, his voice low: "Evans is here."

Before Regulus could react, he closed the book, stood up, and pulled Alex along with him.

Alex stumbled as he was pulled, but still managed to frantically pack his things into his backpack.

The two walked toward the door. As they passed Lily, Avery didn't stop, but merely tilted his head slightly in her direction, a movement so small it was almost imperceptible.

Alex lagged half a step behind and gave Lily a somewhat stiff smile: "Miss Evans."

Lily turned her head and saw them. She was stunned for a moment, and by the time she realized what was happening and was about to respond, the two of them had already walked away.

She glanced at the backs of the two Slytherin boys, then at the spot where Regulus was sitting deep inside the library, and a look of realization dawned on her face.

Regulus probably gave some instructions.

She walked to the long table and sat down opposite Regulus, her schoolbag making a soft thud as she placed it on the table.

"Good evening," Regulus said, looking up.

"Good evening," Lily replied, pulling out a reference book from her bag for her Potions class paper.

For the next half hour, the two of them looked at their own things and neither of them spoke.

The only sounds in the library were the occasional coughs of other students in the distance and the faint rustling of Mrs. Pince's feather duster as she organized the bookshelves.

Regulus was looking at information about wand materials.

"An Introduction to Wand Materials Science" is an introductory book with simple content, focusing more on listing examples than analysis.

The book says that there are about thirty types of wood commonly used for the shaft of staffs in the British wizarding world, and even fewer types of wood for the core.

Phoenix feathers, dragon heart tendons, unicorn hair, plus the nerves or hair of a few magical creatures.

Each material is accompanied by a brief description. Holly wood symbolizes purity and protection, making it suitable for upright wizards.

Yewwood is associated with the boundary between life and death, making it suitable for wizards seeking the path of magic.

Phoenix Feather Staff Core possesses powerful magic but is difficult to control; Dragon Heart Tendon is suitable for aggressive spells; Unicorn Hair is the most stable but has limited growth potential.

Regulus turned a page, his finger pausing on the chapter title, "The British Wand Making Tradition."

That's the problem; it's too superficial.

The book only tells you what properties a material has, but not why.

Why do phoenix feathers possess such powerful magic?

Why does the Dragon Heart Tendon provide a bonus to attack spells?

What laws govern the conduction of magic within wood fibers?

What is the mechanism by which different wand core materials resonate with the wizard's own magic?

There is no answer, or rather, the answer is monopolized by a few wand-making families.

Ollivander is the most famous of them.

The cramped shop in Diagon Alley, boxes piled up to the ceiling, wood chips and magical dust that always float in the air.

Mr. Garrick Ollivander said a lot when he was choosing a wand for him.

Blackthorn Plum, Dragon Heartwood, 12 1/4 inches, symbolizes strength and explosive power, suitable for wizards with abundant magic and a willingness to take risks.

Tell him he can do great things.

Regulus had no doubt about Ollivander's skill.

The ability to choose the most suitable wand for a young wizard from thousands of wands in a matter of minutes is magic in itself.

He just felt it was such a pity.

The Ollivander family practically monopolized the wand market in the British wizarding world.

Other types of wands, such as those with American thunderbird feather cores, Eastern bamboo shafts, and African totem engravings, are rarely seen here.

It definitely exists, it's just that it's not visible to the mainstream.

Diversity is disappearing; wizards have become accustomed to the mystical narrative of wands choosing wizards, no longer questioning the underlying principles.

Wandology has become an experiential discipline, with its core knowledge locked away in family traditions, leaving outsiders with only a superficial understanding.

He closed the book and leaned back in his chair.