Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

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Unfold the parchment, flatten it, and smooth out the edges. The fibers reorganize, feathers grow, a beak develops, and two black spots appear where the eyes are.

A bird the size of a palm stood on the table, its wings folded and its head tilted, as if observing its surroundings.

The shimmering blue orb in Regulus's right hand floated toward the bird and merged into its chest.

The bird trembled, its wings taking on a pale blue glow, and it gained magical activity.

The little bird flapped its wings, flew up, and landed on Alex's right shoulder.

It chirped softly.

Alex paused for a moment, then the anxiety in his eyes receded like the tide, replaced by a calm clarity.

It's as if my brain is no longer dominated by emotions, and my thinking becomes clearer.

He turned to look at the little bird on his shoulder. The bird was pacing around. Its eyes were two black dots, but its gaze was lively and intelligent.

It cried out again, and Alex's last bit of agitation subsided.

He turned to Regulus, his voice filled with gratitude: "Thank you."

Regulus nodded: "Study hard."

He walked back to his desk.

Avery moved closer to Alex and reached out to tease the bird, which tilted its head to look at him.

Hearing the birdsong eased Avery's tension considerably. He glanced at Regulus, asked no further questions, and returned to his seat to open "Standard Spells, Beginner".

The dormitory quieted down, with only the sound of turning pages, quills scratching paper, and the occasional chirping of birds.

The sound seemed to have a magical power; each time it rang out, it lessened the anxiety in the air and increased the focus.

Regulus sat at his desk, thinking about nature magic.

There wasn't much practice this semester. There are many magical plants in Hogwarts Castle, but the students can only access some of the lower-level varieties.

These plants have weak magical power and mild properties, sufficient for practicing the basics.

But if you want to go deeper, extract stronger magical properties, and achieve more precise control, you need higher-level varieties.

Those materials are deep inside the greenhouse, in Professor Sprout's locked cabinet, or in the Forbidden Forest.

The Forbidden Forest—that dark forest flashed through Regulus's mind.

Hogwarts Forbidden Grounds, entry is prohibited without permission.

All wizards know that good things are hidden there; it is a treasure trove, but also a danger.

Centaurs patrolled the depths, giant spiders spun webs in the shadows, herds of Thestrals soared among the treetops, and there were other unidentified creatures, even Hagrid couldn't name them.

I'll have to go check it out next semester.

What he can do now is to directly extract magic from lower plants like the calming flower, preserving its soothing properties.

By incorporating this magic into transmutation, the birds created possess a natural calming effect.

The effect is not as strong or direct as a dedicated calming spell or potion, but it has the advantage of a long duration. The bird can maintain its magic until it runs out, which is about four hours.

The progress was not obvious, but the proficiency improved.

During his holiday, he planned to spend a few days at the Black family's plantation in Cornwall, where they cultivated magical plants for generations, some of which were varieties that were never seen outside the family.

......

There's not much to say about the exam itself.

In Charms class, Professor Flitwick had each student come forward one by one to cast the Happiness Charm on a colorful feather.

With a flick of his wand, Regulus sent feathers fluttering into the air, where they danced a waltz, and tiny golden stars appeared around them.

Professor Flitwick clapped and gave him an "O".

Transfiguration: Professor McGonagall asked to turn a mouse into a snuffbox.

Regulus transformed the rat into a silver cigarette case with the Black family crest engraved on the lid. Inside, a small mechanism would pop up a miniature family tree when opened.

Professor McGonagall's lips twitched, but she still gave him an "O".

In Potions class, Professor Slughorn's assignment was to concoct an energy potion.

Regulus's finished product was clear and bright, with a pearly luster. Slughorn took a sip, his eyes immediately lit up, and he was full of energy. It was another "O".

After finishing an exam, Regulus went to the library, and in the evening, as usual, he went to the Room of Requirement.

The practice of spatial warp has reached a bottleneck.

Now he can transmit the disarming spell without any loss. The red light passes through the spatial channel and lands on the wooden target opposite, with 100% power.

However, two problems remain unresolved.

Due to the limitation on the number of spatial anchor points, he can currently maintain a maximum of five anchor points simultaneously, each lasting for twenty-five minutes.

I tried to increase it to six, but failed three times. The magic was unevenly distributed, and the anchor points interfered with each other, resulting in both of them collapsing.

This requires more refined control of magic and spatial awareness, and may have to wait until Star Orbit Meditation advances further.

There's also the issue of casting spells consecutively; he can't let two consecutive spells pass through the same spatial passage.

When the first spell passes through, the residual magic will interfere with the stability of the passage. When the second spell enters, it will cause spatial ripples, resulting in either the spell being deflected or the passage collapsing.

The current solution is to increase the number of spatial anchor points. If multiple anchor points are preset in the target area, a second channel can be opened before the first channel collapses.

However, this requires him to complete the cycle of casting a spell, warping, anchoring, and casting another spell in a very short time, which tests his reaction speed, magic control, and spatial calculation.

A better approach is to master spatial deformation.

If he could manipulate the spatial structure directly like Professor McGonagall, he could create isolation layers inside the passage, allowing multiple spells to pass through in parallel.

Alternatively, once the fifth star is lit up during Star Track Meditation, and it is fully lit, there should be a qualitative change in the control of mind and magic.

These things all take time, and we need to find a way to get them done during the holidays.

The practice of the Fiery Spell has shifted towards form refinement.

The Fiery Serpent was already quite obedient; it could coil around Regulus's arm, raise its head, assume an attack posture, and keep its temperature within a range that his skin could tolerate.

The split into two snakes was stable, although it only lasted for thirty seconds. The two snakes could move independently, one crawling on the left hand and the other on the right hand, without devouring each other.

Regulus wanted to go further.

He didn't have any particular favorite animals before, but ever since he summoned the Starry Sky Kite Guardian, he's found birds quite appealing.

Birds can fly, with graceful postures and a wide field of vision.

So he tried to turn the Fiery Blaze into a bird.

Orange-red flames rose in his palm, and he began to take shape, elongating and separating into a head, torso, wings, and tail feathers.

But Fiery Blaze naturally tends to transform into ferocious beasts, fire dragons, giant snakes, and chimeras.

It resists small and delicate forms; the flames always want to expand, to grow fangs and claws.

Regulus suppressed it with his will.

While suppressing the fiery instinct to expand, he used magic to sculpt details: the curvature of the wings, the shape of the beak, and the forking of the tail feathers.

The process was exhausting; he had to do three things at the same time: maintain the existence of the Fiery Flame, suppress its instincts, and perform meticulous shaping.

It doesn't consume much magic power, but it puts a heavy mental strain on you.

The brain is like being divided into three regions: one monitors the temperature of the flame, one controls the stability of the shape, and one executes shaping instructions.

Two hours later, the first Firebird took shape.

It stood in Regulus's palm, only the size of a sparrow, its body outline barely resembling a bird, but the details were rough.

Its wings are like two flame plates, its tail is a bundle of flames, and its head is a round ball.

It tilted its head back, making a chirping gesture, but no sound came out.

Regulus began to carve.

He referenced the shape of the Starry Sky Kite, using magic to push and pull on the surface of the Fiery Blaze, refining the wings into flight feathers, layering the tail feathers, and carving the outlines of eyes and a beak onto the head.

Sculpting is more difficult than shaping because the fiery flames have a life-like tendency; they will automatically repair the parts that have been cut away, allowing the form to return to chaos.

As Regulus sculpted, he used his will to solidify the already formed parts, preventing them from reverting.

Three hours later, the Firebird had become much more refined.

Its wings have feather patterns, its tail feathers have split into three main feathers, and two dark fire cores have appeared in the position of its eyes, as if it is really observing the world.

It stood in Regulus's palm, its temperature perfectly contained, but it was not lively.

The paper bird that Regulus conjured for Alex could walk on its own, tilt its head, and make soothing calls.

All of the Firebird's movements were directly controlled by Regulus, and it had no autonomy.

This is determined by the nature of Fiendfire; it is a fire of destruction, inherently possessing the instinct to devour and expand.

He can suppress it, he can shape it, but it's difficult to imbue it with spirit, as that conflicts with the essence of Fiery Blaze.

Regulus controlled the Fiery Bird to fly in a circle.

It hovered in the training room, its wings flapping and generating heat waves, its flight path stable.

But after flying three meters away, Regulus felt his control decrease, the Fiendfire began to stir, barbs appeared on the edges of its form, and the temperature tended to rise.

He immediately withdrew it, suppressing it with his will.

After the raging fire died down, a burn mark was left in the air, like a scar on the magical level.

The magical structure of that area was distorted, leaving irregular folds.

Using magical perception, you'll find that the area is thinner than other places, indicating compromised spatial stability.

Regulus stared at the mark, a thought popping into his mind.

Is it possible to combine natural magic with Fiendfire?

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