Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

The Charms class was located on the seventh floor of the castle, with windows facing east. When the morning light slanted in, you could see the dust floating in the air.

Regulus sat in the second row of the Slytherin section, with Avery Cuthbert to his right and Alex Rozier one seat to his left.

The latter was nervously flipping through "Standard Spells - Beginner," muttering to himself as he reviewed the pronunciation of the Levitation Spell.

"Relax, Rozier," Avery glanced at him, his tone laced with sarcasm. "Professor Flitwick isn't going to eat you."

"I just...want to make sure I pronounced it correctly," Alex said quietly.

The classroom door creaked slightly as it was pushed open, and Professor Felius Frivi practically floated in; he was so short that he needed to stand on a stack of thick books to see the entire podium.

But when he stood still and his bright eyes swept across the classroom, everyone fell silent.

"Good morning, children!" Flitwick's voice was high-pitched but clear: "Today, we will learn the most basic magic, the Levitation Charm! A spell that seems simple, yet contains the essence of magic!"

He waved his wand, and a white feather floated out of the box on the podium and hovered in the center of the classroom.

"Now, repeat after me!" Flitwick raised his wand, "Yugha-Dimlevi-O-Sa!"

Note three key points: the arc-shaped swing of the wrist, the prolonged sound of "Wei," and the light exhalation at the end of "Sa."

There was a feather on each desk, and the classroom was filled with uneven chanting.

Regulus raised his wand slightly: "Yugadimur Leviosa."

With a steady voice and precise gestures, the feather rose slowly, as if suspended by an invisible thread, hovering motionless in front of Regulus.

"Perfect! Slytherin, five points!" Professor Flitwick practically jumped off his thick book. He strode over to Regulus's desk and looked up at the feather.

"Look at that stability! Not a single wobble! Mr. Blake, have you practiced this before?"

The same question as Professor McGonagall.

"I simply listened carefully to your explanation, Professor," Regulus said humbly.

"Great! Excellent!" Frivi waved her little hand excitedly.

"Mr. Blake, perhaps you could set an example for the other students?"

“Of course,” Regulus bowed slightly to Professor Flitwick, letting the feather fall as he began chanting the spell again: “Feathered Dimmelviosa.”

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the feather slowly floated up again, reaching the same height.

Professor Flitwick shouted to the others, "Pay attention to the gestures! Pronunciation is important, but the gestures are equally crucial. Remember, it's an arc!"

Regulus let the feather fall slowly back onto the table, then looked at Flitwick: "Professor, I have a question."

Ask! Child, ask away!

"Professor, I'm wondering, when the Levitation Charm is applied to an object, does it remove its weight, or does it use magic to create an invisible support for it?"

If it's the former, does the object still have mass? If it's the latter, is the magical support evenly distributed, or concentrated in a certain part of the object?

The classroom fell silent instantly, and the students all turned to look at him.

They only thought about how to make the feathers float, never considering the underlying principles; for them, it was enough that the spell worked.

Regulus's question seemed to be trying to reveal the true nature of this spell.

Professor Flitwick adjusted his small round glasses, a gleam of admiration in his eyes: "What a brilliant question! Few first-year students can think about the essential nature of spells."

He gently waved his wand, and a feather on the podium floated up, paused in the air for a moment, and then slowly fell back down: "The answer is that both are true, but the key is the balance between magic and the mass of an object."

The levitation spell doesn't truly remove weight; mass is the essence of an object, just as our soul cannot leave our body, and magic cannot erase it.

"What we do is use magic to manipulate objects." The tip of his wand pointed to the floating feather, and a faint silver light appeared around the feather.

"The wizard's magic repels gravity, yet it evenly envelops every corner of the object, as if dressing it in a light cloak woven from magic."

The support points are distributed to ensure the object floats stably and does not tilt or flip.

Regulus nodded slightly and then asked, "What if the mass of the object changes?"

For example, if a drop of water falls on a floating feather, will the magic adjust automatically, or will the caster need to redirect it?

"A brilliant extension!" Professor Flitwick's voice grew even more excited: "Magic is connected to the caster. When the mass of an object changes, the magic will sense the change immediately and adjust itself automatically."

But this requires the caster to maintain focus and not break the connection with the magic.

He looked at Regulus with a gentle smile: "If you don't focus enough, your magic will dissipate, and objects will either fall or be carried off course by the extra weight."

The fact that you could think of this shows that you not only master the spell, but also think deeply, which is key to becoming an excellent wizard.

"Thank you, Professor Flitwick, this has been very helpful," Regulus said sincerely.

Professor Flitwick tilted his head back: "Keep thinking, Slytherin gets another five points!"

The Slytherins whispered excitedly among themselves, while the Ravenclaws watched them intently.

Regulus knew that Professor Flitwick's explanation was the traditional understanding in the wizarding world, but from his perspective, it was more like the interaction between a magic field and a gravitational field.

It's just that these words can't express it.

Professor Flitwick went to check on the other students, and the chant of "Yugadimu Leviosa" rang out again in the classroom. The white feathers either bounced up suddenly, drifted sideways, or remained motionless.

Alex Rozier has tried seven times.

His feathers either trembled a few times or suddenly shot up, hit the ceiling, and then fell limply.

The last time, a wisp of blue smoke even rose from the feather.

"Stop for a moment," Regulus said.

Alex was startled: "W-what's wrong?"

Regulus walked up to him: "Professor Flitwick said to draw an arc, but you're shaking it up and down, look."

He flicked his wrist, causing the wand to trace a gentle arc: "Magic should be graceful, but you're like you're forging iron."

Alex blushed: "I...I'm afraid I won't use enough force."

"The Levitation Spell doesn't require force; you just need precision." Regulus lowered his hand. "Try again, but make sure the movements are smooth and fluid, without any breaks."

Regulus kept adjusting his posture. Alex wasn't stupid; he was just nervous.

Perhaps it's the discomfort caused by a gentle pureblood branch mixing into a genuine pureblood family?

Regulus thought to himself, he needed someone like this, gentle and pure-blooded.

Alex took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds.

"Yuga-Dimlevi-O-Sa".

This time, he drew a fairly complete arc with his wrist. The feather swayed, lifted two inches off the table, and hovered for three seconds before falling.

"I did it!" Alex's eyes lit up.

"Not bad." Regulus nodded. "But there's still a blockage in your magic because you're not firm enough when casting spells. Keep practicing."

Alex nodded vigorously, looking at Regulus with gratitude.

Maybe Blake isn't so scary?

He sat back down, and Avery leaned closer and whispered, "You've been too patient with him."

Regulus glanced at Avery: "Cuthbert, do you know why on the Black family tapestries, next to the names that were burned, there are often some inconspicuous names left?"

Avery frowned: "...Because they're a side branch? Not important enough?"

"Because when the main branch makes a mistake, it is the collateral branches that preserve the family bloodline," Regulus said calmly.

He looked around as if selecting fools: "And you can't guarantee that the main branch won't produce fools."

The purebloods around them chuckled upon hearing this, while the mixed-race and Muggle-born looked at these people laughing inexplicably with curiosity.

Avery fell silent.

"And thirty years from now," Regulus's voice wasn't loud, but just loud enough for the nearby students to hear.

"When we reminisce about Hogwarts, we won't just remember who made the feather fly the highest, who rode the broom the steadyest, but also who went to class with you, who copied homework with you, and who talked about dreams with you after lights out."

These words reached the ears of Professor Frivi, who was on his rounds.

The short professor stopped in his tracks, looked up at Regulus, something flashed in his eyes, he opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he just tapped the podium lightly with his wand.

"It's best to do your homework yourself, Mr. Black."

The classroom erupted in laughter.