Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Wednesday morning.

The Scottish Highlands enjoyed rare good weather, with sunlight streaming through the castle's high windows and casting dappled patterns of light on the stone floors of the corridors.

History of Magic class, with Hufflepuff.

Professor Binns floated into the classroom as always, emerging from behind the blackboard and landing behind the podium.

He opened the lesson plan that was never changed and began to lecture in that monotonous voice that could put the living to sleep and bring the dead back to life.

"Today's topic is the Battle of Giants."

"...occurring in the late nineteenth century, it is a collective term for a series of long-standing conflicts between wizards and giants."

Giants are enormous, incredibly strong, and naturally resistant to magic. They frequently attack wizard settlements, threatening the enforcement of the International Wizarding Secrecy Act...

Most of the students in the classroom were doing their own thing; some were secretly flipping through magic picture books under their textbooks, some were chatting quietly, and some were simply sleeping.

Professor Binns never cared about these things; he only needed to finish what he had to say, and whether anyone listened was not his concern.

"The Ministry of Magic eventually formed the Auror Army, employing a combination of expulsion and encirclement to force the giants back to the most remote mountains of Europe..."

Regulus listened, but his mind was elsewhere.

Giants seem to exist solely to enrich the humanoid species system of the magical world.

They are born with extremely strong physical strength, powerful magic resistance, and vigorous vitality; ordinary spells are like tickles to them.

If classified according to the game, they are natural tanks, with high health and defense. They don't need equipment or skills; they can stand there and be a wall.

What's interesting is that they are not reproductively isolated from wizards.

This shows that from a biological perspective, giants and wizards are different branches of the same species, just like golden retrievers and poodles are both dogs.

The magical world also has a half-giant, a truly wondrous creation, such as Rubeus Hagrid.

This is interesting in itself.

But as soon as the thought popped into his head, he suppressed it, thinking it was impolite to think that way.

After all, Professor Flitwick was also of mixed race. Regulus and Hagrid didn't know each other, but Professor Flitwick was worthy of respect.

He continued to let his thoughts wander.

The wizard bloodline is indeed amazing; it seems to always produce hybrids with other intelligent humanoid beings.

The known species include half-giants, half-fairies, and half-Velves.

Is there anything else?

Centaur?

I've never heard of that. There are only centaurs, not human centaurs. I don't know how the first centaur came to be.

Fishman?

I've never heard of that, but mermaids do exist.

That's a bit of a stretch; let's get back to the giants.

It's almost inevitable that giants will become targets for both the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters; such naturally top-tier combat power is highly sought after anywhere.

Moreover, Regulus knew that in the end they would side with Voldemort, and hatred was the best bargaining chip.

But then I thought, how could the giants have gone from hundreds of tribes to just a few dozen now, hiding in the most remote mountains of Europe?

Actually, it's just so-so.

The fact that they could be reduced from hundreds of tribes to only a few dozen shows that the value of their top-tier combat power wasn't that high. The wizards did suffer heavy casualties, but the result was that the giants were almost wiped out.

In the wizarding world, no matter how powerful a non-wizard race is, it is no match for an organized group of wizards.

Moreover, it's not difficult for skilled wizards to deal with giants, so Voldemort recruited them mainly to slaughter Muggles and create panic and chaos.

Regulus snapped out of his reverie, but Professor Binns was still speaking, his voice like the wind rustling through withered leaves.

"...After that, the Ministry of Magic classified giants as extremely dangerous creatures and strictly prohibited wizards from contacting them."

The bell rang, and Professor Binns' voice abruptly stopped. He floated up from behind the podium, passed through the blackboard, and disappeared.

In the afternoon, it was Professor Flitwick's Charms class. Regulus followed the crowd into the Charms classroom and sat down near the bookshelf.

Professor Flitwick was already standing on the stack of books, his voice high-pitched but enthusiastic: "Today, we will learn the Locking Spell."

He waved his wand, and the classroom door slammed shut.

"Colloportus!"

An invisible force struck the lock, locking the door firmly in place. Several Ravenclaws tried to pull it open, but to no avail.

Professor Flitwick looked at them with a smile.

"The Locking Spell is a basic spell, but it's very useful. When casting the spell, you should have the intention of locking the door shut and concentrate the magic on the lock. Come on, let's all try it together."

The classroom was filled with the sound of chanting incantations.

Some succeeded, the lock clicked, some failed, the door didn't budge, and some used too much force, the door vibrated and hummed.

Regulus casually cast a spell, and the door locked instantly.

For him, the incantation was too basic; he didn't need to do anything, it was just a matter of a thought.

But he still practiced it a few times, just to loosen up his wrists.

After class, Regulus went to the library.

Mrs. Pince sat by the door, her hooked nose facing each person who came in. Regulus nodded to her and went inside.

My usual spot, by the window, in the corner.

He sat down, took out "The Nature of Magic and the Principles of Spellcasting" from his bag, and flipped to the page he had been reading yesterday.

After watching for a while, he heard footsteps and looked up.

Lily stood across the table, holding several books in her arms, her expression somewhat serious.

Regulus nodded to her and greeted her, "Lily."

Lily simply nodded slightly, in a very formal manner, without saying a word, and then sat down opposite him.

Regulus looked at her gently, knowing she was still angry.

But he could tell that this wasn't real anger; it was more like a deliberate act, like a little girl saying, "I'm unhappy, come and comfort me."

He then realized that she was just a little girl.

She's only thirteen years old.

Regulus closed the book, then gently moved his hand under the table, silently casting a soundproof spell that enveloped the two of them.

"I was wrong," he said sincerely.

Lily looked up at him, and the seriousness she was trying to maintain on her face was starting to crumble.

She felt a little annoyed, but mostly amused.

Who apologizes right away?

Where is your pure-blooded young master's composure?

"I was too busy during the holidays," Regulus said gently. "It's not that I forgot, it's that I really didn't have the time."

He didn't say what he was busy with, what he went to Germany, who he met, or what the matter was.

But that tone, that sincere attitude, made it impossible for me to keep a straight face.

Lily stared at him for a while, her lips twitching slightly as she tried to smile, but she suppressed it.

"You always do this." Her tone was still harsh, but her expression was no longer so serious.

Regulus thought for a moment and defended himself: "I don't do that every time."

"Did you write me a letter before?" Lily asked, her eyes wide.

"...No." Regulus blinked innocently.

"So it's always like this." Lily's tone was firm and decisive, making the final statement.

The logic seemed a bit flawed, but Regulus didn't refute it. He just looked at her with that gentle smile on his face.

Lily felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, so she looked away and flipped through the book in her hand.

"I'm not really angry," she muttered. "I know that heirs of families like yours must be very busy during the holidays, unlike me, who can play whenever I want after finishing my homework."

She seemed to be trying to cover for Regulus: "You must have something important to do."

Regulus didn't speak, his expression remaining gentle. Lily flipped through a few pages of her book, then looked up again.

"But could you please let me know in advance next time? Even just a short note would be fine, just say you're busy during the holidays and don't have time to write, then I'll know."

Regulus nodded: "Okay."

Lily looked at him, blinked, and then her lips curved into a smile, and her eyes followed suit.

"Alright, I'll let you go."

Regulus smiled as well.

The soundproof spell still enveloped the two of them, and the surroundings were very quiet, with only the occasional sound of turning pages, footsteps, and small voices talking in the distance.

Lily started reading, while Regulus continued reading his own book.

As the light outside the window gradually dimmed, Lily closed her book just before dinner.

Regulus felt her gaze and looked up.

Lily looked at him, her expression more serious than before: "Regulus, I want to ask you something."

Regulus nodded: "Yes."

Lily hesitated for a moment: "What do you think of black magic?"

She continued, "I had a fight with Severus because he... he was learning something."

He said it wasn't black magic, just a deeper form of magic, but I felt it was black magic; those books, those spells, they looked terrifying.

She looked at Regulus with a mixture of confusion and expectation in her eyes.

"I want to know, how do you...you Slytherins view Dark Magic? Are you really learning those things, as others say?"

Regulus was silent for a moment, then he asked, "Do you want to hear the truth, or words of comfort?"

Lily glared at him, emphasizing, "The truth!"

Regulus nodded and said, "Not all Slytherins study dark magic. Most just attend classes, take exams, and graduate normally."

Dark magic isn't something easy to learn, and it's not something everyone dares to touch.

Regulus continued, "But dark magic itself is not what you think."

He asked, "What do you think black magic is?"

Lily thought for a moment: "It's magic that hurts people, causing pain and even death."

Regulus said, "That's a kind of black magic, but not all of it."

The definition of black magic is actually quite vague. Some spells are obvious, like the Unforgivable Curse, but others can be described as black magic in one way or another.

"For example, Fiery Blaze."

Lily frowned: "Fiercefire? Isn't that dark magic?"

"Yes," Regulus said, "but it was originally created to eradicate high-threat dark creatures."

There are also techniques to break indestructible black magic artifacts, defend against large-scale invasions, and construct impenetrable fire barriers.

It was later abused, and those wizards who abused it were not very skilled.

Lily was silent for a moment, then asked, "Have you ever used...dark magic?"

Regulus looked at her and said calmly, "Yes, I've used it."

Lily's expression didn't change much, as if she had already guessed it.

"So, do you think... people who use dark magic will turn bad?"

Regulus replied directly, "Yes."

Lily's eyes widened: "Then you—"

Regulus interrupted her: "Some people are controlled by dark magic, and some people control dark magic."

He only said that much, but Lily could tell that he was saying he wasn't controlled by dark magic.

She believed him when he said that, for no particular reason, she just believed him.

Regulus continued, "I don't know which one Snape belongs to; you'll have to ask him."

Lily lowered her head, looked at the books on the table, and remained silent for a long time.

"He wasn't like this before," she said softly. "He used to just like magic, like studying strange and unusual things. We read books together, discussed things together, and..."

She didn't continue, and Regulus didn't say anything more either.

Some things you can only figure out on your own.

After a while, Lily looked up and said, "Thank you, Regulus."

Her expression was more relaxed than before: "I should go eat now."

Regulus nodded and removed the soundproofing spell.

Lily stood up, took a few steps with her book in her arms, then turned back: "Write to me next time."

Regulus smiled and said, "Okay."

Lily glared at him, then turned and left.

Don't miss out: Chapter 197, where's your pure-blooded young master's reserve? Full text available, click here.