Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

In mid-September, before the morning mist had completely dissipated in the Scottish Highlands, the History of Magic classroom on the third floor of the castle was already filled with drowsy first-year students.

When Professor Binns floated into the classroom, almost no one looked up.

The oldest professor at Hogwarts began today's lesson in his unchanging, dry tone: "Today, we will continue our discussion of the goblin rebellion of 1612, which began at the Three Broomsticks pub in Hogsmeade Village, where the goblin leaders..."

Regulus observed the professor himself.

Professor Binns was transparent; when sunlight passed through his body, it cast a very faint shadow on the floor above the podium.

What concerned Regulus was the fluctuation of magical energy.

The other professors' magic was like flowing flames, vibrant life, or deep lake water.

Professor Binns's magic, however, is almost nonexistent, or more accurately, almost imperceptible.

Regulus closed his eyes and focused his magical perception toward the podium.

The magic of an ordinary wizard is like ripples on the surface of water, with a clear center and edges, while Professor Binns' magic is like a thin mist.

It is uniform, thin, and stable, without undulations or a core, and almost blends into its surroundings.

I learned from books when I was young that the soul is the source of magic, and there must be magic to maintain the existence of ghosts. So what is the form of magic of ghosts?

He recalled the physics concepts he had read in his previous life: the conversion of matter and energy.

When a wizard dies, his body disappears but his soul remains. So what happens to his magic?

Has magic shifted from being attached to the body to being attached to the soul?

Professor Binns was also recounting how the fairies used counterfeit Galon to disrupt Gringotts' financial system.

Regulus looked out the window. The morning mist was dissipating, and a corner of the Forbidden Forest in the distance was revealed in dark green. His thoughts drifted further away.

If a ghost is a remnant form of a soul, then what is the difference in magical power between a complete soul and a remnant soul?

Was Voldemort's pursuit of immortality an attempt to bypass the process of "physical death - soul survival"?

By splitting the soul?

Lacking sufficient knowledge, Regulus could not reach a conclusion.

When the bell rang, Professor Binns was talking about how "the rebellion was eventually suppressed by the Ministry of Magic." He didn't even say "get out of class dismissed" before floating into the wall, leaving most of the students still in a daze.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the eastern part of the library was bathed in sunlight, and Mrs. Pincey vigilantly and silently patrolled between the bookshelves.

Regulus planned to look around the outskirts of the forbidden book section.

According to Hogwarts rules, first-year students are not allowed to borrow books from the restricted area, or even enter the restricted area.

However, not being able to borrow books does not mean that you cannot read them. The bookshelves in the restricted area are not completely closed off; even from a distance, you can still see some of the titles on the spines.

Mrs. Pince would make a full tour of the library every thirty minutes, and would pause for a moment each time she passed the restricted section.

Regulus timed his steps perfectly, walking steadily toward the forbidden book section, a copy of "The Evolution of Magical Law in the Middle Ages" in his hand, as if he were merely passing by.

My gaze swept across the bookshelf, only stopping at almost the very back.

There was a thick book with tattered edges; the writing on the spine was faded but still legible.

The author's signature on "A Brief History of Soul Magic" has been worn away.

Regulus attempted to turn it over directly with magic, without using any spells, simply by applying magic power.

He twisted the magic into an extremely thin beam and forcefully extended it toward the forbidden book area.

But it failed.

The moment the magic entered the forbidden area, it was violently dispersed by a powerful and dense magical force.

Just as he was about to try again, a cold voice came from behind him: "Mr. Black."

Regulus instantly withdrew all his magic and turned to the librarian: "Mrs. Pince."

"You lingered in front of the restricted section for a minute," Mrs. Pince's eyes were sharp as knives. "First-year students are not allowed to access the restricted section. I think you know the rules."

"Yes, Madam." Regulus held up the book in his hand. "I was just looking for reference materials when I passed by and was amazed by the sheer number of books over there. Hogwarts' collection is truly astonishing."

His tone was sincere, and his expression was full of longing for knowledge.

Mrs. Pince's expression softened slightly, but her eyes remained wary: "There's a reason why the books in the forbidden section are sealed. Much of the knowledge is unsuitable for young wizards. Go back to your seat."

"Of course, madam." Regulus bowed slightly and turned to walk towards the potions section.

"I need this book," he thought to himself.

As the library grew more crowded, Regulus packed his things and prepared to return to the Slytherin common room to complete his potions paper.

......

At 11 p.m., the Slytherin dormitory was completely silent.

Avery was already asleep, his breathing steady and even. There was still a faint light coming from under Alex's bed curtains; he was probably preparing for tomorrow's spells lesson.

Hermes' bed curtains were tightly closed, and there was no sound from inside. Regulus knew that he was still awake.

Regulus drew his dark green bed curtains and cast a soundproofing spell.

Then he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

I laid the book "Astrological Meditation" out on my lap and turned to Chapter 3.

[Resonating with Orion]

The book says that Orion is the king of the winter sky, and the arrangement of the three stars in its belt embodies balance and power.

The meditator needs to locate Orion in the night sky, touch the three stars with magic, feel their starlight pulse, and ultimately synchronize their own magical circulation with the rhythm of the constellation.

A typical expression of wizarding metaphysics, according to Regulus.

He tried three times, and failed each time.

It wasn't that his method was wrong; he strictly followed the steps in the book, sensing the starry sky, locating constellations, and extending magical tentacles—

This is absolutely nothing!

He couldn't feel the so-called starlight pulse at all.

Constellations are merely visual projections of distant stars; there is no real connection between them, so where does their pulse come from?

But the methods in the book are indeed effective, at least for the original author.

Perhaps the original author possessed some special talent, enabling him to perceive things that ordinary people cannot?

But Regulus clearly did not possess this talent.

Then I'll use what I have to replace it.

He possesses an adult's mindset, basic astrophysics knowledge, and a sensitivity to geometry and mathematics.

It is his microscopic magical control, his supercomputer-like magical calculation.

And his magical perception.

He should try a new approach.

First, Regulus abandoned the perception of the real starry sky; he even felt that the author wrote this book simply to show off.

I have what you don't.

Slytherin's dormitory doesn't have a view of the sky, but that doesn't matter; he uses magic to construct constellation models in his mind.

Magic flowed deep within consciousness, outlining the first point: Betelgeuse, the red giant star on the right shoulder of Orion.

Then came Rigel, Rigel... one point after another, lighting up in the dark space of consciousness.

Based on the star map data in memory, a three-dimensional model was constructed according to the actual relative position and brightness ratio.

This was very strenuous; maintaining the precise positions of all twelve points of light required a continuous drain on magic and energy, but Regulus was able to persevere.

Next, we began connecting the light spots, following Orion's intention.

Magic condenses into fine threads, extending from Alnista to Alnista to form the right arm, and from Alnista to Alnista to form the left arm. The three stars of the belt are connected by three parallel threads.

A luminous Orion constellation took shape in my mind, with precise proportions and smooth lines.

Finally, I tried synchronizing.

This is the key point. The method in the book is to let one's own magic follow the pulse of the constellations. Regulus did not have a pulse to follow, but he had a model.

He imagined his own magical cycle as a luminous river, and then embedded the Orion model in his mind into this river, making the geometry of the constellation part of the riverbed.

When the magic flows through the constellation Orion, its speed is slightly adjusted. When it flows through the three stars of the Belt, it splits into three thin streams that move in parallel. When it flows through the overall structure, it circulates along the outer edge of the constellation.

At first, it was very stiff. The magic resisted this forced structure, the model was unstable, and the light spots began to flicker.

Regulus slowed down the flow of magic, making the cycle smoother.

At the same time, adjust the model details; the belt should not be a perfect straight line, but should have a slight curve added.

Betelgeuse is 1.3 times brighter than Rigel, so the gravitational pull at that point should be stronger, perhaps proportionally enhanced when magic flows through it.

He kept adjusting, and gradually, the resistance weakened.

The magic began to adapt to this structure, thanks to the continuous magic-guided cycle of training.

It's like the water has found a new channel, which, although man-made, flows smoothly enough.

Repeat once.

Two laps.

Three laps.

Regulus opened his eyes and exhaled softly.

He is aware of himself.

The speed of the magic circulation did not increase significantly, but it became more stable, like smoothed-out ripples.

With a slight thought, an invisible, thick barrier rapidly unfolded, instantly enveloping his entire body, and dissipated after a minute.

After a moment, the conclusion was reached: the mana consumption remained the same, but the mana recovery speed had increased slightly. The change was subtle, but real.

Successful.