Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Monday morning, auditorium restaurant.

The long table was laden with food: bacon, baked eggs, and hot oatmeal, the steam rising into the air.

The young wizards weren't fully awake yet. In Gryffindor, someone was slumped over a table, forehead pressed against his arm, while a classmate held a loaf of toast for him.

Hufflepuff was as lively as ever, Ravenclaw was quiet, and Slytherin was well-behaved, though some people were yawning.

Flocks of owls flew in through the high window, their wings flapping rapidly, and letters and packages fell to the ground.

Two letters lay before Regulus.

Two owls arrived one after the other, one gray and one brown, both from the house. After landing, they shook their wings and squatted by the plate to wait.

Regulus glanced at the envelope.

The first letter, on thick parchment, sealed with black lacquer, bears the Black family crest and the heavy strokes of Walburga's handwriting.

The second letter was thinner, and the seal was also black, but it had an extra rune on it—the exclusive mark of the Black family head, which was only present on the patriarch's letters.

Regulus placed the two letters beside the plate and first cut a piece of bacon and put it in his mouth.

If it's just Orion writing to me alone, it's probably about the progress of some family affairs, the aftermath of the Whomping Willow incident, or news of changes in the situation.

If it was just Walbuga writing to me alone, it's probably because he heard some rumors about his performance at school and got excited.

But when the two letters come together, it means it's the same thing, only the two people wrote their own.

They wouldn't write letters together; Orion and Walbuga's views on many things were too far apart to be put on the same piece of paper.

Regulus swallowed the bacon and picked up Walbuga's letter to open it.

Unfold the parchment, and the handwriting is indeed in Walbuga's style: large, heavy, and full of exclamation marks!

"Regus!"

Bella wrote me a letter, and I read it three times!

I don't know what you did at school that made her so angry, but her words made me very uneasy!

She said you ignored her advice, openly protected two mixed-race students, and responded to her warnings with an extremely arrogant attitude!

Is this true?!

Bella is your cousin, the eldest daughter of the Black family, and she now represents more than just herself!

That important person is standing behind her! You should know better than anyone what this means!

You are the heir of the Black family, and your talent has made the entire pureblood community talk about you!

This is honor! But honor is not for using against your own people!

I'm proud of you, always have been! But pride doesn't mean complacency!

Bella said she would come to Grimoire Place after the Christmas dinner to talk things over with you in person!

I agree!

Think it through before she arrives!

Think clearly about what you should do, what you shouldn't do, what you can say, and what you can't say!

The heir to the Black family can be tough, but toughness should not be directed at his own people!

Listen to your mother!

"Wolbuga Black"

Regulus finished reading the letter, folded it, and placed it next to the plate.

really.

Bella wrote a warning letter last time, and he replied with ketchup. This time, she'll skip him and go straight to his parents.

She probably knew it was pointless to contact him again; that little bit of ketchup had probably made her furious.

But Bella's actions also demonstrate that she is keeping this matter within the Blake family.

She approached Walbuga and Orion, following the family elders' lead, and wanted a formal occasion to resolve the matter.

But for Regulus, it was just right.

The illumination of Betelgeuse requires exerting influence on the outside world. Bella is the core of the Death Eaters, and confronting her head-on will naturally spread the influence.

The Christmas holiday pureblood dinner is being hosted by the Lestrange family this year, and most of the pureblood community will be there.

Bella wanted to come to Grimmauld Place after the dinner, so why not resolve the matter at the dinner?

Let Lucius and Narcissa stay, along with Orion and Volbuga, all the key figures of the Black family are present, and treat this as an internal family matter.

Bella wanted formality, and he gave her formality.

Regulus reread Volbuga's letter.

His mother loved him, but that love came with conditions.

What Walbuga loved was the heir who could bring glory to the Black family, the genius wizard that the entire pure-blood circle talked about, the son who could make her hold her head high at a tea party.

He couldn't say exactly how much the love would shrink if he were no longer these things, but it would definitely shrink.

own people.

Walbuga considered Bella one of his own.

Regulus recalled the scene when Bella last came to Grimmauld Place to deliver the Dark Inspiration.

Walbuga greeted her first, his tone enthusiastic and his eyes shining, but Bella's attitude was clearly perfunctory.

Walbuga treats Bella as one of his own, but what does Bella treat Walbuga as?

She was just a reasonably respectable mistress of the Black family, nothing more.

But Walbuga himself couldn't see it, or didn't want to see it.

She believes in the glory of purebloods, and Bella is the most fervent executor of that glory, so Bella is right, Bella is one of her own, and she should listen to what Bella says.

This is Volbuga.

Regulus stuffed the letter into the inner pocket of his robe, picked up the second one, which contained only a few lines.

Regulus:

Bella has written; she will be at Place Grimmauld after the Christmas dinner.

You handle it yourself.

Orion

My father's style: give a notification, grant authorization, and that's it.

Regulus folded the letter. The system has matched you with a fantasy novel category. Click here.

Beside him, Avery glanced in their direction.

He scanned the contents of the last letter, which had no markings.

Both letters were formal family correspondence. He glanced at the envelopes and looked away, continuing to eat his grilled eggs.

Regulus noticed, but said nothing.

Avery is getting better and better at understanding the importance of discretion.

......

Potions class in the morning.

The underground classroom was warmer than outside. The fireplace was burning, and green flames danced on the walls. The steam rising from the crucible filled the air with various smells, some pleasant and some pungent.

On the podium, Professor Slughorn held a cup of something in his hand; it was dark purple and bubbling with fine bubbles.

He took a sip, swirled his tongue in his mouth, nodded in satisfaction, then placed the cup on the podium and clapped his hands.

Good morning, children!

Slughorn’s tone was enthusiastic, and his presence was as strong as his round figure.

He was wearing a dark green vest with gold trim, the buttons were pulled tight, and the bottom one trembled slightly as he breathed.

He patted the podium; next to the crucible were several potion ingredients.

"Today we're brewing a calming medicine. The recipe is on the blackboard. You'll have an hour and a half. Let's begin."

The young wizards got busy.

Regulus took out the crucible and laid out the materials one by one on the table.

An hour and a half later, Slughorn began his inspection.

He would pause in front of each crucible, bend down to examine the color, smell the odor, occasionally stir it with his wand, and offer a few comments.

When he reached Regulus, he bent down and glanced at the finished product in the crucible.

It is pale blue, slightly transparent, with a layer of silvery mist on the surface, and has a light lavender scent that makes you want to doze off.

Slughorn smiled and said, "Excellent, Mr. Black, as always."

He stirred it with a glass rod from the side of the table, then held it up to look at it and smelled it.

A finished product at the standard answer level.

Slughorn straightened up, watching Regulus tidy up the table, and sighed inwardly.

The child's talent in potions is quite strange.

His creations are always good, sometimes even better than good, but he has no passion for potions themselves.

Slughorn has seen far too many talented students, but those who are both talented and passionate can be counted on one hand.

Lily Evans was one; that little witch had a light in her eyes, and she was radiant when she made potions.

She asked many in-depth questions, digging deep to get to the bottom of things, as if she wanted to understand the nature of every material.

Severus Snape was another one; although the boy was gloomy and taciturn, he would become a completely different person in front of the cauldron.

He has nimble fingers, focused eyes, and can even modify formulas himself, explaining why he made those changes.

What about Regulus?

He was talented enough, even excessively so, but he just couldn't muster any interest in potions.

The products they produce are always up to standard and always excellent, but they are always just completing the task. They never do anything extra and never ask, "What if we used a different material?"

The child's mind is elsewhere.

Slughorn didn't deny that things like spells and transfiguration were certainly interesting.

But potions are what's truly worth investing in.

A bottle of Felix Felicis can help you seize the most crucial opportunity of your life; a dose of Compound Herbal Elixir can transform you into anyone; a pot of Bone Regenerating Elixir can make shattered bones grow back.

Once the spell is cast, the effect is gone, but the potion's effects can last for hours, days, years, or even a lifetime.

Moreover, potions have a low barrier to entry and a high potential; an ordinary wizard can do things that only exceptionally talented wizards can do with potions.

This discipline has been underestimated, and always has been.

We need to find a way to get this child interested in potions.

But how do you get a student who can do magic potions but doesn't care to suddenly care?

Slughorn stroked his walrus beard, thinking of nothing for the moment.

He patted Regulus on the shoulder: "Mr. Black, if you're free during the Christmas holidays, you're welcome to join my little party. This year's guests include some very interesting wizards."

Regulus nodded politely. "Thank you, Professor. I'll think about it."

Slughorn walked away with a smile, then turned back after a couple of steps, winking: "By the way, you can take your calming potion. I mean, maybe you want a good night's sleep."

Regulus nodded again and put the filled potion bottle aside.

Slughorn walked over to the next student's cauldron, bent down to take a look, and his smile instantly vanished, replaced by a gentle but regretful expression. He began to explain to the student which step they had done wrong.

......

At noon, after lunch, I went back to my dorm.

The door closed, and Regulus sat on the edge of the bed, glancing at Avery and Alex.

Hermes moved quickly and was already lying on the bed with his eyes closed.

Regulus ignored him and asked directly, "Where is Lestrange?"

Alex, who was taking something out of his pocket, stopped when he heard this, turned around, and said, "That's about it."

He began to speak, his voice soft and delicate, yet clear and articulate.

"Snape has already given Lestrange the ingredient list. He'll pay for the ingredients himself. Snape quoted double the amount, saying he was afraid of making a mistake since it was his first time cooking, and Lestrange believed him."

At this point, Alex glanced at Regulus, then quickly looked away.

"Snape would brew a potion that looked like Veritaserum, and then find an opportunity to separate Lena or Samuel, pretending to force-feed them the Veritaserum—"