Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 336 New Year, New Look

Baruch stretched out his front leg again, pointing to the deep purple robe in Minchum's photograph.

"..nice..."

Regulus glanced at it sideways. A spider with aesthetic sense? Who bred it?

He asked, "Do you think it looks good?"

Baruch clicked.

Regulus tilted the newspaper toward it so that it could see Minchum's face clearly.

"This color suits people with darker skin tones. He's too pale, it doesn't suit him," he pointed with his finger. "It looks like he spilled purple cabbage juice on himself and didn't wash it off."

Baruch opened and closed his claws, smoothly changing his words: "...It's not pretty."

Regulus ignored it and flipped the newspaper over. The next page was full of New Year's greetings and discount information, nothing much to read.

I flipped back to the previous version and skimmed through Mintham's speech again.

"We will not favor either side."

"No individual or organization will be allowed to be above the Ministry of Magic."

He placed the newspaper on his lap.

He had some recollection of what was happening in the Muggle world: the oil embargo, the three-day work week in Britain, global economic turmoil, and the first half of the 1970s when the entire Western world was going through tough times.

However, towns like Cockworth, northern industrial towns that rely on factories for their livelihood, were particularly affected.

Power rationing means factories reduce production, which in turn means layoffs. Workers have no work and no money, so they don't have a very happy New Year.

Lily's family lives in that town; it must be quite a troublesome place for them.

He didn't think much about it, but Minchum was someone he should pay more attention to.

Harold Minchum, he knew this man; his resume was impressive.

From the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, to clerk in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and deputy head of the Auror Office, every step of his career has been within the core departments of the Ministry of Magic—a typical elite promotion path.

Known for strictly adhering to procedures, this assessment would normally be a compliment, but at this point in time, it carries a completely different meaning.

Regulus knew that Mintham's attitude towards the Death Eaters was ambiguous, and that during his term of office for the next few years, the Ministry of Magic would not be able to take any substantial action against Voldemort's expansion.

He was not clear about the specific details of his governance, only about the general direction and key moments.

The details must be deduced from the newspapers and existing information.

Eugenia Jenkins' resignation was not voluntary.

In the political context of the Ministry of Magic, personal reasons meant being forced to step down.

Towards the end of her term, she realized that Voldemort's threat was beyond the Ministry of Magic's ability to handle, and she privately sought help from Dumbledore.

Not many people know about this, but it can't be hidden from those who are interested, and there are many such people among the Twenty-Eight Sacred Tribes.

The fact that a Minister of Magic would secretly seek help from the Headmaster of Hogwarts demonstrates that the Ministry of Magic at that time was no longer able to deal with the Death Eaters' infiltration through normal procedures.

She knew Voldemort was the real threat, but she dared not admit it publicly.

If you admit it, you have to fight back; if you fight back, you'll offend those pure-blood families who have openly sided with Voldemort; if you offend them, you'll be in a precarious position.

Therefore, she chose to handle the situation discreetly, never openly confronting the authorities, and attempted to use Dumbledore's personal prestige to balance the situation, exchanging delay and compromise for superficial stability.

This is typical institutional thinking, believing that any threat can be mitigated through internal power struggles and that Voldemort can be dealt with through political means.

The idea itself wasn't wrong, but the target was wrong. Voldemort didn't play politics; he played with fear.

Mincherm is different.

Jenkins is incompetent, while Mintham is on the wrong side.

His first act upon taking office was to emphasize neutrality, stability, and impartiality, but the Death Eaters' activities had already become semi-public.

Pure-blood families are being infiltrated; some have switched sides voluntarily, some have been threatened to do so, and a large number are observing from the sidelines.

The Auror office received nearly twice as many missing persons reports as in previous years, but less than 30% of them were investigated, because many of the missing persons' families did not report the cases themselves, or they reported them and then withdrew them.

Saying these things in this context is to leave Voldemort room to continue expanding.

Not cracking down on it is tantamount to condoning it.

Baruch's forelegs stretched out again, this time referring to a word on the edge of the newspaper.

"...What...is this...?"

Regulus glanced down; Baruch was referring to Wizengamo.

Baruch showed curiosity about writing, which pleased him somewhat; a cultured spider was better than an illiterate one.

He patiently explained, "The wizard's court sets the rules and judges people."

Baruch's pincers opened and closed twice, and he turned his head: "...Interrogate...a spider?"

Regulus corrected: "Don't judge spiders."

Baruch withdrew his front leg, probably having lost interest in the institution.

He continued to think.

Minchum added, "No individual or organization will be allowed to be above the Ministry of Magic."

This statement, on the surface, refers to Voldemort, but in reality, it refers to Dumbledore.

Jenkins at least knew to ask Dumbledore for help, which shows that she could distinguish who the real threat was.

Mincherm won't go after Dumbledore; he'll see Dumbledore as a rival, given Dumbledore's immense influence.

With a seat in the International Confederation of Wizards, the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts, and the title of Chief Wizard of Wizengamot, the Minister of Magic really doesn't amount to much.

Any minister who wants to be in control would instinctively see Dumbledore as a challenge.

In Voldemort's eyes, a Minister of Magic who considered Dumbledore an adversary was someone who, even if not an ally, did not need to be dealt with.

Moreover, it's hard to say whether the Death Eaters were directly involved in Minchum's rise to power.

Voldemort had not yet openly infiltrated the upper echelons of the Ministry of Magic in 1974, but preparations had already been underway.

The Malfoy family's network of connections within the Ministry of Magic, the Nott family's voting rights in Wissengamot, and those vault keys laid bare on the table.

But more likely, Voldemort didn't need to personally arrange for Mintham to come to power; he only needed to make the existing system feel threatened.

By fabricating a wizard's disappearance to spread panic, planting spies in key positions to distort the information, silencing or eliminating key figures, the system itself will select those who are beneficial to the status quo.

Minchum was a choice the system made in a panic.

He wanted to maintain the status quo and didn't want anyone to disrupt the balance, so Voldemort could continue to expand using his neutrality.

Minchum is not a Death Eater, but for the next few years, the Ministry of Magic will turn a blind eye to Death Eaters.

This will mean several things.

The Order of the Phoenix will lose the unofficial support of the Ministry of Magic, and its room for maneuver will be compressed.

The Auror Office will be instructed to remain neutral, and substantial attacks on Death Eaters will be reduced.

The pure-blood families who are still observing will accelerate their shift towards Voldemort, because the Ministry of Magic is no longer worthy of their trust.

The Ministry of Magic's neutral stance can only last a few years at most. Voldemort will not be satisfied with others remaining neutral; sooner or later, he will demand that others take sides.

By then, Minchum will find that the situation he thought he could control has long since spiraled out of control.

"...This..." Baruch pointed to another word.

Regulus glanced at it: "An Auror, a wizard who has wronged a wizard."

Baruch continued, "...Catch...a spider?"

"Don't catch spiders."

Baruch was satisfied and retracted his front leg.

Regulus looked up from the newspaper and glanced at the sunlight outside the window.

Voldemort is expanding, the Ministry of Magic is backing down, so what is Dumbledore doing?

According to the information he knew, Dumbledore was setting up defenses.

During this period, the Order of the Phoenix was being established, and Dumbledore gathered trusted wizards to fight against the infiltration of the Death Eaters and protect those targeted by Voldemort.

The only one who can stop Voldemort right now is Dumbledore, but he won't take the initiative to attack.

Whether he wanted to or not, he couldn't do it because the conditions for launching an attack weren't met.

The Ministry of Magic has not publicly acknowledged Voldemort as a threat; most pure-blood families either secretly support him or remain neutral.

There were even Death Eater sympathizers on Hogwarts' board of directors, and the International Wizarding Federation took a wait-and-see approach to British internal affairs.

If Dumbledore were to take the initiative at this time, openly declare war, and mobilize forces to besiege the Death Eaters, he would be accused of exaggeration, arrogance, and an attempt to supersede the Ministry of Magic.

Minchum's inaugural address made his point clear, and Dumbledore's actions confirmed it. The Ministry of Magic will treat him as a second Grindelwald to guard against.

This is completely different from 1945, when Grindelwald wreaked havoc on most of Europe, and even the United States couldn't stop him. The international community asked Dumbledore to take action, and there was a legitimate reason for it.

Voldemort is still in the shadows, and the Ministry of Magic hasn't gone to the point of publicly appealing for help. If Dumbledore takes action on his own, he is essentially putting himself in opposition to the Ministry of Magic and the pure-blood families.

The Order of the Phoenix was the only thing he could do in this situation: not to declare war, but to first set up a defensive line.

Regulus stood up and threw the newspaper into the fireplace.

.

The flames licked the edge of the paper, and the photo of Mintham with his tightly pursed lips on the front page curled up in the flames, turned black, and turned to ash.

These things concern him, in fact, concern everyone, but right now they don't concern him.

So, forget about all that, let's save that willow tree that's been hitting people first.

He stood up, pushed open the door, and the sunlight shone on his face, warm and comforting.

Baruch squinted at him on the shoulder, his eight legs gripping the fabric as he leaned down.

He walked towards the open space.

The good willow tree was still swaying slowly in the morning breeze, its hooked branches reflecting the sunlight.

The other tree was still lying there, just as it had been when I saw it in the morning, its branches dragging on the ground, its trunk dry and cracked, lifeless.

He walked up to it and probed it with his magical senses.

It was almost empty inside.

The day before yesterday, after he extracted the magic, there was still some residual flow running in the circuit. It was almost dry, but not quite.

Today, even that little bit of traffic is gone. The loop is still there, and the structure hasn't collapsed, but there's nothing left inside.

It's just an empty shell, completely dry.

The natural vitality in the tree trunk is also being lost. The leaves have long since disappeared, and the ends of the branches are becoming brittle. When the wind blows, a small section breaks off and falls to the ground, dry like a piece of firewood.

It's called the "Hit-Man Willow," but it's not even as good as an ordinary dead tree. At least an ordinary dead tree can still absorb water from the soil, but this one doesn't even have any magical channels in its root system.

He placed his palm on the tree trunk; the bark was dry, cracked, and rough, and it felt like cardboard.

Natural magic surged from my palm, seeping into the cracks in the tree bark.

Natural magic has a high affinity with plants; no connection needs to be established, no adjustments are needed, it just flows in.

He forcefully opened the path, starting from the root and moving upwards along the main trunk, diverting some of his magic power into the branches when he encountered forks.

The loop is open, the structure is still there, the angle of the bifurcation point has not changed, and the width of the conduction path has not collapsed; it's just empty.

After the magic was added, the circuit lit up again, and the originally dark lines began to flow again, like water being poured back into a dried-up riverbed.

The magic circled the path, and when it finished, it was weaker than before, as some of it was absorbed by the organization of the Man-Beating Willow.

The loop has started.

As long as there is magic flowing through the loop, the loop will maintain itself. Magical plants have magical inertia, provided there is something inside them.

He continued to drink.

Natural magic flows continuously from the palms, filling the pathways, repairing the cycle, and reactivating the magic absorption channels of the root system.

The pathways of the root system are key.

Like all magical plants, the Man-Beating Willow normally relies on its roots to absorb dissipated magic from the soil to maintain its operation.

Once the root system is open, it can absorb magic energy from the outside world on its own, without needing constant watering.

Baruch sat on his shoulder, his eight legs slowly spreading out, flattening his body. His front legs rested on the highest point of his shoulder, while his hind legs dangled down, making the whole spider look like a small blanket spread on his shoulder.

The overflow of natural magic was an extremely comfortable experience for Baruch.

Its magic is naturally affinity with nature, and the Forbidden Forest is one of the places with the most concentrated natural magic. It grows up in the Forbidden Forest, and this feeling is home.

He ignored Baruch and continued pouring.

His natural magic is of high quality; direct infusion is completely different from the gentle permeation during the previous connection establishment.

Even the healthy willow tree next to him reacted. It had been lazily swaying its branches, but now it was swaying noticeably more happily, with the small branches at the ends starting to shake, pointing in his direction.

The reaction was even more pronounced in this half-dead plant.

The edges of the dry, grayish-brown scars on the tree trunk began to change color, turning from grayish-white to grayish-brown, like dried skin re-soaking in moisture. Several drooping branches twitched slightly.

The most obvious change is at the end.

At the end of a dying side branch, a tiny, tender green bud sprouted from its dry, blackened tip.

He could feel it; the magical circulation inside the tree trunk was accelerating.

Not only was the natural magic he poured in running, but a portion of the remaining life force of the Man-Beating Willow was also activated. The two forces combined and ran more and more smoothly in the loop.

The channels in the root system are also recovering. He can sense that the ends of the roots are beginning to absorb slightly, and the magic in the soil is being drawn in bit by bit. The speed is extremely slow, but it has already begun.

He continued the infusion, and a long time passed until the sun rose directly overhead from the east.

Around noon, footsteps could be heard coming from the open space.

Agnes walked over from the greenhouse, carrying a food box in her hand, with a self-heating teapot floating behind her.

She stopped at the edge of the clearing; she was the one who told Regulus about the attack range of the two thorny willows.

Then she saw the one on the left.