Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

"The family is exploring some ancient external potion recipes," Regulus replied after a moment's thought.

"Similar to ancient sacrificial totems, but hoping to be safer and more controllable, we need to find a potion material that can be safely attached to the skin, stably bear and slowly release specific magical effects."

This involves a series of issues, including material compatibility, magical penetration, and long-term stability.

Lily's eyes lit up, clearly arousing her strong academic interest.

"It sounds like expanding potions from internal use to external application, and it needs to be compatible with the wizard's own magic... That's so interesting!"

Can I help? I mean, if you need someone to help analyze the formula or experiment with some basic ingredient combinations.

She volunteered, her face beaming with eager anticipation.

Regulus looked into her eyes, which held only a passion for knowledge.

He nodded: "If you're interested and willing to invest the time, I do need a reliable collaborator."

However, this might take up a lot of your free time, and you may not see any significant results in the short term.

"It's okay!" Lily said without hesitation, "Being able to explore this kind of topic is a gain in itself, and besides..."

She paused, then said sincerely, "Thank you for telling me all this, about magic, about... the situation outside, and about the method used in the paper last time."

This makes me feel...we're friends now, right? It's only right for friends to help each other out.

Regulus nodded slightly, his tone softening: "Yes, friend, I am very grateful for your help."

If you ever need my insights or help in magic or other areas in the future, please feel free to ask.

Friendship is never a one-sided exchange of taking or giving, but rather an exchange and sharing of value.

Lily understood, and she nodded vigorously, a bright smile spreading across her face.

When parting with Lily, Regulus earnestly instructed her, "You don't need to tell anyone what I've said."

Lily understood the implications, and she nodded solemnly, "I promise!"

......

Regulus needed to prepare for tonight's plans and entered the forbidden book section.

An invisibility cloak would be an excellent tool, but he didn't have one.

Then, the Disillusionment Spell is a good choice.

This is a high-level magic that is not usually mastered by lower-grade students.

However, there was a detailed record of it in the Black family's library, and Regulus had already read it and memorized the principles.

The Disappearance Charm is not true invisibility; it's more like optical invisibility.

It demands a high level of magical control and sustained focus from the caster, but this is exactly what Regulus has in abundance.

He found an abandoned broom shed on the seventh floor of the castle and locked the door.

On his first attempt, he concentrated, chanted the incantation, and the magic spread across his body.

He could feel the light beginning to distort, but the effect was extremely unstable, like looking through a layer of violently rippling water. His body outline was blurry and flickering, making it impossible to achieve the purpose of concealment.

It failed. The magic output was uneven, and the control over the light was too rough.

The second time, he adjusted his magic output, trying to make the magic cover his entire body more smoothly.

The effect is slightly better, but the body looks like a chameleon patch with distorted colors, which is out of place with the texture of the surrounding walls, and it will be exposed if you move it even slightly.

It still failed; the simulation of the environment's color and texture was not accurate enough.

The third time, the fourth time...

He constantly adjusted, from the details of incantations and gestures to the output of magic, and then to how to more accurately perceive the surrounding environment and the details of light and shadow, and tried to imitate them.

On his fifth attempt, he closed his eyes and channeled his magic, like the finest paintbrush, to create a pattern of light and shadow on his body that perfectly matched the background.

When he opened his eyes, the raised hand almost disappeared from view, leaving only its outline that perfectly matched the texture of the brick wall behind him. With his slightest movement, the texture changed in sync.

It worked!

But for him, the Illusionary Body Curse alone was not enough.

Mrs. Pince might rely on vision, but Regulus thought of something more: magic detection? Or Muggle thermal imaging? Could that fool anyone?

A new idea popped into my head: could I use magic to create an extremely thin insulating layer on my body that could not only distort light but also shield me from the heat and smell I emit, and even magical fluctuations?

This is more difficult than a simple illusion spell, requiring a precise weaving of magic in multiple layers and with different properties.

He tried again.

After failing twice, on the third attempt, he used the light distortion layer of the Disillusionment Charm as a base, and on the inside of it, wove an extremely thin lining with finer magical threads.

This inner lining has no offensive or defensive capabilities; its sole purpose is to absorb and neutralize the faint heat radiation naturally emanating from the body, as well as the magical ripples on the outermost layer.

He felt his presence further diminished in the magic perception; although he couldn't completely disappear, it was enough to fool most conventional detection methods.

Whether they are wizards or Muggles.

The modified illusion spell was initially completed. He released the spell and breathed slightly.

In the dead of night, the castle seemed to have fallen asleep as well.

Regulus arrived at the library door once again.

The modified illusion spell took effect silently, and his figure blended into the stone wall of the dimly lit corridor, becoming almost imperceptible.

Like a shadowless figure, he glided past the sleeping portraits, evaded the patrolling Filch, and finally arrived at the forbidden book section.

Perhaps it was just my imagination, but the air in the forbidden book section seemed colder, filled with the scent of parchment, dust, and some kind of ancient magic.

He went straight to the spot he remembered and found the book, "A Brief History of Soul Magic," in the bottommost corner.

The book is enchanted; forcibly opening or taking it away will trigger an alarm and may even damage the book.

But this didn't stop him; he didn't need to take it with him.

He stretched out his right hand, hovering it about an inch above the spine of the book, and closed his eyes.

His already powerful spirit, forged through tempering, far surpassed that of ordinary people. He spread his magic, like an invisible scanner, and began to read the book.

Regulus used his magic to sense every trace of magic left on the pages, the thoughts and knowledge the author had infused into the writing, which were magically solidified in the parchment.

This method of reading is extremely mentally taxing and cannot perfectly reproduce all the details and writing style, but it is sufficient for his current needs.

Obscure and difficult knowledge flooded into his consciousness like a tide.

The essence of the soul and the source of its magic...

Factors affecting soul stability...

The manifestations and consequences of soul damage...

Then comes the key point: the theory of soul division.

His magic is particularly concentrated when it touches this part, and the book describes the feasibility of this forbidden act.

Through extremely evil rituals, powerful black magic, and the ultimate blasphemy against life and death, a complete soul is forcibly torn apart, a part is stripped off, and sealed in a specific container.

As long as the Horcrux is not destroyed, even if the physical body perishes, the main soul will not truly die, but will still exist in some form, and may be able to reshape the body through dark rituals.

The book sternly warns of the terrible consequences of this method: the divided soul will be forever incomplete, unstable, and filled with painful and twisted desires.

The process of creating Horcruxes itself causes irreversible corruption to the caster, making them increasingly cold-blooded, insane, and inhuman.

Moreover, the subtle connection between the Horcrux and the host's soul can also become a weakness that can be attacked.

Regulus felt a chill run down his spine; this confirmed the dangerous and evil path Voldemort had taken.

But at the same time, an idea became increasingly clear: the stability of the soul might be the key to safely accessing and even using black magic.

If the soul is strong and stable enough, like a solid castle, then even if those corrosive dark powers are used, can it withstand the damage?

The book mentions that a few powerful and mentally resolute dark wizards confirm this conjecture; they frequently use dark magic but are not affected by it.

He thought of Dumbledore and Grindelwald. At their level, what did black magic or white magic matter? Once used, it was used. What impact would it have?

It shouldn't be there, at least it's never mentioned in the original work, so we'll assume it's not there.

Voldemort, in his pursuit of immortality, clearly fragmented his soul too early and too much, destroying his stable foundation, which led to his ultimate madness and inhumanity.

Regulus quickly browsed the other chapters.

Soul possession, which involves possession and the transmission of curses.

The causes of soul imprisonment and ghosts...

Finally, he stopped reading; tonight's gains far exceeded his expectations.

This not only confirmed the nature and danger of Horcruxes, but also clarified the importance of soul stability for venturing into the dark realm.

At the same time, other knowledge about the soul opened up many new avenues of thought for him.