Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 351 The Lively Gryffindor

Gryffindor Tower, third-year girls' dormitory.

A fireplace burned in the room, the flames crackling and reflecting off the red and gold curtains, making the whole room warm and cozy.

Outside the window was a vast night sky, with the moon hanging above the forbidden forest, gilding the distant mountain ridges with a silvery-gray hue.

Lily had changed into her pajamas and was sitting cross-legged on the bed with her hair down. Her complexion was worse than before the start of the school year, and her eyes were a little dark, making her look somewhat haggard.

Things started to get turbulent in Kirkworth at the end of December.

Coal miners went on strike, the country implemented a three-day work week, factories near her home experienced rotating power outages, and Mr. Evans' factory was also affected, operating only three days a week and receiving wages only on those three days.

The heating in the house was intermittent, and Penny huddled under her blanket complaining. Her mother was cooking dinner with firewood in the kitchen, and the living room lights weren't on.

Throughout the holiday, Lily helped with housework, helped her mother with the accounts, and went out with Penny to collect wood; life was tough.

Back at Hogwarts, with its warm heating, bright lights, and plentiful food, she finally felt relaxed.

On the dormitory floor, a small black creature is patrolling.

Knox.

Its short, pure black fur shimmered with a faint silver-gray hue in the fireplace light. It had long, slender legs, a delicate yet beautifully sculpted frame, and an elegant gait.

Its tail was slightly raised as it moved from under one bed to under another. Its deep blue eyes flashed briefly in the darkness before fading away.

It walked from Lily's bed to Marcia Foley's bed, circled around, then went to Susan Hopkins' bed, squatted at the foot of the bed for a while, sniffed, stood up and continued walking.

They stopped at each corner, as if confirming their territory.

Marcia lay on the foot of the bed, her legs crossed and swinging.

She stared at Knox for a while, and as he walked to the bedpost, she tiptoed off the bed, crouched down, and stretched out her hands, intending to attack him from behind.

Knox didn't even turn his head. He pushed off lightly with his front legs, swayed to the left, and slipped past Marcia's hand. He was slow and composed, and his tail brushed against her fingertips.

Then it sat down, turned its head, and looked up at her with its deep blue eyes.

If a cat has facial expressions, it's probably saying, "What do you think you're doing?" or "I see you, but I don't want to talk to you."

Marcia exclaimed, "It dodged! It actually dodged!"

Susan sat on the bed next to her, hugging her knees and laughing out loud, a hint of envy in her eyes: "Your cat is so clever! My silly orange cat can roll off the bed even when it's just rolling around."

Lily was also smiling, and seeing Knox squatting on the floor with such a reserved demeanor, she felt inexplicably happy.

Then, looking into Knox's deep blue eyes and the unintentional "I allow you to come close, but don't touch me" expression they gave, she suddenly thought of someone.

Regulus.

She pouted as she thought of Regulus.

I clearly promised to write a letter.

Last time was the same; we agreed to write a letter, but I didn't write a single word. I just apologized and that was it.

This time it was the same. Before the holiday, she even reminded him again, and Regulus nodded, looking very serious.

and then?

Not a single letter was sent throughout the entire holiday, not even a peep of an owl.

She made up her mind; this time, she wouldn't forgive him so easily.

Marcia got up from the ground, plopped down next to Lily, squeezed her shoulder against Lily's, and had a furtive look on her face.

She raised an eyebrow at Lily, her mouth opening and closing without uttering a sound, only mouthing: Black?

Lily's ears turned red instantly, and she reached out to scratch her. Marcia screamed and dodged backward. The two of them rolled around on the bed, kicking the blankets off to the floor.

Susan watched the spectacle with a smile.

Knox was startled by the commotion and jumped onto Lily's bedside table. He squatted on it, his tail curled up, looking down at the two of them bickering.

Marcia, having finished laughing, lay down on Lily's pillow, panting, a something else flashing in her eyes.

She glanced at Knox on the cabinet; she had been watching this cat all night.

It has fine, dense fur, a long frame, a slender, straight neck, ears that slant slightly outwards, and unusually agile movements. Its eyes are also very dark and pure in color.

The very faint silvery-gray sheen on the tip of the hair is almost invisible in the dark, but in the firelight it looks like a thin layer of stardust.

Magical pets.

The Foley family isn't among the top purebloods, but they're not bad either. She's seen many magical creatures since she was little, and she also keeps a magical pet, a Silent Bird.

But she couldn't recognize the breed of this cat; she hadn't seen it in the appendix of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," which meant it was either a new breed or specially bred, and either way, it wouldn't be cheap.

Blake gave it to Lily.

A Muggle-born Gryffindor witch receives a magical pet as a gift from the heir of an ancient pure-blood family in England.

She knew that Lily and Black of Slytherin were close, but she couldn't say exactly how close they were, though it was definitely more than just a normal classmate relationship.

They used to be close; Black taught Lily magic and they read books together in the library. Now they seem even closer.

Marcia felt a little worried.

The prejudice against Muggle-born individuals is deeply ingrained in the pureblood community, and Black is the pureblood among purebloods.

She wasn't sure how people in the pureblood community would interpret it if a Black and a Muggle-born girl got too close, and what impact it would have on Lily, but she was worried about Lily.

Marcia genuinely likes Lily. When Lily smiles, Marcia smiles too; when Lily is unhappy, Marcia is unhappy too.

Lily is her best friend.

But she's a grown woman now, and she's long since learned to be tactful, saying what should be said and not saying what shouldn't be said.

She suppressed those thoughts.

Susan squeezed in, and the three of them sat on Lily's bed, the curtains half-drawn, with the fireplace light filtering in through the gaps.

Knox jumped down from the cabinet, took a few steps on the blanket, and curled up in Lily's knees.

"How was your holiday?" Marcia asked, lying on her side with her head resting on her arm.

Lily sighed, "Don't even mention it. We've had power outages since the end of December. My dad's factory shut down too, and he's been staying home, reading the newspaper and sighing all day."

Susan slapped the mattress: "You guys too? We're the same in Wakefield. The power went out for four hours on Christmas Eve. My mom almost lit the Christmas tree with candles."

Lily's face was full of distress, her nose and eyes scrunched up: "I don't know when things will get better. I came to Hogwarts, but I'm very worried about home."

Then she mimicked Mr. Evans's tone: "If the Prime Minister can't even handle the miners, how can he manage the country? If I were in charge, at least I could fix the heating."

Susan laughed so hard she bent over: "That's what my dad said too! He said if Heath keeps doing this, I'll vote for the Labour Party."

Lily asked, somewhat annoyed, "Didn't your dad always vote for the Labour Party?"

Susan stated matter-of-factly, "That's why he was more aggressive this time."

The two of them laughed for a while.

"The worst off is Penny," Lily laughed and then sighed. "She couldn't use the hairdryer because of the power outage, and her hair was frizzy all vacation. What's worse is that she was constantly throwing tantrums."

Susan hissed, "Still the same?"

Lily shrugged, gently stroking the kitten's back with her palm, a glint in her eyes: "Much better than before."

"My family is alright," Susan thought for a moment, "but my mom hoarded three boxes of canned food, filling the kitchen cupboards. My brother opened the cupboard to look for cookies and knocked down two cans of tomato soup, which made him cry."

Lily covered her mouth and laughed, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

Marcia listened to their conversation about the Muggle world, unable to join in, but she wasn't bored. She just lay there listening with a smile on her lips.

Power outages, candles, canned food, a frizzy older sister—these things are far removed from her. The Foley family manor never experiences power outages; the fireplace is magically lit; and the food is made by house-elves.

But she loved listening to Lily talk about these things—frowning, rolling her eyes, mimicking her father's speech, sighing for her sister—every single one was amusing.

After they finished talking, she leaned forward, her tone becoming somewhat mysterious: "Christmas this year was quite lively. Did you receive any messages during the holidays?"

Lily and Susan both looked at her.

"What news?" Lily tilted her head.

"The magical world," Marcia said, "the stuff in the pureblood circles."

Lily and Susan exchanged a glance and both shook their heads.

Their family are all Muggles, and they don't subscribe to the Daily Prophet during holidays, so news of wizards doesn't reach Kirkworth and Wakefield.

Marcia glanced at them, bit her lip, and felt there were some things Lily should know.

She understands the boundaries of friendship; she doesn't say what shouldn't be said, but she says what should be said.

"Something happened at the Christmas dinner," she said in a low voice. "The Black family, you know, the Black from Slytherin, apparently had a conflict with Bellatrix Lestrange."

Lily removed her hand from Knox's back, her smile vanished, and she frowned: "Conflict? What kind of conflict?"

"I don't know the specifics," Marcia said. "It seems like a fight broke out."

A flicker of worry crossed Lily's eyes: "And then?"

Marcia blinked: "It seems like they also burned down someone's house."

Susan gasped.

Lily paused, then her brows furrowed even more: "Where is he? Is he alright?"

Marcia looked at Lily, sighed, and reached out to rub Lily's head.

Lily tilted her head to dodge, but couldn't avoid it and got her hair ruffled. Her red hair became frizzy from the rubbing.

"It should be fine," Marcia shook her head, patting Lily's head twice as if comforting a child, "You're back for the start of school, aren't you?"

She added, "My father said he wasn't injured."

Lily pressed for details: what kind of conflict it was, why they fought, and who Bellatrix was.

Marcia could only say so much; she had only heard a general outline from her family and couldn't go into the specific details.

Susan listened without interrupting, her gaze shifting from Lily's face to Knox, who was curled up in the crook of his legs, then back again, lost in thought.

Lily frowned, her lips slightly pouting, and tilted her head as she thought.

So Regulus didn't write during the holidays because he was busy with this?

Getting into a conflict with Bellatrix Lestrange and burning down his house doesn't sound like a small matter.

She didn't know exactly what had happened or why, but her intuition told her that Regulus must have had his reasons for doing what he did.

He always had a reason.

She was genuinely worried, but Marcia's father said she wasn't injured; it wasn't something she saw with her own eyes.

I need to ask him about it tomorrow.

She lowered her head again, scratching Knox's chin with her fingers.

Knox tilted his head back, revealing a small patch of lighter fur under his throat, and narrowed his eyes into slits.

"This time the excuse for not writing a letter is quite sufficient," she muttered. "Okay, this time a different reason will do."

""

At the same time, in Gryffindor Tower, the third-year boys' dormitory was in complete chaos.

The box fell to the ground, and clothes, pants, socks, and shoes were scattered all over the place.

James' Quidditch gear was pulled out of the box and hung on the bedpost, while a sock somehow flew to the light fixture on the ceiling and was hanging there dangling.

Lupin's books covered half the bed, and he was stacking them one by one on the bedside table.

He looked terrible; the moon would be full in a week, but he moved nimbly.

Peter sat on his bed, holding a bag of toffee in his arms, popping it into his mouth one by one, his eyes darting around the dormitory.

Sirius lay on his bed, his legs dangling over his suitcase, one hand behind his head, staring blankly at the top of the canopy.

He didn't have time to stay for long.

James rolled off his bed, wearing only one slipper, and headed straight for Sirius, wrapping his arm around his neck and hanging on his shoulder.

"Tell me," his eyes gleamed, "were you there?!"

Sirius was pushed to the side by him, and raised his hand to push his arm away, saying irritably, "Can you let go first?"

"No," James hugged him tighter, "tell me first."

He opened his mouth, about to call him Slytherin's little viper, when Sirius Black glanced at him sideways.

James reluctantly changed his tune: "...your brother."

"What exactly did your brother do?" He released one hand, gesturing in the air as he spoke.

"The news my dad heard during his vacation almost made him speechless. They said Black had caused a huge uproar at Lestrange Manor, Bellatrix was crippled? The manor burned down?"

The Potter family is not on the list of the Holy Twenty-Eight. Old Potter once publicly denounced that list as a joke of blood worship, but being pure-blooded, not a single message was missed.

James heard third-hand information from his father Fremont, but third-hand information wasn't enough.

He knew Sirius must have attended the Christmas dinner, and he must have witnessed his brother's actions firsthand.

That's firsthand information.

"Speak up," James shook Sirius's shoulder, "You were there, you know."

Sirius was shaken so badly that his head was bobbing back and forth. He reached out and slapped James across the face, then pushed him away.

He grinned and said, "I know."

James kept urging, "Then say it!"

Sirius saw his anxiety, bared his teeth, and shook his head: "I won't tell."

James glared at him and asked, "Why?!"

"Whatever makes me happy." Sirius put his hands behind his head, a smug look on his face.

James grabbed his collar in anger: "Are you trying to tempt me? Do you know how outrageous the versions my dad told me are? Some people say Bella's hand was chopped off, some say half her face was burned off."

Some people say your brother set fire to the entire manor, reducing it to ashes. Which is true?

As Sirius listened to these distorted rumors, the corners of his mouth widened, and he was so smug he could hardly contain himself.

"None of them are correct," he said slowly.

"What exactly is that?"

"It wasn't chopped."

"What's that? Burnt?"

Sirius stared at the ceiling and remained silent.

James was going crazy. He climbed out of bed, straddled Sirius, and pressed down on his shoulders with both hands: "Just tell me!"

Sirius rolled over and threw him to the side. James rolled half a circle and almost fell off the bed, but Sirius grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him back.

"Just one," James said, still unwilling to give up after being dragged back, holding up one finger. "Just one detail, just one."

Sirius looked at the beam on the ceiling, his lips curling up even wider: "That's how it was hit."

"How did you do it?" James pressed. "A spell? What spell?"

Sirius turned his gaze from the ceiling and glanced at James: "Spells, lots of spells."

James stared at him for a moment, then grabbed the pillow next to him and pressed it against Sirius's face.

Sirius let out a muffled groan, kicked his feet on the bed, and reached out to grab James's wrist and pry it outwards.

The two were entangled together, half of the bed curtains were torn loose, and the entire bedpost was shaking.

Lupin chuckled beside him, and Peter shrank back and leaned forward a little more.

Sirius threw the pillow aside, his hair a mess, a smile still on his face: "Why are you asking so many questions? Do you want to fight him?"

"I—" James opened his mouth, his face turning slightly red, "I can do it too!"

Sirius glanced at him, said nothing, but merely raised an eyebrow.

The meaning behind that expression was crystal clear: you're no good.

James's face turned even redder, and he reached for the pillow again, but Lupin pulled him back from behind.

James turned and glared at him. "Don't pull me. Whose side are you on?"

Lupin raised his hands to indicate neutrality.

Sirius turned to look at him and laughed.

They laughed so loudly that even Lupin couldn't hold back anymore, and Peter chuckled twice, the sound echoing throughout the entire dormitory.

James couldn't help but laugh, so he grabbed a pillow and threw it at Sirius. Sirius caught it, threw it back, and the two of them started bickering again.

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