Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 395 Cats and Dogs Fighting and the Freezing Curse

The spell classroom is on the seventh floor of the castle, with windows facing east.

At this time, the morning light was streaming in obliquely through the window, illuminating the entire classroom, and the fine dust floating in the air was slowly churning in the beam of light.

The desks and chairs were neatly arranged in rows, several books were stacked on the teacher's desk, and the blackboard still bore traces of the previous lesson's writing.

A Ravenclaw girl was casting a cleansing spell on the blackboard with her wand, and the words disappeared line by line.

Regulus sat down in his usual spot by the window at the back. The canopy of the Forbidden Forest outside the window shone with a grayish-green hue in the morning light, and the treetops swayed gently in the breeze.

A few crows landed on the stone edge outside the window, cawing a few times that came through the glass in a muffled tone.

Only a few Ravenclaws sat scattered in the classroom, heads down, flipping through notes, occasionally glancing up at him before looking down again.

Regulus rested his arm on the windowsill, tapping his fingers on the stone window frame, watching the flock of crows fly away outside, leaving a few feathers behind.

About fifteen minutes later, the sound of footsteps in the corridor gradually increased.

Avery led the way in, talking and gesturing with Alex, his face beaming with excitement, his voice already echoing down the hallway.

"6

"Let me tell you, your strike yesterday was off; Hermes's blows were quite powerful."

Alex followed him, nodding occasionally, his expression much more restrained than Avery's.

Hermes walked at the very back, looking blank, with slightly swollen eyes and slumped shoulders as he walked, as if he hadn't slept at all.

Lena and Samuel followed behind Hermes, one peeking out at Avery, the other walking with her head down.

Alex spotted Regulus first, paused for a moment, and a look of delight flashed across his face.

The moment his lips curled into a smile, that joy froze, replaced by an unnatural expression, as if he had been caught red-handed doing something wrong.

He nudged Avery with his elbow.

Avery followed his gaze, his face instantly lighting up. He rushed over in a few strides, plopped down next to Regulus, threw his backpack on the table, and turned to face him.

"You're back! We were wondering if you could make it back today," he said quickly, without pausing for a moment, "Is everything alright at home? How are things—"

"It's nothing," Regulus said, looking at him. "It's just something at home."

Avery let out a sound, his mouth opening halfway before he suddenly closed it.

The night before last, Sirius Black returned wearing a funeral robe and walked from the foyer all the way to the Gryffindor Tower, seeing half of the castle.

News spread throughout Slytherin that very evening that Sirius had returned from the Black family funeral wearing a black robe.

Avery smacked his lips, abruptly changing the subject: "Today's Charms class... Professor Flitwick said last week we'd be teaching something new, the Freezing Charm. Have you heard of it?"

Regulus ignored him and let the light pass over Avery, landing on the people behind him.

Alex was walking this way, his lips slightly pursed, his eyes fixed on the ground, not looking at him.

He sat down next to Avery, nodded as a greeting, then looked down and rummaged through his bag for a while, but couldn't take anything out.

Hermes didn't even glance in their direction. He walked further back, sat down, put his hands in his pockets, yawned, and stared blankly at the table with droopy eyelids.

He's usually lazy, but at least he'll nod. Today he didn't even bother with that.

Lina and Samuel followed behind Hermes.

When Lina met Regulus's gaze, her eyes lit up at first, then the light went out, and she quickly took a half step behind Alex, shrinking her whole body behind Alex's shoulder.

Samuel followed behind Lena with his head down, shuffling his heels on the ground, and sat down in the last row.

Regulus looked away, having a general idea of ​​what was going on.

These guys were both excited and nervous.

Even Hermes wasn't looking in his direction, and Lina was hiding behind Alex; they must have done something related to him.

Sirius ran off by himself the night before last without saying goodbye. Regulus could probably guess what he was thinking.

Perhaps Sirius Black didn't like anyone around him; they were all black.

Given Sirius's personality, it's perfectly normal for him to utter a few foul words; with James around, he'd definitely get even more excited.

When the two sides collide, with four Gryffindors on one side and five Slytherins on the other, it's like two litters of cats and dogs with overlapping territories. One bares its teeth and the other bristles; it would be strange if they didn't fight.

He looked at Alex.

Alex was looking down at his notebook, his fingers tracing the edges of the pages as if they held the ultimate magical secret, refusing to look up at him.

Regulus then looked at Avery.

Avery was grinning, his eyes full of smugness, and he was swaying back and forth in his seat, looking like he was waiting for Avery to ask him something.

Go ahead and ask, ask now and I'll tell you everything.

Regulus glanced at him, then looked away and turned to the window without asking anything.

Avery waited a moment, then tilted his head smugly and peeked at Regulus, only to find that Regulus really didn't intend to speak.

He turned to look at Alex, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips moving silently. What was wrong with him?

Alex shrugged.

Avery turned back, opened his mouth as if to start the conversation himself, but then felt it would be too boring if no one picked up the thread, so he sulked and rubbed his buttocks in his seat.

By this time, most of the young wizards had arrived. The Slytherin side was quiet, and Ravenclaw was still holding his book as usual.

Light footsteps echoed down the corridor as Professor Flitwick entered through the doorway.

He was short, with pointed ears, wearing a dark blue robe with a few ink stains on the cuffs, and a pair of thin silver metal-framed glasses.

He jogged to the back of the podium, stood on the stack of books, and was a head taller than the podium.

He twirled the wand in his hand, looked around the classroom, and spoke in a high-pitched voice with his characteristic lightness.

"Good morning, everyone! It's February, spring is almost here, it's time to wake up your wands. How did your softening charm practice go last week?"

Several Ravenclaws looked up and chattered, saying it was alright. Slytherins responded enthusiastically, loudly declaring they had already mastered it. Flitwick shrieked with laughter.

"Alright, alright, let's learn something even more efficient today: the Freezing Spell! Immolus!"

He waved his wand, and glowing words appeared on the blackboard. A few letters squeezed together within the words, choosing their positions before settling down.

The syllables light up one by one: lm—mo—bu—lus.

Each vowel flashes a different color: Im is ice blue, mo is silvery white, bu is light gray, and lus trails a frosty white tail, like ice flowers forming on glass in winter.

"This word comes from the Latin word mobilis, meaning to move; adding 'im' before it indicates negation."

Flitwick pointed his wand at the podium, and a feather floated up from the pen holder, hovering in mid-air, slowly rotating within the beam of light.

"Just make it stay still. Pay attention to the pronunciation: Im should be short and sharp, Mo should be rounded, Bu should be crisp, and Lus should be exhaled completely, so that the magic can be pushed to the tip of the wand along the airflow."

He recited the entire incantation, pronouncing each syllable clearly and precisely.

He then broke down the movements: "The wand movement is to lightly tap forward, then rotate the wrist inward half a circle, releasing the magic when it reaches the end of the rotation."

He nimbly rotated his wrist, the tip of his cane drawing a small arc in the air.

The feather stopped spinning at the very end, completely still, not even the fine hairs on its wing trembled.

"It has a very direct effect on objects without will and creatures with low intelligence."

With another wave of his wand, the glass of water on the podium instantly froze into ice. Ice crystals spread layer by layer from the surface to the bottom of the glass, and a layer of frost condensed on the glass wall.

He then pointed at the dozing plant on the windowsill. The plant's leaves stopped swaying and froze in one position, even the dew on the tips of the leaves froze into ice beads.

"However, it should be noted that the effect will be weakened by the strength of the will of creatures with a certain degree of magical resistance."

Adult wizards can resist freezing spells through willpower, which is why they are used more to restrict movement in duels than to completely immobilize an opponent.

However, it's very useful for dealing with small troubles in daily life, such as "7"

The professor blinked, pointed his wand at the teacup on his podium, and the freshly brewed tea stopped steaming, a thin layer of ice forming on the surface.

—When I want to drink iced tea in the summer.

Several young wizards laughed.

Flitwick waved his wand again, and a glass of water appeared on each of the young wizards' tables.

"Alright, practice time. Freeze the water, but don't freeze the cups, just the water. Begin!"

The classroom became lively.

The chanting of incantations rose and fell, wands were waved, and water gurgled and bubbled in several cups, yet the surface remained perfectly still.

Avery pronounced it too forcefully, drawing out "Im" and emphasizing "bu" as if he were cursing. He jabbed his wand forward, but the water didn't freeze, the cup shattered, and water splashed all over his sleeve.

He swung his hand and cursed, nearly sending his wand flying. Alex, standing next to him, silently moved half a body's distance to the side.

Alex was steady, pronouncing each syllable accurately. He lightly tapped the water with his wand, and a thin layer of ice floated on the surface of the glass, breaking into tiny pieces.

Flitwick glanced up as he passed by and nodded: "Pronunciation is right, wand steadyer."

Hermes frowned as he stared at his cup, as if the water owed him money. With a flick of his staff, the water froze into a solid block of ice.

The cup cracked along with the glass, the crack running from the rim all the way to the bottom, breaking the entire cup in two.

He expressionlessly pushed the broken cup aside, picked up a spare new cup, and continued staring at it.

Lina's progress is going well; a complete layer of ice has formed on the surface of the water, and it makes a thumping sound when you tap it with your finger. However, the water underneath is still sloshing and hasn't frozen through yet.

She tilted her head to look at the bottom of the cup, and tried again. This time, the water at the bottom of the cup sloshed less than before.

She turned to look at Samuel, who was muttering to himself with his head down, his voice very soft, his lips barely moving, and the movement of his wand smaller than hers.

His cup was frozen perfectly, completely frozen from top to bottom, with an ice surface as smooth as if it had been polished.

Lina pouted and continued chanting and waving her wand.

Regulus drew his wand, pointed the tip at the water glass, chanted a spell, lightly touched the water's surface, and rotated his wrist half a circle.

The water instantly froze into ice, transparent from the surface to the bottom of the cup, like a piece of freshly cut crystal.

A very thin layer of frost has formed on the cup wall. It is fine and even, without any rough ice crystals that have frozen randomly. Each frost line extends in the same direction, as if it were blown out by a gust of wind at the same moment.

A wisp of white steam rose from the rim of the cup and drifted away in the morning light.

Frivi passed by his seat, looked up, and saw the frost, the transparency, and the smoothness of the ice surface.

Then she shrieked, "Perfect! Mr. Black, as always, Slytherin, five points!"

Regulus bowed his head and nodded politely to the professor: "Thank you, Professor."

None of the young wizards around looked up.

The extra points are nothing to be surprised about, just like his daily walk into the auditorium.

The spell itself wasn't difficult; most of the young wizards did it in class, some quickly, some slowly, some beautifully, and some clumsily.

Avery tried again, and this time the water froze, and the cup was frozen to the table, and he couldn't pull it off no matter what he did.

Alex, who was next to him, tapped the rim of the glass with his wand to thaw it.

One Ravenclaw was so forceful that he not only froze the water, but also the table and chairs, trapping him inside his seat.

Flitwick laughed and lifted the spell for him, saying, "Control, control. You need strength, but you can't lose precision."

In the back row, there was a Slytherin ice cup with air bubbles trapped inside, forming strings of transparent beads within the ice layer—it looked quite pretty.

Regulus stared at the glass of ice in front of him, his mind wandering to other things.

The Freeze Spell, in essence, is a constraint on physical movement.

The magic is poured into the target, suppressing the movement of molecules to a standstill, causing water to freeze, objects to freeze in place, and the movements of living things to be interrupted.

This constraint is imposed externally, and is completely different from the Disintegration Curse.

The Disintegration Curse dismantles the structure from the inside, with vibrations penetrating the material layer by layer, shaking open every connection point.

Freezing is done by pressing it down from the outside, preventing it from moving.

There are two paths, one dismantling inwards and the other pressing outwards, both ultimately leading to the target losing its original physical state.

What if we push the constraints to the extreme?

From paused to a permanent stop.

A novice wizard can freeze a cup of water and it will melt in a few seconds, while a skilled wizard can freeze a lake and it can last for days.

The difference lies in the magnitude of the magic and the strength of the will.

The constraint itself is a continuous pressure, provided by the spell structure and magic, but only the will can maintain the stability of this pressure.

Objects without will, such as water, stone, air, and low-intelligence creatures like cats, dogs, and rabbits, will be frozen instantly.

The professor said that a wizard with willpower can resist, which may indicate that willpower itself is a counterforce.

A skilled wizard doesn't need a counter-curse; he can withstand it with sheer willpower. Magic is merely an aid; the core is a will strong enough to resist external constraints.

This is the same thing he tested on werewolves—the will overriding instinct.

Willpower is not only a tool to defend against mental intrusion, but also a weapon to resist physical constraints.

He put the thought aside and didn't think about it any further.

The bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class.

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