Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 402 Each with their own thoughts

Regulus stopped staring at them. He had taught them what he needed to teach, and let them figure out the rest on their own.

He spread his magical perception over a wide area, past the faint magical energy of the plants, past the scattered cold light of the glowing ferns and the luminous mushrooms, and swept it deep into the Forbidden Forest.

Avoid those menacing, offensive or defensive magics, and specifically choose those with emotional qualities that are completely unrelated to aggression.

The magic of the Bowtrus tree is unique: quiet, outward-facing, neither aggressive nor defensive. It is a subtle resonance between magic and life force, as if it is conversing with the surrounding trees.

Found it.

To the northwest, there are several exceptionally well-shaped trees with fine, old wood—perfect material for making magic wands.

The hunchback loves to live in trees like this, hiding in the slender branches of the canopy, its magical, almost ethereal quality emanating from the leaves.

Regulus noted the location but didn't rush over or arrest them on the spot.

Tonight is Friday. Once we've collected enough moonspot moss, we'll stop here. Tomorrow will be perfect. We can come back during the day on Saturday and take Baruch back to his lair in Aragog to finish him off as well.

He withdrew his senses and stood still, watching those guys.

Lina squatted by the crack in the rocks, picking the stones with the most enthusiasm.

She closed her eyes to try it out, then opened them and rushed over to search. Once she found something, she would hold it in her hand, glancing back at him every time she found a clump, before looking down and continuing.

The moss in her hand kept piling up, so she simply gathered the hem of her robe up and used it as a pocket, squatting there with her legs sticking out like a squirrel digging for food.

Samuel was slow and methodical, picking only a few grains at a time. He would squat down, close his eyes, and sense the grains for a while before reaching out to pick them.

Alex was slow to perceive things, so he simply took his time, flipping over a rock and feeling every nook and cranny underneath, carefully collecting the stones he could find and stacking them neatly one by one.

Avery straightened up every two clumps, looking around, clearly not taking this seriously; he spent more time searching blindly than trying to sense things with his eyes closed.

They'd chuckle when they found a clump, and mutter a few words when they couldn't, like they were on a treasure hunt, having a great time.

The magical senses were new to him, the glowing grass was new to him, and even the act of squatting down and rummaging through it was new to him.

Hermes didn't pick much at all; he just leaned against a tree with only two or three sprigs in his hand.

Perhaps feeling that he couldn't just not hand in his work, he casually plucked a few handfuls, varying in size, some with roots, others only half-cut.

There are all kinds of people: those who are fun, those who are serious, those who want to get ahead, those who are scheming, and those who are lazy.

Frosty was tied to a tree trunk not far away, with the rope wrapped around its neck several times.

It was restless, the rope stretched taut, always trying to get closer to Regulus.

Regulus smelled wonderful, with the clean, natural magic of plants and earth.

Frosty liked the smell, but it didn't dare come closer.

A strange thing was perched on Regulus's shoulder, staring at him with eight eyes that weren't exactly friendly.

Frosi moved forward a little, and Baruch's pincers clicked.

Frosty quickly shrank back, tucking his tail between his legs, gurgling in his throat, looking both aggrieved and envious.

Regulus's lips curled into a slight smile. He turned his head and said to Baruch, "Tomorrow, I'll make you even stronger."

Baruch immediately perked up, its chelicerae opening and closing rapidly with a clicking sound, and all its dark red bristles stood on end.

"Amazing! Amazing!"

It jumped off my shoulder and landed on the ground.

The Forbidden Forest is its home; it's where it grows from hatching to adulthood, so it knows it very well.

Even after landing, it wouldn't stay still. It first wandered over to Frosty, its eight legs thumping and swaying as it went.

The big dog was tucking its tail behind it and making a very soft whimper.

Baruch knew this big guy was inedible, so he circled around the edge of the rope he could reach, his eight eyes scrutinizing him from head to toe.

It circled slowly, sometimes stopping to tilt its spider head and look around, sometimes raising one leg to tap the ground, as if thinking about how to tease it.

Frosty was easily frightened and curled up behind a tree to hide, but the rope made it difficult for him to hide properly. He could only keep rubbing back, making the bark rustle.

It made a whimpering sound in its throat, looking pleadingly toward Regulus, yet it dared not actually cry out, for fear of startling the eight-eyed monster.

Seeing it hide, Baruch became even more interested and moved closer. Frosty became even more frightened and kicked its legs wildly, digging several shallow trenches in the ground.

After playing with the dog enough, Baruch wandered off to another place.

It went to look at the few little spiders that were gathering moss, but didn't show itself.

It hid itself in the grass and watched Alex, who was focused on turning over the cracks in the rocks, completely unaware that eight eyes were watching him from behind.

Its eight legs moved silently as it shifted to the next spot, hiding in a crevice in the rocks to watch Lina, only its two main eyes peeking out.

Lina was digging with her buttocks sticking out. Baruch watched for a while, then gently opened and closed his chelicerae twice without making a sound.

He circled around behind Avery and stopped for a while. Avery had his eyes closed, his fingers fiddling with a stone, muttering, "This one is definitely—no, it's still a stone."

Baruch tilted his head and looked at him for a moment, then turned and left.

Samuel was not far from Lina, and Baruch poked half his head out from the pile of dead leaves behind him, all eight eyes fixed on his back.

Samuel didn't turn around, but his hand paused for a moment, probably sensing something, but he didn't say anything.

Hermes leaned against the tree trunk, while Baruch hung upside down from the branch above him, his dark red bristles gleaming faintly in the pale green light of the glowing mushroom, and eight eyes staring at his face from above.

Hermes raised his eyelids, stared at it for a moment, and then expressionlessly reached out and brushed a dangling spider silk away from his eyes.

Baruch retracted his spider silk, flipped himself onto a branch, and slipped away.

About twenty minutes later, it darted back out of the woods, climbed up Regulus's trouser leg and onto his shoulder, its eight legs curled up.

It placed one of its front legs near Regulus's ear and rubbed it against it, probably to show off its accomplishment: "Look, I've checked everything for you."

Regulus reached out a finger and gently stroked its carapace. Baruch shook itself and then lay still.

As darkness fell completely, the young wizards returned one after another, each carrying a considerable amount of gifts.

Lina was the first to return, carrying a large handful of moss-like strands that leaked through her fingers. The cold white light made her entire face glow.

She walked up to Regulus, carefully placed the moss into the bag, then straightened up and looked at him with bright eyes.

Samuel followed behind her, carrying some in his hands, less than Lina's. He did what he was supposed to do, put it in his bag, and nodded to Regulus.

Avery strolled back, the bunch of scrambled hands in his hand a mess, tossed it into his bag, patted the mud off his hands, and looked relaxed and content.

When Alex returned, he frowned slightly. He had collected quite a few samples, but he also realized that he wasn't very good at this, and there was always something between him and the samples.

Hermes returned last, with only a few sticks in his hand, just going through the motions, looking utterly bored.

Regulus saw it all.

He ignored Avery and Hermes; one was just looking for something new, and the other found it boring, so there was no need to say more.

"Not bad," he said, looking at Lina first. "This is the first time I've found so many."

Lena's face lit up with a smile, full of joy, and then she turned to look at Alex.

“Samuel will do too,” Regulus turned to him, adding a comment without elaborating: “He’s patient and knows what he’s looking for.”

Samuel glanced at him, then looked down again, his lips twitching and his body relaxing slightly.

Regulus then looked at Alex and instructed him, "From now on, you'll train them both."

Alex paused, taken aback.

"I'll also teach you how to manipulate magic," Regulus continued. "First, practice the Glowing Charm, then release it from your fingertips. If you have any questions, come and ask me."

Lena's eyes lit up again, and she almost jumped up, but Samuel nudged her with his elbow without saying a word, which calmed her down, and she just nodded heavily.

Alex realized what Regulus meant.

His magical manipulation was still in its infancy, and his perception was far from sharp. Regulus had assigned him to mentor Lina and Samuel not to give him tasks, but to encourage him to put in more effort himself before teaching others.

Otherwise, what will we teach them?

"Understood!" He looked at Regulus, his tone serious and his attitude decisive.

Then he turned to Lena and Samuel: "Come see me after lunch tomorrow."

"Thank you, Alex!"

Lena really jumped up this time, but she didn't land properly and veered towards Alex.

Alex reached out to steady her, his expression gentle: "Be careful."

Lina's face was flushed, and she smiled with her lips pursed, unable to suppress her smile.

Samuel glanced at her, then looked away, nodded to Alex, and said sincerely, "Thank you for your help."

It wasn't too late, around eight or nine o'clock.

As night deepened in the forbidden forest, the bioluminescent plants became even more active than during the day, and the surrounding fireflies alternated between cool white, deep blue, cool green, and warm yellow.

The outer perimeter is relatively safe, but it's not suitable to stay there for long as it gets darker. Creatures in the depths will move out at night, so even if you can't reach the outer perimeter, there's no need to linger.

Alex tied the bag shut, drew his wand, and pointed it to the sky.

A green spark shot out from the tip of the staff, passed through the gap in the tree canopy, exploded in the night sky, and lit up for a few seconds before slowly falling.

After a while, a green spark rose in the east, and Hagrid received the message.

Alex led Frosty and they walked back together.

Avery walked beside him, still excited, muttering, "Magic perception... My father mentioned it before, saying I was too young to be taught yet, but when I actually got the hang of it, it wasn't all that great."

He became increasingly smug: "When I go back for the holidays, I'm going to show him what I'm capable of and see if he still says I'm too young."

Hermes, unusually, agreed: "Hmm."

For him, this little thing is nothing special; Avery is right, it's really not difficult.

Alex, who was walking in front, heard this and his lips twitched slightly, but he didn't reply.

He held Frosty's leash in his hand, and Frosty's tail was held higher than when they arrived, probably because they could finally go back.

Lena and Samuel walked in the middle.

Lina was still caught up in her excitement, whether from Regulus's praise or something else, she didn't know.

Clutching a moss stick in his hand, reluctant to let go, he would occasionally glance down at it and then steal a look at Alex, who was walking in front.

Samuel observed all of this silently.

Regulus walked at the very end, with Baruch perched on his shoulder.

Frosty, led by Alex, kept looking back as she went, finally managing to get a little further away from the eight-eyed monster.

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