Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Lily finally managed to calm Knox down; his tail slipped off her wrist and swished gently.

The little guy had been throwing a tantrum several times tonight, and now he was nestled in her arms, with a small string of gurgling sounds still lingering in his throat. She gently stroked his back until he calmed down.

She lowered her head to coax it, a strand of her red hair hanging down and resting on the cat's black fur, one red and one black.

Regulus leaned against the windowsill, his gaze fixed on her, his magical senses following his line of sight.

The magic power hasn't changed much; if anything, it has only increased slightly and steadily.

This kind of increase is common to all young wizards; as they reach a certain age, their magic power increases on its own, and you can't rush it or stop it.

Overall, it's not much different from the days before.

She was quite lively now, her emotions surging. Having just defeated Potter, she was talking animatedly, her magic rising and bubbling upwards with her feelings. It had nothing to do with her skill level; she was just happy.

Regulus looked away.

It's been more than half a year since Lily first seriously taught her how to control magic.

Looking at the progress, I can see that he has practiced quite well. He can pull an entire suit of armor off from several steps away and throw it at people. His progress is evident.

With the foundation laid to this point, it's almost time to move on.

He leaned against the windowsill, watching the little witch still coaxing the cat, and a slight twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth.

After listening to her boast, it's time to get down to business.

Lily looked up, loosened her grip, and the kitten immediately darted out of her arms.

It ran a few steps to the old desk furthest from the window, put its front paws together, tucked its hind legs under its body, and curled its tail around its front paws, squatting down properly.

Far away from Regulus, deep blue eyes slowly swept over him and then remained still on him.

The cat's face was expressionless, but its posture made it clear: I'm here, you're here, let's just stay here, and nobody should get too close. Lily looked at the cat, then at Regulus, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two.

One was leaning against the windowsill, and the other was squatting on the table, separated by most of the classroom, neither of them touching the other.

But that arrogant attitude, that stubborn refusal to back down first, made Lily want to laugh more and more.

She noticed it the day she received Knox; the little guy's demeanor was somewhat similar to Regulus'.

They both dislike talking to people, are both reserved, and have the same attitude of "I don't dislike you, but don't expect me to come over."

Right now, the person and the cat are sitting separately across the entire classroom, like looking in a mirror.

She pursed her lips, suppressing a smile, her eyes crinkling as she secretly observed him, then blatantly glanced at the cat before looking back at it.

Knox perched on the table, gently tapping the surface with the tip of its tail. Its deep blue eyes glanced at Regulus before looking away, and it raised its front paw to lick it.

That look made her want to laugh even more.

Regulus met her gaze, then followed it to the cat sitting upright on the table, and raised an eyebrow.

You can probably guess what she's amused about; it's nothing more than the cat and human conflict thing again, and the little witch has found something to laugh about.

He ignored it and turned his thoughts back to the important matter at hand.

Some people practice dueling every day, training to the point of exhaustion.

You can recite a spell hundreds or thousands of times until you don't need to think about it anymore. The gestures will come naturally, and the magic will come on its own. You'll feed the actions and the spells to your instincts.

This path is universal, but it requires effort and dedication; most people can succeed on it.

Lily isn't on this path, so she doesn't need to.

Her magic itself isn't particularly outstanding; it's just average among young wizards her age. Her spell mastery and usage are considered excellent, but excellent is still far from top-tier, and she's currently still within the realm of ordinary young wizards.

Among young wizards of this age, victory or defeat depends on speed and accuracy of spells. Most cannot outrun their opponents and can only take the beating. Ultimately, it comes down to two things: skill and speed; it's a contest of fundamentals.

Lily doesn't have an advantage in this area, but she excels when it comes to brains.

She fights by calculation, prediction, positioning, spell combinations and connections, and even tactics.

This fighting style can't be developed by repeating it thousands of times; it requires that bit of inspiration. So she doesn't need to grind it to death every day; grinding it too much would just be a waste of her energy.

She has already taken the first step toward becoming a skilled sorcerer, and the guardian spirit can be summoned by desire.

However, it was only the first step; the foot hadn't even landed yet.

Regulus snapped out of his thoughts.

"Let's talk about your magic manipulation first," he said, looking at Lily in a gentle tone. "To be able to pull off an entire suit of armor from a distance, that's quite impressive."

Lily's face lit up immediately, the corners of her mouth turned up, and the base of her ears turned a little red.

"It's not that amazing," she said modestly, but her eyes darted at him mischievously. "I just happened to think of it." She immediately felt a pang of guilt; she'd clearly turned the tables with that one move. She subtly raised her chin slightly, her modesty quickly betraying her true intentions. "But my move really worked," she added quietly. "Porter would never have imagined it."

Regulus looked at her with a hint of amusement in his eyes: "So, for the next step, we can try something even more difficult."

Lily immediately perked up and leaned forward: "Learn what?"

Regulus said, "The Immortal Armor Spell."

Lily was stunned for a moment, then her eyes widened.

"That," she gestured towards him, then pointed to her own chest, "the armor charm that you wear all the time without casting a spell?" Regulus smiled and nodded.

Lily's mouth was open, frozen in place.

Of course she knew this; she had seen it on Regulus last semester.

That time, she hit him squarely with the disarming spell, and the spell exploded upon impact.

A thin layer of silver light flashed across his body, and then everything disappeared. The spell dissipated completely, as if it hadn't hit him at all.

Later, when she pressed him for details, he said it was the Ironclad Spell, which was always on and didn't need to be cast actively each time.

She remembered it back then, and now he's going to teach it to her.

She beat Potter because she proved herself, and Regulus taught her the spell because he thought she was qualified and acknowledged her efforts over the past six months. Something inside her skipped a beat, and a warm feeling welled up inside her. This recognition alone made her happier than winning that fight.

His eyes were even brighter than when he was describing the fight, but his whole demeanor slowly hardened, his shoulders straightened, and the excitement on his face turned into seriousness. Knox, sitting on the desk, tilted his head and, seeing his master's expression, let out a soft gurgling sound.

We're too far away to go over and offer a perfunctory greeting.

But Lily heard this, freed one hand, and behind Regulus's back, secretly gave Knox a fist pump in encouragement, then quickly pulled it back, like a thief.

Regulus watched this scene unfold, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

A person who wanted to learn advanced magic first exchanged a secret signal with his cat.

He composed himself, his tone becoming serious, but he remained relaxed, still leaning casually against the windowsill.

"Let me make this clear first: this spell is very difficult, so difficult that most adult wizards can't do it in their entire lives."

I don't expect you to learn it quickly. It's normal if you don't master it in three or five years; it's a slow and steady process.

He looked at her and continued, "If you feel hopeless while practicing and give up halfway, that's normal. Most wizards who practice this do that."

"Who's going to abandon me?" Lily retorted, her red hair swaying as she glared at him with her green eyes. "You haven't even taught me yet, and you're already saying I can't learn?"

Regulus raised an eyebrow, his tone nonchalant: "I didn't say that."

"Hmph," she said, her face full of indignation, "Difficult is difficult, but I'm not afraid of difficulties."

Regulus couldn't suppress the smile in his eyes as he watched her get all worked up.

Lily looked over, her eyes becoming suspicious, as if Regulus was trying to trick her.

"It is indeed difficult," he coughed lightly, then changed the subject: "But you don't have to just focus on whether you can learn it or not. The process of practicing it is itself an advancement in magic control."

Even if you don't master it in a year or two, your magic control will improve steadily during that time. Learning is the result, but the process of practicing is what you truly gain.

Lily's brow relaxed, and she nodded.

"One more thing," he held up a finger, "the magic manipulation you practiced before, whether it was pulling things or guiding spells, was all about using your own magic to interact with the outside world."

But this is different. The Constant Armor Charm doesn't rely on incantations, wands, or external objects; it directly works on one's own magic, shaping it into the form you desire.

This is the next step in your training of magic manipulation.

Lily's expression completely changed.

She stood up straight, wand in hand, chin slightly raised, her green eyes fixed on him, bright and earnest.

“The principle isn’t complicated,” Regulus straightened up and took two steps towards the center of the field. “It sounds complicated because it’s difficult to do.” Lily followed, moving closer to him, and tilted her head back, asking, “How do you practice?”

"First tell me what it is," Regulus said. "You know the Ironclad Spell. You chant the spell, create a barrier, and block the attack. Once you've blocked it, it dissipates. You have to cast it again before you get hit next time."

The Constant Armor Spell is not used in this way. It is to press the spell into a thin film, weave it with magic, stick it to the body, spread it evenly, and then continuously supply magic to make it maintain itself.

"I don't need to chant incantations to create a barrier before each attack; it just stays there by itself."

"Continuously supplying magic power," Lily frowned, asking in confusion, "doesn't that mean it's constantly being depleted?"

"Yes, it's constantly draining us," Regulus nodded, "and draining our mental energy as well."

The membrane needs to be thin, even, and stable; all of these require mental focus to maintain. The magic must also remain unbroken; even a slight break will cause it to collapse. This is the first major challenge.

Lily's face scrunched up, but she still nodded.

"The second difficulty is that it's not a skill to just stand still and maintain it. When you're actually fighting, you have to run, jump, and cast spells. When you're moving, the magic is all over the place, but you still have to keep that membrane firmly attached and prevent it from falling apart."

Maintaining stillness is different from maintaining movement; the latter is much more difficult.

Lily asked, "It will fall apart once it starts moving?"

"If your mind is focused on casting spells and you neglect the other thing, the magic will dissipate when it's cut off. You need to practice casting spells, running, and maintaining balance so that none of them interfere with the others before you can be considered stable."

Lily listened intently, her brows furrowed slightly, and she didn't interrupt.

"So you can't expect to succeed in one go," Regulus said, holding up a finger. "You have to take it one step at a time."

The first step is to focus the magic on this one finger, drawing it into a thin, even, and steady thread.

Anyone can just smear a lump of magic on something, but that's useless. You have to extract the threads, and that one step alone will take you a long time to master.

Lily asked again, "And then?"

"If one finger is stable, add two; if two fingers are stable, add five, forming a small patch on the palm."

Once the palms are stable, then you can start spreading the cream on your arms, then your body, and finally covering your entire body, achieving a state of stillness.

He finished explaining the whole road in one breath, then stopped himself: "But tonight, take only the first step, one finger. Don't think about the rest."

Lily nodded emphatically: "Yes."

Regulus extended his right index finger, the tip glowing faintly. A thin wisp of magic seeped from the fingertip, silvery-blue, even and pure. With a gentle twist of his wrist, the wisp of magic circled halfway around his fingertip, suspending itself steadily, neither scattering nor trembling, remaining the same thickness from beginning to end. Lily stared, mesmerized.

"That's how it is," he said, withdrawing his hand as the threads unfurled, looking at her. "Try it."

Lily raised her index finger, staring intently at the fingertip.

She had a good foundation, and her magic was obedient. She easily adjusted it to her fingertips, and a little light quickly gathered on her fingertips.

But as the magic gathered, it condensed into a small ball, bulging on her fingertip, round and without a trace of thread. "It's clumped together," Regulus said, looking at her magic. "You tried to extract it all at once, too hastily. The magic didn't have time to stretch out before it clumped together."

Lily scattered and started again, this time slower, pulling her magic outwards. She managed to draw out a thin thread, but it dissipated as soon as it appeared, turning into a very faint silver mist and disappearing.

"It didn't hold its shape when pulled out," Regulus said. "It needs to be slower and finer."

"I know." Lily bit her lower lip and tried again.

This time the silk thread was pulled out and hung on her fingertips. She held her breath and didn't dare to blink.

But the thread was sometimes thick and sometimes thin, sometimes bulging and sometimes deflated, and after shaking twice, it fell apart again.

She tried to control her magic output and tried again.

As soon as the silk took shape, she was distracted to check if it was even. Her grip loosened, and the silk broke in two and vanished.

Lily sighed and slumped her shoulders; this was completely different from what she had practiced before.

In the past, when she practiced magic manipulation, magic was used by extending her hands—whether pulling armor or lifting feathers—the force was directed outwards, acting on external objects. She could see at a glance whether those objects moved or not, making adjustments easy.

This time it's different; this time she's dealing with her own magic itself.

Instead of using it externally, pinch and knead it finely and evenly on your fingertips.

There was no external force exerting any pressure on her, no feedback from anything; she relied entirely on her own senses to feel whether the magic was thick or thin, steady or scattered at her fingertips. It was more direct, and also more unpredictable, making it much more difficult.

"The magic output is not precise enough," Regulus said calmly. "This is different from casting a spell. Casting a spell is about pushing magic out, and the more you push, the better."

Conversely, you have to be careful, even, and move slowly and steadily for the silk to become fine. If you're drawing the silk with the force of casting a spell, it will naturally be thick and break easily.

Lily paused for a moment.

"And one more thing," he continued, "you're used to gripping the wand the way you use it, that's the routine you're used to."

But you don't need a wand for this; you have to touch it directly with your mind and control it with your will. It's much lighter and more delicate than touching an external object directly; if you touch it too hard, it will break.

Lily closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, and started over, keeping them still, even, and gentler.

The wisp of silk was pulled out from the fingertip again, this time fine, even, and suspended.

"It's done!" Her eyes lit up, and she was about to smile when the strand of silk lasted less than two seconds before disintegrating.

Lily stared at her fingers, unwilling to give up. She tried again, but couldn't pull them out. She tried once more, but they clumped together again.

"Alright," Regulus interrupted, "It's already quite good that you managed to pull out the silk for two seconds on your first try."

"Only two seconds," Lily muttered.

"Two seconds and zero, there's a whole step difference," he said patiently. "The rest is something you have to work on yourself when you get back. You can't rush it. Practice every day, and that's what you're practicing. If you can spare two seconds today, three seconds tomorrow, maybe you can last ten minutes in six months. That's how you hone this spell."

Lily stared at her fingers for a long time, then sighed and asked earnestly, "How many times a day should I practice? Morning or evening?" "Practice whenever you have free time, no time is too important. It doesn't take up your regular time. You can practice while walking, while sitting and daydreaming, or even while daydreaming in class. Practicing on ordinary days is more effective than sitting there for two hours."

Lily's eyes lit up; she loved hearing this.

She lowered her voice, took half a step closer, and asked mysteriously, "Can I practice in the dorm? Or do I have to do it secretly?"

There's a reason for this; Regulus had told her during the time with the guardian deity that she couldn't tell anyone.

Regulus understood what she was asking and smiled: "This can be practiced openly. The Guardian God one is different; it involves many things. This one doesn't. If someone asks, just answer."

He stopped, looked at Lily, and smiled more broadly: "You could say you're figuring out how to control magic on your own. Nobody will believe a third-year student is practicing the Constant Armor Charm; they'll just think you're messing around."

Lily breathed a sigh of relief, but then choked on her words and glared at him.

"You think you can't master it in a few years?" She slung her wand behind her back and raised her chin. "I'll show you I can master it in a year."

Regulus looked at her with such enthusiasm, but didn't reply. His smile deepened.

One year, done.