Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

About ten minutes later, Narcissa arrived.

She didn't sit down, but stood by the sofa, looking down at Regulus. The light from the fireplace cast a warm glow on her blond hair, but her gaze was serious.

"You scared me today," Narcissa said softly.

"Sorry?" Regulus looked up and understood what Narcissa meant.

Narcissa, Bella's cousin, valued family ties far more than Bella did, and she reminded him more than once that he should be mindful of his boundaries when showing himself off.

Even before he enrolled in school, she shared her own experiences with him on many occasions. Regulus could feel the care from his family, so he always showed Narcissa more genuine affection.

However, Regulus had his own considerations; he was not a real child.

"It's not a bad thing." Narcissa sat down beside him with graceful movements.

"I just...suddenly realized you've grown up. Uncle Orion wrote to me asking me to keep an eye on you at school, and Aunt Walbuga mentioned it too, but now it seems you don't need anyone to watch over you."

Regulus didn't speak, but his gaze softened noticeably.

Narcissa continued, "The way you handled things today was mature, but also dangerous. You put yourself in the open, and more people will be watching you."

"Let them keep an eye on us." Regulus's tone was firm, but it was a deliberate display to reassure Narcissa; in reality, he didn't care about these things.

He understood this more clearly in his mind: as a first-year student, he still needed to act within the rules, consider the professors' opinions, and maintain the image of an excellent student.

But essentially, he doesn't need to look up to those older students.

It wasn't arrogance, but rather, based on objective facts, he found the things those people had in their heads—the so-called academic politics and pure-blood relationships—to be laughably superficial.

Two years from now, when he's in his third year, what level of precision will his magic control be? How many constellations will his astrological meditations cover? How much magic will he master? How powerful will his magic be?

At that time, the people he needed to compare himself to were no longer the students of Hogwarts, but the so-called elite Aurors of the Ministry of Magic, and perhaps even some professors.

After all, Voldemort was able to make Horcruxes in his fifth year, so what was he lacking?

His gaze never lingered on mediocre people.

"Cousin Narcissa," Regulus began, his voice lower than before, "you're worried I'm being targeted, but from another perspective, letting them see my location might be safer."

Narcissa frowned slightly: "What do you mean?"

"The heir to the Black family will eventually stand in a certain position. Rather than letting others guess, test, and plot in secret, it's better for me to set the tone myself. That's better than hiding it."

He paused for a moment to observe Narcissa's reaction, and only continued speaking when he saw that she did not refute him.

"As for taking sides... cousin, let's talk about that." Regulus leaned forward slightly, his voice even lower.

"Of course I know that Bella's cousin and Voldemort are trying to win people over, and I understand Black's attitude as well."

Narcissa didn't reply, but gestured for him to continue.

"But I must ask," Regulus looked directly into her eyes, "is the Black family, or rather, one of the Twenty-Eight Holy Pureblood Families, truly only two choices?"

Narcissa's breath hitched slightly. Regulus hadn't finished speaking, but she knew he was referring to two choices: loyalty to Voldemort or allying with Dumbledore.

"A thousand-year-old wizarding family, able to survive for a thousand years, is it because they bet on the right horse every time there's a political upheaval? Shouldn't it be that no matter who comes to power, the family can stand firm?"

At this point, he silently added in his mind that the Black family in the original book was a counterexample. They blindly bet on Voldemort, and the entire family was almost wiped out, leaving only a few survivors.

But that was because of Walbuga's fanaticism, Sirius's rebellion, and a series of misjudgments.

If Regulus were here, things wouldn't be like that.

Narcissa remained silent for a long time, the firelight flickering on her face.

"Regulus," her voice was equally soft, "you know Bella now... enjoys that man's trust."

Regulus leaned back on the sofa, his gaze fixed on the leaping flames in the fireplace, his face serene.

After a few seconds, he turned his gaze back to Narcissa.

"Cousin," Regulus countered, "does the Black family need this kind of trust?"

Narcissa suddenly stopped; this was a question she had never considered at all.

Does the Blake family not need this trust?

That's Voldemort!

But then I thought, just as Regulus said, does a thousand-year-old family have to side with one side?

Why are all the pure-blood families, except for Regulus, discussing which side they should join?

Whose fault is this anyway?!

Regulus continued, his tone gradually softening: "Bella's cousin is a member of the Black family, and the trust she has gained is naturally a resource of the family."

But how resources should be used, by whom, and when—there are many nuances to consider.

He looked at Narcissa calmly, noticing her somewhat dazed expression: "Investment should be based on long-term returns. Betting your entire fortune on a short-term surge is for gamblers, not the practice passed down through generations of wizarding families."

Regulus was hinting very subtly that Voldemort's reign was over, but that was all he could say; he couldn't say any more.

Narcissa's pupils contracted slightly. She understood part of what she heard and also thought of some things she had never noticed before.

Bella was, of course, completely devoted to that man's great cause; she was his everything. But to Blake, Bella was just one of his own.

Regulus was talking about the long term and legacy.

"You mean..." Narcissa had to become cautious at this point: "The Black family shouldn't rely on just one line of work?"

“I mean,” Regulus said gently, “if a tree has only one deep root and the rest are withered, what will it rely on to stay upright when the wind comes?”

He looked at Narcissa, his grey eyes appearing particularly deep in the firelight: "Cousin, the Black family isn't just a sprouting seedling; we have many roots."

"That lord needs power," Regulus returned to the original topic, but from a different angle: "and there are many kinds of power."

Fanatical loyalty is one kind of power, a calm mind is another; a warrior who can charge into battle is one kind of power, but someone who can coordinate resources and stabilize the rear is even rarer.

He continued, "My cousin Bella has already proven that the Black family can provide the first option, so what if we can provide the second?"

Narcissa took a deep breath and looked at her eleven-year-old cousin. Suddenly, she felt a chill run down her spine, a shock that came from realizing the depth of his thinking far exceeded her expectations.

He never uttered a word of disloyalty throughout the entire process, and even consistently affirmed the needs of that lord.

But the implication was clear: the Black family wanted to join as collaborators, or even providers of strategic resources, rather than simply as followers.

This is clearly more sophisticated, but also more difficult.

"These words..." Narcissa's voice was a little hoarse, "Did you say them to Uncle Orion?"

Regulus shook his head: "Father will understand."

He remembered the family ring Orion had given him, the key to the library, and his father's advice to be more restrained.

Orion Black was never a fanatical believer; he was a pragmatic family helmsman.

Sending his son to Slytherin, and tacitly approving or even supporting Regulus's independence, were all paving the way for this goal—

So that even if the Black family were to board the ship during the impending storm, they would be able to sit in a cabin with windows, rather than being locked in the hold.

Narcissa nodded slowly. She understood. She understood not only what Regulus meant, but also why he did what he did today. He was demonstrating a second power.

Calm, restrained, able to control the situation, and able to weigh the pros and cons—this is for all observers to see, including the adult who may be watching from afar.

"I understand," Narcissa said gravely. "So you need information, information that will enable the family to make the right judgment."

"Yes." Regulus leaned forward slightly, adopting a more trusting posture.

"Cousin, what we lack most right now is not a stance, but a perspective. Only knowing the news from Bella's side is like seeing the road with only one eye, and that eye is biased."

Narcissa immediately thought of Bella's letters filled with fanatical vocabulary and her increasingly extreme words and actions. It would be terrible if the Black family only listened to Bella's voice.

"I will keep an eye on it," Narcissa solemnly promised. "Not just the Malfoys, but also the Lestranges, the movements of other families, and the rumors circulating within the Ministry of Magic."

I will tell you anything that is valuable.

“Through a safe means,” Regulus added, “or, face to face.”

He couldn't risk letting sensitive information get on paper; Voldemort was extremely controlling, and who knew what methods he would use to monitor him.

Narcissa nodded: "Okay."

With the core of the conversation now clear, Regulus relaxed and his tone became more casual: "Cousin, how is old Mr. Malfoy in health?"

He asked the question naturally, like a junior caring for an elder.