Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 579 Andromeda gave birth to Nymphadora

Alphad dashed to the bedroom door in a few strides. Ted was already pressed against the door, his ears practically glued to it, his hands gripping the doorframe, extremely nervous.

Several witch friends followed and gathered around. The two from England walked in front, and the two from France followed behind hand in hand. The English male witch in the corner didn't push forward; he craned his neck and stood on tiptoe to look towards the door.

A small group of people crowded at the bedroom door, chattering away. All their voices combined couldn't outpace Alphad's.

Regulus remained seated on the sofa. Baruch, perched on Regulus's shoulder, turned the spider's head towards the bedroom before pulling it back in.

Alphad moved closer to Ted, hooking one arm around Ted's shoulder. He was completely overwhelmed with energy, his gray eyes shining brightly, and his mouth never stopped moving.

He was a head taller than Ted, and peeking through the crack in the door from behind, his chin almost touching Ted's head: "What did you hear?"

Ted shook his head: "I can't hear you."

Alpha leaned forward again, as if to hear more clearly: "Soon, it'll definitely be soon."

"When the kids are older, I'll take them to Camden to hear them live," he said, giving Ted a hard pat. "There's a high stool backstage that my drummer's son sits on, we can just add another one."

Ted absentmindedly hummed in agreement, his eyes fixed on the crack in the door.

"I've prepared a gift," Alfard said, raising his hand to show a size about the size of his palm: "a mini guitar, made of wood, with six strings. It can make a sound, but it's not very well tuned, believe it or not. Kids are most sensitive to sound; play a couple of notes for her and she'll remember it."

Ted hummed in agreement again.

"Once the child can walk, I'll teach her to ride a motorcycle, starting with a small one, with a soft cushion strapped to the back seat."

Ted finally looked away from the door and glanced at Alphad: "She hasn't come out yet."

Alphad chuckled and said, "Calm down."

"You want me to calm down?" Ted's face was filled with disbelief. "Who's not calm?"

Alphad's eyes widened: "I'm not calm? What's wrong with me being calm?"

His voice was even louder than before, and he spread his hands: "Look at yourself, pressed against the door like a gecko, who isn't calm?"

Ted's lips twitched, then tightened again, his attention still on the door.

Alphad showed no sign of backing down, and opened his mouth again: "Why are you so nervous? There are two therapists inside, and one of them is the best in France."

You won't be of any help even if you stand here until tomorrow morning, so relax!

He patted Ted on the shoulder again, this time with more force, making Ted wince.

The sounds and laughter coming from the doorway drifted towards the sofa, and Regulus's senses remained focused on the bedroom.

The baby's magic reaches its peak in the final stages before birth, when the signals in the sensory field of vision become so chaotic that they are no longer discernible.

Chaos, disorder, the transformations of the Disguised Magus and the activity of primal magic were all mixed together, all directions were moving at the same time, all forms were changing at the same time, and colors were jumping faster than ever before.

The guardian mark was operating in the very center of this chaos, and the blue of Betelgeuse was small and quiet in the surging magic of the infant.

It's still working, but the edges have become fuzzy and blurry.

The chaotic magic kept crashing against the guardian mark amidst the turmoil. At first, it only touched it occasionally, but later it became a continuous flood.

The edge of the mark was seeping in, the blue light was being diluted, and the boundary was dissipating layer by layer.

The connection between him and the Guardian Mark was fading. Before, it was a clear signal loop, with magic flowing back and forth.

The signal on the loop is getting weaker, and the other end is getting farther and farther away, fainter and fainter.

Regulus let it all happen.

Alphad's voice drifted over from the doorway again, saying something about giving the child a rock-and-roll nickname. Ted replied, "Don't even think about it." A witch nearby chuckled.

In a certain instant, the baby's magic transformed from chaos into order.

All the chaotic magic collided with an unseen boundary, where it paused for an extremely brief moment, like the moment when the tide is at its highest point and then it began to recede.

All directions and forms unified in the same instant, a convergence emanating from within life itself. Without any intervention from external will, the baby's magic completed this action on its own.

The chaos was twisted into a single entity, and the whole process was extremely fast, taking only a breath or two in his perception.

But the changes that occurred in just one or two breaths were more than all the previous months combined. The power that the baby's magic displayed at the moment of its contraction shook his senses.

The instincts that erupt from an unborn life in the very first moment of independence are more intense than what most adult wizards can achieve in their entire lives.

The converging waves spread outwards from the inside, drawing in all the magic that passed through them.

The residual magic of Andromeda's mother, the transformative magic of Disguise Magus's talent, and his protective mark of Betelgeuse were all swallowed up.

In the instant the baby's magic recedes, it cannot distinguish between what is its own and what is foreign; it recognizes everything as its own and integrates it all.

The blue of Betelgeuse, which had been an independently operating magical vortex, became part of the whole; its outline disappeared, its boundaries disappeared, and it merged into it.

The will to protect transformed from Regulus's magic into Nymphadora's magic.

In his perception, the connection with the guardian mark became a faint echo, very distant and soft, the tail of a sound that only returned after a long time.

It took root in Nymphadora's magic and became a part of her.

From the doorway, Alphad's voice grew increasingly excited.

He asked Ted, "What color is your hair?"

"have no idea."

"Guess one."

"Black," Ted said, his entire attention focused on the doorway. "Andromeda is black."

Alphad smacked his lips. He also guessed it was black, from the Black family, where black hair was the only legitimate hair.

Regulus sat on the sofa, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He glanced down at his right hand, the very hand that had held the protective will of Betelgeuse in Andromeda's stomach a few months ago, and now a tiny voice was responding to him.

He lowered his hand, his gray eyes looking towards the bedroom, his mind naturally taking a turn.

Protective magic can be integrated and absorbed during the fetal stage, and at the moment of birth, all existing...

The magic within the body will be drawn in and become part of life.

What about the reverse?

If a curse is implanted during fetal development, at the moment of birth, the binding will swallow the curse along with the fetus. The curse becomes part of the magic, growing together with life and cannot be separated.

The underlying principle of Bloodborne is probably this: the fetal period is the best window.

Perhaps we could try our luck and choose a lucky family.

We'll talk about that later; he's more curious about something else right now.

When he placed the Guardian Mark inside, it was just a fixed amount of magical power. Now it has been absorbed by Nymphadora's magic and has become a part of her.

What about ten years from now? What about twenty years from now?

As Nymphadora's magic grows from infancy to adulthood, will the guardian mark that was swallowed grow with her, or will it remain at the size it was when she put it in?

He was starting to wonder about the answer.

The mark in his magic was just a solidified will; once released, it was gone and would not move again.

But it's inside Nymphadora's body now, and Nymphadora will grow.

As her magic expands, will the blue mass that was swallowed also expand along with her?

If it does, then Betelgeuse's protective will will grow as she grows.

A newborn is implanted with an external will at birth. Ten years later, when she begins to control her magic, what will she encounter first?

Is it a familiar blue magic that grew up with her, or a foreign object that doesn't fit in with her?

He leaned towards the former; the mark had been swallowed so cleanly that it had become a part of her and should grow with her.

It's a bit of a pity that the explosive will of Betelgeuse wasn't incorporated into the design at the time.

It would be even more interesting if both the will to protect and the will to erupt took root at the same time; perhaps they would even merge into purple?

The window was missed, what a pity.

Gaston stood at the apartment door without moving the entire time.

Isabel remained standing in her spot, her attention focused on the direction of the bedroom.

The moment the baby's magic receded, the magic within the entire apartment complex stirred, and she sensed it.

Sure enough, it's the Black family bloodline.

Her gaze shifted from the bedroom to Alphad, who was standing by the door with his arm around Ted's shoulder, and her smile softened.

The moment the protective mark was completely integrated, the magic power that had been bound within the infant's body was suddenly released.

A loud cry burst from the bedroom, so loud that the windows of the entire living room shook.

The French blonde witch grabbed the British witch next to her, and the two jumped and danced together. Two other witches also paired up and hugged each other.

Alfard took a step back, tilted his head back, and burst into laughter, the sound echoing in the living room and even drowning out the baby's cries.

He slapped Ted on the back: "The Tonks family has gained another member! Ted, you're a father now!"

Ted wiped his face, grinned, and his eyes reddened.

Regulus's lips unconsciously curved into a smile.

The crying inside grew louder and stronger.

He sat for a short while, then stood up, straightened his collar, and walked forward.

If there's one tiny possible impact from that protective mark, it's that Nymphadora might prefer blue in the future.

The bedroom door opened from the inside, and Madame Beaumont stood in the doorway, holding a small object wrapped in white cotton cloth.

Her face wore a calm expression that suggested she had done this kind of thing many times before and a warm smile that she felt every time she held a newborn life.

Ted had already rushed in, calling out Andromeda's name, followed by Andromeda's laughter that sounded like a sob.

Madame Beaumont carried the baby a few steps into the living room, and everyone gathered around.

Alphad's head was closest, his gray eyes wide open, while several witches squeezed behind him, standing on tiptoe to see, two of them wiping their eyes.

Madame Beaumont stood in the middle of the crowd and slightly adjusted her holding position so that the swaddled baby was facing outwards.

Regulus's grey eyes looked past the heads and shoulders of several people and down to the baby in Madame Beaumont's arms.

Baruch poked his spider head out from his shoulder, his eight amber eyes staring at the bunch of heads huddled together for a while. He then rubbed his front legs against his collar, probably wanting to get a look too.

Regulus patted its spider head, and it became obedient.

A small face peeked out from inside the white cotton swaddle, eyes tightly closed, mouth wide open, as if it had just let out its last cry.

On its head, there was a tiny tuft of blue baby hair.