Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 598 A Glance

The platform was quiet, the hissing of the steam from the locomotive amplified several times in the silence, and white steam drifted along the ground, creeping over people's shoes and skirts.

Regulus walked toward the carriage, and the people around him watched him. His body didn't move, but his head did. With each step he took forward, a bunch of heads would turn around beside him.

Even the owl in the cage quietly turned its big head, its round eyes bright and alert, following his movements.

The toad was probably the only one unaffected on the entire platform, continuing to jump around as usual.

Then a shout came from the diagonal rear: "Regulus Avery Cuthbert's voice, full of energy, so excited he was doing the splits, the whole platform could hear it."

The silence shattered, and sound returned. Half a minute of silence ended just like that.

The platform came back to life, and people began to prepare for action.

Several adult pure-blood wizards, feeling they were qualified, took a step toward Regulus.

A middle-aged man in a black robe had a warm smile on his face, his mouth half-open, probably ready to exchange pleasantries.

Several older Slytherins also took a couple of steps toward them, and one of the seventh-year boys even reached out his hand.

Regulus turned his head, expressionless and emotionless, his gray eyes sweeping over him, giving him just a glance.

Everyone who was walking stopped, their minds going completely blank.

Everyone's feet were rooted to the ground, their outstretched hands froze in mid-air, the words they were about to say stuck in their throats, and their smiles froze.

Regulus's gaze passed over the people who had stopped and landed on the other side of the platform in the distance.

Eleanor Bornes stood in the crowd of Hufflepuffs, her light brown hair tied in a loose bun. When she saw Regulus looking in her direction, she smiled, revealing her canine tooth, and waved generously.

Susan Payne, standing nearby, shrank back, took two steps to the side, and hid behind Eleanor.

Regulus smiled and nodded in that direction.

With that smile, the momentary stagnation dissipated, and those who had been frozen came to their senses, their gazes dispersed, and they all stopped moving.

The seventh-grade boy withdrew his hand, coughed dryly, and pretended nothing had happened. The middle-aged man in the black robe twitched his lips, his expression complex, and turned to talk to the person next to him.

Some people had lingering fear on their faces, while others looked more thoughtful.

Of course, some people were unaffected; there was no shortage of skilled wizards on the platform.

Several older pure-blood wizards merely narrowed their eyes slightly, their gaze lingering on Regulus's retreating figure for a moment, their lips curving downwards.

An old witch in a dark green robe stood by a pillar, a long pipe dangling from her mouth. Her gaze slid from Regulus's face to the people who had stopped around him. She took the pipe out of her mouth and exhaled a puff of smoke.

Regulus's gaze continued to the side, and a few carriages away, he saw the Potter family.

Charles and Euphemia stood together, Euphemia's hand on Sirius's shoulder.

Sirius was looking at him, with James Potter next to him, and Remus Lupin and Peter Pediru next to him.

Sirius's face was hard to decipher.

He must have sensed that he had been removed from the list; the moment his name on the tapestry was burned, the connection in his blood that had lasted for hundreds of years was severed.

It's not exactly painful, nor is it exactly relaxing; it's just like there's a void inside.

You'll get used to it. From now on, you can eat, play, and fly as you please. Euphemia's chicken legs are delicious enough, and Charles won't stop him from wearing Muggle clothes.

With the burden lifted, the Potters provided meals, lodging, and even walks – just the result he wanted.

There was no storming out, no swearing oaths, no angry confrontation; a name simply vanished from the tapestry, a...

The surname was removed from the family tree, and a Blake walked out of the Blake family's world—a peaceful evolution, one might say.

He and Sirius looked at each other for a moment, then looked away.

James Porter's expression was grim; his mouth was tightly shut, his brows furrowed, and he stared at Regulus.

In the past, he would probably say sarcastic things, curse people, and loudly express his disdain. After he finished speaking, he would look around to see if anyone nodded in agreement.

But he was also inside the platform for half a minute just now, and the feeling of quietness filling the entire place truly hit him.

Regulus glanced at it, then immediately looked away, his gaze landing on the platform slabs, on the wheels of the suitcases, and on the toes of the shoes of the person next to him.

Charles and Euphemia nodded gently to Regulus, and Regulus nodded back.

Then his gaze shifted back and landed on Lupin.

I didn't look at him intentionally; it was just a fleeting glance, a glimpse of his tail, lasting less than half a second.

But Regulus is not the same as he was two months ago.

After Betelgeuse lit up the sky over the wasteland, his spirit and magic continued to rise rapidly.

Each time a new star is lit up during Star Trail Meditation, an adaptation period begins. During this period, mental strength and total magical power continue to increase, as do physical strength and the soul minifigure.

Growth brings spillover effects, not huge, but a little bit of magic, a little bit of spirit, woven into every daily action, every glance.

He could suppress it if he wanted to, using the computing power in his mind to suppress, shrink, and push back those things that were spreading outward, but he's too lazy to do it now.

That requires effort, constant maintenance, and investing energy in a place where it's not really worth the effort.

In daily life, the spilled food doesn't affect his walking, eating, or speaking; it only affects others.

Those standing next to him feel that his presence is stronger than that of ordinary people, his gaze is more intense than that of ordinary people, and his silence is more oppressive than that of ordinary people.

He was aware of these changes, but didn't pay much attention to them. Being far away or not consciously aware of them, the impact was minimal.

However, he does have an opinion about Lupin.

Lupin swayed slightly, his left foot shifted half a step to the side, and his head tilted as if he had been hit by something.

After regaining his footing, he was completely bewildered. For a moment, his mind went blank, and his feet felt unsteady.

Charles put his hand on Lupin's shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Euphemia leaned over to take a look.

"It's nothing," Lu Ping rubbed his forehead. "I probably just didn't sleep well and was a little dazed."

Charles looked at Regulus's back, who had already turned his head away.

He had run into Regulus many times on the platform, and the boy was always polite to him and Euphemia, never being rude.

There's a separate way of expressing feelings for Sirius, he might not be too fond of James, and there's never any mention of Remus and Peter.

Remus is a werewolf, and Regulus, with his level of skill, would have known this long ago; there was no way he could hide it from him.

But Regulus's attitude toward Remus had never changed because of this. He had always ignored Remus's werewolf identity, Remus himself, and Remus's presence with Sirius Black, just as he had with Peter.

That last glance was different; Charles could tell what it was.

A skilled wizard, once his will and spirit are strong enough, can exert pressure on those around him.

That has nothing to do with magic; it's purely a matter of the spiritual realm. If one's will is strong enough and one's spirit is deep enough, one's very existence will radiate pressure outwards. This pressure can be contained or not.

It's not surprising that Regulus did this; what's surprising is the direction of this oppression.

Charles was certain that the look was precise; Peter was standing right next to Remus, and nothing happened to him, only Remus was dazed.

Regulus was a good boy, and his kindness to Sirius surprised even Sirius. He was always very polite to the Potters.

Previously, there was no information about Remus, but this time there was pressure, clearly accompanied by emotion. Why?

He glanced at Remus, who was still rubbing his forehead, probably genuinely believing he hadn't slept well.

He glanced again at Sirius, who was baring his teeth and making faces at Regulus's back, and finally at his eldest son beside him, who was twisting his head and refusing to look at Regulus.

Can't figure it out.

Sirius finished making funny faces, grabbed James's shoulder, and jokingly pushed him toward the carriage. His complicated emotions passed in two seconds, and he was back to his dashing, irresistible manner.

Charles shook his head, patted Lupin on the shoulder, and nudged Peter.

"Let's go, get in the car."

Regulus walked to the vicinity of a carriage.

Avery stood at the carriage door, so excited he was about to take off, his eyes shining, as if he wanted to rush over, pick him up, and shake him.

Hermes leaned against the carriage, his hands in his robe pockets, his face expressionless, looking completely indifferent.

Alex stood next to Hermes and smiled gently as Regulus approached, carrying his own suitcase.

Lina, on the other side, rolled her eyes around in a way that strangely resembled Baruch's.

Samuel, standing next to Lina, had a more composed expression and was also looking at Regulus, giving a slight nod.

I haven't seen these guys for a whole holiday, and I still don't miss them at all.

Sebastian Cuthbert stood next to Avery, leaning on a walking stick in his right hand.

His smile was warm. He stepped forward, raised his right hand, and patted Regulus on the shoulder: "Regulus."

"Mr. Cuthbert," Regulus nodded.

Avery grinned, looking at his father and then at Regulus, rubbing his hands together in front of his chest.

Abros Murseb stood a little further away, dressed in black with a gloomy face, and nodded to Regulus.

"Blake".

"Mr. Murseb".

Abros leaned forward slightly: "Please convey my thanks to Mr. Black."

With the disappearance of the Roll family, Orion is steadily shifting the vacant positions and resources towards the Murseb family, as previously planned.

"I will, Mr. Murseb."

Abros nodded and stepped back.

Hermes' eyelids lifted slightly, then drooped again, his expression blank; after a holiday apart, the gloom on his face had deepened.

Regulus glanced at him.

I'll beat him up again when school starts.

Alex's parents stood a little further away, not with Cuthbert and Mulce, about a dozen steps apart.

Regulus walked over: "Mr. Rozier, Mrs. Rozier."

Mr. Rozier extended his hand and shook it earnestly: "Regulus, thank you for taking care of Alex all this time."

Alex came up from behind and stood next to his parents, smiling shyly.

Regulus glanced back at him: "Of course."

Lena's mother and Samuel's father were further away, on the other side of the platform, against the wall.

Both families are of mixed race; they didn't try to be purebred.

Regulus nodded in that direction.

Lena's mother paused for a moment, then bowed slightly. Samuel's father was clearly flattered and quickly nodded.

Regulus turned back: "Lina, Samuel."

Lina's smile was bright, her eyes curving into crescents, and her voice was clear and crisp: "Regrus."

Samuel also called out, "Regulus."

Old Cuthbert glanced at his watch, waved to the group of young people, and said, "Alright, alright, get in the car. We can talk about it once we're up there."

Avery grabbed Regulus's sleeve and darted toward the carriage door, pulling Regulus up with him.

His father was watching from the side, and he couldn't very well beat him in front of everyone; it wouldn't look right if they were pulling and tugging at each other like that.

Some young wizards in the carriage corridor saw Regulus get on, but no one went forward.

They had seen what happened on the platform, including the scene where someone tried to get closer but was stopped in place by a single glance. They watched from a distance as he walked inside.

As they approached the door of the private room where they had always sat, Lina rolled her eyes, glancing at Alex, then at Regulus, and finally meeting Samuel's gaze.

"Samuel and I saw it; we were right below when Regulus made his announcement in Diagon Alley."

Avery turned his head sharply, his eyes instantly lighting up.

He loosened Regulus's sleeve, grabbed Lina and Samuel by the arms with both hands, and pulled them into the private room: "Come in, come in, all of you come in. Explain yourselves clearly." The six people rushed into the private room, and the door closed.

The train whistle sounded, the train slowly moved forward, and the platform began to recede.

Baruch climbed out of the inner bag, and with a kick of his eight short legs, jumped onto the small table between the two rows of seats.

Its front legs gripped the window frame, its hind legs braced against the table, and its eight amber eyes stared at the scenery rushing past outside the window.

Fields and hills flashed past the window, turning from green to brown and then back to green again, with a river shimmering in the sunlight in the distance.

It occasionally turned its body to look at the three little spiders that were making noise on the other side, clicked twice, but no one paid any attention to it.

It ignored everyone else and turned its head back to continue looking at the scenery.

Regulus looked out the window.

The skies over Scotland are getting darker.