Foundation

Thursday night's Astronomy class was held in the Castle's highest Astronomy Tower.

The late September sky was clear, and the air of the Scottish Highlands was cold and crystalline.

"Tonight, we will learn to locate the ruler of the night sky, Sirius." Professor Aurora Sinistra's voice was as gentle as the night wind.

She was an elderly witch, her silver hair neatly coiled behind her head. Tiny Constellation Patterns were embroidered on her robes, and she seemed to carry starlight with her as she walked.

"Sirius is not only the brightest star in the night sky. In magical terms, it is also regarded as a symbol of guidance and loyalty. Many ancient navigation spells and long-distance communication spells rely on observing it for positioning."

The students worked in pairs, operating telescopes mounted on brass stands. Regulus was paired with Alex Rosier.

Avery claimed he had no interest whatsoever in staring at a few Light Points all night, and had long since retreated to a corner with several Slytherin boys to yawn.

"First, calibrate the level on the base," Regulus quietly instructed the somewhat flustered Alex.

"Right, keep the bubble in the center. Then release the vertical lock and point the telescope southeast, at an elevation of roughly twenty degrees."

Alex followed his instructions and looked through the eyepiece. "It's all blurry."

"Because you haven't adjusted the focus." Regulus reached over and gently turned the knob on the telescope. "Take it slowly. Look for a very bright star with a slightly bluish-white color."

After adjusting it for a while, Alex suddenly let out a soft cry. "I see it! It's so bright, like a blue-white gem. It's really beautiful."

"That is Sirius." Regulus leaned over another telescope himself.

He skillfully completed the calibration and focusing, and the star appeared clearly in his field of vision.

Through the magically enhanced astronomical telescope, he could see an exceedingly faint halo around it, pulsing as though it were breathing.

It was a sight Muggle telescopes could never reveal. Though there was no evidence for it, the Wizarding World believed it to be the magical radiance emitted by stars.

"Very good, Mr. Roxier." Professor Sinistra drifted over to their side. "Now record its position using the coordinate grid on the Star Chart. Pay attention to the Ecliptic Reference Line."

After the professor walked away, Alex asked in a low voice, "How are you so skilled? It's like you've used one many times before."

"There is a similar one at home," Regulus answered. The Black family did indeed own an antique astronomical telescope, though he had never used it.

"So what use is Astronomy, really?" Alex muttered as he awkwardly recorded the coordinates. "Other than stars being pretty to look at..."

"It is more useful than you think." Regulus looked at Sirius through the eyepiece, recalling what he had read in the family library.

"The preparation of many advanced potions requires precise lunar phases and stellar positions. Many key ingredients for Felix Felicis, for instance, must be harvested according to specific lunar phases and celestial signs.

"Certain variants of ancient Runic script also vary in magical strength according to the positions of constellations."

He continued, "Not to mention that many ancient magical contracts, family rituals, and even the Castle's protective magic have fluctuations in power tied to the cycles of the stars.

"Understanding the Starry sky is, in a sense, interpreting the hidden clock of the magical world."

Alex listened in a daze. "This... isn't written in the textbooks."

"Because that is material for higher years, or," Regulus said blandly, "part of certain family inheritances."

Professor Sinistra clapped her hands then, drawing everyone's attention. "Now shift your telescope about fifteen degrees to the left and lower the elevation by five degrees.

"You will see three bright stars arranged in an almost equally spaced straight line. That is Orion's Belt. Record their positions and relative angles."

Regulus did as instructed, but when the three stars entered his field of view, his movements paused slightly.

It was not only because of their beauty, but because of that arrangement.

Three stars: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka.

In Muggle astronomy, they were merely three stars hundreds of light-years from Earth, unrelated to one another and only appearing to form a line because of visual projection.

But through the magically enhanced telescope, Regulus saw something different.

Despite being so far apart, the magical radiance emitted by the three stars was not entirely independent.

Extremely faint streams of Magic Power, like spider silk, flowed slowly between them, forming a paper-thin triangle of energy.

He swiftly recorded the coordinates of the three stars on the Star Chart and linked them with dotted lines, marking the angles.

The line connecting Orion's Belt Stars was nearly perfectly straight, yet it still possessed an insignificant curve—a deviation negligible on a cosmic scale, but perhaps crucial in the application of Magic.

Regulus could construct precise geometric models of constellations in his mind, simulate stellar positions, and even calculate their trajectories.

Just moments ago, he had instinctively extrapolated the changes in their relative positions a hundred years later based on their current positions and known proper-motion data.

He thought rapidly. Stars moved. Slowly, but the three stars of Orion's Belt each had their own directions and speeds within the Milky Way.

Could that movement also be part of their magical properties?

He made his decision at once. He would use absolutely precise calculations and spatial imagination to incorporate the true movement of constellations into his meditation.

Just then, Professor Sinistra's voice interrupted his thoughts. "I see that many of you have finished recording.

"Remember, the meaning of Astronomy does not lie in memorizing the names of a few constellations, but in understanding the eternal rhythm contained within the movement of the stars.

"Class dismissed."

Eternal rhythm. Regulus put away his Star Chart, the words echoing in his heart.

In the early hours of the morning, the Dormitory was utterly silent.

Regulus sat cross-legged within his Four-poster bed, its curtains drawn as the Muffling Charm quietly took effect.

He closed his eyes and sank into the depths of his consciousness.

He performed the Magic Guidance Cycle and Starry Sky Meditation at the same time.

Within his body, Magic Power flowed like a gentle stream along familiar paths, nourishing every inch of flesh and blood.

This was the tempering of the body, the foundation of all foundations.

At the same time, at the highest level of his consciousness, he constructed a model of Orion's Belt.

Based on the astronomical data in his memory, the subtle deviations he had observed, the trajectories he had calculated, and the stars' own movement, he gave those three Light Points an exceedingly slow tendency to move in specific directions.

A static framework and a dynamic tendency.

Then, he began trying to align the rhythm of the Magic Power circulating within his body with the dynamic tendency of those three Light Points in his mind.

It did not go smoothly at first. The circulation of Magic Power within his body was a tangible, perceptible flow.

The movement of the stars, on the other hand, was an abstract tendency that was nearly motionless. The two seemed to exist in different dimensions.

But Regulus was patient. He focused all his attention on that dynamic model, sensing the tension of movement that was almost nonexistent, yet truly present.

Then, he began making exceedingly minute adjustments to the speed of the Magic Power cycle within his body, subtly changing the tone of the entire circulation, making it more solemn, slower, and steadier.

Time passed in silence. Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes.

Then, all at once, something aligned.

It was not that Magic Power truly drew a Constellation Pattern within his body.

It was a deeper synchronization. The state of existence of the circulation within his body and the essential movement of the stellar model in his mind achieved a harmonious resonance on the Mental Layer.

In that instant, Regulus felt two entirely different improvements occur at once.

The originally gentle, nourishing Magic Power cycle seemed to be infused with a firmer, weightier quality.

Wherever Magic Power flowed, it brought not only nourishment, but also a strange sense of reinforcement, as though his muscle fibers and bone density were being strengthened more effectively through this synchronized resonance.

A wholly new sense of strength slowly rose from the depths of his limbs and body.

Moreover, maintaining the dynamic model was itself an extreme exercise in mental concentration. Yet at the moment he truly synchronized with the stars' movement, he felt as if his consciousness had been anchored, becoming clearer and steadier.

The everyday clutter of thoughts, the chaotic whispers of Magic Power that filled the Castle, and even the alienation and loneliness deep within him that belonged to a transmigrator were all soothed by a vast and tranquil image.

His soul seemed to have found a solid foundation, becoming calmer and harder to shake.

This was a qualitative transformation.

Regulus maintained that state, carefully experiencing every subtle change.

As Magic Power circulated in synchronization, not only did it recover faster, but Magic Power itself seemed to become more condensed and obedient.

He realized that he might have inadvertently touched upon a deeper magical truth.

Body, mind, and Magic Power had never been three isolated elements. They could be integrated, promote one another, and ascend together.

In his heart, he named this newly integrated method Star-track Guidance Meditation.

From then on, bodily tempering and mental meditation no longer needed to be carried out separately. They could become a complete practice, treating himself as a whole and actively seeking synchronization.

Thus, his foundation was formed.