Regulus's View on Power

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Regulus didn't rush to answer; he was also pondering, what is true power?

He actually thinks about this problem a lot.

He didn't have a single ready-made answer in his mind, but he had a whole set of ideas taking shape: a view of power.

According to Regulus, Magic power can be viewed on several levels.

The first level is conventional strength.

Dumbledore and Voldemort, one could even say, represent two top-level understandings of power in the Wizarding World: one walks in the light, the other is shrouded in darkness.

Wherever there are wizards on Earth, there should be no one who hasn't heard of their reputation.

Even if there are shamans in the DR Congo, hiding deep in the rainforest, competing with monkeys for fruit, and having little contact with the outside world, they should have heard these two names from the occasional passing traveler.

A white wizard and a Dark Lord, both paths have reached their peak.

When Regulus first had an in-depth discussion about Magic with Dumbledore, Dumbledore mentioned a concept.

Let Magic do things its own way, and let the world do things for you.

Regulus sometimes thought that perhaps everything Dumbledore understood could be achieved through Magic.

After all, the world is on his side.

He believed in love, and love became his strength; he believed in light, and light obeyed his command.

If I had to describe the feeling, it was like the heavens and earth were conspiring with me when the time was right.

Voldemort is another direction.

Regulus had never seen Voldemort, but he could speculate.

Voldemort was terrified of death, so much so that he went mad and tore his own soul to pieces, hiding them in various objects.

He used Magic to its fullest extent, to a degree that others wouldn't even dare to imagine, tearing apart souls and transcending death.

Dumbledore said that no one has gone further down the path of the Dark Arts than Voldemort.

Regulus believed it, of course, but he felt the key to the statement wasn't in Dark Arts, but in the distant past.

According to Regulus, Voldemort probably believed that Magic should have no boundaries, or at least that boundaries were meant to be broken.

He believed that Magic could be pushed further, to heights that others wouldn't even dare to imagine, and he was the one pushing it forward.

Magic opened a new path for him, because he had the courage and the ability.

These are the two directions that Regulus see as conventionally powerful: Dumbledore gets the world to help him, Voldemort pushes Magic to its limits.

The second level is the path Regulus himself is walking.

What he had in his mind was different from that of most wizards.

He possesses the Magic knowledge of the Wizarding World, the scientific knowledge of Muggle, and a broader worldview, but it only exists in his imagination.

Those things are neither scientific nor Magic; they're purely imaginative. Some are absurd, some are outrageous, and some are so ridiculous that even I find them laughable.

The three sets of ideas swirled and clashed in his mind, giving rise to things that Wizards would never even consider.

For example, Space Magic.

He can now perform Spatial Warp, Spatial Network, and Spatial Anchor. He can create a temporary passage in space and has even touched the edge of Spatial Transfiguration.

But in his view, these are all just preparations. What he really wants to do is use Space Magic on a cosmic scale.

Warp drive, warp propulsion, or more directly, space travel, jumping from one galaxy to another without any intermediate steps—it's a single step.

The speed of light is too slow; compared to the vastness of the universe, it's no different from a snail crawling.

But space is different; space itself can be folded, distorted, and utilized.

If you can control the space, distance is not a problem.

And that formula, E=mc², not only can it be used for explosions, it itself reveals the channel between Magic and physics.

Magic Power can be transformed into and out of the material world; Magic can do what physics can do, and even do it more thoroughly.

For example, Light Magic.

What he can do now is use light to convey emotions, making the target's brain treat the external information as its own thoughts.

But if we continue down that path, light will no longer be just a carrier; it can also be information itself, a weapon itself, or a concept itself.

Even further, one could weave oneself into the light, or become the light.

He had many more of these ideas, each requiring the involvement of Magic, but the underlying logic was often physical and mathematical.

These are all ways to enable Magic to do what physics can do, and even what physics cannot do, and to do it faster, farther, and more thoroughly.

He told Dumbledore, "Make Magic more like Magic." Perhaps the old man didn't understand, or perhaps he understood but didn't take it seriously, or perhaps he thought it was just a child talking big.

But this is his requirement for himself: not to turn Magic into physics, but to give Magic the certainty and scalability of physics, while retaining Magic own flexibility and infinity.

Then there's the third, other forms of power, such as the ability to choose.

Dumbledore chose to believe in love, Voldemort chose to transcend death, Grindelwald chose the Greater Good.

Every choice brings power, or rather, it is power that enables them to make that choice.

Regulus couldn't say for sure which came first, but he knew that the choice itself was a manifestation of power.

For a powerless person, choices are cheap, because even if they choose, they cannot fulfill them.

But for those with power, choices carry weight; once a choice is made, the consequences must be borne.

Because every choice comes at a price, and every choice involves giving up something else.

Dumbledore gave up readily available power for his choice and lived a lonely life.

Voldemort abandoned everything that made him human for his choice, turning himself into something neither human nor monster.

Grindelwald gave up his freedom for his choice and was imprisoned in the highest tower of Nurmengard.

The moment they made their choice, they had already blocked all other paths.

But Regulus believed that true strength was probably the ability to make choices and bear the consequences of those choices.

Another example is the level of understanding.

Regulus increasingly felt that true strength was not about being able to defeat someone, but about being able to see things that others could not.

Cognition determines the upper limit.

His understanding of Magic, his understanding of the world, and his understanding of himself will determine where he can go.

Magic can be practiced, spells can be learned, but knowledge cannot be acquired through mere effort.

It requires experience, reflection, and someone to point it in the right direction before you can walk that path yourself.

Finally, the ability to not be defined.

Dumbledore was defined by light, Voldemort by fear; they were both confined by their own definitions.

It seems that once you've made a selection, you can't change it.

Regulus didn't want that; he didn't want to be defined; he wanted the freedom to choose.

Therefore, he needs power, even greater power.

He stopped thinking about it and pulled himself out of his thoughts. Sirius was still leaning against the railing, waiting for him to speak.

He couldn't possibly voice all those thoughts he had just had; some things he could only tell himself, and some things he couldn't even think about too deeply.

But he can tell Sirius some things.

Regulus spoke casually, "You think true power is about being able to defeat someone, protect someone, and make others afraid to mess with you. That's true, but that's only part of power, not the whole thing."

Sirius didn't speak, waiting for him to continue.

Regulus asked, "Do you know why you were able to leave the Black family?"

Sirius straightened up abruptly, turned to look at him, his expression somewhat agitated: "Of course I relied on myself--"

"Is your family pursuing you?" Regulus interrupted him.

Sirius's words caught in his throat.

Regulus glanced at him, then changed the subject, saying, "Now you know why I took that Bone Box."

Sirius lowered his eyes and nodded very slightly.

"How could Voldemort do that?" Regulus continued, "He didn't even have to show himself to make me choose that way."

Sirius's lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

"Dumbledore," Regulus said. "He doesn't even need to show his face to make many people make the choices he wants."

Sirius remained silent.

Regulus said calmly, "This is power."

Sirius remained silent, and Regulus said nothing more.

After a moment of silence, Sirius finally spoke, his voice very soft. "You once told me to try all the Magic I could get my hands on, to see which area I could improve in the fastest."

Regulus glanced at him sideways, then looked away.

"I've found it," Sirius continued. "Transfiguration."

Regulus gave a soft "hmm".

"Professor McGonagall said I have Morphing Intuition, that it's a talent." Sirius's tone was a little awkward. "I've been practicing, and I'm improving pretty quickly, you saw it just now."

Regulus said, "I see it, not bad."

Sirius's lips curled up slightly, then quickly fell back down.

He paused for a moment, then asked casually, as if it were something he had just thought of, "Does that thing affect you?"

Regulus knew what he was asking and countered, "What do you think?"

Sirius looked up and glanced at him.

Regulus stood there, his hand on the railing, his face expressionless, devoid of any trace of Dark Arts, without that corrosive gloom, nothing at all.

Sirius scoffed, pursed his lips, and looked away. He could tell that Regulus seemed unaffected.

After a moment of silence, Sirius cleared his throat, his tone more relaxed but still a little unnatural. "What was that Spatial Transfiguration you were doing in the office earlier?"

Regulus looked out the window, a slight smile playing on his lips, "Spatial Transfiguration."

Sirius grinned, his voice tinged with impatience but not anger. "I know it's Spatial Transfiguration, I mean, is that thing difficult?"

Regulus turned to look at him, and asked in return, "What do you think?"

Sirius was speechless. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. The expression on his face changed from frustration to defiance, and from defiance to resignation.

Regulus stopped beating around the bush, but didn't specify how difficult it was either. "First, learn Apparition, or be able to catch a House-elf."

Sirius paused for a moment. "Catch House-elf? Those things Apparition faster than anyone else, how are you going to catch one?"

Regulus didn't tell him how to catch it; whether he caught it or not wasn't the key point. The key point was whether he could sense the space.

"Spatial Transfiguration requires a sense of space, Apparition is the most basic introduction," he said. "As for catching House-elf, that might be a bit too difficult for you."

Sirius's lips twitched; he wanted to retort, but couldn't find a point to make.

He snorted and looked away.

The windowsill fell silent again.

Regulus pulled his hand off the railing and brushed non-existent dust off his robe. "Time to eat."

He turned and walked down the Corridor.

Sirius stood there for a moment, then caught up.

The two walked one after the other, their footsteps echoing on the stone wall. As they neared the stairwell, Sirius asked, "How old were you Apparition?"

Regulus said, "Eleven years old."

Sirius paused for a moment, then continued walking.

The two went down the stairs and turned into the Main Corridor, where the torches were more numerous and brighter than upstairs, making the stone walls appear yellowish.

The sounds of voices from the Great Hall drifted from afar, mingling with the clinking of Tableware, creating a steamy atmosphere.