Heard Your House Lost Power?

After finishing his dinner, Regulus left the Great Hall restaurant and casually took away a piece of pan-fried beef—thickly sliced, still bloody, and tender.

Pushing open the Dormitory door, a pungent smell of burning protein hit my face first.

Avery and Alex were huddled together at the desk, their heads pressed together, blocking the surface.

Hermes stood beside them with his arms crossed, leaning against the bedpost. His usually gloomy face showed no impatience. He leaned forward slightly, his gaze passing over the two of them and landing on the table.

"Regulus, come quick!" Avery turned around, his eyes shining, and slammed his finger on the table. "Come quick, come quick!"

Regulus walked over, Alex stepped half a step to the side.

Baruk, about the size of a palm, lay sprawled on the desk. His dark red bristles gleamed reddish-brown in the green light of the fireplace, his eight legs tucked to his sides, and his chelicerae slightly outstretched.

A small patch of spiderweb lay spread out in front of it, with a charred edge around it, and white smoke was rising from it.

That's where the burnt smell of burning hair and nails comes from.

"Try again," Avery nudged Hermes with his elbow. "Just once."

Hermes exhaled through his nose, his arms still crossed, wand in his right hand, and with a slight flick of his wrist, he pointed in Baruk's direction.

A small fireball, slightly larger than a pea and orange-red, condensed at the tip of the staff and slowly floated toward the table.

Regulus glanced at it again; he was quite steady on his feet, something he couldn't do last semester.

Then he looked away and focused his gaze on Baruk.

Baruk made a series of clicking sounds, then stuck out his rear end, shooting out a piece of spider silk that spread into a fine net in mid-air, catching the small fireball head-on. The web wrapped around the fireball, and with a hissing sound, white smoke billowed out from the gaps in the web, and the smell of burning protein became even stronger.

The spider web was charred black, and its edges curled up under the heat of the fireball, but it didn't break.

"See that!" Avery slapped Alex on the back, causing Alex to stumble forward and nearly hit the table. He turned and glared at Avery. Regulus ignored them both, his Magic Perception and vision simultaneously covering them, Baruk's Magic Power system spreading out within his senses.

The three independent circuits—the venom gland branch, the arachnoid gland branch, and the visual branch—are operating stably, just like last semester.

However, the Fire Affinity branch grafted from the Salamander has changed its position.

When it was first implanted, this new branch was like an outsider, stuck in the gap between the poison gland and the spider silk gland. The flow of Magic Power was clearly separate from the host system, and it was only thanks to the buffer of Natural Magic Power that it did not fight.

That's not the case anymore.

The Fire Affinity branch still started in place, but its ends had grown fine, whisker-like extensions that circled twice along the spider silk gland branch, like vines wrapping around a tree trunk.

The Magic Circuit of the arachnid gland branches are also responding.

At the points where the whiskers touched, the same patterns emerged on the circuits of the arachnid glands, originating from the same source as the gradient traces from dark brown to dark red at the Baruk joint.

The two sets of Magic Power are permeating each other.

The spider silk gland branch originally only had two Magic Power attributes: spraying and solidification. Now, it has been entangled with the Fire Affinity branch, adding an extra layer of Magic Power attachment to the solidification stage, Fire Affinity into it.

The spider silk that Baruk spewed out was being rewritten little by little, from its internal structure to its external properties.

It's still afraid of fire. The spider web wrapped around the fireball and held on for a few seconds, but the edges were already blackened and curled. Before, it would instantly turn to dust when it came into contact with an open flame, but now it can at least hold on for a while.

This is an ongoing process; it's not a one-time event after grafting.

After a new module enters the host system, the host system actively adapts to it.

The Fire Affinity branch is growing into the spider silk glands. Once it's fully grown, the poison gland branch will also be entangled, followed by the visual branch, and then the entire Magic Core.

When that day comes, Baruk will be imbued with Fire Affinity from head to toe, inside and out, just like Salamander is born with it. Regulus nodded. "That's good."

Baruk launched himself forward, his eight legs pushing off the table to leap onto his shoulder with a short thud.

Avery watched with longing eyes, Hermes watched blankly, and Alex simply watched.

Avery took a step forward and muttered, "I want to have one too."

Regulus looked up at him.

"I told my father," Avery said, quickening his pace and gesturing, "I said I wanted to keep a Acromantula, and that yours were so smart and powerful."

Alex, standing nearby, couldn't help but laugh out loud. He'd already heard him say it once, but it still sounded hilarious.

Avery turned to glare at him, then turned back, his shoulders slumped. "He pointed to the Study door and told me to get out."

Hermes's lips twitched; he thought this man acted completely haphazardly. Why ask his family for money?

If Regulus can get one, he can get a second; the search for him will never end.

He kept looking at Baruk; he wanted one of those little gadgets too.

Baruk was lying on the table, his claws tearing through the tendons of the Steak as he swallowed it with slurping sounds.

The feeding method of the Acromantula is completely different from that of ordinary spiders.

Ordinary spiders digest externally, injecting digestive juices into their prey to dissolve the internal organs into a liquid before sucking it in—essentially, they drink it.

The Acromantula was thousands of times larger, and its chelicerae functioned more like the jawbones of mammals, tearing apart chunks of flesh, crushing them with its mouthparts, and swallowing them. Regulus watched Baruk eat, his mind elsewhere.

The Acromantula is a level XxXX Magical Creature, untamable, and you should run away if you see it.

Baruk was very obedient in his hands, but that doesn't mean it wasn't dangerous.

It can stay in the Dormitory because the Transfiguration spell suppresses its size, and the small group of people can accept it. It even recognizes itself as the leader. Once the Dormitory door is closed, people outside don't know that a Level 5X Magical Creature lives there.

But what if you leave the Dormitory?

A Acromantula, over two meters long, crawls in the Corridor of Hogwarts, causing panic.

It happened once before, in 1943.

Tom Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets, Basilisk killed Myrtle Warren, finding her dead in the Washroom, eyes open, with no external wounds. Riddle pinned the crime on Hagrid's pet Aragog, who was expelled, his Hagrid broken, and Aragog fled into the Forbidden Forest. The headmaster at the time was Armando Dippet, an old-school wizard who believed in evidence—testimony, a murder weapon—and the case could be closed. Dumbledore, then Professor of Transfiguration, had never believed Hagrid was guilty, but he lacked the authority to overturn the headmaster's decision.

The Ministry of Magic wouldn't bother to investigate; the Basilisk's death by eye contact and the Acromantula's death by venom are completely different from any other, and a simple examination would reveal the problem.

But a large spider could be identified as the murder weapon, so the case could be closed down and no one would pursue it afterward.

If another Acromantula were to appear at Hogwarts, it would cause unnecessary trouble.

Regulus was certainly not worried about trouble of this magnitude, but there was no need to invite trouble.

Baruk sucked the last bit of meat off his chelicerae, then raised his foreleg and rubbed it against his bristles.

After nudging her, it swooped down in the direction of Hermes, its chelicerae opening to reveal the sharp tips of its fangs.

Hermes' lips twitched again. He drew his wand, and a small fireball, slightly larger than the previous one, emerged from its tip. It floated across the table and landed on Baruk.

With a soft sizzle, the grease and blood clinging to the bristles evaporated in the flames, and Baruk enjoyed a comfortable bath.

Its bristles were fluffed up, its amber eyes gleamed, its chelicerae opened and closed casually a couple of times, and then waved at Hermes, probably as a gesture.

Regulus looked down at it. "Want to go back to the Forbidden Forest?"

Baruk's chelicerae suddenly stopped, and then it emitted a series of sharp, clattering sounds.

It sprang up from the table with all eight legs pushing off at the same time, crawling from left to right and then from right to left on his shoulders, its front legs grabbing his collar and reaching up to climb onto his head.

Regulus reached out and pressed down on it, his fingers gently pressing against its carapace.

"It's not that I don't want you," he soothed gently, "Don't you want to go back and see me?"

Baruk circled his shoulder twice more, the bristles rustling against the collar of his robe.

Then it slowly quieted down, its eight legs tucked together, and it perched on his shoulder, its chelicerae opening and closing gently, emitting a low thud.

"... Baruk... not strong enough... Aragog's father... the giant spider."

Regulus's lips twitched upwards slightly.

This spider's ambition is blatantly obvious. It's not that it doesn't want to return, but rather that it feels it can't defeat Aragog even if it goes back now, so it simply chooses not to. It plans to wait until it becomes powerful enough to return and usurp the throne.

"Don't you miss your people?" Regulus asked again.

The Acromantula is a typical social creature. The branch in the Forbidden Forest descended from Aragog and Mosag, with dozens of them living together, building nests together, hunting collectively, and exhibiting a clear social structure.

Baruk followed him for over a month and never showed any longing for his tribe.

Baruk's eight eyes darted around, and its chelicerae gestured in the air. It first gave Avery a sharp nod. "Little spider." Avery grinned, finding the assessment quite apt.

He smacked Alex again. "Spider-Man."

Alex was amused, but then felt something was off; how did he end up being categorized as a spider?

He called out to Hermes, "Little spider."

Hermes shrugged, his face expressionless.

Baruk ran from Regulus's left shoulder to his right, raising his front legs and spreading them wide, twice the usual width. "Baruk, the Great Spider!"

Then it ran close to Regulus's ear and gently tapped his shoulder twice with its pincers. "Regulus... leader. The clan." Alex reacted first, nudging Avery: "It's talking about the clan, and we are its clan."

Avery blinked, then his smile widened.

Hermes maintained the same expression, but the corners of his mouth curved upwards slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Baruk, probably feeling he had arranged things quite well, lay down on Regulus's shoulder, tucked his front legs under his chest, rested his head on his front legs, and swayed contentedly.

Regulus's lips curled into a smile as he scooped it off his shoulder, walked to the bedside, placed it on the pillow, and said, "Then I won't go back." He then turned and left the Dormitory.

The Library wasn't crowded at this time.

On the second day of school, most students were still emerging from the relaxation of the holiday. Only a few older students were scattered in the study area, buried in piles of parchment.

Regulus walked around the bookshelf, stopped at the Alchemy section, ran his fingertips along the spines of the books, and pulled out a book titled "Basic Alchemy Theory: From Hermes to Paracelsus".

The gold lettering on the spine has peeled off somewhat, indicating that it hasn't been opened in a long time.

He stared at Hermes on the cover for a moment. Trismegistus, the legendary founder of Alchemy, the Triple Great Hermes. It was the same name as the gloomy boy from the Mulciber family.

He twitched his lips, tucked the book under his arm, and walked towards his usual spot by the window.

The UK Wizarding World was practically a wasteland when it came to Alchemy.

Nicolas Flamel was France, and the center of Alchemy was in continental Europe. There was little tradition of it in UK, and it was only an elective course for upperclassmen at Hogwarts. Knowledge about the interconversion of Magic Power and mass couldn't possibly be found on the public shelves of Library, and it might not even be in the Forbidden Section. He simply picked up a basic book to browse through and see how far the principles of Alchemy were described in public literature.

Turn past the last row of bookshelves, and you'll find someone already sitting in the corner seat by the window.

Lily sat in their usual spot, a book open in front of her, one hand supporting her chin, her fingers tucked into her red hair, the ends sticking out from between her fingers.

Her gaze remained fixed on the book, and she didn't turn a single page for a long time.

It was already dark outside the window, and her shadow was reflected in the glass. The lamplight overhead shone on her, outlining a warm yellow silhouette. Regulus walked over and placed the book on the table.

Lily looked up, and the moment she saw him, the corners of her mouth automatically turned up, and her eyes curved into a smile, which she then forcefully suppressed. She lifted her chin from her hands, her lips slightly pursed, her brows furrowed, trying to put on an expression of still being angry. Seeing her like this, Regulus suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to write the letter again.

Last time I apologized and got away with it, but this time I apologize again, it seems a bit unreasonable.

He pulled out a chair and sat down, then lightly flicked his finger under the table, casting Muffling Charm to envelop the small space.

He remained outwardly calm, but a plan instantly formed in his mind.

He decided to take the initiative.

His gaze was gentle, tinged with concern. "Lily, I heard your power went out?"