Everyone Has Their Own Thoughts

Regulus stopped watching them; he had taught them what needed to be taught, and let them figure out the rest on their own.

He spread his Magic Perception over a wide area, past the faint Magic Power of the plants, past the scattered cold light of the fluorescent ferns and the Glowcap Mushroom, and swept it deep into the Forbidden Forest.

Avoiding those menacing, offensive or defensive Magic Power, choose those with an emotional quality that has nothing to do with aggression. The Bowtruckle's Magic Power is special: quiet, outward-facing, neither aggressive nor defensive. It's a very subtle resonance between Magic Power and life force, like it's talking to the surrounding trees.

Found it.

To the northwest, there are several exceptionally well-formed trees with fine, old wood—perfect material for making magic wands.

The Bowtruckle loves to live in trees like this, hiding in the slender branches of the canopy, its Magic Power, power emanating from the leaves.

Regulus noted the location but didn't rush over or make the arrest on the spot.

Tonight is Friday. Once we've collected enough Moonlight Moss, we'll stop here. Tomorrow will be perfect. We can come back during the day on Saturday and take Baruk back to his lair in Aragog to finish him off as well.

He withdrew his senses and stood still, watching those guys.

Lina squatted by the crevice in the rocks, picking the stones with the most enthusiasm.

She closed her eyes to try it out, then opened them and rushed over to search. Once she found something, she would clutch it in her hand, glancing back at him every time she found a clump before looking down and continuing.

The moss in her hand grew larger and larger, so she simply tucked the hem of her robe into a pocket and squatted there, sticking out like a squirrel digging for food. Samuel was slow and methodical, picking not much, moving unhurriedly. He would first squat down, close his eyes, and sense the moss for a while before reaching out to pick it. Alex, being slower to sense the moss, simply spent more time, turning over a stone and feeling around in every nook and cranny under the chair, carefully stacking the moss he had picked one by one.

Avery straightened up every two clumps he picked, looking around nervously, clearly not taking this seriously. He spent more time searching blindly than trying to sense things with his eyes closed. He'd chuckle when he found a clump, and mutter a few words when he couldn't, like he was on a treasure hunt, thoroughly enjoying himself.

The Magic Perception were new to him, the glowing grass was new to him, and even the act of squatting down and rummaging through it was new to him.

Hermes didn't pick much at all; he just leaned against a tree with only two or three sprigs scattered in his hand.

Feeling that he couldn't just not deliver, he casually picked a few pieces; they varied in size, some with roots, others only half-cut.

There are all kinds of people: fun-loving, serious, ambitious, scheming, and lazy.

Flossy was tied to a tree trunk not far away, with the rope wrapped around its neck several times.

It was restless, the rope stretched taut, always trying to get closer to Regulus.

Regulus smelled wonderful, with a clean, Natural Magic Power of plants and earth.

Flossy liked the smell, but it didn't dare come closer.

A strange creature was perched on Regulus's shoulder, staring at him with eight unfriendly eyes.

Flossy moved forward a little, and Baruk's pincers clicked.

Flossy quickly shrank back, tucking his tail between his legs, gurgling in his throat, looking both aggrieved and envious.

Regulus's lips curled into a slight smile. He turned his head and said to Baruk, "Tomorrow, I'll make you even stronger."

Baruk immediately perked up, its chelicerae opening and closing rapidly with a clicking sound, and all its dark red bristles stood on end.

"Amazing! Amazing!"

It jumped off my shoulder and landed on the ground.

The Forbidden Forest is its home; it's where it grows from hatching to adulthood, so it knows it very well.

Even after landing, it wouldn't stay still. It first wandered over to Flossy, its eight legs thumping and swaying as it went.

The Big Dog was tucking its tail behind it, letting out a very soft whimper.

Baruk knew this big guy wasn't edible, so he circled around the edge of the rope, his eight eyes scrutinizing him from head to toe. He circled slowly, sometimes stopping to tilt his head and look around, sometimes lifting a leg to tap the ground, as if he were thinking about how to tease him.

Flossy, easily frightened, huddled up and hid behind a tree. Unfortunately, the rope was tied to him, making it difficult for him to hide properly. He could only keep rubbing backward, making the tree bark rustle.

It made a whimpering sound in its throat, looking pleadingly toward Regulus, as if begging for help, yet daring not to actually cry out, for fear of startling the eight-eyed monster.

Seeing the dog dodge away only piqued Baruk's interest, and he moved closer. Flossy became even more frightened, kicking its legs wildly and digging several shallow furrows in the ground. After teasing the dog enough, Baruk wandered off to another spot.

It went to look at the few small spiders gathering moss one by one, but didn't show itself.

It hid itself in the grass and watched Alex, Alex was focused on rummaging through the cracks in the rocks, completely unaware that eight eyes were watching him from behind. It moved its eight legs quietly to the next spot, hiding in the cracks to watch Lina, only peeking out its two main eyes.

Lina was digging with her buttocks sticking out. Baruk watched for a while, then gently opened and closed his chelicerae twice without making a sound.

He circled around behind Avery and stopped for a while. Avery had his eyes closed, his fingers fiddling with a stone, muttering, "This one must be—no, it's still a stone."

Baruk tilted his head and looked at him for a moment, then turned and left.

Samuel was standing not far from Lina when Baruk poked half his head out from the pile of dead leaves behind him, all eight eyes fixed on his back. Samuel didn't turn around, but his hand paused for a moment, as if he sensed something, but he didn't say anything.

Hermes leaned against the tree trunk, while Baruk hung upside down from the branch above him, his dark red bristles gleaming faintly in the pale green light of the Luminescent Mushroom, eight eyes staring at his face from above.

Hermes raised his eyelids, stared at it for a moment, then expressionlessly reached out and brushed a dangling spider silk away from his eyes. Baruk retracted the silk, climbed onto a branch, and slipped away.

About twenty minutes later, it darted back from the woods, climbed up Regulus's trouser leg and onto his shoulder, its eight legs curling up. It draped one of its front paws over Regulus's ear and rubbed it against him, probably to show off, "Look, I've checked everything for you."

Regulus reached out a finger and gently stroked its carapace. Baruk shook itself, then lay still.

As darkness fell completely, the young wizards returned one after another, each carrying a considerable amount of gifts.

Lina was the first to return, carrying a large handful of moss-like strands that leaked through her fingers. The cold white light made her entire face glow.

She walked up to Regulus, carefully placed the moss into the bag, then straightened up, looking at him with bright, sparkling eyes.

Samuel followed behind her, carrying some in his hands, less than Lina's. He did what he was supposed to do, put it in his bag, and nodded to Regulus.

Avery strolled back, a handful of haphazardly gathered stalks in his hand, which he tossed casually into his bag, dusted off his hands, and looked completely relaxed and content. Alex returned with a slight frown; he had gathered quite a few, but realized he wasn't particularly good at it, always feeling something was missing. Hermes returned last, with only a few scattered stalks in his hand, barely managing to get by, and looking utterly uninterested.

Regulus saw it all.

He ignored Avery and Hermes; one was just curious and the other found it boring, so there was no need to say more.

"Not bad," he said, looking first at Lina. "This is the first time I've found so many."

Lina's face lit up with a smile, full of joy, and then she turned to look at Alex.

"Samuel will do too," Regulus turned to him, nodding but not explicitly stating, "Someone who can stay calm and knows what he's looking for." Samuel glanced at him, then lowered his head again, his lips twitching, and his body relaxed a little.

Regulus then looked at Alex and instructed him, "From now on, you'll be training them both."

Alex paused, taken aback.

"I'll also teach you Magic Manipulation," Regulus continued. "First, practice the Lumos, then start with your fingertips. If you don't understand anything, come and ask me." Lina's eyes lit up again, and she almost jumped up, but Samuel nudged her with his elbow, calming her down. She just nodded emphatically. Alex realized what Regulus meant.

His Magic Manipulation was still in its infancy, and his senses were far from sharp. Regulus had assigned him to mentor Lina and Samuel not to give him tasks, but to encourage him to put in more effort himself before teaching others.

Otherwise, what will we use to teach?

"Understood!" He looked at Regulus, his tone serious and his attitude decisive.

Then he turned to Lina and Samuel: "Come see me after lunch tomorrow."

"Thank you Alex!"

Lina really jumped up this time, but she didn't land properly and veered towards Alex.

Alex reached out to steady her, his expression gentle. "Be careful."

Lina's face was flushed, and she smiled, her lips pursed, unable to suppress her laughter.

Samuel glanced at her, then looked away, nodded to Alex, and said sincerely, "Thank you for your help."

It wasn't too late, around eight or nine o'clock.

As night deepened in the Forbidden Forest, the bioluminescent plants became even more active than during the day, their glow alternating between cool white, deep blue, cool green, and warm yellow.

The outer perimeter is relatively safe, but it's not advisable to linger as the night goes on. Creatures from the depths will venture out at night. Although we can't reach the outer perimeter, there's no need to stay any longer. Alex tied the bag tightly, drew his wand, and pointed it to the sky.

A green Spark Spell shot out from the tip of the staff, pierced through the gaps in the tree canopy, exploded in the night sky, and lit up for a few seconds before slowly setting. A while later, another green Spark Spell rose in the east, which Hagrid received.

Alex led Flossy and they walked back together.

Avery walked beside him, still excited, muttering, "Magic Perception... My father mentioned it before, saying I was too young to be taught yet, but it turns out it's not that great after all."

He grew increasingly smug. "When I go back for vacation, I'll show him what I'm made of and see if he still thinks I'm too young."

Hermes, unusually agreeing, said, "Hmm."

For him, this little thing is nothing special; Avery is right, it's really not difficult.

Alex was walking in front, heard this and his lips twitched slightly, but he didn't reply.

He held Flossy's leash in his hand; Flossy's tail was held higher than when they arrived, probably because they could finally go home.

Lina and Samuel walked in the middle.

Lina was still caught up in her excitement, whether from Regulus's praise or something else, she didn't know.

Clutching a moss stick tightly in his hand, reluctant to let go, he would glance down at it every now and then, then steal a look at Alex walking at the front. Samuel silently observed all of this.

Regulus walked at the very end, with Baruk perched on his shoulder.

Flossy, led by Alex, kept looking back as she went, finally managing to get a little further away from the eight-eyed monster.