The Victory of Thought

Portkey started, twisted and ended. The foot stepped on the hard ground, and the landing point was a narrow alley on the west side of Greenough Plaza.

There is a stone road, two old brick walls, a piece of dry ivy sticking out from the top of the wall, and a street lamp at the entrance of the alley. The bulb is broken and no one has repaired it.

This dead end street is where Black family's private Portkey is located in UK. There's no other way to put it, it's close to home.

The official channel follows the official process, registers where it should be registered, and reports when it should be filed, but the landing point is Portkey Office instead of Ministry of Magic.

The existence of this kind of private settlement is itself an ambiguous fact. There is a set of unwritten rules between Pureblood families and Ministry of Magic from various countries. I give you face, and you give me convenience.

Portkey can go through official channels, and the location does not need to be the official address. This has been done for hundreds of years, and the privilege is reflected in this little thing.

Regulus walked out of the alley.

April of UK is much colder than France. From the dry warm wind of Provence, it was suddenly thrown into the night fog of London. The skin first felt cold and moist, and even the nasal cavity was filled with moisture.

He was wearing the same robe he wore when he left UK, dark gray, Italy thin blended wool.

When April first wore this set at France, it was too hot, but at the end of April, when I wore it at UK, this set was just right.

He took a few steps in the direction of Grimmauld Place, Apparition, and landed on the steps of the door of No. 12.

It was late at night and there was no one on the street. The light from the street lamp shone on the iron railing of the door, drawing a row of shadows.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door twice.

The door opened from the inside, and Kreacher's face squeezed out from the crack of the door, his two big ears turned back, his eyes as big as lightbulbs widened, and his nose twitched quickly in the air.

"Little the Master--" It bent down deeply, its nose touched its knees, and the tips of its ears dragged on the floor. Its voice trembled. "Kreacher thought little the Master It will take a long time--Kreacher doesn't know--Kreacher is cleaning little the Master's room every day--Kreacher--"

"Okay." Regulus stepped into the threshold and the door closed behind him.

Kreacher shut up immediately, kept his bent posture still, and trembled his ears gently on the floor.

There was a wall lamp lit in the Entrance Hall, the light was dim, and the Black Ancestral Portraits hanging on the wall were sleeping. Two of them opened their eyes when they heard the noise, and then closed their eyes for a moment.

Baruk jumped off his shoulder and landed on the floor of the Entrance Hall. With eight legs on the ground, the spider's head turned left and right, its chelicerae spread, and then it opened its legs and ran towards the stairs.

The height of the stairs was equivalent to a wall for a palm-sized spider. Baruk used his front four legs to grab the edge of the steps, kicked off his back four legs twice, and climbed up.

He turned back and glanced at Regulus, then his chelicerae clicked, then he turned around and ejected directly to start.

Jump up from the first step, land on the third step, then jump from the third step to the fifth step, jump over the sixth step, land on the seventh step corner platform, and then continue jumping up.

Thump thump thump, the eight legs made a tinny sound on the stairs, turned the corner of the handrail, and disappeared into the darkness on the second floor Corridor.

"Where is father?"

"The master is waiting for little the Master at Study," Kreacher bent down and made an inviting gesture toward the stairs. "Kreacher pour tea for the young master--"

"No need." Regulus waved his hand and walked upstairs.

Study's door needs to be closed, green flames are burning in the fireplace, and the entire book wall is dimly reflected.

Orion is sitting behind the desk, with several documents spread out on the table and a cup of tea that he hasn't drunk much on his left hand.

He raised his head, his gray eyes looked over the document, and paused for a moment on Regulus's face.

After watching it, I am in good mental condition, physically intact, not injured, and my overall aura has not changed.

He put down the quill in his hand and leaned back. "Sit down."

Regulus sat down across from the desk, with a leisurely and relaxed posture.

"Talk about it."

Regulus told France what happened.

A smuggling gang raided the manor at night, and more than 40 people were dealt with on the spot. Felix made arrangements in advance, and there was no damage to the manor. Afterwards, they negotiated with French Ministry of Magic and determined it to be a local security incident, following the procedures of France.

Orion listened and nodded.

These were within his expectations and had been reported early. The situation of France had been decided by him at London from the beginning.

"What's behind the scenes?"

Regulus knew that what his father was asking was definitely not Voldemort, so he curled his lips and said, "Bellatrix."

Orion's brows furrowed for a moment and then relaxed again.

A woman married by Black family, with the blood of Black, runs errands for Voldemort to target Heir of the Black family.

In his eyes, Bellatrix is a small role. She has no ability or status. A daughter-in-law of Lestrange family can only do limited things, but she represents Voldemort.

Regulus's trip to France was in response to Voldemort's routine observation. The father and son had long confirmed this.

But observation is one thing, and letting Bellatrix execute it is another. It is difficult to say whether Voldemort has other thoughts.

Maybe it's to test Black family's bottom line, or maybe it's to confirm Black family's loyalty.

All in all, unpleasant.

It can only be unpleasant.

Regulus continued, "She is different from before. She is smarter and more patient. She should have been reformed or trained."

Orion frowned again.

He had heard the news that Death Eaters's channel, Bellatrix, was personally taken over, transformed and reshaped by Voldemort after Christmas Banquet.

But the news is news. It is another thing to sit in front of your son and tell it to him after he has dealt with it personally.

A Black family woman was transformed into someone else's tool.

Study was quiet for a moment, the flame in the fireplace jumped a little, he shook his head and said nothing.

Regulus didn't mention this unlucky thing again, and raised his eyebrows.

"It's not like I'm staying here all the time." He reached into the inner pocket of his robe, took out Resonance Disk and put it on the table. "I made a little thing in France."

Orion reached out to take it, held the copper plate under the light, turned it over and looked at it, and gently slid his fingers along the lines of the circuit to feel the Magic Power structure on it.

He is not good at Alchemy, but he still has the basic Magic Perception. The circuit on it is very clever, with two layers of nesting and mutual calibration, and the accuracy is very high.

He put the copper plate on the table, looked at Regulus, and asked with a little curiosity in his voice, "What is it for?"

Regulus leaned back, raised his left leg and put it on his right leg, feeling a little proud. "Resonance Disk, Alchemy's standardized measurement tool."

Orion became interested, and her eyes signaled him to continue.

"Any Magic material has natural Magic Power textures. Metals are linear, plants are mesh-like, ores are fissure-like, and organisms are composite and dynamic.

The basic operations of Alchemy include identifying textures, drawing circuits, and guiding transformation. The first two steps rely on the wizard's own perception accuracy. Most people will not be able to meet the requirements for advanced transformation after practicing for a lifetime."

Regulus had a relaxed smile on his lips, and pointed at Resonance Disk on the table. "This standardizes the perception steps. Things are placed on the disk, and the texture is directly displayed as light patterns. It does not require talent or years of perception training. You can operate it with your eyes."

He took a blank piece of parchment from the table and scratched the paper with his finger. A very thin silver-white Magic Power silk thread seeped out from the fingertip and spread along the texture of the parchment.

The two layers of concentric circles, the position of the nodes, the order of connection, the labeling of key parameters, and the one-time molding are consistent with the texture structure of the bottom surface of the copper plate.

"I mentioned to French Ministry of Magic about cooperating with France and investing in the France market," Regulus spread his hands. "UK here Alchemy The industrial foundation of is too thin, there is no market, and there are not enough workshops and workers to make this stuff in batches. France has Beauxbatons's Alchemy teaching and a ready-made industrial chain."

He looked at Orion and said in a relaxed tone, "But things have to be made in UK in the end. Cooperation in France is just an opening. Let's use France's production capacity first. Let the things be spread out, let Beauxbatons students learn to use them first, let Mediterranean Sea material suppliers along the coast adapt to this set of standards first, and then transfer the technology and industrial chain to UK."

"This thing is actually very simple," he pushed the parchment in front of Orion: "Just follow the steps and pay attention to the connection sequence of several nodes. Anyone with a little bit of alchemy foundation can do it."

Orion looked down at the circuit pattern on the parchment.

Regulus said it was simple, but look at the way it was carved out with just one stroke of his finger. It was indeed simple.

So the barriers are not in technology, but in channels and standards.

Whoever makes it first, whoever rolls it out first, whose standard becomes the industry standard, then those who follow will have no choice but to follow.

He understood what Regulus meant. The cooperation in France was just a pretense. What he really wanted to do was to seize France's mid- to low-end Alchemy industry to UK.

With Black family's foundation, connections, channels, and political influence in UK, the conditions for doing this are ready.

You can recruit a few people to join. Malfoy family has a deep relationship with France, has sufficient funds, and is responsible for the interface with French cooperation. Roxier family has external business channels, distributes goods quickly, and covers a wide area. Cuthbert family can provide manpower. They have several small workshops under their roof.

The core technology is in the hands of Black family, and the partners handle distribution and production.

More people rely on Black family for a living, more resources are gathered in Black family, and one industry creates a network.

Who should be sent to contact France, how to build production capacity in UK, how to set up barriers, whether to do exclusive authorization or standard certification, what else can be leveraged using Resonance Disk as a stepping stone.

Orion The gears in my brain have clicked and are turning very fast.

Then he raised his eyes and looked at Regulus.

This thing itself is not complicated, the principle is not deep, and it is not difficult to make. It is a standardized measurement tool that should be available on the market, but it has never been seen before. Others have not thought of it. He thought of it and figured out how to turn it into an industry while doing it.

A mental victory.

He looked at his son for a moment and found that the boy's face was a little proud. After thinking about it, he decided not to praise him anymore.

Orion nodded, put the parchment aside, and pressed it under the pile of documents. "Okay, France, I will arrange for someone to connect with you."

Regulus shrugged.

Study was quiet for a while. He looked at his father and suddenly said, "I went to see Andromeda."

Orion is not surprised. He was the one who told Regulus that Andromeda was going to get married. The matter of delisting was nothing in the eyes of father and son.

"She's pregnant, almost six months old, and it's a girl."

Orion's eyebrows raised.

Regulus continued, "The talent is good, Metamorphmagus."

Orion's eyebrows raised a little higher, this time he was really interested.

Metamorphmagus, there are only a handful of Europe Wizarding World records, and a natural Transfiguration teacher is born with it.

Regulus's mouth twitched to the side. "Our family's bloodline is indeed powerful. Sirius is talented in Transfiguration. My Transfiguration is not bad either. Now there is another Metamorphmagus who has not yet come out. Other families have not heard of any obvious bloodline talents that can be passed down from generation to generation."

Speaking of this, several names flashed through his mind.

Gaunt family has Parseltongue. Talking to a snake is nothing special, but Gaunt family has a Tom Riddle. In terms of single player achievement, it is really impressive. However, there is only one Gaunt family left, and the whole family is basically finished.

There are also Weasley and Weasley family. The talent is probably to produce Pureblood Wizards in batches and give birth to each other in litters. This may also be regarded as a bloodline specialty.

As for Dumbledore, Dumbledore's family is not in the aristocratic system, so I won't talk about him.

Orion can no longer agree with what Regulus said. Black family has a good bloodline.

He nodded in agreement, and then asked casually, "What is the child's name?"

Regulus's expression is a little subtle. "Nymphadora."

Orion's expression was stuck, and his tone was confused. "Nymphadora?"

Regulus tried his best to hold back his laughter and nodded.

Orion was silent.

He was very familiar with Black family's naming tradition. It used zodiac signs, mythology, Latin, and aesthetics passed down from generation to generation. Each one had its origin.

But the name nymphadora, judging from the tradition of Black, is really a bit too much.

Regulus smiled and changed the topic, "I didn't see my mother when I came back."

"Your mother went to Patterson family," Orion breathed out softly. "The ladies' spring tea party starts today and will stay for two days."

The father and son sat for a while, and then they finished what needed to be said and formally explained everything clearly.

Orion said, "Go and have a rest and go back to school tomorrow."

"I'm going back, father." Regulus stood up, nodded to Orion, turned around and went out.

Go back to your bedroom and open the door.

Baruk has inspected the room, and there are several tiny spider footprints on the windowsill, extending from the window sill to the bedside table.

There is a spider web in the furnace, stretching from the upper left corner to the lower right corner, glowing silver-green under the light of the fire.

It huddled in the corner of the bed, its eight legs folded, its head buried in the seam of the pillow, and its carapace rising and falling slightly with its breathing.

Regulus took a bath, changed into a nightgown, and lay down on the bed.

Outside the window is the London night, with bells ringing faintly in the distance.

Turn over, close your eyes, and fall asleep.