Long-Awaited Hogwarts

Hogwarts, early morning.

April in UK brought a rare sunny day, with sunlight streaming in through the high windows of the Great Hall, filtering through the stained glass and casting patches of pale gold on the floor.

It rained lightly last night, and the air is very humid. Breathing it in feels cool, and my lungs feel damp.

Regulus stood at the entrance to the Great Hall, having changed back into his Hogwarts robes.

A black base with Slytherin silver-green tie, and a silver snake coiled on a green background on the house crest on the left breast.

I haven't worn this outfit for a month and a half.

Baruk huddled in his inner pocket, his spider head peeking out from the edge of his collar, his amber eyes scanning the candles on the ceiling before retreating back inside.

During breakfast time, the Great Hall restaurant was noisy with the sounds of knives and forks clattering, talking, laughing, and the flapping of owls swooping down from the ceiling to deliver mail.

Someone in Ravenclaw was reading a paper aloud, someone in Hufflepuff was laughing, Gryffindor was as noisy as a marketplace, and Slytherin seemed quiet in comparison.

Regulus pushed open the door and went inside. Lina saw him first at the Slytherin table.

She was speaking to Samuel sideways, holding a piece of toast with unspread jam in her hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the entrance to the Great Hall, stopped, and held the toast in mid-air, jam dripping down its edge.

Lina nudged Alex with her elbow. Alex, who was putting fried eggs into his plate, frowned and looked in the direction Lena was looking and saw Regulus walking towards them.

He paused for a moment, then his whole face relaxed, his eyebrows unfurled, the corners of his mouth turned up, he put down the fork, and raised his hand to poke Hermes.

Hermes was drinking Pumpkin Juice, and when Alex poked him, he almost choked.

He also saw Regulus, and froze instantly. He immediately looked away, lowered his head, and stared at the table.

Before Regulus left school, he said that if he didn't meet the requirements when he came back, he would have to clean up.

He practiced a lot in the past month, practicing the Legilimency on his own and the Magic Manipulation together with others, but he wasn't sure if it was enough, so he didn't dare to look directly at them.

But that didn't stop him from giving Avery a hard kick under the table.

Avery nearly jumped up from the kick; he was stuffing a piece of Butter bread into his mouth and glaring angrily at Hermes with his bulging cheeks.

Alex reached out and pulled him, nodding his chin towards the door.

Avery looked over, then sprang up from the bench, his fork clattering into his plate with a sharp sound, while in his other hand he held a half-eaten piece of bread, raising it above his head and waving it toward the door.

This immediately drew the attention of everyone at the Slytherin table. The younger students stopped what they were doing and looked towards the door, while the older wizards from the Sacred Twenty-Eight exchanged glances.

The commotion spread from the middle of the long table to both ends, and more and more people looked up.

Polius Greengrass rose from his seat. He was thin, with neatly combed light brown hair, a silver-green Prefect Badge pinned to his left breast, and his robe was without a single crease.

He walked up to Regulus, extended his right hand, and said, "Black."

Regulus shook hands with her. "Greengrass."

They shook hands briefly and then let go, without saying a word or giving each other a second glance.

Polius was certainly interested in Regulus, and the entire Slytherin was curious about where the Black family heir had been and what he had done over the past month and a half.

Nobody believed Avery's description of India; even House-elf wouldn't want to go there, Gnomes went never came back.

But he didn't inquire; the Greengrass family had been able to maintain its lineage for over a dozen generations precisely because it had never made a mistake.

He was simply fulfilling his duties as Prefect. The Heir of the Black family had returned, was in good condition, and the school's order was unaffected. Just like he had done at the beginning of the semester, he was setting the tone with his attitude.

Veronica Yaxley rose to her feet immediately. She was tall with golden hair tied in a low ponytail, sharp features, and her Prefect Badge gleamed in the morning light.

Approaching Regulus, a smile played on his lips, his manner friendly. "Regulus, you're back."

Regulus's lips curled into a slight smile, "Veronica."

After the two Prefect shook hands, they began maintaining order. It was breakfast time, a public place, and the Great Hall was occupied by all four colleges, so the scene couldn't be too noisy.

Polius tapped the goblet lightly with a silver spoon, and the commotion at the Slytherin table subsided.

At the Gryffindor table, James Potter was poking a sausage with his fork, but his eyes were glancing towards Slytherin.

The Little Viper is back, Slytherin are all in an uproar. Some are respectful, some are friendly, and some are just looking for an opportunity to show off—all sorts of people are involved.

"All that's missing is someone to lay out a red carpet for him," he said, his face showing undisguised displeasure, his lips pursed, but a hint of sourness in his voice. "Does he also have to kneel down and kiss his shoes?"

Lupin put down the Pumpkin Juice he was holding, subtly tugged at James's sleeve with his left hand, and glanced at Sirius.

James followed Lupin's gaze, snorted heavily, shut his mouth, his expression still unpleasant, and poked at another sausage on the plate.

Sirius had a huge mouthful of fried egg and bacon stuffed in his mouth, his cheeks bulging out, as he looked up at Slytherin, watching Regulus standing there shaking hands with the Prefect.

His eyes were glazed over, he was chewing away, staring at himself for a while, then he lowered his head and continued chewing, looking rather silly.

Lily looked up from the other side of the Gryffindor table, her green eyes gazing toward Slytherin before landing on Regulus.

His eyes lit up instantly, and the corners of his mouth turned up in an uncontrollable smile.

Marcia leaned closer, her light blonde hair swaying over her shoulder. She glanced in the direction of Slytherin, following Lily's gaze, then covered her mouth and chuckled, whispering in Lily's ear, "Who are you looking at?"

Lily pretended not to hear, ignoring her completely, though the tips of her ears turned slightly red.

Marcia laughed even harder, nudged Susan next to her with her elbow, and Susan glanced over too. Then the two of them huddled together, whispering and laughing, looking very youthful.

Lily glared at them, but it was no use.

After the excitement subsided, Regulus sat down at the Slytherin table.

Avery immediately leaned closer, his mouth still full of bread, and began to speak eagerly, "You're finally back! You have no idea what this past month and a half has been like—"

Then she couldn't stop, chattering away, her lips moving at lightning speed.

They talked about who got into a fight and got points deducted, Slughorn making a fool of himself by calling someone's name in class, something seemed to have happened in the Forbidden Forest Hagrid brought in a huge bucket of meat, and Hermes injuring someone in Gryffindor during Defense Against the Dark Arts Class and getting scolded by Vance.

Regulus listened, occasionally humming in agreement.

Alex chimed in during Avery's rambling. "Professor Vance's class has added practical exercises this semester, emphasizing confrontation more. Professor McGonagall started teaching the theoretical part of cross-species Transfiguration last week, but there hasn't been any actual practice yet."

He spoke logically and clearly, mentioning the progress of several core courses, and then asked, "How is France?"

"Not bad." Regulus forked a piece of fried egg.

Avery was clearly dissatisfied with the answer and was about to press for more information when Regulus glanced at him and shut his mouth.

Hermes sat opposite him, his gaze wandering, looking left and right, but never forward.

Regulus didn't even bother to acknowledge him.

Lina sat next to Alex, her eyes bright, glancing at Regulus every now and then. Samuel sat beside her, quietly eating.

UK breakfasts, compared to those I ate during my three weeks in France, lacked a bit of sunshine.

Regulus looked at the people around him; he hadn't seen them for a month and a half and didn't miss them at all.

After finishing his meal, he got up and walked towards the cellar.

He knocked twice on the door of Slughorn's office, and a melodious voice came from inside.

"Come in, come in!"

Pushing open the door, I was greeted by the familiar sweetness, the familiar temperature, and the familiar woody scent of dried herbs.

Slughorn nestled in his velvet armchair, a pot of freshly brewed Darjeeling and a plate of Pineapple Candied Fruit in front of him.

"Ah, Regulus!" Slughorn put down his teapot, his round face beaming with a smile, his eyes narrowing into slits. "You're back, you're back. Was the journey smooth? How's the weather in France? Provence must be very pleasant in April —oh, by the way, have a seat."

Regulus sat down in the chair opposite the desk, his manner respectful yet friendly. "The journey was smooth. The climate in France is warmer than in London, and the sunshine in the south is lovely."

"Sunshine, ah, sunshine," Slughorn picked up a piece of Pineapple Candied Fruit, popped it into his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and wiped his fingers with a handkerchief. "It's still raining in UK in April, but in France you can already sit outdoors and drink coffee."

"I have an old friend in Beauxbatons who sends me lavender honey from Provence every year around this time. Guess if he sent any this year?" He patted his belly, chuckled, and poured Regulus a cup from the teapot. "Two jars! One more than last year."

Regulus picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "Thank you, Professor."

Then he said, "Professor, look, it's time to cancel my leave—"

"Ah, right, right, canceling leave, it's the normal procedure," the old man flipped through a notebook on the table, casually scribbled something across it with a quill pen, and that was it. "Did anything interesting happen in France? The Alchemy industry is quite developed there, did you go to any bookstores?"

"I browsed around and found an old bookstore in Marseille with a more complete collection of Alchemy textbooks Hogwarts Library. I bought some basic ones and flipped through them."

"Flipping through books is good, flipping through books is good," Slughorn nodded, his gaze lingering on Regulus's face before returning to his own. He then asked, his tone casual yet deliberately suggestive. "Is everything alright at home? Is the manor alright?"

"It's fine, Professor," Regulus said, his tone relaxed and respectful, knowing immediately what Regulus was probing. "It was just some routine business at the manor; I came back as soon as I finished."

Slughorn observed his expression: relaxed, normal, without any sign of strain, in good mental condition, uninjured, and emotionally stable.

He leaned back and laughed, "Alright, alright, it's good you're back. Focus on your class and don't be late."

Regulus stood up and bowed slightly. "Thank you, Professor."

He left the office and headed upstairs; it had been a long time since he'd taught a class.

The Baruk bag clicked softly inside its inner pocket.

Let the spider also be exposed to knowledge.