Recaps

After dinner at Grimmauld Place, Regulus met with Orion while Sirius and Walburga privately reacted to the aftermath of his fight with Bellatrix. Regulus decided to leave the political fallout to his father and focus on practicing magic and his research.

• Sirius watched Regulus through dinner, wanting to ask whether he had intended to kill Bellatrix and whether the gray things had affected him.
• Orion asked Regulus how he was feeling and told him to come to the Study after dinner.
• Walburga remained unusually quiet as Regulus left for the Study, while Sirius left the dining room separately.
• Regulus found stacks of letters awaiting Orion and recognized that the Black family would face a wave of political inquiries and overtures.
• Regulus told Orion he was going to practice Magic rather than take part in the family's social and political business.

Regulus discussed his plans to study the Whomping Willow and modify Baruk with Orion, while withholding dangerous information about Voldemort because he doubted Orion could withstand Legilimency. The next morning, Regulus took Baruk to Cornwall, where preparations were ready.

• Orion told Regulus that several Pure-blood families and the Ministry had sent letters, but Regulus declined the invitations and planned to visit the Whomping Willow.
• Regulus asked Orion to obtain Salamanders so he could use their fire resistance in an experiment on Baruk, and Orion agreed to have Agnes arrange it.
• Regulus asked whether Orion could defend against Voldemort's Legilimency; Orion admitted he did not know, and Regulus kept his most dangerous knowledge to himself.
• Orion wondered whether he was holding Regulus back, then hesitated to speak to him about Walburga before letting him leave.
• Regulus told Baruk they would go somewhere the next day, and Orion later confirmed that everything in Cornwall was ready.
• Regulus retrieved Baruk and Apparated to Cornwall.

Regulus visited the Plantation to study two wild Whomping Willows and begin adapting their magical vibrations into a new technique. After calming the trees with Natural Magic Power, he decided the clearing was where he belonged.

• Regulus arrived at the Plantation, where Agnes showed him the clearing and warned him about the wild Whomping Willows’ dangerous attack range.
• Regulus settled into a cabin overlooking the trees and told Baruk they would grow stronger together.
• Regulus sensed how the Whomping Willows conducted and released vibrating Magic Power, but could not yet understand the transformation at their branch tips.
• Regulus spread Natural Magic Power toward the trees, and their alert movements gradually relaxed.
• Baruk excitedly tried to spin a web on Regulus as he watched the Whomping Willows and felt at home.

Regulus used Natural Magic Power to calm the Whomping Willows and studied the details of their Magic Circuits at close range. He left after learning how their branches generated destructive vibrations, planning to observe their attacks on different materials next.

• Regulus spent the day releasing Natural Magic Power until the Whomping Willows stopped treating him as an intruder and their Magic Power flowed calmly.
• Agnes brought Regulus lunch and a raw steak for Baruk, which ate beside him while he continued his work.
• Regulus approached the Whomping Willow and pressed his palm to its trunk as Baruk watched from nearby.
• Regulus traced the Whomping Willow's Magic Circuit and discovered how its branch tips compressed, released, and exploded Magic Power into penetrating vibrations.
• Regulus left the tree and sent a paper airplane toward the eastern Greenhouse, intending to test how the vibrations behaved when they struck different materials.

Regulus tested the Whomping Willow’s attacks and discovered that their oscillating Magic Power destroyed physical structures from within, with repeated strikes growing exponentially more effective. The next morning, he returned to the tree to extract its Magic Power and reproduce the process himself.

• Two Plantation apprentices brought Mu Jins, a wooden board, and an iron pot for Regulus’s experiment, then left after setting them down.
• Regulus released his Natural Magic Power and tested the Whomping Willow’s attacks, finding that its oscillations cracked granite, wood, and iron from within.
• Regulus directed repeated strikes at the same spot on a thick piece of granite and observed Oscillation Stacking, in which each attack exploited the previous cracks and increased the damage exponentially.
• Regulus returned to the Cabin, reviewed what he had learned, and decided to extract the tree’s Magic Power to recreate the process himself.
• The next morning, Regulus entered the Whomping Willow’s range, pressed a hand against its trunk, and began extracting its Magic Power.

Regulus extracted and studied the Whomping Willow’s oscillating Magic Power, then replicated its branching Magic Circuit as a stable Basic Oscillation model. After testing its destructive effects on materials and Gnomes, he confirmed the model worked and found that Baruk enjoyed its vibrations.

• Regulus extracted oscillating Magic Power from the Whomping Willow and tested its effects on minerals, metal, wood, water, and Gnomes.
• Regulus drained one Whomping Willow until it was barely alive, then returned to the Cabin to construct a Magic Power model.
• Regulus refined a tree-shaped branching circuit through several failed attempts and successfully replicated Basic Oscillation.
• Regulus tested Basic Oscillation on granite and Mu Jin, confirming that it reliably shattered dense, rigid materials from within.
• Regulus let Baruk rest in the oscillating Magic Power, and Baruk relaxed and called it comfortable.

Regulus developed and named the Disintegration Charm, refining its incantation, wand motion, and continuous output until it could shatter stone from within. He concluded that the spell worked on any material, though its effectiveness depended on how well the target conducted and sustained the oscillations.

• Regulus combined the Latin roots Concutio and Disrumpo into the incantation Quassare and stabilized its Magic Power model.
• Regulus perfected a reverse-grip wand slash and synchronized its timing with the three-syllable incantation.
• Regulus tested the Disintegration Charm on a seaside reef, shattering it from the inside, and named the spell.
• Regulus maintained continuous output against a large granite rock and shattered it in under a second.
• Regulus tested the spell on waterlogged driftwood and found that its internal gaps absorbed the oscillations, limiting the damage.
• Regulus concluded that the caster had to regard a target as a single whole and let the spell find its weaknesses.

Regulus developed the Disintegration Charm’s area form and considered how Magic Power could compensate for difficulty targeting large objects. He flew offshore to test the spell on an uninhabited island and began building up to a full-power cast.

• Regulus concluded that the Disintegration Charm could target increasingly abstract or large objects if his cognition and Magic Power control were sufficient.
• Regulus reshaped the spell into an omnidirectional area attack and tested it on stones, finding that it shattered nearby rocks but weakened sharply with distance.
• Regulus returned to the Cabin, where Agnes had left food and tea, then set out to find a larger target.
• Regulus searched offshore by Apparating west and found an uninhabited granite island about eight kilometers from shore.
• Regulus hovered above the island, framed it as a single whole in his mind, and raised his wand to cast at full power.

Regulus unleashed Quassare at full power and destroyed a small island with the spell. After watching the sea settle over the vanished island, he recovered some magic and Apparated to a nearby shore cliff.

• Regulus poured his reserves into his Blackthorn and cast Quassare at a small island.
• The spell’s vibrations tore through the sea and cracked the island apart as Regulus increased his magical output.
• Regulus stopped casting, and the island’s halves collapsed into the sea, leaving only a widening ring of ripples.
• Regulus watched the island disappear, then waited for Star Orbit Meditation to restore some of his magic.
• Regulus Apparated to a shore cliff and listened to the wind and waves return to normal.

Regulus analyzed how his Disintegration Charm shattered an island and theorized that its vibration could conduct through discontinuities and trigger a self-sustaining chain reaction. He concluded that such a reaction might collapse a mountain, but the initial Magic Power required could exceed any wizard’s limit.

• Regulus examined the shattered island and realized seawater-filled fissures could conduct the Disintegration Charm’s vibration through the rock.
• Regulus considered whether his perception of the island as a whole let the vibration cross gaps even without a physical medium.
• Regulus imagined separated fragments continuing to shatter if his perception still treated them as part of the original island, and called the idea Chain Conduction.
• Regulus compared the process with nuclear fission and reasoned that fractures could release stored stress energy to sustain the chain reaction.
• Regulus concluded that triggering a self-sustaining reaction in a mountain would require more Magic Power than he or any wizard could provide.

Regulus theorized that the Disintegration Charm could become a self-sustaining chain reaction by converting a target’s mass into Magic Power, potentially creating a nuclear-scale explosion. He identified four hurdles to the idea and turned next to modifying Baruk’s Magic Power structure with the Severing Charm.

• Regulus reasoned that a conversion point could turn a target’s mass into Magic Power, driving oscillations that fractured more material and sustained a destructive chain reaction.
• Regulus imagined applying the process to air, where compression and heating could create plasma and fuel an explosion without a solid target.
• Regulus compared the Disintegration Charm’s physical destruction with the Severing Charm’s conceptual removal of definition, and listed four hurdles: testing Chain Conduction, reaching the critical threshold, learning mass conversion through Alchemy, and improving Magic Manipulation.
• Regulus recalled that Flamel had given him a Metal Ball and invited him to visit on his own, making Alchemy a possible route to solving the energy and conversion problems.
• Regulus noted that five and a half of Orion’s seven stars were lit and believed further progress in Star Orbit Meditation could improve his precision.
• Regulus decided to modify Baruk’s Magic Power form using the reverse application of the Severing Charm and went to the door, where he looked out at the hazy sea.

On January 1, 1974, Regulus reflected on the coming war but focused on his research and tested whether Natural Magic could revive a dying Whomping Willow. He read The Daily Prophet’s report on Muggle power restrictions and the Ministry’s change of leadership, leaving the Willow’s fate unresolved.

• Regulus examined the Whomping Willow he had drained of Magic Power and decided to try reviving it with Natural Magic.
• Baruk woke and joined Regulus as an owl delivered a New Year’s issue of The Daily Prophet from Orion.
• Regulus read about the oil crisis, blackouts, and the UK’s three-day workweek, while Baruk pointed out the darkened city photograph.
• Regulus read that Harold Minchum had replaced Eugenia Jenkins as Minister of Magic and promised stability and order.

Regulus assessed how Minister Minchum’s neutrality would let Voldemort expand while Dumbledore was forced to organize defensively. He then poured Natural Magic Power into the dying Whomping Willow until its circulation resumed, and Agnes arrived to see the change.

• Regulus read Minchum’s inaugural speech and concluded that the new Minister would treat Dumbledore as a rival while the Ministry ignored the Death Eaters.
• Regulus reasoned that Dumbledore could not openly attack Voldemort without being condemned, so the Order of the Phoenix was his only viable defense.
• Regulus burned the newspaper and went to the clearing to save the Whomping Willow whose Magic Power he had extracted.
• Regulus filled the tree’s empty circuits with Natural Magic Power, restarting its cycle and restoring weak absorption through its roots.
• The dying tree began to recover, showing a new green shoot as Regulus continued the infusion until noon.
• Agnes arrived from the Greenhouse with food and saw the Whomping Willow on the left.

Regulus restored the Whomping Willow enough to keep it alive and let Baruk return to his full size for a run along the Cornish cliffs. The chapter left Baruk eager to become stronger but unable to fit through the Cabin’s doorway.

• Regulus fed Baruk raw venison and told Agnes he had accidentally sunk Snell Rock; Agnes said the Salamanders were ready and asked whether to deliver them to the Cabin.
• Regulus continued channeling Natural Magic Power into the Whomping Willow, stabilizing its circulation, and planned to ask Professor Sprout to help it recover.
• Regulus let Baruk’s Transfiguration spell fade, and Baruk grew into a larger adult Acromantula.
• Baruk ran along the cliffs with Regulus riding on his carapace, then carried him toward the Cabin.
• Baruk tried to enter the Cabin but got stuck at the narrow doorway and lay down, disappointed.

Regulus studied the Salamanders’ fire-resistant magic and extracted their Magic Seeds to reproduce the ability in his Consciousness Space. Baruk remained outside the Cabin, unable to fit through the doorway, while Regulus prepared to examine its magic next.

• Baruk paced around the Cabin and watched Regulus through the doorway, aggrieved that it could not fit inside.
• Regulus examined the Salamanders’ simple Fire Affinity and compared their magical structures with those of other creatures.
• Regulus extracted a Magic Seed from one Salamander and replicated its structure in his Consciousness Space.
• Regulus took partial Magic Power from two more adult Salamanders and fused the three Magic Seeds together.
• Regulus returned the weakened Salamanders to the charcoal and turned his attention to Baruk.

Regulus enlarged the Cabin and grafted a Salamander’s Fire Affinity into Baruk’s Magic Circuit. Natural Magic buffered Baruk’s rejection until the new ability took root, leaving Regulus ready to consider more complex grafts.

• Regulus expanded the Cabin’s interior and invited Baruk inside for the grafting procedure.
• Regulus examined Baruk’s Magic Circuits and reshaped the Salamander’s Magic Seed to circulate through an Acromantula’s exoskeleton and joints.
• Regulus placed the Magic Seed in a gap in Baruk’s Magic Circuit and cast Facultas Ignis Mutare Aranea Corpus.
• Baruk’s Magic Power violently rejected the foreign seed, but he endured the backlash.
• Regulus used Natural Magic Power to buffer the two sources of Magic Power until the Fire Affinity module took root in Baruk’s Magic Circuit.

Regulus permanently gave Baruk a Salamander-like Fire Affinity, allowing the Acromantula to enter and lie comfortably in flames. After confirming the transformation worked, Regulus considered using the same process to alter other creatures’ magical abilities, while Baruk settled beside the fireplace.

• Regulus finished modifying Baruk, and the spider examined its altered body and found that its fear of ordinary fire had disappeared.
• Regulus conjured powerful Magical Flames in the clearing, and Baruk walked into them without being burned.
• Baruk lay in the flames and said they were warm as its Fire Affinity activated and its body developed permanent Salamander-like traits.
• Regulus reflected that he had changed Baruk’s instincts by making fire harmless to it, and considered whether Magic could redefine other instincts and limitations.
• Regulus concluded that the process could be repeated for abilities such as an Occamy’s spatial compression, a Bowtruckle’s plant perception, and a Demiguise’s invisibility and precognition.
• Regulus extinguished the flames and returned to the Cabin with Baruk, which settled beside the fireplace and rested its head in the fire.

Regulus left Cornwall after thanking Agnes and returned to Grimmauld Place, where he settled back into the house with Baruk. He learned that Sirius was training with Hawk while their parents attended a New Year's banquet, and the chapter ended with Regulus and Baruk sharing breakfast at home.

• Regulus thanked Agnes for watching the Whomping Willow, gave her a cloth bag, and received a Nautical Chart marking uninhabited islands and Snell Rock.
• Regulus Apparated to Grimmauld Place, where Kreacher welcomed him and reported that Sirius was training with Hawk.
• Regulus learned that Orion and Walburga had gone to a New Year's banquet at the Parkinson residence.
• Baruk explored its familiar drawer and settled on Regulus's bed before Regulus washed and changed.
• Kreacher served Regulus breakfast and brought Baruk Dragon Meat, which they ate together.

Regulus found Sirius training with Gerald Hawk and invited him to talk after Hawk left. Their conversation began in Orion's Study, where Sirius noticed a small spider on Regulus's shoulder and asked about it.

• Regulus entered the Training Room and found Sirius practicing combat with Gerald Hawk.
• Sirius tried to hide his eagerness at seeing Regulus, while Regulus reflected that Orion, not he, was responsible for guiding his older brother.
• Regulus asked Hawk about Sirius's progress, and Hawk excused himself after praising Sirius's improvement.
• Sirius considered whether he would return to 12 Grimmauld Place next holiday, then followed Regulus to Orion's Study.
• Regulus sat in Orion's chair and waited for Sirius to speak, but Sirius instead noticed a small dark-red spider on Regulus's shoulder.

Regulus and Sirius discussed Sirius’s future, and Regulus accepted that Sirius might leave while reminding him he still bore the Black name. At dinner, Walburga spoke more quietly and personally with Regulus, then Orion summoned him to the Study, leaving Sirius behind again.

• Baruk spoke to Sirius and asked for food before retreating to Regulus’s shoulder.
• Regulus asked whether Sirius planned to return home, and Sirius realized that his family would not stop him from leaving.
• Regulus told Sirius it was good if he left, then affirmed that Sirius still bore the Black name.
• Sirius decided to pursue Transfiguration and prepare to become an Animagus, then went to train.
• At dinner, Walburga asked Regulus about Cornwall and Agnes without bringing up family glory or pure-blood society.
• Orion summoned Regulus to the Study after dinner, and Sirius watched Regulus leave before departing himself.

Regulus explained the Disintegration Charm to Orion, revealing that it could destroy targets from within and grow exponentially through continuous oscillation stacking. He described the first technical threshold, Magic Power control, then introduced Cognitive Convergence as the second threshold.

• Orion asked Regulus how his work in Cornwall had gone, and Regulus said the spell’s development was complete and had exceeded expectations.
• Regulus explained that the Disintegration Charm, Quassare, drilled Magic Power into a target and shattered it from within, working better on harder, denser materials.
• Regulus described Oscillation Stacking, in which continuous Magic Power output built exponentially stronger effects inside a target.
• Regulus said the first threshold was compressing Magic Power into a point within one-hundredth of a second so it could penetrate the target.
• Orion began to drink his tea, but stopped when Regulus named Cognitive Convergence as the second threshold.

Regulus taught Orion the Disintegration Charm, explaining how its effect depended on the caster’s Magic Power and ability to define a target. After Orion learned its basic form, Regulus hinted that the spell had more to it and asked whether Orion knew about the Manhattan Project.

• Regulus explained how a caster could adjust the size and precision of a spell’s target, and Orion realized the Disintegration Charm could grow with its user and theoretically had no upper limit.
• Regulus demonstrated the spell’s Tree-like Branching Structure, and Orion analyzed and reconstructed it in his Consciousness Space.
• Orion cast Quassare on a Brass Paperweight, refined his convergence, and then blasted a Mu Jin slab into powder.
• Orion considered how quickly Regulus’s strength had grown and how his son’s new spells could strengthen the Black family’s foundations.
• Regulus told Orion that he had shown only the spell’s initial form and asked whether Orion knew about the Manhattan Project.

Regulus explained the Manhattan Project and the destructive power of nuclear weapons to Orion, connecting their chain reaction to the Disintegration Charm. Orion realized the charm could overturn wizarding defenses if used against other wizards, and Regulus said he could not yet achieve it but was only several hurdles away.

• Orion admitted he had never heard of the Manhattan Project, and Regulus described how Muggles had created a weapon through a self-sustaining chain reaction.
• Regulus detailed the destruction caused by the test bomb and the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leaving Orion stunned by their scale.
• Orion reasoned that magical concealment and transportation could protect wizards from Muggle weapons, then realized Regulus had been explaining the Disintegration Charm's potential against wizards.
• Orion asked whether Regulus could create that level of destruction with the Disintegration Charm, and Regulus said he was still several hurdles short.
• Orion concluded that Regulus's wording implied the feat was not impossible and that a path toward it existed.

Regulus explained his plan to create a self-sustaining chain of magical vibrations, and demonstrated that Cognitive Convergence let the vibrations cross gaps between separate objects. After Orion offered the family’s support, Regulus chose not to reveal his plans for the Rowle family until he understood what his path required.

• Regulus used Quassare to shatter an inkwell, quill, envelopes, and teacup, verifying that Cognitive Convergence enabled vibrations to cross the air between objects.
• Regulus explained that sustained Chain Conduction would require each fracture to generate enough energy to drive the next wave, and proposed using the Philosopher’s Stone to convert the target’s mass into Magic Power.
• Orion considered the political risks of Regulus working with Flamel, then told Regulus to decide for himself whether to pursue that path.
• Regulus withheld his thoughts about dealing with the Rowle family until he determined what Saiph’s invisible edge required, and declined Orion’s offer of help for now.
• Orion told Regulus that time would prove the path, and Regulus looked at the matching inscription on his Pocket Watch before saying good night and leaving.

Regulus and Sirius left 12 Grimmauld Place together for King's Cross, where Sirius departed for Hogwarts and Regulus avoided adults interested in the Christmas Banquet. Regulus returned to Hogwarts, heard Dumbledore warn students to think for themselves amid a changing world, and was surrounded by people in the Slytherin Common Room.

• Sirius Apparated with Regulus from 12 Grimmauld Place to King's Cross, where Regulus praised his technique.
• Sirius said goodbye to Regulus and joined James, Remus, and the Potter family before boarding the train.
• Regulus used a Disillusionment Charm to avoid adults watching him, then boarded the Hogwarts Express with Avery, Hermes, and Alex.
• Regulus and his companions arrived at Hogwarts, where Dumbledore urged students to decide what they thought for themselves amid the changing situation outside.
• After the banquet, Regulus followed the Slytherins into their Common Room, where a group surrounded him.