Hogwarts: Legacy of the Necromancer

It had truly been a long night. The Regulus Black from before the timeline was taking Hermione to a candlelit dinner, while the Regulus Black from after the timeline was bringing Hermione to the Headmaster's office to report the situation—likely staying up all night, given that the Room of Requirement would be used by the two of them for a nap later on.

Since they were staying up all night anyway, they might as well do it together. Or better yet—call it cultivation, perhaps.

As the spiral staircase to the Headmaster's office slowly rose, Regulus Black's spirits lifted as well. What came next was the most critical part.

"Why is Regulus taking so long?"

At first, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge had been sipping Dumbledore's honey tea leisurely, but even the sweetest tea can grow cloying after a while. And when that happens, a man's patience wears thin.

If he were to find out that Regulus Black and his little sweetheart were napping somewhere, Fudge would probably explode with rage.

"Patience, Cornelius. Based on what I know of Regulus, if he says he'll do something, he will—without wasting a second," said Dumbledore with a chuckle at Fudge's restlessness. He set down his sizzling honey tea and turned toward the Headmaster's door.

As the door opened, Regulus Black walked in with Hermione by his side.

"It's quite late already. I think Miss Granger should explain what they've accomplished tonight, then get some rest. After all, there are still classes tomorrow," Regulus said, seemingly not intending to speak first. But this, too, was deliberate—to give Hermione a chance to shine in front of the Minister. After all, connections are built in moments like these.

No matter how talented you are, if those in power don't know you, you'll never make it into the upper circles.

So, in a future that could no longer be guaranteed to follow the original storyline, Regulus Black didn't mind letting Hermione take the spotlight.

After all, in the original story, Hermione fought as the savior's companion until victory, then became a judge of the Wizengamot, and eventually even rose to the position of Minister for Magic.

If Regulus Black's interference with "history" were to cost Hermione such accomplishments, even he wouldn't be able to forgive himself—especially since Hermione was now one of his women.

Regulus gave Hermione an affirming glance before taking a seat beside Dumbledore.

Snape turned and looked at Regulus deeply. It was clear that Harry Potter had been safely brought back. He didn't say anything more—at least not aloud—though his usual stone face gave nothing away.

As for Hermione, Snape also agreed that the girl should finish quickly and go get some sleep.

Dumbledore, naturally, had guessed that Regulus and Hermione had used a time-turner to wrap things up, and kindly pulled a delicately wrapped box of pastries from under the tea table to give to Hermione.

"Thank you, Headmaster! Since Professor Snape is here, I assume you're all caught up on what happened earlier. So I'll just talk about what happened afterward," Hermione said confidently, holding the small pastry box in her hands.

She began to recount what happened after Ron was sent back—how she returned to the Headmaster's office, then was taken out again by Regulus Black, how they used magical tools to return to before the timeline, how they saved Harry Potter, how they saved Sirius Black, how they curbed Lupin's transformation into a werewolf, and...

"Oh! Miss Granger, are you saying Regulus turned the stag Patronus conjured by the 'Expecto Patronum' spell into a real magical creature?"

Dumbledore was astounded. Miracles always seemed to follow Regulus Black.

To transform a Patronus into a sentient magical creature—not only had Regulus created it, he had also stabilized it. From what Hermione described, as long as Lupin was alive, the stag named "Fiery Blossoms" would continue living in the Forbidden Forest.

And with Fiery Blossoms present, Lupin's werewolf transformation could always be suppressed. That in itself was already a major magical accomplishment—but when compared to animating a spell-constructed magical being, it was merely a footnote.

Dumbledore wasn't the only one moved. Snape, Minister Fudge, the gathered Aurors, and Rufus Scrimgeour all wore equally stunned expressions.

This current head of the Black family was quite the standout—first getting a witch in Azkaban pregnant, then finding a way for wizards to pass on their bloodline, and now transforming a conjured illusion into a stable magical creature.

Despite being the center of everyone's intense stares, Regulus Black acted as if he didn't notice them at all.

"Hermione, thank you. You don't need to stay for what comes next. Head back to Ravenclaw and get a good rest."

Regulus Black took Hermione's small hand, gently kissed the back of it, and then let her leave the Headmaster's office.

Showing such affection toward his student in front of everyone made Hermione flee the room in embarrassment.

However, the people present weren't focused on that. What Hermione had just revealed was far more shocking to them.

"Regulus! Matters of this magnitude are rare in the wizarding world. I'll have a reporter from the Daily Prophet come to interview you," said Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, clearly trying to curry favor.

As someone who had previously worked with Regulus Black, Fudge understood the significance of the situation. Naturally, if Regulus were willing to reveal the details of the spell, that would be even better. Though Fudge also knew this request was excessive and highly unlikely to be granted.

In the wizarding world, every family with a magical legacy possesses unique spells, magical artifacts, or secrets that are kept from outsiders. These are usually passed down only to the core members of the family as a crucial inheritance.

This was also one of the Dark Lord's methods of ruling the wizarding world—by exterminating entire families, he could erase entire magical legacies. Such losses were devastating not only to individuals and families but to the wizarding world as a whole.

But for those who still held onto these legacies, like Regulus Black, even a single person could carry the entire future of the Black family. He only needed to reveal a small part of it from time to time.

After all, simply knowing a spell's name or effect doesn't mean one understands its structure.

If knowing a name were enough to use a spell, then Hogwarts wouldn't need to exist, and the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Spell Research could be shut down.

"Cornelius, Cornelius, these trivial matters are not the point. The real issue is how we handle my brother, Sirius Black," Regulus said, steering the conversation back to the main topic, while everyone else remained focused on the spell's potential.

Sirius Black, the Azkaban escapee, was now lying in the Hogwarts infirmary—a fact everyone had clearly understood from Hermione's earlier explanation.

"Sirius Black must be returned to Azkaban," declared Rufus Scrimgeour from the side, immediately stating his stance. Azkaban and the Aurors had taken the blame for Sirius's escape for far too long.

The last time they had taken the fall was during the pregnant witch scandal, which had finally been resolved satisfactorily.

Regulus Black gave him a sidelong glance but said nothing. Fudge, on the other hand, jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"I warned you, Mr. Scrimgeour—this is not a place for you to interrupt!"

Fudge was furious. How could he have brought along such a foolish subordinate? Was this the right person to be discussing important matters?

"If you want to keep your position as Head of the Auror Office, then keep your mouth shut."

His scolding showed no regard for Scrimgeour's status. Rufus, red-faced and glaring, stared back at Fudge like an angry lion, refusing to back down.

"No wonder he eventually became Minister for Magic," Regulus thought. He actually admired Rufus Scrimgeour—he was unquestionably a man of integrity, which is likely why he later died at the hands of Voldemort.

Still, the effects of the Veritaserum in Dumbledore's food tonight seemed a bit too strong.

Judging by how emotionally unhinged everyone was, they clearly couldn't control themselves.

Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon

https://patreon.com/Glimmer09