After a long day, the gamer returned to his dorm room, and the first thing he did was turn on his computer, log into Steam, and replay Assassin's Creed.
[Dear user, congratulations! You've won a free Harry Potter-themed tour of the United Kingdom!]
An unexpected notification popped up on the homepage. The background image featured a beautifully rendered Hogwarts Castle, looking very official.
Oh?
[Please enter your Steam username to confirm participation.]
"Well, let's check this out." Pushing his glasses up, the gamer's fingers flew across the keyboard—"CaptainRegulus69."
Thud!
The next second, the gamer collapsed onto his dorm room desk.
...
Early summer, 1973.
A gentle afternoon breeze passed over the surface of the Black Lake, causing the fluffy white clouds reflected on the water to ripple playfully.
This was considered rare good weather in Britain, and many students were taking advantage of the lunch break to gather by the lakeside in twos and threes—reading, practicing spells, eating, flirting, gossiping, dating, or just being show-offs.
"Lily! Did you hear—Regulus from Slytherin is about to jump off the Astronomy Tower!" Mary Macdonald, clad in Gryffindor robes, said cheerfully.
"Regulus? That quiet Black kid? What could he be so upset about?" Second-year Lily Evans furrowed her delicate brows. "Jump off the Astronomy Tower? That's way too dangerous—we've got to stop him!"
"Lily, don't forget—we're witches." Mary, ever carefree, clearly didn't feel any pressure. She laughed and waved her wand. "I bet three silver Sickles he'll be fine."
Even though she had been studying in the magical world for nearly two years and was used to people flying around during Quidditch matches, Lily still felt this was too risky—after all, a Quidditch pitch was only fifty feet high.
The Astronomy Tower had to be at least four times that, right?
The gossip spread through Hogwarts like it had wings and eventually reached the ears of Sirius Black by the Black Lake—his face showing both defiance and confusion.
"He's going to jump off the Astronomy Tower? Has he learned some advanced spell from your Black library?"
"No, Remus, my family didn't teach us any advanced Levitation Charms. I really don't know what has gotten into him."
"Do you think your brother's being bullied by the other Slytherins?" Remus Lupin offered cautiously. That little bean sprout Regulus always had an easy-to-bully vibe about him.
At that, Sirius Black—Hogwarts' number one heartthrob and aesthetic justice incarnate—frowned and impatiently brushed his wind-messed hair back.
"Sirius, what's your brother playing at?" James Potter toyed with the Golden Snitch in his hand. When Sirius didn't answer, James stuffed the Snitch back into his robes and tugged Sirius to his feet. "Come on, let's go see the show."
Remus stood up too.
"What's there to see? If he's really set his mind to jump, it's not like I can stop him." Sirius grumbled, but still let James pull him up willingly, his gaze drifting a little tensely in the direction of the tower.
More and more people were gathering on the Astronomy Tower, and by now, a crowd of students had already assembled in the open space of the central courtyard below, eager to watch the spectacle.
…
Dressed in Slytherin robes, the black-haired twig of a boy, Regulus Black, stood at the edge of the Astronomy Tower, looking down at the students gathering below. At this moment, with his straight posture and windswept hair, he bore quite a resemblance to Sirius' brand of aesthetic righteousness.
But his inner thoughts were entirely of a different tone: "Transmigration," "system"?
His parents were alive and well, he wasn't living under the roof of some cruel relatives, and he certainly didn't have a beautiful sister with tragic backstory appeal.
So why the hell did they pick him?
This soul from modern times, though initially shocked, couldn't help feeling a little annoyed.
Was it because his Steam username was—"CaptainRegulus69"? If he'd known he was going to transmigrate to 1973, he would've at least chosen something like "Little Sirius."
So he could experience what it was like to be a super handsome guy.
And if someone was going to transmigrate, shouldn't it be into Harry Potter's era?
He knew the original plot inside out, was familiar with the social context, could buy Apple stock early and retire young with financial freedom.
But 1973? Peak Voldemort era?
Even Dumbledore seemed to be avoiding confrontation during this time.
As Regulus, he was feeling a little nervous.
Once again, he called out to the suspicious "Steam" system that had accompanied him to this world—
[Mission: Leap of Faith — Please jump from the Astronomy Tower of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]
[Mission Reward: Partial skill set from the Assassin's Creed series]
[Mission Progress: 0/61]
[Witnesses: 144/976]
Hey, hey, hey! This is Hogwarts!
If you're going to hand out cheat codes, shouldn't it be from Hogwarts Legacy?
His character in that game was ridiculously overpowered—sneaking into and out of Death Eater bases like a breeze, stepping on Voldemort's face wasn't just a fantasy.
At the very least, Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup would've made more sense!
Though, to be honest, against these fragile wizard types, Assassin's Creed skills might actually be more practical than studying magic the hard way.
He had no idea what the deal was with this "witness" count, but Regulus still decided to go ahead and leak the stunt—a high-profile Leap of Faith.
So many people choose the crooked path simply because it's shorter, right?
But he couldn't shake the feeling that his faith might be a bit lacking.
A cold wind blew past. Regulus decided to trust the system.
Life is a grand adventure—those who are brave get to enjoy (or end) it first! He slid his wand back under his robes and gave himself a silent pep talk: make it or become a smear on the ground.
Either way, life ends up with you collapsing here or collapsing somewhere else.
"Filch and Madam Pomfrey are here!" a commotion broke out behind him. "And Madam Hooch! Professor Slughorn too!"
The students parted to make way.
"Ahem, Rolanda (Rolanda Hooch), Poppy (Poppy Pomfrey), don't worry, I remember—the Astronomy Tower is enchanted with protective spells to prevent students from harming themselves. It shouldn't be possible for one to actually jump—rest assured—" Slughorn panted heavily as he spoke, but then his eyes widened so much it looked like his eyeballs might pop out—
"Merlin's beard!!"
Right in front of him, Regulus took a step forward, struck a dramatic pose, and dove headfirst.
For some reason, a sharp eagle's cry echoed in the sky.
[Mission Progress: 1/61]
[Mission Progress: 2/61]
A swarm of teachers and students rushed to the edge of the tower.
Several voices shouted "Leviosa!", "Wingardium Leviosa!" and "Arresto Momentum" at once, spells streaking toward the falling Regulus.
Every single Levitation Charm missed—Regulus remained unaffected. Empowered by the system, he performed a difficult forward flip of 270 degrees, landing with his back facing downward—
The mission progress numbers were ticking up faster and faster!
(A high schooler should be solving for average fall velocity here.)
…
[Mission Progress: 60/61]
[Mission Progress: 61/61]
Sure enough, in the face of faith, reality's gravity wasn't heavy enough. The expected splat never came.
Regulus plunged smoothly, like a fish into water, disappearing from view into a low patch of shrubbery. A small bird perched on a branch, in the middle of preening, gave him a glance—then went right back to grooming.
Regulus, calm and unshaken, drew his wand and softly cast a spell at a nearby leaf:
"Wingardium Leviosa."
Only then did he steadily rise from the bushes, brushing leaves off his robes.
Despite jumping from such a height, he was completely unscathed.
[Mission "Leap of Faith" complete]
[Unlocked Passive Skill: Stealth (Proficiency 0/100)]
[Unlocked Passive Skill: Climbing (Proficiency 0/100)]
[Unlocked: Eagle Vision (Proficiency 0/100)]
*[System detects no eagle companion; skill currently unusable]
[Unlocked: Fast Travel Point — "Hogwarts Astronomy Tower" (Cost: 10 Witness Points)]
…
It was only now that Regulus realized his heart was pounding madly.
That was exhilarating!
He raised both arms to show he was completely unharmed, flashing a victorious smile at the dumbstruck crowd.
From the tower, the students could only see a tiny black dot moving below, while those on the ground let out a collective gasp.