The golden little figures had gained another name.
Star Spirit Guardians.
They could sustain their magical power through the power of the stars and required no food.
In their Star Spirit form, they were the golden little figures, bouncing around and letting out childlike laughter.
This form allowed them to consume the least amount of energy.
Their second form was the Guardian form. White magical armour covered their bodies, with golden patterns engraved upon it. Those patterns were magic circles that constantly offset external damage.
The armour was white like porcelain, yet capable of withstanding attacks stronger than themselves.
Their arms were covered in black scales like dragon hide. Golden blades protruded from their pauldrons, and the great antlers on their heads could gather magical power to unleash attacks.
In Guardian form, the Star Spirits possessed extremely high resistance to Dark Magic, and their strength was astonishing.
Such creatures could be called the perfect beings of the magical world.
Yet John could hardly bear to watch them.
He saw two Guardians ramming each other with their large heads while letting out silly laughter.
Nearby, another Guardian had grabbed two others and was tossing them around like balls.
"My perfect guards."
John covered his face in pain.
The minds of the Star Spirits were like those of children, making each Guardian particularly innocent.
Just as he was about to sigh, John saw a Guardian gather a white sphere of light between its antlers.
The sphere shot toward a celestial body.
In an instant, the celestial body exploded like fireworks.
The corner of John's mouth twitched.
"Alright, stop all of you."
At John's command, the mischievous Star Spirits all stood at attention.
Though they were still not accustomed to their new bodies. Some bumped into one another, while others knocked their antlers together.
"Fine, line up."
It took a full three minutes before the line was finally straightened.
John knew they would need time to become familiar with their bodies.
Waving his hand, he said, "Where are the two little fellows I picked earlier?"
Two Guardians stepped out from the formation.
There were subtle differences between them. The patterns of the golden lines, the shapes of their antlers, and even their colours varied slightly.
It would probably take some time to recognise all of them.
Looking at the Guardian whose chest pattern resembled a bauhinia flower, John said,
"I name you Hector."
Then he looked at the one beside it, who was currently transforming its arms into two swords using magical energy.
"You shall be Hermes."
The two Guardians, now possessing names of their own, jumped up and down happily.
However, they seemed to have forgotten their current size, and jumping around like that was a disaster.
Fortunately, after hopping about for a while, all the Guardians reverted to their Star Spirit forms.
They would need plenty of practice to become accustomed to transforming.
After all, John couldn't scare them into doing it every time.
Hector and Hermes became John's personal guards, while John tidied up the Celestial Zone.
The newly remade Star Spirits ran off to frolic around the other Doors.
The fusion with the Zouwu bloodline granted John the ability he had always wanted.
He raised a finger and lightly traced it across the empty air in front of him.
A golden mark sliced through space itself, opening a passage and revealing a route leading directly to Hagrid's hut.
This portal completely ignored Hogwarts' Unplottable enchantments.
Stepping through the portal, the two little followers bounced in behind him.
"Fly."
Hector pointed at a crow and spoke.
Beside it, Hermes said, "Bird."
Hearing their muttering, John fell into thought.
"The language of the Star Spirits?"
They weren't speaking English, but some incomprehensible language.
It sounded a bit like the nonsense babbling of children.
Ever since they had learned to speak, the two little fellows had become incredibly chatty.
They spent the entire journey behind John, whispering to each other nonstop.
Hagrid was dragging a Christmas tree out of the Forbidden Forest for the upcoming holiday when he paused in confusion.
"I thought I heard something."
"You heard correctly."
John walked over and glanced at the tree.
Every year, Hagrid was responsible for this task, and that had not changed even after he became a professor.
John casually asked,
"How many are left?"
"We need twelve in total. This is the seventh one," Hagrid replied.
"I think I can help."
"No need, John. I can manage it myse... Merlin's beard!"
Hagrid was about to refuse when the two little fellows behind John suddenly grew in size as though startled, transforming into eight-foot-tall Guardians.
The armoured Guardians emitted white light and looked utterly divine.
Hagrid was completely dumbfounded.
"What are those?"
John shrugged, a mischievous smile on his face.
"I told you before, guards. Though you can call them Star Spirit Guardians."
"The good news is that they don't require magical power to sustain themselves," John said, spreading his hands. "They survive by absorbing the power of the stars."
"Good heavens, you always come up with surprises." Hagrid took a long time to recover. "That's the second thing I've seen this year that's going to keep me awake at night. The first was you killing Voldemort."
Hector and Hermes entered the Forbidden Forest and emerged, each dragging two Christmas trees.
John smiled.
"Magic exists to serve wizards."
After helping Hagrid bring the trees into the castle, John had the Guardians revert to their Star Spirit forms.
The little fellows hid inside John's pocket, peeking nervously at Basil, which was staring at them like a predator.
"Did you create those?" Malfoy asked in amazement. "They look as weak as Puffskeins."
Puffskeins were adorable magical creatures popular with children. Their fluffy appearance made them common household pets.
"They can punch you unconscious for three days, Draco."
John stopped Malfoy from trying to poke Hermes with a fork. The little fellow's punches hurt far more than expected.
Tomorrow marked the beginning of the Christmas holidays. Malfoy was preparing to escape Hogwarts, where everything had to be kept secret, and enjoy a romantic trip to France with Astoria.
Daphne, however, knew nothing about it.
She still believed that her younger sister was going to Chelsea with her to further their culinary studies.
Had heard that a chef named Ramsay was exceptionally skilled.
Neville's holiday plans involved spending time with his family. With his parents having been absent for so long, there was much to make up for.
"Alright, but I need to give you all a task."
John was once again destined to spend Christmas alone at Hogwarts.
"I want you to help train the Star Spirit Guardians. Each of you will take one with you."
The Star Spirit Guardians were still very immature and could not even transform without outside help.
John intended for his friends to help train them, and he also planned to send several to the branches in France and America.
No one in the Constellation Society objected, though when John looked at Malfoy, he seriously doubted whether the Star Spirits would pick up bad habits from him.
Perhaps his expression was too obvious, because Malfoy felt insulted.
"Who are you looking down on?" Malfoy snapped. "I have a real talent for teaching!"
"Fine." John sighed, looking deeply concerned.
Malfoy was both furious and aggrieved.
"Astoria, he's doubting me!"
Astoria hesitated.
"Does Draco really have to train one, John?"
"I don't have a choice. There are too many of them, and I can't manage alone," John said with a troubled expression.
Malfoy despaired.
Even his own girlfriend didn't trust him.
He swore that he would make John see him in a new light. It was just a little Star Spirit Guardian. He would train it into the very best one!
Even though nobody believed in him, Malfoy still believed in himself.
That optimistic spirit lasted until he entered the Constellation Society and saw one of the little fellows in Guardian form shatter a boulder taller than himself with a single punch.
His focus immediately shifted from teaching the Star Spirit Guardian to figuring out how not to get punched to death.
Astoria adored the cute little Star Spirits. Aside from their frightening Guardian forms, the little creatures were incredibly deceptive.
That evening, John did not return to his dormitory.
He remained in the Constellation Society, inspecting each Star Spirit to ensure that the adorable golden little fellows wouldn't suddenly beat his friends to death.
John let out a breath.
It turned purple, then turned into a fireball.
His eyes gradually became unfocused as he summoned the panel.
Staring at the greyed-out magical power display, there was no joy in reaching the next level.
"A bottleneck?"
Looking at the Level Seven displayed on the panel, John felt a headache coming on.
He seemed to have reached the limit of his magical power.
To go any further, would he have to rely on the Elder Wand?
"I need a way to keep progressing."
Standing at the peak of the wizarding world, John was still unsatisfied.
He knew that the gods above wizards were far beyond Level Seven.
Now, he had reached a bottleneck.
If he broke through it, he would transcend.
If he remained trapped by it, then he might become the next Grindelwald.
Or Dumbledore.
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