Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 372 The Lively Baruch

Seeing Regulus's aloof demeanor, Lily laughed even harder, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

She walked in, closed the door behind her, took a couple of steps, and then sensed something was different.

"It's so warm."

She turned her head and looked around. There was no fireplace in the corner, nor did she see any flames. The corridor was still chilly, but the air in the classroom was warm and comfortable.

She reached out and touched the air; the warmth enveloped her evenly, neither too hot nor too dry, as if it were seeping from the walls and floor.

Her gaze returned to Regulus, a hint of curiosity in her eyes, then a touch of admiration in her gaze.

Regulus's serious expression relaxed upon seeing her, and he chuckled, "The Constant Curse."

Lily smiled and gave him a look that praised him for being sensible.

She pulled out her wand and waved it a couple of times. Several pieces of broken wood in the corner stretched, deformed, pieced together, grew taller, and finally turned into a clothes rack with a simple design.

She walked to the corner, took off her school robe and hung it up, took off her scarf as well, folded it twice and hung it up, then turned her head and glanced at Regulus.

Regulus also went over, took off his outer robe and hung it on the hanger, and took off his scarf and placed it next to the robe.

Lily gave him a satisfied look, then noticed that the scarf was the same one she had given him for Christmas last year.

But actually, you don't necessarily have to wait for a TV show to give gifts.

She turned around nonchalantly and began rolling up her sleeves.

"It's been a long time," Lily said, her gaze sweeping over the dusty desks and chairs in the classroom. "Nothing has changed here."

Regulus walked to the center of the field and stretched his wrists: "Almost two months, from the end of last semester until now."

Lily walked up to him, looked up at him, and her expression turned serious: "A test?"

Regulus nodded and hummed in agreement.

This is the first time I've come to the abandoned classroom since the start of the semester. It's been a long time since the last training session. I want to see what Lily has been practicing and to what extent during this time.

Lily took a deep breath, exhaled, relaxed her shoulders, and the smile in her green eyes disappeared, replaced by focus.

The little witch of Gryffindor is serious when she needs to be; she has always been upright in this respect.

The two people stood apart at opposite ends of the field.

Baruch poked his head out from under the table, his eight amber eyes looking back and forth before disappearing back into the water.

Lily made the first move.

A disarming spell flew from the tip of her staff, angled slightly to the left, skimming low across the ground.

Regulus flicked his wand, the spell deflected, flew past his waist, and slammed into the wall behind him, dusting off the stone.

Lily was no longer in her original position; she had moved two steps to the right. The second spell followed closely behind, a Stunning Spell, half a body length higher than the first, aimed directly at her.

She continued to move, not staying in the same place, her wand tracing arcs as she moved, and another Obstacle Charm struck from the side.

Regulus sidestepped the Stunning Spell, and with a wave of his wand, the Barrier Spell was intercepted in mid-air, turning into specks of light and dissipating.

He saw through Lily's intentions; she was forcing him to act.

Force him to change positions, force him to move from the position he chose, and then attack his new position.

They have brains.

But that wasn't enough. Regulus stood still, not launching an attack, and turned slightly to face Lily.

Lily frowned slightly; her prediction had failed. Without hesitation, she changed her strategy.

The magic wand was raised to draw a circle, then pointed forward, and flocks of birds flew in.

A dozen or so small yellow birds burst forth from the tip of the staff, fluttering toward Regulus, their wings and beaks creating a shimmering spectacle in the air that obscured his vision.

A petrification spell was hidden behind the flock of birds; gray light mingled with yellow feathers, seeping through the gaps in the flock.

Regulus raised his left hand and pushed his palm flat in front of him. The bird scattered into specks of light, floated in the air a few times, and then disappeared.

The petrification spell was revealed. He flicked his wand, deflecting the spell ninety degrees, and it slammed into the wall on the left.

Lily had already started running, and as she ran, her wand traced three arcs in succession.

A section of the wooden floor beneath his feet softened, and a toppled table was twisted into a thick rope by a Polymorph spell, wrapping around his ankle. At the same time, a Blast spell came crashing down from the front.

Three incantations, from three directions, arrived simultaneously.

For a third-year wizard, this combination is already quite complex.

Regulus took a half step back with his right foot, avoiding the softened area of ​​the ground. With a casual wave of his left hand, the rope snapped, and with a flick of his wand, the Explosion Charm was deflected, flying into a corner and smashing a chair.

He finally took a step.

Lily saw it; this step was forced upon her. Her eyes lit up, and she felt exhilarated.

Then they played more than ten rounds.

The Barrier Charm created a cover, the Disarming Charm emerged from behind the cover, and the Polymorph spell turned the scattered wood chips into a swarm of white moths that flew toward his face.

A leg-softening curse was caught in the gap between the moth's wings, while a stunning curse slammed down on his head, forcing him to look up to deal with the situation.

Each spell had a purpose; she didn't expect to hit him directly, but she was calculating his reaction sequence, using combinations to force him to reveal a weakness.

Regulus focused on defense throughout, allowing her to fully utilize her abilities.

Lily knew his abilities and that spells wouldn't work on him, so she went all out, holding nothing back and showing no mercy.

She became more and more engrossed in the game, her green eyes shining brightly, sweat beading on her forehead, her lips slightly parted, and her breathing becoming rapid.

After about twenty rounds, Lily stopped, her hands on her knees, her back bent and panting, her red hair hanging down, covering half her face.

Regulus put away his wand, walked over, and stood in front of her.

"The third round of obstacle spells hit the ground, forcing me to change positions. This is a good idea."

He spoke gently and patiently: "The flock of birds is blocking the view and hiding the petrification spell. Good, you're using a combination strategy now. We didn't get to this point last semester."

Lily looked up, still panting, but listening intently.

"The problem was in the eleventh round. After you used the Disarming Charm as a feint, you hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to follow up with a Stunning Charm or a Petrify Charm instead."

Hesitation slows you down; if I were your opponent, that little bit of time would be enough to defeat you.

He continued, "There's still a fifteenth round. You used your Ironclad Spell too early. I had barely made my move when you defended against it. You were guessing I was going to hit you."

It's fine if you guessed right, but if I saw through your intention, then you guessed wrong.

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Lily nodded vigorously, her eyes shining.

"The disarming spell followed by the obstacle spell can be practiced into a fixed routine. Once you've mastered it, you won't hesitate anymore; your body will move on its own."

The timing for using the Ironclad Spell is to wait until the opponent casts their spell before releasing it. Your reaction speed is fast enough; you'll have enough time.

He looked at her, a hint of a smile in his eyes: "Overall, you're much better than last semester. Last semester you were playing spells, this semester you're playing the game. I can tell you've put in the effort."

Lily was pleased by the praise, caught her breath, straightened up, and smiled broadly.

She knew she was far from perfect, but the progress was real and she could feel it herself.

She cleared her throat, deliberately speaking in a proper tone, and gave a perfunctory bow: "Professor Regulus teaches well."

Regulus stroked his chin, pretending to be deep in thought.

Lily thought he was going to say something profound, so she looked up at him expectantly.

Regulus nodded seriously: "Yes, you're right, I taught well."

Lily paused for a moment, then raised her hand and slapped his arm with a loud crack.

She spoke rudely, but her eyes were smiling: "Can't you be a little more modest?"

Regulus smiled and didn't dodge.

The two of them walked to a corner, sat down, and drank water.

Lily drank half a glass of water, wiped her mouth, breathed a sigh of relief, and relaxed completely.

Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly caught something moving out of the corner of her eye.

Baruch crawled out from under the table, his eight legs moving rapidly on the wooden floor, and ran towards Lily.

Lily turned her head and saw a dark red spider, about the size of her palm, crawling toward her feet. Her eyes widened instantly.

She sprang up from her chair, took a step back, and drew her wand.

"What is that?!"

Baruch stopped, stamped his eight legs twice, raised his eight amber eyes, looked at Lily with the tip of his staff pointing at him, and opened and closed his chelicerae with a click.

Her voice was soft and low, sounding somewhat aggrieved.

Then it retracted its two front legs, slowly pulled its hind legs together, and hunched its body down, shrinking itself into an even smaller ball.

Regulus watched this scene with a smirk, but made no move to intervene.

Seeing that the spider had stopped, Lily turned her gaze away from it and onto Regulus's face. Seeing that he was smiling, she slowly lowered her wand.

She stared at her, a hint of doubt in her voice: "...Your pet?"

Regulus nodded and beckoned to Baruch.

Baruch came running over, then scurried up his trouser leg and onto the table.

It took two steps on the table with its eight legs, then stopped, facing Lily, its chelicerae opening and closing with a click-clack sound.

"This is Baruch."

Regulus lightly tapped Baruch's back armor with his finger, and Baruch twisted his body.

He continued, "Baruch, this is Lily."

Baruch's eight eyes all turned to Lily and clicked twice at her.

Lily stared at the palm-sized spider on the table for a long time.

It raised its front legs and reached towards Lily, its chelipeds opening and closing rapidly with a snapping sound. Its short legs moved quickly, as if it were greeting her or urging her to come over.

"...Baruch?"

Lily called out tentatively, her voice still a little hesitant.

Click-clack!

Baruch swung his front leg even more vigorously and leaned his whole body forward.

Lily's expression gradually relaxed from guarded, and she tilted her head to look for a while.

Then she whispered, her tone a little uncertain, "...She's actually quite cute?"

Baruch was pleased with the praise and began to spin in place, its eight legs moving alternately from left to right and then from right to left, its dark red bristles fluffy in the moonlight.

Lily burst out laughing.

Keeping spiders as pets is really strange, but it seems to make sense in the case of Regulus.

The owl he gave as a gift last year had the same reserved air as its owner; even its flying posture was poised, almost like it was about to curl its pinky finger.

This year's gift, the little black cat Knox, is quiet and has a bit of Regulus's temperament.

But this spider—

Baruch was still circling around, his eight legs thumping and his chelicerae clicking. His amber eyes darted around, and he would run a couple of steps, stop, tilt his head to look at Lily, run a couple more steps, and tilt his head again.

He was so lively that he was completely different from his owner.

Lily's lips curled up.

She took a step forward, extended a finger, and tentatively touched Baruch's carapace.

Baruch immediately leaned in and pressed the carapace against her palm. The bristles brushed against her fingertips, and the texture was softer than she had imagined.

It rubbed forward again, its whole body pressed against her palm.

Lily smiled and withdrew her hand: "I'll bring Knox next time."

Baruch circled the table again, then scurried back to Regulus, scrambled up his arm and onto his shoulder, and settled down.

The amber eyes were still fixed on Lily, and Lily was staring back at it. The two, human and spider, stared at each other, neither willing to look away first.

Regulus watched this scene, a smile unconsciously curving his lips, and nodded: "Okay."

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