Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

Chapter 414 This is really weird!

"Hey, hey, hey." James chuckled as soon as he saw it.

He acted first, flicking his wand, and a levitation spell landed on the wand.

Lily's wand floated up, higher and higher, until it reached a place beyond her reach, hovering in mid-air and slowly spinning.

"Can't reach it?" James laughed so hard he almost fell over.

He glanced sideways at Snape, who was still frozen on the ground, and a word was on the tip of his tongue, which he picked up just in time.

"Jump up, Evans, jump higher, maybe you'll reach it."

Lily rushed over, tilting her head back to reach the wand floating in mid-air. She stood on tiptoe and stretched out her hand, but couldn't reach it.

James was amused by what he saw, so he took two steps closer to her, tossing the wand around like he was teasing a cat, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right.

His attention was entirely focused on the wand hanging in mid-air and Lily's awkwardness at not being able to reach it.

His two steps forward brought him directly beneath the niche.

Lily landed on her tiptoes, her gaze returning from mid-air, no longer looking at her wand.

His green eyes gleamed, and he suddenly raised his left hand toward the niche, his five fingers spread wide, and then pulled it down forcefully. The movement was so fast that there was no warning, and it was crisp and clean.

There were no incantations, no beams of light, no gestures; magic simply seeped directly from his fingertips, seizing the armor's center of gravity and violently yanking it off its base.

The armor wasn't secured underneath, and its center of gravity was high, so the helmet on top was fastened crookedly.

The helmet slid off first, and the breastplate and gauntlets, losing their support, flipped outwards and scattered with a crash. The entire suit of armor collapsed with a thud, carrying the wind as it slammed down on James's head.

James reacted with a speed that defied logic. The light above him dimmed, and without even looking up to see what it was, he waved his wand upwards and chanted a spell.

"Obstacles are numerous!"

A spell blasted towards the pile of iron, purely reflexively, shoving the falling armor aside.

The breastplate and arm guards were knocked off course, metal plates crashing against the walls and the ground. The helmet rolled a long way, making a series of clanging sounds on the stone floor, sparks flying everywhere.

Now, James' wand, spell, attention, and entire reaction were all locked onto those metal lumps above his head.

The levitation spell on Lily's wand broke, and the wand fell from mid-air, landing beside the niche.

Lily had been waiting for this moment. As the armor slammed down, she lunged at her wand.

He lunged forward, crouched low, reached out and grabbed it, then stood up, turned, and aimed the tip of the cane at James.

"Disarm you!"

The red light struck James squarely in the chest, and the wand flew from his hand, tumbling through the air before landing with a clatter at the other end of the corridor.

The corridor fell silent again.

The lingering sound of the armor parts rattling on the ground hummed, and the torch flickered on the wall, illuminating the scattered iron pieces in a dim, intermittent way.

James stood frozen in place, one hand still half-raised, the smug look on his face still lingering from the moment he had just unfastened his armor.

Iron pieces were scattered around his feet, and his free hand slowly drooped down.

Looking down at her empty palms, then looking up at the person opposite her, her whole face began to turn red.

Lily stood amidst the scattered armor, her wand pointed at James, her chest heaving, her red hair disheveled, and her cheeks flushed.

His green eyes were bright, his lips were pursed, his knees still hurt, and the cuts on his palms were burning, but the wand was pointing steadily at him.

Won.

She herself could hardly believe it.

But the wand was in her hand, and James' wand was on the ground; that was true.

"You think you've won, don't you?" Lily's voice was choked with breathlessness. "Every time you corner someone and beat them down, you think you're so great."

He took half a step forward, the tip of his cane still pointing at James's chest: "You can only bully people who aren't as good as you. If you run into someone just as strong, how many moves do you have left?"

James stiffened his neck, his face flushed red, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Lily glanced quickly at the base of the wall, knowing she had to be wary of Sirius.

If this guy were to do it again now, she really wouldn't have any strength left. That last round had already drained her almost completely.

But when she glanced over there, she was stunned for a moment.

Sirius's gray eyes were staring straight at her with a very strange expression. It was hard to tell whether it was confusion or something else. It was as if he was looking at her, or as if he was looking through her at something else. He was unusually quiet.

She wasn't sure what he was thinking, but judging from his posture and the hands in his pockets, he certainly wasn't planning on continuing the fight.

Lily didn't bother with him, but she didn't let her guard down. This guy was a habitual sneak attacker and had no class whatsoever.

Sirius's gaze remained fixed on the scene, his mind still preoccupied with what had just transpired.

He recognized what it was: magic manipulation, not bad, but nothing special.

But the kind of comeback where you think I've lost but I'm just waiting for you to relax the most has an even stronger sense of déjà vu.

Lily looked away and then at James: "Potter, the wand is on the ground. Whether you pick it up or not is up to you. I just have one thing to say—"

She took a half step forward, raising her wand slightly, and said in a somewhat sharp tone, "From now on, don't cause any more trouble for Severus, and don't let me catch you blocking people in the corridor again."

James stiffened his neck, his face alternating between red and blue.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but when he looked down at the wand on the ground and then glanced at the overturned metal parts, all the words stuck in his throat and he couldn't get them out.

He was knocked off by a suit of armor and disarmed by a little witch of the same age.

If this gets out, just thinking about it gives me a heart attack.

Seeing his humiliated expression, Lily finally felt a release from the pent-up anger she had been holding in for a year.

This is James Porter.

She didn't let herself be smug for long; she knew better than anyone how she won.

If Potter hadn't fallen for the trick and hadn't been distracted by teasing her, and if the armor hadn't distracted him and had blocked the attack steadily, he wouldn't have been able to turn the tide in this situation.

She won by a hair's breadth, a very slim chance, but she did win in the end.

I glanced at Sirius again, and a thought popped into my head.

That guy just ambushed someone who was cornered, and then he acted like he was watching a show.

Compared to that person, I'm far inferior.

Lily's lips involuntarily curved into a smile, but she quickly suppressed it.

She thought of the man who always had a way but never bullied people like that. If he were here, she wouldn't need to worry about this at all. Those two guys probably wouldn't even have the guts to block people.

She put away her thoughts, her face remaining impassive, and with a sigh, her tone softened.

The wand hung down, and he waved his hand: "Alright, let's go."

James stood there for a while, as if he were struggling with himself, before finally bending down to pick up the wand.

He didn't look at Lily or Snape anymore; his face was dark, his chest heaving, and he was seething with anger.

But he didn't make another move. He couldn't bring himself to pounce on someone who had been disarmed; that would be more humiliating than admitting defeat.

He turned and headed towards the other end of the corridor, his footsteps hurried and heavy, making a thumping sound on the stone slabs.

After taking two steps, he turned back and glared at Sirius.

Sirius was still standing there, staring blankly at Lily, that strange look never fading.

"What are you looking at!" James yelled impatiently. "Let's go!"

Sirius finally snapped out of his daze, shrugged, and slowly followed.

As he left, he turned back to look at Lily one more time, his brows still furrowed.

The sound of their footsteps gradually faded into the distance, disappearing around the corner at the other end of the corridor.

Lily turned around and knelt down next to Snape, removing the petrification spell.

Snape's body suddenly relaxed, and he sat up, supporting himself on the ground. His frosty arm was still stiff and not very responsive when he raised it.

When Lily saw that arm, her anger flared up again.

"Severus, are you alright?" She reached out to help him up, and then picked up the wand that had rolled to the side and handed it to him.

"Your arm is freezing! Those two went too far. I'm going to find Professor McGonagall and tell her about this."

Snape didn't respond to her words, staring at the wand offered to him, but didn't take it.

After a while, he pushed himself up and stood up straight, his arms still stiff, his eyes never looking at her face.

"Severus?" Lily's hand froze in mid-air.

"Who cares!" Snape's voice was cold and low as he snatched the wand from her hand.

He turned and walked past her, his black robe billowing in the wind, his footsteps quick and muffled, heading towards the cellar.

Lily's hand was still raised, in the gesture of handing over the wand, as she watched the dark figure walk further and further away, turn the corner of the cellar corridor, and be swallowed by the stone wall.

After a while, he withdrew his empty hands, wiped the dust and bloodstains from his palms on his robe, and let out a breath.

He raised his wand, lifted the few pieces of armor scattered beside the niche, and stacked them back on the base. Then he turned and walked toward the Gryffindor Tower.

Gryffindor Tower, girls' dormitory.

The fire in the fireplace was still burning, casting a warm glow on the red and gold curtains.

Marcia sat cross-legged on the bed flipping through a combined issue of "Transformation Today," while Susan lay on her pillow writing a letter home.

The door opened, and the two of them looked up at the same time.

"Why so late—" Marcia trailed off mid-sentence.

Lily's school uniform was wrinkled, the sleeves were dusty, a few strands of her hair were loose, there were scratches on her palms, and the trouser leg was slightly torn at the knee.

But his face didn't look like he had been bullied.

Susan put down her quill, leaned closer, and asked with concern, "What happened?"

Lily put her handbag on the bedside table, took off her school robe and hung it up, then sat down on the edge of the bed and bent down to untie her shoelaces.

He hissed in pain when his leg hit his knee, rolled up his trouser leg to take a look, and saw a bruise.

Marcia had already handed over the white essence: "What happened?"

"We ran into Potter and his gang ambushing us on the way," Lily said, pulling out the stopper and dripping two drops onto her knees, then rubbing some on the cuts on her palms. "We got into a fight."

Marcia exclaimed, "You fought with Potter?"

"Um."

"and then?"

"Then his wand flew away."

Lily put the White Essence back on the bedside table, picked up her wand, wiped off the dust, and placed it next to her pillow.

Marcia and Susan exchanged a glance, both with the same expression: disbelief, yet also a sense that Lily wouldn't joke about something like this.

"Wait a minute," Marcia squeezed onto Lily's bed, pressing her whole body against hers. "You knocked James Potter's wand away? With a spell? What spell?"

Lily's lips curled into a smile: "Disarming Spell."

Susan sat down beside Lily, turning to face her: "I know it's a disarming spell, but how could he let you hit him? He's as fast as a wild rabbit!"

"And another suit of armor," Lily said, leaning against the headboard with her legs stretched out, her tone a little smug. "The old kind in the alcove. I pulled it down, threw it at him, he blocked it for a second, and then I hit him."

Susan thought for a moment, her eyes wide with surprise: "You cast the spell pretty quickly, two spells in a row?"

Lily chuckled and shook her head: "I never said I used a wand to pull it."

Marcia stared at her, mouth agape, for a long time, then slammed her hand on the mattress: "Lily Evans! When did you learn wandless magic?!"

"Magic manipulation," Lily waved her hand and winked, "Remember? I've been practicing it."

Marcia raised an eyebrow, chuckled, and snorted, "Fine, fine, Blake's good student."

Susan covered her mouth and laughed.

Outside the window, the moon hangs above the forbidden forest, its silvery light spreading across the tree canopy and outlining layer upon layer of contours.

Lily stared at the moonlight for a while, and a thought flashed through her mind.

I'll see Regulus this weekend and tell him about tonight's events.

The corners of my mouth curved up on their own, and I couldn't stop them.

At the other end of the Gryffindor Tower, in the third-year boys' dormitory.

As soon as James entered the room, he ripped off his robe and threw it on the floor. One of his shoes flew under the bed, while the other bounced off Lupin's desk leg.

He collapsed onto the bed, the bed frame creaking and screeching, then grabbed his fist and pounded it against the blanket.

"What the hell is going on lately?"

He yelled at the curtains and ripped off his glasses, throwing them next to his pillow.

"First, there were those second-year snake brats, five against four, and they still managed to keep us from gaining the upper hand. Now even Evans managed to disarm me! Evans! A Potions student!"

He grew angrier the more he thought about it, and grabbed a pillow, slamming it hard against the bed twice.

Those second-year students were Blake's lackeys. They thought it would be a piece of cake to deal with a few second-year students, but those little brats were really strange and managed to fight to a draw, with neither of them gaining an advantage.

.

Now Evans has appeared.

On the bed next to him, Sirius lay on his back with his hands behind his head, staring at the top of the curtains, without uttering a sound for a long time.

"Yeah," he suddenly added, slowly, "it's so strange."

"You bet you are!" James sat up abruptly. "You noticed it too? I knew it! There was something fishy about this; there had to be an explanation, absolutely!"

"Hmm," Sirius Black was still staring at the top of the curtain, his eyes darting around, "It's eerie, there must be a reason for it."

.

The two of them were each thinking their own thing.

James was thinking about why he kept running into obstacles lately, first the second year, then Evans, it was just weird.

Sirius was thinking about Lily's fighting style, that unshakeable sense of familiarity, that feeling he'd seen somewhere before.

One mind was on the ground, the other on the heavens, and they happened to come together on the same topic.

"What's wrong with you?" James suddenly rolled over and got up, stepping barefoot onto Sirius's bedside and poking his arm.

"Why didn't you make a move earlier? I was pushed to that point, and you just stood by and watched?"

Sirius, annoyed by his poking, moved aside and said, "Tch."

"What are you cutting for!" James grabbed his shoulder and shook him. "You just watched me get disarmed by a woman, what kind of brother are you—"

'

"It's your own fault for being bad," Sirius shoved his hand away, looking distracted and barely focused. "Is it my fault?"

James retorted, glaring at him, "I'm bad? If I'm bad, then you go play!"

Sirius pulled the blanket up over his head: "Too lazy to move."

"You—"

James pounced on him, and the two of them shoved and rolled around on the bed, making the bed creak.

At the desk, Lupin had a lamp lit and a book on transfiguration open in his hand, without uttering a single word.

He looked up at the two men wrestling, then at James's defiant face, and at Sirius's seemingly playful but actually distracted expression.

Lupin sighed and turned a page.

"...Everyone calm down, there's a Transfiguration act first thing tomorrow morning."