Where is your pure-blooded young master's dignity?

Wednesday morning.

The Scottish Highlands enjoyed rare good weather, with sunlight streaming through the Castle's high windows and casting dappled patterns on the stone floors of the Corridor.

History of Magic class, with Hufflepuff.

Professor Binns floated into the classroom as always, emerging from behind the blackboard and landing behind the podium.

He opened his unchanging lesson plan and began lecturing in that monotonous voice that could put the living to sleep and bring the dead back to life.

"Today's topic is the Giant Wars."

"... occurring in the late nineteenth century, it is a collective term for a series of long-standing conflicts between wizards and Giant."

Giant are enormous, incredibly strong, and naturally resistant to Magic. They frequently Attacks wizard settlements, threatening the enforcement of the International Statute of Secrecy...

Most of the students in the classroom were doing their own thing; some were secretly flipping through Magic picture books under their textbooks, some were chatting quietly, and some were simply sleeping.

Professor Binns never cared about these things; he only needed to finish what he had to say, and whether anyone listened was not his concern.

"The Ministry of Magic eventually formed the Auror Army, employing a combination of expulsion and encirclement to force the Giant back to the most remote mountains of Europe..."

Regulus listened, but his mind was elsewhere.

Giant seem to exist solely to enrich the humanoid species system of the Wizarding World.

They are born with extremely strong physical strength, powerful Magic resistance, and Vigorous Life; ordinary spells are like tickles to them.

If classified according to the game, they are natural tanks, with high health and defense, needing no equipment or skills, they can be a wall just by standing there.

Interestingly, they are not reproductively isolated from wizards.

This shows that, from a biological perspective, Giant and wizards are different branches of the same species, just like golden retrievers and Teddy are both dogs.

The Wizarding World also has a unique and wondrous creation: the Half-bloods- Giant Rubeus Hagrid.

That's interesting in itself.

But as soon as the thought popped into his head, he suppressed it; it wouldn't be polite to think that way.

After all, Professor Flitwick was also of Half-bloods. Regulus and Hagrid didn't know each other, but Professor Flitwick was worthy of respect.

He continued to let his thoughts wander.

The wizard bloodline is indeed amazing; it seems to always produce Half-bloods with other intelligent humanoid beings.

Known species include Half-bloods- Giant, Half-bloods- goblin, Half-Veela.

Are there any others?

Centaur?

I've never heard of that. There are only Centaur, not human centaurs. I wonder where the first Centaur came from.

Fishman?

I've never heard of that, but Merfolk do exist.

That's a bit of a stretch; let's get back to the Giant.

It's almost inevitable that Giant will become targets for both the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters; such naturally superior combat power is highly sought after anywhere.

Moreover, Regulus knew that in the end they would side with Voldemort, and hatred was the best bargaining chip.

But then I thought, how could the Giant have gone from hundreds of tribes to just a few dozen now, hiding in the most remote mountains of Europe?

Actually, it's just so-so.

The fact that they could be reduced from hundreds of tribes to only a few dozen suggests that their top-tier combat strength wasn't that impressive. The wizards did suffer heavy casualties, but the result was that the Giant were almost wiped out.

In the Wizarding World, no matter how powerful a non-wizard race is, it is no match for an organized group of wizards.

Moreover, it's not difficult for skilled wizards to deal with Giant, so Voldemort recruited them mainly to slaughter Muggle and create panic and chaos.

Regulus snapped out of his reverie; Professor Binns was still speaking, his voice like the wind rustling through withered leaves.

"... Afterwards, the Ministry of Magic classified Giant as extremely dangerous creatures, strictly prohibiting wizards from contacting them."

The Dismissal Bell, and Professor Binns ' voice abruptly stopped. He floated up from behind the podium, passed through the blackboard, and disappeared.

In the afternoon, it was Professor Flitwick's Charms Class. Regulus followed the crowd into the Charms Class classroom and sat down near the bookshelf.

Professor Flitwick was already standing on the stack of books, his voice high-pitched but enthusiastic. "Today, we'll learn the Colloportus."

He waved his wand, and the classroom door slammed shut.

"Colloporu!"

An invisible force struck the lock, locking the door firmly in place. Several Ravenclaw tried to pull it open, but to no avail.

Professor Flitwick watched them with a smile.

"The Colloportus a basic spell, but it's very useful. When Spellcasting, you should have the intention of locking the door securely, and concentrate the Magic Power on the lock. Come on, everyone, let's try it together."

The classroom was filled with the sound of chanting incantations.

Some succeeded, the lock clicked; some failed, the door didn't budge; some used too much force, the door vibrated and hummed.

Regulus casually cast a spell, and the door locked instantly.

For him, the incantation was too basic; he didn't need to do anything, it was just a matter of a thought.

But he still practiced it a few times, just to loosen up his wrists.

After class, Regulus went to the Library.

Madam Pince sat in the doorway, her hooked nose facing each person who entered. Regulus nodded to her and went inside.

My usual spot, by the window, in the corner.

He sat down, took out "The Essence of Magic and Principles of Spellcasting" from his bag, and flipped to the page he had been reading yesterday.

After watching for a while, he heard footsteps and looked up.

Lily stood across the table, holding several books in her arms, her expression somewhat serious.

Regulus nodded to her and greeted her, "Lily."

Lily simply nodded, a very small, formal gesture, without saying a word, and then sat down opposite him.

Regulus looked at her gently, knowing she was still angry.

But he could tell that this wasn't real anger; it was more like a deliberate act, like a little girl saying, "I'm unhappy, come and comfort me."

He then realized that she was just a little girl.

She's only thirteen years old.

Regulus closed the book, then subtly moved his hand under the table, silently casting a Muffling Charm that enveloped the two of them.

"I was wrong." He said sincerely.

Lily looked up at him, and the seriousness she was trying to maintain was starting to crumble.

She felt a little annoyed, but mostly amused.

Who apologizes right away?

Where is your Pure-blood Young Master's pride?

"I was too busy during the holidays," Regulus said gently. "It's not that I forgot, I just really didn't have the time."

He didn't say what he was busy with, what he went to Germany, who he met, or what the matter was.

But that tone, that sincere attitude, made it impossible for him to keep a straight face.

Lily stared at him for a while, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips, which she then tried to suppress.

"You always do this." Her tone was still harsh, but her expression was no longer so serious.

Regulus thought for a moment, then defended himself. "I don't do that every time."

"Did you write me a letter before?" Lily asked, her eyes wide.

"... No." Regulus blinked innocently.

"So it's always like this." Lily's tone was firm and decisive, making her statement the final word.

The logic seemed a bit flawed, but Regulus didn't refute it; he simply looked at her with that gentle smile on his face.

Lily felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, so she looked away and flipped through the book in her hands.

"I'm not really angry," she muttered. "I know that heirs to families like yours must be very busy during the holidays, unlike me, who can play whenever I want after finishing my homework."

She seemed to be trying to cover for Regulus: "You must have something important to do."

Regulus didn't speak, his expression remaining gentle. Lily flipped through a few pages of her book, then looked up again.

"But could you please let me know in advance next time? Even just a short note would be fine, just say you're busy during the holidays and don't have time to write, then I'll know."

Regulus nodded. "Okay."

Lily looked at him, blinked, and then her lips curved into a smile, and her eyes followed suit.

"Alright, I'll let you go."

Regulus smiled as well.

The Muffling Charm still enveloped the two of them, and the surroundings were very quiet, with only the occasional sound of turning pages, footsteps, and small voices talking in the distance.

Lily started reading, while Regulus continued reading his own book.

As the light outside the window gradually dimmed, Lily closed her book just before dinner.

Regulus felt her gaze and looked up.

Lily looked at him, her expression more serious than before. "Regulus, I want to ask you something."

Regulus nodded. "Hmm."

Lily hesitated for a moment. "What do you think of Dark Arts?"

She continued, "I had a fight with Severus because he... he's learning something."

He said it wasn't Dark Arts, just a deeper form of Magic, but I felt it was Dark Arts; those books, those spells, they looked terrifying.

She looked at Regulus with a mixture of confusion and expectation in her eyes.

"I want to know, how do you... you Slytherin view Dark Arts? Are you really all learning those things, as others say?"

Regulus was silent for a moment, then he asked, "Do you want to hear the truth, or do you want to hear words of comfort?"

Lily glared at him, emphasizing, "The truth!"

Regulus nodded and said, "Not all Slytherin study Dark Arts; most just attend classes, take exams, and graduate normally."

Dark Arts is not something easily learned, nor is it something anyone dares to touch.

Regulus continued, "But Dark Arts itself is not what you think."

He asked, "What do you think Dark Arts is?"

Lily thought for a moment, "It's Magic that hurts people, causing pain, even death."

Regulus said, "That's a kind of Dark Arts, but not all of it."

The definition of Dark Arts is actually quite vague. Some spells are obvious, like the Unforgivable Curses, but some spells can be described as Dark Arts in one way or another.

"For example, Fiendfyre."

Lily frowned. "Fiendfyre? Isn't that Dark Arts?"

"Yes," Regulus said, "But it was originally created to eradicate high-threat dark creatures."

There are also techniques to break indestructible Dark Arts artifacts, defend against large-scale invasions, and construct impenetrable fire barriers.

It was later abused, and those wizards who abused it were not very skilled.

Lily was silent for a moment, then asked, "Have you ever used... Dark Arts?"

Regulus looked at her, his tone calm. "Used."

Lily's expression didn't change, as if she had already guessed it.

"So do you think... people who use Dark Arts will turn bad?"

Regulus replied directly, "Yes."

Lily's eyes widened: "Then you—"

Regulus interrupted her, "Some people are controlled by Dark Arts, and some people control Dark Arts."

That's all he said, but Lily could tell he was saying he wasn't controlled by Dark Arts.

She believed him when he said that; there was no reason why, she just believed him.

Regulus continued, "Which one does Snape belong to, I don't know, you'll have to ask him."

Lily lowered her head, looked at the book on the table, and remained silent for a long time.

"He wasn't like this before," she said softly. "Before, he just liked Magic, liked studying those strange and unusual things. We read books together, discussed things together, and..."

She didn't continue, and Regulus didn't say anything more either.

Some things you can only figure out on your own.

After a while, Lily looked up and said, "Thank you, Regulus."

Her expression relaxed a bit. "I should go eat."

Regulus nodded and removed the Muffling Charm.

Lily stood up, took a few steps with the book in her arms, then turned back. "Write to me next time."

Regulus smiled. "Okay."

Lily glared at him, then turned and left.

Don't miss out: Chapter 197, where's your Pure-blood Young Master's reserve? Full text available, click here.