Why Do Some People Love Picking on Others?

The two continued spinning, Lily gradually found her rhythm.

She no longer simply followed Regulus; she began to use a series of spells to disrupt his movement.

The first shot hits his right side, the second blocks his space to the left, and the third is sent the instant he changes direction.

Regulus took two steps back, caught the three obstacles, and this time it took him a few more steps to find his place.

He stopped again, looked at Lily, and specifically said these few points, "If the strategy is right, use spells to pressure the opponent's route, and when he has no choice but to go in one direction, then attack in that direction."

This is an important aspect of a duel; it's not just about two people shooting at each other, but about controlling the situation.

Your three consecutive steps were a good idea, but if you had been any faster and connected them more tightly, I really wouldn't have been able to escape."

Lily listened attentively, nodding occasionally.

Regulus continued, "Also, pay attention to the direction your opponent's wand is pointing. Before he Spellcasting, his wand will point at the target in advance. That lead time is very short, but enough for you to anticipate it."

By observing the direction of their gaze, one can basically guess where the next target will be...

Halfway through her sentence, Lily winked slyly, then suddenly flicked her wand, casting a Disarming Charm straight at his chest, striking him cleanly and swiftly while he was speaking.

Regulus raised an eyebrow slightly, flicked his wand to the side, deflected the red light, and struck the wall.

His movement was a little too forceful, and a slight smile appeared on his lips as he glanced at her.

Lily was breathing a little fast, a few strands of her hair were messy, she stood there with bright eyes, waiting for him to give her an explanation.

She knew she had hit him well, almost succeeding. Although she knew Regulus wasn't serious, she was still happy and excited.

Regulus's tone remained gentle, his gaze somewhat like that of someone watching a mischievous child. "To strike while someone is talking isn't exactly honorable."

Seeing his expression, Lily said confidently, "You said it yourself, there's no such thing as fair play in a duel."

Regulus thought about it carefully. He didn't think he had said that, but after glancing at Lily, he decided to admit it; there was actually nothing wrong with what he said.

He nodded. "Yes, I did."

Lily snorted, a hint of smugness mixed with restraint, though she couldn't suppress the corners of her mouth.

The two fought for a while longer, then Regulus let her continue to attack while he retreated to receive the blows.

Occasionally retaliate to put pressure on her, but not so much that she can't handle it.

Lily became increasingly adept at playing within this rhythm, eventually managing to simultaneously control movement, Spellcasting angles, and tempo.

Although it's still a long way from a real duel, this progress is acceptable for a third-year wizard.

It was almost 9:30 when Regulus put away his wand. Lily also stopped, leaned against the windowsill, took a sip of water, and was still breathing a little rapidly.

Regulus stood in the middle of the classroom, waiting for her to catch her breath.

It was completely dark outside the window, the moon hung high in the sky, and a thin layer of mist had formed on the glass.

After Lily finished drinking her water, she put the bottle away, turned her head to look at him, and remembered the question that had been weighing on her mind.

"That thing on your body," she pointed to her chest, making a gesture to cover it, "Is that?"

"Shield Charm," Regulus said, "Keep it active; you don't need to cast it every time."

Lily paused for a moment, then frowned, her voice filled with surprise. "It's been hanging there all this time?"

"With sufficient Magic Power and enough familiarity with the spell, it can remain permanently," Regulus said.

"But the root of the problem lies in the Magic Manipulation, in making Magic Power do things directly without incantations or wands."

That's one way of putting it, but that's not entirely true.

His Constant Shield Charm was no longer the same one he had found in the Forbidden Section.

After the Bellatrix o'clock, the imagery of Protection merges into it, and it transforms from a defensive spell into something else entirely.

Passive, constant, instinctive.

It grew out after long-term Magic Power shaping and the internalization of the Guardian Will; it wasn't particularly profound, but it was high-end.

There's no need to tell Lily these things.

Even without Bellatrix or any Guardian Image, the Constant Shield Charm is sufficient on its own.

It's just difficult, extremely difficult.

A spell must be pressed into a thin membrane, Magic Weaving, and then attached to the body to continuously supply Magic Power, allowing it to sustain itself.

This training method requires an extremely high level of control over Magic Power, so high that most adult wizards cannot achieve it.

But difficulty is not a reason not to practice. Even if you don't succeed, the process of practicing itself is meaningful.

The ability to perceive, manipulate, distribute, and continuously output Magic Power is the foundation for advancing further.

Lily's brow was still furrowed.

She remembered clearly the scene last weekend when Regulus grabbed the spell she had cast with his bare hand and crushed it.

He said at the time that it was Magic Manipulation, and that it was the foundation.

She took a deep breath, looked up at him intently, and asked, "Then how do we practice?"

"Take your time," Regulus said softly. "This is what I'm going to teach you next."

Lily nodded, blinked, and asked, "What about the sparring practice? Will it continue?"

"For sparring practice, find someone to practice with—a classmate, a friend. Use the spells you've learned more often, practice them a lot, and you'll naturally get faster as you become more familiar with them. Of course, you can also come to me."

He continued, "But I plan to have you practice something else next."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Patronus Charm."

Lily blinked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "Patronus? The kind that even adult wizards have a hard time summoning?"

Regulus nodded. "Yes."

She looked at him, thought for a moment, and asked directly, "Why are you practicing this now?"

"The Patronus transforms emotions into Magic power," Regulus said calmly. "Practicing this is actually practicing something else entirely."

He paused, then added, "You'll need it later."

After hearing this, Lily pondered the sentence in her mind, "Training Patronus, isn't that actually training Patronus?"

She didn't understand, but she didn't ask any further questions; she simply nodded.

She didn't doubt Regulus's words. Everything he had said over the past year had its reasons, and even if she didn't fully understand them at the time, she had figured them out later.

Regulus's expression turned serious. "There's something I need to clarify."

Lily looked up.

"You can practice the Patronus exercises on your own, and it's fine if your friends know, but you can't say you learned them from me."

Lily paused, her green eyes lingering on his face for a moment, but she didn't ask why; she just stared at him.

She didn't know why, but she could tell Regulus was serious.

"Okay," Lily nodded vigorously, "I've got it."

After a moment of silence, she rolled her eyes, turned her head, and said, "Can I ask Professor McGonagall? I can just say I want to learn, and ask her for guidance, so I'll have someone to go from."

Regulus glanced at her, his eyes full of approval, and nodded.

Lily raised her chin, her lips pursed in undisguised smugness, her pride practically radiating from her face.

Regulus smiled and praised, "Clever."

Then he walked to the corner of the classroom, lightly tapped a piece of wood on the ground with his finger, and the wood piece turned into a long, thin feather that floated up.

He placed the feather in his palm and handed it to Lily: "Here you go."

Lily took it, looked at it, and then looked at him.

"Hold the wand, but don't chant any spells, don't wave the wand," he said. "Feel the Magic Power within you, let it flow to your fingertips, gather there, and then let it out from your fingertips, touching the feather."

Lily lowered her head, staring at the feathers, her brows furrowed as she thought hard, but couldn't figure out where to begin.

After a while, she looked up, somewhat dejected. "I can't sense where the Magic Power is."

Regulus asked patiently, "Where does the Magic Power come from when Spellcasting?"

Lily thought for a moment, "From... the body?"

"Yes," Regulus nodded, "Close your eyes and mentally recite the spell you know best, without saying it aloud."

Feel where the Magic Power begins to move, where it goes, and what it feels like inside your body before it gathers at the tip of the staff.

Lily closed her eyes, gripped her wand, her brows furrowed slightly, and her lips moved slightly as if she were silently reciting something, then stopped.

About half a minute later, she opened her eyes.

"I can feel it, starting from here—" She pointed to the left side of her chest, "Going down to my arm, and then to the tip of the cane."

"Remember that feeling. Now, without Spellcasting, guide the Magic Power to your fingertips, hold it there, and then let it flow out, touching the feather."

Lily took a deep breath and looked down at the feather again.

The feather didn't move. I tried again, but it still didn't move.

She pursed her lips, her brows furrowing deeper, a hint of resentment in her earnestness.

The third time, the feather's edge twitched slightly, as if brushed by a gentle breeze, and then remained still.

Lily's eyes widened suddenly. She looked up at Regulus, her eyes shining.

Regulus said softly, "It's moving, but not stable enough. Continue, let it float completely."

Lily lowered her head and continued.

This time it was a little faster; the feather left my palm, floated in the air, trembling, and veered to the left.

She quickly adjusted herself, the feather swayed in the air several times, and then fell down.

She picked up the feather, placed it back in her palm, and tried again.

The fifth time, the feather floated steadily in the air, about an inch from the palm of the hand, without moving an inch.

Lily stared at the feather, holding her breath, afraid that the slightest movement would knock it down.

But Regulus wasn't afraid. "Now let it draw a circle."

Lily looked up at him, her lips twitching slightly, as if to ask, "Are you serious?"

Regulus was certainly serious.

She lowered her head, stared at the feather again, and tried to make it move.

The feather tilted slightly to the right, then darted to the left, tracing a crooked arc in the air before falling back down.

Regulus stood beside him, his tone still calm. "Again."

Lily picked up the feather, took a deep breath, and tried again.

After several attempts, I'm still figuring out how to draw a circle with a feather.

Regulus pointed his finger at a broken brick in the corner of the classroom, and the brick turned into a cup.

He placed the cup on the windowsill, then touched the rim with his finger; the Aguamenti.

Water welled up from my fingertips and poured into the cup, filling it to about eight-tenths full.

"Put the feathers aside for now, look at this."

He said, "We create ripples on the water's surface and control the shape of those ripples."

Lily came over, looked at the water in the cup, and then looked at Regulus, with a bit of emotion in her tone. "Is your training method specifically designed to let people know how bad you are?"

Regulus smiled. "More or less."

Lily laughed out loud, then lowered her head, stared at the water's surface, and began to try.

The water surface didn't move the first time, but the second time it rippled a little and then dispersed.

The third ripple was a little more stable, but its shape was completely out of control, spreading in all directions.

Lily frowned and tried to fold it into a square, but the water surface became a mess.

She looked at Regulus with a pained expression.

"The Magic Power is too scattered," Regulus said. "You need to concentrate the Magic Power you send out, starting from a single point, and then you decide where it spreads."

Lily thought for a moment, nodded, and tried again.

This time, a thin ripple appeared on the water's surface; it was just a shallow line, but it was clearly controlled.

She stared at the ripple, and the corners of her mouth slowly curved into a smile.

Regulus didn't speak, just waited for her to figure it out herself.

The wind outside the window slapped against the glass, the water rippled, and the ripple dispersed.

Lily raised her head and let out a soft breath.

"It's almost ten o'clock," Regulus said gently. "That's all for today."

Lily responded, pushed the cup aside, and clapped her hands. "Magic Manipulation, go back and practice on your own?"

Regulus nodded. "Yes, feathers and water are both fine, take your time."

Lily nodded, then her expression changed, and her eyes flickered towards Regulus's face with a hint of caution, as if she were considering whether to speak.

Finally, she spoke up, her tone somewhat troubled. "You tell me... why do some people just love to bully others?"

After she finished speaking, the sadness she had been suppressing since she entered the room that evening resurfaced in her eyes.

Regulus raised an eyebrow.

The look on Snape's face when he approached him a few days ago, combined with Lily's cautious expression just now—

No need to think, Sirius.

Since Sirius is involved, James Potter is indispensable.