Professor, I'm Here for Help

The Gargoyle stepped aside before he could even speak.

The stone wings retracted to the sides, revealing Spiral Staircase behind them. Regulus stepped onto it, and the staircase began to move on its own, slowly spiraling upwards.

The last time he came here was in his first year; Dumbledore had asked him to go then, but this time he came on his own initiative.

(A vast amount of information is available on [website name - likely a search engine], waiting for you to find it.)

The stairs led to the top, where Oak Door was ajar. He pushed it open and went inside.

The Headmaster's Office was just as big, just as full, and just as cluttered as last time.

The shelf was filled with various Silver Instruments, some spinning, some smoking, and some emitting a faint buzzing sound. Their functions were unclear, but they looked strange and unusual.

The walls are covered with Portrait of past principals, most of them dozing off.

Several people who were still awake were chatting quietly in their respective picture frames. An old man wearing a top hat was arguing with a witch in the picture frame next to him in Old English, with strange pronunciation that was hard to understand.

The fireplace was burning, and the flames warmed the whole room, dispelling the winter chill outside.

Regulus's gaze swept upwards, landing on the topmost Portrait.

Phineas Nigellus Black, wearing a green robe and a silver bow tie, sat upright.

When he saw Regulus, his eyes flickered, his gaze moving from Regulus's face to his posture, and then to the detail that he wasn't holding a wand.

He paused for a moment, then looked away, his face expressionless.

Regulus nodded to him.

Phineas gave a very slight nod, then looked away from him.

On the perch, Fawkes hunched its neck, burying its head under its wings, its golden-red feathers gleaming warmly in the fireplace firelight, a magnificent sight.

Regulus glanced at it and greeted it politely, "Good evening, Fawkes."

Fawkes twitched its wing, but didn't raise its head or even open its eyes.

Regulus shrugged.

When he last visited, Dumbledore said that Fawkes liked him, that the Phoenix could see souls, and that he had a pure and warm heart.

As a result, the bird didn't even bother to glance at him.

The old man lied to him?

Dumbledore sat behind his desk, dressed in a white wizard's robe, his silver beard spread across the table, and his Half-moon Spectacles perched on his nose, positioned perfectly so he could look up at people.

A tea set and two cups were laid out on the table, and steam was still rising from the teapot.

Two cups.

Regulus's heart skipped a beat.

The old man either knows he'll be coming tonight, or he always keeps an extra cup on the table.

The former shows that Dumbledore fully aware of what was happening in the Castle, while the latter shows that he was always ready to receive anyone who walked in.

Either way, it's very Dumbledore.

"Good evening, Regulus." Dumbledore looked up, his tone as casual and gentle as if he were greeting an old friend. He gestured towards his teacup. "Sit down, would you like some tea?"

Regulus walked to the opposite side of the desk, pulled out a chair, sat down, gave a slight bow, and took the teacup. "Good evening, Professor."

Dumbledore then took out a dish of Lemon Sherbet from the drawer and placed it in the middle of the table, and then took out a dish of Cockroach Cluster and placed it next to the Lemon Sherbet.

He pushed the Cockroach Cluster towards Regulus, blinked, and a hint of anticipation flashed in his eyes, as if sharing something good. "Want to try some?"

Regulus glanced at the pile of brown, insect-shaped candies; some of them still had their legs moving and their antennae twitching, as if they were about to crawl out of the dish at any moment.

He remained polite, leaning back slightly, and politely but firmly declined, "No, Professor."

When he came last time, he asked Dumbledore a question: when eating Cockroach Cluster, does he first check to make sure there aren't any real cockroaches mixed in?

The old man didn't answer directly at the time; his eyes flickered, and he stopped eating.

Are you ready this time?

Dumbledore picked up a Cockroach Cluster from the dish, held it up to his eyes, and tapped it with the index finger of his other hand. A pale blue light flashed from his fingertip.

"I later developed a special spell that can detect if there are any live cockroaches mixed in with the candy. See, it's clean, so you can eat it without worry."

His tone carried a hint of pride, even satisfaction, as if he had finally solved a problem that had troubled him for a long time.

Regulus, holding his teacup but not reaching for it, asked, "Can you check all the cockroaches?"

Dumbledore's hand paused, his tone somewhat confused. "What do you mean?"

Regulus took a sip of tea and said casually, "Eupolyphaga, Ground Beetle, Giant Cockroach, Pycnoscelus, Blattella— "

These look completely different from cockroaches, but they are actually related to cockroaches; they are a type of cockroach.

If you try to recognize a cockroach by its appearance, they might miss your spell.

Looking at Dumbledore's hand in mid-air, he added, "There's another kind called the Cryptocercus, which lives in rotten wood and looks like a hybrid of a cockroach and Stonefly."

There are also Shield Cockroach, with particularly hard shells, completely unlike ordinary cockroaches; and Ant Cockroach, which look like ants.

Finally, he kindly comforted her, "If you can't recognize that spell, it's not its fault."

Dumbledore's fingers were still clutching the Cockroach Cluster, and his blue eyes behind his glasses blinked twice.

He glanced down at the candy in his hand, then at the remaining candy on the plate, and then quietly moved the plate of Cockroach Cluster to the side, away from Regulus and away from himself.

"Lemon Sherbet is safe." Dumbledore pushed the other dish, his tone returning to normal, but the smugness in his eyes was gone.

Regulus's lips curved into a slight smile as he picked up his teacup and took another sip.

This old man is quite something; he even came up with a spell specifically to verify the safety of the candy.

Most people might find this boring, but for Dumbledore, it was just a thought that flashed through his mind while eating candy, and he did it without thinking—it only took a few seconds.

But that's not enough. If the old man really insists on checking all the other tests he mentioned, then it's fine; he still has other tricks up his sleeve.

The common cockroach species in UK are the German Cockroach or the American Cockroach, so that spell would actually be enough, but it doesn't matter, he can introduce others.

"How have you been lately?" Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, speaking in a casual tone.

"Not bad," Regulus put down his teacup. "You've done your homework."

"Professor Slughorn has mentioned you to me several times," Dumbledore chuckled, "Saying you have a great talent for Potions, but your interests don't lie there, and it troubles him."

"Potions are definitely not my forte," Regulus said casually.

"I know that Magic is so vast, there are always more attractive directions," Dumbledore nodded, "But Horace would probably be even more troubled if he knew you said that."

Regulus chuckled, picked up a Lemon Sherbet, put it in his mouth, chewed it twice, and decided not to eat a second one.

It is too sweet.

That's enough of our casual conversation.

"Professor," he looked at Dumbledore, his tone unchanged, still unhurried, "I need help."

Dumbledore's expression changed slightly.

It wasn't exactly unexpected, but it wasn't entirely anticipated either. It was more like hearing something he felt was bound to happen sooner or later, but he didn't expect it to happen tonight.

He leaned forward slightly, placing his hands clasped on the table, his blue eyes fixed on Regulus with a gentle gaze. "What kind of help?"

"There might be some issues during the holidays," Regulus said. "I need an escape route, the kind that works anywhere, and isn't affected by the Anti-Apparition Charm."

Dumbledore did not answer immediately.

Anywhere, without restrictions.

In situations not affected by the Anti-Apparition Charm, the range is very narrow.

The manor of Pureblood families, Gringotts ' underground vault, certain areas of the Ministry of Magic, Azkaban, and Hogwarts.

But Regulus was talking about holidays, and during holidays he wouldn't be at Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic, Gringotts ' underground vault, and probably wouldn't be going to Azkaban either.

What remains are the estates of the Pureblood families.

During the Christmas holidays, the Pureblood families will host a dinner party. This year, the Lestrange family is hosting, and the Black family will definitely be there.

But what level of threat would it take to make Regulus feel he couldn't handle an emergency escape from the Lestrange family's dinner party?

Dumbledore mentally reviewed what he knew about Regulus's abilities.

Space Magic —this child's mastery of Space Magic far surpasses that of ordinary wizards; it can be described as highly advanced.

The Starry Sky Kite can traverse space and teleport people, which means that its mobility is virtually limitless in any open space outside of Hogwarts.

He had tamed Fiendfyre Fiendfyre such an extent that it was obedient, controllable, and even capable of achieving unique flight methods.

Dumbledore knew better than anyone what a wizard who could control Fiendfyre meant on the battlefield.

Area suppression and regional blockade force the opponent to devote a significant amount of energy to dealing with environmental threats, rather than focusing on attacks.

Pomona told him about Natural Magic, explaining that Regulus's perception of Magical Plant had reached the level of dialogue, and that such an ability, if used in combat, would be a huge advantage in terms of environmental control.

Transfiguration, Minerva said he had already touched the threshold of Spatial Transfiguration, which is an achievement that is rare for a second-year student.

On Mental Layer, during that long conversation Shrieking Shack, Regulus's understanding of the mind and his self-awareness convinced Dumbledore that the boy's inner defenses were far stronger than they appeared.

His later ability to illuminate and see souls further confirmed this judgment.

With these capabilities combined, conventional threats pose no problem for Regulus.

Even if surrounded, he has the Fiendfyre for area suppression, Space Magic for mobility, and the Starry Sky Kite to carry him away. This configuration is actually his advantage in a multi-against-one situation.

Of course, Dumbledore was only speculating; he had never personally witnessed Regulus unleash his full power. However, based on the information he possessed, this speculation was highly credible.

Therefore, Regulus's concern was not about the number of people.

Dumbledore knew what Regulus had been up to lately.

His public acceptance of two Half-bloods students into Slytherin, allowing them to sit at the center of the long table, caused quite a stir within Slytherin.

Those two students are now very close to Regulus's clique, following him around to and from class.

This may have already caused dissatisfaction among some people.

And Lily Evans.

Dumbledore knew that Regulus was teaching her Magic, the Shield Charm, laying the foundations, practicing combat, and now he was teaching her the Patronus.

A Pure-bloods heir of Slytherin teaches a Muggle-born Gryffindor witch how to summon Patronus, a cross-house, cross-bloodline story that lasts for almost a semester.

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