My Cousin Praises Me Too Much

Bellatrix reached for her waist with her left hand, and Magic Power flowed through her fingertips. The hem of her dress shortened to just above her knees, the hems of her high heels became flat, and the dress clung tightly to her body, with all the excess fabric disappearing.

She stood there, wearing a black miniskirt and bare legs, wand in her right hand, her feet on the stone slab, her posture slightly lowered, her center of gravity reduced.

Something lit up in her face, different from her anger just now, and different from the fervor she displayed during her speech.

Pure excitement.

Her eyes twitched, her lips twitched, as if her muscles had buckled from extreme excitement; her eyes were even brighter than when she was giving her speech, her pupils dilated. But it wasn't because of Regulus.

Regulus wasn't much of a match for her; a second-year wizard who had defeated a few students in the Hogwarts Corridor and made a name for himself in Pure-blood Circle. In her mind, the skills he learned at school, coupled with his Black family background, made him, at best, a gifted student. What excited her was that she could finally make a move.

Bellatrix had a natural affinity for this: the sounds of battle, destruction, and Magic blasting flesh apart.

She can go without food, she can go without sleep, but she can't live without this.

She didn't intend to use anything profound; there was no need. A regular spell would suffice.

She wasn't even planning to end it all at once; she wanted to teach her arrogant younger cousin a lesson.

Let him understand that bullying a few students at Hogwarts is no skill; true wizards rely on Magic.

She also wanted him to know that his self-proclaimed talent meant nothing in front of her.

Bellatrix flicked her wand, and the first spell flew out.

The Reducto, silent, shot out a yellow light from the tip of the staff at incredible speed, tearing the air apart with its muffled, piercing sound, heading straight for Regulus's chest.

Regulus didn't even raise his wand.

The spell struck a point a foot in front of him, and a burst of Silver Light erupted— the Shield Charm.

The incantation struck the barrier with a dull thud, like a hammer hitting an iron plate, its hum echoing throughout the Banquet Hall.

Bright yellow fragments of the spell scattered in all directions, hitting the nearest long table and shattering its surface.

Regulus's expression remained unchanged.

But he felt it; through the Shield Charm, a shockwave bounced within the barrier—not a large one, but definitely present.

It can pierce through the Shield Charm an adult wizard hasn't had time to reinforce.

She wasn't being serious; it was more like a greeting.

Regulus took a step forward.

Bellatrix's lips parted at the corners, she licked her upper lip with the tip of her tongue, her eyes shining brightly. She didn't speak, and the wand moved again.

Exploding Charm.

This attack was significantly more powerful than the previous Reducto. The orange-red incantation struck the Shield Charm, causing ripples to spread outwards from the point of impact on the barrier's surface.

It wasn't very intense; the ripples disappeared after a couple of jumps, and the barrier returned to its original state.

But its power is indeed greater.

He recalled Orion's spells in the Training Room, the penetrating power that could numb an arm even through Shield Charm — Bellatrix was far from matching that. That was normal; Orion was the Patriarch of the Black family and possessed the family's Magic heritage.

Moreover, age is a factor; a wizard's Magic Power and experience increase with age. Bellatrix is only in her early twenties, and her output already demonstrates her talent.

But Orion is stronger, at least judging from these two spells.

Bellatrix's expression relaxed slightly, as if she had let go of something.

She was initially worried about accidentally breaking her cousin, but now that she realized he could hold his own, she could go all out.

"Regulus," she said with an exaggeratedly flamboyant smile, her eyebrows raised, her mouth stretched wide, and the wrinkles around her eyes crinkling, "You really do have some skill."

Regulus looked at her, his tone still low. "You flatter me, cousin."

Bellatrix's right eye twitched.

Is that what I meant?

You think I'm praising you?

She ran her tongue over her teeth, swallowed the rest of her words, and raised her wand again.

Regulus continued walking forward, calmly, with small steps and steady breathing.

He finally raised his wand, swung it forward, and unleashed a Cutting Curse.

A thin, translucent, silvery-white line sliced across the Banquet Hall, so fine that its trajectory was almost invisible, yet it left a tremor in the air it passed through, visibly fast and precise, heading straight for the wrist holding her wand.

Bellatrix flicked her wand upwards, the tip striking the trajectory of the Cutting Curse. Light splattered, the thin line veered off course, and flew out at an angle, slicing into a nearby stone pillar.

A groove, half an inch deep, was cut into the surface of the stone pillar. The cut was neat, and white smoke was rising from the edges.

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow slightly.

It's quite powerful.

She glanced at Regulus, her expression changing slightly, from reprimanding the child to saying that the child had some ability.

But that's about it; this time, the level of sixth and seventh graders was at its peak.

She continued her attack while simultaneously moving, her steps light and quick, taking two steps to the side and flicking her wand repeatedly.

An Explosion Charm came from the front, which Regulus's Shield Charm blocked, causing it to explode and sending sparks flying.

Immediately following, a Cutting Curse flew in from the side, skimming the ground at a tricky angle, slicing towards the lower edge of the Shield Charm.

Regulus slightly turned his body to the side, and at the same time, the coverage area of Shield Charm shrank back a few inches, failing to block it.

The Cutting Curse grazed the bottom of the barrier and sliced through the long table leg behind him. The leg broke, and the remaining half of the table collapsed, scattering plates and glasses all over the floor.

Regulus began to fight back.

A Reducto shot towards the ground beneath Bellatrix's feet. Bellatrix dodged to the side, and the stone slab shattered where she had just stood, sending rubble flying. As she landed, she cast a Fire-Making Spell, a pillar of Flame Breath out that struck Regulus's Shield Charm, creating a wall of fire. The heatwave spread outwards, igniting the nearest Portrait, flames climbing up their wooden frames.

Regulus passed through the wall of fire, and the flames on the Shield Charm extinguished the instant he passed, leaving the silver barrier completely clean.

As he walked, he cast an Explosion Charm. Bellatrix dodged to the side, and the Explosion Charm landed on the wall behind her, creating a crater the size of a washbasin, spewing out rubble and dust.

Bellatrix's spell power was increased to a higher level, skipping the junior wizard level.

A Piercing Curse shot out from the tip of her staff, an extremely thin, pale beam of light, swift in its strike with a short warning, almost invisible amidst the remnants of the flames and rubble.

The beam of light struck the Shield Charm, causing the silver barrier to ripple violently and emit a sharp, screeching sound, like glass being scraped by metal.

The barrier Transfiguration briefly in one area, then bounced back.

Regulus blocked it, but it wasn't too difficult for him.

The long table in the center of the Banquet Hall has only a few pieces remaining intact.

The tabletop was sliced open by a spell, shattered, and overturned by the impact, with wood chips and broken silver plates mixed together.

The Portrait frames on the wall were crooked, and several had fallen off their hooks and landed on the ground.

The candlesticks were leaning precariously, some extinguished, some still burning, their flames spilling onto the tablecloth, leaving a charred edge.

Walburga's expression was very unpleasant.

As she watched Regulus and Bellatrix fight, the color drained from her face.

This was a development she had never imagined: her youngest son was fighting her niece in the Banquet Hall of the Lestrange Manor, using real attack spells.

Orion kept pressing on her wrist; she didn't lash out, but her face was extremely pale.

The way she looked at Regulus was almost the same as how she looked at Sirius —warmth, pride, my Reggie —all gone in that instant, leaving only a sense of unfamiliarity she couldn't describe.

Then she saw Regulus, wand in hand, walking among the firelight and rubble, exchanging blows with Bellatrix, his face expressionless, as if nothing was bothering him.

The unpleasant expression on Walburga's face changed.

The anger remained, but something else had also appeared, something she didn't know what to call it—perhaps shock, perhaps bewilderment.

This was the first time she had seen Regulus display his power.

When did her youngest son become like this?

How come she never knew?

Is there anything she doesn't know?

Orion glanced at her sideways, then looked away, his gaze returning to the center of the court.

This level of effort doesn't even qualify as a warm-up.

The pace has quickened.

Bellatrix's spells became increasingly dense, her speed nearly doubling. Before one spell even landed, the next shot from the tip of her staff. Explosion Charm, Fire-Making Spell, Cutting Curse, Piercing Curse, Reducto, Petrifying Spell, and Icicle Curse came in quick succession, their angles unpredictable and their paths varied. Some came head-on, others skirted the ground or ceiling. She began to move more frequently, her steps quick and fragmented, changing positions after each spell.

Regulus also began to move.

He used Sidestep Charm, moving his body three meters to the right. An Explosion Charm blasted past where he had just been standing, hitting the stone wall behind him and sending debris flying.

The moment he landed, he swung his wand in retaliation, unleashing a Confringo that shot towards Bellatrix's left, forcing her to move to the right.

Bellatrix dodged to the right, landed, and unleashed a Fire-Making Spell, Compressed Fireball the size of a fist, covering a fan-shaped area. Regulus activated his Swift Charm, accelerated, and passed through the fireballs' area of effect. The three fireballs exploded behind him, illuminating half of the Banquet Hall.

As he accelerated, he flicked his wand repeatedly, sending out two Cutting Curse from different angles, one directly in front and the other circling around from the side.

Bellatrix blocked the attack from the front, deflecting it with her wand, but the attack from the side forced her to take an extra step to dodge, cutting a deep groove in the stone slab beneath her feet. Regulus gave her no time to catch her breath.

He unleashed a Exploding Charm, which shot towards the ground half a foot to Bellatrix's left.

With a loud bang, the stone slab shattered, and fragments of stone flew into the air.

Bellatrix dodged it; her reaction was indeed quick, she had already moved sideways before the explosion had fully unfolded.

But that's exactly what Regulus wanted. She dodged it, but the rubble flew up.

The flying pebbles began to Transfiguration.

In less than half a second, a dozen fist-sized stones were stretched, narrowed, sharpened, and solidified into Stone Spike by Transfiguration. They spun at high speed, glowing red from friction in the air and emitting a buzzing tremor.

The process is extremely short, from the explosion to the formation of the Stone Spike to their accelerated ejection, taking no more than one second.

A dozen Stone Spike shot towards Bellatrix simultaneously, from different directions—above, from the left, from the right, and from below—covering most of the space around her. The sound of the air being torn apart was sharp and piercing; the Stone Spike red, and even the air itself was rippled, spreading out in concentric circles that carried far. Bellatrix activated her Shield Charm.

A silver barrier unfolded before her. The Stone Spike struck it; the first few were blocked and shattered into powder, but the barrier was no longer intact, as the later spikes passed right through.

The scorching air from the Stone Spike grazed her face, arms, and waist, leaving several scorch marks on her robe.

A blade grazed her Left Arm, leaving a charred burn mark; she could even smell the burning skin.

Bellatrix looked down at the burn on her arm; the scorched skin was still emitting wisps of white smoke.

She gently touched the edge of the wound with her right index finger, held it up to her eyes to look at the charred bits of debris on her fingertip, then put it to her lips and licked it.

Then she let out a low, hoarse laugh, echoing in her throat.

A big smile spread across his face, a genuine and radiant one, his eyebrows practically flying off, his eyes wide, and his mouth stretched into a grin.

"Not bad, little cousin," she said with genuine admiration, "Who taught you that?"

Regulus looked at her, still with the same expression. "You flatter me, cousin."

Bellatrix's smile was a little stiff; her jaw muscles twitched, and the corner of her eye twitched.

It's that same line again.

She shut up, losing all interest in speaking.

Regulus had been like this all night, repeating the same few words from beginning to end. No matter what she said, he remained the same; even when she hit him, he still acted the same way. She understood: Regulus, confident in his strength, didn't respect her at all.

But she wasn't so angry anymore.

She was completely engulfed in flames.