Baruk the Lively Spider

Seeing Regulus's aloof demeanor, Lily laughed even harder, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

She walked in, closed the door behind her, took a couple of steps, and then sensed something was different.

"It's so warm."

She turned and looked around. There was no fireplace in the corner, nor any flames in sight. The Corridor was still chilly, but the air in the classroom was warm and comfortable.

She reached out and touched the air; the warmth enveloped her evenly, neither scorching nor drying, as if seeping from the walls and floor. Her gaze returned to Regulus, a hint of curiosity in her eyes, then a moment later, a touch of admiration.

Seeing her expression, Regulus's serious face relaxed, and he chuckled, "Temperature-Maintaining Charm."

Lily smiled and gave him a look that praised him for being sensible.

She drew her wand and waved it a couple of times. Several pieces of broken wood in the corner stretched, Transfiguration, pieced together, and grew taller, finally transforming into a simple clothes rack. She walked to the corner, took off her school robe and hung it up, then took off her scarf, folded it twice, and hung it up. Then she turned and glanced at Regulus. Regulus also went over, took off his outer robe and hung it on the rack, then took off his scarf and placed it next to the robe.

Lily gave him a satisfied look, then noticed that the scarf was the same one she had given him for Christmas last year.

But actually, giving gifts doesn't necessarily have to wait for holidays.

She turned around nonchalantly and began rolling up her sleeves.

"It's been a long time," Lily said, her gaze sweeping over the dusty desks and chairs in the classroom. "Nothing has changed."

Regulus walked to the center of the field and stretched his wrists. "Almost two months, from the end of last semester until now."

Lily walked up to him, looked up at him, and her expression turned serious. "A test?"

Regulus nodded and hummed in agreement.

This is the first time I've come to the Abandoned Classroom since the start of the semester. It's been a long time since the last training session. I want to see what Lily has been practicing and to what extent during this time.

Lily took a deep breath, exhaled, relaxed her shoulders, and the smile in her green eyes disappeared, replaced by focus.

The little witch of Gryffindor is serious when she needs to be; she's always been upright in this respect.

The two people stood apart at opposite ends of the field.

Baruk poked his head out from under the table, his eight amber eyes looking around before disappearing back into the water.

Lily made the first move.

A Disarming Charm flew from the tip of her staff, angled slightly to the left, skimming low across the ground.

Regulus flicked his wand, the spell deflected, flew past his waist, and slammed into the wall behind him, dusting off the surface. Lily was no longer in her original position; she had moved two steps to the right. The second spell followed closely behind, Stunning Spell, half a body length higher than the first, aimed directly at him.

She continued to move, not staying in the same place, her wand tracing arcs as she moved, and another Slowing Charm struck from the side.

Regulus sidestepped the Stunning Spell, and with a wave of his wand, the Slowing Charm was intercepted in mid-air, turning into Light Point and dissipating.

He saw through Lily's intentions; she was forcing him to act.

Force him to change positions, force him to move from the position he chose, and then attack his new position.

They're smart.

But that wasn't enough. Regulus stood still, not launching an attack, and turned slightly to face Lily.

Lily frowned slightly; her prediction had failed. Without hesitation, she changed her strategy.

The magic wand was raised to draw a circle, then pointed forward, and Avis.

A dozen or so small yellow birds burst forth from the tip of the staff, fluttering towards Regulus, their wings and beaks creating a shimmering spectacle in the air that obscured his vision.

A Petrifying Spell was hidden behind the flock of birds; gray light mingled with yellow feathers, seeping through the gaps in the flock.

Regulus raised his left hand and pushed his palm flat in front of him. The Avis Spell scattered into Light Point, floated in the air a few times, and disappeared. The Petrifying Spell was revealed. He flicked his wand, deflecting the spell ninety degrees, and smashed it against the wall on the left.

Lily had already started running, her wand drawing three arcs as she ran.

A section of the wooden floor beneath his feet softened, and a toppled table was twisted into a thick rope by Transfiguration, wrapping around his ankle. At the same time, a Exploding Charm came crashing down from the front.

Three incantations, from three directions, arrived simultaneously.

For a third-year wizard, this combination is already quite complex.

Regulus took a half step back with his right foot, avoiding the softened area of the ground. With a casual wave of his left hand, the rope snapped, and with a flick of his wand, the Exploding Charm was deflected, flying into a corner and smashing a chair.

He finally took a step.

Lily saw it; this step was forced upon her. Her eyes lit up, and she felt exhilarated.

Then they played another dozen or so rounds.

Slowing Charm created a shield, Disarming Charm emerged from behind it, and Transfiguration transformed the scattered wood chips into a swarm of white moths that flew toward his face. A Leg-Locker Curse was caught in the gaps between the moths' wings, while a Stunning Spell slammed down on his head, forcing him to look up to deal with the situation.

Each spell had a purpose; she didn't expect to hit directly, but she was calculating his reaction sequence, using combinations to force him to reveal weaknesses. Regulus focused on defense throughout, allowing her to fully utilize her abilities.

Lily knew his abilities and that spells wouldn't work on him, so she went all out, holding nothing back and showing no mercy.

She became more and more engrossed in the game, her green eyes shining brightly, sweat beading on her forehead, her lips slightly parted, and her breathing becoming rapid.

After about twenty rounds, Lily stopped, hands on her knees, bent over and panting, her red hair hanging down, obscuring half her face. Regulus put away his wand, walked over, and stood in front of her.

"The third round of Slowing Charm hit the ground, forcing me to change positions; this was a good strategy."

He spoke gently and patiently, "The Avis Charm is obscuring the view and concealing the Petrifying Spell. Good, you're using a combination strategy now. We didn't get to this point last semester." Lily looked up, still panting, but listening intently.

"The problem was in the eleventh round. After you feinted with the Disarming Charm, you hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to follow up with a Stunning Spell or switch to Petrifying Spell. Hesitation made you slow down, and if I were your opponent, that little bit of time would have been enough to defeat you."

He continued, "There's still the fifteenth round. You cast your Shield Charm too early. I had barely made my move when you defended against it. You were guessing I was going to attack you. If you guessed correctly, that's fine, but I saw through your intentions, and you guessed wrong."

Lily nodded vigorously, her eyes shining.

"The Disarming Charm followed by the Slowing Charm can be practiced into a fixed routine. Once you've mastered it, you won't hesitate anymore; your body will move on its own."

The timing for using the Shield Charm is to wait until the opponent casts their spell before releasing it. Your reaction speed is fast enough; you have enough time.

He looked at her, a hint of a smile in his eyes, "Overall, you're much better than last semester. Last semester you were focusing on incantations, this semester you're focusing on the overall situation. I can see you've put in the effort."

Lily was pleased by the praise, caught her breath, straightened up, and smiled broadly.

She knew she was still far from perfect, but the progress was real and she could feel it herself.

She cleared her throat, deliberately speaking in a proper tone, and gave a perfunctory bow. "Professor Regulus teaches well."

Regulus stroked his chin, pretending to be deep in thought.

Lily thought he was about to say something profound, so she looked up at him expectantly.

Regulus nodded seriously. "Yes, you're right, I taught well."

Lily paused for a moment, then raised her hand and slapped him on the arm with a loud crack.

She spoke rudely, but her eyes were smiling, "Can't you be a little more modest?"

Regulus smiled and didn't dodge.

The two walked to a corner, sat down, and drank water.

Lily drank half a glass of water, wiped her mouth, let out a sigh of relief, and relaxed completely.

Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly caught something moving out of the corner of her eye.

Baruk crawled out from under the table, his eight legs moving rapidly on the wooden floor, and ran towards Lily.

Lily turned her head and saw a dark red spider, about the size of her palm, crawling towards her feet. Her eyes widened instantly.

She sprang up from her chair, took a step back, and drew her wand.

"What is that?!"

Baruk stopped, stamping his eight legs twice on the spot. He raised his eight amber eyes, looking at Lily with the tip of his staff pointing at him. His chelicerae opened and closed with a clatter.

Her voice was soft and low, sounding somewhat aggrieved.

Then it retracted its two front legs, slowly gathered its hind legs, and hunched its body down, shrinking itself into an even smaller ball. Regulus watched this scene, a smile playing on his lips, but made no move to intervene.

Seeing the spider stop, Lily turned her gaze from it to Regulus's face, noticing his smile and the slow lowering of his wand. She stared, a hint of doubt in her voice, "Your pet?"

Regulus nodded and beckoned to Baruk.

Baruk came running over, then scurried up his trouser leg and onto the table.

Eight legs trotted a couple of steps on the table, then stopped, facing Lily. Its chelicerae opened and closed, making a clicking sound. "This is Baruk."

Regulus lightly tapped Baruk's back armor with his finger, and Baruk twisted his body.

He continued, "Baruk, this is Lily."

Baruk's eight eyes all turned to Lily, and he made two clicking sounds at her.

Lily stared at the palm-sized spider on the table for a long time.

It raised its front legs and reached towards Lily, its chelipeds opening and closing rapidly, making a quick, rapid sound. Its short legs moved quickly, as if it were greeting her or urging her to come over.

"Baruk?"

Lily called out tentatively, her voice still a little hesitant.

Clatter, clatter!

Baruk swung his front leg even more vigorously, leaning his whole body forward.

Lily's expression gradually relaxed from guarded, and she tilted her head to look for a while.

Then she whispered, her tone a little uncertain, "... She's actually quite cute?"

Baruk was pleased with the praise and began to spin in place, its eight legs moving alternately from left to right and then from right to left, its dark red bristles fluffy in the moonlight.

Lily burst out laughing.

Keeping spiders as pets is really strange, but it seems to make sense in the case of Regulus.

The owl he gave as a gift last year had the same reserved air as its the Master; even its flying posture was poised, almost like it was about to curl its pinky finger.

The little black cat Nox I received this year is quiet and has a bit of Regulus's air about him.

But this spider

Baruk was still circling, his eight legs thumping and his chelicerae clicking, his amber eyes darting around. He would run a couple of steps, stop, tilt his head to look at Lily, run a couple more steps, and tilt his head again.

He was so lively that he was completely different from his the Master.

Lily's lips curled up.

She took a step forward, extended a finger, and tentatively touched Baruk's carapace.

Baruk immediately leaned in and pressed the carapace against her palm. The bristles brushed against her fingertips, and the texture was softer than she had imagined.

It scooted forward again, pressing its whole body against her palm.

Lily smiled and withdrew her hand, "I'll bring Nox next time."

Baruk circled the table again, then scurried back to Regulus, scrambling up his arm and perching on his shoulder. His amber eyes were still fixed on Lily, and Lily was staring back at him; the two of them stared at each other, neither willing to look away first.

Regulus watched this scene, a smile unconsciously curving his lips. He nodded. "Okay."