Professor Regulus, Grade Me

It was a Sunday evening in early May, at 8 p. m., in Abandoned Classroom on the fourth floor.

Regulus pushed open the door, shaking off two months' worth of dust that had accumulated on the doorframe. He walked to the window, opened it a crack, and let the night breeze in, carrying the coolness of the night and the moisture from the Black Lake.

It was pitch black outside the window; the crescent moon, barely visible at the beginning of the month, hung above the Forbidden Forest, offering little light.

There were many stars, some brighter nearby, others dimmer in the distance, densely covering the entire night sky.

He leaned against the windowsill, his gray eyes reflecting the moonlight outside.

Footsteps came from the other end of the Corridor, light, cheerful, and rhythmic, growing louder and louder as they ran closer.

The door was pushed open, Lily Evans poked half her body in, her red hair shining in the firelight of the Corridor, a few strands falling across her forehead, her chest heaving.

She was wearing Gryffindor school robe, the collar neatly tied, with a white sweater underneath, and a small purple Handbag slung over her shoulder.

Regulus's lips curled up slightly.

It's been almost two months since I last saw you. You seem to have grown a little taller and more mature, and your hair has grown a bit longer. You've tied it in a ponytail and look very energetic.

"Professor Regulus!" Lily's green eyes lit up instantly, her voice full of joy, and she skipped over.

"Lily." Regulus turned around, put his hands behind his back, nodded slightly, and exuded an air of importance.

Seeing his behavior, Lily grinned, quickly walked up to him, put her Handbag on the old desk, braced herself on the edge of the desk, leaned forward, and looked up at him with her green eyes.

"You're finally back!"

Regulus's voice was gentle. "Yes, you're back."

"I know, I saw you in the Great Hall, at breakfast," Lily pouted, "And you only contacted me after more than a week."

Regulus raised his hand and stroked his chin. "Too much to do, I had to deal with some things first."

Lily opened her mouth and then quickly closed it again; the words "What's more important than teaching me?" almost slipped out.

But she's a mature Lily now; she's a few months older than him, a senior, so she can't talk to him like that.

So she just stared at him with those green eyes, saying nothing, yet it seemed she said everything.

Regulus coughed lightly.

Lily didn't really pursue the matter. They hadn't seen each other for two months, and the words she wanted to say were lining up in her throat; which one came out first was entirely up to luck.

She leaned closer, her attention already shifting to the next question, "Where did you go? Avery said you went to India, but nobody believes him."

Regulus said, "There's something going on at my business back home in Provence, France."

Lily said "oh" and didn't ask any further questions.

She knew that heirs of Pureblood families always had things they couldn't talk about when they went out—things their families asked them to do, business matters, and so on.

Regulus can talk if he wants to, or he can't, and she won't press him, especially since he's back and right in front of her.

She took a water bottle out of her Handbag and placed it on the windowsill, tilting her head slightly. "Is France fun?"

"Good."

Did you bring me a gift?

"... No."

"Ah--" Lily drawled out the sound, her lips pouting even more.

Regulus looked at her expression and a slight smile curved his lips, "Next time."

"It's a promise," Lily held up a finger and waved it in front of him, "You owe me one."

After saying that, she laughed, leaned back against the desk, looked at him with her green eyes, and her smile relaxed.

In Regulus's presence, she would naturally soften, saying whatever she wanted, laughing whenever she wanted, and pouting whenever she wanted.

"Look." Lily stretched out her right hand, fingers spread, palm facing up, her expression becoming focused, her green eyes staring at her palm, her brows furrowing slightly.

Silvery-white Magic Power threads seeped out simultaneously from the fingertips of all five fingers, fine and even, much more stable than the trembling thread drawn out two months ago.

The threads extended from the fingertips, slowly converging towards the palm, approaching each other, intersecting, and connecting, forming a thin, small, silvery-white film above the palm, covering the entire hand. The edges trembled slightly, but the overall surface remained relatively stable.

Lily held her breath, not daring to blink.

It lasted for about ten seconds, then the edges began to tremble, starting from the little finger and dissipating in wisps. The silvery-white fragments of light scattered, flashed a few times in the air, and then all went out.

Lily withdrew her hand, flicked her fingers, and her fingertips still gleamed faintly. She raised her face, her bright green eyes staring straight at Regulus.

"Great progress," Regulus gave a thumbs-up, praising earnestly, "To be able to cover your palm in just a month and a half is faster than most adult wizards."

The first step of the Constant Shield Charm is the most difficult, going from nothing to something, from a single finger to a whole palm. Many people practice for years and still can't do it, but you did.

Lily's green eyes curved into a smile, and the corners of her mouth turned up. She stopped halfway up, trying to appear reserved. She tucked her chin in and pursed her lips, but couldn't stop them from turning up again.

"It's not that amazing."

That's what she said, but her body had already started to sway slightly, bobbing from side to side, her toes tapping on the floor. Then she secretly glanced at Regulus to see if he had noticed her feigned modesty.

Seeing him looking at her with a smile in his eyes, she said, "Well, that's impressive."

She admitted it herself, raising her chin and letting her red hair sway. "You've definitely made a lot of progress, haven't you?"

"Indeed," Regulus nodded with a smile, "What about the Enhanced Senses Charm?"

Lily's eyes lit up again; she was just waiting for him to ask.

"I practice every day," she gestured with her hand, a slightly embarrassed smile appearing on her face, "I practice at night, and sometimes I sneak a little bit during class."

"Last week in Charms Class, Professor Flitwick was demonstrating advanced applications of the Levitation Charm, and I activated the Enhanced Senses Charm— "

"Did you know?" Her green eyes widened, and her voice became excited. "Before Professor Flitwick Spellcasting, his Magic Power gathers in a small vortex at the tip of his wand, rotating clockwise. It spins about half a circle before being released, and you can't usually see it!"

"Oh?" Regulus raised an eyebrow. "And then?"

"Then I got so engrossed in staring at that vortex," Lily's voice trailed off as she shrank back. "Professor Flitwick called my name twice, but I didn't hear him. He asked if I was feeling unwell, and I said no, no, I was listening carefully."

Regulus chuckled, "Don't use it in class. It's too mentally taxing. If you get distracted during class, you won't be able to practice effectively."

Then her tone shifted slightly. "History of Magic is fine."

Lily chuckled, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. "Professor Binns will cry if he finds out."

Regulus shook his head seriously. "He's a ghost, he can't cry."

Lily laughed even harder, bending over with her red hair swaying over her shoulders.

After laughing, she straightened up and spoke earnestly about her progress.

"There's so much more to see now than before. Last time I drove around on the lawn," her voice slowed as she reminisced, "The sunlight fell on the Black Lake, and every ripple on the water reflected several colors. There was green under the blue, and red under the green. The wind blew across the lake, and I could tell which gusts of wind came from the water and which came around from the Forbidden Forest. The smell was different, and the temperature was different too."

She stretched out her hand and made a vague gesture in the air. "There are people walking in the distance. I can hear the sound of their shoes on the grass, and I can tell whether they are running or walking, and whether their weight is shifted to the left or right."

After saying that, she pouted again. "It just doesn't last very long. After about twenty seconds on, my head starts to hurt, and after turning it off, I feel dizzy for a while, and my ears are ringing."

Regulus listened patiently.

The last time I used the Enhanced Senses Charm in this classroom, I couldn't hold on for more than ten seconds. My mind was a mess, all the information was piled up together, and I couldn't tell what was important or not.

Now it can last for more than 20 seconds, actively filter information, and distinguish the layers of light, sound, and wind direction.

Significant progress has been made, especially in information processing speed. From being unable to distinguish anything at all to being able to pick out useful information, it shows that he has really put in the effort to practice.

He nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad."

Then he straightened up and took two steps toward the center of the classroom. "Talk is cheap; we need to see it in real-world practice."

Lily's eyes lit up instantly. She drew her wand, walked to the other end of the classroom, took a deep breath, and exclaimed with great enthusiasm, "Come on!"

Regulus stood opposite her, creating some distance, and raised his wand, its tip drooping lazily.

"Activate the Enhanced Senses Charm first."

Lily nodded, touched the tip of her staff to her brow, whispered an incantation, and drew a short arc outwards.

The world rushed in, magnifying every detail in the classroom: the wood grain of the old desks, the cracks in the walls, the dust blown up by the night wind on the windowsill, the direction of the airflow—all were so clear they were almost blinding.

She began to filter, discarding what she didn't need and focusing Regulus on the center of her vision.

His breathing, the angle of his wrist, the tension in his forearm muscles, the slight deviation of the cane tip—all of these were brought close to my eyes.

Regulus raised his wand, making the movement deliberately obvious. He twisted his wrist to the right, tightened the muscles in his forearm, and raised the tip of the wand from its hanging position, pointing it toward Lily's left shoulder.

Lily gleaned what she needed from the pile of information, sidestepped ahead, and the spell flew past her ear, striking the wall behind her and shattering into a small fragment.

Regulus said, "That's right."

Lily didn't have time to reply; the second spell was already upon her.

His shoulder blade moved first, then his elbow rotated outward, and the tip of his cane followed by a downward movement.

Lily caught it: right leg, lower body.

She jumped aside, Trip Jinx flew past her calf.

For the third spell, Regulus was even faster this time, with a shorter time for the tip of his staff to deflect, leaving less than half a second between raising it and releasing the spell.

Lily's mind caught up: chest, front, Slowing Charm, but her body reacted a little slower.

She knew she should dodge to the left; her left foot had already started moving, but her right foot hadn't followed, and her center of gravity hadn't shifted.

The Slowing Charm struck a foot in front of her, the impact propelling her back two steps. She didn't fall, but she looked rather disheveled.

Lily took a breath, brushed her loose hair behind her ears, and stood up straight again.

"Again."

Several more rounds went by.

Regulus held back his strength, delivering blow after blow to her, each one timed with anticipation. Lily's reactions quickened as she adapted to his rhythm.

After firing four or five shots in a row, he began to make minor adjustments to her predicted path.

She shifted to the side beforehand, so the spell landed slightly off-center than before; she moved quickly, so the spell struck the direction where she landed earlier.

Lily sensed it; the Enhanced Senses Charm could see the signal to attack, but it couldn't see the instant in his mind when he changed his mind.

She dodged two spells in a row, and a third was already waiting in the direction she was moving.

We can't keep hiding forever.

She suddenly stretched out her right hand, fingers spread, palm facing forward. Silvery-white threads surged from her fingertips, faster and coarser than when she had demonstrated it before. They quickly formed a palm-sized membrane of light in front of her palm, too fast to be even or stable, just a mass of silvery-white Magic Power that had been forcibly twisted out.

She pushed her palm forward, and the Slowing Charm collided with it, shattering the light membrane. Silvery-white fragments flew in all directions, and most of the spell's power was dissipated.

The remaining force slammed into her, pushing her back a step, her boots scraping softly on the floor.

She shook her hands, her fingertips numb, her palms hot and sore. She secretly grinned, then turned to face Regulus, her smugness almost overflowing, her chin slightly raised.

Look, I've come up with a new trick.

Regulus looked at her; he hadn't taught her this technique, and this kind of impromptu use wasn't in the curriculum.

Using unfinished products as emergency shields is a good idea; it's flexible, shows you know what you have on hand, and allows you to adapt to the situation during a fight.

But praising her now is tantamount to encouraging her to take risks with a half-finished product in actual combat.

Her level of constant armor isn't even beginner-level. That palm-sized light membrane can only withstand low-power basic spells. It's okay for Slowing Charm, barely enough for Disarming Charm, but when it comes to Reducto or Dark Arts, the light membrane breaks and the spell still hits her.

"I have an idea," he said, giving a thumbs-up. Before Lily could even smile, his tone shifted. "That was Slowing Charm, it was holding back. You could handle it. How about a full-power Piercing Curse or Cutting Curse instead?"

He looked at her right hand hidden behind her back. "Will your hand still be there?"

Lily stretched out her right hand from behind her back; her fingers were still trembling slightly, and her palm was red.

She quickly carried it back, saying matter-of-factly, "I only answered because I knew it was your spell. I'm not stupid; I wouldn't answer someone else's spell like that."

After saying that, he glared at Regulus, his green eyes full of defiance.

After a while, her tone softened. "However... I've remembered, I won't use it recklessly when my skill level isn't high enough."

Regulus watched her harden-on-the-up behavior and his lips twitched slightly.

Just know the difference between what's important and what's not.

"It's for emergencies," he concluded. "Once you've trained enough to cover your forearm and hold out for more than five seconds, then we can consider using it in actual combat. For now, dodge if you can, and if you can't dodge, use the Shield Charm. Only consider this as a last resort if the Shield Charm isn't available."

Lily nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, I understand."

After nodding, she couldn't help but smile, her voice lowering slightly. "But you admit you have feelings for me, right?"

Regulus chuckled. "You have an idea."

Lily's eyes crinkled into a smile, and her body began to sway slightly again.

They played several more rounds.

Lily's extrasensory perception lasted for about forty seconds, but she slowed down noticeably in the last few rounds. Her eyelids drooped, her reactions became sluggish, and she barely managed to cast two spells. Her body swayed slightly.

"Okay, let's rest."

Lily bent over, her hands resting on her knees, sweat trickling down her temples, a few strands of her red hair damp and clinging to her cheeks, her chest heaving violently.

She caught her breath for a while, then slowly straightened up, walked to the window, picked up the kettle and took several gulps of water. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and tucked her wet, stray hairs behind her ears.

The moonlight outside the window made her red hair appear somewhat dark, but her cheeks were still rosy.

"Professor Regulus," she looked up at him, her green eyes crinkling, "Give me a grade."

Regulus thought for a moment, "Seventy-five points."

Lily's eyes widened. "Where did you deduct the twenty-five points?"

Regulus looked at her, his expression serious. "Think for yourself."

"Snort!"