Lily looked at Regulus holding his stiff, professorial pose and laughed harder, the corners of her eyes crinkling.

She stepped inside, pulling the door shut behind her, took two steps, and paused. Something was different.

"It’s so warm."

She glanced around. No fireplace in the corner. No visible flame anywhere. The corridor outside had been freezing, but the air in here was gentle and comfortable, evenly heated.

She held out a hand, testing. Warmth wrapped around her fingers, not harsh, not dry. It seemed to seep from the walls and floorboards themselves.

Her gaze drifted back to Regulus, curiosity in her eyes, and after a beat she let a touch of approval settle there too.

He caught her look and the stern expression softened. A short laugh escaped him. "Temperature charm."

Lily’s lips curved. She gave him a look that said good boy, you thought ahead.

She drew her wand and flicked it twice. A few scraps of wood in the corner stretched, reshaped, and locked together, growing upward until they formed a coat rack, clean and simple.

She walked over, shrugged off her school robes, and hung them up. Unwound her scarf, folded it in half, draped it beside the robes, then turned and glanced at Regulus.

He followed suit, hanging his outer robes on the rack and draping his scarf next to hers.

Lily gave him an approving once-over, then noticed: the scarf was still the one she’d given him last Christmas.

Though gift-giving, really, didn’t have to wait for a holiday.

She turned away, expression perfectly casual, and started rolling up her sleeves.

"It’s been a while." Her eyes swept the dust-covered desks and chairs. "Nothing’s changed in here."

Regulus moved to the center of the cleared space and rolled his wrists. "Almost two months. End of last term until now."

Lily took her position across from him, looked up, and her face went serious. "Test?"

He nodded.

Their first session in the abandoned classroom since the new term began. It had been a long gap since the last training, and he needed to see what she’d been practicing, and how far she’d come.

Lily drew a deep breath and let it out. Her shoulders loosened. The laughter drained from those green eyes, replaced by focus.

The little Gryffindor witch knew when to be serious. She always had.

They moved apart, taking positions at opposite ends of the floor.

Baruk poked his head out from under a desk, eight amber eyes flicking back and forth between them. Then he tucked himself away again.

Lily struck first.

A Disarming Charm shot from her wand tip, angled left, skimming low along the floor.

Regulus flicked his wand. The spell deflected, streaking past his hip and slamming into the wall behind him. A fine shower of stone dust drifted down.

Lily was already two steps to the right. A second spell followed on its heels, a Stunning Spell, half a body-height above the first, aimed dead center.

She kept moving, never planting her feet in the same spot, wand tracing an arc mid-stride. An Impediment Jinx came from the flank.

Regulus sidestepped the Stunner and swept his wand across. The jinx shattered in midair, dissolving into sparks.

He read her intent. She was trying to force him to move.

Drive him off his chosen position, make him shift, then punish the new stance.

Smart.

But not enough. Regulus stayed planted, made no move to attack, and turned his body just enough to face her squarely.

Lily’s brow creased. He’d refused to take the bait. No hesitation from her, though. She switched tactics immediately.

Her wand swept in a circle and thrust forward. Avis.

A dozen small yellow birds erupted from the tip, wings fluttering, beaks catching the light, swarming toward Regulus in a blinding flurry that blocked his line of sight.

Hidden behind the flock: a Full Body-Bind Curse. Light threaded between yellow feathers, slipping through the gaps in the swarm.

Regulus raised his left hand and pushed his palm forward, flat and unhurried. The birds burst into points of light, drifting for a moment before vanishing.

The Full Body-Bind Curse stood exposed. He flicked his wand upward and the spell veered ninety degrees, crashing into the left wall.

Lily was already running. Three quick arcs of her wand in succession.

A section of floorboard softened beneath his feet. An overturned desk twisted under a Transfiguration spell, reshaping into a thick rope that whipped toward his ankles. A Blasting Curse came straight at him from the front.

Three spells. Three directions. Simultaneous arrival.

For a third-year, the complexity of that combination was genuinely impressive.

Regulus pulled his right foot back half a step, clearing the softened patch. A casual sweep of his left hand snapped the rope. His wand flicked once and the Blasting Curse deflected sideways, smashing a chair in the corner to splinters.

His feet had finally moved.

Lily saw it. She’d forced that step out of him. Her eyes lit up, a flash of triumph.

Then another dozen rounds.

An Impediment Jinx for cover, a Disarming Charm threading through the gap behind it. Transfiguration turned scattered wood shavings into a cloud of white moths that swarmed toward his face.

Tucked between the flutter of moth wings, a Jelly-Legs Jinx. At the same time, a Stunner dropped from overhead, forcing him to look up and deal with it.

Every spell had a purpose. None of them were meant to land directly. She was calculating his response sequence, using combinations to pry open a gap.

Regulus stayed on defense the entire time, letting her go all out.

Lily knew what he was capable of. She knew none of this would actually hit him, so she held nothing back. No pulled punches, no courtesy.

She threw herself into it, green eyes blazing, sweat beading on her forehead, lips parted, breathing hard.

After twenty-odd exchanges, she stopped. Hands braced on her knees, bent at the waist, gasping. Red hair fell forward, curtaining half her face.

Regulus stowed his wand and walked over to stand in front of her.

"The third round, when you put the Impediment Jinx into the ground to force me off my position. Good thinking."

His tone was patient, warm. "Using the Avis flock as visual cover to hide the Full Body-Bind Curse, also good. You’re building combinations now. Last term you hadn’t reached that point."

Lily raised her head, still catching her breath, but listening closely.

"The problem was round eleven. After your Disarming Charm feint, you hesitated. Couldn’t decide whether to follow up with a Stunner or switch to Full Body-Bind. That hesitation cost you speed. If I’d been a real opponent, that window would’ve been enough to hit you."

He went on. "And round fifteen. Your Protego came too early. I’d barely started my cast and you were already shielding. You were guessing that I was about to attack. Guess right and it’s fine, but I saw your intent, and that meant your guess was wrong."

Lily nodded hard, eyes bright.

"The Disarming Charm into the Impediment Jinx can become a set sequence. Drill it until your body moves on its own and the hesitation disappears. As for the Protego timing, wait until you see the spell leave your opponent’s wand before you cast. Your reflexes are fast enough. You can afford to wait."

He looked at her, a trace of a smile in his eyes. "Overall, you’re much stronger than last term. Last term you were casting spells. This term you’re shaping engagements. I can tell you put in the work."

The praise lit her up. She caught her breath, straightened, and a grin broke across her face.

She knew the gap was still enormous, but the progress was real. She could feel it.

She cleared her throat and pitched her voice into something prim and formal, dipping her head in a little bow. "Professor Regulus teaches so well."

Regulus rubbed his chin, putting on a show of careful deliberation.

Lily thought he was about to deliver some profound insight and looked up at him, expectant.

He gave a solemn nod. "You’re right. I do teach well."

Lily blinked. Then her hand came up and smacked his arm with a sharp thwap.

Her voice was all indignation but her eyes were laughing. "Would it kill you to be humble for once?"

Regulus grinned and didn’t dodge.

They moved to the corner and sat down to drink water.

Lily drained half her cup, wiped her mouth, and let out a long breath. The tension drained out of her.

She was about to say something when a flicker of movement caught the edge of her vision.

Baruk scrambled out from under the desk, eight legs churning across the wooden floor at speed, heading straight for her.

Lily turned her head and saw a palm-sized, dark red spider scuttling toward her feet. Her eyes went perfectly round.

She launched off her chair, hopped backward, wand already in hand.

"What the..."

Baruk froze. His legs tapped the floor twice in place, and eight amber eyes tilted up toward Lily and the wand pointed at his face. His chelicerae opened and closed once with a soft click.

Small and low, the sound carried a distinct note of hurt feelings.

Then his front legs tucked in. The rest folded slowly inward. His whole body sank lower, compressing himself into an even smaller bundle.

Regulus watched the scene, the corner of his mouth lifting. He made no move to intervene.

Lily saw the spider had stopped. Her gaze shifted from it to Regulus, caught his smile, and her wand lowered slowly.

She stared, half-wary. "...Your pet?"

Regulus nodded and beckoned toward Baruk.

Baruk skittered over, scrambled up his trouser leg, and onto the tabletop.

Eight legs went tap-tap-tap across the surface. He stopped, turned to face Lily, chelicerae opening and closing. Click-click.

"This is Baruk."

Regulus touched a finger lightly to the top of Baruk’s carapace. Baruk wriggled.

"Baruk, this is Lily."

All eight amber eyes locked onto Lily in unison. Two rapid click-clicks in her direction.

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

His front legs lifted, reaching toward her, chelicerae working frantically. Click-click-click. Quick and insistent, stubby legs pumping. It looked like a greeting. Or maybe he was beckoning her closer.

"...Baruk?"

She tried the name, voice still tentative.

Click-click!

His front legs waved with renewed enthusiasm, his whole body lurching forward.

The wariness on Lily’s face loosened, degree by degree. She tilted her head, watching him.

Then, quietly, not entirely sure of herself: "...He’s actually sort of cute?"

That did it. Baruk launched into a victory lap, spinning in place on the tabletop, eight legs cycling in alternation, left to right, right to left, dark red bristles fluffed up and catching the moonlight.

Lily laughed out loud.

Keeping a spider as a pet was deeply strange, but somehow, on Regulus, it tracked.

The owl he’d used to deliver last year’s gift had carried the same aloof dignity as its owner, flying with a posture so stiff it might as well have been holding a teacup with its pinky raised.

Knox, this year’s little black cat, was quiet and composed, carrying a few shades of Regulus’s temperament too.

But this spider...

Baruk was still spinning, legs going tap-tap-tap, chelicerae still clicking, amber eyes rolling wildly, scurrying a couple of steps, stopping, tilting his head at Lily, scurrying again, tilting again.

Nothing remotely like his owner.

Lily’s lips curved.

She stepped forward and extended one finger, touching Baruk’s carapace experimentally.

He pressed into her hand at once, pushing his shell against her palm, bristles brushing across her fingertip. Softer than she’d expected.

He nuzzled closer, his whole body flattening under her hand.

Lily pulled back with a smile. "Next time I’ll bring Knox."

Baruk spun one more lap on the tabletop, then scurried back to Regulus, scrambling up his arm to settle on his shoulder.

Those amber eyes stayed fixed on Lily. Lily stared right back. One girl, one spider, locked in a staring contest, neither willing to look away first.

Regulus watched them, the corner of his mouth curving without his realizing it. He nodded. "Deal."

---

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