To Wield A Gifted Talent Prodigal Solo

Spell: Shield Charm
Incantation: Protego ((pro-TAY-goh)
Wand movement: Vertical line

"Are you certain this is all right?"

Regina resisted the urge to scoff at her oldest brother's hesitance. They were standing inside the Duelling Club's training hall with the youngest Miller donned in her duelling gear, ready for another self-training session. Only this time, in order to practice the Shield Charm she'd extensively read and researched about in the library, she'd requested Rupert to assist her for a more realistic simulation. Regina figured she'd perform with better results under a real threatening circumstance. The purpose of this spell was to protect one's self, after all. Although she'd always been more on the offense, the Gryffindor thought it would be best if she knew at least one defensive spell in the case where there would be nobody to cover her.

"Cease your fretting, Rupert. You know full well there is nothing that haven't been thrown at me," Regina tugged on her sleeves, rolled her shoulders once and got into a duelling stance. "Just use the Knockback Jinx if you are so worried."

The older Slytherin shrugged.

"I know you are skilled, but you are still my baby sister. I don't particularly like the idea of hurting you."

"Spare me your overbearing affections and get on with it."

Regina briefly wondered if it was a good idea to have her brother as a training assistant - Rupert had always been a tad overprotective of his younger siblings, and she needed somebody who wouldn't hesitate to put in the intent. However, the moment the first shot of Flipendo flew from the oldest Miller's wand, Regina's eyes became sharp as she quickly drew a vertical line with her own with a loud 'Protego!' that was much to hasty for it to take effect. A silvery shine wobbled in the air for a split second before disappearing, and Regina held back a grunt as her brother's jinx knocked her square in the shoulder, one leg stumbling backwards.

"Gina!" Rupert called out. "You all right? Was I too abrupt?"

"No, it was fine. Do it again," She repositioned herself with renewed determination. She would not be taken by surprise anymore.

Rupert looked unsure, but he gave her a silent nod and prepared to cast another Flipendo. This time, Regina was fully ready and the second her brother shouted the incantation, she answered louder with the Shield Charm, her wand movement more firm. The air shifted again as the shape of a white barrier seemed to form, but it wasn't powerful enough to counter the Knockback Jinx and a pained noise escaped the Regina's throat when she took the full brunt of the spell to the stomach, causing her to stagger.

"Gina, perhaps we should - "

"No," The Lioness hissed through her teeth. "We are not stopping until I get it right. Again."

She was a perfectionist. She prided on her flawless duelling prowess. She mustn't fail.

Regina glared at her brother when Rupert thinned his lips in disapproval, but he didn't try to argue and did as he was told.

"Flipendo!"

"PROTEGO!"

Finally, finally, it worked. Orchid eyes glinted with triumph as a powerful, silvery-white shield manifested mere seconds before the impact. She watched as the jinx bounded against the barrier's surface and headed right back towards its castor. Rupert, with his impeccable reflexes, dodged out of the way just in time and looked back at his littlest sister with pride and astonishment in his blue-green eyes.

"Amazing, Gina! Now I understand why you are so adamant. Incredibly talented, you are."

Regina lifted her chin.

"Obviously. I am one of the best duellists there is."

WC: 597

@Regina Miller
Your RP for the 'Shield Charm' for Prodigal DADA Learner has been accepted and you may now apply to add it to your trunk.

Spell: Bubblehead Charm & Leg-Locker Curse
Incantation: Aspira & Locomotor Mortis
Wand movement: Bubblehead Charm: from left to right, a curvy hoop with one small hook at the beginning and another small hook at the end
Leg-Locker Curse: shape of a kneeling person, with one big vertical line followed by a right-to-left small horizontal line, another small vertical line and a left-to-right big horizontal line

This time, it was her second older brother Harold who was assisting Regina with learning advanced spells.

"Are you sure this is safe?" The Slytherin asked. "Hopefully I'm not going to drown once you bind my legs together."

"Don't worry. I'm going to cast the Bubblehead on you first, so you won't drown." She rolled her eyes. "I'll pull you out of the water once I'm done."

They were standing at the edge of the Great Lake on a fine, quiet afternoon. There were not much people loitering around, so it was the perfect opportunity for Regina to practice. She'd spent the whole night reading the passage for these two spells fourth year's DADA spellbook and was clearly eager to master them. The Bubblehead Charm might just one day save her life, in a dire situation. As for the Leg-Locker Curse, well...nobody had to know the ideas she had in mind for it. It would be nice, once in a while, to bind @Piérre Marchonné's legs and levitate him upside down as retaliation for whenever he decided to annoy her again.

"All right, little sister. Go ahead." Harold nodded, lifting his arms in wide in an inviting motion.

Aspen wand clutched in hand, Regina fell into a familiar duelling stance as her brows furrowed in focus. She tried to remember the incantation of the Bubblehead Charm in her head, repeating it many times in her head before finally casting it with a firm 'Aspira!' while drawing the curvy shape of a hoop connected by two small hooks in the air.

It was a lucky first try, but it was after all not that difficult of a spell. Instantly, the air around Harold's head shifted slightly and a transluscent bubble began to take form. From an outsider's view, he looked rather comically ridiculous with his features oddly wide and stretched because of the bubble's matter. Regina didn't laugh, but there was a small lift at the corner of her lips.

"Oh har har, very funny." Harold deadpanned.

"I don't have enough opportunity to tease you, brother. Let me have my fun."

Regina shrugged jokingly, then her expression grew serious again. She performed the wand movement for the Leg-Locker Curse next - the shape of a kneeling person with one big vertical line followed by a right-to-left small horizontal line, another small vertical line and a left-to-right big horizontal line - and shouted the incantation once. A small reddish-purple light shone at the tip of her wand, but fizzled out weakly and Regina clicked her tongue. She tried it one more time, and it finally worked.

"Locomotor Mortis!" She casted, watching the curse shoot out and hit her brother square in the legs, making them snap together immediately. Harold let out a surprised noise as he fell backwards into the cold, narrow water. Indeed, it was a powerful spell. Very useful to use against enemies in the future too.

Feeling a cheeky, she let him rise to the surface on his own by flailing around with his arms a bit instead of rushing to help him. After exactly three minutes, Regina walked towards the older teen and held out her hand for him to grab. She smiled at his half-hearted glare.

"A little payback for stealing my treats last week," she said simply.

WC: 534

@Regina Miller
Your RP for 'Bubblehead Charm & Leg-Locker Curse' for Prodigal DADA Learner has been accepted and you may now apply to add it to your trunk.

Spell: Conjunctivitis Curse
Incantation: Oculitumescere
Wand movement: The shape of an eye with a sharp downturn at the end, from right to left.

Forward date: August 2023

"As you now see, Lord Miller reached out to me to tutor you on Dark Arts Defence again, Regina. I am pleased to know that the past year, you did well advancing on your own. I was also informed that you are an excellent duellist of your sports team."

"Thank you for your praise, Mr Shevarshidze." She inclined her head respectfully.

In truth, a part of her slightly missed this. It was hard enough to have to learn higher level spells by herself, but of course she'd never been deterred by the difficulties. However, nothing compared to the feeling of being taught and guided by a Hit Wizard - a profession Regina had been giving thoughts of pursuing for a while now. At least, this was something she could genuinely enjoy in this household.

"Right then. The lessons for this month is going to be intensive," her tutor warned. "You are older, so the spells are more dangerous and needs a lot of effort. Today I teach you Conjunctivitis Curse, which I don't doubt will be very useful for you in the future."

Regina nodded as Shevarshidze began explaining the attributes. Such a dark curse would indeed give her much advantages for duelling matches.

"Conjunctivitis makes the target's eyes swell shut. Dragons are noticeably very vulnerable to this spell because their eyes are unprotected unlike the rest of their bodies. If you have enough malicious intent, it could even blind your target. So use it wisely."

At this, the Bulgarian gave her a sharp look as though he knew Regina was capable of casting Conjuctivitis Curse for nefarious purposes. He wasn't wrong, of course, but she still gave him a diligent nod again with a little (fake) reassuring smile. Shevarshidze narrowed his eyes, but ultimately continued with the lesson.

"Now for the wand movement and the incantation. Hold out your wand - " he instructed and Regina carefully followed his movements - "and draw the shape of an eye, from right to left, with a downturn curve like so. Then say 'Oculitumesere!'"

Instantly, a purple light shot out from the retired Hit Wizard's wand. The curse hit the rat trapped inside one of the two cages he'd prepared beforehand for that day's lesson, and Regina watched with fascination as the animal let out a series of pained squeaks as its eyes became swollen and irritated. She was quick to perform the spell on her own, practicing the enunciation many times in her head until she was confident she'd succeed from the first try.

"Ocultimesere!"

Regina felt magic humming inside her aspen wand and the Conjunctivitis Curse immediately flew towards the second cage where another rat was. Frightful squeaks emitted from the animal when the same swelling took effect, similar to its unfortunate companion. She was immensely pleased.

"Very well done. Your skills have certainly improved from the last time I tutored you a year ago," Shevarshidze commented. "If you continue like this, the rest of the curriculum should be just fine for you. I will be relaying this achievement to your father, as usual."

"Understood, sir," she replied neutrally, but she knew Alfred wouldn't acknowledge much of her efforts.

At least her private teacher would be ready to offer praise when she deserved it.

WC: 548

Spell: Hex Deflection & Bat-Bogey Hex
Incantation: Salvio Hexia & Vespertilifors
Wand movement: Hex Deflection: Downwards, palm of opposite hand held outward.
Bat-Bogey Hex: From left to right, the shape of an upturned bat wing.

Forward date: August 2023

That day's lesson was a special one. Regina and her private DADA tutor were both standing outside of the Miller Manor with Louise watching them from a distance. This was the first time she had shown any interest in observing her youngest daughter's progress, and even though Regina still resented her for being complacent when it came to the patriarch...at least she wasn't an uncaring mother.

Most of the time.

"Lady Miller's presence today will assist us in what the lesson is about," Shevarshidze explained. "Firstly, I teach you the Hex Deflection. If you do well, I will give you a treat by teaching you a very powerful and fatal spell you can use in your duels."

If it weren't for her being in perfect control of her emotions, eagerness would have shown on her face at the idea. She'd never pass on the chance to have an advantage over her enemies.

"Hex Deflection?" Regina repeated and suddenly came to a realisation. "That's why Mother is here. She's the one in charge of all the protection wards around our manor."

"Precisely. She shall be the one to personally judge your performance today." Her tutor nodded. It was certainly an additional expectation that wasn't entirely unwelcome, but still slightly miffed Regina - as if she could ever do anything less than perfect! "Now, I expect you to have read ahead. What can you tell me about the Hex Deflection charm?"

"It is a protective enchantment to seal off any specific open or closed area to protect it against all hexes and other dark forces. It could also be used alongside other protective charms," she answered confidently.

The Bulgarian man hummed, expressing his approval before getting into a stance to demonstrate the movement. Regina watched and followed closely, as he instructed her to bring her wand downwards while keeping her opposite hand palm up and cast 'Salvio Hexia'. It was fairly easy enough when a translucent haze followed the movement of her wand, but the result remained to be seen.

"Very good, Regina!" Shevarshidze called out from the other side of the enchantment. "Now your ward will be tested. Shall I do the honours, or would Lady Miller prefer to go ahead?"

The ex-Hit Wizard offered a respectful incline of his head when he gestured for Louise to take her move. She smiled politely, stepping forward and drawing out her own wand in a regal stance.

"I'd be glad to test my daughter's spellwork. It's time to see if she really is as talented as she claims to be." Louise raised an eyebrow.

Regina was aloof on the outside, but on the inside she felt somewhat anxious - her mother had been an astounding Auror once, after all, and she was never the one to mince words when it came to criticism. An unfamiliar spell she couldn't recognise - probably something she had yet to learn for now - shot out of her mother's wand and sharply switched directions when it arrived towards where Regina's invisible enchantment was. The girl finally let out an unnoticeable sigh of relief.

"Commendable." Louise approved. "Though I supposed it is quite an easy spell, so it would have been humiliating if you had failed."

She could hear between the words that she would never be able to escape an impending disappointment at the slightest fault. For the sake of keeping up pretenses, she kept her face aloof and only thanked her mother for the acknowledgement. Crisis averted, her tutor moved forward and informed that as promised, he would teach her the powerful spell she could use in her future duels.

"I'm sure you've at least heard of the Bat-Bogey Hex in passing, the one which turns a victim's bogeys into large bats flying out of their nose," he said. "This can only be cast on somebody already suffering either the sneezing or the bodies effect, however, so time it carefully."

Shevarshidze guided her through the motions of gesturing a perfect shape of an upturned wing of a bat, and the incantation Vespertilifors. This one was evidently more difficult than the Hex Deflection, as it took her three tries to get it right and the hex whizzed through the air. Although she couldn't exactly use her mother or her tutor as target practice, Regina believed it wouldn't be such a harmful prank...if she were to use it against her hated sister whenever Rebecca was being snobby.

WC: 735

Spell: Confundus Charm
Incantation: Confundo
Wand movement: A reversed question mark hook

Forward date: August 2023

"Why are we practicing my lesson here, Mr Shevarshidze?" Regina couldn't help but asked as she followed her private tutor down the streets of London. "Does this mean I can use what I'm learning today on one of these strangers? Most of them are Muggles. Are you sure this is wise?"

"Trust me, Regina. I'd rather have you perform the Confundus Charm on the field that is perfect for certain situations. Such as a Muggle finding out about our secret world. You would be surprised to see how many of them a day loiter around the Leaky Cauldron with their suspicions."

The thought did make sense, in a way, and since turning 17 Regina had yet to pass up an opportunity to cast magic outside of Hogwarts or her wizarding home. It was an entirely new experience so far in her DADA tutoring lessons, a nice change which she welcomed. After all, what better way to learn a spell than on a practical field?

The pair came to a stop in front of the famous pub guarding the entrance to Diagon Alley, lingering a bit around the alley so they could not be easily seen. Shevarshidze then began explaining the theory of the Confundus Charm while subtly drawing out his wand from his enchanted coat pocket.

"Confundo is mostly a harmless spell," he said. "It simply causes confusion in a person or bewitched object, magical ones that have a mind of their own. There are varying degrees of confusion, from simply tricking a person or thing about a specific incident to confusing a person to the point at which they endanger themselves. This is when the charm becomes more lethal."


"So it depends on the intent of the caster," Regina concluded.

"Correct. You will find this spell very useful more often than not. Now, watch as I instruct you on how to cast it."

As if on cue, there was a shady Muggle who kept staring at the Leaky Cauldron and sneaking a curious peak inside. Shevarshidze raised his wand, drawing reversed hook resembling the question mark without the dot. Once the incantation left his lips, a pink light emerged from the tip of the wood and headed directly towards its target. Regina watched with avid interest as the person jerked, shaking their head a few times and blinking in confusion - as if they were lost and didn't know where they were. The effect was instanteneous and the Muggle eventually left while mumbling words under their breath. Incredible.

"Now, it is your turn, my student," the ex-Hit Wizard declared, gesturing to a woman who was sneaking around the pub's entrance out of sight.

Regina did her best to replicate the same motions, but the first attempt ended in the spell fizzling out in mid air. She tried again, this time enunciating the incantation more properly, and the Confundus Charm shot out of her aspen wand to hit the Muggle woman, making her stumble slightly with eyes as wide as a deer in headlights.

"Excellent spell-work, as usual. Now, let's go direct that poor confused lady somewhere else, and you can have a drink as your reward." Her tutor smiled.

"Thank you, sir."

WC: 532

@Regina Miller
Your RPs for 'Conjunctivitis Curse, Hex deflection, Bat-Bogey Hex, and Confundus Charm' for Prodigal DADA Learner has been accepted and you may now apply to add them to your trunk.