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Shoot the arrow first, then draw the target. I define success. Deciding what success is for yourself is true confidence! —"How Wizards Achieve Success: Draft"by Regulus Black
...
The corporate desire to always secure a win is a beautiful motivation, but harsh reality always calls cut when you least expect it—
[Cat's Guardian, Task Progress: 13/14]
Regulus could only reluctantly admit the sour taste of success defined by others' metrics. A third-rate system dictating his KPIs.
It was truly unpleasant.
...
That night, deep within the hidden Room of Requirement.
The Hogwarts HP Alchemy Group was gathered around the heavy oak tables as usual. Only James was missing, having sent a quick message that he might arrive later due to a brutal Quidditch practice under the winter sky.
The entire night, Regulus had been intensely flipping through a thick, leather-bound ancient tome containing descriptions of various alchemical crystals. He was hunting for the specific direction of the obscure research assignment Dumbledore had recently given him—
The magical conduction of light and the distortion of magic fields.
Regulus immediately liked this dangerous topic. He even logically wondered if Headmaster Dumbledore was subtly hinting at a specific, lethal threat lurking beneath the castle.
The tactical reason was simple—
The Basilisk.
Not to mention he had quietly always harbored the insane, gamer-like thought of attempting to solo the Basilisk for the loot drop. Who wouldn't be attracted by the complex magical principle behind the Basilisk's legendary 'stare that makes anyone pregnant' (not really)?
It is universally known that direct exposure to the Basilisk's gaze causes instant death. But if only indirectly exposed to its eyes, the victim is merely petrified. For example, Colin seeing it through a camera lens, Hermione seeing it through a mirror reflection, etc...
It can also be inferred that the Basilisk's gaze actively requires the victim's own eyes to participate in the magical connection. The Basilisk must have physically seen Harry's back when violently chasing him through the Chamber, but the Potter boy remained safe and sound.
How exactly is the lethal magic transmitted through the optic nerve? Is there an alchemical way to permanently block it?
Regulus traced a finger down the fragile parchment, continuing to the next page:
"Magic Eye Crystal: An extremely rare alchemical material, bright blue in color, traditionally used to create the legendary alchemical magic eye. Origin unknown, but rumored to be mined in Africa's 'Mountain of Brilliant Light'."
Is that the material used for Mad-Eye Moody's prosthetic? Regulus pondered. The Mountain of Brilliant Light—could it geographically refer to Mount Kilimanjaro?
He continued scanning to the next entry—
"Cat's Eye Crystal: Masterfully made transparent from raw cat's eye stone. Available in various colors, it naturally possesses the magic to foretell and react to evil intent, mostly produced in the mines of Sri Lanka."
Cat's eye, cat's eye... Regulus suddenly zoned out, his mind drifting back to his frustrating system notification. He let out a long, heavy breath, his aristocratic tone containing a rare hint of self-doubt:
"Sirius, Remus. Do you guys honestly think... Professor McGonagall actually approves of me?"
Regulus rubbed his nose, leaning back in his chair. He confidently considered himself likable and politically savvy, but he also knew his own flaws well—
After all, he, Regulus Black, wasn't a shiny golden Galleon. He couldn't force everyone to love him.
"Is that honestly even a real question?" Sirius raised an arrogant eyebrow, looking genuinely puzzled by his brother's insecurity, his tone absolute. "Absolutely."
Remus warmly nodded beside him, adding logically, "Professor McGonagall has officially awarded you more house points this term than even Professor Slughorn has... If that's not pure academic approval, then nothing is."
Regulus smiled and nodded. Well, mathematically speaking, he thought so too.
So it logically seemed the elusive fourteenth cat required for the system task shouldn't be Professor McGonagall's Animagus form.
Besides, with the veteran Professor's terrifying combat abilities, where would she ever physically need him to protect her to earn that approval?
Regulus thought deeply, pulling out an exquisite, polished chain charm from his inner pocket. The round alchemical alloy was beautifully engraved with a simple, stylized cat head and the bold capital letter H representing Hogwarts.
This was the exclusive, Hogwarts-specific 'Cat Tag' passionately and painstakingly developed by their HP alchemy group over the winter break. It was flawlessly functional and aesthetically pleasing, capable of automatically projecting a shield to withstand exactly one minor dark curse.
As of tonight, with the invaluable logistical help of Evie Frye's stealth tracking and Church's feline diplomacy, Regulus had successfully distributed thirteen Cat Tags to the strays around the castle grounds.
Now he only had this absolute last one left.
He methodically planned to try his luck deep in the fringes of the Forbidden Forest tomorrow. Perhaps there were still some feral cats out there that Church simply didn't know about.
The system remained stubbornly silent, just blindly issuing tasks. It clearly looked exactly like something a third-rate, lazy game designer had coded in his spare time...
Regulus silently grumbled in his corporate heart.
Just then, the three Little Wizards simultaneously felt the enchanted Revealer Paper worn close to their bodies grow suddenly, violently hot. They reached into their pockets in unison—
[Guys: Mary isn't back from the Magical Weaving Club yet. Lily is a bit worried about her. Can you help keep an eye out in the corridors? — JP, Gryffindor Common Room]
"It's getting quite late..." Remus noted, his amber eyes glancing at the magical clock that had suddenly appeared on the Room of Requirement's wall. "We should probably head back before curfew. Let's take a quick look on the way."
"Okay, let's go."
...
Meanwhile, deep down in the freezing Slytherin dungeons, Severus, who was just about to comfortably change into his new pajamas, suddenly felt a vibration against his chest. He grabbed his wand, his face paling, and ran straight out the heavy oak door.
"Severus?" Avery called out in confusion.
Severus didn't even turn back, his dark robes billowing behind him as he said quickly, "I'm going out for a bit!"
...
Pale moonlight shone weakly through the small grated window high on the stone wall, casting a distorted rectangular outline on the opposite wall and making the flickering orange flames of the wall-mounted torch appear even dimmer.
Mary, silenced and numb, tripped hard over the transparent tripwire stretched across the ground. She lost her balance completely and fell heavily onto the cold, unforgiving stone floor. Her knees and elbows immediately flared with blinding, sharp pain, and she almost dropped her wand from the impact.
The sheer pain brought hot tears to her eyes. She blinked quickly, fighting the panic, gripped her wand tightly, and desperately tried to calm her racing heart.
Only her ragged, silent gasping could be heard in her own head, making the surrounding, suffocating silence of the corridor feel even more terrifying.
Mary felt her peripheral vision going dark, her throat bone-dry. She endured the agonizing pain in her joints and stubbornly struggled to crawl a few pathetic steps towards the safety of the wall.
Time seemed to stand agonizingly still. She felt every microscopic movement she made was unbearably, frustratingly slow.
The unseen enemy hiding in the dark shadows could lethally cast another curse at absolutely any moment. But right now, paralyzed by the previous hex, she physically couldn't cast defensive spells. Her hands were too weak and numb to properly obey her commands, yet the smooth wood of the wand in her hand felt like her absolute only lifeline.
"Meow!" The small stray cat standing bravely in front of her yowled again, arching its back.
Another violent flash of red light flew directly towards her from the deep shadows. Mary, pinned to the floor, had nowhere left to dodge.
Just then, the tiny cat that had alerted her earlier suddenly leaped up. Moving at a speed almost invisible to the naked eye, its mouth open in a fierce hiss, fur bristling, it transformed into a fearless ball of angry fluff, actively pouncing directly into the path of the lethal red curse.
The lethal light of the curse and the tiny cat seemed to violently intersect in mid-air in slow motion.
Mary's weak hand, desperately trying to reach out and stop the animal, was suspended in mid-air. The thick silver ring on her index finger reflected a faint spark of moonlight—
Right—
Regulus's tactical alarm ring!
The Gryffindor witch's survival instincts bypassed her paralyzed muscles. Summoning the last dregs of her adrenaline, she simply threw her wand forward down the corridor with all her might!
Her heart pounded fiercely against her ribs, and large, terrified tears streamed uncontrollably from her green eyes.
With a sickening bang, the small cat crashed directly into the incoming red light. Mary couldn't help but let out a silent, agonizing sob of despair.
However, a brilliant, blinding blue arc of light simultaneously exploded outwards from the cat's chest. That protective blue shield violently collided with the red light of the curse, emitting a deafening crack and a dazzling, blinding purple glow!
The cat's small body was physically pushed backward by the kinetic shockwave. Mary reflexively extended her numb arms, and the stunned cat landed safely right in her embrace. She immediately, fiercely turned sideways, curling her body to place the vulnerable animal entirely under the physical protection of her own back.
Everything happened far too quickly. At the exact same moment her wand clattered against the stone floor, crossing the seven-foot threshold—
"AHHHHHRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!"
"PEEEEVES!!!!!!!!"
A deafening, ear-splitting siren began to violently erupt in the confined corridor, echoing like a banshee's magical scream piercing directly into the brain. Mary ignored her own bleeding knees and quickly, tightly covered the cat's sensitive ears.
In an absolute instant, half the sleeping Castle was awakened.
The very next second, the magically summoned Poltergeist Peeves went straight through the solid stone walls and magical barriers, taking the most direct route possible and being the very first entity to arrive at the chaotic scene.
Seeing Mary slumped pathetically against the wall corner, bravely holding the cat, he immediately, gleefully began his chaotic improvisation—
"Little Gryffindor imp, muddle-headed Little Mary, Howler sent to Hogwarts, summoning little Peeves in the middle of the night..."
"Students are all wicked, Peeves needs to find Filch and bite..."
Hearing Peeves's usually terrible, mocking song, Mary was almost crying with sheer, unadulterated joy. She had never imagined she would actually be so happy to see the Poltergeist.
...
On one side of the corridor, Church was violently sprinting towards them, aggressively leading a stern-looking tabby cat with distinct, square markings around its eyes that looked exactly like spectacles.
On the exact opposite side, Regulus, Sirius, Remus, Severus, James, and Lily were also rushing over from different directions, their wands drawn and glowing.
Also sprinting down the stairs were a panting Filch and a highly nimble Professor Flitwick...
Regulus was the absolute first human to arrive at the scene right after Peeves. His system-enhanced physical movement speed was simply too fast; he had long left Sirius and the others in the dust.
His sharp Eagle Vision saw absolutely everything clearly from a distance: the drying, metallic writing on the wall, the taut tripwire stretched across the ground—and Mary, missing her wand, tightly hugging the shivering cat, her eyes full of terrified tears, leaning heavily against the cold wall and gasping for breath.
"Mary!"
Hearing the highly familiar, aristocratic voice, Mary turned back sharply.
"Regulus!" She desperately opened her mouth but still couldn't make a sound through the Silencing Charm. Her legs were trembling wildly, and she couldn't quite gather the strength to stand up.
The Little Witch watched the Black Family's young prince approach her without blinking, his hawthorn wand already moving in a precise arc.
"I'm here. You don't need to be afraid anymore." Regulus squatted down gracefully, his calm, calculating grey eyes seemingly possessing a kind of deeply reassuring magic.
Tears of absolute relief no longer needed to be held back. Mary pointed frantically to the shivering cat in her arms, then desperately pointed to her own paralyzed throat.
"Finite Incantatem," Regulus said softly, waving his wand.
The numbness vanished. "Regulus! Quickly, look at this cat!" Mary immediately gasped, her voice hoarse and anxious. "It was attacked by a red light curse trying to protect me!"
"It's okay. Leave it to me," he said concisely, switching into CEO crisis-management mode.
Behind Regulus, Sirius and Remus finally appeared, panting heavily. While at the other end of the hall, Church and the spectacle-marked tabby cat Regulus hadn't seen before arrived together.
The elusive fourteenth cat?
"Drink this." Entirely without even thinking about his system task, Regulus quickly pulled out a potent vial of Vitality Tonic from his pendant and handed it to Mary.
Next, he gently took the weak, shivering little cat from her arms. It thankfully hadn't suffered a fatal magical injury; it was likely just stunned by the sheer kinetic impact of the blocked curse. The silver Cat Tag hanging around its furry neck had absorbed the blow, its alloy surface now covered in deep, jagged cracks.
What an incredibly brave and fiercely kind cat!
Regulus gently, affectionately stroked the little cat's head, warming it. He quickly wrapped it securely in a soft wool blanket he seamlessly conjured with Transfiguration, and took out the pristine, final Cat Tag from his pocket. With utmost solemnity, he tied it securely around the little hero's neck.
The little cat meowed a few times, its voice soft and lovely, rubbing its head against his palm. Regulus couldn't help but smile warmly.
The spectacle-marked tabby cat sitting next to Church watched all of this unfold without blinking its sharp, intelligent eyes—
[Task 'Cat's Guardian' Completed] [Stealth Skill Upgraded: Now Effective on Non-Human Creatures and Magical Beasts]
Huh?
Regulus sharply turned his head to look directly at Church's side—
The stern fourteenth cat sitting in front of Regulus suddenly, seamlessly transformed under his highly stunned gaze into a tall, formidable Witch in green plaid robes, a look of profound, undeniable approval appearing on her usually stern face.
Only then did it mathematically click in Regulus's gamer brain. This was the absolute first time he had personally, physically seen Professor McGonagall's Animagus form.
The heavily panting Filch, the unusually nimble Professor Flitwick, Lily, James, and the others finally arrived at the chaotic scene, wands raised.
Under everyone's confused gaze, Regulus suddenly zoned out, staring at the Transfiguration Professor.
So that's exactly it—
So, tactically getting Professor McGonagall's genuine approval while she was specifically in her feline Animagus form was exactly what the system counted as the final target...
...
He was utterly, completely defeated by this broken system's third-rate, literal-minded game design.