The group quickly arrived at the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor.
Pushing the door open, the sight before them slightly surprised them.
The empty room had been set up as a simple training ground.
Several wooden dummy targets for practicing spells stood by the wall, but even more eye-catching were a few magical puppets that could move slowly, simulating human strides, emitting faint creaks as they mechanically paced back and forth in the center of the room.
What surprised them even more was that Draco and Neville had already begun practicing.
Apparently, Neville didn't want to hold back their progress, so he asked Draco to start lessons early as soon as they arrived.
"Relax, Neville!" Draco's voice held a hint of impatience as he demonstrated on a moving puppet, "You need to concentrate, imagine an invisible chain, 'whoosh' it wraps around the opponent's leg! Your intention must be clear! Try again!"
However, the more Draco emphasized, the more Neville's hand holding the wand trembled, his face turning beet red, yet not a single spark emerged from the tip of his wand.
Seeing this, Ron couldn't help but mutter, "He really isn't a qualified teacher…"
Harry gently nudged him with his elbow, lowering his voice to remind him, "Don't say that, Draco sacrificed his own rest time."
Ron realized his slip of the tongue and sheepishly covered his mouth.
Seeing the others arrive, Draco visibly relaxed and said to the sweating, almost exhausted Neville, "Alright, take a break. It might be better if we all practice together after I teach them."
Neville directly slumped to the ground, panting heavily. Draco's strict teaching combined with his own desperate persistence had consumed too much of his energy.
"You're here!" Draco walked towards the group, trying to hide the fatigue on his face.
Nios smiled and nodded, "You've worked hard."
Draco straightened his back, feigning a relaxed demeanor, "It's no trouble, we're all companions after all~"
Nios's approval clearly pleased him, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved upwards.
"Is this spell… difficult?" Ron asked, looking at the two exhausted individuals.
"Actually… it's not very difficult…" Draco replied vaguely, the latter half of the sentence, "it's just that the person teaching is a bit difficult," was swallowed back. He couldn't possibly say in front of everyone that Neville was a slow learner.
"Let's not talk about that," Draco changed the subject, walking towards a moving puppet, "I'll teach you first, and then we can all practice together. Learning from each other makes it easier to find problems."
Nios casually "threw" Azazel, who still had little pink stuffed in his mouth and a fork stuck in his butt, to the corner. The group followed Draco and gathered around.
"The incantation for the Leg-Locker Curse is 'Locomotor Mortis'. When casting, the most crucial thing is intent. Imagine a sturdy chain instantly wrapping around the target's legs, locking them firmly! Watch closely!"
He flicked his wrist, his wand pointing precisely at the puppet: "Locomotor Mortis!"
A white light shot out from the tip of his wand, hitting the puppet's legs directly! With a crisp "click," the puppet's legs instantly snapped together and stiffened, unable to move an inch, only its upper body swaying futilely.
Harry and Ron's eyes lit up, and they couldn't help but applaud.
Hermione, however, rolled her eyes at them helplessly, signaling them to focus on learning the movements.
"Alright, the principle and movements are like this, not complicated. You each find a target and give it a try." Draco withdrew his wand, signaling everyone to begin.
Harry and Hermione had excellent comprehension. After trying a few times on the stationary dummy targets, the spell's light steadily glowed, successfully immobilizing the targets.
Ron, however, was struggling. He repeatedly chanted and waved his wand at a moving puppet, but either the light was too weak and dissipated, or he missed. He was sweating on his forehead, unsure if it was due to his wand or his own impatience.
Nios understood it after just one look, having little interest in such basic spells.
He walked directly towards the still panting Neville, and waved at the flustered Ron, "Ron, you come over too."
Ron and Neville exchanged glances and walked in front of Nios.
"You two have something in common." Nios said straightforwardly.
Ron's face fell, and he blurted out, "Are you trying to say we're both… stupid?"
Neville heard this and lowered his head in shame.
"No," Nios shook his head, "it's your wands, they don't quite 'like' you."
Ron awkwardly scratched his hair, "Uh… my wand is Charlie's old wand…"
Neville's voice dropped, with a hint of imperceptible sadness, "Mine… is my father's…" The atmosphere instantly became a little heavy, and Nios and Ron wisely did not press further.
"An ill-fitting wand is a problem, but the bigger problem is," Nios's gaze swept over the two, "you are too impatient. The more impatient you are, the stronger the wand's resistance."
"Then… what should we do?" Neville asked eagerly. He had practiced for several hours with no progress, and he didn't want to give up his father's wand. Seeing that Ron also seemed to be stuck, he felt even more flustered.
"It's simple," Nios's voice carried a strange calming power, "Empty your mind of distractions, and then, use your will to overcome the wand's resistance! Don't think 'what if I fail,' just think one thing: 'My spell will hit!' Then, wave your wand!"
"Is it that simple?" Ron looked at Nios suspiciously.
"Yes, it's that simple. Willpower is key." Nios affirmed.
Neville, next to him, closed his eyes, carefully chewing on Nios's words— "empty your mind of distractions," "willpower overcomes," "will hit"… these words echoed repeatedly in his mind.
A few seconds later, he opened his eyes, and there was an unprecedented determination in them.
He walked in front of a moving puppet, took a deep breath, raised his wand steadily, with no more hesitation in his heart, only the intent of a chain wrapping around the opponent's legs!
"Locomotor Mortis!"
A white light, even more solid than when Draco demonstrated, shot out from the tip of Neville's wand, accurately hitting the puppet's legs! The puppet's movements came to an abrupt halt, its legs tightly bound as if welded, stiff in place!
After casting the spell, Neville seemed to have exhausted all his strength, his legs giving way as if to collapse.
Draco, quick-witted, rushed forward in a single stride and supported him, his voice full of joy, "Merlin! Neville! You succeeded! I knew you could do it!"
Neville, however, stared blankly at the immobilized puppet, then at his own wand.
Suddenly, he broke free from Draco's support, raised his wand again, and facing the unmoving puppet, he clearly but slightly slowly chanted in succession:
"Incendio!" A bright flame struck the puppet's body.
"Expelliarmus!" The puppet was violently pushed backward by an invisible force, hitting the wall.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" The puppet, which had hit the wall and fallen, floated up again, swaying!
Although the casting speed and spell clarity still had room for improvement, the sense of power displayed by these spells far exceeded his usual performance!
This scene stunned everyone!
Draco was particularly shocked. Neville was always flustered in Potion Class, and he had never expected such powerful magic to be contained within this shy boy!
Hermione, Harry, and Ron also gaped.
Neville looked at the floating puppet, first laughing in disbelief, but as he laughed, large tears welled up without warning, rolling down his cheeks.
This terrified Draco. He flusteredly asked Neville, "Neville? Neville! What's wrong? Don't scare me!"
Neville quickly wiped away his tears with the back of his hand, trying to force a smile, "I'm fine, Draco… I'm just… too happy…"
His voice choked, as if years of pent-up emotions had finally found an outlet. "I… I never showed any signs of magic outbursts since I was little… Everyone thought… thought I was a Squib… until my uncle threw me out of the window…"
He took a deep breath, but his tears flowed even harder, "Even after getting into Hogwarts… I was always the worst… I couldn't do well in any subject… Ron just didn't want to learn… but I… no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do it…"
He looked at his wand, as if seeing his father holding it and dueling a Dark Wizard. "Now… now… I can finally… finally not hold everyone back!" By the end, he was sobbing uncontrollably.
Draco froze in place. He had grown up in luxury, exceptionally talented, and had never experienced such deep frustration and inferiority, nor did he know how to comfort him.
The only image that flashed in his mind was his mother's warm embrace when he cried as a child.
Although he felt a bit awkward, he hesitated for a moment, then stretched out his arms and somewhat clumsily but firmly hugged the trembling Neville.
Hermione's eyes also reddened. She immediately stepped forward and gently hugged Neville and Draco from the other side.
Harry didn't hesitate at all and also joined the hug.
Ron looked at the four people embracing, his face slightly red, seemingly finding the scene a bit sentimental, but he eventually overcame that slight awkwardness, extended his arm from Harry's side, and joined the hug, forming a tight circle.
Seeing this scene, Nios subconsciously glanced at Azazel in the corner.
He was desperately pursing his lips, his little paws trying hard to point at the embracing crowd, wildly hinting: Go on! You're the only one left!
The embracing individuals also seemed to feel Nios's gaze. They all looked up at him, and even Azazel's small eyes were filled with anticipation.
Nios looked at the warm scene before him, the corner of his mouth curving into a helpless yet somewhat indulgent smile. He gently shook his head.
The next second, he spread his arms, let out a strange cry: "Wah—!" and then plunged into the pile of people, becoming part of the six-person hug.
Neville, tightly surrounded in the middle, felt that even Nios had joined in, and his last line of defense completely crumbled.
He no longer suppressed himself, burying his face in Draco's shoulder and sobbing loudly, as if to release all the grievances of the past and the joy of the present.
Nios's "gaze" under his eye mask swept over the tightly embracing bodies around him, transmitting warmth.
An extremely unfamiliar yet strangely warm emotion, like a stone thrown into still water, stirred a subtle ripple deep within his cold, Alchemy-constructed body.
'How wonderful…' A thought quietly emerged.
Since transmigrating to this world, this was the first time he had so clearly "felt" the collision of human emotions.
This thing, which was readily available and even considered noisy in his previous life, now seemed so… precious?
Thinking of this, he subconsciously 'looked' towards the corner.
A very faint pink glow emanated from Azazel's small stubby hands, like invisible threads, gently wrapping around the embracing individuals, quietly amplifying the softness deep within their hearts.
Azazel noticed Nios's gaze and was about to retract his ability when a clear voice sounded in his mind.
"I'll let you off this time…"
Receiving the information from the contract, Azazel's small eyes instantly lit up.
And Nios, after conveying that sentence, gently rested his head on Hermione's fluffy, slightly fragrant, voluminous curly hair.
He, too, couldn't help but immerse himself in this warmth, which was intentionally created yet incredibly real.