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The massive Frye Family's private shooting range was completely, highly securely hidden in the sprawling west wing of the mansion, the absolute only entrance being a heavy, reinforced, military-grade steel door.
Ethan Frye completely, flawlessly pressed a highly complex, rapid series of numbers directly onto the mechanical keypad lock mounted on the cold steel. With a massive, heavy clunk, the massive security door slid open completely automatically on hydraulic hinges, and a highly distinct, freezing, serious metallic scent immediately wafted out into the hallway.
Then, he walked directly into the secure control room situated exactly to the right of the entrance and completely, skillfully entered another numerical password again.
BANG—
Rows of massive, incredibly bright industrial spotlights completely, instantly came on with a loud hum, perfectly illuminating the massive, sprawling rectangular concrete room completely without a single blind spot.
The heavy, bunker-like concrete structure of the indoor shooting range was incredibly smooth and completely, terrifyingly sturdy. The massive walls were entirely, perfectly covered completely with dark gray, highly expensive sound-absorbing foam material. The rows of heavy wooden baffles mounted directly on the high ceiling were slightly, mathematically tilted to catch ricochets, and the entire massive floor was completely laid with highly professional, thick anti-slip rubber matting.
The shooting room perfectly possessed five highly segregated, heavy partitions, completely, flawlessly allowing exactly six people to actively shoot simultaneously with maximum safety.
At the absolute very end of the massive room were highly advanced mechanical targets, with six standard, humanoid cardboard cutouts painted with tight bullseyes currently standing motionlessly on them. And directly above the static targets was a highly complex set of suspended, automated moving target rails.
There was completely, absolutely only a very faint, highly nostalgic smell of burnt lead and heavy gunpowder lingering in the cold air, physically indicating that the massive industrial ventilation system was actively working incredibly well.
"So incredibly cool!" Regulus completely, genuinely couldn't help but whisper aloud in pure, unadulterated admiration. This massive, highly funded tactical place was actually mathematically far more advanced than he had even originally imagined it would be; it was incredibly professional and massively spacious.
He absolutely wasn't the only one deeply impressed by the display of Muggle wealth. The terrifyingly modern, highly lethal shooting range clearly, massively surprised the arrogant pureblood Sirius, the poor half-blood Severus, the mundane Muggle Lily, and the others—their wide eyes darted highly rapidly around the room, acting exactly as if they desperately wanted to physically imprint the layout of this massive concrete box directly into their magical minds.
"Alright, listen closely. Let me absolutely first introduce a few highly strict, non-negotiable safety rules—" Ethan steadily, highly heavily placed the two massive, highly secure black leather cases he had carried entirely out of the control room directly onto the steel table, making a massive, heavy metallic clanging sound. The energetic little wizards' intense attention immediately, violently focused entirely on the heavy cases.
(I highly mathematically wonder if there are exactly 50 gold Continental coins hidden inside exactly like John Wick?) Regulus thought cynically.
Ethan firmly, aggressively tapped the hard cases and said incredibly seriously, his military tone brokering absolutely zero argument:
"First, and completely, absolutely most importantly—the physical muzzle of a loaded weapon absolutely must never, ever be pointed directly at your friends or innocent civilians under any circumstances, do you completely understand?"
Absolutely everyone in the room nodded in highly synchronized, terrified unison.
"Guns are extremely, undeniably powerful, lethal kinetic weapons—absolutely only with strict righteousness and discipline in your heart can you safely wield this lightning in your hand. You absolutely must mathematically treat them with extreme care and respect at all times. Carefully watch my physical demonstration."
Sirius's wide grey eyes completely didn't blink for a second, and even the highly experienced adult, Alphard Black, visibly straightened up his posture a bit in respect.
Ethan smoothly, highly expertly took out a highly simple, brutally designed, heavy black pistol directly from the velvet-lined case, his blue eyes filled with highly distinct, familiar affection for the weapon:
"This specific beauty is a highly reliable Colt M1911 A1. It is heavily American-made, utilizes a 7-round magazine feed, and possesses a highly effective, lethal combat range of roughly 50 meters."
While highly patiently, systematically explaining the mechanical steps of operation, he smoothly, flawlessly demonstrated absolutely each physical action with terrifying speed. Regulus deeply, analytically noticed that his physical shooting stance was extremely, terrifyingly stable and mathematically flawless, clearly the undeniable physical mark of someone who had violently, actively used lethal firearms in combat for a highly, incredibly long time.
"Last step. You must completely control your breathing, and relax your upper body. Remember, you absolutely must be perfectly steady—"
"Three points perfectly aligned."
Ethan flawlessly assumed the exact, highly iconic, perfect shooting stance exactly as seen in the classic James Bond movie opening sequence. His legs were spread firmly, his left arm hanging completely naturally at his side, his right hand gripping the steel and pulling the heavy trigger repeatedly—
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three massive, deafening explosions echoed. Three heavy bullets violently, accurately hit the dead center of the red bullseye, and Ethan's muscular arm absolutely didn't even mathematically tremble a single, microscopic bit from the massive recoil!
Absolutely beautiful!
Amidst the highly sharp, choking smell of grey gunpowder smoke, the lethal sharpshooter Ethan completely, highly skillfully checked the hot gun, flawlessly ensuring the chamber was entirely clear and the mechanical safety was firmly on. He then revealed a highly relaxed, deeply confident smile, physically looking exactly as if he were actively ready to smoothly drink a dry, shaken martini at any given moment:
"Absolute, mathematical accuracy is the absolute only standard legally allowed in this room."
He said incredibly coolly.
For a highly long, terrified moment, the little wizards' eyes simply lit up with sheer awe as they looked at the Muggle, and Regulus happily led the loud, respectful applause.
"Alright, next up, you will absolutely follow my highly strict instructions and Cecily's guidance, taking turns highly carefully in pairs on the line. Cecily is actually an absolutely great shot!"
"However, you kids will obviously be highly safely using entirely different, smaller caliber guns. This massive Colt of mine honestly has a bit entirely too much violent recoil for your developing wrists."
"I honestly think waving our wooden wands is mathematically much simpler..." James muttered highly softly while nervously rubbing his sweaty hands.
"Then you're absolutely not going to actively try shooting?" Jacob asked highly innocently, challenging the Gryffindor's bravery.
"Of course I am going to try it!" James quickly replied, his competitive pride flaring. He completely couldn't safely miss out on something this highly, violently fun and dangerous.
...
The absolute first one to step onto the firing line to take a turn was Regulus.
Cecily gently handed him an extremely small, highly exquisite silver pistol—
It actually turned out to be the highly famous, iconic "James Bond-style" Walther PPK, the exact, highly reliable standard self-defense sidearm historically used for high-ranking German officers during World War II.
Regulus took a highly deep, calming breath before finally reaching out to physically touch the checkered grip. The freezing cold metal immediately carried a highly heavy, terrifying sense of lethal pressure, physically feeling much heavier in his hand than he had initially, mathematically expected it to be.
He carefully, highly analytically raised the heavy gun, perfectly imitating Ethan's previous flawless stance. He gripped the handle completely firmly with his right hand, the muzzle slightly, safely raised, his pale fingertip pausing highly carefully for a tense moment directly near the heavy trigger.
"Absolutely don't aggressively rush the shot," Cecily stood directly behind him, gently reaching out to physically adjust his stance. "Spread your feet a little vastly wider for a better base... Yes, exactly, that's mathematically much more stable. Relax your tense shoulders... Very good. Now, absolutely do not relax your wrist lock, keep the muzzle perfectly steady."
"Carefully aim directly for the red heart, then take a deep, slow breath in... Absolutely don't jerk or rush to pull the trigger. Squeeze it."
Regulus flawlessly did exactly as instructed.
He had violently used a magic wand absolutely countless times in combat, and he had highly successfully fought in massive, bloody gun battles in VR games countless times in his past life. But he had genuinely, absolutely never personally, physically experienced holding such a highly terrifying, deadly kinetic weapon in reality before—there were absolutely no complex spells here, absolutely no glowing magic to rely on, entirely only the raw, physical strength of his fingertips and the steady, biological rhythm of his heartbeat.
This was the absolute, true, violent romance of the Muggles!
He squinted his dark eyes slightly, his sharp Eagle Vision focused completely, entirely only on the bright red bullseye twenty-five yards away—
With absolutely each slow breath, he deeply felt his right arm becoming increasingly tense. His pale fingertip highly unconsciously applied mathematical force, and the heavy metal trigger slowly began moving backward—
BANG!
The highly deafening gunshot violently exploded in the concrete room, and the sharp, violent physical recoil instantly spread completely up his wrist and into his forearm. Regulus actually felt his heart belatedly start to violently pound in his chest from the adrenaline.
Absolutely everyone in the room eagerly looked down range at the paper target—
The highly sharp, choking smell of lead and gunpowder thickened significantly again in the room, and directly on the paper target twenty-five yards away, a small, highly ragged bullet hole had landed completely on its outer edge.
Regulus's absolute first bullet, at the very least, successfully hit the paper target.
"For an absolute beginner holding a gun, hitting the paper at all is honestly already highly excellent!" Cecily smiled highly encouragingly. "You absolutely can safely try using both hands to stabilize your grip for the next one."
"Okay." Regulus slowly exhaled the smoke, but stubbornly, arrogantly still held the gun firmly entirely with one hand.
He tried incredibly hard to mathematically, violently recall the exact, perfect physical feeling of his entire body's muscles completely tensing and relaxing during that highly flawless stance just now. He analyzed it from his scalp entirely down to his feet... from his focused eyeballs completely to his arms... from his slow breathing completely to his fingertips—
Aim. Hold your breath. Squeeze the trigger!
BANG!
Absolutely shocking. Entirely, completely shocking—
"Oh my sweet god!" Cecily exclaimed loudly in pure surprise. "Ethan, quickly, look at this!"
The highly lethal second bullet had violently, flawlessly hit the bright red heart exactly, mathematically dead center!
"Absolutely beautiful!" The highly knowledgeable, trained Jacob completely couldn't help but loudly applaud his friend. "Regulus, you're genuinely, highly talented with firearms!"
Regulus smiled highly slightly, lowering the smoking gun—currently feeling exactly, flawlessly like a highly lethal Johnny Silverhand.
And suddenly, the highly arrogant thought: "Well, it mathematically looks pretty simple enough"—violently appeared simultaneously in the highly competitive minds of several other little wizards watching—
If the Slytherin can do it, I absolutely can do it too!
But highly unsurprisingly, those highly eager purebloods who tried to shoot next immediately met with their own highly embarrassing "Waterloo" one after another:
Severus's skinny wrists were completely too weak, and his heavy gun barrel violently, uncontrollably tilted directly up upon firing, and his wild bullet almost highly dangerously hit the concrete ceiling baffles; James was absolutely also highly exaggerated in his failure—he completely missed his own target and somehow violently hit the bullseye of the completely wrong target standing directly next to his; the vast majority of Sirius and Remus's highly hasty bullets completely missed the paper target entirely; and Lily and Mary absolutely only shot exactly twice before their delicate wrists turned violently red from the harsh recoil, and they happily, safely retreated in complete embarrassment.
"It mathematically seems I'm honestly still vastly more physically suited to simply using a lightweight wooden wand..." Lily said with a highly embarrassed, red-faced smile, gently rubbing her slightly reddened wrist and the sore web between her thumb and forefinger. "Exactly why on earth is this tiny metal thing so incredibly, violently powerful..."
"Regulus is absolutely, undeniably amazing..." Mary whispered in awe. Now she was completely, increasingly highly understanding exactly why the highly lethal Evie Frye actually thought the younger Black brother was completely, tactically superior to Sirius.
...
Physically holding such a highly violent, completely terrifying piece of explosive steel entirely in one's hand genuinely felt exactly as if the raw power went straight, deeply to the heart.
After exactly one highly deafening round of shooting, Muggle kinetic firearms had absolutely, undoubtedly left a massive, highly dominant, terrifying impression on the arrogant little wizards' minds.
The absolute last one to step up and safely try the gun was the adult, Alphard Black—after neatly, highly smoothly firing an entire, massive clip of bullets into the target, he actually, highly nonchalantly blew the grey smoke directly off the hot barrel exactly like a cowboy:
"This Muggle thing is absolutely, genuinely really powerful! This raw, massive kinetic power—" He highly enthusiastically exclaimed in pure admiration, checking the gun. "I absolutely dare say not very many adult Wizards can actually cast lethal spells with this kind of raw, explosive physical power!"
"And absolutely all of this massive destruction is completely achieved entirely without even biologically using a single drop of magic!"
"Muggle technology... is honestly so incredibly cool. It's completely, utterly incredible!" Alphard highly admired the heavy, polished Smith & Wesson Model 15 currently resting in his hand, saying with immense, profound admiration:
"Truly, highly incredible Muggles!"
Immediately after, Al even violently shook his head in deep, pureblood confusion: "I really, honestly completely don't understand exactly why our highly boring Muggle Studies class at Hogwarts absolutely doesn't teach these highly tactical, important things to the students?"
"In absolute, terrifying fact, this specific pistol isn't honestly even close to being our most powerful military weapon," Ethan explained highly casually, loading another magazine. "But it is indeed mathematically the very first, highly effective kinetic weapon that we... we Muggles... successfully invented that can completely, flawlessly physically level absolutely all biological, individual differences in a fight."
"Next time there's a good chance over the summer, you absolutely can all safely experience the massive outdoor shooting range and the rifles." Ethan said with a massive, warm smile. It was absolutely no massive exaggeration at all to honestly say that he and the roguish Alphard Black had instantly, highly successfully hit it off completely perfectly.
Listening highly closely to the dangerous adults talking, the complex expressions on the young little wizards' faces clearly showed massive, various dark thoughts—Regulus observed their faces completely carefully.
"So... Muggles actually possess such terrifying, massive physical power without magic..." Remus murmured highly softly, his amber eyes wide with realization—
No bloody wonder Regulus was highly specifically, constantly muttering about ordering silver bullets and heavy lead bullets before...
"This is honestly absolutely just the very beginning of the fun," Jacob said entirely honestly, his Slytherin ambition flaring. "We actually have highly fast, automated moving targets here too. Do you guys actively want to safely try hitting them?"
Evie also nodded highly eagerly along with her brother. The highly impressive sight of the lethal brother and sister flawlessly, mathematically hitting the moving target dead center with absolutely every single rapid shot made all the other highly competitive little wizards incredibly, deeply envious of their Muggle skills.
The currently rather highly discouraged, highly competitive James Potter was frowning deeply and shaking his head at his own terrible marksmanship—hearing this challenge, he suddenly had a massive, highly brilliant flash of Gryffindor inspiration, his hazel eyes violently lighting up with excitement:
"Wait. How exactly about we actually try safely using our wands to hit the moving targets?!"
"Regulus! You absolutely, fundamentally must legally include this specific target-practice project directly into the official Dueling Club activities at school!"