The library was a place Regulus had to visit before leaving school; a few books needed to be returned.
The library was so quiet you could hear the soft rustle of turning pages. Most students had already packed their bags and were ready to go home, leaving only a handful still poring over reference materials.
Regulus walked slowly along the bookshelves when a hesitant voice sounded behind him.
"Regulus?"
Regulus turned around. Lily Evans stood between two rows of shelves, holding a thick stack of books, the top one being *Advanced Potion-Making*.
"Lily." Regulus stopped and replied in a gentle tone.
Lily took a few steps closer, her voice slightly nervous: "I… I wanted to send you a Christmas gift, but I don't know your home address."
"The address, could you tell me?" Lily's green eyes stared at Regulus's grey eyes, filled with anticipation.
Regulus was silent for a moment, his tone still gentle but apologetic: "I'm sorry, Lily. The Black family address is protected by ancient magic and cannot be spoken by me; there is a magical constraint.
Furthermore, external correspondence, especially letters from non-magical channels, cannot be delivered directly."
Number 12, Grimmauld Place is shrouded in powerful protective magic.
The address itself contains powerful magic and is a supreme secret. Even if an outsider merely knows the address, it triggers the defensive charm's warning.
Moreover, Walburga detests everything about the Muggle world. If a gift from a Muggle family were received, the gift would not only be destroyed, but it might also cause unnecessary trouble for Lily.
The brightness faded from Lily's face. She lowered her head, and her long red hair fell, covering her eyes.
After a long while, her voice was low: "Is it because… my family is a Muggle family?"
"It has nothing to do with that." Regulus shook his head.
Number 12, Grimmauld Place does have a protection charm that blocks Muggle mail, but if they truly wanted to receive it, there were ways. However, he certainly couldn't tell her the truth.
"Any outsider knowing the address will trigger the defenses, no exceptions. Even close relatives who casually reveal it will be subject to a curse."
"The magic automatically screens non-family bloodlines. If an unapproved package is received, not only will the package be destroyed, but the sender might also be implicated."
Hearing this, Lily nodded, quietly breathing a sigh of relief.
This knowledge was a blind spot for her. Hogwarts classes never taught things like family protective magic, address curses, or automatic bloodline screening.
These belonged to the closely guarded traditions of pure-blood families—secret magic flowing within ancient walls and family trees.
None of the other pure-blood young wizards she had met would proactively mention these things. They wouldn't explain, nor would they feel the need to explain.
Perhaps to them, this was self-evident common sense, as natural as Muggles knowing the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
If a Muggle-born like Lily broke a taboo out of ignorance, it wouldn't be their problem; it would merely be the Muggle-born lacking proper upbringing.
She never deliberately tried to curry favor with anyone; she simply recognized Regulus as a worthwhile friend, based on respect and equality—something exceptionally rare in a wizarding world filled with blood prejudice.
As long as Regulus wasn't disgusted by her gift or rejecting her friendship, the matter of the address was nothing at all.
Since that was the case, she didn't press further, merely holding the books in her arms more securely.
She turned to leave, then stopped, looking back at Regulus with a hint of a smile in her green eyes: "Then… can I bring the gift to you after the holiday?"
"You can." Regulus nodded decisively this time: "If you don't mind, tell me your home address. I have a gift I want to send you too."
Lily paused, then gave a genuine smile: "My home address is Number 4, Lilac Road, Cokeworth Town."
"Merry Christmas, Lily."
"You too, Regulus."
Watching Lily's figure disappear at the end of the bookshelf, he sighed softly.
The gap between the two worlds could never be bridged by a little goodwill, but this friendship, he would protect well.
Early the next morning, the Hogwarts Express stopped punctually at the platform. The place was bustling, packed with young wizards, and the sounds of laughter mixed with the hooting of owls.
Regulus carried his suitcase. Hermes was staying behind at school, while Avery and Alex followed him as the three walked toward the train with the crowd.
Avery leaned in and lowered his voice, a hint of unconcealed schadenfreude on his face: "That Lestrange fellow didn't manage to leave.
I heard he was caught red-handed by Professor McGonagall running Dark Arts experiments in an abandoned classroom yesterday. He was injured too, so he has to spend the Christmas holiday healing in the Hospital Wing, followed by detention after the break."
Regulus raised an eyebrow but didn't ask further.
Rabastan's outcome was already within his expectations. Although the methods used by Hermes and Avery were not sophisticated, they were effective enough.
"Isn't that Potter and his friends?" Alex suddenly asked.
Regulus followed his gaze. James Potter was standing by the train entrance, laughing and talking with Remus and Peter.
Sirius Black was leaning against the carriage door, still wearing those faded jeans. When he saw Regulus, the smile on his face froze, and he immediately turned his head away.
Lily was standing not far away, saying goodbye to a girl. Seeing Regulus, she waved, a clear smile on her face, and Regulus gave a slight nod.
The train whistle sounded, signaling departure. Regulus stepped onto the train and found a window seat.
Avery and Alex sat across from him, excitedly discussing going to Diagon Alley during the holiday to buy the latest brooms and trying out the newly opened magic item shop in Knockturn Alley.
Regulus did not join the conversation, simply watching the scenery outside the window slowly recede—fields, forests, and farmhouses covered in snow, like a still painting.
When the train arrived at King's Cross Station, the snow was falling more thickly, melting instantly when it landed on his shoulder, bringing a hint of coolness.
Regulus bid farewell to Avery and Alex and walked alone toward a quiet corner at the edge of the platform.
"Young Master." Kreacher's voice suddenly sounded beside him. The house-elf, wearing tattered linen clothes, was bowing respectfully, his nose almost touching the ground.
"Master sent Kreacher to fetch you home."
Regulus nodded: "Let's go."
Kreacher raised his withered hand, and a faint silver light glowed on his fingertip.
Without needing a spell or a wand, and without any obvious magical fluctuation, an invisible barrier enveloped the two of them.
The surrounding scenery began to twist and spin. The platform's noise was instantly silenced, as if a mute button had been pressed, and quickly receded.
Space was no longer an obstacle; instead, it was like a piece of fabric that could be folded at will. They stood in the fold of the fabric and completed the traversal in the blink of an eye.
When they opened their eyes again, they were already standing in the Black family entrance hall.
Indigo ritual flames burned in the fireplace. The portraits on the walls all turned their eyes toward him, and whispers rose and fell.
Regulus stood still. The instantaneous spatial displacement had left a clear imprint in his mind; it was fundamentally different from a wizard's Apparition.
He had read detailed records about Apparition in the family library and had also heard Orion describe his personal experience.
It was like being forcibly stuffed into a narrow rubber tube and then brutally squeezed out.
A wizard needed to focus all attention on locking onto the destination; even a slight deviation could lead to the danger of Splinching.
The entire process was filled with a sense of forced compression, like violently breaking through a spatial barrier, forcing oneself in, and then squeezing out the other side.
This method was more like a forced passage, requiring resistance against the space itself. Every movement was accompanied by intense discomfort and was severely restricted by distance, becoming impossible beyond a certain range.
But Kreacher's magic was completely different.
There was no sensation of compression, no resistance from a forced breakthrough, and no discomfort whatsoever. It was as if space itself willingly yielded a path for them.
Or rather, they instantaneously moved from one point to another without any intervening process.
This was pure spatial displacement, requiring no resistance, seeming more like movement in accordance with the laws of space.
Regulus's fingertips moved slightly, and magic flowed gently over his body surface.
He began to ponder: house-elves can cast complex magic without wands and can instantaneously move to their master's side, even across great distances.
Furthermore, this type of movement seems unrestricted by magical barriers; the Anti-Apparition Jinx is also ineffective against it.
In the predetermined fate, the cave where he died was inaccessible even to Dumbledore via direct Apparition, yet Kreacher could enter and exit freely.
If he could unlock the essence of this space magic, perhaps he could break through the inherent framework of wizarding magic, no longer limited by spells, wands, and distance.
He might even be able to escape the constraints of gravity and truly achieve free traversal.
And this was the necessary path to the stars. To break through the atmosphere and explore the universe, space magic was an indispensable foundation.
Once this thought arose, it could no longer be ignored.
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