"I'll send an owl!"
"We must meet during the summer holidays!"
King's Cross Station, Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Little Wizards bid farewell to each other, hugging, and good friends promised to meet again.
...
Regulus found Sirius, who was reluctantly parting with his good friend, and returned to Muggle London together. Their father, Orion Black, was already waiting at the appointed place.
Perhaps because he lived in a Muggle residential area in London, Orion's Muggle attire was very familiar. He wore an elegant three-piece gray suit, even a tie, with Black hair and gray eyes, distinct features, a slightly raised chin, lowered gaze, and a straight back like a steel rod inserted, very stylish.
If he walked down the street, the only thing that could distinguish him from the surrounding Muggles was his aloof, world-weary attitude, which was three points gloomier than the bad weather in the United Kingdom.
Regulus could almost immediately confirm that the family's imprint on Sirius was much deeper than he thought - the elegance revealed in Sirius's every movement and posture had their father's shadow.
"Good day, Father." Regulus greeted without hesitation - he inherited everything from Regulus, he was Regulus.
"Good day, Father." Sirius said indifferently, extending his hand to Orion.
Orion naturally took Regulus's hand, wearing a large gold ring engraved with the Black Family crest on his hand—
"Apparate!"
After an experience of "breaking the void" that made Regulus dizzy and nauseous, the three of them appeared together in the entrance hall of 12 Grimmauld Place.
What wonderful magic!
Walking on the long entrance hall carpet, under the orange-yellow light of the spiderweb-shaped chandelier, past the entrance table with snake-shaped candlesticks, past the Troll leg umbrella stand (Regulus smiled: Is his niece Tonks about to be born?), rows of family Wizard portraits, rows of wrinkled House-elf heads—
The ancestral home's aesthetics were quite bizarre, but thanks to Kreacher's hard work, there were no signs of decay at all; everything was clean, shiny, and as good as new.
Their mother, Walburga, was already waiting in the living room on the second floor, leaning back on the sofa, with tea and pastries meticulously prepared by Kreacher on the coffee table in front of her.
At 12 Grimmauld Place, Walburga was the undisputed mistress; the mother's aura was stronger than the father's - their parents had an older sister-younger brother relationship; the mother was now 48, and the father was 44.
Walburga's image had more of the aura of a villainous Witch - thin cheeks, deep-set eyes, long hair pulled up high, an opal necklace with a shimmering luster on her turquoise robe, and a large sapphire ring on her hand surrounded by a circle of Diamond. It reminded Regulus inexplicably of that diva who wore a diamond ring even when taking a bath at home.
If she wasn't always looking dissatisfied with everything, she should have been quite good-looking. Also, if you don't consider their slightly old-fashioned clothing, their parents looked only about thirty years old.
Regulus had a good relationship with his mother, but from the perspective of a pure stranger - both she and her husband gave the impression of being distant and naturally cold-hearted.
"Good day, Mother!"
"Good day, Mother!"
Two greetings with quite different attitudes sounded.
"Regulus, welcome home." Walburga's thin lips curved into a smile, then faded. "You too, Sirius."
"Mom!" Regulus said with a smile, walking over naturally, offering a small box, looking radiant, "This is the gift Sirius and I prepared at Hogwarts—"
Sirius pursed his lips unnaturally and turned his head slightly - he was a person loyal to himself, and he didn't fully approve of what Regulus was doing.
Walburga was surprised by the change in Regulus's demeanor; this year at Hogwarts seemed to have made him much more mature. She opened the velvet box in front of her—
Inside was a silver necklace; the chain was unremarkable, but the pendant was uniquely set with two slightly irregular diamonds - the upper one was bluish, and the lower one was a near-white transparent diamond. The diamonds sparkled, which should be a magical effect.
This was something Regulus specifically found Sirius and them to do before the holidays - "I have an experiment; listen and see if you're interested?"
One of the Transfiguration projects Regulus was researching was turning graphite into diamonds - perhaps because they were the same element, or because of the "subjective idealism" bonus brought by Regulus's knowledge and beliefs from his previous life - this Transfiguration was not as difficult as imagined.
(Regulus: The author is openly giving us a Transfiguration cheat;))
And the talent of Sirius and them, who could create the Marauder's Map, was also beyond doubt. This summer, it is estimated that the parents of these few people will receive diamond jewelry made by their children.
"This...?!" Walburga was completely surprised that her sons had actually bought her jewelry?
"The blue and white symbolize the star Sirius in Canis Major, which is Sirius's Transfiguration work; the white one below symbolizes the star Regulus in Leo, which I Transfigured."
Regulus added, "I'm not sure how long this Transfiguration product can last. But we did use diamond material, so it might last for a very, very long time."
Which is carbon.
Walburga looked at the chain in her hand, her eyes felt moist, and her hands moved faster than her brain - she took off her luxurious opal necklace and put on the necklace her son had made for her. Her facial expression completely relaxed, and a satisfied smile played on her lips.
"Thank you, Regulus, Sirius! It's very beautiful, I love it very much!"
As the saying goes, "bags" cure all ailments, and the medicinal effect of jewelry is three times stronger than bags. And something personally given by a son is worth even more.
Father Orion received a matching star pin.
The family walked down to the kitchen.
Kreacher, wrapped in a snow-white towel, stood by the wooden table filled with tableware, his large, bat-like ears already a little fuzzy, and his large, protruding eyes looked at Regulus with joy and affection.
"Kreacher, long time no see." Regulus smiled at him, and looking at the loyal Kreacher, Regulus also felt a surge of affection. He also brought a gift for Kreacher.
"Please wash your hands, Master Regulus, Master Sirius."
Although Sirius was the eldest son in the family, for some reason, everyone ranked him after Regulus.
After the family of four was seated, the House-elf hurried to the table with a large soup bowl and ladled the soup into small silver bowls one by one.
The French onion soup was excellent, truly a masterpiece. In short, it was much, much better than the British food Regulus usually ate at Hogwarts, not to mention that he had lived on sandwiches for too long and his taste buds had been abused for a long time.
"Thank you, Kreacher." Regulus said, "It's delicious."
"Kreacher has prepared Master Regulus's favorite syrup tart—"
Sirius: Who am I? Where am I?
"Regulus, we've heard that you got all O's on your final exams." Orion held a glass of apple sparkling cider, clearly in a good mood. "What kind of reward do you want?"
"Whatever you say, Mom will reward you." Walburga added generously.
"I want an eagle." Regulus said, "A real eagle, not an owl."
"Of course an owl isn't an eagle." Walburga laughed.
"Don't you think—an owl looks like an eagle with a cat's head?" Regulus smiled and spread his hands.
"Heh." Hearing the familiar dialogue, Sirius also smiled.
Orion didn't know what everyone was laughing at, but he also laughed.
We are a happy family.