Regulus's perceptual talent was innate.
The faint silver trails left by the flow of magic, the ripple-like folds produced when space was forcibly distorted, and the shimmering magic sparks at the edges of the pried-open cracks.
All these things, usually invisible, emerged one by one in that brief moment.
He knew that his perception had improved.
At first, he could only feel the existence of magic; later, he could perceive the emotions and states of plants; and now, he could even capture the faint outlines of spatial changes.
Although it was still very blurry, and he could only see the general shape and direction of movement, it had indeed appeared out of nothing.
This perhaps meant many things.
He could control his magic more precisely when casting spells and detect the trajectory of spells earlier when facing an attack.
He could understand more deeply what magic actually changed and how it changed it.
"I'll try again," Regulus said.
Orion stepped back to the door, arms crossed over his chest, making a "go ahead" gesture.
Then came the second time, the third, the fourth.
Each time he cast the spell, the feeling was a bit clearer than the last.
The sense of resistance when space was pried open, the trails left when magic forcibly tore through space, and the awkward discomfort of his body being squeezed and then released.
He began to gradually adapt to this crude way of moving, even being able to adjust his breathing the moment the squeezing sensation appeared, making the whole process a tiny bit smoother.
When the fifth Apparition ended, Orion spoke: "That's enough for today. Problems can easily occur if you keep practicing; Splinching is most likely to happen when your mind can't hold out."
Regulus stopped. His mind was resilient and he didn't feel tired yet, but he followed the advice, taking the opportunity to digest what he had gained.
"Consecutive Apparition is very taxing." Orion walked to his side and pressed his shoulder. "Don't exceed ten times a day at first; wait until you slowly adapt."
"Understood."
Regulus was thinking about the things he had just seen.
Space was like an elastic membrane, and Apparition was like forcefully poking a hole in this membrane to crawl through.
What if there was another way?
Instead of poking a hole, what if the membrane was made to sag on its own, forming a slide to glide across?
Or even further, let the membrane actively deliver him from this end to that?
Orion reactivated the Anti-Apparition Jinx in the training room.
This time, Regulus could clearly feel the changes in his surroundings; an invisible wall had closed.
He called out to Orion, who was about to leave: "I'll try again."
Orion raised an eyebrow at his words and nodded.
The Anti-Apparition Jinx had been reapplied; Apparition would not succeed, so there was no risk.
Regulus raised his wand, his target still the stone platform.
"Apparition!"
Magic began to surge, and the familiar squeezing sensation appeared, but there was no follow-up.
Space was not pried open; that invisible wall blocked the way firmly, as hard as real rock.
And he felt as if he were pushing against a solid stone wall, using all his strength, but the wall wouldn't budge an inch.
The magic recoiled, traveling back through the wand to his arm.
Regulus stumbled back half a step, quickly steadying himself. The recoil was significant, leaving his wrist slightly numb.
But he saw it clearly: the Anti-Apparition Jinx was like a dense net woven with magic, tightly covering the entire space.
Apparition required tearing through this net to pass, but the net's strength and toughness were too high; with his current power, he couldn't tear it at all.
Then a question arose: how did house-elves do it?
Regulus remembered the scene on Christmas Day when Kreacher took him from King's Cross Station back to Grimmauld Place.
There was no squeezing, no tearing, no suffocating feeling of being stuffed into a tube; it was as if space itself had actively made a path, and they had simply walked through it.
"Father." Regulus turned to Orion and put away his wand. "A house-elf's spatial magic isn't the same thing as Apparition, is it?"
Orion was clearly taken aback by the question; he had never thought about it.
He frowned and thought for a few seconds before speaking somewhat hesitantly: "Elven magic… is indeed quite different.
They don't use wands. Much of their magic seems innate, something they don't need to learn.
Apparition is a skill that requires practice for a wizard, but for them, it's probably as natural as walking."
"They can pass through the Anti-Apparition Jinx," Regulus stated.
"Yes," Orion nodded in confirmation.
"Why?" Regulus pressed.
Orion remained silent for even longer this time. He walked to the wall of the training room, stroking the runes carved into the stone, and finally shook his head.
"No wizard has ever studied this. Most wizards don't pay much attention to elven magic."
Regulus knew that the "most" he spoke of was actually almost all of them.
Wizards had long been accustomed to the existence of house-elves. They could do magic, clean, cook, and look after children—how convenient and useful.
But no one would ask how they did it. As long as it worked, who cared about the principles?
It was an arrogance etched into their very bones.
For thousands of years, wizards had stood at the top of the magical food chain, looking down at other races with a faint sense of condescension.
Goblins could mint coins, centaurs could watch the stars, giants had strength, but wizards had wisdom, civilization, and a magical system passed down through generations.
As for house-elves?
They just knew some household magic; not worth mentioning.
But Regulus knew clearly that even Dumbledore couldn't Apparate directly into the cave where Lord Voldemort hid his Horcrux, and one had to take a boat across the Lake of Inferi.
But Kreacher could come and go as he pleased; this was not something that could be explained by mere "household magic."
"Kreacher," Regulus called softly.
Silently, the house-elf appeared in the corner of the training room, still wearing that dirty tea towel and holding a rag, clearly having been cleaning somewhere just now.
"Young Master called Kreacher?" Kreacher's eyes darted between Regulus and Orion, his ears twitching uneasily.
"Take me through space once," Regulus commanded. "From here to the Entrance Hall, and then back."
Kreacher looked at Orion with a questioning and requesting gaze. Orion nodded: "Do as he says."
Only then did Kreacher reach out his thin, withered hand, his skin wrinkled and some dust still stuck under his fingernails.
This time, Regulus focused all his attention on perception.
He was absolutely certain there was no squeezing, no tearing, not even that obvious magical fluctuation.
He only felt the surrounding space ripple slightly like water, forming a soft and almost imperceptible distortion around him and Kreacher.
Then, they were already standing in the Entrance Hall.
The fire in the fireplace was burning brightly, crackling, and the portraits on the walls turned their heads in unison—some yawning, some frowning, and a few huddled together whispering.
Regulus stood there, motionless; he had seen it clearly.
Space itself had folded, delivering him from this end to the other.
Just like folding a piece of paper: two points on the paper were originally far apart, but when the paper was folded, the two points touched.
No wonder they could pass through the Anti-Apparition Jinx.
That magical net guarded against tearing and penetration, but it couldn't guard against folding.
The net was still there, intact, but the path no longer went through the net; it went directly around it.
"Go back," Regulus continued to command.
Kreacher took him back to the training room.
Orion was still waiting there, looking at him: "Did you feel it?"
"It's completely different," Regulus said, organizing every detail he had just perceived in his mind.
"Apparition is forcing one's way in; if you can't open the door, you use brute force to smash a hole in the wall. The elf's way is taking a detour; the wall is still there, but they've dug a tunnel under it."
"A detour?" Orion frowned. "How does space take a detour?"
"Space can fold," Regulus tried to explain, but he realized it was difficult to describe such a thing in words.
"It's like two cities on a map that are far apart, but if you fold the map, the two cities are right next to each other."
Orion thought seriously about these words, his fingers tapping lightly on the handle of his wand.
After a long while, he still shook his head. "I can't imagine it, but since you can feel it, remember that feeling well. Magical perception is your talent; it will be a powerful advantage."
Regulus nodded, knowing that wizards lacked an understanding of abstract concepts, while thinking of something else.
If he could learn this method of folding space… He didn't even need to learn it perfectly; house-elf magic might be related to their racial characteristics, and wizards might not be able to replicate it fully.
But as long as he understood the principle, even if he could only imitate a tiny fraction of im.
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