A Christmas Eve Encounter

I had thought Slytherin's victory would leave James downcast for a while, but instead he became even more energetic. He was convinced that the biggest reason Gryffindor had lost was that he wasn't on the team. Seeing this, I couldn't help saying from the bottom of my heart, "Lend Lupin some of that confidence."

Remus shook his head repeatedly. "Too much, too much."

James didn't go to watch the subsequent match between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. He said he was preparing a "surprise" for Snape that he would never forget.

That got me worried, so in the end I told him there was no need to go to such lengths. Lily and Snape were giving each other the cold shoulder, and if he played a prank on Snape, Lily might take pity on him and make up with him. Wouldn't James end up going for wool and coming home shorn?

James's eyes lit up with understanding. Then he asked me, "You're going to shear sheep? When was that?"

Sirius burst into peals of laughter, nearly rolling off the sofa.

At least James gave up on making trouble over Christmas. Mainly because Mr Potter had written to remind him to come home for the holiday. James, who had yet to master the art of splitting himself in two, reluctantly said he would definitely be back. As he spoke, he tried to get Sirius to back him up, but his good brother never once looked up.

"Are you all going home for Christmas?" Remus seemed a little surprised. "I thought you'd stay at school."

"Are you staying?" James exclaimed. "If I'd known you and Sirius were both staying, I should have refused to go home!"

"I signed the form to leave..." Remus scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed for some reason. "Isn't Sirius going home?" As soon as he said it, he realized something. "Sorry, I..."

"Mm-hm?"

Sirius was reading the Daily Prophet on the sofa, sprawled in a position that had him almost sliding onto the floor. Apparently hearing his name, he finally moved his head and gave a vague grunt in response.

"Of course he's not going home." Seeing how nervous Remus was, I patted him on the shoulder. "With a family like his, he'd be walking straight into a struggle session."

[Sirius's favorability -5]

Can't I turn off these favorability notifications? I really don't want to see them anymore, thanks.

Sirius finally put down the paper and deigned to look at me. "No need to be jealous. I can hold a struggle session for you too."

"I couldn't possibly accept." I waved a hand. "You keep that blessing for yourself."

"Merlin, are you staying at school for Christmas?"

Seeing that Sirius and I were about to argue again, James hurriedly interrupted.

"No." I shook my head. "I'm planning to go back for a visit."

"Did you even need to ask?" Sirius leisurely turned a page. "It's her first time away from home at school. Maybe she's been crying for her mum in private."

Sirius's mouth could be vicious sometimes, and his words upset me for once. I had been in this world so long that I was already close to forgetting my family and life in that other world. Sometimes I even felt as though I belonged in the magical world, and everything in the twenty-first century had been a distant, unrealistic dream.

The previous few times, I had transmigrated into locals. Between constantly being on the move and the restrictions of my identity and the plot, I hadn't been able to go to China. This time, my identity was a Chinese exchange student, so from the very beginning I had decided to return to China over Christmas and see if I could find any trace of myself.

"Merlin?"

"Merlin!"

I was lost in thought for a long time, only coming back to my senses after Remus's slightly worried voice called me several times. I looked up to find that James had somehow darted over in front of me too.

"Don't take what Sirius said to heart. He's like that with everyone," James comforted me. "Except me, of course."

Sirius, who had been about to say something, rolled his eyes at James. "Sometimes you really are a lot like a Black, James."

"He even insulted me. A son stops listening to his dad once he grows up." James put on a mournful expression. "Merlin, I've done so much for you. Don't you think I deserve something in return?"

James kept shooting me meaningful looks. Of course I knew what he wanted, but Lily had already warned me not to tell James anything about her, so I played dumb. "Don't worry, I'll definitely get you a big present you'll love for your birthday!"

James said, "There's no need to wait that long."

I had thought Lily would definitely go home, but neither she nor Snape signed the form to leave, and they both stayed at Hogwarts. When I went to ask Lily about it, puzzled, she said helplessly, "I had a fight with Severus last time, so I thought I wouldn't go back with him..."

With a family like Snape's, why would he want to go home...?

Winter break began on the eighteenth, and most of the first-years chose to go home. Before leaving, James and Sirius embraced with tears in their eyes, calling each other's names over and over as though they were parting forever rather than going on holiday. Even Professor McGonagall looked utterly helpless, while the Gryffindor students passing by covered their faces and pretended not to know them.

Sigh, I've never regretted joining the Marauders more. Come to think of it, when did I join?

"Lily, I'll bring you back a present!" I waved to Lily. Snape was standing not far from her, and things looked very tense between them. Honestly, I would have been worried if Lily had stayed at school alone. Those little Slytherin cliques were particularly unfriendly to people of ordinary backgrounds, and with Snape there, he would at least stop them from doing anything to Lily.

Thinking about those two gave me a headache. Forget it, I'd better deal with my own affairs first.

I took the Hogwarts train all the way to the station. Another game choice popped up on the way, and I was speechless when I saw the options [Want to visit James] and [Want to visit Remus]. Luckily, this time there was also [Forget it, go to sleep]. Once we arrived, I said goodbye to James and Remus, exchanged my money, and took a ride out of Britain.

The transport system in 1971 was nowhere near as convenient as it would be fifty years later, especially for a long international journey like this. I painfully endured an extended stretch of standby time, practically crossing mountains and rivers. By the time I landed in Beijing and transferred to Tianjin, I slid straight out of the vehicle like a puddle of sludge.

Tianjin was already very cold in mid-December, but the chilly weather couldn't dampen people's enthusiasm. Just over a month earlier, China had regained its lawful seat in the United Nations, and the whole way from Beijing to Tianjin was decorated with lanterns and banners, as though it were New Year.

It had been a long time since I had seen so many faces and buildings from my homeland, but sadly, they were a far cry from everything I knew. After getting off, I stood on the street as people streamed past on all sides. Everyone had somewhere to go; I alone didn't know where to turn. Never before had I been so aware of how different I was, like a ghost roaming the human world, only able to repeat the same brief seven years over and over.

After buying a map at a nearby newsstand, I tried to find the place where I had once lived. Luckily, although the buildings had changed, the lay of the land was still similar. I spent many days going around Tianjin with the map, but in the end I found nothing.

There was nothing familiar to me in Tianjin in 1971. It had changed so much that it was practically a different world. Walking down the streets, I understood clearly for the first time what an "era of great change" meant.

I couldn't find anything connected to me, whether in the modern world or the magical world. I, Merlin, was someone who had appeared out of thin air, yet even Headmaster Dumbledore had shown no suspicion. Probably because I was in the plot, no matter how many bugs it had, the people in it couldn't notice them.

Heavy snow began to fall in Beijing on the day I left China. Snowflakes drifted thickly through the air, striking the tail of the plane.

It was already Christmas Eve by the time I returned to Britain. Christmas trees stood everywhere on the streets of London, and the constant barrage of cheerful Christmas music along the way gave me the familiar feeling of hearing "Gong Xi Fa Cai" in a supermarket during the Spring Festival. There were still more than ten days before school resumed, so I couldn't return to Hogwarts yet. Although I had bought a house in London, I had only just returned from China and couldn't quite settle my feelings, so I wandered the streets.

After leaving King's Cross Station, I walked slowly along the road for nearly twenty minutes, my mind blank. Then a somewhat familiar voice came from my right, and I instinctively looked up, only to discover that I had arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place without realizing it.

If only there were mobile phones in this era, I thought with some regret. Otherwise, I could have taken a video and sent it to Sirius, telling him the Blacks were having a huge Christmas party and asking him to guess who wasn't there. He definitely wouldn't have wanted to come, but since our relationship had soured, I had also started wanting to annoy him whenever I got the chance.

Walburga stood at the door welcoming the guests, with Regulus beside her. His face wore a calm composure beyond his years, but he kept rubbing his clenched fists together and hiding them behind his back. Whenever Walburga looked elsewhere, he would also take several deep breaths. His movements were all very discreet; if I hadn't been watching him the whole time, I probably wouldn't have noticed them.

Although Walburga and Sirius had a very poor relationship, Sirius was the child she valued more. With Sirius refusing to come home this Christmas, this was probably the first time Regulus had been assigned a job like this, so it was no wonder he was so nervous. Watching him look as though he was about to trip over his own feet, I found it a little funny.

It was the first time I had seen Regulus behave so much like someone his age. Whenever I had seen him before, he had been so quiet and serious as to seem a little distant, so much so that I often felt he was more like the older brother. It seemed that, to uphold the Black name, he really had worked hard to do his best in every respect.

Thinking about how things ended for him, I felt heavy-hearted. Just then, a guest who had greeted Walburga stumbled as he headed up the stairs. He was a somewhat potbellied middle-aged man, and the movement sent his body swaying comically from side to side, reminding me of a circus performer balancing on a ball. Regulus was visibly drawn to the sight, and his expression froze for a moment. For an instant, I thought he was going to burst out laughing.

But he managed to hold it in, though his face was terribly tense. He even lowered his head and stared at the ground, as though the Black family's honor lay there.

Although it was rude to laugh at someone, wanting to laugh all the more on serious occasions was a common human failing. Seeing how hard he was struggling to hold it in, I couldn't help feeling sorry for him.

If that middle-aged man knew what I was thinking, he'd probably break down and shout, "Isn't anyone going to speak up for me?!"

As I was thinking this, Regulus seemed to try to avoid the guest's gaze and turned his head in my direction. His eyes met mine directly.

A flicker of surprise passed through his gray eyes, so like Sirius's, and his expression immediately became wary. I was afraid he would tell the others I was there. It wouldn't really matter if he did, but I didn't want too many people noticing me, so I gave him a friendly wink, pointed at the middle-aged man who was hastily straightening his clothes, and smiled. Then I mimed zipping my lips shut.

That string of gestures had probably confused him, because he didn't react for quite a while. I took the opportunity to quicken my pace and leave Grimmauld Place.

As I walked along the street, shadows drifted down through the lamplight.

It was snowing in London too.

[Author's note]

★Tip★

Regulus and Martin were both characters who unlocked at set times, but in a game with a high degree of freedom, players could choose to seek them out themselves. However, such opportunities were rare and unpredictable. Meeting them before they unlocked in the main story would activate additional special side quests and achievements.

★Side quest notification★

*Congratulations on earning the Regulus romance main story achievement-[A Christmas Eve Encounter]

*Congratulations on unlocking the Regulus romance main story-[Halo · 1]

*[Hidden route value] +1