Regulus had a thousand things he wanted to do, but none of it could proceed without unlocking his final, yet-to-be-realized cheat—
"Eagle Vision"!
In the Assassin's Creed game, the protagonist could use the perspective of a soaring eagle companion to recon enemy positions from a wide and detailed aerial view, even using the eagle to harass and attack enemies.
Combined with "Stealth," he could slip in and out of heavily guarded locations unnoticed, easily knocking out or even assassinating enemies from behind.
In the game, he'd used that skill to infiltrate Caesar's palace.
This same ability even existed in Hogwarts Legacy, allowing players to cast Petrificus Totalus with perfect accuracy from behind while Disillusioned.
At Hogwarts, he had already tested it once on little rat Peter—knocked him out effortlessly.
And the "Climbing" skill allowed him to scale almost any structure beyond ordinary reach—temples in Rome, Notre Dame in Paris, even the Pyramids of Egypt.
Unless Fenrir Greyback could hide in a literal castle in the sky, Regulus could get to him no matter where he went.
These three abilities were the holy trinity of assassination tools for any hardcore gamer-assassin.
The last one, the "Hogwarts Astronomy Tower" fast travel point, was actually the least impressive—after all, many adult wizards in this world could Apparate across a certain distance.
Of course, for him, it was a life-saving move.
In short, he needed an eagle!
…
But finding the right eagle turned out to be much harder than wizard-rich-kid Regulus had expected!
First, when he'd climbed trees in the Forbidden Forest, he'd already tried "bonding" with passing hawks, even going so far as to prepare raw meat with Hagrid to feed them—only to attract the local gourmet owls from the nearby Owlery.
Second, and this was the real kicker—there were no hawks for sale at the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley!
And don't even mention Eeylops Owl Emporium. Owls were not hawks.
Also, if he just went out and caught a hawk, Regulus felt it wouldn't be right. It lacked the kind of "instant soulmate" connection Harry had when he first met Hedwig.
He wanted to wait for the right moment, but he couldn't exactly go hang out in the wilderness and hope a hawk would swoop down, fall to its knees under his transmigrator's "aura of destiny," and pledge eternal loyalty, right?
"I know a place with a pretty good chance," Sirius said, watching his younger brother stew over the problem. He had planned to stay out of it, but now he'd thought of the perfect idea. "The question is whether you can convince our 'dearest' mother and father."
!?
Sirius always had a way of delivering delightful surprises.
So, on the first day of summer break, Regulus stood windswept and amazed as Orion Black stuffed a wad of pound sterling into his coat and led the two brothers straight toward a place older than Buckingham Palace, in the northern part of Regent's Park—
The London Zoo.
The very same zoo where young Harry Potter would one day display his magical ability by making the glass vanish and accidentally setting a boa constrictor free.
Truly a certified stop on the "Harry Potter-themed free British tour."
Brimming with excitement, Regulus even bought two lemon ice lollies—Harry-style—at the park entrance and handed one to Sirius before starting to lick his own.
It was a weekday, so the zoo wasn't too crowded. Most of the visitors, like them, were parents with children. If not for their father and older brother being distractingly handsome—like literal movie stars—they might've blended in perfectly with the rest of the crowd.
At Regulus's strong insistence, they first visited the Reptile House.
Behind the brightly lit glass panels, the mascots of Slytherin House lay coiled, sprawled, perched on branches, or slithering about, letting out soft hissing sounds.
Regulus stood in front of the python exhibit, staring at the glass, attempting to make it vanish with sheer willpower—
One minute, two minutes, three minutes...
Nothing happened.
The python behind the glass remained coiled and motionless, fast asleep.
No doubt about it, young Harry's magical talent must have been off the charts, to pull off wandless magic powered only by a wish. Feeling a little sheepish, Regulus made a mental note to add wandless magic practice to his summer to-do list.
Finally, they arrived at the raptor aviary within the bird enclosure.
A prominent sign stood in front of a large, two-story-tall, sturdily built and well-decorated aviary. It was surrounded by chatting and excited zoo-goers, drawing the trio's attention—
The sign displayed information about the birds inside:
"Goldie the Golden Eagle and his mate Regina"
Golden eagle (Scientific name: Aquila chrysaetos), a raptor native to the Northern Hemisphere, belongs to the order Accipitriformes, family Accipitridae, genus Aquila. Known for its striking appearance and powerful, agile flight.
"Goldie" is one of the most famous stars at the London Zoo, having escaped from his aviary twice in 1965 and remained free for two whole weeks. The zoo even borrowed equipment from the Royal Navy during the search. Goldie was ultimately lured back to the ground by his keeper and safely recaptured! Please don't feed anything to the birds!
Such magnificent birds... Regulus stepped up to the aviary and gazed at the two majestic, powerful golden eagles inside—
The golden eagle, king of birds of prey—and an eagle is still an eagle...
So this eagle already had a tendency to break out of prison?!
And they were a pair...
Suddenly, a scene from The Return of the Condor Heroes sprang to Regulus's mind—
This was his kind of romance.
Regulus brought his fingers to his lips and let out a sharp, loud whistle. The two golden eagles, lazily and listlessly preening their feathers, were suddenly interrupted. As if summoned by fate, they looked toward the three of them. (Or so Regulus imagined.)
Grey eyes met golden ones. Goldie, as though called by some unseen force, lifted his head, spread his astonishingly wide wings, opened his golden beak, and let out a piercing, majestic cry toward the sky!
"What elegant creatures! What free spirits!" Orion exclaimed in awe, his right hand already gripping the wand beneath his coat.
Heart pounding, Regulus calmed himself and whistled again, trying to project the question in his heart: "Will you come with me?"
Goldie seemed to understand. He turned to his mate, Regina, and the two of them appeared to communicate briefly. Then, both golden eagles gave a slight nod and let out two soft, gentle calls.
[Skill "Eagle Vision" bound to: Goldie and Regina]
In an instant, Goldie and Regina's thoughts and emotions flooded into his mind.
"Heh~"
Regulus could feel their boredom and helplessness inside the aviary...
Suddenly, he could access four entirely new perspectives—seeing the sky from above, the perches in the raptor enclosure, and the tourists standing outside the cage...
In a quiet corner, unnoticed by anyone, Orion silently muttered a spell. The metal bars at the top of the eagle enclosure began to twist and warp, the opening to freedom widening steadily—
...
The next day, BBC headline: "Golden Eagle Goldie Mysteriously Escapes Again, This Time With His Girlfriend"
...
That evening, it was Sirius's turn to stand on the rooftop of 12 Grimmauld Place, watching Regulus animatedly gesturing and chatting away with two eagles nearly a meter tall, laughing and interacting with them like old friends, while he stood windblown and bewildered in the sunset.
He had heard of Parseltongue... but Eagle-tongue?
Was that a thing?
What was this... Slytherin House... possibly producing a descendant of Ravenclaw?
Wouldn't Ravenclaw go mad next term?
Regulus was elated—his "Stealth" skill had extended to Goldie and Regina. They could now soar over London unnoticed.
This time, even if the Royal Navy and Civil Defence teamed up, they wouldn't be able to capture them again.
"This is so cool... Reg, it's insanely cool..." Sirius was visibly envious. "Do you think Goldie and Regina could deliver letters?"
"Siri, respect is mutual..." Regulus bowed, got Regina's permission, and reached out to stroke her light golden back feathers. "If you want their help, you'll have to ask properly."
Respect is mutual.
Suddenly, something seemed to click for Sirius.
"Hello, Goldie. Hello, Regina." He bent down sincerely, his handsome eyes gleaming.
Alright—if anyone could pull off the role of love-at-first-sight heartthrob, it had to be his brother, Sirius.
Why the hell do I look more like my dark thorny rose mother?