Chapter 78: The Room of Requirement
After dinner, Regulus walked into the library.
Madam Pince sat behind the desk at the entrance, polishing her spectacles with a velvet cloth. Seeing him enter, she lifted an eyelid but said nothing.
The library was still sparsely populated. A few seventh-years dug through references in a corner. Two Ravenclaw girls huddled together whispering. A handful of Hufflepuffs were catching up on homework.
Regulus headed for the Charms section and pulled out Common Charms and Their Variants.
An old copy — cover edges worn white, pages yellowed — yet clean and uncreased.
He found a window seat, opened to where he'd left off: the spell analysis of the Knockback Jinx.
Simple spell. He'd known it for ages. But other perspectives could still spark insight. The text described a combined application of the Knockback Jinx with the Impediment Jinx that could send a target flying a considerable distance.
Outside, the sky darkened by degrees. The castle's lamps kindled one by one.
Regulus turned a page, mind suddenly drifting elsewhere.