It hadn't taken more than an hour for Kreacher to return to the woods where Regulus awaited him, having found the location of the woman Regulus was looking for.

Lisa Goldman was in New York.

      It pained Regulus to leave his life behind, specially because everything had happened so quickly and he had lost the girl he loved. But he possessed Lord Voldemort's Horcrux; a piece of his soul. If the Dark Lord or one of his Death Eaters found him, they would kill him in a heartbeat.

     He had to leave as soon as possible, and as far away as he could, so he wouldn't put himself or his family in danger more than he already had.

     The only way he could survive, was to change his identity and to stop using magic, so they wouldn't be able to track him down. And Lisa Goldman was the only Muggle he had ever known, and he hoped that at least she could help him change his identity and adapt into the Muggle world.

Even though witches and wizards weren't powerful enough to travel by Apparation to another country, a house elf's magic was rather different. So having made up his mind, Regulus Disapparated away from the forest with Kreacher.

    Moments later Regulus opened his eyes once more when he felt his feet hit the ground, finding himself in an empty alleyway in New York, somewhere in the suburbs where there was no sign of tall towers and there were only little houses as far as eyes could work.

Regulus still felt weak in the knees and his eyes were slightly burning and were still red after all the tears he had shed. He was still trying to hold himself back from crying, even though it was proving to be impossible. It was even harder to keep on walking without his knees giving in.

"Thank you, Kreacher," said Regulus, offering the house elf a little smile. "I will miss you."

Kreacher bowed deeply. "Kreacher will appear any moment that Master Regulus wishes. Kreacher will forever remain Master Regulus's faithful servant." And then, in the blink of an eye Kreacher vanished into thin air with a loud crack.

Regulus took a deep breath, looking around him. He felt guilty for running away like that without explaining things to his parents, or even saying goodbye to them. Even though they hadn't been the best parents to him and especially to Sirius, Regulus couldn't return to them in fear of putting them in trouble. It was best for everyone to think that he was dead.

He felt like a coward for leaving the locket behind for Kreacher to destroy, but even the thought of it made him sick, because he couldn't get Alexandra out of his mind. He could no longer do magic without being reminded of her, without remembering her last word or the last time she had looked into his eyes. It still pained him, and he was sure that it was going to haunt him for eternity.

He could never forgive himself, but at least by changing his name and fleeing the country when everyone thought that he was dead, he could save himself and his family from Voldemort.

Regulus started to walk toward the house in which Kreacher had said that his childhood friend lived. She was the only one he knew that could help him change his identity and start all over again. He had no other choice. If he wanted to set his wand aside and stop doing magic in fear of being tracked down, this was the only way.

Once he reached their house, Regulus hesitated at first, wondering if this really was a good idea. But mustering all the courage he had left in him, Regulus raised his hand and knocked at their door, unaware that Muggles had a bell beside their house's door which he could ring.

No one answered at first. For a second, Regulus actually thought about turning away and running off. What if Lisa refused to help him, scared of his kind now that she had grown up? What if she chose not to trust him?

      Regulus wouldn't blame her. He had shown up at her door out of nowhere, like a stalker who knew where she lived, after so many years of not seeing her. And the first thing he was going to do, was asking for a favor and for her help. She was most likely going to turn him down, and he knew it.

      But before he could raise his hand to knock a second time, Regulus stopped in his tracks and his stomach lurched when the door to the house opened up, a young woman peering her head outside.

She had brown eyes with a hair color that matched them perfectly, falling onto her shoulders in waves; just like how he remembered her.

"H-hi," Regulus mumbled, still in disbelief, his heart and soul both aching in agony.

The young woman kept staring at him, her eyebrows furrowing. He looked so familiar to her... as if she knew him long ago...

But then, the moment her eyes caught sight of the necklace around his neck, all of her memories floated back through her mind and her eyes widened in realization.

"Regulus?" she muttered in a hallow tone, taking in his every feature in surprise. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" Regulus asked quietly, his lips lightly trembling and his eyes filling up with tears again.

"Yes, yes, of course!" Lisa Goldman quickly moved away from the door, gesturing him inside as she watched him in concern. "My parents aren't home, but I suppose they'll be back from work in a few hours."

"May I?" Regulus asked, pointing at a couch in their living room and Lisa nodded with delight.

Although after they had both sat down on either side of the couch, an uncomfortable silence fell between them. It couldn't have been clearer to Lisa that something was troubling her old friend, and yet she had no idea what she was supposed to tell him. She couldn't even understand why he was here, showing up out-of-the-blue after years of not seeing each other.

"Would you like some tea?" she offered, but then grinned as she tried to cheer him up, saying, "I might not be able to do magic, but my teas are magical." She winked at him playfully, making him smile lightly, though it vanished the next second.

"I would like some, thank you," he muttered, nodding.

Feeling that for now this was all she could to for him, Lisa left for the kitchen to make him some tea.

"So what brings you to this humble home?" Lisa asked from the kitchen cheerfully. As it seemed, even after all these years she still had that same bright spirit of hers.

"It's a long story," said Regulus, turning his knuckles into fists and gritting his teeth together to prevent himself from crying.

Lisa soon came back with a warm cup of milk and tea, handing it to him with a kind smile as she sat back down next to him. She didn't insist on knowing what had happened to him, not wanting to make him feel pressured.

Regulus took a small sip from the tea, immediately feeling warmer from inside. She was right. It did taste amazing.

      "So..." she started awkwardly, though she was grinning playfully. "You still a wizard, or was that just my hallucination as a child?" If it were any other time, he would've laughed. But he only nodded in response.

"Lisa... I'm sorry for coming here out of nowhere... but... I-I really need some help..." said Regulus throwing his gaze down at the cup in his hands.

"Of course." She nodded earnestly. "What can I do for you?"

"I... I need to change my name... and my identity... everything..." he said, catching her off guard. "I know you have no reason to help me, or even to trust me, but... you're the only person I could turn to for help."

And then, when he finally looked up at her, a single tear ran down his cheek.

"Oh, my..." Lisa breathed out pitifully, brining him into a hug. Regulus gave it one last hard effort to prevent himself from crying, but they burst out and his tears finally streamed down again as he cried on her shoulder.

      Although Regulus was grateful that she hadn't asked for him to explain himself to her, or to judge him for feeling these emotions and looking so weak.

"Of course I'll help you, you idiot," said Lisa, chuckling. "What are old-friends-you-haven't-seen-for-seven-years for?"

Regulus found himself smiling through his tears as she held him tighter, tears rushing down his grey eyes mercilessly.

Alexandra Starling had been much more than just a girl to him. She was the reason he had changed for the better. The reason he had started to believe in the good in people.

Regulus knew that it was impossible to forget her, or to ever stop loving her in his heart and soul. But if there was one thing he was sure of, was that he would carry her memories forever and lock them up in the chest of his heart, burying away the story that they had shared together, so he could hold on to it forever.