It took only a matter of minutes, but knowing what he had left behind in Hogsmeade made every second feel like an eternity to Regulus as he raced to fetch the flying carpet.
As soon as he Apparated back to his starting point, he unfurled the carpet and set it to hovering with a barked command, and he climbed on, taking on the task of piloting the carpet himself since he doubted anyone else had as much experience with them as he did.
He directed the carpet over to where Gaius waited with the wounded woman and the children and lowered the carpet so it was hovering low enough that the children could climb on easily.