Tʜᴇ Dᴀʀᴋ Lᴏʀᴅ's Aɴɢᴇʟ | Tom Riddle √

114: A Dangerous Quest

Cassiopeia had no idea how to overcome the pain in her heart. Her emotions and thoughts were a jumbled mess, making it impossible to find peace for even a few seconds. To escape the turmoil of her mind, she turned to books. She read one book after another, keeping her mind occupied so that there was no room for thoughts of Tom and her parents, or the haunting nightmares.

"Miss. Arctula!" Kreacher's unexpected voice made her jump, causing her to drop the stir spoon from her hand. "Kreacher's apologies for scaring my mistress," he added, looking apologetic.

Cassiopeia, trying to ease the situation, chuckled and stirred the potion one last time. "Oh, no... that's alright. Actually, you can call me Cassie. I'm not your mistress anymore, Kreacher. Remember?"

"But, that doesn't sound good, mi—"

"Cassie," she interrupted, frowning as Kreacher hesitated. "Oh, Arctula, as you like. Just cut off the mistress part. Now we are friends, okay?"

"Mmm—" he thought, clasping his hands together, still somewhat uncomfortable. Cassiopeia knew it would be weird for him at first, but she wanted him to feel free around her, without the need for excessive respect. "Ca—Cassie!"

"Exactly," she smiled, pouring a vial from the potion she had brewed. "I want you to take me to that cave, Kreacher."

"Cave?" He sounded clueless.

"The cave where the fake locket was hidden," Cassiopeia explained, and his eyes widened. "And I want to take that locket. Don't worry, no one knows about this but you and me."

"But, it's dangerous, uhmm... Cassie," he swallowed thick air when he uttered her name. "The potion should be drunk, and it's poison."

"That's why I prepared an antidote, Kreacher," she smiled, showing him the shiny black liquid in the vial. "Once Tom said he had some protection over the Horcrux, the locket when we were at Little Hangleton. It induces fear, delirium, stomach pain, and thirst, as you said. So after reading the most advanced potion book in the library, I found a method to brew an antidote."

"Are you sure about this?" Kreacher eyeballed the vial when she handed it to him. "No side effects at all?"

"No, I'm a hundred percent sure about the potion, Kreacher, even though I didn't test it," she filled another vial with the same antidote. "Keep these two vials with you. I'm going to drink the potion, and soon after that, give it to me. Don't care whether I refuse or not. You have to do it. Both the poison potion and antidote after. Got it?"

"But, it's too dangerous," he argued again. "What if something happens to your life?"

"Don't worry," she closed the cauldron. "If something unplanned happens, just apparate me to the Hospital Wing here and leave. Don't stay. I will take it from there."

"You have a brilliant mind, Cassie," he smiled, and she reciprocated.

"Oh, I love it when you call me by my name. It's cute," she said, extending her hand to him. "Now, apparate us, Kreacher."

He nodded and took her hand in his tiny one. In the blink of an eye, they were transported to a dark, ominous place. It took some time for their eyes to adjust to the darkness. It was incredibly dark until Cassiopeia illuminated the surroundings with her wand.

Raising her illuminated wand, she examined the place she was standing. It was a small island made of crystal-stoned ground, surrounded by a foreboding lake. It was just like the one she had seen in her father's memories.

Then she spotted what she had come for: a stretch of flat, dark stone that emitted an eerie, bright green light. It was a small basin containing an emerald green potion. The greenish light and her wand were the only sources of illumination in the cave.