black coffee | remus lupin [2]

17. the cave

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

KREACHER HAD TOLD THE truth when he had said that the Dark Lord had brought him to a cave when he had tried to hide that locket; the one that Claudia and Regulus were certain was a Horcrux.

This they knew, for a while after they left Grimmauld Place, they found themselves in an unfamiliar place. It was dark, cold and overall not a place they were pleased to find themselves in.

"What do we do now?" Regulus asked himself, Claudia and Kreacher as they stood in that dark cave, surrounded by nothing of the interesting sort with their wands lit. "Is this it, Kreacher?"

"No Master," Kreacher said, and it was clear to Regulus that he was nervous and scared to be back there again. "This is just the entryway. The Dark Lord brought Kreacher here first. The real place with the locket and the potion is inside."

"Then how do we get in?"

"We pay," said Claudia, who was previously quiet as a mouse as she observed the so-called entryway they were in by looking around, touching the walls and searching her mind for a way to figure it all out.

"What do you mean 'we pay'?" Asked Regulus.

"The Dark Lord is a lot of things," she said. "And one of those things is that he is very predictable. Surprisingly so, almost. In fact, I don't understand why it took us so long to even think about the fact that maybe he had made a Horcrux, because he's definitely the type of person who would-"

"Claudia?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think we have time for this right now," Regulus said, causing Claudia to nod understandingly. "What was it you meant about us giving payment?"

"I'm not sure," she said. "But I think we have to pay somehow to get in there. I don't how or why, but that just seems like something the Dark Lord would decide."

"Do you think we have to pay with like blood or something?"

She nodded, "Yeah, probably. Though, I do think we can try our other option."

"And what's that?"

"Apparition."

"But I've already tried-"

"Kreacher," she said, looking down at the wide-eyed house-elf. "You managed to apparate home from there, am I right?"

"Yes, Mistress."