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-- HOGSMEADE
"What's a Horcrux?" Carina asked blankly.
She could see the moment the stormy frenzy in Regulus came to an abrupt halt. He closed his eyes, appearing in near pain, as he gulped. When he opened them again, familiar grey orbs stared back at her with the same restored steadiness she remembered about him.
"It's dark, dark magic." He whispered. "It is basically an object which has been imbued with a fraction of a wizard's soul."
"And how are they made?" Carina asked reluctantly.
"How else does one split their soul irreparably?" He laughed dryly, sounding near crazed. "Murder."
"And You-Know-Who has one?"
"Yes- it's a locket of some sort. He hid it in a cave near the sea."
Carina shook her head, partially in shock and partially in disbelief. "How do you know all this?"
"The Dark Lord borrowed my house elf a few days ago. But Kreacher returned to me nearly delirious and half dead. Kreacher told me what he was asked to help hide. And so I asked him to take me to the cave where they hid it. Kreacher begged me not to," Regulus grimaced regretfully. "I wasn't going to listen. At least, not until he told me the cave itself was protected by dark magic and nearly an army of dormant inferi."
"How many?" Carina was almost scared of the answer.
"Kreacher couldn't tell. They were submerged in the lake."
"A lake??"
"I'm in over my head," Regulus pleaded, a hint of his earlier desperation surfacing. "I couldn't tell my brother. Sirius would never take my correspondence even when we were back in school- he certainly wouldn't now. I didn't know who else to go to."
"Why didn't you tell Dumbledore?" She urged him. "You still have access to him!"
"Do you know how suspicious it would be if I met with the headmaster?" Regulus raised an eyebrow imperiously. "I might still be a student, but everyone knows where the lines of this war are drawn. I always have eyes on me. Besides, would he even believe me?"
"I believe he would," Carina said softly. "No matter. You called me, that's enough. I can get you to Dumbledore and others who can help us."
"No!" Regulus blurted out in alarm. "I don't trust them, and they certainly won't trust me. I just want to destroy this Horcrux. That's it."
Carina studied him wearily, suddenly a lot more alert. This could be a trap yet. She'd certainly never heard of Horcruxes before, so she had no way of verifying his story without seeking counsel first.
"Is it truly?" She asked carefully.
"Just say what you mean," Regulus barked in annoyance.
"You just want to destroy You-Know-Who's most secret possession- half his soul! Do you just expect to slide back into his ranks afterward? Do you think you won't be found out?"
Regulus glanced down. "I- I hadn't thought that far. I was planning on doing this alone. To be quite honest, I hadn't even planned beyond making it out of that cave- if I even did."
Carina glared at him harshly. "Well, you're not doing this alone anymore. That's no longer an option, not since you've called me."
"That was kind of the point, Lennox," he grinned grimly.
YOU ARE READING
Tides of Fate | ᴍᴀʀᴀᴜᴅᴇʀs ᴇʀᴀ
Fanfiction❛ It's not like Carina would go and do something stupid like falling in love with Prongs, would she?❜ It was a terrible idea to date someone who'd been in love with someone else for years, even if it was fake. But James Potter was desperate. It was...
