Prompt 11 - Guard
@wolfstarmicrofic November 11, word count 910
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“Why does it smell like wet dog in here?” Regulus asked as he walked into the sitting room they used most frequently. “Oh,” he said unenthusiastically when he spotted Remus. “Lupin,” he tilted his head a minute amount towards Remus in way of greeting.
“A pleasant as always I see,” Remus raised a brow in a scarily accurate impression of Regulus. “And to answer your question, it smells of wet dog because I dropped Sirius into a lake and then knocked him off his feet with a jet of water,” Regulus snorted.
“Oh, excellent, you’ll have to let me watch it in the Pensieve,”
“Oi!” Sirius protested as Regulus flopped elegantly into the chair opposite Remus. “Do not show him,” Sirius warned, pointing a finger at Remus. Remus put on his best innocent face.
“I’d never show anyone those memories.” His innocent face failed, and he burst into a fit of laughter, Regulus falling for his spell and joining in.
“I should have let myself drown,” Sirius groaned into his hands. A cushion hit him on the head with perfect precision.
“We don’t joke about drowning in this house,” Regulus reminded him.
“Sorry, it won’t happen again,” Sirius apologised, meaning it.
“What’s he on about?” Remus asked, looking confused.
“A few years ago, Voldemort ‘borrowed’ Kreacher for some task he needed a house elf for.” Sirius began to tell the story of how he nearly lost Regulus. “Well, he took him to this cave and left him there to die.”
“Thankfully, the Dark Lord forgot how powerful the magic between elf and Master is. I called for Kreacher to return, and that was all he needed to escape the cave, even after he’d been ordered to stay there by the Dark Lord.”
“Regulus, for fuck sake, will you stop saying the Dark Lord. It’s Voldemort.” Sirius snapped.
“Shut up, Sirius. Anyway, as I was saying. Kreacher came back, and then he took me to the cave, as I figured whatever the… Voldemort,” he corrected himself, rolling his eyes at Sirius. “Had taken such steps to hide there, it must be worth investigating,”
“Yeah, and where did that get you, huh? He went alone and didn’t tell me,”
“Yes, alright, Sirius, I know, and that is why I always tell you now,” Regulus shot back. It was a sore spot for the both of them.
“That bastard had hidden Slytherin’s Locket in a hidden cave within a cave. Regulus here managed to get it, but to do so, he had to drink a potion that turned him mad.”
“It was temporary,” Regulus scoffed. “Kreacher helped me finish it as I was unable to keep drinking it alone. It was called the Potion of Despair, and the name is quite apt. It also renders the drinker unnaturally thirsty. I crawled to the water's edge and began to drink, but then the water began to move.”
“Inferi, Remus, fucking Inferi in the water.”
“Thank you, Sirius,” Regulus snapped. “Yes, there were Inferi in the water, hundreds of them. Left to guard what Voldemort had hidden there. Luckily, I was coming back to my senses and managed to remember how to fight them off. I began blasting them with fire. Kreacher tried to get us out of there, but he was unable to take me through the spells surrounding the cave, so I ordered Kreacher to go get Sirius.
“I was backed into a corner by the time they returned. It was only a matter of moments before they overpowered me and dragged me under the water. Sirius had just made it to the little island I was standing on when one caught my ankle, and then I was underwater; they are incredibly strong.
“Somehow, and I still don’t know how, Sirius managed to pull me back up. We fought with everything we had until we managed to get to the other shore.”
“I was a close call. We got out past the protection spells and Kreacher apparated us home. We don’t think he ever found out we were there. At least he hasn’t noticed that we took the locket, at least.”
“Locket?” Remus asked. Sirius and Regulus nodded. Regulus left the room for a moment and came back with a large gold locket with an ornate S made up of shimmering emeralds on its top.
“Salazar Slytherin’s Locket to be exact,” Regulus told Remus, holding out the locket for him to take. Remus took it and held it gingerly. He sniffed the air, recoiling from the locket and quickly handing it back.
“There’s something evil in that,” he said, leaning as far back in his chair as it allowed.
“You think?” Sirius asked, taking the locket from Regulus and examining it. “We couldn’t get it to open, and so far we’ve not even been able to put a dent in it.”
“Don’t open it,” Remus warned. “Whatever is in there is pure evil,”
Regulus suddenly snatched it from Sirius’s hands and thrust it at Remus.
“Take it, give it to Dumbledore. It must be important, though. Impress upon him how important it is that he doesn’t reveal to anyone that he has it. Voldemort will know it was us instantly,” Remus stood up and pocketed the locket.
“I’ll take it now. Don’t worry,” he said when he saw Sirius’s worried look. “I’ll make sure you’re protected.” Sirius walked him to the door and, after a brief hug, watched him vanish into thin air.
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