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"I hate my life!" This exclamation, given by someone other than Regulus, summed up his feelings exactly. Free falling into a dark abyss, the only thought passing through his head was this: Why me?
Before he could form a coherent answer to his question, he hit the ground with a muffled thump, as if he'd fallen on to some sack. The sack writhed, throwing him on the cold, harsh floor of wherever they were.
Getting to his feet in one agile move, he lit his wand, examining the burlap sack he'd fallen on. It convulsed on the floor, as if filled with snakes. He prodded it carefully with his foot, and the only response he recieved was the sack thrashing about with new vigour.
He surveyed his surroundings, trying to see where Aoife and Shafiq fell. His wand only illuminated the area of about 1 metre radius around him, and it felt unnerving to have so much darkness around you. Merlin only knew what surprises were hidden there.
He decided against calling out for them, incase there were indeed some enemies lurking about, and decided to scout the area carefully. He reached the walls of the cavern, and felt them in search of some secret trapdoor to get out of there. The source of the voice was from the very walls themselves, and Regulus wanted to make sure they all got back to the safety of their rooms in one piece.
Even though he was probably stuck in a life-threatening situation, he felt boastful pride in his heart. He knew that they shouldn't trust the violet eyed woman. That pride wouldn't help much in this situation, though, and if they hadn't accepted her proposal, they would've been skewered by guards with quite dangerous sounding weapons.
He had almost completed circumferencing the cavern, he bumped into someone, or something. Quickly adopting a fighting stance, he fired a handful of stunning spells, incase it was a friend not a foe.
"Cool down, it's me," Shafiq's voice floated through the darkness. "You found Aoife yet?"
"Show your face." Sadly, Polyjuice Potion was available to Death Eaters like help was at Hogwarts. It was given to all those who asked for it.
Shafiq lit his wand too, illuminating his face. Regulus aimed his wand at his forehead.
"What is something only the real Shafiq would know?"
"You had a crush on that Ravenclaw boy, the Quidditch captain, for weeks. And you also sent him a -"
"That's enough," Regulus interrupted him. "Who was that woman? How do you know her? Where are we?"
"Cool down, Sherlock, I'll tell you later. First things first, we need to find Aoife. She fell down right next to me, but I can't find her," he swept some hair out of his eyes. "Did you find her?"
"No, but how were you able to do that?" Regulus scoffed. "Your wand wasn't lit. How were you supposed to find Aoife in the dark?"
"Didn't want to attract unwanted attention," he mumbled. "You heard that voice, right? She's bad news. And if she has Aoife ... well, I don't want to think about it."
"What do you mean?" Regulus's voice was urgent. If she was in danger, it would all be his fault. If he hadn't stopped to view the tapestry, they wouldn't have ended up in this situation. No one else was going to suffer because of him.
"I hope I'm wrong," Shafiq frowned, running his hand through his hair, "but that voice, it's her mother."
*****
"Belladonna!" Aletheia ran into the kitchen, startling both Orion and the Quirod.
"What's wrong?" she asked her. Aletheia looked as if she'd just returned from a run, her cheeks flushed. Her dark brown eyes shown with unshed tears.
She cast a quick questioning glance at Orion, but dismissed him as a friend of Belladonna. She turned to focus on her, most of her words incoherent.
"Take a deep breath, Theia," Belladonna stood up, offering her chair to her friend. She sat down, trying to ease her breathing.
Orion offered her a glass of water, which she accepted gratefully. Downing it in one go, she locked eyes with Belladonna.
"I received a patronus from Regulus," she started. "He and Aoife are stuck in some underground cellar, and I'm sure you know what that means." She glanced at Orion again, whose face turned stony.
"We better hurry," he spoke up, his tone clipped. "If it is what we fear, then ..." he trailed off, but both of them understood the implication perfectly.
If they were late, Regulus and Aoife were good as dead.
YOU ARE READING
INFERI (REGULUS BLACK)
Fanfiction"If you ever need me, I'll be at the Potter's." These were the words that kept on rolling around Regulus' head. His brother's last words before he left the house, bloodied and bruised. He didn't blame him of course. It must've been hell living as th...
