The Choice of
Regulus Arcturus Black
'To the Dark Lord
I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can.
I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more.'
Written words don't falter. They don't shake with fear, as harsh eyes peer down at them. Eyes like snakes. Anyone reading the note would be under the impression that he was strong and determined, grim and unhesitant to strike. Anyone except the dark lord, he added. The lies one could write on parchment.
Stillness. The caves were empty of all sound except the slapping of water against unyielding rock, and the distant blows of waves against the headland above. Underwater, there is a kind of silent roar which, whether in your own head or not, calls you to the surface. The cold smashed into him like the blast of a killing curse, hammering his insides. It was enough alone to drive him to the surface.
Suddenly the thick quiet of the caves was penetrated by a splash and gasps that echoed through the chambers like sentinels sounding an unwanted perpetration. Unfriendly cave.
'Lumos', coughed the newcomer and a soft pale shine glimmered over the water, squeezing the shadows in the crannies of the rock. It gleamed off the slicks and slimes that adorned the cavern walls. Regulus was glad of it, the darkness, had not pierced like the water, it had slowly seeped into his eyeballs, and in a way that was worse.
He was of a stocky build and a square face, his lank hair stuck to his chin and his eyes were close set and bloodshot from the salt-sting. He put his wand, with a note to keep it as dry as possible, between his teeth and set off in a slightly floundering front crawl.
The door closed behind him. The world was waiting for him, counting down to his demise. Perhaps it was waiting for him there. In the gloom. Too soon.
Regulus had brought no knife, so found a piece of sharp rock. It was messy, but effective. He smeared the blood on the cavern wall.
Shadows burn, see, kill,
Deathly cave, deathly hallows,
Slytherin's Locket.
Skull in the sky, eat death,
Open box, I hate inside,
The lilies wither.
Noble house of stars,
Proud, cruel, pure, choked, lost child,
Spite never again.