Harry turned off the engine, standing and stretching. He looked around at the setting. It looked right, and he had been fairly certain of it from a long way off. The island to one side had that flat top covered in trees. The cliff to the other side was not overly tall, but still daunting from his height.
Harry hadn't been sure how close he could take the boat without crashing it, so he was still some distance to the land. It didn't look too deep, however, and he could swim that distance, at least, without magical aid. Having nothing left on the boat he needed, Harry leapt into the water and swam hard.
Swimming in clothes was much more difficult without gillyweed. What had been a smooth, effortless flow, became a constrained and jumbled mess of sleeves clinging to other bits of fabric or floating into his line of sight. The water was clear here, but his vision was worse, somehow. He could barely make out he shore half the time.
Regardless, Harry found land more or less intact, if quite sodden. Dripping and taking large gulps of air, he staggered forward across the stone covered beach, the sharper ones creating painful tiny gashes on his bare feet. His hurry and fear long behind him, Harry now deeply regretted losing his shoes.
After some steps, Harry was out of the short tide and observed the geography ahead of him. The towering height of the cliffs seemed more mountainous from here, but he could see natural paths snaking their way upwards. He took a second to breathe and then pushed forward towards the nearest one.
The path up was steep and slippery at times. Harry's toes struck countless roots, but far fewer sharp objects. Thinking only of the goal ahead, Harry pushed himself upward, hoping everything was as he left it. He didn't want to think of crossing the country again so defenceless. His footsteps grew uneven, and his legs tired from the effort. Harry was aware it had been ages since he had had proper sleep. On the boat he had dozed some, but shook himself awake frequently. In any case, he couldn't stop, not this close.
With a heavy finality, Harry reached a short wall of stone. He took a deep breath and boosted himself up, finding - at last - a space of green grass. He fell onto his knees for a moment, but shook his head and rose. So close. Looking around, he saw the familiar ridge line and a smile came across his face. He had been correct.
Walking down to a singular tree that stuck out of the edge of the cliff, Harry knelt down at its base and dug in the earth with his hands. He cast left and right, trying to find the exact spot. His fingers struck something hard, and he pushed, wrapping his hands around the thin band. With a tug, the wand and his hand were out of the dirt and in the air. A fine mist of dirt clung to the ridges. Harry shook it, sending a rain of dust falling. Standing, Harry's smile widened.
Then, his eyes left the wand as he saw something distant, small, but moving, across the water. On the island, a figure was walking, looking back and forth on the coast beneath Harry. Whomever it was, he did not seem to have noticed that he had an observer. Harry crouched slowly by the tree, looking out and watching carefully.
The figure was too far away to make out clearly, but Harry could see he wore something loose. Maybe it was a wizard. He watched him walk up to the edge of the island's peak, a hand over his eyes. Then, he pointed to Harry's left, what Harry thought must be at the base of the cliffs. Following the finger, Harry thought he saw a deep recess, perhaps a cave, some ways down the coast. He looked back at the figure just in time to see the man disappear. It was a wizard! On instinct, Harry looked back where the man had pointed and saw the man standing on a rock just in front of the recess before diving into the watery inlet. Then, he was gone.
Why was a wizard exploring this place, and who was it? Harry had had a poor vision of the man. A part of him said Harry should just leave. He had gotten what he came for, after all, and was undetected, to boot. However, if that was one of Voldemort's followers, perhaps this would reveal their hiding place or something else they wanted to keep secret. It could, also, belong to the Scions. No established Wizarding town existed in a cave, at least none Harry had heard of. If he kept his distance, maybe he could find out more…
Decided, Harry arose, holding his wand firmly. Without an extra thought, he turned, focusing on the place he wanted to be, and for a split second, he felt that crunching sensation before his feet struck a hard, wet stone. He nearly slipped, but just managed to catch himself with his hand on the edge of it. With a sigh, he looked the direction the man had gone. How many times did he have to go into the water? Shaking his head, Harry dove in, swimming forward and finding himself thankful that the sun had lit the space well enough for him to proceed without lighting his wand. There was no point in giving himself away, needlessly.
Compared to his earlier swims, this one was short, but no less cold. His limbs still felt that weight from tiredness and the recent climb, but he moved faster for it, hoping to observe and return without being noticed. Harry emerged from the water inside a cave that was lit only by the light of a single wand. The man he had seen was walking along the cave wall, stopping periodically and leaning in towards the stone. On one of these particular movements, the light rebounding off the side of the cave wall illuminated his face in profile.
Harry rushed out of the water, ignoring the cold and dripping as he cried, "Sirius!"
The older man spun, his wand coming around to illuminate Harry, filling his eyes with too much direct light. Harry put up his hand in his face and only dropped it when the light lessened. As his eyes recovered with purple spots, he saw the silhouette of Sirius approach.
"Harry?" Sirius asked. "How did…? Wait, how do I know you're not a spy? Tell me something only Harry would know."
"You helped me leave Paris and reach the barrier on England," Harry said. "Your… friend? Garland was supposed to help us get through it, but he attempted to hand me over to V- You-Know-Who, but I escaped."
"The enemy knows as much," Sirius said, frowning and keeping his wand trained on Harry.
"I know you're looking for something for Dumbledore," Harry said. "A number of somethings that You-Know-Who wants kept hidden. Is that why you're here?"
Sirius raised an eyebrow, seeming to weigh the answer.
"I saw you getting attacked in a dream, warned the professors who had the Minister, Fudge at the time, check on you," Harry added. "I thought you were dying, and you later told me it was … a near thing, I think."
Sirius nodded. "Alright," he said, deciding. "Even the Ministry hushed up that one. They wanted people to know they captured me, but did not want anyone to know I had been hurt at the Ministry. Makes people nervous and think the Ministry is not secure. Wait… why aren't you suspicious of me?"
"If anyone was coming after me," Harry said, "they would have come at me while I was collecting my wand, not draw me into a cave only to turn their back on me while I entered."
"Collecting your wand?" Sirius asked.
"I left it on the cliff near here when I passed through the barrier," Harry said. "I came back for it now as my new one was taken."
"Someone took your wand?" Sirius asked, looking around as though someone would pop up wielding the stolen wand.
"We can.. talk about that later," Harry said. "Are you looking for a horcrux here?"
"Yes," Sirius said, his face grave. "Dumbledore showed me some memories he had related to You-Know-Who. This cave appears to be where he went on holidays and tormented his fellow orphans. It took some time to track it down… but I can't seem to find where it might be."
"Why would he put one here?" Harry asked, looking around at the dark walls. "I mean, other than remoteness. It seems so…"
"Arbitrary?" Sirius asked, laughing and walking back up to the wall to find a gap. "I asked him the same thing, Dumbledore, that is. He thinks it was one of Riddle's better memories."
Sirius shuddered when he said this, and Harry could not blame him. The thought of tormenting children being pleasant was disturbing.
"So, this place would be like a … a trophy, to him," Sirius said.
Harry pulled out his wand. "Lumos," he said, lighting up a wall across from him. "What have you checked for?"
"Anything visual," Sirius replied, his voice echoing from further down the way. "I don't really see any natural crevices he might have used magic to widen."
"Aparecium!" Harry cried, running his wand across a stretch of the wall. "Revelio!"
He repeated these as he moved along the wall, pointing to each stretch with his wand. He could hear Sirius muttering spells from the other side of the cave, but could not make out what the man was trying. For a time, they went on in this near silence, with only whispers and the brushing of feet to mark the passage of time. Harry felt like a blind man feeling about in the dark. What would the entrance even look like? Were they sure it was here?
He had begun to think perhaps they should retreat and find someone else to help with the discovery when Sirius called out. His shout was accompanied by a flash of light.
"I've found something!" the man said. "It won't… open, though."
Harry came over, immediately. Leaving his current patch of wall behind. "What did you find?" he asked.
"This," Sirius said. He muttered a spell and pointed his wand.
The outline of a door appeared, glowing brilliantly in silver for a split second, then faded. Sirius pushed his shoulder against the door, but nothing happened. Harry followed suit, immediately regretting it as the pain from the bite burned like fire.
"Ow!" he cried, pulling back.
Where he had struck the wall, a faint red patch had appeared. He must have bled more than he thought.
"Harry, are you hurt?" Sirius asked, reaching for Harry's shoulder.
His movement was interrupted by the silver outline returning. They both gaped as the wall that held the light splattering of blood simply vanished, leaving an opening. Harry looked at Sirius and the man looked back at him. The dark opening felt ominous, but they both moved toward it, as though summoned.
"What happened to your arm, Harry?" Sirius said, running his wand over Harry's shoulder. "It isn't a big cut…"
"Something hit me, well, I mean, it sprayed something at me and I guess it nicked my shoulder," Harry said. "I was going to find someone to look at it, but… well, I ran into you. It only hurts a little."
"Something sprayed something at you and it drew blood?" Sirius asked, stopping Harry by pulling him around with a hand on his other shoulder. His eyes were hard and full of concern. "What was it?"
"It was a little, green thing in the sea," Harry said, holding his arms out. "About this big, I think."
"In this sea?" Sirius asked, eyes narrowing. "Lolabugs, if I remember, are found deep down, but why would they be near enough the surface to run into them? Where was this?"
"Out a ways," Harry said, gesturing vaguely. "We should get the horcrux, and then you can take me to see someone about this. Lolabugs are only somewhat venomous, and it barely hit me."
"I- fine," Sirius said, frowning. "If we're quick. Only because I don't want to leave this place open and I don't know how to close the entrance again."
"Let's go," Harry said, shrugging off the man's hand. "Maybe the worst is behind us."
"What, giving up your blood to open the door?" Sirius asked, scoffing. "That is no little thing. It takes a dark individual to think of something like that as a key. I should have been the one to give up blood for it. Who knows what this place might do with that?"
"We'll be careful," Harry said, keeping his wand in front of him.
They walked out into an open space, and Harry could see in front of them a very large, black lake. It was so large, he could not see the other side of it. Near what he guessed was the centre, a faint green light emanated from above the water, reflecting neatly off the perfectly still surface.
Running his wand light over the water nearest them, Harry found it unnaturally still. No cave animals or fish made it shudder or ripple. It might have been made of dark, reflective glass, but Harry felt a most powerful aversion to touching the water.
"Well, that's interesting," Sirius said, breaking the stillness. "You think the horcrux is at that green light?"
"Above the water?" Harry asked. "Wouldn't it be safer to hide it in the lake?"
"Not if he thinks crossing the lake a big enough deterrence," Sirius said. "And without a way across, we cannot find out."
"But … he must have had a way to do it," Harry said, casting around for something. "A boat or a bridge or something…"
"Maybe he could conjure one," Sirius said. "I don't think I have ever Vanished anything like a boat."
"Nor I," Harry said. "I have a boat out near the shore, however. If you think that would help."
"A part of me is screaming not to disturb the water," Sirius said. "I feel an unnatural dread of it."
"Maybe there is another place for payment?" Harry suggested. "Like a rock that turns into a bridge if you brush it with blood?"
"That seems unlikely," Sirius said, scrunching up his nose. "If I were hiding something that valuable, I wouldn't want people to use the same technique for everything protecting it. No, I expect we need something else."
"Maybe we can just summon the horcrux from here," Harry said, pointing his wand, "Accio Horcrux!"
Something flung itself up out of the water with tremendous speed and landed with hardly a ripple. Harry felt his heart racing just watching from afar.
"What was that?" he asked.
"Part of the protection," Sirius said, squinting. "I expect any other attempts to magically extract the horcrux will be met with similar."
"Maybe we can Apparate?" Harry asked.
"To the island?" Sirius asked. "I highly doubt it. Anti-Apparition spells would be the first thing he would have put on this place."
"I might as well try," Harry said. "If it's blocked, I won't be able to move."
Sirius nodded. Harry concentrated on a spot just beside the light, and he turned, nearly falling as a force struck him. With a stagger he kept himself up.
"Are you alright?" Sirius asked, catching Harry's outstretched arm.
"Alright," Harry said. "You were right, but at least we know…"
"If only we had a spell You-Know-Who wouldn't have thought of," Sirius muttered. "Maybe Dumbledore would know…"
"That's it!" Harry cried. "You're brilliant, Sirius."
"What?" Sirius asked. "Bring Dumbledore here? He did want me to try before drawing him into it, and we can't give up just yet…"
"No, no," Harry said. "Magic he wouldn't have thought of. We cannot Apparate here, but maybe a house elf could?"
Sirius' eyes widened. "You think he wouldn't have considered a house elf's magic because.."
"Because no one does," Harry said. "They can go basically anywhere they want. No one thinks about that weakness."
"Well, I'll give it a try," Sirius said. "Kreacher! Come to me."
With a pop, an old house elf appeared. Harry had never seen one looking so old and gnarled. The house elf snarled at Sirius as though at an enemy. Sirius frowned at him.
"What does my master want?" Kreacher asked, sounding disgruntled. He muttered, quietly, but loud enough to echo in the cave, "Cruel master who broke his mother's heart."
"We'll be quick, Kreacher," Sirius said, ignoring the latter. "Can you Apparate us to that island in the lake?"
Kreacher turned and Harry saw its eyes widen. Then, the house elf staggered backwards, crying out.
"No, no, no! No, Master Regulus! Not here, anywhere but here. Not again. No, I won't. I can't go there. The great Mistress help me, I won't do it!"
The house elf wailed, the most pathetic sound Harry had ever heard. He looked up at Sirius to find the man completely bewildered and horrified. Whatever the house elf had done before, Harry guessed he had never acted like this.
"What do you mean, Regulus?" Sirius asked, suddenly crouched in front of the screaming house elf. "What about my brother?"
"Your brother?" Harry asked, but both of them ignored him.
"Noooooo!" Kreacher wailed. "Poor master Regulus. Kreacher couldn't keep his promise. Noooo! Kreacher swore, but failed. Master Regulus would be so angry. Mistress, forgive Kreacher. Master Regulus, forgive Kreacher."
"Kreacher," Sirius said, his voice less gruff than before, his eye alarmed, and his voice sounding almost… gentle. "Kreacher, what happened? What does this place have to do with my brother? Kreacher, please."
Kreacher whimpered, but looked at Sirius with a cautious eye. His face sagged at the side, and he muttered to himself unintelligibly for a moment. Harry felt out of place, like he was watching something very personal. Sirius and Kreacher did not seem to see him and, indeed, almost appeared to have forgotten that they were in such a dreadful place. Both only saw each other and Harry and the dark cave with whatever lay within were left as witnesses.
"Master Regulus…" Kreacher began, his voice ragged and tired. "After Master Sirius ran away, breaking my Mistress's heart, Master Regulus joined the Dark Lord. One day, a year after he joined, Master Regulus came down to the kitchen to see Kreacher. Master Regulus always liked Kreacher. And Master Regulus said… he said… he said that the Dark Lord required an elf."
Kreacher began rocking himself, looking very uncomfortable. He looked anywhere but at Sirius.
"You-Know-Who needed an elf?" Sirius interrogated. "What for?"
"Master Regulus had volunteered Kreacher, it was an honour, Master Regulus said," Kreacher continued. "He ordered Kreacher to do what the Dark Lord wanted and to come home. So, Kreacher went to the Dark Lord and the Dark Lord took Kreacher to this cave. We rode a boat to the island. And there he had a basin of potion. The Dark L-Lord made Kreacher drink it. Kreacher saw terrible things… Kreacher's insides burned. Kreacher cried out for Master Regulus to save him, he cried out for the great Mistress, but the Dark Lord laughed. He made Kreacher drink all the potion and d-dropped a locket into the empty basin… He filled it with more potion. Then, the Dark Lord sailed away, leaving Kreacher on the island."
Harry and Sirius were still, listening.
"Kreacher needed water, he crawled to the island's edge and drank from the black lake…and hands, dead hands came out and dragged Kreacher under the surface…"
"How did you get away?" Harry asked, horrified.
"Master Regulus ordered Kreacher to come back," Kreacher said, as though it was the most obvious thing. His eyes never left Sirius, however.
"And… and my brother?" Sirius asked, his eyes growing red and his voice choking.
"Master Regulus listened to Kreacher's story and asked to be brought here," Kreacher said. "He ordered Kreacher to take the locket when he finished drinking and leave him, to take the locket and destroy it. He told Kreacher to leave a fake locket in the basin. Kreacher could not stop him. Master Regulus ordered Kreacher. Kreacher saw the hands drag Master Regulus beneath the water and… oh, Master Regulus! Master Regulus ordered Kreacher not to tell the family. Master Regulus…"
The house elf dissolved into sobs, and Harry felt something harsh in his own eyes. The pain of the situation for the elf was tremendous. The sadness he had had to hide from the family, and live with alone for years… Sirius looked little better, kneeling in front of the elf. His face was torn between sadness and pity, and all of the dislike and anger he had shown towards the house elf had completely evaporated. The man reached out, embracing the little figure, and Kreacher did not pull away. They stayed that way for some time, and Harry stood looking at his feet, feeling the sadness and tragedy.
Voldemort. All of this was from him. It always came down to him. Every turn they made, he had gone out of his way to make lives terrible, broken families and brought sadness to all. He would stop him, Harry would. They all would. Whatever it took, this had to end.
Harry felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, a blaze of fire that had only been a dull burn before, and he felt himself falling hard on the rocky cave floor. A scrambled of movement rushed toward him, and he vaguely heard Sirius calling out his name as blackness took him.