AN: thank you everyone for the nice reviews, and noDownSide, don't worry about it but ngl I did miss ya !
work song — hozier
"no grave can hold my body down
i'll crawl home to her."
It was late by the time all three of them agreed on a game plan. Regulus had felt slightly awkward in his brother's flat, and Sirius hadn't been exactly welcoming, although he hadn't seemed too surprised at seeing Sofia and Regulus together.
Sofia had explained to Sirius in broad terms what Regulus was planning to do, and then Sirius had gone quiet for a few seconds before taking a step towards his brother and then holding out his hand for Regulus to shake. Regulus took it cautiously and much to his surprise, Sirius had pulled him into a man-hug, slapped him on the back. "Knew you'd come around," Sirius whispered.
Regulus had glanced at Sofia then, the first genuine smile he'd seen from her all evening on her face. It made the big possibility of dying that day seem worth it.
Then they'd sat down in the cramped living room and told Sirius about the locket and their half-formed plans. Sirius had suggested going to Order with all this information but had been quickly shut down by Regulus. Neither he nor Sofia had the same blind trust in Dumbledore Sirius and his friends did.
Regulus looked over at the clock from his spot on the sofa. It was almost ten already. But he didn't want to put this off any longer.
"Are you sure about all this?" Regulus asked his brother. "You don't have to—"
"I thought you were working on accepting people's help," Sirius interrupted. "Merlin knows you've rejected mine enough times."
Regulus nodded, relenting. "Alright."
Sofia wrung her hands from her spot beside Regulus. They were sitting close to each other, but not touching. Regulus wished so bad he could just pull her into his arms, reassure her everything would be alright—even if it wasn't true.
Sirius went into another room, saying he had to get some things together before leaving and let Sofia and Regulus have a moment alone.
Sofia looked a little ill. Her face was pale and she stared off into space. Regulus took her hand in his.
"Tell me it'll be okay. That you'll both come back," she said in a small voice.
Regulus took a breath. "Sofia..."
"I'm sorry," she looked down at the floor. "I'm not gonna make you say that. I'm just... I don't want you to die."
Regulus lifted a hand to her cheek and softly turned her head so she would look him in the eye. "I can't promise you I'll come back, Sofia, but I can promise I'll try my best. For you."
Sofia inhaled heavily and nodded, her eyes glistening with tears. Then she leaned forward and placed a nice, soft kiss on his lips. Just in case it would be the last. She would never forgive herself if she let him go without doing that.
Then Sirius came back into the room and they pulled away.
All three of them stood in the doorway and Sofia reached up to give Regulus one last hug. Then she turned to Sirius and hugged him as if she was trying to transfer some of her life force into him. Sirius wrapped his arms around her just as fiercely. She whispered something in his ear that made him smile and he planted two kisses on top of her head.
There was a time where Regulus had felt the bitter taste of jealousy every single time he saw Sofia and Sirius share hugs or kisses, or any sort of tender touches... but now, he didn't think it'd be so bad if Sofia managed to move on with Sirius.
Then Regulus walked out the door with his brother and hoped to every god that would hear him that this wouldn't be the last time he saw Sofia's face.
They were barely inside the cave when they hit their first snag.
Getting inside had been relatably easy. Kreacher had told Regulus the location before and then he'd met them there. Sirius didn't seem exactly thrilled to see the house elf and the same was true the other way around. But Kreacher knew this was for Regulus, so he kept his comments to himself.
Sirius tried to argue that it was better if he went in the boat, but in the end, he knew that Regulus wouldn't back down, so he stayed on the shore, ready to spring into action.
The plan was still pretty much the same though. The boat wouldn't let two wizards on it, but at least Kreacher could get on it with Regulus. Once on the island, Regulus would drink the potion and Kreacher would quickly exchange the lockets before trying to restrain Regulus and drag him back in the boat. Which was where the plan got a little sticky. The chance that Kreacher would manage to do all of that on his own... was not great.
Regulus tried to shake out his nerves as he lost sight of his brother in the darkness of the shore. He glanced at the surface of the murky waters but he could see nothing.
They were just reaching the lonely island when Regulus turned to Kreacher. "Kreacher... remember, if the Inferi get me, you have to get out of here. Sirius will try to help me. You take the locket, and we'll meet you where I told you if I make it... if not, you find a way to destroy it. Understand?"
Kreacher looked up at him with those big gleaming eyes. "Y-yes, Master Regulus."
They got out of the boat.
The glowing green poison seemed to taunt Regulus from the basin where it peacefully sat.
Well, best not to delay things.
He took the biggest mouthful he could manage. Then he immediately collapsed down onto the ground. It burned going down his throat and in his stomach. The sudden dryness in his mouth tore at him. His entire body felt ice-cold. "Kreacher!" He spat out.
That made the elf spring into action.
Regulus felt more liquid sliding down his throat. He was shaking, holding onto the Rocky ground beneath him with his hands, his flesh almost ripping open. Suddenly he saw Sofia's face, but there was something off about it. The light in her eyes was gone. She opened her mouth to speak but blood came pouring out from it like a fucking waterfall. Then the image melted away and he saw his family, Sofia's family. Saw their bodies lying at his feet. Someone was screaming bloody murder.
Regulus was pretty sure he was crying, he even thought he heard the sound of his own voice begging Kreacher to stop, but he didn't know what was real anymore.
He didn't know how much time had passed. It could've been hours for all he knew. But there was no way he wasn't about to die. His chest was constricted with pain. He felt the sandpaper texture of his throat all the way into his brain and his lungs. He was so cold. It'd be a miracle if he wasn't dead already.
Then he felt Kreacher's tiny wrinkled hand on his face and he was saying something.
"It is done, Master Regulus! It is done!"
"Water, Kreacher, I need water," Regulus cried, as much as it pained him to do so.
Kreacher screeched at Regulus, but he wasn't listening. The tiny elf dragged Regulus to the boat and somehow, with all his might, managed to keep his Master from going straight to the water in the lake.
It couldn't have been long when Regulus felt a cold flash run through him and his body seized, unceremoniously tipping over the tiny boat.
The cold chill of the water brought Regulus out of his downright delirious state. It didn't even take a full second for him to feel a death grip around his leg. "Kreacher, go now!" He managed to yell before he was pulled under.
He kicked and kicked but that grip of steel wasn't giving. His shaking hands reached for his wand but the lack of oxygen was already getting to his brain. He managed to wrap his fingers around the wand and looked down at the Inferi surrounding him. Their pale flesh was the only thing he could make out under the water.
But they got his arms too and he couldn't even tell which way was up anymore. He saw Sofia's face in his mind. He thought of her silky dark hair and those big brown eyes that seemed to take up half her face, and those lips always painted dark red, how they would curve into a smile just for him. He repeated her name in his head like a mantra.
He tried to grip his wand again. Light, he remembered. The Inferi feared light and heat.
The back of his eyelids burned red. He opened them just a slit and saw that a bright white light was shooting out of the top of his wand. It took him a second before he realised all his limbs had been freed.
But it was too late. He needed to breathe... and his body wasn't responding to his commands anymore.
The light from his wand started to flicker and Regulus hoped Sofia would forgive him. Everything went black.