39- Fellowship of the Horcrux
In the end, they agreed that the Horcrux had to be destroyed although they didn't know how. After all, the destruction of Horcruxes was not on Hogwarts' curriculum since the nature of Horcruxes in general was considered much too Dark to be taught to children.
The vast library of books on the Dark Arts at Regulus Black's place wasn't very supportive either because they didn't have the time to go and check them all. Most likely, they would merely find ways to create a Horcrux but not how to destroy one.
Nevertheless, Raven learned that it was possible to... undo the process of creating a Horcrux with remorse. She mightily doubted, though, that Lord V would ever feel remorse about murdering people. She hadn't had the displeasure of meeting him in person yet; she could only judge him from what she had seen in Severus' memories and from what history told about tyrants. They simply didn't treasure human life... well, except for their very own...
Eventually, at some point during their argument of how to destroy the Horcrux, Severus gave to consider that they had to retrieve it first - and he mightily doubted they could simply go and take it; he reckoned the bewitched basin could alarm Voldemort if its contents varied in size or shape.
That's when Regulus came up with the idea of replacing the locket with a fake one.
Although that made sense to her, Raven groaned inwardly. "Great! And how do we get a fake locket? I don't even know what the real one looks like."
"But Salazar is wearing it in almost every portrait of him," Regulus drawled, sounding just a tad impatient. "I'm certain you must have noticed the one of him in our common room, haven't you?"
"Sure enough. It's that ape-like guy looking just like an aged King Louie."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Oh, I forgot you're not familiar with Muggle literature or cinema."
"There is Muggle... cin-ne-ma about Salazar Slytherin?"
Even Severus had to chuckle now, while Raven burst out with laughter, singing 'I wanna be like you-uh.'. Again, it was quite out of tune.
"Stop that!" He chided her before explaining to Regulus, "I guess she's referring to a Muggle flick called the Jungle Book, but never mind. She likes to be a bit silly sometimes."
"I know, however, that the pavement vendors in Knockturn Alley sell replicas of Slytherin's locket. But will these cheap copies suffice?"
"I don't think so," Regulus replied and shrugged. "It doesn't matter, though, since I happen to know a goblin who still owes me a favour."
"Aren't goblins quite greedy creatures who charge you a lot of Galleons, even if they owe you a favour?"
"Don't bother about that. Of all of our problems, money is definitely the least." Regulus said gloomily, wondering for the umpteenth time what he had gotten himself into. Why had he not simply ordered Kreacher to get well? It would have been much easier than staking it all on one card and Apparating straight to their place. The friendship they shared was still an uneasy one, but now he had to trust Raven and Severus.
Severus, too, found it hard to trust his fellow Slytherin, the posh little heir of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. Some years ago he would have considered it a stroke of luck that a pure-blood wizard was seeking his friendship- for whatever reason- but now he was much more suspicious. Blame it on Lucius Malfoy and his twisted sense of what he called friendship.
He briefly glanced at Raven- she was the one keeping their uneasy allegiance together and she seemed to be quite satisfied about the way it went, so he could only heave a sigh, trusting her judgement. At least for the moment.
-o-
One day later, they were gathering in her room again. Regulus presented an exact copy of Slytherin's locket to them while in the background the sound of T. Rex came blasting from the speakers of Raven's stereo; she was in a rather splendid mood today.
"So that's it," she said, holding the fake locket in her hand as she glanced at the two young wizards. "Let's do it then, eh?"
-o-
It was madness, Severus thought, to enter the Dark Lord's cave armed with only a few bottles of Coke. They weren't prepared; they didn't know what to expect. All they knew was what Kreacher had told them and he didn't like the prospect of having to rely on the strange magic of house-elves since no one had ever studied that properly.
It was much too easy- they didn't have to take the long way across the raging sea into the cave and them across the great black subterranean lake in a boat. Kreacher took them straight to the little island in the lake. It was much too easy... there were supposed to be wards, traps... a price to pay for entering the cave. The Dark Lord wouldn't leave his cave unguarded.
But then again the Dark Lord was clearly underestimating the magic of house-elves, as Raven had pointed out. Voldemort had not expected Kreacher to survive so of course he wouldn't expect the elf to return, breaking through his wards...
Severus shuddered. The air in the cave was cold and damp, and there was a strange smell. It reminded him of decay... but there was also a distant hint of salt, more like a whiff from far away, and that was somewhat fresh and exciting. He wasn't familiar with it since Severus had never been at the sea before.
The darkness around them was dense and the only thing that broke the velvety blackness was an eerie greenish glow that came from a stone basin he recognized immediately. It was indeed the very same stone basin he had seen in the basement of Malfoy Manor.
He couldn't see any further, though. The cave seemed to be huge for he couldn't make out a beginning nor an end, and even the ceiling of the cavern was so high that it was out of sight.
Raven whispered a soft, "Lumos," and a light at the tip of her wand flared up; it reflected in the completely still water of the lake surrounding the small island of smooth dark rock they were standing on.
Kreacher was standing close to his master, hugging Regulus' knees. "Don't touch water," he hissed and his words echoed in the vastness of the cave.
"I certainly do not intend to," Regulus replied as he also used the Lumos spell to make the tip of his wand light up.
Still, the cave seemed to have neither beginning nor end. They were still surrounded by an almost unnatural darkness that made the misty greenish glow from the stone basin even more eerie.
Unlike Raven or Regulus, Severus was reluctant to approach it. Perhaps he just lacked their curiosity since he already knew what it contained- it was the potion he had created, and he was ashamed of it
"You can't even see or guess what's at the bottom," Raven mused, reaching out her fingers to touch the surface-
"Don't!" Severus barked. He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the basin, much to her surprise.
"Well," she frowned at him, "it's not possible to touch it anyway. Apparently, one of us has to drink it."
"But not you!"
She gave him another frown and he was suddenly feeling so very very foolish that he was glad about the darkness covering his slightly flushed cheeks. What was wrong with him?
"Someone has to drink it, and I'm the only one who doesn't just tolerate Coke as an antidote; I'm loving it."
"Why doesn't Black just volunteer his loyal elf again?"
"You want that poor little ugliness to suffer through all of his pain once more?" Raven snapped."No way. I won't let it happen. Think again, Severus."
His mien was inscrutable; he knew he was responsible for creating that fatal poison and therefore he should be the one to drink it. But before he could act, a piercing shriek startled him and he stared in shock at the wailing house-elf.
"Noooo, Master Regulus! Not you! Not you! Let Kreacher drink poison, not Master Regulus. Oh no! Oh noooo! What will poor mistress say? Master Regulus is the sole heir of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black, let lowly half-breeds drink poison-"
Severus reacted immediately. He flung himself at Regulus so that the goblet he was holding in his hands slipped from his fingers and skittered across the smooth stone of the island- it would have crashed into the lake if not for Raven. She had the presence of mind to put her boot in the way of the skittering goblet and quickly picked it up.
"Boys," she growled, "let sleeping Inferi lie. There's no reason to fight over who's drinking that poison. We could all have our share of it-"
"No!" The boys replied in perfect unison. They gave up struggling with each other; Regulus glanced at Severus before he Summoned the goblet from Raven's hand to fill it again.
"I got you into this mess, so I will face the consequences," Regulus said resolutely. He thought that everything was his fault because he had joined the Dark Lord, because he had so foolishly believed in his propaganda of a better world without Muggles.
"You didn't get us into anything, Reg. We're friends, and it was our decision to take the risk and try to defy Lord V. You don't have to be chivalrous now just because I'm a girl."
"You being a witch has nothing to do with it. Fact is, I'm the one who is replaceable. Snape is the potion genius and you need Kreacher to get you out of here."
"He's right," Severus agreed. Perhaps that sounded a bit callous but Regulus had summed it up quite correct and he was too... Slytherin to fight the logic of his words.
Raven wanted to protest because she felt sorry for the boy. On the other hand, she didn't want Severus to drink the potion either; she couldn't even stand the idea of him having to suffer. And so she remained quiet, feeling miserable as she watched Regulus lift the goblet to his lips.
He drank. The first goblets full of poison went down smoothly, then his breathing became heavier and beads of perspiration were forming on his face.
"You alright?" Raven asked worriedly.
"No." Regulus had the nerve to grin at her but it looked more like a grimace. His face was twitching and his fingers were shaking; he almost lost grip of the goblet before he managed to refill it. "À votre santé."
"Smart ass! Do you really think now is the right time to show off with your knowledge of posh foreign languages?" She chided him gently.
Absent-mindedly, he downed another goblet full of poison, not reacting to her words. Then he started panting. "Can't... do this... anymore. Make... it... stop."
Raven glanced at Severus, begging him to do something, anything. He sadly shook his head.
"There's nothing you can do for him at this point. He has to go through all the stages of hypoglycaemia before you can administer the antidote- I fear if you try to do it now in order to soothe his pain, the basin will refill itself. Don't forget that we're dealing with the Dark Lord, a very cunning and powerful wizard."
"I know. I fucking know that." And yet it was so very frustrating. Apparently, Regulus was reliving influential childhood memories as well as some more recent events. It became obvious that he had seen torture and was disgusted by it. She didn't want to hear any of that.
"I... I don't want to..." Regulus moaned as his grip on the goblet slackened.
Immediately, Raven was at his side. She supported him when his knees buckled and she took the goblet from his trembling fingers.
"...so thirsty... water... please..."
Severus half expected Raven to cave in to Regulus' pitiful plea, and he prepared himself to interfere; it was absolutely necessary that the boy drank all the poison, otherwise they didn't stand a chance to empty the basin and grab the Horcrux.
But then Raven surprised him once again. Resolutely, she refilled the goblet. "Here you go. Have a drink."
She forced one more goblet full of poison down Regulus' throat, and then another. The boy's condition was becoming worse; he tried to protest, to struggle, but he was already too weak to put up much resistance. He screamed; the noise gave an eerie echo in the vastness of the cavern. His speech became even more incoherent as he started to hallucinate, seeing things that weren't there. He cried out his brother's name, mumbling that he wasn't a failure.
"You're not a failure," Raven said gently, caressing his cheek. Until that moment, Severus had been a bit baffled about her determination to reach the Horcrux and he released a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding.
The bottom of the basin was already visible now and so was the golden locket hidden there. Only one more goblet of poison for Regulus to drink, then she could take it and replace it.
The locket looked just like the fake one. Nothing about it indicated that it held one piece of Lord V's soul and was therefore a means to his destruction. There wasn't anything special about it.
What had she expected? That it would burn her fingers or chill her to the bones with its evilness? Nothing like that happened and yet she was glad when Severus took it from her hands to give it a closer examination.
"We have to get the boy out of here," she decided, given that Regulus was looking the worse for wear. They had to administer the antidote to him, soon. Therefore, she turned to Kreacher for help. "Take your master to a safe place and give him-"
"Lestrange!" Severus hissed as he snatched the bag with the bottles of Coke from her before Kreacher could get a hold on it. "You're much too idealistic for your own good. What if the little bugger doesn't return for us?"
"Oh!" Her reaction made it clear that she hadn't even considered that. "But Kreacher wouldn't let us down, would you, Kreacher?"
"No, dear Mistress Scum," the house elf replied in a slyly tone that made her hair stand on ends. Apparently it had been his intention to take his master and run. But she doubted his intention was in accordance with Regulus wishes- too bad she couldn't ask the boy since he was in a severe state of delirium now.
"What are you waiting for?" Raven snarled. "Get your dear Master Regulus out of this place. You don't have to go far- just take him to the outside and then come back to fetch us and the antidote."
Kreacher flashed her a murderous glance but he obeyed nevertheless since he needed the antidote to stop his master's suffering.
For a moment, Raven and Severus were all alone in the cave. The silence was almost deafening now; it felt like the calm before a storm because it was too quiet. They were standing on a rocky island in the middle of a lake, glancing at each other, knowing that no matter how smooth the rocks were and despite the unnatural glassy surface of the lake that still bore no sight of any ripples, they should at least be hearing the gurgling sound of water splashing against stones. But there was none. There was no sound except for their own breathing, pounding like a wild drum in their ears.
Raven stepped closer to Severus, longing for his proximity. Gingerly, she reached out for him, eager to touch and feel the presence of a human being- when all of a sudden the glassy surface of the lake broke into a million of ripples and pale, white, dead hands rose from its depth.
The army of Inferi had come to life.
That very same moment, Kreacher returned with the loud 'pop' that was typical for house-elf Apparition, bowing deeply. "Master Regulus wants Kreacher to fetch master's half-breed scum friends. Hurry now. Master Regulus is not feeling well."
"You go first!" Severus decided as he ushered Raven to an impatiently waiting house-elf and he shoved the bag with the antidote into her hands. "Go now!"
"No! Kreacher, can't you take-" before she could say 'both of us', the elf had already Apparated her away. She was sick with worries for Severus when she landed on a windy cliff overlooking the sea, knowing he was all alone with an army of Inferi. "Kreacher! Go back and get Severus out of the cave."
"Mistress Scum will heal Master Regulus first." Kreacher insisted.
"No, first you will go back for Severus."
The house-elf shot her a nasty glance. "Kreacher takes no orders from filthy half-breeds."
Raven knew there was no time to bargain with the stubborn elf. She could hear Regulus whimper in pain, and of course she wanted to save his life. But even more so she wanted to know that Severus was safe and sound. "If you want the filthy half-breed to heal your dear Master Regulus you had better obey Mistress Scum. Go. Now."
Muttering obscenities under his breath, Kreacher disappeared into thin air. Immediately, Raven hurried to where Regulus was lying on the ground; his face was deadly pale with a greyish hue. He was soaking wet with cold sweat, shaking all over and panting heavily.
"Shhh," she soothed him as she went down on her knees, opening a bottle of Coke. Carefully, she lifted his head and raised the bottle to his lips.
"Water..." he whispered, "… so thirsty... burning..."
"I know. Just drink and you'll be fine." Frantically, she looked around. Where was Severus? Why was it taking so fucking long for him to show up here? What if Kreacher had just disappeared; what if he had not gone back to the cave and helped Severus to escape? But would Kreacher really abandon his master, leaving him in my care?
Raven breathed a sigh of relief when- finally!- the house-elf returned with Severus.
"Master! Master! Is Master Regulus well?"
"Sev! You alright?" She dropped the bottle to check on her friend since she had spotted a nasty gash on his right cheek. Also, his robes were torn."What happened to you?"
"I'm fine. It's just a scratch-"
"Let me see." Raven grabbed his chin and made him turn his face. Due to having been at the receiving end of the Marauder's pranks for seven years, she had learned some simple healing spells and a little later the skin on his cheek was no longer marred.
Severus didn't seem to care. Instead of offering a word of gratitude, he frowned in Regulus' direction where Kreacher was fussing over the boy now. The house-elf had picked up the bottle of Coke and was helping his master to drink; it looked as though he was nursing an oversized infant.
"Is the... antidote working on him?"
"Sure. Did you ever doubt that?"
"In fact, I did. I only ever tested it on rats before."
"Well, I never doubted you."
"You're an incorrigible idealist."
"I think I'm quite a realistic person.," Raven smiled at Severus, "I believed we could make it and we did, didn't we?" Then her smiled faded as she remembered the gash on his face. "What happened in the cave after I left?"
"The Inferi attacked. But like all creatures that dwell in cold and dark places, they fear light and warmth, so I managed to keep them at bay with a slight modification of Incendio until Kreacher came for me. We got away just in time."
"Thank goodness! Do you think they will follow us up here?"
Severus shook his head in the negative. "No. I suppose they cannot leave the cave, simply because it was never the Dark Lord's intention to have them hunting for intruders; he relied on the might of his magic, believing it impossible for anyone to leave the cave..." He fell silent for a moment and a a surge of guilt welled up within him when he realized that it had been he himself who had helped Voldemort to set up this dead-trap by creating a fatal and torturous poison.
"It's not your fault, Sev," Raven said quietly as she gently rubbed his arm. "After all, you came up with an antidote. You had no other choice but to obey Lord V's order and yet you defied him in your very own way."
Oh she's such an insufferable idealist, he thought, always seeing the best in people who don't deserve it...
"We shouldn't linger around here for any longer than necessary, though. Like I mentioned, Inferi prefer to dwell in darkness and the sun will be setting soon." Severus fell silent again, but now he wasn't brooding over anything dark and unpleasant. Instead, he seemed to take notice of their surroundings for the first time, and he stared in awe at the scenery before him.
They were standing on a cliff high above the sea. Several yards below them, the turf was crashing against some rocks, sending off white-glistening spray. As far as he could see, there was only water- an apparently endless vastness of water that seemed to hold promises of distant shores.
At the western horizon, the sun was just about to set. It almost looked as if it would drop into the sea, so low was it already, and its glow was painting the waves in a mesmerizing golden light.
"It's beautiful, ain't it?" Raven whispered after a while, and he turned to glance at her. She was now sitting at the edge of the cliff, smoking a cigarette. Her long black hair was flowing in the wind and he thought that she was beautiful in this light, but then he quickly discarded that thought because it didn't seem to be... appropriate.
"We should leave before it gets dark." Severus simply replied.
-o-
"Let me see it." Regulus begged.
They were back home in London and the boy had recovered quickly after Kreacher had poured almost three bottles of Coke down his throat. Now he was lying on the sofa in Raven's room, still craving for more. Severus suspected that that wasn't for medical purpose alone- instead, the boy seemed to have taken a liking to that infernal Muggle drink.
All was well, so far. They had made it back to London without trouble, without having to fight an army of Inferi. All was well until Regulus Black asked to see the Horcrux and Severus was reluctant to hand it over.
"You know what it looks like."
"Please."
Severus pulled the locket out of the pocket of his robes and glanced at it without really seeing it. Instead, he saw a vision of himself- he was older in that vision, clad in robes of the finest fabric; a distinguished man, a wizard of reputation, just like Lucius Malfoy. And Lily was at his side, beautiful Lily Evans with her flaming red hair and her sparkling emerald-green eyes, dressed in white as they were walking down the aisle... the locket was calling to him, alluring him with promises... It would be so easy to just aim his wand at the bothersome Black whelp, and he had to fight the urge to do just that...
Slytherin's locket is a Horcrux, he reminded himself, it contains one part of the Dark Lord's soul- Severus slammed the locket down on the table in front of him, and as soon as he had parted with that damnable thing, he was beginning to see clearer.
It manipulates us, he recognized the very moment Regulus laid hands on it; a greedy expression was clouding his aristocratic features.
-o-
Regulus picked up the locket and observed it in fascination. So this was Salazar Slytherin's heirloom... Mother and father would be so proud if I brought it home...
"Put it down." Snape hissed, but he was only envying him because he was just a lowly half-blood; he would never understand what it meant to be related to one of the oldest and purest families of the wizarding world-
The Dark Lord is just a half-blood.
Regulus dismissed the ugly little voice in his head. The Dark Lord was the heir of Slytherin. He had the power to create Horcruxes; he was going to rule the wizarding world- and he, Regulus Black, would have his share in that. It would bring new reputation to his family since he was about to become a hot shot in the ranks of the fraternity; he would make it to a high position within the Ministry of Magic, and mayhap he would even become the youngest Minister of Magic ever. Then he could pardon his brother for allying with the enemy, the disbelievers of Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix...
"Put it down," Snape repeated and this time the tone of his voice sounded much sharper than before; it snapped Regulus out of his train of thoughts.
"No! I won't give it to you." He replied defensively, clutching the locket so tightly in his hand that his palm hurt.
Perhaps it was the pain that made him realize he was acting like a berk, but the moment he put down the locket (still being on his guard against Snape) his own reaction startled him.
"Dear Merlin- did you feel that too?" He gasped.
"What precisely are you prattling about now?"
"The Horcrux, Snape. It's... it's evil."
"Obviously. After all, it contains one part of the Dark Lord's soul."
"I know. I just... well, I didn't expect it to be like that. It's just an object and yet it feels... alive."
"Alive?" Snape arched a sophisticated brow at him.
"Come on, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't tell me it didn't promise your wildest dreams to come true."
"No." Severus lied.
That moment, Raven entered the room.
-o-
"You alright, boys?" She asked in a cheerful tone as she loaded the table in front of them with paper bags emitting a delicious smell. Although Kreacher had volunteered to cook a meal so that is dear Master Regulus would regain his strength, she had insisted on making a quick stop-over at her favourite Chinese take-away.
The two young wizards glanced at her, then at each other as they wordlessly agreed about an unasked question. Severus nodded at Regulus, leaving it to him to broach the matter to her and- as expected- Black didn't hesitate to go like a bull at a gate. In that aspect, he was just like his obnoxious brother, albeit less annoying.
"We want you to take it," Regulus said as he fingered for the Horcrux, so carelessly buried under paper bags of Chinese food.
She frowned when he pushed it in her direction. "Why? I have no need for a piece of Lord V's soul."
"Exactly," Severus agreed, "and that's why we want you to be its keeper."
"Because you're the purest of us," Regulus added, which made Raven laugh out loud.
"I beg your pardon? Me and pure? Have you forgotten that I'm the one earning my money with table dance, presenting myself half naked in front of a lewd audience?"
"I didn't mean that kind of pure- at least not as in pure like a virgin."
"Thank Merlin," she deadpanned. "So what is your interpretation of the word?"
"I guess what our young friend here meant to insinuate is that you are less likely to be corrupted by the tempting powers of the Dark Lord's evil mind," Severus interjected.
"Oh," she smiled at him. It wasn't precisely what a girl wanted to hear from the boy she was in love with, but it came quite close to a compliment if she was ever to receive one. "Well... um, tuck in now. We still need to discuss what to do with the Horcrux."
Kreacher peeped up from beneath the table where he was lurking, always ready to defend his dear Master Regulus. Suspiciously, he eyed the food Raven had provided them with, taking a good sniff at the exotic scents that make his nose wrinkle is dismay.
"You not wants to eat that, Master Regulus? This is no good wizarding food- no, no. It smells of... Muggles." The house-elf sneezed to underline his dislike.
"I can assure you, dear Kreacher, that no Muggles was made mincemeat of to prepare our dinner- it's just the usual chicken, beef, pork and prawns combined with stir fried vegetables."
Kreacher didn't reply to that; he cast a desperate glance at Regulus and disappeared under the table once again. Nevertheless, he kept on watching his dear master as he was eating the disgusting Muggle food with gusto.
-o-
This was probably the best food Regulus had ever tasted. It was new, exotic and wonderful, and it seemed to open yet another door to the Muggle world for him.
He had been so very wrong about them. They weren't helpless and hopeless fools only because they couldn't do magic; instead, they had developed a magic of their own, which ran by exotic names such as television, electricity, motorcycles and lava lamps. Raven's place was so full of all those weird things that kept him watching, kept him being astonished.
And he realized that he actually liked this new world. Television was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen. The remote control was a lot of fun- all you had to do was to press a button and the picture on the screen would change.
He saw things he hadn't believed possible.
The world was a wonderful place, so full of exciting new influences. It would be a shame to get rid of them simply because they weren't of magic origin.
But that was what the Dark Lord wanted. He wanted to rid the world of all things Muggle, and he would stop at noting to achieve his aim. Regulus knew already that he excelled at torturing people and he didn't want to be part of it any longer.
But what to do about it?
It had been a foolish idea to believe it might actually change a bloody thing to retrieve the locket from the cave. As far as he was aware of it, they had just burdened themselves with an almost impossible quest. How were they to destroy the locket, the Horcrux? Information about Horcruxes was scarce, even though they were mentioned in shady literature. But there was no guide on how to destroy one.
-o-
Raven put down her chopsticks, feeling pleasantly stuffed with Chinese food. She sat back and lit a cigarette while reaching for her wine glass. After having taken a sip, she addressed the boys with what has been on her mind ever since they had returned from the cave.
"I take it we still don't know how to destroy that bloody thing?" She pointed at the Horcrux but refrained from touching it; it really seemed to emit a cloud of pure evil she sought to avoid if possible.
"You're damned right. I fear the only wizard who might know how to destroy it is Dumbledore." Regulus replied frustrated since he could almost hear Sirius mocking him, teasing him for being such a daft little idiot. Well, he knew that; there was no need for his dear brother to not let him hear the end of it.
"Ah, don't give Dumbledore too much credit. Yeah, he is famous for defying Gellert Grindelwald, one of the darkest wizards of our time, but he is so not the knight in shining armour everybody is seeing in him. I simply don't trust him."
"But Dumbledore is the only one the Dark Lord ever feared- what are we to do if we cannot trust him? How are we to destroy the Horcrux?"
"By putting our trust in someone who isn't as prejudiced as Dumbledore when it comes to Slytherins."
"And who may that be?" Regulus wondered aloud.
Raven exchanged a brief glance with Severus before she smiled and said, "Well, Professor Steel, of course."
Thanks to Alabaster Princess and hypnotic ink