[Chapter Twenty] Down the Rabbit Hole
Lena rushed out of the front doors of Hogwarts, uncaring to how much noise she made beneath her invisibility cloak. Regulus took nearly twenty minutes to contact, but agreed to meet her.
She could risk this no further. The lack of information from Regulus himself was speculation enough, but Lena knew what she guarded for him. What he had stolen. A horocrux, from the Dark Lord himself. She couldn't allow him to destroy it. Unless the Dark Lord won the war, everyone would be killed along with it.
She waited deep within an underground tunnel for a long time before she heard the footsteps. She still had her cloak on, preparing for any other lurkers. Anyone intelligent could have followed her before, but now she was being careful, using spells to create false tracks.
"Lena."
It was Regulus.
The girl removed the cloak and rushed forward.
"Please, tell me, Regulus, that you do not plan to destroy this Horocrux."
The man looked around skeptically, as though somebody was watching them. "You know."
"You tricked me." The girl glared.
"Give me the locket, Yavari."
"You know I can't do that. You have found how to destroy it. And if I give it to you, you plan to kill me as well."
"No, of course not, I need you to help me destroy it. And, yes, you will be killed, but you will come back to life, I know your secret, Lena. What you wear around your neck. It's very similar to this one, is it not-"
"Enough, Regulus. I am not giving you the locket-"
"I was afraid you'd say that."
Her world went black.
When Lena awoke, her own locket still pressed against her chest. She ran her fingers across it. It almost felt soothing, but her fear clouded the feeling of wholeness. She ripped the leather strap from her neck and drew the locket from inside the pouch.
The girl's face sunk. The Dark Lord's horocrux was heavy in her hand. It felt devoid of its power, and she knew what she had done. A mistake she would die for.