CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE;

R.A.B.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Where's Harry?" Cassie dropped her book bag from her shoulder onto the floor and collapsed onto the couch next to Hermione. "I'm not missing a Quidditch practice, am I?"

"He's at a lesson with Professor Dumbledore," Hermione replied, flipping a page on her book and folding the corner to save her place. She frowned thoughtfully. "Well, it's been hours since he's gone... I wonder what's keeping him? Surely whatever Professor Dumbledore's showing him this time isn't this long?"

Cassie twisted her lips and glanced out the window. The sky was a misty, bleak grey; the sunset was barely visible behind the thick clouds. A chill shivered down Cassie's spine. The entire day had felt much too familiar for her liking – an eerie and dull feeling that had her constantly looking over her shoulder throughout her classes.

   "What d'you lot reckon's for dinner tonight?" Ron bent over the back of the couch and pat Cassie on the shoulder, looking between the two girls. Hermione returned her attention to her book, but Cassie narrowed her eyes as she stared at the fire.

"And besides, Harry's been offhanded ever since he found out where Malfoy's been disappearing to," Cassie continued, blissfully ignoring Ron. "But Harry can't be dealing with that, 'cause he's just put Malfoy in the hospital wing..." The memory nearly brought a smirk to Cassie's face. Served him right. "I wonder if he's truly found out what it is Malfoy's up to..."

"You're sure you don't fancy Harry?" Ron twisted his face in an overdramatic manner. "He seems to be on your mind every bloody moment recently."

Cassie thumped him on the head in retaliation, but verbally disregarded him again. "Didn't he also say that Professor Dumbledore's been searching for Horcruxes? Sounds a bit draining, if you ask me."

"Oh, come off it," said Ron. "I'm sure their lesson is just taking longer than exp – Merlin, Cassie, are you alright?" he asked suddenly, as Cassie had slammed a hand to her forehead and let out a great gasp of pain. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

"Is it a vision?" Hermione asked, her voice hushed. Cassie nodded as best she could, for her voice had failed her. "Do you know how long we have?"

"Minutes," Cassie replied. "Maybe seconds."

"And there's nothing Ron and I can do to help?"

"No." Cassie looked to the pair of them reproachfully. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine how unsettling it is to watch–"

"Oi, don't apologize to us!" Ron argued. "You're the one experiencing it!"

Cassie gave him a gracious smile before her mind gave a final pang of ache, dragging her into the vision. It was a damp cave, the walls made of some sort of black mineral and the floor much too deep in the water to make out. Cassie stood on an island in the center of the cave, a basin of clear liquid at the edge. She made toward it, but a crack! snapped her head to face behind her.

It was a boy, obviously no older than eighteen or nineteen, with a head of hair darker than the black walls of the cave. He had pale skin and a defined face. His hair was unkempt and hung in front of his eyes in black curls. At his side was a house-elf, whose face was familiar – minus the fact that it lacked the usual scowl of disdain – and Cassie let out a small gasp of recognition as Kreacher looked around the cave.

Her stomach rolled as Cassie realized a bone-chilling fact: If Kreacher was this boy's house-elf, then the boy was clearly apart of the House of Black – and therefore, related to Cassie. The question of 'who' was very quickly answered.

"Is Master Regulus ready?" Kreacher croaked, his voice eager yet. "Kreacher is awaiting Master's commands."

"Yes, Kreacher," the boy replied, his eyes locked on the basin Cassie stood next to. He took a step forward, but held out a hand to keep Kreacher from following. In his haste, Regulus's sleeve slid back and revealed the Dark Mark staining his skin. His lips twisted and he replaced his sleeve to cover the Mark. "Kreacher," Regulus said, "do not try to save me. Do not run for help. Do not try to stop me. And do not try to find a way through any of these commands."

Kreacher gave a begrudging bow of his head. "Yes, Master. Kreacher will do what Master pleases."

Regulus turned his head back to face the basin before him and reached in to take hold of the item settled at the bottom. He quickly withdrew his hand with a hiss of pain and shook off the injury, glaring at the clear liquid protecting the Horcrux.

"Kreacher," he said, "procure me a goblet from my home."

The house-elf did as he was instructed and held up the cup for Regulus to take. Cassie's uncle took the goblet and held it above the basin, hesitating for only a millisecond, before dipping the cup into the liquid and knocking it back into his mouth. He did this four times before it seemed to take effect; Regulus gave a gasp of pain and clutched the edges of the basin, very clearly in horrible agony, but Kreacher made no move to help. Regulus lifted the goblet to his lips again and gulped back another cup of the potion, wincing and groaning as he swallowed.

Cassie watched in transfixed horror as her uncle continued to neck down the potion. Obviously, it was causing him a great deal of pain, so why, Cassie thought, continue drinking it? Unless – and she stood on her tiptoes to get a view of what sat at the bottom of the basin – the liquid somehow obstructed him from reaching the Horcrux...

   Regulus continued to drink the potion from the bowl for a count of six more dips of his goblet. When it was emptied, on Regulus's tenth cup full, Cassie waited for something to happen. She watched in anticipation of what was to come, what sort of death this potion would cause her late uncle – but nothing came. The poison seemed to be just the right amount so that it would not cause a demise to its drinker..

"Kreacher," Regulus said, his voice strained as he clutched his stomach and fell to his knees, "take the– the locket. Take it, return home... The decoy.. Switch them. Now, Kreacher!" he added with a groan of pain, as the house-elf had restrained himself from following Regulus's orders. Kreacher winced greatly but finally did as he was told, reaching in the basin to remove the original locket and replace it with the one in his other hand. Cassie watched as Kreacher gazed up at his master with something like pain in his wide eyes.

"Go, Kreacher!"

The house-elf Disapparated with another crack! and left Regulus, now writhing in pain, on the dark island in the center of a seemly unending cavern. Regulus gave a great groan of pain and began to drag himself toward the edge of the island, reaching out with the hand that still held the goblet to fill it with water from the black lake. It worked for a moment.

And then, with a deafening hiss, a white and shriveled hand grabbed hold of Regulus's wrist and forced him to drop the goblet into the lake. He cried out and began to crawl away from the edge of the island, using his wand to blast away any rising creatures from the depths of the lake.

Cassie stood in the center of the island with him. The creatures looked familiar – Inferi, she remembered, from her lesson on them in Defense Against the Dark Arts. They dragged their wrinkly and pale bodies onto the island; straight through Cassie, who had been panicking as to whether or not they could see her. She exhaled a sigh of relief. A short one, as Regulus gave a yell as the Inferi began to grab at him again. He was much too surrounded now.

"No!" Cassie realized she was yelling now, reaching out to stop the creatures from taking Regulus. She knew that they could not hear her; it was merely a memory, and she did not truly exist, but she had to try. "No, stop! Fire, Regulus – use fire!"

He was down pulled to his knees. Cassie reached to grab his arm or shoulder, but there was a faint tugging sensation in her gut and she was returned back to her current reality without a warning.

   "Merlin, Cassie," Ron said, panic edged in his voice. "How bad was it? You were flinching... and muttering.."

   "As Ronald so delicately put it," Hermione scowled at him, then softened as she turned back to Cassie, "it looked rough. What happened?"

   Cassie swallowed, though her throat was still as dry as it had been when she first came back to her senses. "I saw.. my uncle," she answered.

   "The Death Eater?" Hermione hissed. Cassie nodded grimly.

   "Only, I don't quite think he was as bad as we thought."

   She lapsed into the story of how Regulus Black had betrayed Voldemort and stolen the real Horcrux, but she quickly cut herself off as a panicked thought reached her. "Harry – he's got to tell Dumbledore that one of the Horcruxes is a fake. Where is he?"

She stood, but Ron and Hermione shared a wide-eyed look and Cassie paused. "What is it?"

"Harry's just left," said Hermione. "While you were.. vision-ing, he came in. He.. He's just told us that Professor Dumbledore has found a Horcrux and that Harry needed to go. He gave us this," she held out a small vial of shimmery liquid – his Felix Felicis, "and said that we need to use it if necessary."

"He told us to tell the D.A. that we'd best patrol the corridors tonight because Professor Dumbledore's leaving the school," Ron added with a sincere nod. "Hermione just sent out a message on the bewitched Galleon."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Cassie stood again, and at once the thought of her uncle's hoax of a Horcrux left her mind, replace by a fire of determination now burning in her chest. She uncorked the stopper from the vial of Felix Felicis and knocked back a small swig, making sure to leave enough for Ron and Hermione. "Let's go protect our school, yeah?"