Black as Night (Sirius Black)

Follow You Down

Chapter Title from "Follow You Down" by Gin Blossoms.

Smut warning, last part of chapter. 🔥 This one has an interesting twist... 🍋 🪄

Only one or two more chapters to go in this book, then I will start Book Three! 😁
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Sirius was drained from their day testing Voldemort's defensive enchantments in a dark, eerie seaside mountain cave. Working off a lead from Dumbledore's memory involving a cave where Voldemort had tortured his fellow orphans many decades ago, they had finally stumbled upon the one matching Regulus's message beyond the veil. Its black rocks and icy sea mist caused Sirius to once again be haunted by memories of Azkaban, but he pressed on, motivated by the success of finding it after so many months of searching.

Sirius had spent the majority of the day as Padfoot, scoping out the naturally dangerous terrain, discovering the safest footholds, and helping Dumbledore remember how to avoid any pitfalls in the future. They then spent hours lost in a puzzle, searching for an entry point, trying to beat every defense. This is where Dumbledore truly shone, intuiting things with a keen sense Sirius couldn't begin to understand. They were a perfect pair— Dumbledore's mastermind with Sirius's strength, instinct, and dexterity to test it all. They had finally deduced that entering the cave would require blood sacrifice, and Sirius quickly offered up his own. But he was just as quick to warn Dumbledore that Harry's was not to be used when the time came. The boy had already given enough of his own blood to Lord Voldemort.

The two wizards had continued on, wary of the corpse-like figures Sirius had seen in the vision. They had quickly learned the hard way that touching the water activated their curse. Luckily it had been Padfoot that touched the water; this delayed the Inferi's response since they apparently weren't as sensitive to Animagi disturbance as they were that of mere humans. Padfoot had time to register their movements underwater and use his animal reflexes to dart back to safety. He and Dumbledore had tested various defenses against the Inferi that had risen up, learning that fire seemed to deter them best. They'd discovered an enchanted boat to cross the water, but they'd made the grave error of trying to board it as a pair, which nearly sent Sirius right back into the dreaded pool. But again his nimble, dancer-like reflexes saved him, just barely enabling him to scramble ashore to safety.

"Try it again as Padfoot," Dumbledore had instructed. That worked; apparently the enchantment was set for one wizard alone, designed to make the quest all the more difficult without the aid of another.

"How will you cross with Harry?" Sirius had inquired with concern.

"Carefully," Dumbledore had replied. "But I believe crossing with a child wizard will be similar to crossing with an Animagus— size wise. Or perhaps by definition of 'adult wizard.' It will take some cautious testing, but at least now we now know to be mindful. Thank you for helping Harry, Sirius. It's crucial that he complete this task on his own, to understand what he is up against. But you've made it safer for him." The elder wizard had studied his reaction critically, calculated in bestowing the praise he knew Sirius most wanted to hear.

As they had approached the basin containing the locket and therefore the site of his brother's death, Sirius felt the weight of it on his heart and felt tears well in his eyes. He didn't remember ever crying over a member of his family before. Sirius had dropped to his knees on the small rock island, closing his eyes and brushing his ring with his fingers. Dumbledore, silent, had laid a hand on Sirius's shoulder. After a moment of stillness and quiet, Sirius had come to his feet. He couldn't bear the thought of Harry meeting Regulus's fate.

"Let's do this now, Albus," Sirius had insisted. "There is no need to wait."

Before Dumbledore could argue, a tawny owl flew into the small space at the top of the cave at a speed Sirius had never witnessed before.