The Marauders: Year Five #Wattys2017

In the Cavern

In the Cavern

They apparated with a CRACK! onto the beach behind the Jenkin house. The sea was cold and steel blue-green and stretched away into the horizon 'til it disappeared. A horrible wind was whipping along the beach, blowing sand so that it stung their faces and embedded itself into their clothes. Regulus winced against it, shielding his eyes with his hand and James was thankful suddenly for his glasses, they afforded him some sort of protection from it.

Regulus shivered and said, "Kreacher, I'll call if I need you. Go home."

"Kreacher will return to Master Regulus the moment Master calls him!" Kreacher replied, and he disapparated with another CRACK!

Not for the first time, James found himself thinking how handy house elves were.

"Where's this cave?" Regulus asked, looking about.

James pointed off across the beach, "Down that way," he said, and they turned and ran along the beach, their feet digging into the sand and spraying it about behind them as they went. Everything was damp and cold from the weather. Snow clung on in spots, but had mostly been washed away by the tides. The grasses quivered and shook with the wind. "Bloody hell, it's frigid," he complained.

Regulus nodded, and he tried to remember if Maryrose had been dressed warmly last time he'd seen her, if she'd be okay in this kind of cold... He decided then and there that when he found her he would give her his sweater, even if it meant being freezing cold himself, because she'd definitely need it more than he would...

Beside him, James was thinking similar thoughts.

They reached the rocks of the jetty and James climbed up and turned to offer Regulus a hand up so the shorter boy could get up there easily. When Regulus was up, James said, "Carefully now, it's slippery."

"Alright," Regulus nodded.

James led the way, trying to be as careful as Maryrose had been when he'd followed her over these same stones. It seemed so much longer ago than just months since he'd followed along behind her over these rocks, yet also like just yesterday. He could hear her laughter in his ears as he did it, and he had a feeling if he closed his eyes he'd have been haunted by the image of her running and looking back over her shoulder at him, beckoning him on, eager to get on to their secret place, eager to kiss him... James remembered how he'd felt following after her and he marvelled at how lucky he'd been and wondered why he'd ever let a girl like that go.

Then they came to the stone that led down into the cave and James stopped and stood there on the rock, staring down at the black water within as it calmly licked the stone pathway below and he tried not to imagine there were faces and staring back at him. He pushed away the memory of that cold hand gripping his ankle and he turned to Regulus, "Alright, extra carefully now. And don't touch the water."

"Don't touch the water?" Regulus repeated the command, confused by it. "Why not?"

"I dunno, just... just don't." James had a funny feeling like maybe touching the water would make that inferius come and he didn't want to see that inferius again. He'd rather stay as quiet and inconspicuous as possible.

Regulus nodded. He could tell by James's tone that this was not a thing to discuss.

James sat on the edge of the big rock and slid down onto the pathway, then turned to see if Regulus needed his help, but Regulus was already sliding down behind him and they stared at one another for a moment before turning to look at the mouth of the cave, yawning there before them. Instinctively, they both reached for their wants at exactly the same time.