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-- HEADQUARTERS OF THE ORDER OF PHOENIX 

"Are you sure it's a good idea to split up like this?" Carina asked anxiously. 

They'd gone over the plan numerous times in the last month. What started off as a dangerous little secret among the six of them had become a monster of a burden. The first week was just research and surveillance. Carina read and learned more about horcruxes than she'd ever wanted to, through all of which Dumbledore smiled patiently and reminded her he would trust no one else for the job. Carina had to roll her eyes at that. Dumbledore was intelligent and powerful, but there were many brilliant members in the Order. She couldn't say she particularly liked his leadership style, especially when he expected to pay her a sincere compliment and for her to fall in line like the good soldier. But that's essentially what they were- soldiers. 

Dobby had taken Moody, the Prewetts, and Regulus back to the cave. From their trip, they were able to confirm some helpful things. While warded, there were no alarms around the cave to trip. It also became clear that the desolate spot among the jagged cliffs was the perfect place to destroy the locket. While she couldn't think of any way to get her hands on Basilisk venom, Fiendfyre was a plausible alternative, no matter how dangerous it may be. 

Then they began strategizing. They had no idea if Voldemort would be able to feel the destruction of the horcrux. Through Carina's own calculations, they determined it would be best to divert his attention during their mission to extract and destroy his horcrux. And so their initial team broke into two separate ones. 

Moody took on the task of organizing a tactical attack set to be executed at the same time as their extraction mission. Their part of the plan drew in the rest of the aurors and order members, who'd all been fed the cover that it was just a standard attack planned with good intel. It wasn't entirely a lie. Regulus had shared that the Greengrass family would be hosting a private gathering full of Death Eaters and sympathizers where much of the monetary funding for the Dark Lord was generated. 

Dumbledore had scheduled a meeting with the Minister of Magic for that exact time to create plausible deniability. Despite the Order being a secret society, there was much speculation behind Dumbledore's movements among those in the ministry who were afraid he'd make a grab for power. 

This left the matter of the actual extraction itself. Regulus insisted Carina be there because he was still hard-pressed to fully trust anyone but her. He'd recently been sworn into the Order as an official spy. Dumbledore and Moody had insisted that if we were making himself vulnerable by helping destroy a piece of Voldemort's soul, becoming an official spy wasn't any more dangerous. Carina had balked, knowing how important it was to Regulus that he has minimal involvement. He'd wanted to help with this one thing and then disappear. But the Prewetts had softly reassured her that this was for Regulus's own good. Being an official spy meant protective charms to make sure he couldn't betray sensitive knowledge unintentionally. It meant training, and more importantly, it meant purpose. But Regulus was still relatively new to it all, and thus, still distrustful that he wouldn't just be used as a scapegoat.  

Being the vigilant creature he was, Moody said he didn't have enough confidence in Carina's combat skills to allow her to go alone. Ultimately it was the Prewetts who solved the dilemma. Fabian would assist Moody with the tactical mission because, despite being a smokescreen, it was rather high-risk. Gideon would accompany Regulus and Carina to the caves, and Kreacher would take them there. 

"You're asking now?" Gideon huffed half in amusement and half in concern. "Aren't you the one who calculated all the projected outcomes?" 

"I am," Carina agreed sheepishly. "But there are so many moving parts, anything could go wrong. 

"All the more incentive to make sure it doesn't go wrong," Moody said firmly.    

"Everyone knows what they're doing?" Carina asked one more time. 

When everyone nodded their agreement, she felt a calm sense of purpose wash over her. Moody opened his mouth one last time, at which point the Prewetts interrupted him with a stern "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" 

"See you on the other side," Carina said softly. 

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-- THE CAVE

"It requires a sacrifice of blood," Gideon offered as an explanation as he sliced a neat cut on his palm.  

"How archaic," Carina observed. The place gave her chills. 

As they stepped into the main cavern, the lake came into clear view. The knowledge that an army of inferi lay just under the calm surface was a thought that caused all of them discomfort. 

"The boat only holds one and a half magical beings," Regulus filled Carina. 

She knew this from the debriefings, but it didn't prepare her for the added tension from the wait it took for Kreacher to transport the boat back and forth from the island to the shore, ferrying each of them over. 

When they were finally all on the island of jagged rock, Regulus, Gideon, and she gathered around the center gauntlet. 

"Now we just need to drain the potion," Carina said. 

She tried vanishing it, but they'd already suspected that wouldn't work. They figured they'd be able to transfer the potion, one cup at a time, into a separate thermos. Surely Voldemort wouldn't have guarded against such a muggle solution. That was meant to be the genius of it. But when they tried to pour the first full cup of potion into the fortified thermos they'd brought, not a drop would spill from the cup. 

"Fuck," Gideon cursed lowly. 

"I guess that's why he made Kreacher test it the first time around," Regulus sighed defeatedly. 

"What are we going to do?" Carina asked urgently. "We have a time limit. We need to be done and out of here by the time they run the attack." 

"It's simple, isn't it?" Gideon asked, obviously. "Someone drinks it." 

"That potion left Kreacher violently ill for days!" Regulus argued hotly. 

"Didn't kill him, did it?" Gideon pointed out. 

"Kreacher is not taking that potion," Regulus argued. "Not again." 

"Merlin," Gideon rolled his eyes. "Of course not. He's our safe transport in and out of here. Think a little, would you?" 

"I can take it," Carina gulped, following his line of thought. "I'm just the strategist, and I'm only here to make sure you boys could get along. It won't matter if I'm out of my mind after the potion." 

"Absolutely not," Gideon argued. "You're the brains behind all our operations. You think we can afford to permanently damage your brain for one potion?" 

Carina tilted her head in confusion. That didn't quite make sense- they'd known Kreacher took the potion once and had no lasting effects. While she couldn't tell exactly which potion it was without further testing, all likelihood was that it alone wouldn't kill or permanently damage her. 

"But-" 

"Out of the question," Gideon said stubbornly. 

"Shite," Regulus muttered. "It's me, isn't it?"

After all, Gideon was the only one of them who could both cast fiendfyre and control it. He was needed intact for the last step of the mission. 

"Like I'd do that to a kid," Gideon rebuffed. 

Regulus glanced up in surprise. He hadn't expected that. Despite his wealth of information, the Order was still incredibly wary of him. And by all accounts, he was the logical scapegoat to take the potion.

"I'm of age-" Regulus began uncertainly. 

"Still in Hogwarts- doesn't matter." 

"Gideon, you can't," Carina insisted. "You have to destroy it after we get it out."

Gideon studied the full gauntlet carefully. "The kid can cast fiendfyre, can't he? If I'm not strong enough to do it myself, he'll do it." 

"This kid," Regulus grumbled, "can't control fiendfyre." 

"Look around you," Gideon said clinically. "It's all jagged rock. None of it will fuel fiendfyre. Even if you can't control it, all we need to do is get out before it consumes the cave. It'll die down on its own eventually." 

"Gideon..."

"It's decided." The deputy auror was firm. He looked up at them, holding their eyes meaningfully. "Make sure I drink every last drop." 

Carina thought this was a terrible idea. None of her calculations accounted for Gideon taking the potion. He was head of this mission- he should've been the last person taking this hit. It should be her taking the potion. 

"Why not just cast the fiendfyre now?" Carina asked desperately. "If we're okay with burning the  lot of it, we don't even need to get rid of the potion." 

"And risk that it might not be there?" Gideon asked her frankly. "You know better, Lennox. We have to get the locket, and you have to verify it's an actual horcrux before we destroy it." 

Carina sighed. She was out of arguments, and Gideon was already bringing the first cup full to his mouth. 

It was like her worst nightmare come to life. By the second cup full, he was already choking and gagging. He lost the will to keep forcing the potion down his own throat by the fourth cup. And she- she just couldn't force him. She couldn't. Carina watched with horror as Regulus picked up the cup when Gideon let it clatter to the floor. 

"Come on, Prewett, we're nearly there," he said guiltily, forcing a fifth cup down his throat. 

By the seventh cup, Gideon Prewett was begging. "Please, please, I don't want to." 

"Just one more," Regulus pleaded. 

"Please, make it stop." 

Regulus grimaced as he forced that last cup down the trembling auror's throat. Gideon collapsed to the floor weakly. Regulus struggled to get him to his feet. 

"The locket, Carina!" Regulus barked out. "Check it." 

Carina snapped out of her stupor, fumbling towards the empty basin. She picked up the golden locket at the bottom with shaky fingers. Immediately, a cold, slimy sensation poured over her. She knew it was evil even before she stopped to check for the devil in the details. But sure enough, they were there. The locket buzzed and ticked as if it were a life force of its own. They'd only know for sure if it fought back when they destroyed it. 

"We have it," Carina confirmed. 

"We need to get back to shore. Kreacher!" Regulus called. 

Getting back was the hard part. Carina insisted on sending Regulus back to shore first. She held on to the horcrux, knowing Moody would berate her for entrusting it to Regulus when she and Gideon would essentially be stranded on the island.

But Kreacher returned loyally with the boat. Carina insisted he take Gideon next. The poor man was barely coherent, and she couldn't trust him to wait on the island alone. Kreacher had taken the boat halfway back to shore when everything went tits up. Gideon's need for water grew too dire, and he leaned over the side of the boat to cup a handful of the lakewater to his mouth. Closer to the shore by now, Regulus had a clear view. 

"Prewett, NO!" 

Regulus and Carina watched in horror from opposite ends of the lake as bony, slimy hands shot out of the water and dragged the auror under. Kreacher, the poor soul, couldn't help in time and watched in distress. His magic didn't work inside the cave, and as such, he couldn't merely summon Master Prewett back to the boat. 

Carina thought quickly, going through all the scenarios in her mind's eye. Possibilities flying through her mind, each more likely than the next to end in failure. But the one failure she couldn't accept was Gideon dying here. She could not- would not- go back to Fabian and tell him she'd failed to protect his brother. 

"KREACHER!" Carina bellowed with a sonorous charm at her throat. "Bring the boat back." 

The little elf wasted no time in turning the boat around and rushing back towards Carina. He boarded her safely and continued back towards the shore. Carina could tell they were approaching where Gideon had been pulled under because she could see the swarming on inferi under the surface of the water. 

"Stop," she instructed Kreacher. 

The elf hesitantly brought the boat to a half over the spot. Carina stood shakily, ignoring the furious and panicked yells from Regulus. Raising her wand shakily, she shot a ball of fire into the lake, her blood-chilling when she saw the swarm of bodies clustering into a chaotic mess. But that the center of them, she could glimpse Gideon. 

Carina hated deep water. The mere sight of the scene before her made her want to vomit violently. 

But she thought of Gideon. Gideon, who in his classic Gryffindor chivalry, had not allowed her, Regulus, or even a house elf to take the potion which had gotten him into this mess. She was not meant for combat missions. She'd warned them time and time again. She wasn't put in Gryffindor because she charged recklessly forward. But she was no damn coward, and this would not be the time when her bravery failed her. Because as scary as the sight was before her, the thought of having Gideon's death on her hands was scarier. With that thought, she jumped off the boat, plunging into the depths of the murky water. 

The light from her lumos drew the attraction of the inferi, who swarmed her. The sensation of bodies pressing against her made her panic, and yet she could not scream. Never before had she been so thankful that she'd mastered non-verbal magic. She pushed through the swarm by conjuring fire, which was hard enough to do underwater, much less non-verbally underwater. When she finally reached Gideon, she stopped casting fire just long enough to put him under a bubblehead charm. Thank god for small things because they'd both be dead without it. But now, they were trapped at the bottom of the lake with a wall of inferi guarding against their emergence. And she couldn't check Gideon until they reached land. 

Soon enough, her fire wasn't enough to keep the sheer number of inferi away. She could feel her magic dwindling and tiring as they almost broke the surface of the water. She knew it was a memory that would likely haunt her for years to come- the aching of her muscles as she pushed their bodies towards the surface, the onslaught of inferi, the heat of the fire, and the sight of the surface of the water always just a few feet too far. 

She felt her bubblehead charm break and panic flooded her as she now had to hold her breath. Luckily, they break to the surface within seconds. But her magic was weakened, and she could barely maintain the minimal fire that was holding the inferi back. Even then, numerous inferi had overrun her fire with their sheer numbers and began clawing at her heels. She could barely manage to keep her and Gideon's head above water until the inferi began trying to pull her under. 

Carina looked for the boat only to find the inferi had overrun it too. Kreacher had managed to swim to the shore as the inferi were occupied with Carina and Gideon, and was standing beside Regulus. Carina realized defeatedly that she'd left the horcrux on the boat, so it was likely now under the pile of inferi mindlessly clambering about the boat or at the bottom of the lake. She looked to the shore, meeting Regulus's helpless eyes. 

They had one chance left, and it was a bit of a hail mary. But it would either work, or Carina and Gideon would die. Giving up on the weakening barrier of fire, she reverted all her remaining energy into a sonorous charm. 

"Regulus! Cast the fiendfyre!" 

She could see the reluctance and hesitation in his face, but it was the only option. The fiendfyre would more effectively hold the inferi back and eventually take care of the horcrux. She'd have to swim with every ounce of energy left to make sure she and Gideon escaped from the flames, and it was very likely they'd still die because she was just so tired. But if he didn't cast it, they'd most certainly die. 

"NOW!"      

He looked absolutely stricken, but he cast it nonetheless.

The sight of the frightening eagle of fire swooping down on the surface of the lake brought her nothing but relief. She let herself sink just under the surface of the water as the fire set everything above aflame. Holding her breath, she realized Gideon could not do so. Gathering the very last of her energy, she recast a bubblehead charm on him and began pushing towards the shore. Surprisingly enough, the swarm of inferi trying to escape the fire helped propel her towards the shore. But she'd never forget the chilling sensation of their bodies brushing up against her. Her lungs burned, and her muscles ached. But she had to reach the shore. 

Her legs fluttered endlessly, pushing and pushing until she felt hands dive into the water and pull her up. Regulus fished them out of the water, nearly crying with relief. She coughed violently as her lungs screamed for fresh air. Yet, the burning smoke was thick in the air and provided little relief to her lungs. Regulus had just pulled Gideon out of the water when a loud boom echoed from the lake. Carina and Regulus looked up in fear as the explosive movement forced a large wave of water towards them, steadily building and ready to crash like a tsunami. A plume of fiendfyre grew behind the wave, expanding and rushing outwards rapidly. 

"Shit, shit, shit," Regulus muttered, dragging Gideon's body towards the entrance of the cave. "Kreacher can't apparate us until we get over the threshold of that entrance." 

Carina quickly grabbed Gideon's other arm, helping drag him as quickly as they could. They'd barely passed over the threshold as the water crested onto the shore, and the fiendfyre flattened the wave. 

Carina would feel the splash of the water and lick of heat on her skin just as Kreacher apparated them all.  

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Author's Note: 

Anyone who follows my other works knows I've been publishing nearly every day lately. It's been a sudden surge of inspiration and motivation to continue my writing, but I'm not questioning it. 

Hope you guys enjoyed the update!