High Blood Pressure

They entered the opening. In the glow made by magic, everyone found themselves standing on the shore of a great black lake. A strange sight lay before them. It did not match the size they had judged from outside; the whole cavern seemed to have been placed under an extremely advanced Undetectable Extension Charm. The lake was boundlessly wide, stretching as far as the eye could see, and the cave it belonged to was so high that even when they looked up, they could not see the ceiling. They walked along the lakeshore, their steps striking the rock with sharp echoes, breaking the oppressive silence in the darkness.

Allen, who had only taken a few steps forward, stopped as if he had sensed something unusual. He waved his arm, and the light from "Lumos" slowly flew toward the center of the lake, shining high above it. Everyone looked at that light.

"That's it," Allen said. The glow he knew lit up the center of the lake and hovered there, reflected in the deathly still water below. Aside from that glow and the light from two wands, everything around them was darkness so thick it seemed impossible to dissolve.

Sirius Black looked at the pitch-black lake and put away the half-playful mood he had had while messing around with Allen. He felt the aura of death coming from within and clenched his fists—his younger brother Regulus had been dragged into the lake by those Inferi. Now his only thought was to find Regulus and no longer let him soak in this cold water. Even if he had rotted down to white bones, Sirius would bring him home.

Sirius Black's gaze happened to meet that of Kreacher, the House-elf beside him. The two who loathed each other had the same thought at