章 261: 0260 The Cave (Part-1)
It was around eleven o'clock at night, and a bright moon hung in the southwest sky, casting a cold radiance that illuminated the barren landscape. There was not a single cloud in the night sky, and countless stars were embedded in the unfathomable darkness, their light faint and distant.
The temperature was very low, and the waves near the shore were mixed with numerous broken ice blocks that glittered like shards of glass. They crashed against the reefs with a deafening roar, making a sound like thousands of horses galloping on the ground.
Puff!
Bryan, who had changed into a wizard's robe, suddenly appeared behind Sirius, startling him. He was standing on the edge of a high black rock, carefully looking down at the sea below. His eyes reflected the moonlight, and his face was tense and alert.
"Is this the place?"
Bryan looked around cautiously, and saw that behind them was a cliff, with a steep rock wall falling straight down. It was so dark that they could not see its face, only the outline of its jagged edges. And on the shore below, there were many smooth black rocks shaped like goose eggs, piled up like a graveyard of stones. There was no grass or sand, only desolation and gloom.
"How did Voldemort find this place?" After finishing his observation, Remus asked in confusion, "There is nothing here related to magic. I don't understand how Voldemort found this place."
"Maybe Dumbledore can answer your question."
Bryan said with a hint, and looked at the cliff on his right. His eyes suddenly narrowed, as if he had noticed something. He raised his wand and pointed it at a spot on the rock wall, where a faint trace of magic was hidden.
"Where is Regulus, Kreacher?"
Sirius did not care why Voldemort would hide the seemingly important locket in this desolate coast. He only wanted to find his brother's body as soon as possible.
"There is a crack in the cliff over there, master!"
Kreacher pointed at the steep rock wall and said, "Kreacher can go in by himself, but he can't take master Sirius and Wolf-Master Remus with him. Kreacher can't break the magic there!"
"Bryan, you found something, didn't you?"
Remus noticed Bryan's strangeness. He followed his gaze and saw the faint glow of his wand tip.
"The magic flow in that place is unnatural."
Bryan simply said, and then he also came to the edge of the black rock where they stood. His gaze followed the many uneven cracks below the rock that could be used as footholds, until he pointed at the surface layer of ice slag, and the undercurrents below the sea.
"We are not very lucky. The tide is high now. We may have to swim a long distance to get in."
Bryan said calmly.
"Then let's do it!" Sirius said immediately, "My animagus form is good at swimming. That's how I swam back to the mainland from the isolated island where Azkaban is located."
As he spoke, a black light flashed, and Sirius's body became soft like dough. After a twist, the bear-sized black dog appeared in front of them again.
"Then–"
Bryan pointed his wand at Kreacher, "I put a positioning mark on you. You apparate to the cave first, and I will swim in with Remus and Sirius."
After some preparation, they finally followed the footholds on the edge of the rock and stood in the icy cold sea water. The water soaked their clothes and skin, and made them shiver uncontrollably.
The raging sea breeze that came head-on carried a pungent smell of salt and seaweed, which made them nauseous. And the irregularly shaped, sharp-edged ice blocks in the sea water also kept hitting their calves, cutting and bruising them. In such an environment, diving into the sea was indeed a very dangerous thing.
Bryan's wand tip emitted a white light, which was like the guiding light from the lighthouse on the shore, warm and reassuring. He held it in front of him, and plunged into the dark water.
"I'll lead the way, Remus follows me, and Sirius covers the rear."
Bryan's voice without any waves made them feel very calm in the night that seemed to swallow everyone. Whether it was Remus or Sirius, they naturally regarded Bryan as the operating commander, and followed his orders.
The undercurrents under the sea were more complex than they had imagined. The cold water rushed from all directions and hit the 'adventure team'. There seemed to be a strong suction force in the depths of the sea, like a bottomless vortex, wanting to drag everyone into the abyss. They had to struggle against the water pressure and the lack of oxygen, and hope that they would reach the cave before it was too late.
Bryan bit the glowing wand in his mouth, and he cast a bubble-head charm on himself and Remus and Sirius, so that they didn't have to worry about breathing. He felt a warm bubble of air form around his head, and he dived into the cold water.
But the sea water was too cold. It felt like needles piercing his skin, and he shivered uncontrollably. After a while, Remus, who was pale as a ghost, suddenly struggled. He clutched his right leg with a painful expression, and his body fell weakly to the bottom of the sea. He had been bitten by a vicious sea creature, and blood was oozing from his wound. But fortunately, Sirius noticed his condition. He bit Remus's collar with his mouth, and swam forward desperately with the standard dog paddle. His black fur was soaked and heavy, and his eyes were full of worry.
Soon, the crack they dived into became a dark tunnel. When the tide was low, people should be able to walk here, but now, the tunnel was completely submerged in the sea water. The water was murky and full of debris, and they could barely see anything. They had to rely on Bryan's wand light to guide them.
The tunnel was very narrow, and the muddy rock walls on both sides were only three feet apart. Under such space constraints, Bryan could no longer swim forward. He used his numb fingers to push against the rough rocks, and supported himself to walk through the last distance. He felt the water pressure increase, and his ears popped painfully.
Splash!
Twenty minutes later, Bryan finally got out of the water, and stood up from the remaining few steps. He shook his head to get rid of the water droplets, and took a deep breath. And Kreacher, who was standing in the cave twenty feet away, finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Bryan's head. He had been waiting anxiously, fearing that something bad had happened to them.
"I almost thought I would die in the sea–"
Remus crawled up the rock platform with his limbs, and leaned against the rock wall, gasping for breath. He looked pale and weak, and his leg was still bleeding. And Sirius also returned to his human form, bending his waist and holding his knees, panting heavily. It seemed that they were both exhausted. They had never experienced such a difficult journey before.
Bryan had entered the state of exploring the secret realm. He left the two somewhat weak middle-aged men behind, and stood in the center of the cave, looking at the rock walls and the high dome with the light from his wand.
Kreacher was already anxious, but he didn't dare to disturb Bryan, who was observing the situation. He could only worry by himself.
"Oh, interesting–"
Suddenly, Bryan's gaze pointed to a wall, and he walked over quickly, touching the rough rock wall with his fingers. His light purple eyes turned dark, and a vortex appeared in his pupils.
"What's going on, Bryan?"
Sirius and Remus helped each other and walked over. They looked at the rock wall and were confused. They couldn't see anything unusual, just a plain and solid wall.
"This is the front hall, and this wall is not a natural barrier, but magic–"
Bryan's interested expression made Remus puzzled, "This is just a normal rock wall, isn't it? I can't see anything special."
Effort can help you overcome some obstacles, but on the road of magic, only those with extraordinary talents can reach the higher levels. Bryan ignored Remus's question, because the scenery on that level could not be explained by words. He was seeing something that ordinary wizards could not see.
In Bryan's vision, the core of the black rock wall was intertwined with countless indistinguishable magic pattern circuits, which formed a magic that connected the space magic power. It could continuously replenish itself with magic power, and only by using the correct method could the rock wall be opened. Using violence was not impossible, but the premise was that you had the ability to move the entire cliff.
"Voldemort probably borrowed some of his ancestor's ideas–"
After a long time, Bryan stepped back a few steps and smiled, "But he also added some of his own style."
"What do you mean, Bryan," Sirius, who couldn't understand anything, said annoyedly, "How on earth are we going to get through this wall?"
"If I'm not wrong," Bryan looked at Kreacher and said with certainty, "We probably need to pay a price, right? I think it's. blood?"
Kreacher had been here twice with the Dark Lord and Regulus, and he knew how to get through the wall. But Bryan saw it by himself without any hint, which made Kreacher very shocked.
"As you said, Mr. Watson–" Kreacher bowed and said respectfully, and then he told the three people what he knew.
As expected, Sirius offered his own blood, and when the glowing door appeared in front of them, Remus, who was healing Sirius, said with disgust,
"I don't understand, why did he set up such a mechanism?"
Remus asked, his voice full of bewilderment and frustration. He couldn't comprehend Voldemort's twisted logic and cruel methods.
"We can only guess–"
Bryan leaned back with his hands behind his back, and looked at the edge of the glowing door with interest. He was fascinated by the ingenious design and the complex magic involved. In the invisible magic world, the life force and magic power from the blood were maintaining the light door, but as the power was consumed, the door outline had already shown a slight contraction, like a dying flame.
"Voldemort probably wanted to weaken the wizards who came here."
Seeing that Remus's confusion did not disappear, Bryan continued, "If there were more than one wizard here, then this door would have limited meaning. It would only serve as a warning and a deterrent. Of course, I don't think Voldemort would allow a bunch of people to approach his hidden and protected dark magic items, so, behind this door, there are probably some other means–"
Bryan led the way, followed by two people and a house elf, and passed through the door. In an instant, the environment changed, and a very strange scene appeared in front of them.
Although they had heard Kreacher's description before, the real scene they saw with their own eyes was more shocking than words.
They stood on the shore of a large black lake, which was vast and boundless, and they couldn't even see the opposite shore. The water was so dark that it seemed to absorb all the light, and they couldn't tell how deep it was. They could imagine that there was an underground river connected to the sea at the bottom of the lake.
This was a huge hollow space inside the mountain. The cave was so high that even Bryan's wand, which shone brightly, could not illuminate the top. It was like a dome that covered the whole lake, and they wondered how it was formed and supported. There were no stalactites or stalagmites, no signs of life or vegetation, only rocks and shadows.
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章 262: 0261 The Cave (Part-2)
This was a huge hollow space inside the mountain. The cave was so high that even Bryan's wand, which shone brightly, could not illuminate the top. It was like a dome that covered the whole lake, and they wondered how it was formed and supported. There were no stalactites or stalagmites, no signs of life or vegetation, only rocks and shadows.
From afar, a faint and greenish light flickered in the center of the lake, reflecting on the still and silent water below. It was like a will-o'-the-wisp, luring them to their doom. Apart from that light and the brilliance of Bryan's wand, there was nothing but thick and heavy darkness all around, a darkness that seemed denser and more oppressive than normal, making one feel hopeless just by looking at it.
Kreacher curled up in fear, hiding behind Sirius's legs. He remembered the terrible things that had happened here, and he shivered uncontrollably. Sirius and Remus were also awed by this miraculous sight, unable to utter a word.
'Anti-Apparition, anti-flying, anti-summoning, magic sealing, curse' - Bryan narrowed his eyes, gazing at the space above the lake, where countless types of powerful magic were swirling, his face slightly grim. He could sense the hostile and malicious intent of the magic, and he knew that it was designed to prevent anyone from reaching the island in the middle of the lake without following the 'rules'. It was a formidable and ingenious defense, worthy of Voldemort's cunning and paranoia.
Such a huge magic project was not done in a day.
He could imagine how much effort Voldemort had put into protecting his Horcrux.
And when Bryan looked at the smooth and black surface of the lake, he squinted his eyes, a hint of murderous aura emanating from his whole body.
It was Inferi!
Inferi were not something to be afraid of, even he himself had used them to teach young wizards, but…
Just by looking at a small area, Bryan could 'see' hundreds of Inferi, and judging by their clothes, they were all Muggles, and among these Muggles, there were men, women, old people, children, and even, Bryan saw a swollen baby who looked only one or two years old!
By extrapolating to the whole lake, there must be thousands or even tens of thousands of Muggles buried in the water, and turned into Inferi by magic!
Massacre, only a ruthless and inhuman massacre could produce such a number of Inferi, and the Wizarding world had no record or report of this brutal and extreme slaughter, perhaps because it was too horrible, and once it was exposed, it would be condemned by the whole world, and even the Wizarding world would be shaken, so the Ministry of Magic and the Muggle government chose to conceal it.
"What's wrong with you?"
Remus and Sirius asked in unison.
They were not just students who had just graduated from Hogwarts, but experienced adult wizards, and they could sense the thick and indelible murderous aura that surrounded Bryan, who was staring at the black lake. This aura was so cold that it made them both feel a vague urge to turn and run.
"Nothing–"
Bryan breathed lightly, suppressing his emotions. He knew that he had to calm down, and focus on the task at hand.
"Kreacher, Regulus back then-"
Sirius thought of his brother, and quickly stopped dwelling on Bryan's strangeness. He lowered his head and looked at Kreacher at his feet, his voice nasal, mixed with a trace of irrepressible sadness, as if he had a lump in his throat.
"Back then, where was he?"
"There is an island in the middle of the lake, Master Sirius–"
Kreacher sobbed, he did not dare to face Regulus's death, he covered his gray eyes with his long fingers and pointed in the direction of the green light, his voice trembling and hoarse.
"Kreacher was there at that time, he saw Master Regulus being dragged under the water by those corpse's hands. Kreacher tried to save him, but he couldn't. He left him alone, he betrayed him. Kreacher is a bad elf, a bad elf!"
Hearing Kreacher's words, Sirius felt a surge of grief and guilt, and he immediately rushed forward, as if he wanted to slide down the shore and swim over like before.
"Wait, Sirius!"
Remus grabbed his arm, and held him back with all his strength.
"Did you forget what Kreacher said, there are Inferi in this lake, and maybe a lot of them! You can't just jump in, you'll be killed!"
"Let me go, Remus!" Sirius shouted, his eyes red and wild. "I have to find Regulus, those Inferi can't stop me!!"
Remus wanted to persuade him more, but Bryan said calmly.
"If he wants to die, why bother stopping him?"
Bryan's words made Sirius quiet down, and he stopped trying to jump into the lake.
"Do you still remember the location of the boat, Kreacher?"
Seeing Sirius calm down, Bryan turned his attention to Kreacher. He ignored Sirius's glare, and focused on the task at hand.
"Kreacher remembers it's over there, Mr. Watson."
For so many years, Kreacher had been secretly trying to destroy the locket, and every time he failed, he would evoke the scene of Regulus's death that he did not want to remember. Hearing the question, he jumped out from Sirius's side, leaned his body against the rock wall, and led them to the right.
A few minutes later, they stopped at another place, but there was nothing there.
"Kreacher forgot the exact location of the boat."
Kreacher said with a trembling voice, he banged his head against the rock wall, as a way to punish himself.
Remus stopped his self-harm, and when he was about to ask Bryan, he saw Bryan passing by Kreacher, walking quickly forward, and finally stopping thirty feet away from them.
"I think I found it."
Bryan reached out his hand from the narrow rock passage, grabbed something, and then tapped his fist with his wand in his other hand.
Immediately, a thick green copper chain suddenly emerged from the water, quickly extending to the shore, all the way to Bryan's clenched fist. Seeing this, Bryan pulled his left hand back hard, and the copper chain suddenly ran wild, making a loud noise, and quickly pulled a small boat from the bottom of the lake. The boat was old and rusty, and it looked like it had been there for a long time.
"If I didn't know the situation beforehand, Bryan," Remus hurried over, staring at Bryan's expressionless face, and said in a strange voice,
"I might think you've been here many times before."
"How did you find it?" Sirius also expressed his curiosity.
"Where there is magic, the concentration of magic there is different from the surrounding environment, as long as the wizard has a slightly better perception, he should be able to find clues–"
Bryan looked at the boat leaning on the shore, which could only carry two people at most, and his face was thoughtful.
"This is probably Voldemort's obstacle to prevent too many wizards from approaching the locket."
He said, and he deduced the possible mechanism and purpose of the boat.
"Why, can't we make this boat run more trips?"
Sirius wondered. He thought that they could just take turns to go to the island, and he didn't see the problem.
"I think this boat will not return automatically once it reaches the island, unless it senses that the person who went ashore has died and, hmm, magic measurement. I see, it's not about weight, but magic–"
Bryan muttered to himself, and no one could understand him. Remus and Sirius gave up thinking, and they waited eagerly for him to say what to do next.
Bryan did not hesitate, he took a step forward, and jumped neatly into the center of the boat, and as he landed in the cabin, the boat sank heavily, and the waterline rose by five or six inches, and the boat shook violently, looking like it would capsize at any time.
"Come back, Bryan!"
The two people on the shore shouted in unison, their voices full of panic and worry. They reached out their hands to fish for Bryan, who was standing in the middle of the cabin, balancing himself with difficulty. They wanted to pull him back to the shore, because they knew what would happen if he fell into the water.
But after the shaking, the boat finally stabilized, and nothing happened. It seemed that the boat could still hold Bryan.
Bryan observed the edge of the boat, and he saw that there was only about an inch left, and the water would overflow and flood the cabin. He looked at Sirius and Remus on the shore, and roughly estimated, and he had an idea.
"Kreacher can apparate to the middle of the lake, you two come on, it won't be too much trouble."
He sounded confident and reassuring, but in fact, there were still problems.
Sirius and Remus were both normal-sized adult wizards, and although their magic would not put too much burden on the boat, their size was indeed a big problem for the small cabin. The boat was barely big enough for one person, let alone two.
Bryan went through some trouble, and he used his wand to cast a spell on Sirius and turned him into Tom. He handed Tom to Remus, and told him to hug him tightly. Remus nodded, and he stepped on the boat, holding Tom in his arms. He felt the boat sink by half an inch, and he held his breath, hoping that it wouldn't sink any further. The boat shook for a while, as if it was protesting the extra weight, but then it regained its calm.
"Let's go–"
With Bryan's calm voice, the boat buzzed and trembled, gently accelerating from a standstill, and slowly heading towards the island in the lake. It cut through the dark and still water, leaving a faint trail behind it.
The boat glided on the lake, surrounded by silence, except for the soft rustling sound of the bow cutting through the water. The boat moved on its own, without any need for them to steer, as if an invisible rope was pulling it towards the green light in the center of the lake. The light seemed to beckon them, like a siren's song, but they knew it was a trap. Before long, they could no longer see the cave wall behind them, as if they were floating on the sea, only without any waves. The air was cold and damp, and they felt a chill in their bones.
The boat was not fast, and that gave the passengers enough time to 'admire' the corpses that floated under the water. They were pale and bloated, their eyes wide open and staring. Some of them wore tattered robes, others were naked, but all of them bore the mark of death.
Bryan squinted his eyes, his cold and focused gaze fixed on the dead bodies that drifted past them, without saying a word.
Remus pressed his lips tightly, every breath felt like a struggle, and so did Sirius in his arms. Remus held him close, feeling his heartbeat and his warmth, the only signs of life in this place of death. At this moment, those dark and bloody years came back to their minds. They remembered the friends they had lost, the battles they had fought, the horrors they had witnessed.
No one would like the madness of death dancing and singing, and after a while, the people in the cabin looked away, hoping to reach the shore as soon as possible.
A few minutes later, the green light in the center of the lake became brighter, and the boat shook, as if it hit something and stopped.
Kreacher was squatting on the water, eagerly waiting for them to arrive. He looked like a frightened rabbit, but he was loyal to his masters.
Bryan did not waste any time, he jumped out of the cabin and walked forward a few steps, examining the island, while Remus also got off carefully with Sirius. They helped each other to stand, feeling the ground beneath their feet.
As Bryan had said, the ghostly boat did not return to the shore after they left, it just stayed there, waiting for them to return or die.
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