Passing through the archway, a strange and absurd sight appeared before them.
Not far behind was the raging, surging sea, but in front of them was a magnificent, black lake.
As far as the eye could see, the surroundings were completely swallowed by a desolate darkness. Even the distant shoreline was shrouded in shadow.
The cavern's ceiling was similarly endless, much like the enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. But being here only brought a feeling of suffocating oppression.
The ever-present darkness was as thick as the London smog. The gentle light from their wand tips couldn't pierce it as it did outside.
Only a faint, flickering green light from the center of the lake, reflected on the black surface, gave off an eerie glow.
"It's still Tom's work. He always hoped these little tricks would intimidate his opponents," Dumbledore said softly, then turned to the three students. "Stay close to me, and whatever you do, don't step in the water."
Just as they were about to walk along the lake's edge, the black-armored knights behind them stirred. The glowing red indicator lights came on, and they picked up the sacks Adam had given them.
The heavy metal boots made a thudding sound on the narrow, rocky shore. Small, glowing, sticky spheres were dropped, sticking firmly to the ground.
The small spheres were tossed out along the path as if they were free, creating a long, luminous trail of cold light through the darkness.
The older wizard and the young student faced each other again. This time, before Dumbledore could speak, Adam explained first.
"I didn't take any potion ingredients from Professor Snape's office, nor any herbs from Professor Sprout's greenhouses. I bought all of this myself."
He held up one of the small spheres, peeled back its gelatinous shell, and pointed to the thick fluorescent liquid inside. "Professor, as you know, Devil's Snare is a vine that grows in dark, damp places. It gives off a faint glow when it touches a light source or is stimulated by magic."
"The rest is phosphorescent rock powder, which has a natural glow and can shine brightly in the dark."
"I wasn't going to scold you," Dumbledore said, his expression a bit strange. "But you also added a bit of dried Mooncalf dung powder."
"Alchemists in the Middle East often added that powder to achieve a fluorescent effect, but I remember that book was in the Restricted Section, wasn't it?"
Adam turned away in embarrassment. "I couldn't help it. There were only about a dozen books on alchemy in the library…"
But Tina didn't have time to lecture Adam, because the black knights were walking straight into the cave wall.
The expected heavy crash never came. Instead, they mysteriously vanished.
"What was that? Is there some kind of Portkey or spell on the ground?" she asked with a serious expression.
Dumbledore adjusted his half-moon spectacles, his gaze fixed on the space behind the stone wall. He could still faintly see the cold light from the spheres behind it.
His eyes drooped, and he sighed with disappointment. "It's a Disillusionment Charm set up by Tom. He cleverly used the darkness, along with a Confounding Charm for wizards, to make anyone who walks along the shore lose their direction and walk in endless circles."
He paused, continuing his analysis. "He intended to trap intruders and force them to swim across the lake. If I'm not mistaken, there's something hidden beneath the water."
At this, Dumbledore's expression became particularly odd, as if he were trying to suppress some emotion. "But Tom probably never dreamed that the little fellow who came this time would bring so many light sources to illuminate the entire cavern. Not only are there many of them, but they're also natural light with only a faint magical signature, so they aren't affected by the spells that devour light…"
The others, however, weren't paying attention to what he said. The black knights were now sprinkling the spheres onto the lake's surface.
Like thousands of cold, glowing meteors, they fell into the lake without a splash. The ripples that appeared on the black surface vanished with astonishing speed.
As the small spheres slowly sank, an eerie silence fell. Sherry and Tina's faces went pale as they trembled, covering their mouths.
Just a few inches below the surface, a corpse was floating.
Its pale white face was frozen in a grotesque expression of terror and despair. Its arm was raised high, its fingertips only half an inch from the surface, as if in its last moments, it was desperately struggling for help.
As the cold light spheres continued to sink, a more horrifying scene was revealed.
Beneath the black water, at least a hundred corpses floated like ghosts. Their skeletal heads and arms were dimly visible in the darkness.
Their withered hands were all raised, and the unevenly positioned bodies filled the water, like a macabre underwater sculpture garden.
Among them were not only struggling men and women but also children held tightly by elderly people. Their young faces were etched with an undying fear, their time forever frozen in the darkest moment of their lives.
"Master Regulus…"
Kreacher was in tears. He ran to the shore, waving his hands in the air as if trying to find something invisible.
Dumbledore silently looked away. He came to the spot, observing it gravely. He held on tightly to a point in the air, then tapped his other fist with his wand.
In a flash, the bronze chains wrapped around the bodies on the lake floor rattled. Like a giant green snake, they shot out of the water and, as if alive, wrapped themselves around Dumbledore's aged hand.
The chain fell heavily to the ground with a muffled clanking sound. At its end was a glowing green boat, which ghosted past the floating corpses and appeared on the black lake's surface.
Just as Dumbledore was about to step onto the eerie boat, Kreacher rushed ahead of him and bowed, hitting his head on the ground. It was the countless time he had done so that night.
He repeatedly smashed his forehead against the hard ground, blood gushing from his ugly face and dripping down his long nose. His pleas were filled with desperate despair.
"Please… Lord Dumbledore… this is the only thing old Kreacher can do for Master Regulus…"
Perhaps this was why Kreacher had gone mad—not because of the mad, raving portrait in Grimmauld Place giving him orders every day.
Others had only heard of Regulus's sacrifice and felt sadness, but Kreacher had witnessed the entire process of Regulus's death firsthand.
And for the eleven years that followed, this tragic scene replayed in his mind constantly.
But he couldn't tell anyone. He couldn't prove to anyone that Regulus had been a true hero.
Dumbledore shook his head and said solemnly, "I understand your pain, but the boat has a spell on it. It will only sail to the center of the lake if a wizard steps on it."
"Wait, Professor Dumbledore…" Adam raised his hand, looking confused.
"We don't actually need to get on it, do we? Wasn't our purpose in coming here to bring Regulus home?"
The entire cavern fell into a mysterious silence. That is, until Fawkes let out a soft trill, flapping his wings to bring Dumbledore back to the shore.
Adam looked up and met Dumbledore's gaze. He casually smoothed the flower on his robe and said gently, "I thought you might want to observe the runes on it…"
"It's alright, Professor Dumbledore. I haven't even finished studying the boats in the Black Lake at school yet," Adam interrupted softly, hurrying over to his trunk and flipping the lid open again.
Tina's eyelids twitched uncontrollably. Three wrinkled heads popped out, barking excitedly at Adam.
Then, a massive, brown, furry body struggled to climb out of the trunk.
In just two or three months, the three-headed dog, Fluffy, had grown to an astonishing size. He was now half a head taller than Dumbledore.
However, this was only a transitional stage in his growth. In less than a year, Fluffy would be able to fill an entire room in the castle.
Keep in mind that when the four founders of Hogwarts built the castle, the materials and design were meticulously chosen.
Even the most ordinary storage closets were at least ten feet high and thirty feet long.
Amy the cat also jumped out. She gave a proud meow. Fluffy, who had been wagging his tail at Adam, immediately went over and began carefully licking her fur, and Amy responded with a pleased purr.
"Little Adam! And Amy!"
Tina's expression was grim, her lips pursed into a thin line.
Adam quickly explained, "This is Hagrid's three-headed dog. He was worried I was in danger, so he followed me. Professor Dumbledore can vouch for me."
Dumbledore, feeling Tina's glare, nodded again, though the hand stroking his white beard was unconsciously clenching.
Tina's expression softened slightly, and she turned to glare at Amy, who gave a pathetic meow.
"Amy says you misunderstood her," Adam explained, holding up a small hand. "As you know, cats like to groom creatures of a lower status, while dogs do the opposite. So she wasn't causing trouble."
She groaned and held her forehead, her expression growing even more strange, but she said no more.
She just watched as Adam borrowed an old photo, held it up to Fluffy, and muttered, "…Yes, this is the person—what!? Six pieces of jerky is too much. Three, at most!"
Tina walked over to Dumbledore, asking quietly and with some concern, "Did you really agree to all of this?"
Dumbledore nodded seriously. "If I had been there, I probably would have. He prepared so much for this adventure."
"What you might not know," Dumbledore's voice lowered as he looked at Fawkes on his shoulder, "is that he is very generous to his friends. He traded a large bag of precious herbs for that feather from Fawkes."
"As far as I know, that was his entire savings from what he's earned at school…"
"What!?" Tina's expression changed again. "What else has he been doing at school?"
Dumbledore's face froze. He looked at the small figure talking to the three-headed dog, and their eyes met.
Adam waved cheerfully at him and shouted, "Professor Dumbledore, can we start now?"
After seeing Dumbledore nod in confirmation, Adam, though he thought the Headmaster's expression was a bit strange, didn't think too much about it. He directed the black knights to touch the lake's surface.
As soon as ripples appeared on the water, the corpses at the bottom of the lake eerily opened their eyes.
Their cloudy, gray pupils slowly turned in their sunken sockets, revealing bloodshot whites. Through the dark water, their lifeless gazes fell upon them.
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