He could also feel the stone's power running deep below it and stretching beyond the reach of his senses, so he stayed still and waited to see what would happen next. Before long, the cliff face began to twist and reshape itself into a set of rough stone steps descending toward the sea beneath. The group made their way down those stairs and stopped only once they reached the water's edge. There, set into the cliff wall, was yet another indentation in the stone, and with a groan and an eye roll, Julian pressed his ring into it and let the structure drain more of his magic.
By the time it finished, he was almost completely empty of magical energy, and the strain had left him with a pounding headache as well. "If it is any comfort, that should be the last time you need to do that during this trip," Helena said apologetically. "It had better be, or things are going to get awkward very quickly," Julian replied, joking despite the ache in his head. Soon the water in front of them began to churn as though it were boiling, and then a carriage coated in seaweed and barnacles rose out of the sea and settled on the water's surface, waiting for them to board.
"That settles it, your mother was paranoid beyond reason," Julian said after seeing just how many layers of verification were required to reach the island. Helena only giggled and did not argue as she stepped into the carriage. Ollivander followed her, with Julian and Dotty entering last. The moment the carriage door shut, the entire thing began to descend beneath the sea, yet none of its passengers had to worry about getting wet at all. 'I'll have to clean this carriage eventually, because I'm sure there's an incredible view outside those windows,' Julian thought as he tried to look out, only to find the glass covered in barnacles and trailing seaweed.
After an hour-long journey, the carriage finally began to rise back toward the surface, which told them they were nearing the island. "Did your mother place preservation charms over the whole island, or only over the building?" Julian asked, feeling a bad suspicion forming about what they were about to find. "Only the building. Why?" Helena asked curiously. "Because you may want to leave the carriage first and check that we are not about to be attacked by whatever has taken over the island in the last thousand years," Julian answered, and Helena's eyes widened as she realized he was right. Without anyone there to control them, the plants and animals on the island had almost certainly claimed the place long ago.
Nodding seriously, Helena prepared herself and turned ghostly so she could scout ahead. Soon sunlight began to filter through the few clear patches left in the windows, and she pushed her head through the wall of the carriage before drawing it back in. "The island is overgrown, but there is nothing dangerous near the carriage dock," she reported with visible relief. Julian waited until the carriage came to a full stop before opening the door with care.
He was immediately met by the sight of a crumbling stone structure that was probably the dock, now nearly smothered by creeping vines and gillyweed. He was not especially skilled with magical plants, but both of those were harmless, so he stepped out carefully, making sure not to slip on the slick surface beneath his feet. "Mr. Ollivander, could you use a fire charm to clear and dry a patch for us?" Julian asked, since he had no desire to reveal his lack of control over something so minor. "IGNIO!" Ollivander said, and a stream of flame shot from his wand, quickly drying the ground and burning away the overgrown plants.
Once he had cleared a broad enough stretch for them to stand on safely, Julian moved over to it, and Ollivander redirected the flames beneath the carriage as well so that area would be dry too. After canceling the spell, Ollivander finally stepped out through the carriage doorway and onto the island itself. "Dotty, clean all of this growth off the carriage while we work on restoring the path," Julian instructed, and the elf bowed at once before hurrying to obey.
"Alright, first things first, we move slowly along whatever remains of the path leading to the house. Helena takes the lead, and you clear it as we go," Julian said to Ollivander, and the old wizard nodded seriously. Many people had forgotten it, but Garrick Ollivander had once traveled all over the world in pursuit of wand lore, so he was well acquainted with how to handle this sort of situation, and Julian's plan was a sound one. If they advanced carefully while clearing the route back toward the carriage as they went, then retreating would be far easier if anything went wrong.