The Cave

As the morning light gradually brightened, it illuminated the Grimmauld Place. Strands of light streamed into the bedroom through the cracks in the window, illuminating the girl's long eyelashes with a golden hue. Her eyelids trembled slightly as she happily opened her eyes.

Hermione saw the somewhat unfamiliar ceiling, and the sunlight falling on the desk by the window. The half-empty ink bottle shone with a mysterious blue-black light. Compared to when she left not long ago, this spacious and tidy bedroom had less of the gloomy, damp, and musty smell, and the blankets had a warm, sun-dried feel.

She heard some noise coming from the direction of the stairs, the sound of slippers quickly stepping on the old wooden steps, creaking and groaning, slightly jarring.

Hermione instinctively reached out with her right hand, but found nothing. She sat up and looked at the empty space beside her pillow in a daze. She felt a little empty inside, but after a few seconds, she realized what was happening and felt her face getting hot.

Hermione patted her slightly flushed cheeks. "Oh dear... Hermione Granger, what are you thinking about..."

The bed next to mine was empty; thankfully, Ginny was already up.

Composing herself, she got up briskly, washed up, quickly tidied her hair, changed into a neat plaid shirt, changed her shoes, and opened the door. The sounds coming from the basement Kitchen suddenly became clearer. She hadn't taken two steps when she saw Loren standing at the top of the stairs waiting for her, his hands still damp, indicating that he had also just washed up and gotten up.

"Good morning, Loren ..." Hermione's eyes lit up, but she quickly avoided his gaze. Memories of waking up that morning flashed through her mind, and she subconsciously dared not look him in the eye.

Loren glanced at the little Witch suspiciously, stepped forward, patted her on the shoulder, and took her hand as they walked downstairs. "What's wrong, Hermione? Why are you acting so strangely like everyone else?"

"I didn't!" Hermione instinctively raised her voice, her cheeks flushing. She glared at the man fiercely. "Don't think I don't know you wiped the water stains on my clothes!"

Loren seemed not to hear anything, his brows furrowing slightly. "Hermione, don't you think Harry and the others are hiding something from us? Think about it, while we were out on a mission, they were stuck at the old house for days, yet they didn't pester us with questions, nor did they call us for a meeting at night. Something's not right, very not right..."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, knowing he was changing the subject, but still continued along the line of thought, "I also noticed that at the dinner table last night, Harry, Ron, Ginny, George, and Fred didn't dare to look Mrs. Weasley in the eye, but they made frequent eye contact with Sirius Black. They must be hiding something from the others."

"What could it be..."

The two had arrived at the underground Kitchen and saw that Mrs. Weasley's early morning efforts had already been laid out on the dining table—a sumptuous breakfast.

"Hermione, Loren, come sit down and try this freshly fried bacon!" Ginny, holding a roughly shaped sandwich, leaned forward to beckon them. "You must have missed breakfast these past few days, so Mom made it up to you!"

"And sausages and jam, we brought out all the stock we had at home..." Harry said with a bright smile.

"Mmm!" Ron nodded, his mouth stuffed full.

"Go wash your hands..." Molly, having finished her work, came out from the stove and smiled as she ruffled their hair.

A few minutes later, a warm and cozy scene unfolded at the long dining table. Cups and plates clinked together, Arthur and Bill ate breakfast while analyzing the newspaper, George and Fred ate quickly, Lupin spread out a slice of bread, beckoning Sirius Black to hand him some marmalade...

"The Hogwarts new school year supplies list has arrived. Tomorrow I'll take you shopping in Diagon Alley..." Molly said, her eyes fixed on the Twins brothers. "The food at home is almost gone. I'm going to buy groceries today. You two stay home and pack your things properly, and behave yourselves, okay?"

"I will obey your command, my Queen Chess Piece!" George nodded hastily, his smile radiant.

Loren looked up and glanced around, noticing that several young wizards beside him were also wearing the same strange smiles.

Molly thought for a moment and added, "Stop messing around with your inventions. Your father and brother are going to work at the Ministry of Magic, Remus is going out to handle things in United States. Only Sirius Black is home alone; he can't handle the mess you two make."

"We promise not to cause Sirius Black any trouble! We won't mess around in the house!" Fred solemnly promised, trying hard to keep his face from laughing out loud.

Harry and the others next to him lowered their heads, their expressions strained, and their shoulders twitched.

Even Sirius Black looked up, as if the patterns on the chandelier were particularly attractive.

Loren and Hermione exchanged a glance, becoming even more certain of their suspicions: these people definitely had something going on!

After breakfast, the adults either went to work, went out to handle business, or went out to shop.

George and Fred huddled together, whispering amongst themselves about their Puking Pastilles recipe, intently studying the dosage of the Doxy venom, occasionally checking their lab logs. Ron was copying a A History of Magic paper, simultaneously gathering the best ideas from others to complete his own assignment. Harry and Ginny were studying the Seeker ' tactics manual, one talking animatedly, the other listening intently with Winky eyes.

Loren and Hermione sat together, seemingly talking in hushed tones, but they were constantly watching the people around them.

As the final sound of the door closing echoed from the Entrance Hall, the atmosphere suddenly shifted. The remaining young wizards gathered around on the other side, squinting at the two people seated at the end of the long table.

Ginny gave Hermione a reproachful look, but Hermione remained unmoved.

Harry and Ron condemned Loren, but Loren refused to respond.

George and Fred sent their congratulations, Loren raised an eyebrow, as if he understood something.

Their eyes met and they stared at each other for several minutes before Ginny finally couldn't help but mutter, "You two traitors, you actually sided with the adults and conspired to keep important information from us!"

Loren spread his hands, his eyes innocent and his expression blank. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Damn it, you tried to hide it from us! Kreacher told us everything. You found Slytherin's Locket and gave it to Dumbledore to destroy!" Ron scolded.

Harry nodded emphatically, and just as he was about to say something more, Sirius Black interrupted him, looking up at the two of them solemnly. "Loren, Hermione, to be honest, after hearing Kreacher's story about Regulus, we plan to go to the Cave from back then to retrieve Regulus's remains. We've been planning this for several days, and today is the perfect opportunity..."

Hermione frowned her beautiful brows. "What's the point of hiding this? Why don't you tell Mr. Weasley and the others?"

Sirius Black opened his mouth, a look of embarrassment on his face. "Harry... Harry and the others want to get involved too. If we tell Arthur and Molly, this will have nothing to do with Harry."

"Mrs. Weasley was thinking about safety!"

"We've discussed this..." Sirius Black argued somewhat timidly. "Kreacher told us what happened in the Cave back then, and we believe that even the final poison wasn't lethal. As long as we could keep those Inferi at bay, there wouldn't be much danger."

"You..." Hermione opened her mouth, wanting to refute his words, but seeing the expectant looks in Harry and Ginny's eyes, she couldn't say anything after a long time.

Loren lowered his eyes and fell into thought, searching through the memories deep in his mind for the various traps in the Cave. He slowly nodded. "We'll go with you, but after it's all over, I still need to tell Mrs. Weasley."

"No problem!"

Before Sirius Black could speak, George and Fred had already cheered.

"Anyway, school starts soon!"

"I'll only get nagged by my mom for two days at most. Let's finish the adventure first!"

"..."

Sirius Black silently rubbed his face. The kids could hide back at school, but he had nowhere to hide, especially since he was the adult ringleader.

Forget it, let's talk about it after the incident.

"Kreacher! Let's go!"

Kreacher was quite old, only half a person's height, with pale skin that always drooped in wrinkles, and bat-like ears covered in white fur. For a small, thin House-elf, teleporting eight people at once was inevitably a bit beyond his capabilities.

As the ones being carried along, Loren and the others felt terrible, as if they were squeezed into a thick rubber tube, unable to breathe. Every part of their bodies was being compressed until it exceeded the young wizards' limit, causing a slight feeling of suffocation. Then, the invisible tube suddenly burst open—

A grown-up wizard, seven underage wizards, and an elderly House-elf appeared on the shore, breathing in the fresh, salty air.

As a cool sea breeze blew in, carrying a slightly salty scent, and the sound of surging waves filled their ears, the group stood on a towering black rock protruding from the sea, watching the distant waves roll in, creating white foam.

Loren turned his head and looked back, and saw a steep rock wall that plunged straight down, so dark that he couldn't make out its shape. The surrounding area was barren and desolate, with no trees, grass, or beaches in sight except for the vast sea and rocks.

"Where's the entrance, Kreacher?" Sirius Black's voice mingled with the waves, sounding as if it came from a great distance.

Kreacher's thin body trembled slightly as he stared intently at the cliff face, at the massive, spherical rock above. A long time passed before he heard Sirius Black's call. He didn't speak, but instead began to walk unsteadily along the rocky protrusion.

The rocks had many jagged crevices for stepping on, leading to the giant boulders that were half-exposed above the sea around the cliff. Sirius Black had them follow Kreacher while he brought up the rear. They made their way to the bottom of the cliff, where the rocks were covered with slippery moss and algae that smelled of the sea.

Not far ahead, there was a narrow crevice where waves crashed against the sides, creating whirlpools. Inside, it was pitch black, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Kreacher slid into the sea almost without stopping, swimming toward the crevice, splashing up icy water. The cloth draped over his body was instantly soaked, becoming bloated and heavy.

Harry and Ron hesitated for a moment, then slowly crouched down, wanting to follow Kreacher into the water and swim over, when they heard Loren's slightly teasing voice behind them.

"If you get your clothes all dirty, you'll probably get a beating from Mrs. Weasley." The Apple Wood wand tapped the two of them on the shoulders, and a gentle force lifted them up, allowing them to float forward behind Kreacher.

Loren followed closely behind, Hermione held Ginny's hand and floated up lightly. George and Fred were not very skilled, Sirius Black.

A group of people drifted into the crevice and moved deeper into the dark passage. The passage became narrower and narrower, with only three feet of space between the muddy rock walls on both sides. After an unknown amount of time, a series of steps suddenly appeared on the water ahead, leading upwards into a cave.

Upon entering the cave, the surrounding air was quiet and cold.

A hidden sense of foreboding sent a chill through them. Intimidated by some unknown pressure, Ginny and Ron quieted down, and everyone except the Twins tensed slightly. Even though they had heard Kreacher explain the layout and knew about the hidden mechanisms ahead, they still dared not relax.

A wind, like a low sob, blew in from the cracks in the rocks, seemingly carrying ominous malice and desperate whispers. The dampness and cold stubbornly seeped into his bones. Kreacher's teeth chattered, and he trembled as he said, "This is just the front hall, the entrance hall. We need to go inside... What's blocking our way now is a trap set by the Dark Lord. There's no danger, but..."

George and Fred approached the rock with great interest, placing their hands on the rough rock face to carefully examine and explore it. After finding nothing, they took out their hammers and started hammering and banging, trying to carve a path directly through it.

Surprisingly, their knocking did produce a sound, and the outline of an archway appeared on the rough rock wall, reflecting a dazzling white light.

Before the two could even rejoice, the outline disappeared, and the rock returned to its original state.

"But there's a price to pay to get through, a price in blood." Kreacher uttered the unfinished words, adding to the chilling atmosphere of the cave.

Loren cautiously approached the wall, examining the powerful yet malevolent Magic Power. It swirled and converged into an archway, devoid of the malice of a deadly curse or the overwhelming power of an imminent attack. Instead, it emanated a thirst, a bloodthirsty desire.

He took some animal blood from the pendant and sprinkled it on the surface. The dazzling white light reappeared, but quickly subsided and disappeared.

"Looks like Voldemort only recognizes human blood..." Loren rested his chin on his hand, beginning to consider whether his Opening Charm was suitable for opening this door.

"I'll do it."

Sirius Black pushed the group aside, rolled up his sleeve, and swiftly ran his wand across his forearm. A flash of light appeared, and a spurt of crimson blood spurted out, gradually covering the surface of the rock.

The dazzling white archway reappeared on the cave wall, growing clearer and clearer until it revealed a real doorway leading into the endless darkness within.