After Harley opened the door with Parseltongue once again, the two of them cautiously stepped inside.
It was no longer the small room they had seen before. The Undetectable Extension Charm had transformed it into a vast hall.
Seven towering stone pillars formed a circle. In the place where the eighth pillar should have stood was the door leading outside.
Numerous torches hung from the ceiling. At first, the hall was utterly still.
But the moment they stepped inside, magic rippled from the torches, and ghostly green flames began to flare up one after another.
At the center of the circular hall stood a tall Round Altar, made entirely of gold and decorated with emeralds. A flight of steps led up to it from the side facing the door.
Like the emeralds on Slytherin's Locket, each one had been cut into the shape of an S formed by a serpent.
Harley couldn't help wondering how much wealth Voldemort had plundered from Death Eaters and Muggles to build such an extravagant altar.
At the very center of the altar stood a crystal pillar.
An emerald glow shone from within the pillar, and a transparent crystal box sat at its very top.
Through the box, they could clearly see a gold ring set with a black stone.
The emblem of the Peverell family was sharply defined on the black stone, as though magic had reshaped it.
"How extravagant. Voldemort certainly treated this Horcrux very differently from the one in Slytherin's Locket."
Harley murmured teasingly, but Professor Dumbledore didn't respond.
At the same time, she suddenly noticed that Professor Dumbledore's breathing had grown conspicuously loud and increasingly ragged.
Harley cautiously stepped to the side and tilted her head to look at him.
Professor Dumbledore was staring fixedly at the black-stone ring atop the