Cave

The Hogwarts Headmaster seemed to have been dragged there by Fawkes in his sleep, as he looked somewhat bewildered when he landed.

A cold wind carrying the scent of the sea blew by, causing the centenarian to shiver, but it also brought him back to his senses.

"Oh, Kyle, and Sirius ... what happened? Why did you suddenly summon Fawkes?"

"Horcrux, Professor," Kyle said bluntly, "We've discovered Voldemort's Horcrux."

Dumbledore visibly lost his composure for a moment, his expression as if he were witnessing Snape in a tuxedo dancing with Troll —it was all so unbelievable.

He had also searched for clues about the Horcrux, but to no avail. Then, after he took a nap, Kyle found Kyle Horcrux again?

Dumbledore always had a sense of unreality.

"Time is of the essence, I'll explain later..." Kyle looked at Kreacher, "Take us there first."

The House-elf hurried into the cave, with Sirius following closely behind.

Kyle walked at the very back, recounting the events to Dumbledore while calming Fawkes, who was incessantly pecking at his hair.

It wasn't complicated; they basically finished explaining everything by the time they reached the middle of the cave.

Dumbledore's expression grew increasingly serious.

A brave and kind person who had gone astray realized his mistakes and chose to sacrifice himself to fight Voldemort and save more people... Even Dumbledore admired Regulus's courage.

"I think he deserves a precious Phoenix Feather, even if it only brings him home a few hours earlier... it's worth it," Kyle concluded.

Dumbledore didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.

Meanwhile, Fawkes stopped pecking at his hair, and they silently walked over to Kreacher and stopped in front of a cave wall.

"This is it," Kreacher said excitedly, pulling out a dinner knife.

"What are you going to do?" Sirius asked.

"I think it will probably take blood to open this place," Dumbledore said.

Kreacher nodded; that's what he had done before.

"Too simplistic," Dumbledore said, his tone tinged with contempt and even disappointment. "He wants his opponent to weaken him before he can get in. Voldemort has once again failed to understand that there are many things far more terrifying than physical harm."

Kreacher couldn't understand his words; he only knew that he would soon see Master Regulus, and he was so happy that he was about to slash his arm with a dagger.

However, the knife was snatched away the next second.

"I'll do it." Sirius rolled up his sleeve with the hand holding the knife. He figured Regulus wouldn't let the House-elf bleed to open the door, so he wouldn't do it either.

But just as he was about to make his move, the knife was snatched away again.

Kyle casually stuffed the heavy sterling silver plate into his pocket, then took out a deep red bottle and said to Sirius.

"Remember, you owe me three hundred Galleon."

Kyle opened the bottle, and a strong smell of blood instantly filled the small cave.

Dumbledore's lips twitched, as if he wanted to laugh.

Voldemort probably never imagined that someone would come here carrying a large amount of dragon blood.

This blood, imbued with magical power, is indeed very suitable...

Kyle simply threw the bottle at him.

A dazzling white archway appeared on the cave wall. The rock stained with dragon's blood inside the archway suddenly disappeared, revealing a doorway that seemed to lead into endless darkness.

Kreacher excitedly ran through the doorway, and the others followed, lighting their wands.

Before them lay a bizarre scene: they stood on the shore of a vast, black lake, its surface seemingly endless. The cave they inhabited was also very high, its ceiling invisible to the eye.

Far away, seemingly in the middle of a lake, shimmered a hazy, emerald-green light.

Kreacher ran smoothly along the lakeshore, his footsteps echoing softly on the narrow rocks.

Kreacher stopped quickly. He surveyed his surroundings, then slowly moved his hand through the air, as if trying to find and grasp something invisible.

But perhaps because he was too short, he didn't catch anything after paddling for a long time.

On the contrary, Dumbledore's hand hovered in mid-air, and he actually grabbed something.

He took out his wand and tapped his fist with the tip.

Immediately, a thick, green copper chain emerged from the lake and shot towards Dumbledore's clenched fist.

The chain pulled something up from the dark lake bottom. Sirius stared in astonishment as the bow of a small boat emerged from the lake like a ghost and floated toward where they were standing, the whole process barely creating a ripple.

"This is..."

"I think Voldemort needs a way to cross the lake smoothly if he needs to visit or retrieve his Horcrux, so as not to anger the creatures he has placed there."

The ship has docked.

Kreacher and Sirius jumped onto the ship almost simultaneously, and then Dumbledore followed.

The boat was so small that after two adults and a House-elf boarded, there was only a small space left, barely the size of a palm.

"Kyle, you stay here. Fawkes will stay with you," Dumbledore said. "Besides, Voldemort may have cast a spell on this ship, and if it carries too much magical power, it will sink to the bottom of the lake."

"That's right." Sirius nodded repeatedly. "Besides, this boat is too small. Even a normal boat couldn't support the weight of three people."

Kyle suspected they were doing it on purpose, trying to prevent him from going, but he had no proof.

Because they were right, when Dumbledore went up, the small boat suddenly sank a lot, and at this point the edge of the boat was less than an inch from the lake surface. Let alone adding another person, even a cat would have a hard time getting up.

But...

"Gentlemen," Kyle asked with a somewhat strange expression, "Do you still remember what the main purpose of our visit was?"

"Of course, it's to find Regulus!" Sirius blurted out.

"If that's the case, then why did you take a boat?" Kyle looked at the somewhat dark lake water. "I think the water here was probably made into another form of Potions by Voldemort. Any creature dragged in will be slowly assimilated into the Inferi over time. So wouldn't it be the same to do it here? Why do we have to go to the middle of the lake?"

Although Regulus was dragged in from there, no one can guarantee that he will be left there.