A Visit to Voldemort's Cave

Essentially Magical's Alternate Universe Tangent storyette #4

Summary: Unavoidably thrust into a crisis together that threatens *every single one of them*, how will Albus, Harry, Edward, & Bella ultimately cope with the inherent dangers of Voldemort's most dangerously protected horcrux? Can the wizards put their trust in a vampire called in to kill them? They may not have a choice if any of them wish to live very long. Canon loyal to both series' characters and worlds.

For the purposes of this storyette: Regulus was never actually able to remove the horcrux from Voldemort's pensieve, and instead died in the attempt (being not as adept a wizard as Dumbledore is). Thus, a piece of Voldemort's soul still resides in the midst of his cave – allowing the unanticipated trap of a demon summons to be effective. (Undead summoning magic requires the express presence of the summoner.) Incidentally, the deleterious style of the locket horcrux has been herein reassigned… leaving an alternate horcrux to instead manifest the specific characteristics of the canon locket.

As you may recall from various others of my stories: the wizarding world knows just enough about Undead Vampires – to have surmised that any spellwork they might attempt would be as effective against one of them… as it would be against the killing curse.

This storyette will contain some direct conversational quotes from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J. K. Rowling, for purposes of coordination and story flow.

This sequence occurs during the horcrux recovery trip of HP6, which has been adjusted to take place in latest May rather than mid-June (prior to E&B's engagement and the newborn fight). Might Harry have benefited, secondarily and distantly, from the now active Felix Felicis potion he gave his friends to ingest before coming with Dumbledore on this trip? Or is this just a truly fortuitous chain of events?

* * * Summoned Into Hell * * *

With the advent of Albus Dumbledore's first step onto the island in the middle of Voldemort's cavern, a latent magical booby-trap is sprung. Inadvertently triggered by the detected presence of Voldemort's greatest adversary, the thirstiest vampire of the undead, in all the world… is promptly summoned into the immediate vicinity of the unable-to-apparate headmaster. With the exception of the preventative-only protection usually afforded by defensive wards – there is no known magical defense against a vampire of this type.

During the week following Edward's missed hunting trip in the midst of Eclipse, when his eyes are particularly dark, his and Bella's normal routine is suddenly interrupted by a strange pulling sensation… which brings them both (because they happened to be holding hands) suddenly into the unfamiliar greenish gloom of a gigantic cave interior.

Already having determined apparation within the confines of the cave to be impossible, a startled and alarmed Dumbledore recognizes right off the bat that the arrival of two strange newcomers could only mean that at least one of them has to be a summoned member of the Undead. Since the two of them are obviously neither dementors nor inferi, that only leaves one possibility: Vampire… one of the Heartless in fact; the most lethal species in existence. Consequently, it also confirms the presence of a piece of Voldemort's soul in the near vicinity, since such an one couldn't have been brought here without it.

With a sinking heart, Albus recognizes that the sudden presence of such a wildly malignant being suggests a supremely unpromising fate for the both of them… alongside the very likely failure of their mission. No! This must not be! I know Fawkes will intervene if he attacks me, but not necessarily if he attacks Harry. Similarly, the young woman's attendance in conjunction with the vampire takes the headmaster thoroughly and concernedly by surprise. Another victim, he presumes in dismay. How to protect them both?

Warded defense would be naturally my first thought… except that I already saw written in the magic that wards cannot be conjured in this place. Illusory or otherwise. This would explain why. Offensive strategies may in fact be the only options Tom left available to use. Albus sighs concernedly. Inasmuch as trapping the deadly being within a coiled whip or cage of fire is a possibility that may be effective… she is too close to him to separate, and I can't sanction an unprovoked and potentially deadly assault. On anyone. Truly, even though anything might lethally set him off… and he can potentially react faster than anything I could do… offense has to stay a fallback plan only.

Certainly, by the limited knowledge of the wizarding world (necessarily based on rumor, such as it is), the grandwizard may not have been able to recognize an undead vampire for what he was, were they to have met under inconspicuous circumstances. But, now that he knows to look for it – this specimen does fit the physical description exactly: abnormally pale skin, enviably attractive features, red to black eyes. His sure stance never wavers, even though his face looks suddenly drawn and it is obvious the pair of them were taken by surprise. They are both dressed like muggles, and she looks very human – and fragilely unstable – next to him.

Edward immediately catches Bella to keep her from stumbling from the shock of the summons, and then holds her protectively in his arms while he assesses his surroundings. His glance passes quickly over a well-aged man and teenage boy, both guardedly wielding wands (the younger following the lead of the older)… noting immediately, and with substantial concern, that they already know or could easily figure out what he is and are extremely wary of (even if only dubiously able to defend from) what they expect he might do. A fresh vampire smell lingers around the older one of the two – suggesting the dreadful possibility that an unknown predator could be already toying with them, lying in wait… perhaps hiding in the water ready to strike at any moment.

He doesn't detect any thoughts to that end, however… thankfully…but even that assurance is not much of a consolation in this place. Dead bodies scattered throughout the unnaturally still lake present an eerily foreboding sight – especially being that he can see to the far ends of the cavern like no one else here can, and there are a lot of them overall. Strangely, however, there is no stench of decay. On the contrary, a subtle plethora of unfamiliar scents – alongside traces of evident magic (recognized as such through the older wizard's knowledgeable perspective) – suggest there may be much more to them than meets the eye.

Indeed, Edward knows that there is. Because – worse than every other observation he's made – the most disturbing discovery of all involves the myriad of thoughts originating from the small tower standing in the middle of their tiny island.

From this solidly built yet unassuming structure, thousands of personal recollections are silently yet loudly speaking their stories to his mind… each one just as terrible as the next, and being simultaneously delivered in the very same chillingly depraved tone. Edward has never heard so much of the same voice before, all at once like this – and the voluminous effect is unbearably attention-commanding, being that the only other voices in the entirety of his range belong to the two distrustfully vigilant wizards standing mere feet away.

Upon this tower full of thoughts is the last place Edward wants his attention to dwell, however. The stories are truly heinous. Cumulatively, these individual memories detail the killer's first-hand account of how each and every one of the once-human people in the lake were painfully and gruesomely murdered. Unsophisticated men, women, and children alike… each powerless against this wizard's torturous magic… were all killed for the delight of killing, and so that their bodies could be magically preserved toward some deplorably nefarious purpose. It's the same villain who created this human death-trap of a cave – and eventually brought the both of them, callously, right into the very midst of it.

Swirling individually within the pensieve, to Edward's hearing every unique recollection promptly begins again upon finishing – so that the whole basin of insidious thoughts combines to form one terribly real and vociferously complex horror story, set on infinite repeat. It's incredibly hard to ignore – nearly drowning out completely the only other voices in the area which could provide any hope of distraction – and truly devastating to consider. This must be what it feels like to go insane. He desperately needs to get the both of them out of here… and yet – he's not sure what hidden dangers may lie in doing so. The wizards would be more familiar with the potential hazards of this magical place, than he is.

To the wizards' observation, Edward's initial response to his surroundings is to become wide-eyed with horror and inexplicable agony, and hold Bella to himself tightly – though also (to Albus' surprise) harmlessly. It's barely any time at all, though, before his horror turns into murderous rage (unexpectedly directed at the pensieve, of all things) – and the sustained intensity of some kind of invisible attack apparently has him grimacing in pain, pinching the bridge of his nose, and soundlessly muttering to himself in a constant but seemingly fruitless effort to relieve it. Never having had an opportunity to learn about the more personal habits or supernatural characteristics of Undead Vampires, known only for their overwhelmingly rapacious natures, neither Albus nor Harry understands what could be going on.

As soon as Bella manages to settle her nausea and regain her balance in the unfamiliar semi-darkness, she raises her head from being suddenly buried in his chest – only to shockingly notice a dead body floating in the water nearby. She gasps involuntarily. Alarmed, and confident that Edward will know more about their surroundings than she would, she immediately queries in a slightly shaky voice: "Edward – what just happened?"

With her attempt to shift in his arms in order to look up at him properly, the tension in his body becomes clearly evident; his stone arms are slower than usual to accommodate her movement. Upon finally seeing his face, Bella recognizes the same, pained wincing behavior from their meeting with Jacob earlier in the week… well, not exactly the same, but also horribly magnified in some way, since he seems to be singing to himself in an effort to relieve it… and suspects that some truly terrible thoughts in the vicinity must be to blame. Immediately glaring toward the two peculiar strangers holding onto weapon-like sticks that are aimed at him – she nevertheless sees nothing malicious or aggressive in their postures, however, and so drops her defensive scowl and turns back to Edward in concern. Touching her palm to his cheek, she notes with anxiety: "You're not okay."

Edward's tormented eyes show a mix of horror, pain, and incensed fury. "No, I'm not," he answers slowly, carefully – his musical voice tightly under control and slipping back into its silent song between sentences – as if he has to maintain it. "This place is evil, Bella. You're not safe here. And… it's conspiring to make me go mad." His angered tone carries hints of surprise, worry, agony, frustration, and defiance. The constant but silent motion of his lips, promptly resuming in the wake of his declaration, only serves to enhance the impression.

"It's not them, is it?" Bella surmises carefully, desperately, stating rather than asking. Her brow is furrowed in worry; she's never seen him respond to someone's thoughts in quite so vulnerable a fashion, and it scares her. This has got to be something bigger than just the two peculiar strangers next to them.

"No," Edward shakes his head in willing confirmation, thankful for the brief but wonderful gift of her voice. Briefly his eyes flash with a fond concern at the memory of her protective demeanor – but he can tell the wizards would not hurt her. "It's not them." His soft voice is strained as his audible tone lowers ominously. "It's this place." Struggling to keep his attention focused away from the deafening collection of thoughts bombarding him, and directed solely upon her, he slowly takes her head in his hands and articulates painfully: "Bella – I'm going to need a running distraction, until we're away from here. Would you mind? Just keep talking; say anything…" he pleads, "Tell me what you're thinking. Please – let me hear your voice!" Immediately he winces uncontrollably and continues with his silent song.

"Alright," she agrees quickly, promptly racking her brains for whatever she could talk about, especially continually. "Um…" Whatever it is must be both unrelenting, and extremely bothering to him. "H-how did we get here? Do you know where here is? What is this place? What is going on with you?" With every question, her anxious tone raises in pitch and speeds with worry. "Edward – I don't know how well I can keep up a running monologue! You know I'm not used to verbalizing everything that's in my head. But, I'll try. Of course I'll try. And now I'm rambling. Ugh! How am I supposed to not let anything slip if I'm talking as fast as my mind can come up with something to say?"

"Calm down, Bella," Edward soothes her. And surprisingly, the clarity of focus makes it easier for him to function. "I'll be alright." The pace of his words is slow and even. "Talking to you helps, too. This place is just… very loud and extremely disturbing… in the kind of way that no one else would have even noticed." Grimacing unavoidably, he pointedly hints at the situation without obviously giving away the nature of his talent. However, the grandfather-like wizard apparently recognizes the symptoms for what they are, and is very close to figuring it out. "Besides… they already know, anyway."

Bella's eyes widen in alarm at the connotations of their knowledge, and Edward explains with believable reasoning: "Their whole world knows about my kind, at least to a basic degree, or it wouldn't have been possible for us to be summoned here in the first place."

Author's Note: Because of its focus on Voldemort's reality, this storyette will have a darker theme than others I've written. But don't worry; there'll be humor, too. :) It is ultimately expected to be slightly longer than Encountering Oz or St. Mungos Delivery, though fewer chapters have yet been completed.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! And many thanks to Stephenie Meyer and J. K. Rowling for writing the wonderful series that make this story possible.