Chapter Twenty-Six
Cuddles

Harry smelt the salty sea air and looked down. They were on rock cutting in the middle of some cliffs—a towering cliff was behind them, while an equally unpassable cliff lay below them. There was nothing living in sight, and horrid scenery would give anyone a sense of overwhelming despair. In short, it was like Professor Snape's classroom, only outdoors.

"There is our destination," Dumbledore said, pointing to a part of the rocks below where the sea water gushed into a cave. "You can take off your Invisibility Cloak now, so we can dive."

Dumbledore ripped off his clothes, revealing a pair of purple swimming trunks, covered with pictures of socks. He put on a pair of floaties, then ran off the cliff and jumped into the water, screaming, "GERONIMO!"

Harry rolled his eyes and jumped in after Dumbledore. Dumbledore was holding his stomach and moaning in pain.

"Are you okay, sir?" Harry asked. "Do you have cramps from swimming too soon after eating?"

"No, I accidentally belly-flopped," Dumbledore groaned. "Let's get on with it..."

Dumbledore did a breast stroke towards the cave entrance. Harry, who had never swum before without Gillyweed, doggy-paddled. The entrance led to a long tunnel, which led to a small room of rock walls. Dumbledore was drying himself off with a hair dryer, and examining the walls.

"Yes, this is the place. Voldemort has been here."

"How can you tell?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore pointed to one of the room's corners, where there was some graffiti that said "Voldemort Rulez!"

Dumbledore ran his hands over the walls, muttering strange spells that Harry could not hear properly. Of course, Dumbledore did not bother to teach Harry any of these spells, because that would make things too easy for Harry in Book Seven.

"Aha! Got it!" Dumbledore said. An archway appeared out of nowhere.

"Y-y-you did it!" Harry said, his teeth chattering. After all, he had just climbed out of the ocean.

"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry, I forgot about you," Dumbledore said. He pointed his wand at Harry and Harry immediately became warm again.

"Glad to know you're looking out for my best interests," Harry muttered. "What was the point of bringing the Invisibility Cloak? There's clearly no one here!"

"The doorway requires payment," Dumbledore said, ignoring Harry. "It needs blood."

Fortunately, Dumbledore had the Magic Knife of Plot Convenience. He pulled it out and cut his burnt hand, bleeding all over the rock. He quickly healed up his deep wound with the healing spell that Professor Snape had used on Malfoy.

Dumbledore and Harry stepped through the archway. They were still inside the cave, only now they appeared to be near the shore of a large black lake. Something green was glowing in the middle of the lake.

Harry lit his wand to get a better look at the lake. He jumped back in fright.

"It's full of dead bodies!" Harry cried.

"Inferi," Dumbledore muttered. "They'll probably come to life if we attempt to take the Horcrux."

Fortunately, Dumbledore was able to find a boat. Harry was grateful—it was a very good thing Dumbledore knew how to find what Voldemort had hidden. He motioned for Harry to get in, and they started paddling towards the center of the lake.

Harry felt goosebumps all over his skin. He could not stop himself from looking at the dead bodies floating in the murky, freezing water. Some of the bodies were mangled—he could see horrid scars, green arms floating around, unattached to a body, and worst of all, lifeless skulls with empty sockets that seemed to see right through you.

Dumbledore started whistling "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

"You're kind of ruining the spooky atmosphere," Harry said.

"Sorry," Dumbledore apologized.

In the middle of the lake was a small island, with a stone basin on top of a pedestal. It reminded Harry of a bird bath, except it was full of a glowing green liquid instead of water. At the bottom lay a locket.

"The Horcrux!" Harry said.

"Yes, but how do we get it?" Dumbledore asked. He moved his wand over the liquid for a few minutes, muttering various complex spells. Nothing happened.

"This potion cannot be penetrated by hand, Vanished, parted, scooped up, siphoned away, nor can it be Transfigured, Charmed or otherwise made to change its nature," Dumbledore said. "I can only conclude that this potion is supposed to be drunk."

Dumbledore conjured a goblet and dipped it in the potion.

"I thought you said it couldn't be scooped up," Harry said.

"That was several seconds ago, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Now pay attention. I imagine this potion is designed to stop whoever drinks it from getting to the Horcrux. I want you to make sure I drink the whole potion, in case I can't drink it all because I get poisoned or something."

"You want me to force-feed you a dangerous potion?" Harry asked. "Dumbledore, that's crazy! You could die!"

"You promised to do whatever I say," Dumbledore reminded Harry. "I don't suppose you have a better idea about how to get rid of the potion?"

"Actually, I do," Harry said, pulling out the Half-Blood Princess' potions book. If Dumbledore can make things appear from out of nowhere, so can Harry, I say. He turned to the appropriate page of the book, and handed it to Dumbledore.

Much like a Dementor, this potion is designed to make you
relive the worst memories of your life. Any nearby Inferi
will probably attack and kill you while you're rolling on
the floor, moaning in pain. Excellent for protecting Horcruxes.

Antidote: pumpkin juice.

"I've got some pumpkin juice," Dumbledore said, pulling out a flask and pouring it all over the potion. Smoke belched from the basin, and Dumbledore grabbed the Horcux.

"You did it, Professor!" Harry cried in celebration. Too soon, as it turned out. When Dumbledore grabbed the Horcrux, the Inferi jumped out of the water and attacked him.

"Harry! Help!" Dumbledore cried, as his wand went flying through the air.

Harry cast his mind back to the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson where Snape had covered Inferi. They were reanimated dead bodies...someone had made a Cuddles joke...and they hated fire!

"Liar, liar, pants on FIRE!" Harry cried. Fire shot out of his wand, and the Inferi ran away.

Dumbledore was lying on the ground, moaning slightly. Harry gave Dumbledore back his wand, then helped Dumbledore to his feet.

"Are you alright, sir?" Harry asked.

"I...did not enjoy that..." Dumbledore said weakly. "Harry...we must get back to Hogwarts...Severus...he can help me..."

Harry led Dumbledore back to the boat, then outside of the cave. "It's okay, sir. We'll be back soon."

"Thank you...Harry..." Dumbledore said.

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated harder than he had ever done before. He hoped it would be enough to Apparate himself and Dumbledore back to Hogwarts.