AN: Thank you to the many who read and the few who have been reviewing lately. I am thankful and glad so many people like this story. Here is the next chapter. Enjoy.

Holly firmly ignored all feelings that suggested this was a bad idea. Her hands shook violently, but she clamped numb fingers around her wand and balanced her body on the slippery boulders beneath her feet. There was no room for doubt in her mind. If she doubted herself, she would fail. She took a long look at the two people at her side. Ron- tall and broad with the beginnings of ropey muscles. His red mop of hair was plastered to his forehead from the ocean spraying violently all around them. Hermione- bushy brown hair tied tightly at the nape of her thin neck and a pretty, yet plain face filled with determination. Her jaw was taut, yet her bottom lip trembled the slightest bit.

No, Holly had no room for doubt. All three of them would come out of that massive cave alive and well. She would make damn sure of it. She was just about to suggest transforming a boulder into a small boat when Ron spoke up rather loudly, "Why didn't we Apparate to the mouth of the cave?"

Hermione answered instantly, "I'm sure Voldemort has the entrance to the cave magically guarded. We got as closely as we could."

"How far off is it?" Ron said, "I'm thinking about a mile from here."

"Doesn't matter." Holly replied firmly, "Let's Transfigure this boulder to my left into a boat and make for the mouth of the cave."

It took longer than Holly would have liked, but she and Hermione managed to accurately Transfigure a reasonable boat. Now, more than ever, Holly thought her questionable Transfiguration marks was due to stress more than poor skill.

As they all slipped their way into the row boat, Holly found herself being relieved about the freezing temperature and wet environment. Although her body trembled and her teeth chattered, she was wide awake and her adrenaline was pumping.

Ron paddled much faster and harder than either girl could manage. Holly was sure they couldn't have reached the rocky mouth of the cave nearly as quickly without him. She pretended not to notice Hermione jolt in fright when the lip of their wooden boat scratched the shallow depths of the cave mouth. Hoping out nimbly, Holly landed in ankle deep water that was as cold as ice-cubes. She yanked on the boat, but couldn't successfully pull it further until Ron hoped out beside her. Together, they splashed through the icy water and yanked the boat forward until it was halfway out of the water. Hermione climbed out of the boat and mostly kept her feet dry before rummaging through a bag on her shoulder and pulling out a short tuff of brown rope. She handed it to Holly and said, "Tie the boat off, so it won't float away."

Holly did as instructed and was tying the rope to a massive moss-covered boulder while Ron stated, "You really do prepare for anything, 'Mione."

Holly turned back around just in time to see Hermione giving Ron an embarrassed smile. They all three took a moment to look around. The mouth of the cave was shallow with moss-covered boulders to their left and a slight uphill formation of dark, damp rocks to their right. Squinting, Holly took a few cautious steps toward the uphill. She could feel the presence of her friends directly behind her, so she held up a silent hand and said, "I'm going to climb up and have a look at that rock wall."

"No." Hermione quickly argued, "We go together."

Holly looked at her in exasperation. "You need to be able to break a curse if I suddenly find myself in a trap, Hermione."

The other girl bit her lip before nodding and reluctantly replied, "Go on…"

Holly found a foothold for her right foot and nimbly hoisted herself up the five-foot boulder mass. Her hands slipped across the oily surface of the rocks before she managed to properly balance and slide her belly along the edge. She quickly righted herself with her wand tightly in her grasp. She glanced downward and met her friends' eyes before taking a step forward. She inspected the wall, casting a quick lumos to give her a soft glowing light. The wall was solid rock and wet. There were random spots of thick, green moss. Yet there was a reason she felt drawn to it. This was no ordinary wall. She could feel the magic. If she listened intently enough, she swore she could hear the echoing hiss of dark magic weaving itself in and out of the hardened rock.

She didn't take her eyes off of the wall as she quietly called out, "There's magic inside of this wall. What do you think we should do, Hermione?"

"Don't touch it." She heard her friend reply instantly, "We're climbing up."

Holly waited silently, but kept her lit wand pointed toward the wall. Moments passed and then both of her friends were flanking her sides. Hermione muttered a string of spells and charms. Holly watched out of the corner of her eye while various sparks and flashes escaped Hermione's wand. She finally said, "This is certainly dark magic, but it isn't exactly intent on harm."

"What does that mean?" Ron asked in irritation, "Isn't all dark magic meant to harm people?"

Holly was unsure why, but Ron's question brought thoughts of Severus to her mind. She wanted to tell Ron that not all dark magic was harmful. Not all dark magic was meant to maim and kill. She swallowed heavily. Was she right? Wasn't the intent to harm the exactly reason why dark magic was considered dark?

Hermione replied slowly, "All dark magic is violent, Ron. Dark magic goes against laws of nature. Its very essence is reckless and throws off of the balance of nature. This particular wall doesn't have an active curse."

"What does it have?" Holly asked impatiently. The longer they stood around, the more likely people would realize they were missing from the castle. Worse, the more likely Voldemort would be to find them. As it was, Holly knew he could very well be on his way. She hoped with every fiber of her being that he never sensed her inside of his mind.

Hermione explained, "This wall is set with an inactive curse. That means it is not on offense, but defense. It will not attack unless we attack first."

"How do you know that?" Ron asked in awe.

"You would know this too, if you would pay attention in-" Hermione's reply was rudely cut off when Holly demanded, "What do we do to get through this wall?"

"Blood."

"Blood?" Ron repeated in an alarmed voice.

"Yes." Hermione replied uneasily, "That's the simplest and easiest way."

"Are you sure?" Holly asked in a firm voice.

"Yes." Hermione sighed as she began digging around in her bag. She said, "Dark magic always requires sacrifice. One of the full-safe ways to ensure passage is blood sacrifice. The purpose of this inactive curse is to keep us away because the curse is protecting an important object. If we show a substantial amount of blood loss, the curse should allow us entrance."

Holly muttered grimly, "It will allow us entrance because it will see us as weakened. As no threat."

"Exactly." Hermione pulled her hand out of the bag and produced a glinting silver knife.

"Bloody hell." Ron eyed Hermione with wide blue eyes. "Do you often carry sharp, pointy objects in your purse, Hermione?"

"I am prepared for anything, remember?" Hermione sighed heavily before slipping her wand into the pocket of her robe and holding her left hand with palm facing upward. She lowered the blade just as Holly protested, "Cut me."

"No way." Hermione shook her head and firmly stated, "You have the strongest defense magic out of all of us. You can't be weak at all, Holly. I can handle this."

"I can do it, Hermione." Ron piped up, "Here. Cut my hand. On with it."

Hermione and Ron argued for a few moments before Holly sighed hotly and demand, "Just cut his damn hand, Hermione."

The bushy haired witch made a sound of defeat before reaching out and quickly slicing a long, thin line across Ron's palm. He winced, but said nothing as Hermione instructed, "Rub your hand across the wall."

Ron stepped forward and did as he was told. Holly saw how pale his complexion had gotten a minute later and demanded, "Is that enough yet, Hermione?"

"No." Hermione said quietly, "Large sacrifice, Holly…"

Another minute passed as Ron leaned against the wall. Holly watched through the bluish light of her wand as Ron's hand steadily dripped ruby red. Finally, after Holly felt she could take no more of seeing Ron suffer, there was a rumbling sound. Holly reached forward and yanked Ron away from the wall. Hermione and Holly raised their wands quickly, both prepared to strike. Ron raised his as well, but he was much slower and trembling heavily. The rock wall rumbled again and a section the size of an average person suddenly crumbled away, leaving a glimpse of a dark room beyond.

The three teenagers waited in silence. When no gory monsters or curses came flying out of the hole, Hermione rummaged in her bag before handing over a glass vial. She instructed, "Drink that quickly, Ron."

She tied a white piece of cloth to his palm and took the empty vail, tossing it inside of her purse. She asked, "How do you feel now?"

"Steadier than before." He wiped his arm across his mouth, held his wand high and stated, "Thanks."

Holly took a quick glance at both friends before stepping forward and through the hole. They followed cautiously. The flat sound of their footfalls on wet rock mingled with the sound of their unsteady breathing. Holly could feel the warmth of Ron's tall body directly behind her. Every few seconds their clothes would rub against one another and the whisper of fabric could be heard. Hermione's voice was firm, yet just the tad bit shaky as she cast a quiet, "Lumos."

Ron copied her actions before gulping noisily and saying, "Is that water further up that I see?"

His voice wasn't even either. Holly gripped her wand as tightly as possible and forcefully shoved the rising taste of bitter worry back down her dry throat. It seemed that there was a subconscious understanding between them all- they would not comment on the ascending fear winding its way through their hearts.

"It is." Holly whispered, "Looks like a…a pond."

With wands held at the ready, they crept forward. The bluish light from their wands bathed the dank, cold cavern in dancing ominous shadows. Holly's heart was beating bruises against her chest and she fought not to screech in alarm when Hermione suddenly tripped. A flying wisp of her wand and a yelp. Swift movement and a sharp exclaim of, "Hermione!" from Ron. Holly and Ron bumped blindly against each other as they each gripped painfully to Hermione.

It took Holly a moment to realize she was pulling on Hermione's elbow. She mumbled, "Ouch. Ouch. I'm okay. Thanks."

"Be more careful." Holly gasped, "We can't afford to have broken legs."

Hermione let out a nervous laugh before saying, "Let's keep going. Whatever we are looking for has to be in this cave."

"I hope so." Ron muttered, "Or we are risking our lives for nothing."
"There's dark magic guarding this place!" Hermione firmly stated, "You can feel it all around us. Why would this place be warded if not to protect a valuable object?"

"She's right." Holly said, "This is Voldemort's cave. I know it. Now, stop bickering and let's take a look toward the right, at the water's edge."

They continued on, but Holly made sure to keep all senses tuned in every direction. It was difficult to see, but she could smell and she could hear. She could feel. And she had her wand. Her lips were poised to send defensive magic flying in seconds. Her heart was still slamming inside of her chest as she put out her left hand and laid it flat against Ron's chest. She whispered, "Be careful. The rocks are slick."

Hermione bent low and Holly followed her moves, carefully holding her lit wand over their heads. Hermione seemed to study the grayish, stagnant water with great care. Holly squinted, but saw nothing of great interest. She let her eyes sweep along the rest of the cave, but she only saw endless walls of dark rock and the body of gray water in the middle of the cavern.

Ron's deep voice echoed as he suggested, "Should we feel along the edges of the wall? There could be another curse like the one we just came through."

Holly nodded and said, "I think that's a good idea."

"No." Hermione abruptly stood from her kneeling position and explained, "This water isn't natural. There are no waterfalls, no stream to be seen or heard. Besides, this water smells…off. This has been magically placed here."

Neither teen bothered to argue with her. Holly quickly asked, "Do you think the locket could be at the bottom?"

Hermione's voice sounded hesitant as she said, "I don't know…"

Holly sighed hotly as her mind raced for ideas. When the idea came to her, she set her jaw and nodded once. She said, "I will go in. We can go back, get the rope that's tying the boat off and tie it to my waist. If I don't come up for air, yank me back."

"No!" Hermione huffed instantly, "That's a barbaric plan, Holly."

"What other ideas do we have, Hermione?" Holly shot back, "Ron is already injured and you're more of a reliable witch than I am. I'm smaller than you, so I can swim faster."

"We don't know that the locket is even in the water-"

Holly cut her off quickly, "You just said this is magically placed water. Why else would Voldemort have it here if not to keep his locket in?"

Hermione slashed her hand through the air in annoyance and desperately said, "I'm not trying to offend you and your plan. I'm just asking you to give me a few moments to think of all the options we have."

"Hey!" Ron cut them off with his booming voice, "Shut up and look over there."

Both girls blinked and turned to see what Ron was pointing at. Ron took a step forward; his eyes were squinting so tightly that his blue orbs were barely visible. Holly frowned and demanded, "What do you see?"

Hermione gasped, "That's it!"

She whirled around and relief was evident on her face. "That's it, Holly. There's a small island toward the right."

"Island?" Ron snorted, "It barely looks wide enough to fit two people."

Holly saw a general dark shape, entirely too small to be considered an island, but it was impossible to see or reach properly from where they stood. She asked, "How are we going to get to it?"

"Swim." Ron offered simply. Holly could all but hear the careless shrug in his tone of voice. She thought and muttered, "Yeah. I guess so."

"No," Hermione spoke slowly, "The water is dangerous. I'm sure of it."

"How so?" Holly asked. She always wondered how Hermione could see what she never could.

"It's only a hunch." Hermione answered, "Voldemort would want anybody dead who dared come in here."

Holly couldn't argue with that, so she dutifully followed Hermione along the water's edge until they got as close to the dark mass as they could. Holly judged that they were only a dozen yards from the island, but if Hermione was right then they couldn't touch the water at all.

Ron sighed and said, "Do you think you two could conjure another boat?"

"I doubt it." Hermione replied, "He's the most cunning dark wizard living, Ron. If he expected people would come for this locket, he would have prepared for an obvious choice of Transfiguring a boat. It might not be the case with this water, but I've read that the darkest magic is volatile when disrupted."

"But…the wall…?" Holly questioned with a frown.

"That was a dark curse, which was designed to be given sacrificial elements. We didn't disrupt its purpose. I don't know what this magical water is meant to do. Therefore, I have no way of knowing what will set it off."

"If we Transfigured another boulder and plopped it into the water, then the magic could activate and…blow us all up?" Holly asked for clarification.

Hermione sighed regretfully, "That's the general idea, yes."

Ron spoke up, "There has to be something we aren't seeing. You-Know-Who wouldn't go through all of this trouble to protect a bloody necklace unless he had a way to get ahold of it whenever he wanted to."

Holly sighed and spat in frustration, "Yes, but what are we missing?"

"Spread out and search for any suspicious looking items. An odd rock or a hole in the walls." Ron answered, "Stick fairly close together. We all need to be within arm's reach from each other."

"Yes." Hermione said, "That's practical, Ron. Holly and I will search along the water's edge over here. You look at the wall toward our left."

AN: Oh, Ron and Holly. What would they do without Hermione? Reviewer 120 and 125 will receive a Sneak Peek of the next chapter. The more reviews, the quicker the next chapter is posted. The next three chapters are huge favorites of mine. I can't wait for you all to read them!