Fallen Angel

A/N: For most of this, I took it directly out of the original story. It's just easier. I've just slightly paraphrased, that's all.

Cold. Cold and wet. That's the first thing Harry felt as he entered the cave behind Dumbledore. Having just had to swim in freezing cold rain, he was not in the best of moods. Casting a quick drying and warming charm over himself, he lit his wand and moved closer to the Headmaster, who was running his hand along the stone wall.

"Yes, this is the place," said Dumbledore.

"How can you tell?"

"It has known magic." The old man simply replied. Again with the evasive answers. "We need to get further in. Lord Voldemort's obstacles now stand in our way, not those natural made…" The old man continued to move around the cave, murmuring in a strange tongue. Harry rolled his eyes. The old man had finally hit sanity, talking to himself. Eventually Dumbledore stopped, and pressed the wall where his hand had come to rest. "Here. We go on through here. The entrance is concealed." He stepped back from the cave wall and pointed his wand at the rock. For a moment, an arched outline appeared there, blazing white as though there was powerful light behind the crack.

"You've done it!" Harry whispered in awe. Despite his hatred and contempt towards the man in front of him, even he had to admit that to be able to find the entrance just from touch was remarkable.

Dumbledore ignored, frowning at the wall. Then his eyes went wide. "Oh surely not. So crude." He turned to the raven-haired boy. "I think that we are required to make payment in order to pass."

Now it was Harry's turn to frown. "Payment? You've got to give the door something?"

"Yes. Blood, if I'm not much mistaken."

"Blood?"

"I said it was crude. The idea, as I'm sure you will have gathered, is that your enemy must weaken himself, or herself, to enter. Once again, Lord Voldemort fails to grasp that there are much more terrible things than physical injury."

Harry, once the old man had turned his back, shook his head. Crude? More like brilliant. He thought. Weaken your enemy, then knowing Tom, use whatever is though this entrance to destroy them. He watched as the old man lifted the sleeve of his damaged arm. He then took out a dagger. "Professor! Let me…" Harry began, playing his part.

"You're very kind Harry. But your blood is worth much more than mine." Dumbledore quickly slashed his hand, following the natural crease, and placed his palm against the wall, smearing it with blood. Pulling his hand back, he used his wand to heal the wound and vanish the dagger. "Ah, that seems to have done the trick, doesn't it?" The blazing silver outline f an arch had appeared in the wall once more, and this time it did not fade away: the blood-smeared rock within it simply vanished, leaving an opening into what seemed total darkness. "After me I think." He stepped through the archway with Harry on his heels.

An eerie sight met their eyes. They were standing on the edge of a great black lake, so vast that Harry could not make out the distant banks, in a cavern so high that the ceiling too was out of sight. A misty greenish light shone far away in what looked like the middle of the lake; it was reflected in the completely still water below. The greenish glow and the light from the two wands were the only things that broke the otherwise velvety blackness, though their rays did not penetrate as far as Harry would have expected. The darkness was somehow denser than normal darkness.

Let us walk," said Dumbledore quietly. "Be very careful not to step into the water. Stay close to me." He set off around the edge of the lake, and Harry followed close behind him. Their footsteps made echoing, slapping sounds on the narrow rim of rock that surrounded the water. On and on they walked, but the view did not vary: on one side of them, the rough cavern wall, on the other, the boundless expanse of smooth, glassy blackness, in the very middle of which was that mysterious greenish glow. Harry found the place and the silence oppressive, unnerving.

"Professor?" he said finally. "Do you think the Horcrux is here?"

"Oh yes," said Dumbledore. "Yes, I'm sure it is. The question is, how do we get to it?"

"We couldn't... we couldn't just try a Summoning Charm?" Harry asked, despite knowing it was probably impossible.

"Certainly we could," said Dumbledore, stopping so suddenly that Harry almost walked into him. "Why don't you do it?"

"Me? Oh . . . okay . . ." Harry had not expected this, but cleared his throat and said loudly, wand aloft, "Accio Horcrux!"

With a noise like an explosion, something very large and pale erupted out of the dark water some twenty feet away; before Harry could see what it was, it had vanished again with a crashing splash that made great, deep ripples on the mirrored surface. "What was that?"

"Something, I think, that is ready to respond should we attempt to seize the Horcrux."

Harry looked back at the water. The surface of the lake was once more shining black glass: The ripples had vanished unnaturally fast.

"Did you think that would happen, sir?"

"I thought something would happen if we made an obvious attempt to get our hands on the Horcrux. That was a very good idea, Harry; much the simplest way of finding out what we are facing."

"But we don't know what the thing was," said Harry, looking at the sinisterly smooth water.

"What the things are, you mean," said Dumbledore. "I doubt very much that there is only one of them. Shall we walk on?"

"Professor?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Do you think we're going to have to go into the lake?"

"Into it? Only if we are very unfortunate."

"You don't think the Horcrux is at the bottom?"

"Oh no ... I think the Horcrux is in the middle." And Dumbledore pointed toward the misty green light in the centre of the lake.

"So we're going to have to cross the lake to get to it?"

"Yes, I think so." Harry did not say anything. His thoughts were all of water monsters, of giant serpents, of demons, kelpies, and sprites; creature he knew Tom was interested in gaining access to.

"Aha," said Dumbledore, and he stopped again; this time, Harry really did walk into him; for a moment he toppled on the edge of the dark water, and Dumbledore's uninjured hand closed tightly around his upper arm, pulling him back. "So sorry, Harry, I should have given warning. Stand back against the wall, please; I think I have found the place."

Harry had no idea what Dumbledore meant; this patch of dark bank was exactly like every other bit as far as he could tell, but Dumbledore seemed to have detected something special about it. This time he was running his hand, not over the rocky wall, but through the thin air, as though expecting to find and grip some-thing invisible.

"Oho," said Dumbledore happily, seconds later. His hand had closed in mid-air upon something Harry could not see. Dumbledore moved closer to the water; Harry watched nervously as the tips of Dumbledore's buckled shoes found the utmost edge of the rock rim. Keeping his hand clenched in mid-air, Dumbledore raised his wand with the other and tapped his fist with the point.

Immediately a thick coppery green chain appeared out of thin air, extending from the depths of the water into Dumbledore's clenched hand. Dumbledore tapped the chain, which began to slide through his fist like a snake, coiling itself on the ground with a clinking sound that echoed noisily off the rocky walls, pulling something from the depths of the black water. Harry gasped as the ghostly prow of a tiny boat broke the surface, glowing as green as the chain, and floated, with barely a ripple, toward the place on the bank where Harry and Dumbledore stood.

"How did you know that was there?" Harry asked.

"Magic always leaves traces," said Dumbledore, as the boat hit the bank with a gentle bump, "sometimes very distinctive traces. I taught Tom Riddle. I know his style."

"Is it safe?"

"Oh yes, I think so. Voldemort needed to create a means to cross the lake without attracting the wrath of those creatures he had placed within it in case he ever wanted to visit or remove his Horcrux."

"So the things in the water won't do anything to us if we cross in Voldemort's boat?"

"I think we must resign ourselves to the fact that they will, at some point, realize we are not Lord Voldemort. Thus far, however, we have done well. They have allowed us to raise the boat."

"But why have they let us?" asked Harry, who could not shake off the vision of tentacles rising out of the dark water the moment they were out of sight of the bank.

"Voldemort would have been reasonably confident that none but a very great wizard would have been able to find the boat," said Dumbledore. "I think he would have been prepared to risk what was, to his mind, the most unlikely possibility that somebody else would find it, knowing that he had set other obstacles ahead that only he would be able to penetrate. We shall see whether he was right."

Harry looked down into the boat. It really was very small. "It doesn't look like it was built for two people. Will it hold both of us? Will we be too heavy together?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Voldemort will not have cared about the weight, but about the amount of magical power that crossed his lake. I rather think an enchantment will have been placed upon this boat so that only one wizard at a time will be able to sail in it."

"But then…?"

"I do not think you will count, Harry: You are underage and un-qualified. Voldemort would never have expected a sixteen-year-old to reach this place: I think it unlikely that your powers will register compared to mine." Harry raised his eyebrows at the comment; perhaps Dumbledore knew it, for he added, "Voldemort's mistake, Harry, Voldemort's mistake. . . Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth. . . . Now, you first this time, and be careful not to touch the water." Dumbledore stood aside and Harry climbed carefully into the boat. Dumbledore stepped in too, coiling the chain onto the floor. They were crammed in together; Harry could not comfortably sit, but crouched, his knees jutting over the edge of the boat, which began to move at once. There was no sound other than the silken rustle of the boat's prow cleaving the water; it moved without their help, as though an invisible rope was pulling it onward toward the light in the centre. Soon they could no longer see the walls of the cavern; they might have been at sea except that there were no waves.

Harry looked down and saw the reflected gold of his wand light sparkling and glittering on the black water as they passed. The boat was carving deep ripples upon the glassy surface, grooves in the dark mirror. . . .

And then Harry saw it, marble white, floating inches below the surface. "Professor…" he started.

"Harry?"

"I think I saw a hand in the water- a human hand."

"Yes, I am sure you did," said Dumbledore calmly.

Harry stared down into the water, looking for the vanished hand, but it had gone.

"So that thing that jumped out of the water?" But Harry had his answer before Dumbledore could reply; the wand light had slid over a fresh patch of water and showed him, this time, a dead man lying face-up inches beneath the surface, his open eyes misted as though with cobwebs, his hair and his robes swirling around him like smoke. There are bodies in here he thought.

"Yes, there are bodies in here" said Dumbledore placidly, as if he had read the boy's mind, "but we do not need to worry about them at the moment."

"At the moment?" Harry repeated, tearing his gaze from the water to look at Dumbledore.

"Not while they are merely drifting peacefully below us," said Dumbledore. "There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."

"But one of them jumped. When I tried to Summon the Horcrux, a body leapt out of the lake."

"Yes. I am sure that once we take the Horcrux, we shall find them less peaceable. However, like many creatures that dwell in cold and darkness, they fear light and warmth, which we shall therefore call to our aid should the need arise. Fire, Harry," Dumbledore added with a smile, in response to Harry's bewildered expression.

"Oh . . . right. . ." said Harry quickly. He turned his head to look at the greenish glow toward which the boat was still inexorably sailing. The great black lake, teeming with the dead ... It seemed hours and hours ago that he had seen Draco. He silently prayed that the plan was working.

"Nearly there," said Dumbledore, annoyingly cheerful. Sure enough, the greenish light seemed to be growing larger at last, and within minutes, the boat had come to a halt, bumping gently into something that Harry could not see at first, but when he raised his illuminated wand he saw that they had reached a small island of smooth rock in the centre of the lake. "Careful not to touch the water," said Dumbledore again as Harry climbed out of the boat.

The island was no larger than Dumbledore's office, an expanse of flat dark stone on which stood nothing but the source of that greenish light, which looked much brighter when viewed close to. Harry squinted at it; at first, he thought it was a lamp of some kind, but then he saw that the light was coming from a stone basin rather like the Pensieve, which was set on top of a pedestal. Dumbledore approached the basin and Harry followed. Side by side, they looked down into it. The basin was full of an emerald liquid emitting that phosphorescent glow.

"What is it?" asked Harry quietly.

"I am not sure," said Dumbledore. "Something more worrisome than blood and bodies, however." Dumbledore pushed back the sleeve of his robe over his blackened hand, and stretched out the tips of his burned fingers toward the surface of the potion. "Like I thought. I cannot touch," said Dumbledore, smiling faintly. "See? I cannot approach any nearer than this. You try."

Staring, Harry put his hand into the basin and attempted to touch the potion. He met an invisible barrier that prevented him coming within an inch of it. No matter how hard he pushed, his fingers encountered nothing but what seemed to be solid and flexible air.

"Out of the way, please, Harry," said Dumbledore. He raised his wand and made complicated movements over the surface of the potion, murmuring soundlessly. Nothing happened, except perhaps that the potion glowed a little brighter. Harry remained silent while Dumbledore worked, but after a while Dumbledore withdrew his wand, and Harry felt it was safe to talk again.

"You think the Horcrux is in there, sir?"

"Oh yes." Dumbledore peered more closely into the basin. Harry saw his face reflected, upside down, in the smooth surface of the green potion. "But how to reach it? This potion cannot be penetrated by hand, Vanished, parted, scooped up, or siphoned away, nor can it be Transfigured, Charmed, or otherwise made to change its nature." Almost absentmindedly, Dumbledore raised his wand again, twirled it once in mid-air, and then caught the crystal goblet that he had conjured out of nowhere. "I can only conclude that this potion is supposed to be drunk."

"Drunk?"

"Yes, I think so: Only by drinking it can I empty the basin and see what lies in its depths."

"But what if it kills you?" he asked, adding the word prematurely in his head

"Oh, I doubt that it would work like that," said Dumbledore easily. "Lord Voldemort would not want to kill the person who reached this island." Harry couldn't believe it. Was this more of Dumbledore's insanity?

"Sir," said Harry, trying to keep his voice reasonable as he once more played the part, "sir, this is Voldemort we're…"

"I'm sorry, Harry; I should have said, he would not want to immediately kill the person who reached this island," Dumbledore corrected himself. "He would want to keep them alive long enough to find out how they managed to penetrate so far through his defences and, most importantly of all, why they were so intent upon emptying the basin. Do not forget that Lord Voldemort believes that he alone knows about his Horcruxes."

Harry remained quiet about the fact that he knew that wasn't true. Dumbledore frowned slightly at the emerald liquid, evidently thinking hard. "Undoubtedly," he said, finally, "this potion must act in a way that will prevent me taking the Horcrux. It might paralyze me, cause me to forget what I am here for, create so much pain I am distracted, or render me incapable in some other way. This being the case, Harry, it will be your job to make sure I keep drinking, even if you have to tip the potion into my protesting mouth. You understand?"

Their eyes met over the basin, each pale face lit with that strange, green light. Harry did not speak. He did, however, internally smirk. This should be fun.

"You remember," said Dumbledore, "the condition on which I brought you with me?"

Harry looked into the blue eyes that had turned green in the reflected light of the basin. "But what if…?"

"You swore, did you not, to follow any command I gave you?"

"Yes, but…"

"I warned you, did I not, that there might be danger?"

"Yes," said Harry, "but…"

"Well, then," said Dumbledore, shaking back his sleeves once more and raising the empty goblet, "you have my orders."

"Why can't I drink the potion instead?"

"Because I am much older, much cleverer, and much less valuable," said Dumbledore. "Once and for all, Harry, do I have your word that you will do all in your power to make me keep drinking?"

"Couldn't…?"

"Do I have it?"

"But…"

"Your word, Harry."

"I… all right, but…"

Before Harry could make any further protest, Dumbledore lowered the crystal goblet into the potion. For a split second, Harry hoped that he would not be able to touch the potion with the goblet, but the crystal sank into the surface as nothing else had; when the glass was full to the brim, Dumbledore lifted it to his mouth. "Your good health, Harry."

And he drained the goblet…

A/N2: Gonna stop there. You all know what happens from here. This is the penultimate chapter. Next one will be the last, for this story at least. So excited to know how you react. Review with your thought and cookies from the dark side shall be virtually sent. XD

xxxxx