Chapter 114

Finding The Cave

Appearing atop a large cliff, Lily's nose was immediately assaulted by the smell of the ocean, and she saw, and heard, the waves crashing loudly against the rocks below them. She recognised the area from an image Dumbledore had shown them previously, and felt a chill as she removed her cloak, whilst Ginny did the same thing. Both of them stored their cloaks safely in their magical backpacks, wearing them as they looked around.

The ocean below was almost invisible in the darkness of the night, though the stars were twinkling above them beautifully, though it was the only real beauty of the area. It looked foreboding, and dangerous.

"They brought kids here for picnics?" Lily scorned, as she tried to see any reason why someone would bring kids to this location but found none.

"Not here, exactly. There is a village, of sorts, not too far from here. It is used as a tourist site for the most part, I believe," Dumbledore replied. "The children from the orphanage would be brought to the area for a view of the ocean and to enjoy the sea air."

"So, Riddle brought his victims here to torture them, where no one else could see," Ginny said bitterly.

"Yes, I believe so," Dumbledore confirmed. "I do not believe any muggle could reach the rock we are going to, unless they were excellent mountaineers, and boats can't approach either, as the waves would be dangerous. I brought you here first to gather your bearings before we go down."

"Are we apparating down?" Ginny asked. Dumbledore nodded, so both girls took his arm. A moment later, they were standing atop a large rock at the bottom of the cliff.

"Oh, this is much better," Ginny scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Did Riddle come down here before he learnt magic?"

"I believe he did, yes, climbing down. Even before he was able to control his magic, he was gifted in many ways. He would have climbed down, and as I understand it, he brought two young children with him, intending to torture them with the journey," Dumbledore explained.

Lily looked up the cliff. "Yeah, that'd do it," Lily said. She then spotted a series of jagged niches along the edge of the rock, which made footholds leading down to the boulders that were in the water, the top halves poking out, giving them steps to use. "We need to go down there, don't we?" she asked, shaking her head.

"Sadly, yes," Dumbledore confirmed. Lily nodded and took a deep breath, before leading the way along the footholds, going carefully, with Dumbledore trailing due to his withered hand.

Lily felt the spray from the seawater hitting the rocks but did her best to ignore it as she moved along. "Careful of the lower rocks, they're a little slippery," Lily warned.

As they reached the boulder closest to the cliff face, Lily immediately cast the Lumos charm, lighting up the area.

"I see the entrance to a cave not too far from here," Lily called out, struggling to hear the others over the crash of the waves.

"How do we get there?" Ginny called back.

"Professor, can we freeze the water?" Lily called out.

"I believe we can, yes," Dumbledore said. Lily watched and was impressed as Dumbledore managed to wave his wand, and the waves froze in place.

"How far are they frozen for?" Lily asked. "Can we walk on them?"

"Yes, they are as solid as rock for the moment," Dumbledore confirmed, carefully stepping on them.

"You know, I seem to remember being told stories about someone who could walk on water nearly two thousand years ago," Lily said, following suit, and helping Ginny.

"Yes, I have heard the same story. There are some who believe that the one the muggle's call the Messiah was nothing more than a wizard who used his magic to help so many," Dumbledore said. "I can't say what the truth is, for wizarding history from back then has mostly been lost, at least for that time period anyway."

Lily was thankful for the peace, now the waves weren't crashing loudly against the rocks.

"I suppose anything's possible," Lily mused, as she and Ginny walked alongside Dumbledore, quickly reaching the entrance to a cave. She could see a tunnel inside, lit up by the Lumos charm.

It was clear as to why they had needed to be here now; the ground inside the cave was damp, and smelt of seawater, which Lily surmised meant that when the tide was in, the cave entrance was underwater.

She looked around the area; it was dank and dark, somewhere Voldemort would have liked and felt at home, that was for sure. But she needed to find the entrance leading deeper in; she knew this couldn't be the whole cave. After all, getting here was too easy.

"There's gotta be an entrance somewhere," Lily said.

"Agreed. This is too small, and too easy to get to, for Voldemort to hide something in," Ginny added. Dumbledore was beaming at the two of them.

"I know I don't often say this, but I am very proud of the two of you. You have learnt everything I hoped you would learn this year, and you understand what most wouldn't. I couldn't have asked for better students to teach," Dumbledore complimented.

Lily and Ginny blushed but beamed at Dumbledore as he looked at the walls.

"We need to penetrate the inner chamber, so for now, we should focus on finding where Voldemort hid the entrance," Dumbledore explained.

"I'm getting a strange feeling over here, Professor," Ginny said, standing near a wall. "I don't understand it, but I feel… a cold chill when I'm near here, and not made by the weather."

Dumbledore walked over to Ginny and placed a hand against the rock face.

"Yes, I believe you are correct, Ginny; this place has known magic. You continue to impress me," Dumbledore said.

"If there's one thing you've taught us, sir, it's that flash, pomp, and bangs and smoke are the marks of ineptitude rather than expertise. Look at Lockhart," Ginny replied.

"Indeed. Gilderoy was more smoke and mirrors than skill and experience," Dumbledore agreed. He stepped back from the wall and pointed his wand at the rock. For a few moments, an arched outline appeared on the rock, a bright, white light almost seeping from the rock itself, before a crack could be seen. However, that was all that happened; the rock didn't move, and when Lily touched it, she felt solid rock.

"Did we not do it right?" Lily asked, frowning.

"Actually, I think we only half did it," Dumbledore said, a look of disgust on his face. He sighed. "I'm rather disappointed, Tom. This is so crude, even for you."

"Crude, Professor?" Lily asked, a little confused.

"I suspect," Dumbledore said, putting his wand away and drawing a short, silver knife from his robes. Lily knew it was one commonly used in potions; she had the exact same knife in her potions kit. "That we are required to make a payment to pass."

"A payment?" Lily asked, before the idea struck her. "Blood?"

"Exactly," Dumbledore scoffed. "Like I said, crude, even for Lord Voldemort."

"Yeah, I'd have thought he'd have done something better as well," Lily agreed. She went to Dumbledore, and gently took the knife from him. "You're already injured; don't even think about it."

Dumbledore smiled at Lily. "You are kind, Lily, but I do not wish you harmed," Dumbledore said.

"It's not like we can't close the wound after, and with all due respect, we're healthier right now," Lily said firmly. "Where do I let the blood drop to?"

Dumbledore looked at her, then nodded, clearly understanding that Lily would not accept his objections. He pointed to a small rock next to the crack. "You will not need much," Dumbledore said.

Lily nodded and went to the rock. She took a breath, and made a cut on her left hand, wincing slightly, but seeing blood slowly seep out. She placed her hand on the rock, and immediately the arch reappeared, but this time it didn't fade away. Ginny took Lily's hand and waved her wand over it, the wound healing instantly.

"You're getting much better at that than I am," Lily smiled at her.

"Someone needs to keep you in one piece when you're doing something stupid," Ginny chided teasingly, as she took the knife and conjured up a holster on her jeans belt, sheathing the dagger.

"It is clear you are both ready for this quest," Dumbledore said, looking at them. "I wish things were not this way, but whatever happens, I know you will win this war."

"We'll win it together, sir," Lily assured her, leading the way into the tunnel, casting the Lumos charm again, this time inside the archway, and walked through it.

The cavern led to the edge of a great, black lake, the water as dark as the night sky. There was the smell of salt, but also something else that Lily couldn't quite put a name to. It made her feel uneasy; the entire area did.

"Do not touch the water; be very careful about how you walk," Dumbledore cautioned.

The three of them walked carefully around the edge of the lake, walking on multiple rocks and boulders at times. "This is definitely somewhere I'd hide something dangerous that I didn't want someone finding," Lily commented.

"Agreed; it's dark, dank, and dangerous," Ginny replied, looking around with the limited sight she had, due to the darkness. Their steps echoed around what sounded like a large chamber, which Lily assumed was all around the lake. It wasn't something she'd ever seen, a lake within a cavern. She didn't even know such a thing was possible.

"Do you think Voldemort created this cavern and lake?" Lily asked.

"I believe he would have, yes," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "It doesn't entirely look natural."

"A lake within a cavern within a cave within a cliff? Yeah, pretty sure we left natural miles back," Ginny said, smirking. Lily chuckled softly.

"Can't disagree with that," Lily agreed. After a short distance, they stopped: Lily could see something that had a mysterious green glow. "Is that it?" Lily asked.

"I believe it is," Dumbledore agreed.

"I'd love to do a summoning charm, but this is Voldemort we're talking about. He might have thought no one could get here, but he wouldn't be that stupid as to not put some sort of protection on it to prevent someone just summoning it," Lily mused.

"There's probably something near it, or in the water, ready to stop anyone magically taking it," Ginny mused, almost studying the distant light.

"Very likely," Dumbledore again agreed with them as they stood on the edge of the lake. "It is also likely that the Horcrux is there."

"Which means we need to cross the lake. Can we freeze the water here?" Ginny asked.

"No, I do not believe we can," Dumbledore answered.

"There's going to be something in the lake, isn't there? Do you think we can do a revealing spell?" Lily asked. "I learnt about them in my fourth year, training for the Triwizard tournament."

"It is a useful spell to know, certainly," Dumbledore said, as he reached out his uninjured hand. "But for the moment, I do not think it necessary."

Lily and Ginny watched as Dumbledore seemingly grabbed an invisible object and raised his wand with the other hand. A chain that was discoloured appeared out of thin air, extending from the depths of the water into Dumbledore's hand.

"How did you know that was there?" Ginny asked, impressed.

"I could sense something, and so had a suspicion," Dumbledore replied.

"I wish I had senses as good as yours," Lily commented.

"One day, perhaps you will. Being much older than the two of you, I have had a long time to train mine," Dumbledore said, almost cheerily. He tapped the chain with his wand, which began to slide through his fist, the sound of clinking metal echoing off the rocky walls, as it pulled a boat from the lake, until it hit the bank they were standing on.

"Is this safe? Will it hold all three of us?" Lily asked.

"Yes, I believe it will. Voldemort, after all, would need a means to cross this lake without attracting the wrath of whatever he has in the lake, in case he needed to visit or remove the Horcrux," Dumbledore said.

"What do you think is in the lake?" Ginny asked.

"Something, I suspect, will eventually realise we are not Lord Voldemort. So far, we've been able to raise the boat, and hopefully we shall be able to cross as well. Let us hope that our luck will hold out," Dumbledore told them.

"Let's hope the potion holds out," Lily muttered, as the three of them got into the boat. "It will hold us, right?"

"It should do; it is not a normal boat, but rather an enchanted one. Voldemort's spells would only detect myself, as you are both underage, and he would have thought only great wizards or witches would make it, or rather, those not underage. Once again, he underestimates the two of you," Dumbledore said.

"Yeah, not the first time he's done it, and won't be the last either," Lily scoffed, shaking her head. "Won't be the last time either, knowing him."

"I entirely agree. Let us begin this trip, and make Voldemort regret his hubris," Dumbledore said, magically setting the boat off. Lily didn't know what they were going to face next, but she felt confident that the three of them, together, would be able to overcome anything.