Chapter 116

Finding the Horcrux

(Horcrux Cave)

The boat journey across to the island was cramped, but not as bad as it would have been, since Dumbledore had been able to increase the size of the boat slightly. The smell of salt filled the air; it was almost like they were at sea, albeit without any waves. Lily was looking into the water, trying to see what Voldemort would have put in the lake, though she let out a gasp when she did manage to make out the shape of a hand.

"Professor… I think there are Inferi in the lake. Professor Snape spoke about them in one of his first lessons this school year," Lily explained.

Ginny waved her wand gently over the water, which let Lily see clearly into the water; she saw the body of an old man lying faceup beneath the surface. The man's eyes were wide open, and misted over, with his hair and robes swirling in the water.

"This is disgusting. He really desecrates these people after killing them?" Ginny scoffed.

"Sadly, yes. They can be a powerful weapon, I'm sorry to say. Some will be magical bodies, whilst others will be muggles. In this, Voldemort will not discriminate," Dumbledore explained.

"Right, cos why would a dead body make any difference to him?" Lily scoffed, disgusted with the idea. "I did not expect any of this today."

"Neither of us did, Lily, but we are close to our goal," Dumbledore assured her.

"That's something at least," Lily said, as they reached the island. Lily used her magic to move the boat enough to the shore so they could get out without making physical contact with the water. "I have a bad feeling about this," Lily said, as she looked around the small island. It was about the same size as Dumbledore's office, with what looked like a stone basin in the centre, much like the pensieve in Dumbledore's office.

There was a light coming from the basin, though it was dim, yet green. "Guessing that's what we want," Ginny said, as the three carefully approached it.

"Yeah, that'd be my guess," Lily agreed. Inside the basin was an emerald liquid, emitting a glow. "What's that?" Lily asked.

"I am not sure, but it is more worrisome than blood and bodies, I fear," Dumbledore replied.

"It's a potion of sorts. Voldemort did well in potions; he wanted to keep Slughorn happy all the time, didn't he?" Ginny asked.

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed, running his blackened hand near to the surface of the potion. "It seems that this is as close as I can get to the potion."

"Another spell or charm?" Lily asked, as she tried to touch the potion. She found the same problem; what felt like an invisible force pushing her away. "Damn, what kind of repelling charm manages this?" Lily asked.

"An exceptionally powerful one," Dumbledore replied. "I must confess, there is much more complexity to this than I suspected, given the crude method of entry."

"He's paranoid; he'd never want things to be that easy for people," Ginny said, frowning. "There's definitely something in there then."

"But is it what we're looking for?" Lily asked.

"I am confident that it is," Dumbledore replied. "But to get to it, we will need to drain the potion from the basin."

"How are we going to manage that?" Lily asked. "I'm fairly certain we don't want to drink that stuff."

"Allow me to attempt a few spells," Dumbledore said, making complicated movements with his wand over the potion.

"You okay, Ginny?" Lily asked.

"A little nervous, and I keep feeling like someone is wrong," Ginny replied. "Maybe it's the Felix Felicius but there's something wrong here."

"I'm getting the same feeling," Lily agreed, looking around as Dumbledore worked. "I don't like any of this."

"If push comes to shove, do you remember how to deal with Inferi?" Ginny asked.

"Fire is one of the best options. If the lake is full of Inferi, we might need to resort to the Fiendfyre spell," Lily said softly.

"Think we can do it?" Ginny asked.

"Thanks to Felix, I'm fairly certain we'll be able to," Lily assured her, as Dumbledore stopped. "Any luck?"

"None, I am afraid. It seems that there is only one way to remove the potion," Dumbledore said, as he conjured a crystal goblet.

"Professor, that's a very bad idea," Lily said. "What if it kills you?"

"I do not believe that it will," Dumbledore said. "Voldemort would not want to kill the person who reached his island; at least not right away."

"No, he'd want to know who was able to find his Horcrux and penetrate all his defences," Ginny agreed.

"So, I do not think it will be healthy, but I will survive this experience," Dumbledore assured the two of them.

"Can't we just fill the goblet then empty it onto the floor? Or make it disappear?" Lily asked.

"Please do try; I do not suspect it would work, but I have, thankfully, been wrong before," Dumbledore said. Lily took the goblet and filled it up with the potion. She poured it out onto the ground, but immediately saw the level of the basin moved up, as though the potion had been poured back into the basin.

"What the hell?" Lily asked, filling the goblet again, and this time magically vanishing it. The level of potion, however, raised again to replace the missing potion.

"I really hate Voldemort right now," Ginny growled angrily.

"So do I," Lily said. Dumbledore smiled at the two of them and took the goblet back from Lily. "Is there a spell that can tell if the potion is vanished or drunk?" she asked.

"I would not have believed so, but the evidence is here. It is an unusual spell, but it does what it needs to do," Dumbledore said.

Dumbledore looked at the two of them. "Undoubtedly, the potion will act in a way that will prevent me from taking the Horcrux. It will either paralyze me, cause me to forget why we're here, create pain in such quantities that I am distracted, or render me incapable of doing anything," Dumbledore said.

"I gave you both a clear command when we left the school; to follow my orders. My order is as such; whatever happens, you must ensure that I keep drinking, even if you must tip the potion into my mouth," Dumbledore said.

"Sir, this… are you serious?" Lily asked.

"I am very serious," Dumbledore replied. "We must ensure that we retrieve what we came for, and if that means I must drink all of this potion, then so be it."

"Professor…" Lily started, but Dumbledore placed his good hand on Lily's shoulder.

"You promised that you would do whatever I asked, and I need to make sure we do this," Dumbledore said firmly. Lily took a few deep breaths and nodded.

"Yes, sir. I promise," Lily said.

"We promise," Ginny added.

"Thank you," Dumbledore said, scooping some potion into the goblet. "To your good health, ladies," he said, before drinking the potion quickly, emptying the goblet.

"Professor?" Lily asked, watching him lower the glass and refill it. "How do you feel?"

Dumbledore shook his head and closed his eyes; Lily wondered if he was in pain. Ginny and Lily held one another's hands as Dumbledore drank three more full goblets. Halfway through another goblet, Dumbledore's breathing became heavy, with his eyes closed.

"Professor, can you hear me?" Lily demanded. His face was twitching, as though asleep but experiencing a nightmare.

"He's losing his grip on the goblet," Ginny whispered. Lily reached forward, grasped the crystal cup, and held it steady.

"Please… I don't want… don't make me," Dumbledore whimpered. For a moment, Lily wanted to stop, and let Dumbledore rest, but she knew he would insist. "Don't…don't like it…"

"You've got to keep drinking Professor, remember? You told me not to let you stop. Here," Lily said, grimacing as she forced the goblet back to Dumbledore's mouth, tipping it so Dumbledore drank the remaining potion in the goblet.

Lily hated what she was doing as she ensured Dumbledore kept drinking the potion. The man she had looked up to was shaking uncontrollably, saying how it was 'all his fault' and crying. Lily assured him the potion would make it stop.

When the last of the potion had been drunk, Lily held onto Dumbledore as he began to fall. Lily and Ginny grabbed hold of him, keeping him steading and helping him to sit down gently.

"Professor?" Ginny asked, clearly worried. "Rennervate," she commanded. Her wand flashed red but did nothing.

"Professor, please, wake up," Lily pleaded. She and Ginny let out a sigh of relief as Dumbledore moaned, and his eyes flickered open.

"W…water," Dumbledore pleaded. Lily nodded and pointed her wand at the goblet.

"Aguamenti," Lily chanted, the goblet filling with water, before vanishing.

"Try again," Ginny said. Lily nodded.

"Aguamenti," she repeated. Again, the goblet filled up, but the water vanished. Ginny waved her wand, and created a new goblet, before casting the same spell. This time, the water remained. Ginny then held the goblet to Dumbledore's mouth, helping him to drink.

"The potion must make any other liquid vanish," Lily mused, making the goblet vanish as Dumbledore slowly drank the water.

"Part of whatever protection spell Voldemort put on the damned thing," Ginny agreed, looking up at Lily as she was squatting next to Dumbledore.

Lily nodded, and smiled as Dumbledore's breathing started to slow down, and return to normal.

Lily then looked into basin and removed a golden locket from it. "Looks like we got what we came for. It looks old enough to be Slytherin's locket," Lily said, looking at it.

"That's something, at least," Ginny said, sighing. "We should rest a few minutes to let Professor Dumbledore regain composure."

"Agreed," Lily smiled, sitting on the ground next to Dumbledore. "Professor, are you feeling any better?"

"A… a little. That… was no… health potion," Dumbledore replied. "Thank you…for…ensuring I finished…the potion."

"Please don't ask us to do that again," Lily said. "That was not nice."

"But…you have…the Horcrux?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, I got it from the basin," Lily said, nodding and showing it to him.

"Excellent…work. We should…leave soon, and… destroy it," Dumbledore said.

"We will," Lily leant back against the basin. "We need to rest a little; it wasn't easy getting here, and you need some more strength."

"How long do you think we need to rest for?" Ginny asked, her voice full of worry.

"A few minutes; why?" Lily asked.

"Because I seriously doubt that we have a few minutes," Ginny said, pointing to the lake. Lily stood up, pocketing the locket, and saw that multiple bodies were starting to walk out of the lake.

"Oh, bollocks."

Looking at the bodies now walking towards them, Lily drew her wand, and sent a fireball at the nearest one, sending it flying backwards. Ginny began to launch her own fireballs at the bodies, but as each body was sent backwards, three more started to emerge from the water.

"We're not gonna be able to do this alone," Ginny said, her voice full of panic.

"Then we need to do it," Lily said.

"You think we can?" Ginny asked.

"Only one way to find out," Lily told her, holding Ginny's hand. "On three."

"One…two…" Ginny counted. With a breath, they both aimed their wands, and cast the spell.

"PESTIS INCENDIUM!" Lily and Ginny called out. Immediately, a large stream of fire shot out of their wands, taking the form of a dragon. It flew around the island, protecting Lily, Ginny, and Dumbledore, as the former two moved their wands in perfect sync with one another, the dragon incinerating the Inferi bodies that were coming out of the water. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, but Lily and Ginny didn't stop.

It wasn't long before the bodies were nothing but ash, with Ginny and Lily nodding at one another.

"DESINE PESTIS INCENDIUM!" both girls shouted. The dragon gave out a roar, before vanishing back into the wands. What remained were small pockets of flame on the stones and around the edge of the lake, as well as on the walls of the massive cavern. There were bodies aflame floating on the water, and parts of burning bodies strewn around the island they were on.

"Okay, that… was… kinda cool," Ginny panted, grinning. "We did it."

"That…you did," Dumbledore sounded proud with the two of them. "Your…training with…Professor Crouch…and Moody… has paid off."

"We'll celebrate later, when we get out of here," Lily replied. "We should leave."

"Agreed," Dumbledore said, as Lily and Ginny helped him to stand up, and get to the boat.

"Think we got them all?" Lily asked.

"I hope so," Ginny said, as they shoved off from the island.

It didn't take long for the boat to reach the other side of the shore, and as they got out, Lily carefully led the way, watching out for the remnants of the Fiendfyre around them. With those remnants, however, it was easier to walk as the entire cavern was lit up by pockets of fire.

"Okay, so we're almost out of here," Lily said, as they neared the exit. "I need the dagger to make a cut."

"I got it," Ginny said, drawing the dagger and making a cut on her hand. She winced as she did so, before using the blood to open the archway. As soon as they were through, Lily healed Ginny's wound, before leading the way towards the entrance.

"Think we can apparate out of here?" Lily asked.

"I…believe so, yes," Dumbledore said.

"Let's take another minute or two. You need your rest, sir," Lily told him.

"I would…prefer to…get back to Hogwarts," Dumbledore told them.

"Maybe, but you're not exactly in a fit state to apparate anywhere. Take a couple of minutes, please," Lily insisted, as she took the Horcrux out of her pocket, looking at it briefly before handing it to Dumbledore, who smiled.

"As…you wish," Dumbledore said, his voice teasing them as he carefully held the locket, before pocketing it. "I am…thankful to you both. This year, you… you have both come a very long way. I could not…have hoped for better."

"We had a good teacher, sir. You've helped us both so much," Ginny pointed out, as they looked out at the dark ocean. It would still be hours before the tide would start to come in, so they were safe in the cavern.

"You give me…more credit than I fear I am due," Dumbledore told them. "I merely…taught you what you needed to know. The strength of your bond…nothing can break it, and now…I am confident that Lord Voldemort…will never succeed, because of it," Dumbledore assured them. Lily and Ginny both felt themselves blush deeply from the praise.

"We'll never let you down sir," Ginny said.

"We promise," Lily added, holding Dumbledore's hand. "We'll always be here to help you."

Lily could see fresh tears forming in Dumbledore's eyes. "When I am gone…I know the world…will be in safe hands," Dumbledore said.

"You've still got a long life yet, sir," Lily said, though her eyes were glancing at his hand. The glance was not missed by Dumbledore, however.

"You…both know, don't you?" Dumbledore asked. Lily nodded, as did Ginny.

"We do," Lily's voice was close to breaking. "We…we didn't want to believe it."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ginny asked, tears in her eyes.

"There was…too much to do…and not enough time, but I will…explain everything in…the morning," Dumbledore assured them. "We must…return to the school. I fear…that we need to be there."

"Don't worry sir, we'll get you there," Lily promised, as she and Ginny helped Dumbledore stand, as she prepared to apparate the three of them. Once again, thanks to the Felix Felicis, Lily felt confident in her ability to apparate them to Hogsmeade.

"I am not worried," Dumbledore answered, smiling at both of them. "I am with the two of you, after all."