Chapter 205: The Cave under the Cliffs

Listening to Dumbledore, Ivan tried to feel the traces left by the magic, but he stood there blinking as he felt nothing.

From Sirius, Harry and Hermione's expressions, they should be like him, not understanding what Dumbledore was saying.

This showed the gap between them and Dumbledore.

"You three won't object to getting a little wet?" asked Dumbledore.

"Never mind, we don't mind." Ivan, Harry and Hermione shook their heads hurriedly.

"Very well, now that the tide is coming in, the entrance will get deeper and deeper, we must hurry, let's take a chance and give it a try." Dumbledore turned his head and continued, "I'll go first, you three follow me, and Sirius behind. As for you, Kreacher, go to the cave and wait for us."

After some preparations, they began to act.

And with the sudden agility of a much younger man, Dumbledore slid off the rock, landed in the sea, stuck his wand in his mouth, and began to swim with a perfect stroke toward the dark cleft in the rock face.

Ivan, Harry and Hermione also hurried after him, and Sirius was right behind them.

The water was icy and choppy, and they all felt sick. Especially Ivan, he had too many magic books in his arms. His waterlogged clothes swelled around him and weighed him down.

He took a deep breath and filled his nostrils with the taste of salt and seaweed.

Then he sank to the bottom of the water, struggling to find Dumbledore in front of him, and the narrow gap in the depths of the cliff.

But he saw nothing, not even Harry and Hermione, who were supposed to be beside him. There seemed to be a strong suction in the depths of the sea. Like a bottomless, black whirlpool, he was drawn into it, dragged down to the bottom.

In the dark, cold waters, Ivan was alone and helpless, and he couldn't even breathe.

Just as he could barely keep up, someone lifted him up.

It was Sirius, his strength was great, pushing Ivan to swim in the other direction.

Soon, they entered the gap in the depths of the cliff, and the fissure opened into a dark tunnel. They quickly climbed up the dark corridor, and Ivan could breathe again. So far, the seawater had not filled the entire dark tunnel, but it had reached his chest.

Now that the tide was coming in, and while the tunnel would hold for a while, it should definitely fill with water during high tide.

"Are you okay, Ivan?" Sirius patted Ivan's shoulder and said with concern, "Don't be too slow, I saw you falling behind..."

"I... I'm fine," Ivan said as Harry and Hermione hurried to join them, because they were too cold, and all three of them were pale and shivering in chest-deep water.

Not far away, the end of Dumbledore's wand glowed bright gold. He was looking around. The slimy walls were barely three feet away and glistened like wet tar. He said nothing, just waved his hand and motioned for them to keep up.

Moving deeper into the cave, there was a crossroads, and Kreacher wasn't there. They didn't know which way to go, but Dumbledore turned left without hesitation.

They continued to follow Dumbledore, and the temperature in the cave was much lower than outside, for there was no sun and the stinging water was even colder. Their numb fingers were rubbed against the rough, wet rocks as they stumbled forward into the sea.

At the end of the dark tunnel, Dumbledore emerged from the water, his silver hair and dark robes gleaming.

They swam there and found steps leading down to a large cave.

Ivan struggled to climb up them, water running off his soaked clothes.

Finally he emerged from the water, the air around him was silent and cold, and he shivered uncontrollably.

He saw that Kreacher was already standing in the middle of the cave and was talking to Dumbledore beside him.

Dumbledore was standing in the middle of the cave, his wand held high, whispering as he slowly turned in place, examining the walls and ceiling.

"There is no doubt that this is the place." Dumbledore said briefly, "These walls have been enchanted, the footprints Riddle left behind..."

Ivan watched as Dumbledore continued to turn slowly in place, apparently focusing on something Ivan could not see, studying the footprints left by Voldemort.

"Yes, Kreacher, I know this is simply the antechamber, the entrance hall," Dumbledore whispered. "We need to penetrate the inner place.... Now it is Lord Voldemort's obstacles that stand in our way, rather than those of nature..."

Dumbledore approached the cave wall and stroked it with his blackened fingertips.

The wand in his hand swayed slightly, and his mouth was muttering in a strange language that Harry did not understand. It appeared to be a magic spell, or maybe it wasn't.

As nothing happened, twice Dumbledore walked around the cave, touching as much of the rough rock as he could, occasionally pausing, running his fingers back and forth over a particular spot.

"Pro... Professor," Ivan took a few steps forward. Dumbledore was identifying the magical traces left by Voldemort. He wanted to know how Dumbledore did it. He had never seen a wizard fix things like this, simply by looking and touching, and using his mind to feel it.

It's the work of a master, devoid of bangs and smoke that more often were marks of ineptitude....

Ivan wanted to learn from Dumbledore how to distinguish the magical traces left on the object, but then discovered he had no energy to do such things.

As the cold invaded the bone marrow, he shivered all over.

Sirius, Harry and Hermione next to him weren't much better either, and were shivering uncontrollably.

Ivan saw Sirius pulled out his wand and wanted to use magic to warm them up, but it didn't work. Because of the cold, their teeth were grinding, and his magic failed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I forgot." Dumbledore looked at them. He pointed his wand at the four of them.

At Dumbledore's gesture, Ivan felt his body dry and warm immediately, and there was no trace of moisture on his clothes as if he had been hanging in front of a blazing fire.

"Thank you," Ivan, Harry and Hermione said gratefully, but Dumbledore had already turned his attention back to the solid cave wall.

He didn't try to do any more magic, but simply stood there staring at it, as if something extremely interesting was written on it.

"Where's Regulus?" Sirius suddenly called out, "Kreacher, tell us how to get in."

There was a hint of impatience in his voice. They had wasted too much time, and this dark, strange hole in front of him was beyond his reach.

This was not something he was good at. He'd rather fight an inferi than stay here...