Chapter 207: Inferi on the lake

When he heard Kreacher, Sirius rushed forward.

It was very clear how much he wanted to rush into the lake to find Regulus' body.

"No, Sirius!", Looking at Sirius, Harry and Hermione shouted, fortunately Dumbledore stopped him at the last minute.

"Let me go!" Sirius gasped and said, "I'm going to find Regulus."

"I can understand your feelings, Sirius, but we must be careful." Dumbledore whispered, "The Black Lake is very dangerous. You've heard Kreacher's description and you know what's inside. Besides the Inferi, this lake also..."

"I'm not afraid of the danger, I'm not afraid of the Inferi!" cried Sirius.

"I know, but running straight into the lake doesn't help Regulus. What you were about to do is more of a hindrance than a help," Dumbledore said.

Sirius was silent and gradually calmed down.

"All right, let's walk. Kreacher just mentioned the island in the center of the lake, and the stone altar that was originally used to store the Horcrux. I want to go there and take a look." Dumbledore continued, "You guys follow behind me and remember, don't step in the water."

He set off around the edge of the lake, and Ivan followed close behind.

Their footsteps echoed on the narrow edge of the rock that surrounded the water.

They walked on, but the view did not vary: on one side of them, the rough cavern wall, on the other, the boundless expanse of soft, glassy darkness, in the midst of which was that mysterious greenish glow....

No one spoke. The place and this silence were oppressive and disconcerting.

Ivan had been looking at the lake. The dark water was shimmering and smooth as black glass Although nothing was visible, he knew that beneath the still lake, countless fierce Inferi watched them silently.

"How long do we have to walk like this?" Sirius said impatiently, his voice echoing in the silent darkness.

"There's a boat that can take us to the center of the lake, but Kreacher doesn't remember where the boat is." Kreacher shuddered and said, twisting his ears and chastising himself.

"Don't worry, we'll find it." Dumbledore stopped Kreacher.

"I don't understand why we should go to the island in the middle of the lake and not go straight to the lake to find Regulus..." said Sirius.

"To the lake? Only if we are very unlucky," said Dumbledore, "You can try, Sirius, don't touch the lake with your hands, use magic or throw something in, and see what happens."

Sirius picked up a stone from the ground and threw it into the lake.

Along with a loud noise, countless hands like white Inferi marble reached out from the calm surface of the lake.

They came out of nowhere, without warning or sign, as if from hell.

A second later, the lake boiled instantly, and the Inferi hands covered the entire lake. They struggled and twisted as if they were going to catch something in mid-air.

Seeing this scene, Hermione screamed and held Ivan's right arm.

Ivan also took a step back and looked at the lake in lingering fear. Although he was ready, his heart was still beating wildly.

Sirius and Harry looked at the lake in dismay, and the number of Inferi in front of them was completely beyond their imagination.

A few seconds later, the corpses and ripples disappeared completely, at an extraordinary speed, as if they had never existed. The stone Sirius had thrown into the lake disappeared completely, not sinking to the bottom of the lake, but decomposing and dissipating.

"Professor!" Harry shouted, his voice sounding much higher pitched than usual, hardly like his own.

"You see, this is not the right way to wake them up." Dumbledore said calmly. "There are too many Inferi, and it is impossible to destroy them all. We must find the place where Regulus was dragged into the water."

"If they run off, what do we do?" asked Harry.

"Like many creatures that live in the cold and dark, they are afraid of light and heat. If necessary, we can use fire." Dumbledore said calmly, "The light and heat of fire can contain them."

"But..." "Harry's face was still full of terror.

"You need to know that there is nothing to fear from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to fear from darkness." Dumbledore stared into the dark lake. "Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown that we fear when we see death and darkness, nothing more."

No one said anything, no one wanted to argue.

However, you could see in everyone's expressions that they disagreed with what Dumbledore said. They felt particularly frightened when they thought of all the Inferi in the huge lake in front of them.

Perhaps only a wizard as powerful as Dumbledore, who was not afraid of anything, not even death, would be qualified to say that.

Ivan tried to recall the information about the Inferi he had just received from the book 'Secrets of the Darkest Art': the Inferi are not part of British folklore, but are associated with the myths of Haiti and parts of Africa. The sorcerer turns the "cursed resurrected corpse" into "a hideous servant" that can be manipulated.

In those tribal traditions, the Inferi was considered a warrior or a guardian who does not care for his own safety.

They have many uses and are easily recognized and respected by other tribal residents.

Only those bodies that had made great contributions to the tribe in life are qualified to become Inferi, and continue to protect the tribe after death, which is the crowning glory.

After this witchcraft came to Europe, after centuries of development and change, it was gradually transformed by the black magicians into what it is now, becoming pure black magic.

Compared to African witchcraft, these Inferi made by black magicians may have a weaker individual strength, but the method of making them became simpler and less risky, and was considered one of the most evil of black magic.

The creation of an Inferi requires the use of any corpse. From the huge area of the lake in front of them, the number of Inferi must be extremely large.

Ivan did not know how Voldemort found these bodies, and could only speculate that they had been murdered.

The clothing on these corpses was of the ordinary Muggle style. They were probably those who had been killed by Voldemort and other Death Eaters during Voldemort's rise.