Chapter 208: Strange Feelings

Thinking about this, Ivan felt particularly uncomfortable.

He remembered the book 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts', which describes Voldemort's strongest decade: "The era of Voldemort's rule was marked by destruction, and he and his pretenders, the dark wizards known as the Death Eaters, used all kinds of coercion and intimidation to strengthen themselves and spread violence and fear. Many Muggles were killed in the name of "fun" because they tortured those who obstructed them with unforgivable spells."

Ivan thought this was an exaggerated description of the brutal rule of Voldemort and the Death Eaters. They might have killed a lot of people, but most of them should be the wizards who resisted them, so he thought.

But now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.

They had already put their doctrines into practice and killed many innocent Muggles.

The great Black Lake in front of him was a testament to their heinous crimes. There were thousands of corpses in it.

In the face of such powerful dark wizards, ordinary people who had no magical power could not even resist, but Voldemort and the Death Eaters killed them and cruelly turned them into Inferi.

And even after death, their bodies and souls had no peace.

These kinds of actions were not war, but genocide.

Ivan didn't know why Voldemort and the Death Eaters were doing this, maybe as it said in the book, they were just doing it for fun; or Voldemort needed them to make Inferi to protect his own Horcruxes; or....

A strange sensation arose from deep inside him, as Ivan felt only a chill throughout his body.

Staring at the black lake in front of him, he felt exceptionally angry thinking about what Voldemort had done.

He thought about those things as he silently followed Dumbledore. Then the latter suddenly stopped and Ivan almost collided with him.

He lost his balance and toppled over the edge of the dark water. Dumbledore grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"I'm so sorry, Ivan, I should have warned you. Back up against the wall, please; I think I've found the spot." Dumbledore said, hinting to the others that they would follow.

Ivan did not lean back, but took a step closer.

The dark lakeside before him was no different from any other, but it was as if Dumbledore sensed something special.

Ivan knew that Dumbledore had discovered the location of the sailboat and he wanted to find out how he had done it.

He concentrated on seeing Dumbledore's hand running not over the rocky wall, but through the air, as if he expected to find and grab something invisible.

A few seconds later, his hand closed in the air, as if he had caught something no one else could see.

Along the shore, Dumbledore slowly approached the lake and Ivan followed.

The closer Ivan got to the lake, the more uncomfortable he felt.

It was an unusual reaction to magic, much like the feeling at the entrance to the large rock, but more intense.

Harry watched nervously as the tips of Dumbledore's buckled shoes found the extreme edge of the rock's rim. Keeping his hand clenched in the air, Dumbledore raised his wand with the other and slammed his fist forward.

Ivan could sense something abnormal, but he didn't know what Dumbledore had found and how he found it.

He knew he wouldn't have a chance to open his mouth again at any moment, and he shouted in a rush, "Professor?"

"I reminded you to be sorry!" Dumbledore looked at Ivan for a moment, calmly saying, "You've got the hang of it, you're only a step away. I can give you a little more help."

The wand in his hand swayed a little, and he muttered something.

At Dumbledore's movement, Ivan suddenly had a strange feeling of something clicking inside him, as if something had snapped.

Then there was a fresh feeling coming from deep inside him.

Ivan found that the light around him began to fade, everything was ethereal; his soul seemed to float out of his body, and the world became black and white.

He was somewhat curious, what kind of magic did Dumbledore use on him?

Suddenly, Ivan realized that he no longer looked at things with his eyes, but looked at everything around him with a different and strange perspective.

It was like what Dumbledore said, he was feeling it with his mind.

"Now, pay attention to the things on my left hand, Ivan!", Dumbledore's voice seemed to come from somewhere far away, very vague, but the meaning of his words was accurately conveyed to Ivan's mind.

Hastily he bowed his head and looked at Dumbledore's hand.

He saw what Dumbledore actually caught in his hand, a black rope that was significantly darker than the one around it.

It was held in Dumbledore's hands and stretched out into the lake in front of him.

Down in the depths of the lake, where the rope was tied, the eerie black became more intense, and the contrast with the surroundings was more obvious.

The black appeared in a strange shape and looked like a boat.

Ivan was amazed. He knew there was a wooden ship there, but it was magically hidden and he couldn't see it before.

Now, in contrast, he suddenly realized that those black things, which were obviously much darker than the colors surrounding them, should be the traces of the so-called magic that Voldemort had left according to Dumbledore.

"Alright, remember that feeling, and then slowly raise your head," Dumbledore's voice rang out again, and Ivan did as he had ordered, and the light around him began to return to normal.

At last, he saw the whole image of the lake in front of him.

The water of the lake was very different from what it had just been. It was no longer dark and opaque, but an abnormal green color, darker and murkier toward the center of the lake.

It looked like the juice of a slug, extremely disgusting.

If this was also a trace of magic, then there should be something wrong with the water. No wonder Dumbledore insisted that they never touch this water.

Beneath the green lake, there were countless gray stains.

Surely, they should be Inferi.

Ivan thought so, and everything gradually returned to its original appearance.

It was dark everywhere, and only a few wands gave a faint glow.

Sirius, Harry and Hermione stood pale on the edge of the rock, looking anxiously at Dumbledore and his fist hanging tightly.

"Come on, Ivan!" Hermione whispered, and she gently grabbed Ivan's right arm and pulled him back. "Dumbledore said to stand against the wall, and you're stuck there."

"It's Dumbledore's magic, he just...," Ivan said.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione said in surprise, "Dumbledore hasn't cast a spell yet. Look, he seems to have found something."

"I know, he found the ship, I just saw the traces of magic." Ivan explained, "Dumbledore just cast a spell on me. I felt a cold gush in my body. Everything in front of me was strange. It was totally different from what I see right now..."

Ivan stopped suddenly, and found Hermione's face stunned, apparently not understanding what he was talking about.

Not far behind, it was the same for Sirius and Harry. They didn't notice any anomalies, and they didn't see Dumbledore casting a spell on him, nor could they know what he had just seen.

Everything that just happened was so ethereal, as if only Ivan himself and Dumbledore knew.

In fact, the others saw that Dumbledore seemed to find something on the ground. He told them to step back, but suddenly Ivan came up and stood behind Dumbledore for about two or three seconds, and Hermione pulled him back.

The whole process was like that, strange though it was, you couldn't see it.