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Chapter 503: Lupin: I Never Expected You to Grow This Much!
Chapter 503: Lupin: I Never Expected You to Grow This Much! (Combined 4000 Words)
Ivan never thought that a simple meeting between Dobby and Kreacher would result in such a major conflict. He began to doubt whether summoning Dobby had been the right choice.
Kreacher's emphasis on the loyalty of House-elves to their masters surprised Ivan. If he remembered correctly, in the original timeline, Kreacher had betrayed Sirius Black, indirectly leading to his death. This clearly contradicted what Kreacher was saying.
Unless, in the original timeline, Kreacher never truly recognized Sirius Black as his master!
After all, Sirius Black had been removed from the Black Family Tree by his mother decades ago and was not the legitimate heir. If not for the fact that most members of the Black Family were either dead or imprisoned, Sirius Black would never have inherited the family estate.
Kreacher probably only obeyed Sirius Black's orders due to the Rules binding him, and in his heart, he never acknowledged this relationship. That's why he deliberately leaked information that led to Sirius Black's death, hoping that Bellatrix would become his master after Sirius Black's demise.
Fortunately, the situation is different now. If they can successfully retrieve Regulus's body from the lake and fulfill Kreacher's wish, such a tragedy might be avoided in the future.
While thinking this over, Ivan did not forget to keep Dobby and Kreacher in line, ordering them not to argue during the mission to avoid any delays.
Dobby, of course, would not disobey Ivan's command.
Kreacher, considering the mission's connection to Regulus, also quieted down, though he still looked at Dobby as if he were a pest. At least he stopped muttering insults under his breath.
"Sirius Black, it's getting late. If we don't want to be stumbling around in the dark, we should hurry!" Lupin glanced at the sky and reminded them.
"Right, let's go!" Sirius Black didn't want to waste a moment and asked Kreacher to Apparate them to the destination.
Only Kreacher had been to that cave, so they had to rely on him to Apparate them to the exact location.
To conserve Magic, the Apparition was done in two stages. Kreacher first took Sirius Black and Lupin, and when he returned, he was already sweating.
"Do you need to rest?" Ivan asked, concerned.
"House-elves don't need rest, sir!" Kreacher shook his head quickly, speaking humbly.
Ivan noticed that after destroying the Horcrux, Kreacher's attitude toward him had changed significantly. The initial disdain and dislike were gone, replaced by a hint of gratitude in his words.
Ivan smiled and extended his hand to shake Kreacher's.
Dobby also extended his hand.
However, Kreacher's face twisted in disgust, as if he had been offended, and he screamed, "Stay away, don't touch me, you filthy pest!"
Dobby's ears drooped, and he looked uncertain, his hand still extended. Ivan had to step in and pull Dobby back, then ordered Kreacher to Apparate them.
With a dizzying sensation, Ivan found himself standing in an unfamiliar place, seemingly on the edge of a cliff, facing an endless expanse of the sea.
The salty sea breeze blew gently, bringing a coolness to the air, while the sound of waves crashing against the rocks echoed in his ears.
Sirius Black and Lupin were nearby, discussing something.
"Why didn't you Apparate us directly into the cave?" Ivan asked Kreacher, surprised. He had assumed Kreacher would transport them directly to the spot where Regulus was dragged underwater by the Inferi.
"Kreacher can't sense that place, sir!" the elderly House-elf panted, looking dejected.
Ivan nodded, understanding that Voldemort must have placed some shielding Magic there.
"Kreacher, how do we proceed from here?" Sirius Black interrupted their conversation and asked Kreacher.
"Follow that path and swim for a while, and you'll get there!" Kreacher turned and pointed to a narrow crack at the base of the cliff on the right.
"What are we waiting for? I'll go ahead and scout; you all follow me!" Sirius Black clenched his wand between his teeth and, without another word, jumped into the sea, swimming toward the dark crack.
Ivan extended his wand and tapped his head, casting a Bubble-Head Charm on himself before diving in after Sirius.
They swam straight through the dark fissure, following the narrow Secret Passage. The surroundings grew darker, with only a faint light seeping through the gap behind them.
After a few minutes of swimming, they finally reached the end. Ivan struggled to climb up the steps, his entire body drenched and uncomfortable.
"Lumos (Lighting Spell)~ (Lumos)" Sirius Black's voice echoed from a distance, and a bright white light spread out from his wand, illuminating everything around them.
They realized they were in a closed cave. The walls were covered in mud and green moss, making the place look desolate.
"Are you sure this is the right place, Kreacher?" Lupin looked around, but the cave contained nothing but stones.
The old House-Elf nodded, though after more than a decade, he only remembered that the entrance required blood to open and that the Secret Passage was somewhere ahead, but he had forgotten the exact location.
"Why don't we just try it out? If Voldemort set up protections, they won't be easy to break!" Ivan thought for a moment and suggested.
"Great idea!" Sirius Black acted on the suggestion immediately, waving his wand and firing several beams of light at different spots on the stone wall, creating small craters.
"Diffindo!" Ivan joined in, but this time, his Magic didn't work. The spell hit the wall and vanished without a trace.
Sirius Black and Lupin laughed; it seemed they had found the right spot!
Ivan stepped forward, looking at the uneven stone wall. He remembered Dumbledore's method of sensing and probing in the original timeline and tried to mimic it by gently touching the wall.
The cave wall felt rough, and when Ivan tried to channel some Magic into it, he was immediately blocked. The surface showed no signs of anything unusual.
This left Ivan disappointed. Voldemort's Magic was highly advanced, far beyond what he could discern.
If not for his familiarity with the story and Kreacher's guidance, he would have had no chance of breaking it.
Ivan sighed inwardly, the slight satisfaction from earlier, brought on by Sirius Black's praise, was now gone. It was clear he still had a long way to go to match the Dark Lord in his prime.
"Ivan, what are you doing?" Sirius Black and Lupin looked at Ivan's actions with curiosity and asked.
Ivan snapped back to reality. He looked at the two puzzled faces and replied calmly, "I'm trying to sense the Magic. If something was cast here, it should leave some traces!"
"Can you really sense the traces of Casting just by feeling it?" Lupin didn't doubt Ivan's words but was surprised.
"I never thought you had grown to this level!" Lupin felt a bit ashamed, knowing he would never reach such a level in his lifetime.
Ivan felt a bit embarrassed. He hadn't sensed anything; he was just imitating Dumbledore's method.
"Cough, cough. So, the Key to opening this door should be blood. Who wants to do it?" Ivan couldn't stand the gaze of Lupin and Sirius Black and quickly changed the subject.
"Use Kreacher's blood!" The old House-Elf stepped forward excitedly, grabbing a sharp stone from the ground to cut his wrist.
But Lupin stopped him. "Wait, Kreacher! You've already exhausted yourself. You'll need to help Dobby get us out later, so you need to conserve your Magic and strength!" Lupin said.
"Then let me do it", Sirius Black stepped forward, but Lupin interrupted him before he could finish.
"No, Sirius Black, you can't either. You'll need a lot of blood for the Magic you plan to use later. This time, it should be me. Don't forget, my recovery ability is better than yours!" Lupin said firmly and pressed his wand against his wrist.
A dull light appeared at the tip of the wand.
Before Sirius Black could stop him, a large amount of bright red blood flowed from Lupin's wrist, as if guided by Magic, it flowed up the dark stone wall, staining it a vivid red.
"Remus! This is my responsibility from start to finish, you don't have to do this!" Sirius Black sighed, watching as Lupin's face grew paler from blood loss, feeling very uneasy.
Kreacher began to sob softly, the current Lupin reminding him of Regulus.
More than ten years ago, on that day, it was here that he had repeatedly pleaded with Regulus to use his blood to open the stone door, but the young master had refused.
Ivan watched as a steady stream of blood was drawn from the wound on Lupin's wrist by Magic, and he couldn't help but frown.
In the original timeline, Dumbledore didn't need this much blood to solve this puzzle.
Or perhaps Voldemort required not just blood, but the Magic contained within it. Lupin's blood quality was far inferior to Dumbledore's, so more was needed?
But this made sense.
Otherwise, Voldemort wouldn't have risked exposure just to ask Regulus for a House-Elf to serve as a sacrifice. He could have easily captured a Muggle.
The blood transfusion continued for a short while, and suddenly, a bright white light emerged from the stone wall, forming the outline of an archway.
The remaining blood was gradually absorbed, and the entire cave began to tremble. The secret passage ahead opened, revealing a dark doorway that led to an unknown space.
Ivan immediately stepped forward and cast a Healing Spell, healing the wound on Lupin's wrist.
However, due to the significant blood loss, Lupin's face was alarmingly pale, and he swayed before steadying himself.
"Are you okay, Lupin?" Sirius Black hurriedly came to his side, his voice filled with concern.
Lupin shook his head, indicating that he was fine.
"We should hurry; I'm not sure how long this door will stay open!" Lupin warned.
Sirius Black felt increasingly guilty and patted Lupin's shoulder firmly before walking into the open doorway, wand at the ready.
Ivan followed Sirius Black inside, and the cave revealed a vast, hollowed-out space. The entire mountain seemed to have been excavated, and the internal space was astonishingly large.
In front of them lay a vast, black lake, its far shore invisible. They stood at the edge of the water.
Ivan couldn't resist moving closer, crouching down and bringing his glowing wand near the Lake Surface. The white light reflected in the still, dark waters, but it couldn't penetrate the depths, revealing only a pitch-black void.
"The water quality here is terrible. If we go down, we won't be able to see anything clearly", Ivan said worriedly, keeping his voice low.
Honestly, knowing that countless Inferi lurked below and still having to dive in to retrieve a body was something only a fool would do. Unfortunately, he was forced to be that fool this time.
Sirius Black also felt a deep sense of worry; this was even more challenging than he had imagined.
Gurgle, gurgle.
The calm Lake Surface suddenly echoed with bubbling sounds. In the faint glow of the wand, pale, rotting hands emerged from the dark Lake Bottom, covering the entire surface.
Ivan and the others felt a chill run through their bodies. They knew the number of Inferi was substantial, but they hadn't realized just how many there were.
"How many people has Voldemort killed?" Ivan, looking at the pale arms densely packed like lotus roots, wondered if Voldemort had massacred an entire Muggle town to create such a vast Inferi army.
"Quick, drink this! This potion can hide our vital signs, making us nearly indistinguishable from the dead for a short time", Sirius Black said, his face changing. He quickly pulled several dark green potions from his Wizard Robes and distributed them.
Lupin, Kreacher, and Dobby took the potions without hesitation, and Ivan did the same, uncorking the bottle and gulping it down.
The dark green potion was incredibly bitter, like expired coffee without sugar. Swallowing it felt like being burned by a flame, causing intense pain in his stomach.
After a moment, the pain subsided, and a cold, icy sensation spread throughout his body. Ivan felt his blood freeze, and his heartbeat slowed to almost nothing.
(End of Chapter)
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