Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

Hearing Dumbledore, Evan tried to sense those traces left by the magic, but he just stood there blinking as he felt nothing.

By the expressions of Sirius, Harry, and Hermione, they should be like him, not getting what Dumbledore was talking about.

This showed the gap between them and Dumbledore.

“You three will not object to getting a little wet?”

“It doesn’t matter, we don’t mind.” Evan, Harry and Hermione hurriedly shook their heads.

“Very well, now the tide is rising, the entrance will get deeper and deeper, we must hurry up, let us take a chance and try it.” Dumbledore turned his head and continued, “I’ll go first, the three of you follow me, and Sirius behind. As for you Kreacher, you go to the cave and wait for us.”

After some preparations, they started to act.

And with the sudden agility of a much younger man, Dumbledore slid from the boulder, landed in the sea, put his wand in his mouth and began to swim with a perfect breaststroke toward the dark slit in the rock face.

Evan, Harry, and Hermione also rushed to follow, and Sirius was behind them.

The water was icy and biting, and everyone felt bad. Especially Evan, he had too many magic books in his arms. His waterlogged clothes billowed around him and weighed him down.

He took deep breaths that filled his nostrils with the tang 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 didn’t see anything, not even Harry and Hermione, who were supposed to be next to him. There seemed to be a strong suction in the depths of the sea. Like a bottomless black whirlpool, he was going deep into it, dragged to the bottom.

In the dark, cold waters, Evan was lonely and helpless, and couldn’t even breathe.

Just as he could hardly keep up, someone pulled him up.

It was Sirius, his strength was great, pulling Evan 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 moved up in the dark passage, and Evan was able to breathe again. So far, the seawater had not filled the whole dark tunnel, but it had reached his chest.

Now that the tide was rising, and while the tunnel would hold on for a while, it should definitely be filled with water at high tide.

“You’re all right, Evan” Sirius patted Evan’s shoulder and said with concern, “Don’t be too reluctant, I saw you falling behind…”

“I… I’m fine”

Evan, Harry and Hermione hurried up, because they were too cold, and all three of them were pale and shivering in the water to the chest.

Not far ahead, the end of Dumbledore’s wand was shining bright golden. He was looking around. The slimy walls were barely three feet apart and glimmered like wet tar.

He did not say anything, just waving his hand and signalling them to keep up.

Going a little further, there was a crossroads, and Kreacher was not 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 the outside, for there was no sunshine and the biting water was even colder. Their numb fingers were rubbed against the rough, wet rocks as they stumbled forward in the sea.

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

They swam there and found steps leading into a large cave.

Evan struggled to clamber up them, water streaming from his soaking clothes.

He finally emerged, shivering uncontrollably, into the still and freezing air.

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

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

“There is no doubt that this is the place.” Dumbledore said briefly, “These walls have been enchanted, the traces that Riddle left…”

Evan watched as Dumbledore continued to revolve on the spot, apparently focusing on something Evan couldn’t see, studying the traces left by Voldemort.

“Yes, Kreacher, I know that this is merely 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 nature made…”

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

The wand in his hand swayed slightly, and his mouth was murmuring in a strange tongue that Harry did not understand. It seemed to be a magic Spell, or perhaps it wasn’t.

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

“Pro… Professor”

Evan took a few steps forward. Dumbledore was identifying the magic traces left by Voldemort. He wanted to know how Dumbledore did it. He had never seen a wizard work things out like this, simply by looking and touching, and using his mind to sense it.

It’s the work of a master, devoid of bangs and smoke that were more often the marks of ineptitude than expertise…

Evan wanted to learn from Dumbledore how to distinguish the magic traces left on the object, but then found that he had no energy at all to do such things.

Because the cold invaded the bone marrow, he was shaking all over.

Sirius, Harry, and Hermione beside him were not much better either, and they were shaking uncontrollably.

Evan saw that Sirius pulled out his wand and wanted to use magic to warm them up, but it didn’t work. Because of the cold, his teeth were clattering, and his magic failed.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I forgot.” Dumbledore noticed them. He pointed to the four of them with his wand.

With Dumbledore’s gesture, Evan felt that his body became immediately dry and warm, and there was no trace of moister in his clothes as if they had been hanging in front of a blazing fire…

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

He did not try any more magic, but simply stood there staring at it intently, as though something extremely interesting was written on it.

“Where is Regulus?” Sirius suddenly shouted, “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 grasp.

This was not something he was good at. He would rather fight the underworld than stay here…