Chapter 189: Regulus Black
Where Dumbledore pointed his wand, the outline of an archway appeared in the rock wall, radiating a dazzling white light from within.
"It worked!" Sirius exclaimed, exhilarated.
But no sooner had he spoken than the outline vanished. Dumbledore frowned slightly, staring intently at the cave wall.
"Oh... so that's how it is," he murmured to himself. "Crude, yet quite effective…"
He turned to the others and said, "I believe we'll need to pay a price to pass through."
"A price?" Lupin asked.
"Yes, if I'm not mistaken, blood." Dumbledore said dismissively, "The one who set this trap wants to weaken their opponents this way… which is why I say it's a very crude method."
As he spoke, he conjured a short knife and rolled up his sleeve.
"Let me do it, Professor!"
Sirius stepped forward two paces, snatched the knife, and without hesitation, slashed his own arm. Bright red blood immediately welled up.
Wade started to speak, then stopped, ultimately remaining silent.
He actually kept some magical creatures in his Wardrobe Space, most of them gifts from Scamander and Steven Murray, with a few small animals he'd found on the edge of the maze.
There were always some offspring abandoned due to illness, injury, or stunted growth. When Wade saw them, he would pick them up to enrich the biodiversity of his Wardrobe Space.
With the help of magic and magical artifacts, caring for animals or cleaning wasn't difficult.
Before coming, Wade had originally intended to find some large animals to provide blood. But seeing Sirius's action at that moment, he ultimately didn't bring it up.
It wasn't that there was no opportunity to stop him… it was just that sometimes, sacrifice and bloodshed could help one ward off inner pain.
Dumbledore didn't stop Sirius. He softly chanted a Spell, and as the blood splattered on the rock wall, the archway reappeared.
In the dazzling white light, the rock vanished, revealing a dark, cavernous doorway.
"It's ready."
Dumbledore said, pointing his Wand at the gruesome wound on Sirius's arm, which immediately healed.
Lupin walked in, holding his Wand aloft, its light illuminating the inside of the rocky cave. Then, Wade and the others also entered.
Before them lay a black lake, its boundless surface like a smooth mirror, not a single ripple upon it.
Only near them did the water reflect the light from the tip of the Wand.
The darkness here felt like something tangible, appearing dense and heavy. The light from Lupin's Wand seemed suppressed; the white glow illuminated only a small area around them.
"Such a large underground lake hidden beneath the cliff?" Lupin moved his Wand slowly, saying in surprise, "Or has someone cast an Undetectable Extension Charm here?"
He saw no trace of a Spell in the surroundings.
"I imagine it's a bit of both, Remus," Dumbledore said, his gaze fixed straight ahead.
There seemed to be something in the center of the lake, emitting a faint green glow, very conspicuous in the darkness.
"There's definitely something over there." Sirius mounted his Flying Broomstick and said, "I'll fly over and check first. If it's clear, then you can follow."
"Wait, Mr. Black."
Wade grabbed him, simultaneously releasing another old broom.
"Let it scout ahead first."
Under everyone's gaze, the Flying Broomstick shot out. Halfway through its flight, it suddenly stopped like a dragonfly caught in a spiderweb, then plummeted straight into the lake.
Several pale hands emerged from the water, dragging the broom down with frantic urgency.
"Inferius!"
Sirius gasped, and Lupin's face also paled.
"Is this… Voldemort's army, prepared for himself?" Lupin said.
He wasn't afraid to speak Voldemort's name, but in this oppressive atmosphere, Lupin instinctively lowered his voice.
"Army? I think they should be called guardians."
Dumbledore mused, "They guard something for Voldemort day and night, ready to eliminate any intruders."
"How pathetic, these people still serving the one who killed them even after death," Lupin said.
Sirius snorted, "Isn't that just how those Dark Magic practitioners are? Constantly dealing with corpses and such, reeking of decay."
Wade said nothing, observing the lake surface carefully.
To ordinary people, the rock cave contained only calm lake water. But Wade could see that the space above the water was covered in Spell patterns; invasion from any direction above was impossible, even a small bird would be blocked.
It had left a hidden passage in only one place, and Wade could see a glowing green object extending deep into the water.
And within the lake water, besides the Inferius, there was an incredibly powerful curse.
It would not only cause anyone who touched it to rapidly weaken and die, but also gradually transform any bodies that fell into it into Inferius.
This curse far exceeded Wade's beginner level; there were many aspects he simply couldn't comprehend.
In the center of the lake, dense magical patterns intertwined into a golden light pillar, even preventing him from seeing the green light that was normally within his field of vision.
Sirius and Lupin cautiously explored in opposite directions without touching anything. They returned and reported, "There's nothing here but the lake."
Dumbledore had already figured out how to cross the lake, but he didn't rush to state his conclusion. Instead, he looked at Wade.
"Wade, what did you discover?"
"The way through is hidden in the lake," Wade suggested. "But we have plenty of time anyway. Why don't we deal with the Inferi first, and then explore the center of the lake?"
This wasn't quite what Dumbledore had expected, but he amiably nodded and said, "Then let's do that."
Sirius crouched by the lake and said, "We probably can't drain this lake. Should we lure them out first?"
He looked around. "...But we only have three Flying Broomsticks left."
"No Flying Broomsticks needed."
Wade tapped his bag with his Wand, and a firebird flew out. It perched on a protruding rock on the cliff face, tilting its head as if curiously observing everyone.
"Let me introduce," Wade said. "This is my magical companion, Mihail."
Lupin exclaimed, "Your Alchemy is becoming more and more masterful."
Dumbledore silently watched the firebird, his blue eyes glinting slightly. Hearing Lupin's words, he turned and gave Lupin a thoughtful look.
Dumbledore said nothing.
Wade approached Mihail and whispered a few instructions. Mihail drew in the flames covering its body, spread its wings, and flew out, circling along the lake's edge before suddenly swooping down towards the surface.
Two or three pale hands broke through the water, gripping Mihail's claws like lightning, then quickly releasing them as if burned by a hot iron.
Sirius seized that brief moment, pointed his Wand, and the two Inferi were dragged from the lake.
One was a scrawny man, the other a woman in a nightgown. Their eyes were dull and gray, their pale faces devoid of color, and their soaked clothes and hair clung tightly to their bodies.
The Inferi were forced out of the water and thrown onto the rocks by Sirius. Mihail, without hesitation, spat a mouthful of fire, completely igniting their bodies.
The Fiendfyre crept a short distance up the wall, unable to spread, then fully enveloped the two corpses.
Though both were Dark Magic, Inferi were most afraid of fire and light. Fiendfyre was also fire, and even more powerful than ordinary flames. They struggled for only a moment in the fire before quickly becoming still.
The orange-gold flames burned quietly.
The flames spat by Mihail, though Fiendfyre, did not take the form of a fire beast and looked much like ordinary kindling at first glance.
But Dumbledore, of course, wouldn't fail to recognize it.
He merely squinted, his attention more on the firebird, a look of admiration in his eyes.
Mihail seemed amused. It swiftly darted towards the lake surface, skimming across it almost like skipping stones.
The firebird's body emitted only the heat of an ordinary torch. Separated by the cold lake water, the mindless Inferi had no idea that this was their natural enemy. They reached out to grab it one after another, only to be swiftly pulled from the water by the quick magic of those on shore and thrown into the fire.
The operation to clear out the Inferi gradually became a mechanical process. Though Sirius's Spell-casting movements remained agile and fluid, his eyes had begun to glaze over.
Another pale figure leaped from the water, chasing the freely soaring form.
Sirius instinctively cast a Spell, drawing it towards the shore, but his mind felt as if it had been suddenly whipped, and he heard a silent explosion.
Sirius shuddered all over, his gaze following the Inferius hurled into the flames. His limbs stiffened, and his mind went blank.
It was Dumbledore who noticed the anomaly in time. He waved his Wand, intercepted the Inferius, and placed it on a dry rock.
Lupin's eyes widened in surprise.
"It's him..." he said in shock. "Regulus... How is it him?"
Wade also looked over.
It was a young man who looked very much like a teenage Sirius, with the same black hair, dull gray eyes, and similar features forming a face that could only be described as delicate.
It landed on the ground, seemingly having lost its target. After standing blankly for a moment, it began to walk slowly and unsteadily towards the group.
Dumbledore sighed.
Sirius instinctively took a few steps forward, his lips trembling slightly, looking at those lifeless eyes, as if covered by a dirty cobweb, unable to speak.
In fact, he had known Regulus was dead more than a year before his imprisonment.
Ancient Pure-blood families naturally had ways of knowing the life and death of each member, even though they had never found Regulus's body.
At that time, not long before Regulus's death, Sirius's father, who greatly valued bloodline, also passed away in the same year.
His mother, Walburga, couldn't accept the news of her younger son's sudden death and went mad with grief after one blow after another.
One day, she sent Sirius dozens of Howlers, crying and cursing him, asking "Why wasn't it you who died?" Only then did Sirius learn that his brother's status had changed to "deceased."
Honestly, while he felt sad at the time, he wasn't particularly surprised.
He knew Regulus was weak-willed. Even though he had always been indoctrinated with concepts like "Pure-blood glory" by his family, his views on the world and on war were actually naive and simplistic.
His mind was full of "making Pure-bloods even greater," but he didn't understand Voldemort's true cruelty, nor was he prepared to become equally cruel and evil himself.
How Regulus died, Sirius and Walburga didn't know the details.
But they both suspected that Regulus was probably afraid of what others wanted him to do, wanted to leave the Death Eaters, but was killed by Voldemort or other Death Eaters.
Sirius didn't know if his mother regretted ever encouraging Regulus to join the Death Eaters.
But from then on, the mentally unstable Mistress Black became a recluse, even refusing her only son to visit her.
Sirius accepted the news more easily.
Ever since graduating, he had directly joined the Order of the Phoenix, fighting on the front lines.
He had witnessed countless comrades beside him being killed, brutally tortured, some even by his own younger brother.
Sirius had long been prepared for their fraternal enmity, and for death itself.
But at this moment, seeing Regulus's body with his own eyes, watching him stumble towards him, propelled by magic, a grief overdue by thirteen years surged over him, making Sirius momentarily breathless.
Regulus had reached him. Up close, those sunken, lifeless eyes were even more heartbreaking.
"Regulus... what did Voldemort do to you..."
Sirius murmured.
Of course, the corpse wouldn't answer him. Two cold, pale hands gripped Sirius's shoulders, steadily and slowly dragging him towards the lake.
"Sirius!"
Lupin ran over and cast a Spell, sending Regulus flying backward, almost falling into the lake, but Wade pulled him back.
A long rope shot from the tip of his Wand, binding Regulus tightly from head to toe.
Regulus struggled on the ground.
However, Inferius are not truly powerful Dark Magic creatures; they are only terrifying in large numbers. At this moment, the corpse twitched on the ground but couldn't break free from the ropes.
Sirius watched stiffly until Lupin gripped his shoulder.
"Sirius, are you alright?"
"I... I'm fine..." Sirius stammered, "I knew... I knew he was dead... I just... didn't expect to see him here..."
He recovered, blood flowing from his aching heart to his cold limbs, warming his trembling body.
Sirius pushed away Lupin's arm and tightened his grip on his Wand.
"Let's continue!"
He looked at the rippling lake surface and the pale figures constantly reaching out from the water, speaking calmly in a voice he himself found unfamiliar.
Lately, I've been saving up chapters for two-in-one releases, partly because work has been busy, and partly to boost the average subscription count.
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