Amoasta led the way, with two people and a domesticated spirit fish, through the passageway. Instantly, time and space transformed, and a very strange scene appeared before them.
Although he had heard Klitch recount it beforehand, the impact of seeing the actual scene with his own eyes was far greater than any words could describe.
They stood on the edge of a vast black lake, its surface so expansive that the distant shore was barely visible. It's easy to imagine that the lake bottom is likely connected to an underground river and the ocean.
This is a huge cavity located within the mountain; the cave is so high that even the brilliance of Amoasta's staff could not illuminate the ceiling.
From a distance, it looked like a faint, greenish glow shone in the center of the lake. It reflected on the lifeless water below, and except for that green glow and the brilliance of Amoesta's staff, the surrounding area was completely shrouded in darkness. This darkness seemed denser and heavier than ordinary darkness, and staring into it could make one feel hopeless.
Klitch cowered up, while Sirius and Remus were also stunned by this incredible sight and couldn't speak for a moment.
Counter-invisibility Apparition, No-Fly Zone, Forbidding Summoning, Magic Sealing, Curse -- Amoasta narrowed his eyes, gazing upwards towards the lake surface where an ethereal space was filled with countless categories of powerful magic controls, his expression slightly somber.
Such a massive magical project certainly wouldn't be completed in just one day.
One can imagine how much effort Voldemort must have spent back then to protect his Horcruxes.
When Amoasta's gaze fell upon the mirror-smooth black lake surface, he squinted, and an aura of malevolence seemed to emanate from his entire body.
It's a corpse!
Corpses are not particularly terrifying, and in fact, Amoasta himself has once used corpses to teach young witches and wizards. However.
Just within the area his gaze enveloped, Amoasta 'saw' hundreds of corpses. From their clothing, it was clear that all were Muggles, including men, women, elderly people, and children. Even more astonishingly, Amoasta saw a baby who looked to be only one or two years old, bloated with fluid.
Extrapolating this to the entire lake, it is estimated that there are at least tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of Muggles who have drowned in the lake and been turned into undead creatures through magic!
Massacre, only the brutal massacre of Muggles could have produced such a large number of undead creatures, and there is no record or report of this horrific massacre in today's magical community. Perhaps it was too cruel to mention, as the news would provoke global condemnation and even cause the entire magical community to lose faith. Therefore, both the Ministry of Magic and the Muggle government chose to conceal it.
"What's wrong with you?"
Sirius and Remus asked the question simultaneously.
They were not just newly-graduated students from Hogwarts, but seasoned adult wizards who could sense the impenetrable hatred surrounding Amoasta, who was standing there gazing into the black lake. This hatred was so cold that it made both of them want to turn around and run.
"Nothing..."
Amoasta quietly breathed out and suppressed his emotions.
"Klitch, Regulus back then..."
Sirius thought of his brother, and quickly stopped worrying about Amoasta's odd behavior. He lowered his head and looked at Klitch by his feet, his voice filled with a thick nasal tone, intertwined with a suppressed sadness.
"Where was it back then?"
"In the middle of the lake, there is an island, Master Sirius--"
Klitch cried out, unable to bear the sight of Regulus' death. Covering his big, grayish-white eyes with slender fingers, he pointed towards the direction of the green glow.
"Klitch was right there, witnessing Regulus being dragged underwater by the hands of those corpses."
Upon hearing Klitch's words, Sirius surged forward as if he wanted to slide down the shore and swim across, just as he had done before.
"Wait, Sirius!"
Remus grabbed his arm,
"Don't you remember what Klitch said? There are undead in this lake, and there might be a significant number of them!"
"Let me go, Remus! I have to find Regulus, those undead cannot stop me!" Sirius called out in anger.
Remus was about to persuade him further, but Amoasta spoke in a calm tone,
"He's seeking death; why should you stop him?"
Upon hearing this, Sirius became silent and did not attempt to jump into the lake.
"Do you remember where that boat was, Klitch?"
Seeing that Sirius had calmed down, Amoasta turned his gaze to Klitch.
"Klitch remembers it was over there, Mr. Braein."
For all these years, Klitch had been secretly trying to destroy the Horcrux, and each failed attempt would bring back the unpleasant memories of Regulus' death. Upon hearing the question, it jumped out from Sirius' side, its body pressing against the rock wall as it led them to walk to the right.
A few minutes later, they arrived at another location, but there was nothing here.
"Klitch has forgotten the exact location of the boat."
Klitch said in a trembling voice, pounding his head against the rock wall as a form of self-punishment.
Remus stopped Klitch from harming himself, and as he was about to ask Amoesta, he saw Amoesta pass by Klitch's side, walking quickly forward until he stopped at a distance of thirty feet from them.
"I think I've found it."
Amoasta extended his hand through the narrow rock passage and grasped something, then tapped his fist with the wand in his other hand.
Immediately, a thick green copper chain suddenly emerged from the depths of the lake, flying quickly towards the shore until it reached Amoasta's tightly clenched fist. Seeing this, Amoasta's left hand suddenly pulled back forcefully, causing the chain to go berserk. It let out a loud noise and quickly pulled a small boat from the lakebed.
"If I had not been aware of the situation beforehand, Amoasta,"
Remus hurried over, fixing his gaze on Amoasta's expressionless face, and said in a strange voice,
"I might think you've been here many times before."
"How did you discover it?"
Sirius was also expressing his confusion.
"There is a difference in magical energy concentration compared to the surrounding environment in places with magic. Even if a witch or wizard with somewhat outstanding perception could notice it."
Amoasta looked at the wizard's boat, which could only accommodate two people, and he had a thoughtful expression on his face.
"This might be the obstacle that Voldemort set up to prevent too many wizards from getting close to the Horcrux."
"Why can't we make the boat run two more times?"
Sirius said in a puzzled manner.
"I think this boat won't return automatically to the shore once it reaches the island, unless it senses that the people on board have died, and... hmm, I see, you're thinking about not the weight, but the magic——"
Amoasta's self-muttered words were not understood by anyone, so Remus and Sirius also gave up thinking. They waited eagerly for him to say what they should do next.
Amoasta did not hesitate, he stepped forward and landed neatly in the middle of the boat. As he did so, the boat's cabin fell away, and it sank down by as much as six inches in the water. At the same time, the boat shook violently, looking as if it might capsize at any moment.
"Come back, Amoasta!"
The two people on the shore called out together, reaching out to pull Amoasta back to the shore from the middle of the cabin, as it was obvious what might happen if he fell into the water.
However, after the boat's shake, it eventually settled down and nothing happened.
Amoasta looked at the edge of the boat. There was only about one inch left before the water would overflow into the cabin. He glanced at Sirius and Remus on the shore and quickly estimated in his mind, suddenly understanding something.
"Klitch can Apparate to the middle of the lake, and you two come on board. There shouldn't be too much trouble."
In fact, there is still a problem.
Sirius and Remus, two normal-sized adult wizards, had enough magic not to burden the boat, but their physical presence was indeed a problem for the small cabin.
After some effort, Amoasta transformed Sirius into a LEGO man, and Remus, holding onto the LEGO man, stepped onto the boat. As Amoasta had said, the boat sank down by half an inch after a sway, but then it calmed down again.
"Let's go--"
As Amoasta spoke in a calm voice, the boat trembled slightly and began to accelerate gently from a stationary state, gradually heading towards the island in the lake.
(End of Chapter)
