The Butcher of Hogsmeade

The gray shadow missed its target; the sphere of light, lacking any physical form, passed through the shadow and continued flying forward before slowly fading away like a flare. The gray shadow, on the other hand, crashed back into the water with a tremendous thud. Only then did everyone realize with astonishment how eerily quiet the cave was; even the slightest sound that suddenly broke the deathly silence was enough to send chills down their spines.

The ripples caused by the gray shadow falling into the water subsided at an abnormally fast speed, and the surface of the water returned to a mirror-like state in the blink of an eye; the sound of the water and the echo disappeared at an equally astonishing speed, as if this dark space not only swallowed darkness, but also sound, and even all signs of movement.

"Why do I feel a chill down my spine?" Fabian whispered to Gideon, but in the deathly silent space, his voice was so loud it sounded like a shout, and was heard by everyone, including Shen Hou.

Sirius asked, "What was that shadow, Professor?"

Dumbledore replied, "If I'm not mistaken, that should be what we were originally looking for."

"You mean a corpse?"

"Yes. Although it's not clear, its movement patterns and outlines perfectly match the characteristics of an Infernal. So I must remind you again, do not approach the water. The environment here is naturally unsuitable for casting fire spells, and the threat of the Infernals is increased." Dumbledore answered while casting a "Heat Charm" on everyone to dry off the moisture on their bodies.

After everyone assured him they would follow his instructions, Dumbledore chose a direction and led them along the edge of the pool. But something even stranger happened: there were no landmarks around the pool to help them orient themselves. They were like blindfolded donkeys pulling a millstone, wandering aimlessly without knowing where they were or how many circles they had gone around.

The scene before them seemed unchanging: a stone wall on one side, water on the other, and a swirling, viscous darkness. As time passed, the gazes of the group towards the green light in the center of the pool grew somewhat dazed.

"Professor, how much longer are we going to go in circles?" Sirius couldn't help but ask, just as Dumbledore stopped walking at that moment.

"In fact, we haven't even finished one loop yet!" Dumbledore said. "This space is filled with the power of dark magic, which erodes and misleads the mind."

Sirius asked eagerly, "What happens after it goes around in a circle?"

"Nothing will happen. I'm just looking for something, but I can't let you stray too far from me, lest something dangerous happen," Dumbledore said leisurely. "I regretted bringing you all in from the moment we entered the arch, at least not so many of you."

A group of people were filled with unease. Fabian asked, "Professor, you've stopped here not because you're now thinking of kicking us out, are you?"

"No, I stopped only because I made a discovery." Dumbledore waved his wand at the water not far ahead, while raising his free hand and making a grasping motion in the air; the next moment, a thick, copper-green chain appeared out of thin air, held in the old wizard's palm, the other end of the chain extending far into the depths of the pool.

Amidst the clanging and clattering sounds, the copper chain slid along the stone ground on its own, like a snake, "climbing" up from the bottom of the water piece by piece, finally pulling a small boat up from the bottom and dragging it all the way to the shore.

Just like the commotion caused by the previous corpse, the small boat made a huge sound when it broke through the water, but the sound was quickly swallowed by the darkness; there was only one ripple spreading outward on the water, and after the ripple disappeared, no matter how the small boat moved, the water remained calm, as if what was supporting the bottom of the boat was not water, but a layer of solid and smooth black ice.

No one expressed any surprise at Dumbledore finding the small boat, but they were very worried about the boat's condition.

"This boat is too small. Are we going to use it to cross the pool?" James stepped forward, getting close to the water but not daring to cross in front of Dumbledore. "It looks like it could barely carry one person."

Dumbledore didn't seem to care, and said in an expected tone, "Voldemort never intended for more people to get close to his secrets."

"Can we find more ships, Professor?" Sirius asked. "How about we enlarge this ship, or conjure up a few ourselves? My Transfiguration is pretty good."

Without a second thought, Dumbledore shook his head and rejected Sirius's suggestion: "It is obvious that this ship is the only one allowed to exist here; and only those who ride this ship properly will not be attacked by the Inferi or trigger other magical traps in the cave when crossing the water."

Sirius Black offered another suggestion: "Easy! Let's go one by one, and after one goes, we'll pull the boat back to pick up the second one."

"Voldemort wouldn't leave such an obvious opening, Mr. Black."

Hearing Dumbledore deny it again, Sirius was a little dumbfounded: "Then what do we do?"

"Wait," Dumbledore said. "Voldemort is very confident that the next barrier ahead will stop anyone who tries to search for his secrets alone; and I am very interested in the traps or puzzles he has set."

"It would be too dangerous for you to go alone. Nobody knows what's in the middle of the pool," James advised. "This is a magical trap set by the mysterious man, not a direct confrontation. He won't give you a fair chance."

"The problem is—we all want to know what is it that Voldemort would protect so solemnly, don't we? The army of Infernals, rumored to be used to attack the Ministry of Magic, is being used by him to guard a magical trap, which means that what this army is protecting is more precious than the entire Ministry of Magic; at least, that's how it is for Voldemort."

"But..." James wanted to persuade him further.

"No need to say more, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore's tone was calm but his attitude firm. "Of all of us, if anyone is most qualified to step alone into Voldemort's trap, it is me."

James was speechless, so he could only ask, "Then what should we do?"

"Be patient and vigilant, and wait here." Dumbledore said, looking at Shen Hou. "I must say, insisting that you come in with us was the best decision we made today. Your wand will become a weapon we can rely on."

"What does this mean?" Shen Hou had been in a daze ever since he entered the archway. He couldn't understand what he was seeing, nor did he know what he should do.

"I mean those Infernals." Dumbledore glanced at the water. "Voldemort meticulously constructed this environment to greatly protect the Infernals, and your wand can perfectly counteract the effects of the environment. At the Black Lake, you might have to worry about your fire spells spreading to Hogsmeade, but here, you can try to see if you can burn this pool dry."

Recalling the embarrassing incident of almost burning Hogsmeade down, Shen Hou couldn't help but feel embarrassed: "Are you asking me to do it now?"

"Oh no, I don't know what we'll encounter ahead yet, so it's not worth risking triggering more traps; what I mean is, if you encounter danger after I leave..."