Chapter 455

Voldemort was convinced that only a skilled wizard could discover the boat, and his confidence was justified. Dumbledore said, "It's not that I'm arrogant, it's that it's impossible for a wizard without a certain level of skill to find out about this boat." I think he was ready to take the risk of letting someone else discover the boat—which seemed almost impossible to him, and he knew that he had set up some obstacles ahead that only he could cross. We'll see if he's right later. "

By the time Dumbledore said this, the others had already boarded the boat first. The boat sank rapidly - the edge of the boat was almost touching the water.

"Professor!" Harry looked worriedly at the boat, "it's going to sink - if I go up again." "

"I'm sure it won't sink. Dumbledore said confidently, "Voldemort doesn't think about weight, he only thinks about how much magic power has crossed his lake." I guess your and Solim's power is nothing compared to my magical powers. "

Solim scratched his face with his fingers, a little embarrassed.

"Well, you need to be careful, Harry, don't touch the lake when you get on the boat. Dumbledore told again.

As Dumbledore had said, Harry had been cautious at first, but when he boarded the boat, the hull hadn't even changed, it hadn't wobbled or changed. It was as if Harry wasn't standing on the boat at all.

Harry couldn't feel the change in the ship, and he was a little relieved.

"But...... Professor, even if our strength is insignificant, there is no one standing here. Harry looked at Solim and said, "What should Solim do?"

Dumbledore did not return to Harry's question, but like Harry, he set his sights on Solim, who was still standing on the shore.

"Alright, Solim, you can come up - in your other form. Dumbledore said as a matter of course, "I don't think there would be the problem that Harry feared." "

Harry was still looking at Solim stupidly, he didn't know what Dumbledore meant. But what happened next startled Harry.

Solim lowered his head and muttered something, and then Harry noticed that Solim's body was changing rapidly, and then- Harry was surprised to find that Solim had disappeared.

"Professor, he's gone!" Harry's eyes widened.

"Oh, I don't think it's gone. The tip of Dumbledore's wand shone brighter, illuminating the shore clearly.

Harry realized that Solim wasn't gone, but that he had become a snake.

"Professor—" Harry looked back at Dumbledore.

"I think you know about this magic, don't you?" Dumbledore looked at Harry and smiled, "Solim must have told you about this magic, am I right?"

"You mean- this is the Animagus?" Harry knew what it was, of course, as Professor McGonagall said it was an extremely difficult and demanding Animagus magic shapeshift. But in fact, Animagus Harry has seen a lot, his godfather can become a big black dog, Peter's damn traitor can become a mouse, Professor McGonagall has become a cat that all Hogwarts students have seen, but Harry never thought that Solim was also an Animagus.

"Shh

"Oh, what did he say?" Dumbledore asked Harry with interest.

"Uh...... He said, cold. Harry stared at the snake that Solim had turned into, and it was only then that he remembered that he was still a parseltongue.

"Hiss-"

He said to hurry up and sail. Harry looked back at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore tapped the boat gang with his wand, and the boat set off immediately. There was silence all around, save for the soft rustle of the bow piercing through the water. The boat was moving autonomously, and without their hands, there seemed to be an invisible rope pulling it towards the green light in the middle of the lake. Soon, the rock walls of the cave were out of sight, and they felt as if they were on the sea, only there were no waves around.

Harry found that Solim's Patronus had been following them, hovering over their heads, giving them light. Harry wanted to learn to do the same, but he never found the opportunity. And he felt that it would be humiliating if he failed—after all, he couldn't summon his Patronus with a single wave of his wand, like Solim did.

"Why? I can't believe it?" Dumbledore saw Harry staring at the snake that Solim had turned into, "I thought you'd take it quickly." "

"I ...... It's just that I didn't expect that he would have mastered such a difficult magic. Harry looked down at Solim, who was mostly hunched at the bottom of the boat, and Harry suddenly saw something out of the corner of his eye.

"Professor!" he said, the sound of horror echoing loudly over the silent waters.

"Harry?"

"I seem to see a hand in the water—a human hand!"

"Yes, I believe you did. Dumbledore said calmly.

Harry looked down into the depths of the lake, looking for the vanished hand, and a feeling of wanting to vomit welled up in his throat.

"So, that thing that just jumped out of the water—"

Without waiting for Dumbledore to answer, Harry found the answer himself. The light of his wand swept across the water again, and this time Harry saw a dead man lying on his back a few inches above the water: his eyes were foggy and like cobwebs in them, and his hair and robes swirled around him like smoke.

"There's a dead body in there!" said Harry, his voice sounding much sharper than usual, barely like his own.

"Of course. Dumbledore's voice was calm, "Didn't Solim already say it when he was on the shore? "

If it weren't for the dark magic and the corpses at the bottom of the lake, it would still be a good place to be—at least if it were converted into a tourist attraction, Solim thought.

Dumbledore said calmly, "I don't think we need to worry about them just yet. "

"For now?" Harry repeated the word, looking back from the lake and at Dumbledore.

"As long as they're just floating quietly under our ship," said Dumbledore, "there's nothing to be afraid of a dead body, Harry, just as there's nothing to fear in the dark." But Voldemort didn't think so, he must have been secretly afraid of these two things. Once again, he exposed his lack of wisdom. When we face death and darkness, we are afraid of nothing but the unknown. "

Harry didn't say anything. He didn't want to argue, but the thought of the dead bodies floating around them and under their boat was terrifying, and he didn't believe that those dead bodies weren't dangerous.

"But just now one of them jumped out. He said, trying to make his voice as calm and natural as Dumbledore's, "When I tried to summon the Horcrux with the Flying Charm, a corpse jumped out of the lake. "

"yes," Dumbledore said, "I'm sure when we go get the Horcruxes, they're not so quiet. However, like many creatures that inhabit cold and darkness, they are afraid of light and warmth, and when the time comes, if needed, we can, as Solim just said, burn them down with a fire. Dumbledore smiled and added when he saw the confused look on Harry's face.

"We're almost there. Dumbledore said cheerfully.