Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 360 Voldemort's Chamber of Secrets
In the early morning, several loud popping sounds, caused by intense air compression, suddenly rang out above the rocks on the Irish coast.

This is the west coast of England, located roughly near Wales.

The air was filled with the salty, slightly damp smell of the sea, and the abundant moisture condensed into gray-white clouds. Even in summer, the sea breeze blowing in our faces was still slightly cold, and only the faint sunlight flickered through the gaps in the clouds.

The elderly house-elf Kreacher, who was also the navigator of this expedition, stood atop a high black rock. As he looked down, his cloudy eyes widened, his pupils contracted, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

This is a cliff overlooking the sea, with steep rock walls that drop straight down. The rolling waves crash against the rocks and turn into white foam that disperses.

Melvin and Sirius stood beside the elf, along with Dumbledore, who had rushed over immediately after receiving the news, dressed in a grey robe with beer foam on it.

The rocks they stood on seemed to have fallen from the cliff face, and in front of them was a crack that looked as if it had been cleaved by a sword.

Looking around, all I could see was a desolate and quiet landscape. Apart from the vast ocean waves, there was nothing moving about, no trees, flowers, or beaches.

The sea breeze blew through the cracks in the rocks, carrying the faint sobs of the Banshee. Sirius frowned: "Is this where Voldemort hid the locket? There are caves and lakes below, and you just let Regulus soak in the Infernal Pool for over a decade?"

Tears welled up in Kreacher's eyes again.

"Calm down, Sirius."

Dumbledore surveyed his surroundings, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he were observing a picnic or camping spot: "That was Regulus's choice after careful consideration. You can't expect Kreacher to disobey orders. Your brother valued even the lives of house-elves, and his sacrifice is therefore noble."

Sirius stared at the dark crack below and said nothing more.

"Melvin, what do you think? Have you found anything?" Dumbledore looked at the young professor, who was extremely grateful to Melvin for being invited to participate in the exploration of the Horcrux hiding place.

Finally, it wasn't the end of summer vacation. While handling school affairs in his office, the young professor suddenly pushed open the door, took out a Horcrux, and placed it on the table.

“This place must have special significance for Voldemort, otherwise he wouldn’t have hidden things here.” Melvin gazed at the cliffs, or rather, the hills behind him, where there were signs of life a few miles away.

Calling the old headmaster was a casual matter; in fact, he already had the real locket in his hands, which was currently lying in his pocket. The main purpose of this trip was to fulfill Sirius's request and retrieve Regulus's remains.

"To be precise, this place has special significance for the children of the Wu Family Orphanage."

Dumbledore has been investigating Voldemort's past for years, leaving no detail unexamined, from Hangleton to Gaunt Manor. If it weren't for Melvin's prophetic abilities, the old headmaster would have been able to piece together the Horcruxes' trail.

The Wu family orphanage was a key target of the investigation.

"Sometimes London summers are too hot, and the orphanage doesn't have any cooling appliances, so the caregivers take the children to the village over there so they can breathe in the sea air and see the waves. For children who don't have parents to take care of them, the memories of summer trips are unforgettable."

Dumbledore's words were carried away by the wind: "I have been to the village there, but I have not come to see it. I think that Riddle was already in control of his magic at that time, and brought a few children who had bullied him to this secret base that the ship could not approach, probably to enjoy the pleasure of intimidating them."

"You disgusting, twisted bastard, you've never been a good person since you were a kid!" Sirius spat viciously.

Riddle was indeed a genius that was rare in a thousand years. Before he had systematically studied magic, he could already take children his age to the top of cliffs. After graduating from Hogwarts, his dark magic advanced by leaps and bounds. After obtaining the locket, he made it into a Horcrux, hid it in a cave, and set up a series of dark magic concealments.

The area near the cliff was protected by the same restrictions as Hogwarts, preventing wizards from Apparating. Although Kreacher's elven magic could allow him to enter the cave, he was too old and frail to lead the two powerful legendary wizards deep into the cave. Therefore, the three of them had to cross the cliff themselves to approach the cave entrance.

Sirius immediately started climbing down step by step, and Dumbledore was also very interested in rock climbing. Fortunately, Melvin did not follow the two of them in their foolishness. He cast a levitation spell on himself and lightly descended along the protrusions on the rock wall, landing on the reefs that were half-exposed to the sea.

The rocks at lower elevations were smoothed and rounded by the seawater. The waves surged, and cold, salty water splashed everywhere, wetting our clothes.

Sirius and Kreacher didn't care about anything else; at this moment, they were completely unconcerned about their clothes. Dumbledore didn't mind being in contact with seawater, but Melvin stretched out his bubble wrap, not wanting to get covered in salty water.

Melvin walked to the giant pebble closest to the cliff face, and gently snapped his fingers. A few soft blue flames illuminated the rock wall and the crack at the bottom of the cliff, or rather, a passage.

The lower half of the passage is submerged in water, extending deep into the rock face.

"Would you mind getting wet?" Dumbledore asked seriously, lifting his robe, taking out a strip of cloth, and tying up his silvery hair and beard with the agility of a Quidditch player.

Sirius and Kreacher seemed not to hear, sliding along the edge of the rock into the water and swimming toward the dark crevice.

Melvin looked at the three swimming figures with a bit of a speechlessness. He took a step forward, and just as his pair of leather shoes from the Tuofan Clothing Store were about to step into the seawater, the surface of the water suddenly sank down, as if an invisible sphere was pressing down on it.

The magically constructed bubbles enveloped Melvin's entire body, a thin film separating the seawater from the soles of his shoes. He tentatively stepped on the bubbles twice, causing them to bounce slightly as the water surface rose and fell.

It was difficult to maintain balance; the bubble floated on the water, and Melvin, inside the bubble, seemed to be pushed along by the waves.

He reached out and lightly touched the transparent bubble membrane, which immediately stabilized. The waves seemed to become obedient, pushing Melvin deeper into the cliff, with the surrounding blue flames following closely behind, transforming into soft streetlights.

The rock face was covered with silt on both sides. The first half of the crack was very narrow, with gaps of a few feet or so, and it gradually widened afterward, but the height did not change much. It was easily filled with seawater when the tide came in.

They reached the depths of the passage, where a series of steps gradually ascended, leading to a spacious, enclosed cave.

"This is just the front hall, used to mislead those who stumble upon this place, but the lake and island are further in; we have to go inside."

Kreacher's trembling voice echoed in the spacious cave. He groped along the rough rock wall, his expression somewhat dazed, as if he were recalling something. Tears occasionally welled up in his eyes. Finally, he pressed down on a protrusion on the rock wall.

The outline of an archway slowly emerged.

Melvin blinked, a strange sense of déjà vu washing over him.

Slytherin also built a similar secret place, located beneath the Black Lake at Hogwarts, which also requires traversing a long passage and has a special door.

However, compared to the magnificent Chamber of Secrets, Voldemort's Chamber of Secrets was too simple, and the magic to open the door was too simplistic. Furthermore, Slytherin hid heritage and basilisks in the Chamber of Secrets, while this place only contained ini and poison, lacking the depth of a seasoned dark wizard.

No wonder the secret chamber could be hidden for nearly a thousand years, while the Horcrux was unearthed in just a few decades.

(End of this chapter)