The Return to Hogwarts

The green liquid in the basin wasn't very clear, so Sirius couldn't see the fake locket his brother had thrown in. After hesitating for a moment, he looked at the strangely behaving Amosta.

"You have a way. I mean, take out that fake locket; after all, it's Regulus—"

Sirius Black –

Remus called out softly in a reproachful tone.

“You heard everything Kreacher said about the consequences of drinking this potion. You shouldn’t be making things difficult for Amostella. Oh, to be honest, I’m missing Snape a bit right now. He’s a Potions Master; he might be able to offer some advice on Voldemort’s potions—”

Maybe this potion is made from snot—

Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but held back, considering that Amosta was present.

Kreacher also hoped to retrieve Regulus's belongings, but it was clear it was more concerned with Regulus's body. Its gaze was constantly fixed on one direction—the spot where Regulus had been dragged into the water by the Inferi, a memory it couldn't confront, yet could never forget.

But now, it dared not speak up to remind the three of their purpose in coming here. In particular, it dared not disturb Amostra. Kreacher realized that getting young master Regulus's body out of the lake would depend on the methods of the new owner of the Black manor.

"It all depends on how much you're willing to pay."

Amosta clapped his hands, stood up, and said...

"Two methods. The simplest one is like what Regulus did back then: just drink the stuff in the bowl. It's not fatal, but it will incapacitate the person. I guess Voldemort's purpose in doing this is to interrogate the wizards who came here, to find out how they discovered this place, and, what their purpose is in wanting the locket—"

To be honest, if it weren't for the need to find Regulus's remains, Sirius Black would have actually drunk it.

Sirius wouldn't let Remus and Amostra drink the potion when they came to the island. He had no right to do so, and he would refuse even if they brought it up themselves. Sirius was already incredibly grateful that they had accompanied him to this dangerous cave.

Sirius Black stopped the eager Kreacher with a look. Even Regulus knew to sacrifice himself; he wouldn't be so despicable as to order Kreacher to drink the potion.

"What about the second option?"

Remus asked the question on Sirius's behalf.

"Drinking the potion in the stone basin isn't the only way to use it up—"

Amostella rhythmically tapped his left palm with his wand, his gaze sweeping over the darkness surrounding the island, his smile cold.

"The base of the stone basin is connected to the earth and is linked to the magic power within the entire vast space. If you want to destroy the magic potion in the stone basin by force, you must deplete the magic power of this cave to an extremely low level. However, due to the existence of the 'magic negative pressure' phenomenon, there is a certain possibility that this will cause the mountain above to collapse."

Normally, this would be a very foolish and thankless task, but unfortunately, I happen to have the leisure to do so tonight.

landslide

Upon hearing that word, the two middle-aged men instinctively looked towards the cave ceiling hidden in the darkness, and simultaneously shuddered a few times.

If this cave were to collapse, at least hundreds of thousands of tons of rocks would crash down on their heads. Without the ability to Apparate and escape, no wizard could survive a disaster of this magnitude unscathed.

“Let’s find Regulus first, Amosta.”

Sirius, who had made the request, quickly changed the subject, trying to dissuade Amosta from his crazy idea.

Finding Regulus's remains is indeed the top priority, Amosta nodded slightly.

"So, Kreacher, you must still remember where Regulus was dragged into this mess back then, right?"

"Kreacher will never forget this, sir!"

The old house-elf wiped the tears from its cheeks and pointed in a direction.

"very good--"

Amosta nodded in satisfaction. He saw that Remus had already taken out his wand and assumed a defensive stance, while Sirius Black had also taken out the wand he had found in the old house, which belonged to one of the Black family's ancestors, and stared intently in the direction Kreacher was pointing.

"The Infernals probably won't rush at us one by one. You'll have to deal with them yourselves until Regulus appears. I won't interfere."

Chapter 270 Hard Work Pays Off

After scanning the area and roughly determining the density of the Infernals in the lake near the island, Amosta looked away. Seeing Sirius Black and Remus fully prepared, and even Old Kreacher ready to fight, Amosta nodded slightly, raised his right index finger resting on the base, and gently tapped it down.

Buzz-——

After a faint buzzing sound, a gentle breeze appeared out of nowhere, spreading rapidly from the spot where the finger had landed. Wherever the breeze passed, whether it was the green liquid in the basin that could not be directly touched or the black lake that was as still as a mirror, a ripple was created.

Wow!

The next second, the lake surface suddenly surged violently, and countless stiff, white corpses suddenly emerged from the water. Their gray and lifeless eyes all stared at the people on the island in the lake. Green light reflected on their faces. Although they did not roar, in the silence, everyone seemed to hear a deafening roar.

"I've never seen anything like this before, Bigfoot—"

Even Remus, who had experienced the cruelty of war, felt his legs go weak at the sight. His lips twitched and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"It can't be any harder to deal with than Death Eaters, can it, Moonface—"

Sirius's voice trembled slightly, but he refused to give in and forced himself to look directly into the hazy eyes of the corpses, men, women, and children.

The charge has begun!

Further away, the corpses were floating towards the center of the lake.

Around the island, hundreds of Infernals gradually approached the shore from all sides. They moved with stiff steps, huddled together, their shoulders and arms bumping against each other, causing them to stagger. Their movements were slow, but when the Infernals were swept ashore by the lake water, Sirius and Remus unconsciously pressed themselves back to back!

Sirius Black was the first to sound the charge, unleashing a spell that, after traveling sixty feet, successfully tore apart the legs of the foremost infernal.

However, this did not render the corpse immobile. Together with its companions who had been tripped up, it crawled slowly but steadily toward them using its arms.

call out!

Remus' wand tip shot out a thin rope that bound several inigumo to the ground, hindering their advance in that direction to some extent. However, from other directions, the corpses continued to swarm toward the center like a tide, with the closest ones only thirty feet away.

Such slow movements won't do!

Sirius and Remus realized this at the same time; at this rate of attack, they might be wiped out in less than two minutes.

The pace of the attack suddenly quickened. Sirius and Remus moved erratically across the small island, their figures constantly intertwining. Brilliant and dazzling spell lights continuously pierced the desolate space before disappearing into the lake. From above, it looked like a grand fireworks display was being held on the island.

Kreacher also played a significant role. The house-elves' attack methods were unremarkable, but their power was still considerable. Old Kreacher jumped around, constantly flicking out a silver flash with his fingers, pushing the infernals that were trying to land back into the water.

"Do you see Regulus, Sirius?"

Remus was still weakened from his transformation and had just been soaked in the icy seawater. The intense battle had taken its toll on him. After taking down a few more Infernals, he roared at Sirius on the other side of the island.

"We probably won't last much longer unless we use fire to deal with these undead—"

"Wait a little longer, Remus, Kreacher and I are looking for you!"

Sweating profusely, Sirius roared in response. He leaped onto a partition created by his transfiguration, kicked away a middle-aged ghoul who was trying to grab his trouser leg, and anxiously searched among the throng of heads.

Boom!

Just then, a huge monster suddenly emerged from the boiling lake, about a hundred feet from the shore. The monster resembled a rhinoceros, with grayish-white skin and a long horn on its head that shimmered with a slight metallic sheen.

This monster was obviously dead, but it retained its strength. The dozen or so corpses in front of it were easily knocked into the air. Some of the corpses were even disemboweled by its hard horns, with white intestines and transparent mucus flying everywhere!

"There's a venomous unicorn here!"

Sirius almost vomited, but he forced himself to hold it in. His face filled with fear, he jumped off the low wall, staggered back several steps, and then, regaining his balance, turned and roared at Amosta, who was standing guard beside the stone basin and base.

"Help! Amosta, we can't handle this!"

In an instant, all was silent!

Within the invisible magical world, a powerful magical storm swept outwards from where Amosta stood, and faintly, the millstone-like vortex in his deep eyes slowly rotated, emitting a roar that sounded like a mountain collapsing or thunder.

The splashing water and the undulating lake surface, whether it was those already on the island, those still in the shallows, or even that two-ton-weight venomous beast, all objects imbued with magic seemed to be trapped in an extended time dimension, moving slower than a sloth.

"Find it quickly—"

Amosta's calm words snapped Sirius, Remus, and Kreacher out of their daze. Remus stared in disbelief at the pale hand that was desperately trying to reach them a few steps away.

"Incredible, Amosta, how did you do that?!"

"I disrupted the normal flow of magic within the area,"

Amosta said calmly.

"Don't waste time. Voldemort has laid down a massive defensive barrier here. While maintaining my current state, I also have to defend against this dark magic, which is very taxing."

Further away, the corpses continued to converge on the island in the lake. When they entered a certain area, their movements immediately slowed down.

Remus stared at Amostella's drastically changed eyes, his expression complex. He had already foreseen that this young man's future achievements might rival those of Albus Dumbledore.

"there!"

Just then, Kreacher suddenly shouted excitedly,

"Young Master Sirius, Kreacher has found Young Master Regulus!"

Everyone's attention was drawn to Kreacher's shout. They looked in the direction Kreacher was pointing and indeed saw a very conspicuous corpse at the edge of the frozen area.

What makes it unique is that, unlike the other Muggle corpses in the lake, this corpse, who was probably no more than twenty years old, was wearing a black wizard's robe, and the Black family crest was prominently displayed on his chest.

Regulus looked very much like Sirius, but he was shorter than Sirius and looked thin and weak.

Thanks to the magic, the brave young man retained the same appearance he had at the moment of his death, except that his cheeks were slightly swollen from being submerged in water for many years.

Like other intruders into spaces frozen by Amosta's magic, his movements were strange and comical, yet he remained steadfast in his march toward the lake island.

"Regulus!"

Sirius broke down, his sorrowful cries echoing through the dark cave.

Before Remus could react, Sirius and Kreacher unleashed astonishing speed and agility, using the Infernal corpses on the shore as stepping stones to rush into the lake like the wind, dragging and kicking Regulus to the center of the island, in front of Amosta.

"I'm sorry, Regulus—"