Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 331 Voldemort at His Peak

This is a coastline, without gentle sandy beaches; the land stands like mountains and cliffs.

Vaughn walked to the edge and looked down. Below the sheer cliff, the land bridge stretched out, and the coastline where it met the sea was covered with jagged rocks. The tides crashed against the shore, creating large white splashes of water. A wild, cold wind whipped up the rising water vapor, which, along with the sound of the waves, rushed towards him.

Further out, the vast, dark sea stretched to the horizon, the sky equally gloomy and thick with clouds. In the far distance, beams of sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the deep ocean, which stretched endlessly, with nothing but the dark, murky water.

After observing the coastal terrain, Vaughn quickly identified it: "The west coast of Ireland?"

Scotland is surrounded by island chains on three sides, making it the easiest to identify. England's coastline is relatively flat, with only the area near Devon having similar steep terrain. However, Vaughn had lived in Devon since childhood and was already familiar with that coastline.

The seascape of Wells is easier to identify.

If we exclude those directions, then only Ireland remains. Ireland has an island chain in the south, a straight coastline in the north and east, and the undulating shelf mountains of Wales can be vaguely seen.

But you can't see it here.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley." While Vaughn was surveying the terrain, Kreacher, who had barely regained some strength, staggered over. "This place is located in southwestern Ireland. Kreacher has heard—he heard from the Dark Lord—that this is the farthest place from Hogwarts."

"Oh!"

Vaughn scoffed.

It is indeed far from Hogwarts. Hogwarts is located in the Scottish Highlands, at the northernmost part of the British Isles, and its geographical location is roughly diagonally opposite to this place.

In addition, due to historical reasons, the Irish wizarding community is very hostile to the English wizarding community, regardless of whether it is good or evil. Therefore, under normal circumstances, English wizards, including Dumbledore, would not come here, making it a safe and remote area.

But this so-called remoteness, when converted to distance, is less than 600 miles.

Poor Tom, he never escaped Dumbledore's shadow or his own inner obsession throughout his life.

He wanted to get away from Dumbledore and hide his Horcruxes in what he thought was the farthest place, but his farthest place was only 600 miles away.

Kreacher didn't understand why Mr. Weasley was laughing, nor did he care to ponder the thoughts of this distinguished gentleman. Well, in Kreacher's mind, Vaughn was now a respectable gentleman.

He walked over to Vaughn, looked down at the rugged coastline he had desperately tried to forget, and shuddered.

My internal organs felt like they were on fire again; I was in excruciating pain and extremely thirsty.

And there were countless arms surging like waves in the water, the maniacal, demonic shadow reflected in the lake, and the pale-skinned young master, sinking deeper and deeper into the icy water—

Painful memories brought tears to Kreacher's eyes once again.

But this time he did not run away.

Thirteen years have passed, and he has been counting down the days since he was separated from his young master. He misses his young master terribly; he is his second most beloved master.

But he was just a useless little elf, incapable of accomplishing what the young master had instructed, nor of rescuing the young master's body from the icy lake bottom.

He didn't even dare tell anyone.

To this day, I am grateful to Mr. Weasley for having obtained this secret in a way he does not understand, and for promising to save the young master.

Kreacher was very grateful.

Enduring the pain of the memories, Kreacher observed the area below for a while. Over the past ten years, some changes had occurred. Sea erosion and landslides had caused parts of the cliff to collapse. The landmarks were not quite the same as in his memory. After changing his perspective for a while, he finally found a large, rounded rock that was only half exposed.

"Mr. Weasley, the cave should be over there."

Vaughn looked in the direction Kreacher was pointing, and the next second, a strange sphere quietly appeared in front of him. Grabbing Kreacher's arm, Vaughn led him into the sphere.

For Kreacher, this was a completely different experience of spatial magic. The interior of the sphere was not a long, rotating tunnel like Apparition, but rather—it was like a giant column made up of countless spheres joined together, continuous and pieced together.

They twisted and were flung onto the surface of the sphere by the point mass as if it were two swinging ropes. In an instant, countless spheres simultaneously "mapped" them, and then they arrived at the other end of the giant cylinder.

There was no overwhelming sensation; in the blink of an eye, the view changed to the rock below the cliff, very easily.

Kreacher was taken aback, and his attitude towards Vaughn became even more respectful—he had never seen such amazing magic from the Dark Lord.

Using the large rock as a reference, Kreacher quickly found a crevice filled with seawater on the cliff.

"That's the entrance. The Dark Lord took Kreacher out from there. They had to swim. Of course, Kreacher could teleport Mr. Weasley in. The Dark Lord looked down on Kreacher and wasn't wary of his magic."

Kreacher stared longingly at Vaughn.

He subconsciously wanted to demonstrate his value and help, believing that this might earn him the pity of "the esteemed Mr. Weasley" and prompt him to fulfill his promise as soon as possible.

Sensing his thoughts, Vaughn chuckled but did not agree: "Let's follow the Dark Lord's route. I need to observe how much magic he cast in the cave."

Kreacher's mouth moved silently a few times, probably wanting to complain but not daring to. He obediently cast a bubble head spell on himself, and when he turned around, he found that Vaughn had completely wrapped himself in a bubble.

Yet another dubious magic trick.

Amazing Weasley!

But undeniably, the more miraculous Vaughn's performance, the more confident Kreacher became. He crawled into the crevice on all fours, squeezing in like an eel.

Vaughn slid in after him.

The light and the sound of the waves were left behind as darkness surged in. Vaughn cast a glow spell, but it was of little use; the murky water made the glow appear hazy, like the lure for deep-sea smelt.

However, the head-soaking curse covering his entire body prevented him from being exposed to the cold seawater, so it wasn't too uncomfortable.

After swimming for a while, the water suddenly became clear and shallow. Kreacher, who was in front, stood up with a shiver. With a snap of his fingers, he created a ball of firefly light, which dispelled the darkness. In the shimmering water, a staircase extended upwards.

Vaughn looked up and saw that it led to a cave.

"The Dark Lord said that this cave is the entrance hall, the gateway, and that there is a door leading to the great lake in the depths—"

Although Kreacher wanted to save Regulus's body as soon as possible, Vaughn prepared to observe the Dark Lord's magic and plans, and he also tried his best to recall them in order to be able to help.

The two climbed the steps and soon entered the cave.

The cave looks very ordinary, about a meter tall, with rough rock walls and no traces of artificial embellishment, only sedimentary patterns left by condensed water droplets from abundant moisture.

But as soon as he stepped into the cave, Kreacher's eyes widened, and he stumbled against the rock wall directly opposite the entrance, exclaiming incredulously, "The door... the door is gone?"

He turned around in a panic: "Mr. Weasley, Kreacher didn't lead us the wrong way. There should be—there should be a door here."

It was a shimmering door; passing through it would reveal the vast, black lake. Kreacher vividly remembered the experiences and scenes from that time.

But now, there's only a wall in front of me!

Kreacher was flustered and even had the urge to snap his fingers and rush in with Vaughn. He hated this unexpected change.

Vaughn stopped Kreacher: "Don't worry, the door hasn't disappeared, it's just hidden, because the Dark Lord cast a spell here."

magic?

Kreacher looked up in confusion. He noticed nothing unusual, only that Vaughn beside him had magical glints in his eyes.

That was the Vision Spell; in his unseen and incomprehensible vision, what Vaughn saw was endless light.

Photons are the most wondrous of substances. They roam in the darkest and most empty places in the universe. Even in a black hole, if a living being could enter a black hole, what it would see would most likely not be boundless darkness, but rather a stream of light, like a waterfall, formed by countless photons that are bound to the event horizon and fall toward a point mass.

Light is everywhere, and at this moment, Vaughn is observing the light inside this cave.

That's released from the earth, rocks, and water.

They exhibit complex and bizarre waveforms, spreading and leaping according to certain rules, and the function of Vaughn's Vision Charm is to perceive and analyze these rules.

For a long time, the Vision Charm had been invincible, but today, now, after observing for a moment, Vaughn reached out and touched the rock wall, and suddenly exclaimed, "This cliff is also the ocean outside."

Kreacher was baffled: "What?"

"The Dark Lord's magic that hides in the cave," Vaughn explained. "He embedded that magic into this land and sea, making it a part of nature, so you can't see it and can't break it, because you and I are surrounded by boundless nature, by deep rocks and land—we stand inside his magic, so how can we see the truth?"

We can't see the true face because we're in the thick of it!

Kreacher was bewildered; for a house-elf, this explanation was a bit beyond his comprehension. He could only vaguely sense the emotion and admiration in Mr. Weasley's tone.

This puzzled him greatly, as he had clearly heard Mr. Weasley mocking the Dark Lord's actions when he was up there.

Vaughn paid no attention to Kreacher's confusion; if he had known, he probably would have said: I was mocking Tom's vision, not his magic!

In fact, Vaughn didn't let Kreacher take him in directly because he wanted to experience what level Voldemort's magic was at more than ten years ago, when he was still at his peak.

Judging from the current developments, Vaughn believes that he will one day face the Socket Man head-on, and with those North American guys stirring things up, that time may not be far off.

Given this situation, Vaughn naturally needed to learn more about his future rival. Leaving aside the battle at the end of last semester, Voldemort was just a remnant soul that had been forcibly parasitized, and Quirrell, whom he parasitized, was not a powerful wizard.

The information gleaned from Dumbledore, Crouch Jr., and others is unreliable; these people are either too powerful or have distorted views, making it impossible for them to objectively reflect the true Dark Lord.

With Voldemort yet resurrected, this seaside cave is probably the only place that can truly reflect his skill level.

This is the only "magical relic" that Voldemort left behind, which involved a great deal of effort, magic, and ingenuity!

—It seems Tom really respects Salazar Slytherin. Just think of the other Horcruxes: Ravenclaw's tiara was casually tossed into the Room of Requirement, his notebook was given to Lucius for safekeeping, Hufflepuff's golden cup was given to Bellatrix, and even his grandfather's Gaunt ring was just left lying around in the Gaunt mansion.

Vaughn's thoughts wandered for a moment before returning to focus. He then looked at the dense "light" before him and slowly shook his head.

Voldemort at his peak was indeed very strong.

At least his Vision Charm couldn't find Voldemort's magic, or even where it was hidden. It was as if this cliff and this sea were part of Voldemort's magic.

No wonder that in the "original plot" of his past life memories, when Dumbledore came here, he also said that he had no choice but to find out where the door was by following Voldemort's settings.

"Old Deng is much better than me. At least he can figure out what conditions are needed to break Voldemort's magic, while I can't find anything."

Vaughn observed and thought calmly.

Admitting his shortcomings wouldn't hurt Vaughn at all. In fact, he was already planning to come here a few more times before his beloved Tom was resurrected—it would be a waste to let go of such a ready-made teaching case of dark magic.

With memories of a past life, opening the "door" is still quite simple.

For reasons unknown, the tyrannical and wicked Socket Hero set the condition for opening the door as simply having blood.

In his memory, Dumbledore explained to Harry that Voldemort wanted intruders to get injured here and exhaust themselves.

But in fact—

Vaughn conjured a small knife and tried to cut a small wound on Kreacher's arm. He squeezed out a little blood and smeared it on the rock wall, and a portal of light appeared on the rough rock surface.

It's as simple as playing house.

[”

Staring at the portal of light, Vaughn pondered for a long time, but ultimately gave up trying to understand the thoughts of a madman.

Passing through the portal, you arrive at a massive underground cavern, so large that even the dome is invisible. It is so large that it is impossible for it to exist in this coastal terrain. Under normal circumstances, a cavern of this size, which has been subjected to tidal erosion for a long time, should have collapsed long ago.

Without a doubt, this was also Voldemort's magic.

The magic has lasted for at least thirteen years!

The cave was pitch black, the darkness was so thick, like the black water in the vast lake ahead, it was eerie and chilling.

Returning to this familiar place, Kreacher huddled with his arms crossed, trembling. He had a feeling that something might emerge from the darkness, and even the calm, black mirror-like lake exuded a terrifying danger.

But in Vaughn's vision spell, countless invisible light waves, like undercurrents or raging torrents, swirled around every pebble and drop of lake water in the cave—just like when he observed the locket earlier, powerful magic distorted them.

Unlike the front hall where the entrance needs to be hidden, the magic in this huge cavern is everywhere, making its presence undisguised.

This vast space is made up of magic.

The dense darkness around us is magic.

Even the water in the huge underground lake ahead is magical.

When the Dark Lord no longer needs to hide, his former power is arrogantly and wantonly displayed before everyone who comes here, reminding them that this is the Dark Lord's territory.

Vaughn gently raised his wand, and a glowing spell hovered at the tip.

With his mastery of the Fluorescent Spell, its light should have been like mercury spilling across the ground, penetrating everywhere and dispelling all darkness.

But at this moment, it could only illuminate an area of ​​about 4 feet around him.

Beyond that, there was only thick, sticky blackness.

Of course, the darkness wasn't meant to block out the senses; in fact, despite the apparent lack of light in the cave, Vaughn and Kreacher were able to see.

The lake is as smooth as a mirror, the outlines of the caves filled with craggy rocks, and in the distance, in the center of the lake, there is a small island emitting a faint green light.

"This darkness—"

With a flick of his wrist, Vaughn extinguished the glowing spell, and a burst of fire shot out.

The blazing fireball, enveloped in terrifying heat, crashed headlong into the darkness ahead, and then—vanished!

It didn't explode or burn, nor did it make a sound of going out; it simply vanished the moment it entered the darkness, as if it had never existed.

Darkness surged in, like the gaping maw of an abyss.

Kreacher instinctively grabbed Vaughn's robe, looking up in alarm: "Sir?"

"Don't worry, that darkness is only targeting magic," Vaughn reassured him. In his vision spell, the cloud-like waves of light revealed that although the darkness was gathering, the frequency of the magical disturbance was rapidly decreasing.

Of course, out of caution, Vaughn opened a dimensional portal beside him, and a layer of faintly visible Ironclad Charm stood in front of him. At the same time, he also cast a Glowing Charm.

Sure enough, the darkness did not swarm forward. As before, it stopped again when it came within about four feet of Vaughn and Kreacher.

Vaughn thought for a moment, then flicked his wand, throwing out the ball of light that had gathered at the tip of the wand.

The glowing orb of light drifted away slowly, but unlike the previous orb of fire, it was not swallowed by the darkness. Instead, it "pushed" the darkness forward.

"Hmm, there's no limit to the glow spell—"

Kreacher heard Mr. Weasley murmur.

Kreacher had no idea what this respected gentleman was doing; he could only see him recall the glowing spell, think for a moment, and then wave his wand to cast a spell again.

Transfiguration spells, curses, poisonous spells, and curses—many familiar and unfamiliar spells spewed from the tip of Mr. Weasley's wand and fell into the thick darkness.

Some disappeared, some survived.

Kreacher couldn't understand; he only felt fear, because as Mr. Weasley continued to cast his spells, the sense of danger and chill in the darkness grew stronger, as if a terrifying beast was lurking there, ready to devour its prey.

He was trembling with fear.

But he didn't hide; he needed to prove himself a useful elf so that Mr. Weasley wouldn't get angry and give up on rescuing the young master.