"Alastor, slow down, you said you found it?"
Professor Dumbledore asked, looking at Moody who was quickly approaching him.
"Yes, Albus, I found that cave."
Moody nodded at Dumbledore.
"Let's go somewhere else to talk in detail."
With that, Dumbledore took Moody and left.
Tom, who was about to return to the common room, suddenly stopped, because he caught a keyword in Moody's words.
"Cave… it can't be the one I'm thinking of, can it…?"
This word might not mean much to others, but for Tom, it had a special trigger mechanism.
"No way, no way, Dumbledore hasn't given up yet. So, the reason he and Grindelwald were running around every day a while ago was to find Horcruxes, and they even called Moody along?"
"Looking at them now, Moody obviously found the cave where the fake locket was placed."
"But is he capable of dealing with the defenses Lord Voldemort left behind?"
"Obviously not, which is why he came back to find Dumbledore."
Tom looked at their departing backs, and his whole being became excited.
"Professor Dumbledore, since you're looking for Horcruxes, then I, Tom Riddle, will definitely come to help out."
....
"Alastor, are you sure it's here?"
Standing on the steep cliff, listening to the waves crashing against the black rocks, Dumbledore confirmed with Moody again.
"According to your description, Albus, I searched for a long time, and it should be here. However, we need to enter through a crack below the cliff first."
After speaking, Moody took Dumbledore and Apparated onto the rocks below, then led him slowly into the barely noticeable crack, which was only about a meter wide.
"This place is really hard to find. I endured wind and dew for a long time to find it, Albus. Is there really something important related to Lord Voldemort here?"
Moody complained softly as he led Dumbledore forward.
"Alastor, I don't know either."
Dumbledore shook his head after hearing Moody's words, indicating uncertainty.
After confirming the Horcruxes with Tom, Dumbledore began his journey to find them. Unsure of the truthfulness of Tom's words, he decided to proceed at his own pace.
However, the process of finding the Horcruxes was far more difficult than he imagined. And at the Gaunt Shack, he was initially confident he would find a Horcrux, but came up empty-handed. Therefore, regarding this trip to the cave, truthfully, Dumbledore also didn't know what the final outcome would be.
As the two walked further in, the originally narrow crack became wider and wider, until they ascended a few stone steps and arrived at a huge cave, where they finally stopped.
"Lumos!"
Moody raised his wand, illuminating the entire cave, then looked at Dumbledore.
"We're here, Albus. It's up to you now."
The last time Moody came here, he searched the cave for a long time but found nothing. He had no choice but to return to Hogwarts to get Dumbledore to take action.
Dumbledore now showed a focused expression, as if ignoring Moody, slowly circling the cave while stroking the rock wall with his hand, and occasionally muttering spells.
After a long time, Dumbledore finally stopped in front of a rock wall, a look of joy on his face.
Seeing this, Moody quickly asked, "Albus, what's wrong? What did you find?"
"Alastor, I found it. Someone used magic to hide the entrance."
Dumbledore replied to Moody while carefully studying the magic on it.
"Is it Lord Voldemort?"
"Besides him, I don't think there's anyone else. However, I think we will need to pay a price to enter."
Soon, Dumbledore slowly stood up.
"Albus, what price?" Moody asked.
"If I'm not mistaken, it's blood." Dumbledore's words revealed a hint of disdain.
"Blood?" Moody retorted.
"That's right, Alastor. Although it's primitive, it is indeed effective. I think Lord Voldemort's purpose in doing this is to use this trap to weaken his opponents."
Saying that, Dumbledore conjured a short knife and rolled up his sleeve.
But before Dumbledore could make a move, Moody snatched the short knife from Dumbledore's hand and directly sliced his arm, and blood immediately gushed out.
Seeing this, Dumbledore, who knew Moody's personality, didn't say much and immediately began chanting a spell.
As Dumbledore cast the spell, blood splattered onto the rock wall, an archway appeared, and moments later, the rock disappeared, revealing a pitch-black doorway.
After healing Moody's wound with a spell, the two entered the doorway. What greeted their eyes was a black lake, but...
Blue Fiendfyre was burning, transforming the originally dark cave into a world of eerie blue. Countless Inferi crawled out from the bottom of the lake, only to become the best fuel, incinerated to ashes under the burning Fiendfyre.
And the two people who shouldn't have been there were having an extremely good time playing with fire.
"Albus, that's that evil Slytherin brat."
Moody, who had met someone once and had a very unpleasant encounter, first recognized Tom's figure in the firelight.
As for the old man next to Tom, sorry, Moody thought for a long time but couldn't figure out who he was.
"Professor, what took you so long? Professor Grindelwald and I have been waiting for you here for half a day. Oh, and I found Regulus Black! Give him to Sirius, he'll be very happy."
Tom also noticed Dumbledore and Moody entering at this moment, and happily shouted, pointing to a motionless Inferi at his feet.
Grindelwald, now restored to his original appearance, also looked at Dumbledore, his eyes holding a sense of accusation, as if saying, "You didn't bring me along," which made Dumbledore guiltily turn his head away.
Just as the two were exchanging glances, Moody exclaimed, instinctively taking a combat stance: "Grindelwald? Albus, is it the Grindelwald I'm thinking of? Shouldn't he be in Nurmengard? How is he here?"
Hearing Moody's words, Dumbledore didn't know how to explain for a moment and could only brace himself and say to Moody, "Alastor, we'll talk about this later. Let's deal with these Inferi first."
With that, Dumbledore left Moody and joined Grindelwald and Tom's team.
Facing so many Inferi, anyone else might have met their demise. Unfortunately, they were now facing some of the strongest and most skilled fire-wielders in the magic world; no matter how many there were, they would be utterly annihilated on the spot.
Lord Voldemort probably never imagined such a lineup when he set this place up back then.
And Moody was even more terrified. Dumbledore and Grindelwald were one thing, but the evil Slytherin brat's displayed power was surprisingly not inferior to theirs at all.
At that moment, Moody felt as if he had lived his many years in vain.