Faced with Hermione's cryptic behavior, Fleur reluctantly decided to change the subject.
"So, we need to reach the center of the lake to get it?" she asked.
"Yes, I believe so," Hermione confirmed.
Fleur fell silent, her mind beginning to conjure up images of water monsters, water spirits, water ghosts, giant serpents, and phantoms…
"Ah-ha!" Alaric suddenly stopped again, and Fleur bumped into him once more.
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you!" Fleur playfully scolded, tapping Alaric's arm.
The boy did not turn around but said with a hint of resignation.
"Sorry, Fleur, I should have given a warning. Please move back and press against the rock wall; I think I've found the place."
Fleur didn't quite understand Alaric's meaning.
To her, the black lakeshore seemed no different from any other place.
Suddenly, she noticed that Hermione was also looking in the direction Alaric was gazing, as if seeing the same thing.
"Alright, you two must be doing this on purpose," Fleur pouted and stepped aside.
Alaric seemed to have detected something unusual.
He began to slowly wave his wand through the air, as if trying to find and grab an invisible object.
Soon, Hermione joined him.
After a few seconds, they both waved their wands forcefully, as if grabbing onto something Fleur couldn't see in the air.
The next moment, a thick green chain suddenly emerged from the depths of the lake, shooting toward the shore.
They tapped the chain with their wands, causing it to slither out of the water like a snake and coil itself on the ground.
The clanging noise of the chain against the rocks echoed loudly.
The chain was pulling something up from the pitch-black lake bottom.
Fleur watched in amazement as the bow of a small boat ghostly emerged from the water, glowing with the same green light as the chain, drifting toward the lakeshore with hardly a ripple.
"How did you know it was there?" Fleur asked in astonishment.
"Magic always leaves traces," Alaric said, "Himari told me."
"I saw the boat at the bottom of the lake," Hermione added briefly.
Despite their explanations, Fleur felt it was somewhat unhelpful.
Since Himari was Alaric's pet, and she had no idea how Hermione's vision worked, even if she knew how they figured it out, she couldn't replicate it herself.
"Alaric must have given her special training," Fleur thought resentfully as she looked at Hermione from behind.
Hermione suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
With a soft thud, the boat bumped against the lake shore.
"This… Is this boat safe?"
Fleur asked, eyeing the small boat that had just been retrieved from the lake, her concern evident.
"Oh, I think it's safe," Hermione analyzed.
"The Dark Lord would need a way to traverse the lake smoothly if he needed to visit or retrieve his Horcrux, without angering the creatures he placed in the lake."
"So, if we use this boat to cross the lake, the creatures won't attack us, right?"
"I think we should be prepared. If they realize we're not the Dark Lord, they might attack us.
However, so far, we've had a smooth process. They allowed us to retrieve the boat from the lake."
"But why would they allow us to do that?"
Fleur asked, unable to shake the horrifying image of numerous tentacles reaching out from the dark water as they moved away from the shore.
"The Dark Lord believes that only highly skilled wizards can discover that boat. His confidence is justified," Alaric interjected.
"I think he's willing to take the risk of someone discovering the boat—he views it as almost impossible.
He knows he has set up obstacles only he can navigate. We'll soon see if he was right."
Fleur glanced at the boat.
It was indeed a very small boat.
"It doesn't seem like it's meant for two people. Can it hold our combined weight? Won't we be too heavy?"
The girl was still somewhat worried.
"I remember Alaric taught me a weight-reducing spell," Hermione pointed out.
"With this spell, the weight of any number of people can be reduced to that of just one."
Alaric chuckled softly.
"The Dark Lord wouldn't consider weight; he only cares about how much magical power crosses his lake.
I suspect the boat might have been enchanted to carry only one wizard at a time."
"So—should we go one by one?" Fleur suggested.
"No, even with just me, the boat wouldn't hold up," Alaric shook his head.
Fleur gave him a resigned look, feeling as though Alaric was merely showing off his magical prowess.
Alaric seemed to realize this and added, "One cannot compare magical power with dragons, can they?"
"Speaking of dragons…" Fleur had another idea. "Can't we fly across?"
"It's a no-fly zone here," Hermione said, looking at Fleur with a hint of exasperation.
"I tried as soon as I arrived, and the Levitation Charm doesn't allow us to rise very high."
Hermione's answer left Fleur feeling disheartened, making her feel like there was a significant gap between her and this younger girl—who could provide tangible help to Alaric while she only suggested impractical ideas.
"Actually, we don't need any 'great ideas'," Alaric comforted her.
"In fact, with a sufficient Transfiguration skill, we wouldn't need the boat at all."
Fleur looked at Alaric in confusion as he kicked the small boat aside, took out a miniature boat model from his pocket, and placed it in the water.
With a flick of his wand, a metal boat about ten meters long appeared in the water.
"This is an American PBR-31 river patrol boat," Alaric introduced.
"It's 31 feet long, can reach speeds of up to 28.9 knots, and is equipped with dual M2HB .50 caliber machine guns, an 81mm mortar, and a MK19-3 40mm automatic grenade launcher. It saw action in the Vietnam War."
"That… that's a warship," Hermione said, somewhat stunned.
Even she hadn't expected Alaric to use such a Muggle-made artifact to confront Voldemort.
"Don't you think a metal boat like this is just perfect for dealing with those things?" Alaric said with a proud smile.
He took the lead and boarded the boat, with the two girls following in a daze.
It wasn't until the engine roared to life that they realized they were already moving toward the center of the lake.
Suddenly, the water surface around the boat began to undulate abnormally.
Soon, pale hands emerged from the water, reaching for the patrol boat's edges.
"That… that's an Inferi!" Fleur screamed in terror.
The Inferi were already disgusting enough, but the sight of their pale, slimy bodies in the water made it doubly horrifying.
She retreated to the center of the boat as if the Inferi's arms could reach her from a distance.
Hermione also frowned.
There were too many Inferi in the water.
Their numerous, pale arms reached up from the surface, grasping at the patrol boat. T
he sight was enough to trigger a fear of crowds.
However, the steel patrol boat was not only sturdy but also high.
Given the current low weight, the waterline was high, making it difficult for the arms to reach the edge of the boat.
The arms could only futilely scrape the steel hull, making unpleasant noises.
Even Fleur had to admit that, against this steel vessel, the flesh-and-blood Inferi were practically useless—especially in the water, where their strength couldn't possibly overcome the engine's power.
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