Apart from Himari, Orianna's appearance once again left Fleur greatly astonished.
Why did Alaric have a mechanical maid?
Why did the mechanical maid call him "Daddy"? Why did the mechanical maid use magic?
Much like Hermione and the others during their first encounter with Orianna, Fleur was overwhelmed with countless questions, unsure where to start.
However, Alaric didn't concern himself with Fleur's doubts at the moment.
Holding a blood bag in one hand and his Infinity Blade in the other, Alaric quickly sliced through the blood bag with a flash of silver.
The red blood sprayed out, splattering the rock surface with gleaming dark red droplets.
The next moment, the dazzling white archway outline reappeared on the cave wall, this time remaining visible.
The blood-soaked rock within the arch vanished suddenly, revealing a doorway into seemingly endless darkness.
"Effective, indeed," Alaric nodded in satisfaction.
At this point, Fleur was at a loss for words.
Having lived solely in the wizarding world, she never imagined that a Muggle contraption could bypass Voldemort's magical mechanisms like this.
"Are blood bags… precious in the Muggle world?" she asked Hermione cautiously.
"Precious?" Hermione scoffed.
"Are you kidding? A blood bag of 400 milliliters is common in hospitals—there are hundreds or even thousands of them in large hospitals, and Muggle hospitals… oh, they definitely outnumber all the wizarding hospitals in Britain."
Fleur was left speechless, unable to understand why Muggles would need so much blood.
It seemed this Muggle girl had much more to learn.
"Follow me," Alaric interrupted the girls' conversation and led the way through the doorway.
Hermione and Fleur followed him, quickly lighting their wands.
Upon entering the doorway, they were met with a strange sight.
They stood at the edge of a vast black lake, so wide that they could not see the far shore.
The cave they were in was high, and the ceiling was invisible even when they looked up.
In the distance, a hazy, greenish light flickered at the center of the lake, reflecting in the dead still water below.
Besides the green light and the glow from their wands, the surroundings were engulfed in an impenetrable darkness.
The light from their wands did not penetrate as well as they had anticipated; the darkness seemed denser and heavier than usual.
"Let's move forward," Alaric said softly, "but don't step into the water."
He walked along the narrow rock by the lake's edge, with the two girls following him—Fleur in the middle and Hermione bringing up the rear.
Their footsteps echoed on the rocky shore, and as they continued forward, the scenery remained unchanged.
Rough cave walls on one side and an endless, mirror-like black lake on the other, with the mysterious green light flickering in the center.
The girls, especially Fleur, felt a sense of oppression and unease from the quiet and eerie environment.
"Alaric?" Fleur couldn't help but ask, "Do you think the Horcrux is hidden here?"
"Oh, yes," Alaric said, "I believe it's hidden here. The question is, how do we find it."
"Can't… can't we try the Summoning Charm?" Fleur suggested, knowing it might be a foolish idea, but she was eager to leave this creepy place.
"Of course," Alaric suddenly stopped, and the girls, unable to stop in time, bumped into him, feeling the softness of his body.
As if nothing had happened, Alaric suggested, "Why don't you give it a try?"
"Me? Oh… alright…"
Fleur hadn't anticipated this. She cleared her throat, raised her wand, and shouted, "Summon the Horcrux!"
With a loud bang, a large, ghostly white figure shot up from the pitch-black lake, about twenty feet away.
Before Fleur could see what it was, it disappeared with a splash, creating deep ripples on the calm water.
Startled, she jumped back and found herself in Alaric's arms, held securely, which reassured her.
Turning to Alaric, her heart was still pounding rapidly.
The proximity made it hard for Fleur to tell if she was scared or simply nervous.
"Wh… what was that?" she asked softly in Alaric's ear.
"Ahem—"
Hermione's clearing of her throat was heard, but Fleur, still in Alaric's embrace, relaxed even further, leaning into him.
"We're here to find the Horcrux, so let's stay focused!" Hermione said, her tone tinged with frustration.
"I think we've seen something like that before. If we attempt to retrieve the Horcrux, it will react."
She glanced at the lake again.
The lake's surface had become like black glass—bright and smooth. T
he ripples disappeared astonishingly quickly, but her heart continued to race.
Feeling a sense of impending danger from the lake, Hermione closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, her pupils had turned into golden slits, and her eyes seemed to burn with golden flames.
Near Alaric, Fleur suddenly felt a chill, and Hermione appeared terrifying to her.
"Did I see that right?" she wondered, reluctantly stepping away.
Once Hermione had finished her observation, Fleur finally asked, "Did you know this would happen?"
"Of course, the Dark Lord wouldn't leave such an obvious opening for us," Hermione said with pride.
"I knew from the start that if we openly tried to obtain the Horcrux, we would face some kind of reaction.
Fleur, your idea was excellent, and it clarified what we're up against."
"But we still don't know what that thing is," Fleur said, her eyes fixed on the still, menacing lake.
She felt Hermione's last statement was somewhat sarcastic.
"You should say those things," Hermione said.
"We've seen something similar before. They're numerous in the water. Let's keep moving, shall we?"
"Granger?"
"What is it, Fleur?"
"Do you think we need to go into the lake?"
"Into the lake? Unless our luck is exceptionally bad, I'd rather not encounter those disgusting things."
"You don't think the Horcrux is at the bottom of the lake?"
"Oh, no… I believe the Horcrux is in the center of the lake. Even the Dark Lord wouldn't want to be near such things."
"Hermione is right." Alaric pointed to the hazy green light in the center of the lake.
"That place looks suspicious, doesn't it?"
"So what exactly is that thing?" Fleur still felt confused.
"You'll find out soon," Hermione said with a mischievous smile.
Indeed, following Alaric, Hermione seemed to have picked up a bit of his knack for mischief.
.
.
.
Guys, do leave some power stones and reviews.
✌patreon.com/bobthewriter✌
If you guys enjoy this story, you can support me on Patreon and get access to 30 Advance Chapters, it really helps me to work on new chapters.