The Limitations of the Lake and the Dark Lord's Wicked Taste

Ivan released the chain with a sigh of relief when the ship finally rose, but then his face darkened as he sensed the magic within him.

'How's it going? Are you all right, Ivan?' Sirius asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Ivan explained, shaking his head. "I just used half my magic."

In the original timeline, Dumbledore was right. Voldemort counted on the intruders to sacrifice themselves at every turn, weakening them layer by layer, like a frog being boiled in warm water, until they were too weak to resist and drowned in the lake.

First, he opened the door to draw blood, consuming a lot of stamina and a small amount of magic power.

Raising the boat required another half of the ship's magic, and the boat had to row all the way to the island in the middle of the island.

Ivan could only lament that Voldemort's wicked sense of humour was truly extraordinary, and that it would be better to simply give the intruder a quick death…

They came in as a team of three and two elves, sharing each other's burden, and were all out of sorts. It was hard to imagine how Regulus managed to keep going.

"Is this the ship? It doesn't look very strong. It didn't sink halfway, did it?" Lupin asked, taking a few steps forward and tapping his wand on the floor.

"I don't think so," Ivan said. "I'm sure Voldemort expects to return some other time. I'm sure he'd rather not fall into the lake."

Lupin and Sirius both nodded, reassured.

Ivan continued, "As for how this ship works, I have a pretty good idea. It takes half of my magic to operate, and from what we've just seen, it should be able to fit two of me!"

'Two of you? That's not good news. How much do you weigh?' Sirius scowled.

"I mean magic!" Ivan snapped, rolling his eyes. "Voldemort doesn't think about weight! He only thinks about how much magic goes through the Black Lake! And I have as much magic as an adult wizard, so this boat can hold two adult wizards crossing the lake at once…"

Ivan believed that the copper chain had been feeding his magic to the ship to measure how much magic he had!

The rule was that each person had to bring one victim, so there had to be two subpoenas in exchange, so Regulus could board the ship with Kreacher, his magical equal.

There was a limit to how much magic could be absorbed, and Dumbledore would not have lost half of his magic.

However, the boat could not fit two of him, so the old professor mistakenly believed that the boat was meant for one person.

The only reason Dumbledore was able to take Harry with him was because Harry's little bit of magic was nothing compared to the amount he had sacrificed.

'So only two can board and the rest must remain here?' Sirius's expression was sour.

"That should be the case… Anyway, let me go with you! Professor Lupin bled a lot just now. It will be difficult if he is not strong enough when he goes into the lake. It is better to stay on shore to support us," Ivan explained.

Even if he lost a lot of magic power, it would not affect his combat strength. It could only be said that his endurance was slightly worse.

However, Lupin was different. Opening the door probably cost thousands of milliliters of blood. In such a state, one would be lucky not to be caught, let alone to retrieve a corpse.

"Isn't there another way to get across the lake?" Lupin was well aware of his condition, but he was worried about Ivan's safety.

He looked at the black lake in front of him with some reluctance, wondering if he could transform into another ship.

"I'm afraid ordinary boats can't sail on it, but we can try this!" Ivan suggested, waving his wand at a black rock on the bank.

The solid rock immediately softened, changing shape as if it were being kneaded by an invisible hand.

A few moments later, a muscular eagle appeared in front of them. It let out a low cry and flapped its wings vigorously as it flew towards the centre of the black lake.

Sirius, who had seen Ivan in his Animagus form, immediately guessed what he meant. If Ivan could fly across the lake, he could transform into his owl form and follow the ship, leaving an empty seat for one more person!

The majestic eagle soared over the surface of the lake, seemingly without danger.

However, before they could celebrate, the eagle suddenly fell into the water. It struggled for a while before it was grabbed by several hands and dragged into the dark lake.

Ivan's mouth twitched at the sight.

He was certain that the anti-aircraft spell had been cast on the back half of the lake, and that anyone who thought they could sneak past without a broomstick would fall in.

"Well, it seems Voldemort didn't leave any loopholes for us to exploit…" Sirius sighed helplessly, then stepped into the boat.

The ship immediately sank nearly halfway down, and when Ivan got on board, it sank a little more, but there seemed to be some room.

Ivan was sharp enough to notice this, but he quickly realised that he had used up half of his magic earlier, leaving some room.

Thinking of this, he looked at the aged house-elf on the shore and said, "Kreacher, how much magic do you have left? If it's less than half, come up and try!"

"It's too much of a risk, isn't it?" Lupin tried to intervene, but Kreacher was already climbing aboard, and the ship swayed but did not sink.

"As it happens, it's just as I thought!" Ivan wasn't surprised. Kreacher had used Apparition many times before, and he had used it on both of them. He would be lucky if he had a third of his magic left.

Lupin shook his head, disapproving of Ivan's risky approach, but cautioned him before they set off.

"Ivan, as your former Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, I have to test you. What do we do if we encounter an Inferius?"

"With a Fire Charm!" Ivan replied after a moment.

"Yes, you were always clever, Hulse! Inferi fear light and heat!" Lupin laughed.

"But I don't think it's going to help. You can't expect me to summon fire underwater…" Ivan complained.

Lupin looked a little embarrassed.

The ship carrying the elf and the girl began to move slowly towards the middle of the lake. Ivan reached into his pocket and realised that he had forgotten something. He shouted at Lupin and threw the bottle at him.

Lupin quickly reached out to take it and saw that it was a brown potion. He was puzzled when he heard Ivan's voice from afar.

"If you are in danger, drink this potion and transform into a werewolf!"