The Cave

The Cave is a remote sea cave on a rocky coast, the site where Tom Riddle once terrorized two orphanage children and where, decades later, Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter journey to retrieve a Horcrux. It is a place of layered defenses—a hidden entrance requiring blood payment, a vast black lake filled with Inferi, and a central island where a basin of emerald potion must be drunk to reveal the concealed object—and it becomes the stage for Dumbledore's near-fatal ordeal and the discovery that the Horcrux has already been stolen.

Location and Setting

The Cave is situated on a high outcrop of dark rock, with a towering cliff behind it and a sheer drop to the sea below. The waters around the cliffs are too dangerous for boats, and no Muggle could reach the rock without uncommon mountaineering skill. The cave itself is accessed through a fissure in the cliff face, which opens into a dark tunnel that would be filled with water at high tide. The tunnel leads to a large cave with a great black lake so vast that the distant banks cannot be made out, and the ceiling is out of sight. A misty greenish light shines far away in what looks like the middle of the lake, reflected in the completely still water below. The darkness is somehow denser than normal darkness.

History and Purpose

Tom Riddle first discovered the cave during annual trips from the orphanage to a nearby village for sea air. He brought two small children there, probably for the pleasure of terrorizing them. The journey alone would have been terrifying for them. Decades later, Lord Voldemort chose this same cave as the hiding place for one of his Horcruxes, transforming it into a heavily protected vault. Dumbledore had been trying to locate the cave for a very long time, having deduced that Voldemort would have hidden a Horcrux there.

The Journey and Defenses

Dumbledore and Harry Apparate to the rock outcrop, then swim through the icy water into the fissure. The first obstacle is the concealed entrance to the inner cave, which requires a blood payment to open. Dumbledore cuts his own arm and smears blood on the rock, causing a blazing silver archway to appear. Inside, they find the great black lake. A Summoning Charm provokes a large, pale creature to erupt from the water, revealing that the lake is guarded. Dumbledore locates a hidden chain that raises a tiny boat, which can only carry one wizard's magical power; Harry, being underage and unqualified, does not count. As they cross the lake, Harry sees dead bodies floating inches below the surface—the Inferi that guard the Horcrux. They reach a small island of smooth rock in the center of the lake, where a stone basin sits on a pedestal, filled with an emerald liquid that emits a phosphorescent glow.

The Ordeal and Aftermath

The potion cannot be penetrated by hand, Vanished, parted, scooped up, or siphoned away; it must be drunk. Dumbledore drinks the potion, which causes him to experience terrible visions and agony, begging for it to stop. Harry forces him to continue drinking until the basin is empty. At the bottom lies a golden locket. As Dumbledore collapses, the Inferi rise from the lake and attack. Dumbledore, barely conscious, conjures a ring of fire that holds them at bay, and they escape in the boat. Back on the shore, Harry discovers that the locket is a fake, containing a note signed "R.A.B." that reveals the real Horcrux has already been stolen. Dumbledore is left severely weakened by the ordeal, and they Apparate back to Hogsmeade, where they see the Dark Mark over Hogwarts.