Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Half-Blood Prince/Chapter 26
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Chapter 26 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: The Cave
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[edit] Synopsis
Dumbledore and Harry apparate to the foot of a seaside cliff. Dumbledore says this is where the young Tom Riddle led two younger orphans on a horrifying trip. Dumbledore and Harry approach the cliff; Dumbledore illuminates his wand to reveal a fissure in the rocks. He and Harry swim to it, finding a hidden cave.
Dumbledore says this is only an antechamber; the real goal is further. Feeling for an opening in the cave's wall, he finds it, but it does not open. Believing the Dark Lord likes his enemies weakened, Dumbledore cuts his arm and sheds blood on the wall. An opening appears; inside is a huge underground lake with a strange green glow in its center. As Dumbledore looks for something, he cautions Harry against touching the lake surface. It occurs to Harry that he could simply Summon the Horcrux; Dumbledore suggests he try and when Harry does, something large, far out in the lake jumps, intercepting the spell. Dumbledore says that is likely what they will have to face in order to retrieve the Horcrux.
Continuing around the shore, Dumbledore finds an invisible chain; rendering it visible, he reels it in, and a tiny boat surfaces and is pulled to the shore. Harry and Dumbledore climb in, and the boat propels itself smoothly towards the island in the middle of the lake. Harry, peering down from the bow, sees dead bodies floating beneath the water's surface; Dumbledore says that as long the bodies are merely floating, there is nothing to fear.
Finally, the boat reaches the island. On it is a basin filled with greenly glowing liquid. Presumably the Horcrux is submerged within. They are unable to touch the basin or its contents, so Dumbledore must drink the substance. He makes Harry promise to force him to finish every drop. He produces a goblet and begins drinking. The potion causes intense pain, and, in his delirious agony, he begs Harry to kill him. Harry persists in refilling the goblet and persuading Dumbledore to finish. Dumbledore is very weak and requests water, but when the water that Harry conjures vanishes as it approaches Dumbledore, Harry fills the goblet from the lake that Dumbledore warned him not to touch. He manages to throw the water into Dumbledore's face, but can do nothing else, as Inferi (animated corpses that Harry had seen floating beneath the water) emerge, attempting to drag Harry into the water. Harry tries Jinx after Jinx to fend them off, but they keep coming, dragging him towards the water. Dumbledore recovers enough to fend them off with magical fire. Keeping them surrounded with the ring of flames, Dumbledore collects the locket at the bottom of the now-empty basin, and he and Harry climb back into the boat. The Inferi, dully, lose interest in Harry and Dumbledore, who now return to the shore. Harry leads Dumbledore from the cave, opening the archway to the antechamber with the graze on his arm he got fighting the Inferi; they return to the fissure leading to the sea.
[edit] Analysis
Dumbledore asks Harry to accompany him on his mission to retrieve the Horcrux not only for Harry's magical abilities, but also for Harry's incomplete mastery of them. Voldemort charmed the boat to carry only one adult wizard at a time; it cannot be summoned to and from the island with magic while it is empty - a passenger must be in it. However, two people are needed to retrieve the locket from the basin. Harry is underage and small, so his presence in the boat goes undetected. It will soon be learned that Harry and Dumbedore are not the only ones who overcame this obstacle, and, as with the Room of Requirement and the Diary Horcrux, Voldemort's overconfidence that his tight security is inpenetrable results in serious errors. This is yet another flaw in Voldemort's power, although he believes he is invincible.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- What was the green liquid that Dumbledore drank?
- Why would Dumbledore ask a still-unqualified student to accompany him on such a dangerous mission?
- Why did Dumbledore wish Harry to kill him?
[edit] Extra Study
- Why did the young Tom Riddle (Voldemort) take the two orphans to the cave?
- How could Tom Riddle have discovered the cave at such an early age, and even before he knew he was a wizard?
[edit] Greater Picture
Compare Harry's feelings of "revulsion" and "self-hatred" as he forced Dumbledore to drink the potion to Snape's expression as he performs the Avada Kedavra in the next chapter.
As Dumbledore drinks the potion, we briefly glimpse what may be his worst fear: his loved ones, which it will eventually be learned are his brother and sister, suffering on his account.
