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'How terrible it is to love something death can touch'
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The Black Lake was massive, to say the least, and as the water rippled in the light wind coming in, it looked more ominous than ever. Dumbledore, after Addie had told him all she knew, had begun searching for the mansion in his own time. They had no idea how he'd be able to find it, or what method he'd used to search, because not only did the lake stretch on for what felt like forever, but it was incredibly deep.
In some ways, Dumbledore hoped not to find it. The countless failed searches that went on for years for missing mothers and children, the disappearance of his own goddaughter...everything Voldemort put Maya through, everything he made Adeline be, ripping apart a happy, beautiful family the way he did—all of this on Hogwarts grounds, right beneath his nose?
It would break his heart to find it—knowing he could have stopped it. Knowing that his goddaughter was beneath these rippling waters for years and he had no idea. Knowing that he could have saved her, and let her grow up in the castle, and give her the life she deserves. Maybe she and Harry would have met still—but in a classroom, or a hallway, or the train. Maybe they would have fallen in love the way they had now. Maybe they'd have more time with each other. He didn't want to find it. He didn't want to think of what could have been.
But he found it.
It wasn't a mansion, exactly, though definitely larger than most houses, and almost impossible to see at the bottom and to the side of the Black Lake. His eyes would have easily passed over it had he not been looking for it.
So, there they were now; Harry, Adeline and Dumbledore standing on the wooden deck where the Second Triwizard Task had been held those years ago, preparing to search the mansion for any Horcruxes.
Before now, Harry could only vaguely recall the details of that day—when he first saw Addie floating in the murky water; a simple, ethereal glimpse of light in the darkness. But now that they were back here, on the very deck he'd pulled her onto, he remembered the feeling of her limp weight in his arms, how cold she was, the way her wet hair stuck to her neck and face and the way the white fabric of her dress dripped onto the wooden deck. The way Dumbledore's face turned grave from a couple of metres away. The vivid confusion bubbling around him as people giving out towels realised that this girl was not a student.
Now, the wind ruffled his hair the way it did back then, and Harry glanced at Addie, grabbing her hand as she stared at the water. They were standing behind Dumbledore, who was peering out at the lake, his wand out and moving in circular motions, his other arm extended, though it wasn't clear yet what he was doing.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" Harry asked her, watching as she took a shaky breath. Addie nodded eventually and shifted her gaze to him.
"Yeah," she squeezed his hand a little. Adeline wanted to see it; wanted to go there, as curiosity clawed at her insides, despite the fatigue weighing down her eyes. She nodded again. "I'm sure."
