The Cave

Calendar and Dates

The entire chapter takes place the same evening as the previous one, an evening in June.

Interesting facts and notes

A trip to the seaside where the horrors of Inferi await.

"It has known magic."

Albus Dumbledore is able to sense something that Harry cannot. We are always told that Dumbledore is a great wizard.

"You will not object to getting a little wet?"

Questions that arise:

• Why not Apparate directly to the cave?
  Perhaps there were anti-Apparition wards. However, since Harry and Dumbledore could Apparate directly from the cave's entrance to Hogsmeade, this line of reasoning appears to have difficulties. Perhaps Dumbledore feared that Apparition would trigger some form of sophisticated defence, which was no longer an issue once he and Harry had left the cave and sprung the trap. We don't know, really.
• Why not bring a broomstick under the Invisibility Cloak rather than swimming through icy water?
  Perhaps magical protections are present that operate to make an airborne approach difficult. We don't know.

He had never seen a wizard work things out like this, simply by looking and touching; but Harry had long since learned that bangs and smoke were more often the marks of ineptitude than expertise.

Severus Snape made this very point during Harry's first Potions class (PS8).

"I do not think you will count, Harry: you are under age and unqualified. Voldemort would never have expected a sixteen-year-old to reach this place: I think it unlikely that your powers will register compared to mine."

Again, we are reminded that Voldemort underestimates wizards other than himself - and also that magic use doesn't normally register when a wizard is underage but with an adult.

"There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees."

I don't think this is common knowledge about Lord Voldemort, so it is somewhat surprising that Dumbledore would use the words "of course". After finding out that Voldemort is searching for immortality, it could be guessed that he is afraid for death. The fact that he is afraid of the dark was never suggested before this. If other characters knew Voldemort's fears, I would think that they would be less afraid of him.

However, since Voldemort's name could literally be interpreted as "flight from death," it is possible that some in the Wizarding World would have conjectured that the Dark Lord chose this name because of a fear of death. --SVA

Exceptional character moments

The complexity, but also the arrogance, implicit in Lord Voldemort's protections of his horcruxes.

Dumbledore's faith in Harry, and Harry being able to step up when he has to look after Dumbledore.

Memorable lines

He had never seen a wizard work things out like this, simply by looking and touching; but Harry had long since learned that bangs and smoke were more often the marks of ineptitude than expertise.

"I said it was crude," said Dumbledore, who sounded disdainful, even disappointed, as though Voldemort had fallen short of the standards Dumbledore expected.

"There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."

"I am not worried, Harry," said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. "I am with you."

Words and phrases

• Keen, a bit keen, keener
• Half-Moon Spectacles
• Penknife