Well, fuck.

Of coursethe inferi weren't going to stop even when Harry got out of the water! And of course Dumbledore will be nearly catatonic from the potion! And of course they wanted to tear him into little pieces and of course Harry had lost his glasses! This was just one shitty day.

Having finished Harry's pity party, he searched his brain for how to defend or destroy inferi. Fire, if Harry remembered Hermione's rant over the differences between Zombies and Inferi (something about muggle culture being right) then fire is the only permanent way to defeat inferi. Incendio was Harry's first option and with little fanfare, he cast it directly at the inferi. They were shabbily dressed and many only had the barest of rags covering their bodies. Flames shot straight out of Harry's wand and the inferi scattered away from the flames at a sluggish pace. Few inferi managed to completely dodge the spell but their wet bodies did not catch fire as well as Harry had hoped. The water seemed to be spelled to be resistant to being affected by the flames but it managed to do the job of scaring the inferi. However, it seemed to have destroyed little of them. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before they came back to try to complete their master's orders with a fervor that only the undead could manage, Harry rushed to Dumbledore's side and evaluated his alertness. His eyes were glazed and he seemed unaware of his surroundings and how near to death they had both come. The fact that the potion managed to disassociate Dumbledore so much filled Harry's veins with ice. If it wasn't for Hermione and her need to know everything and share it with Harry and Ron then they would surely be dead and Dumbledore wouldn't have been able to defend himself at all.

Harry gripped Dumbledore's arms firmly and using all of his strength he managed to drag Dumbledore to the boat. Leery of falling into the water again, he attempted to balance carefully and dropped Dumbledore in the boat. He regrettably was a bit rough but he was sure that Dumbledore would forgive him if they survived. With both of them in the boat, Harry waited for the boat to go back with magic like it did when it dropped them off on the island. Waiting a few seconds with no changes, Harry came to the conclusion that the boat wasn't going to go anywhere on its own so he took the matter into his own hands. He pointed his wand, which hadn't left his hand, to the boat and cast praemoveo to get the boat to move forward. He watched the water carefully but knew that he needed more eyes to watch all of the water. Feeling helpless, he checked on Dumbledore again. There hadn't been any change.

They had finally reached the edge when he heard some water rippling in the distance. Hurrying, he grabbed Dumbledore again and pulled him up. Harry had one goal and only one goal at this time: get out of this hellish place. The gravel seemed to be working against him by dragging his feet down and he kept slipping. He slowly reached the exit of the cave into the main mouth of the cliffside. He could see the light outside, the sky was much darker than when they came in, but he could also hear more and more of the water moving which filled him with a sense of urgency. He quickly dragged Dumbledore and when he looked back he could see that his robes were weighing them both down with their weight and the rocks catching the robes with their peaks. He had finally dragged Dumbledore into the main cave and was starting to relax when he heard a grinding sound. The sound filled the air and Harry had come to a chilling realization. The entrance was closing! What the hell had Riddle gone through to think of this horror filled trap?

Harry tossed his fears aside and rushed to get out through the entrance and into the safe cove. The door had finally closed, nearly pinching Dumbledore's robes in the process. He settled Dumbledore against a sturdy looking boulder and sagged with relief.

Harry sat down and felt like crying and screaming. He nearly died. Dumbledore nearly died. Harry had lost his glasses. There were creatures that looked like freaking zombies that dragged him into the water! In fact, his chest still hurt a bit which made Harry start to wonder if he inhaled water. Water! Harry remembered that Dumbledore had been asking for water when things went to hell in a handbasket. Grabbing a stone, he transfigured it into a goblet and tried to cast aguamenti again. It thankfully worked this time and he went back to Dumbledore.

Propping his head up, Harry put the goblet at Dumbledore's mouth and slowly poured. Dumbledore sputtered a bit but then started eagerly gulping the water down. After a few gulps Dumbledore feebly reached for the goblet. His eyes looked more alert and he started to gaze at his surroundings. The confusion was clear in his eyes and as he looked at Harry's bedraggled appearance a vague sort of sadness appeared. It seemed that Dumbledore came to the accurate realization that Harry had gotten them out of the cave of horrors.

"It seems that the potion was far more debilitating than I believed. I am sorry that you had to do that alone, my boy. Please tell me what happened." Dumbledore's voice was scratchy and he sounded as if he hadn't spoken in years.

Harry briefly described the events, still in shock. They sat there for a little while after he finished talking, both of them were catching their breath and trying to accept all that had happened.

Dumbledore started to rise slowly and Harry watched to make sure that he didn't need any assistance. By this point in the day it was dusk and Harry knew that they needed to be back soon before the others started to worry. No one knew where they had gone, and Harry's friends all believed that Dumbledore and he were still viewing the memories of those around Riddle to gather clues about Horcruxes. Harry honestly wasn't too sure if he was going to tell them what happened. Afterall, it would just worry them the next time he went to visit do say that ignorance is bliss.

Harry watched as Dumbledore brushed off gravel from his robes and held out his arm as an invitation to apparate away. Harry and Dumbledore were both standing shakily and although Dumbledore looked strained, Harry accepted his arm and they apparated back to school. The compressing feeling was even worse in Harry's exhausted state. Harry was shaky and felt a bit dizzy but the feeling went away and he looked up. The school's lights were bright against the darkening sky and Harry relaxed. Hogwarts will always be his home and he loved looking at the school's towers reaching into the sky like a stronghold daring someone to challenge its strength.

They walked up the hill and Harry peered around in idle curiosity. The lake's surface, unlike the one that they were just at, was calm. The trees in the forbidden forest rustled restlessly. They were in the field between the Forbidden forest and the lake which had an amazing view of this half of Howarts' property. Harry had always felt comfortable near the forbidden forest and didn't mind being there. Despite all of his near death experiences near the forest, Harry felt calm with the weight of the air. Harry thought that he liked the forest because it reminded him of the woods that Harry used to run into and hide from Dudley in. Similar to his cupboard, the forest was enclosed and acted as an easy haven to hide from the difficulties with his family. A safe haven that was always there when he needed it.

There was a flash of a shadow in the corner of his eyes but Harry figured that it was one of the centaurs who stargazed in the way that only a centaur could. The centaurs were strange and Harry knew better than to stare at one just in case it thought that Harry was challenging it so he quickly turned around and focused on the task at hand.

The duo reached the top of the hill and entered the courtyard. It was empty and the stone columns felt a bit colder than normal. The entrance hall was nearly empty but Harry saw in the distance someone walking around the corner and disappearing from sight. Harry thought that he saw Malfoy's blond hair but was uncertain if it was his paranoia talking. Hermione had "lectured" Harry on the danger of assumptions so he was a bit weary of drawing conclusions and being scolded by her again. Plus it was just a flash so he was worried that his mind was playing tricks on him after the harrowing experience of the cave.

The castle closed the main doors behind them indicating that all of the students were inside.