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With a surprised gasp, Harry shot back, detaching his wrist from the pale hand that had latched around it. Bodies swam in the water, convulsing as they began to crawl up towards the island, their white skin pulled taut over their bones.
"Deprimo." Lori shouted at one, its skeleton crunching together loudly before shattering as she raced to pull Harry back up towards the basin, "Expulso."
Spells shot from both their wands as inferi swarmed around them, lurching up across the crystal shards and snapping at their feet, Dumbledore quietly groaning behind them.
A cold hand wrapped around Lori from behind, long fingers digging into her shoulder as another came to drag her back. Before she knew it, dozens of dead, rotting hands had curled around different parts of her.
One that had wrapped around her leg pulled it out from beneath her, Lori landed with a loud crash as they began to pull her to the water's edge.
Harry was already submerged, the inferi diving off the island to drag him to the murky depths as she first hit the chilling pool, unable to resist as it closed around her.
She thrashed and writhed trying to get away, but the sheer volume of them made it impossible to escape from the darkened water.
Sacrificing her last precious seconds of oxygen, she moved her wand upwards, "Ascendio."
Flying from the water, she landed on the crystal with a pained groan, inferi climbing back up to pull her back into their lair.
She turned her head to Dumbledore, unable to stand after she had had all the wind knocked out of her, "Professor, please..."
With a sudden surge of strength, the wizened man stood, flames surging from his wand and into the water, surrounding the island in a great ring of roaring fire.
Lori sighed in relief when Harry surfaced, trying to move towards him to pull him back onto shore, though every small movement felt like she was being branded with a red hot poker.
Her hand grabbed onto his, pulling the other waterlogged Gryffindor to the basin, flames biting at the screeching inferi as they dived deep below.
"Partis temporus." Lori incanted, the fire parting to let the three safely climb onto the boat, the students having to support Dumbledore between them.
It was a great show of majesty as the fire stood proudly either side of them, holding their attackers at bay as they made slow progress out of the cave and back into the ocean.
The ice that Lori had formed still stood, the waves furling over them like an arch as they dragged the professor through, their path gently melting back to water as they passed.
Wheezing, he held his hands out to the two students, both of them grabbing on as the ocean morphed back into the Astronomy Tower.
Dumbledore became a great deal heavier to carry upon their arrival, "We need to get you to the Hospital Wing, sir, to Madam Pomfrey."
