Ron got hurt - 1

As they moved, they hit many floating corpses, causing the boat to rock and tilt. Ginny buried her face in Harry's chest and clung, as he held her close, keeping his gaze fixed firmly above the water. The darkness and silence of the shore where they'd left Ron and Hermione caused Harry's chest to constrict tightly. He prayed his friends had managed to subdue any Death Eaters and still managed to escape the Inferi.

The boat moved at a good clip, but it felt torturously slow to Harry, whose only thought was to get to the edge and aid his friends. He strained his eyes to see what was happening, but it was useless. The darkness was impenetrable.

*~*~*

When they reached the edge of the lake, Harry slid off the boat into the knee-deep water and lifted Ginny onto the shore. They grasped hands and sprinted towards the archway.

As they moved closer, they slowed and crouched low so as not to be seen. Several corpses were sprawled on the beach, and Harry thought he recognized the unmoving form of Crabbe lying half in the water.

A mewling sound caught his attention, and he quickly moved towards the now-sealed archway. Ron stood towering above a crouching Wormtail, who huddled against the stone, his hands outstretched and pleading. The sleeve of Ron's jacket was bloody and torn, and the expression on his face held such rage that Harry was surprised Wormtail was still alive.

Hermione knelt beside Wormtail, ensuring the ropes binding his hands were secure. She, too, appeared battered and bloodied but wore a hardened expression upon her face.

"Ron! Hermione!" Harry shouted, relief washing over him.

"Oh! You're all right," Hermione cried, leaping up and flinging her arms around Harry's neck. She let go and did the same to Ginny. "We were so worried. We couldn't see what happened to you."

"The Inferi happened," Harry said grimly.

"Yeah. After you left, Crabbe and a few more of his goons burst through the archway," Ron replied, keeping his eyes fixed on the cowering Wormtail. "Fortunately, it sealed again after only a handful of them entered. Wormtail here tried to back away from the fighting and stepped right into the lake, unleashing the Inferi. He ran away, but his mates weren't so lucky."

"It was awful," Hermione said, her lip quivering. "Those things just dragged the other two men right under the water. Ron and I managed to conceal ourselves behind the rocks, but they stood right on the shore."

"We reckoned we were done for when all of a sudden we saw that big explosion over the water, then they all just collapsed. What happened?" Ron asked.

"I destroyed the Horcrux, and it somehow destroyed the Inferi. They were connected to it somehow, like the dragon was to the cup. It makes me wonder if the Basilisk in the Chamber would have died if I'd just stabbed the diary first," Harry said, shrugging.

"We caught Wormtail trying to get the archway to reopen, so Hermione conjured the rope. I say we take him back to headquarters on the full moon and let Remus have a go," Ron said, nodding towards Wormtail.

"We've still got a problem though," Hermione said. "There are other Death Eaters outside, and I'm certain they'll be waiting for us."

"Can we Apparate from right here?" Ginny asked.

Harry shook his head. "Don't even try. I'm certain Voldemort would have thought of that and not wanted any victim to be able to get away from the Inferi. It either wouldn't work, or you'd end up horribly splinched."