Missing
Harry Potter walked through the halls of the Ministry of Magic on his way to a meeting, a meeting that would make his career, a meeting that if he missed, or was late to, would destroy his chances of being Minister. At 42 years old, Head Auror Potter thought he deserved a change, and after over two decades of auror work, thought he needed it.
As he entered the large oval room he noticed a lot more people were there than expected. The current Minister of Magic Kingsley was the only one he thought would be there. But, as it turns out, his entire team of aurors were there also; including Ron, Seamus, Dean and Draco.
"Oh hey guys" he said in surprise as he made his way across to the round table in the middle of the large room. He sat himself down at the head of it, opposite the Minister who was already seated. They smiled warmly at each other, as everyone said their greetings and sat around them. "Wasn't expecting so many here" he said, still smiling.
"Well, we thought we would come and support you mate" said Ron "We're just telling Kings how awesome you are" grinning from ear to ear he slapped Harry on the back affectionately.
"We wanted to make sure the right man got the job" said Draco from Harry's other side.
"And they all think you're the one my boy" Kingsley said smiling. Harry smiled back, feeling slightly taken back by the amount of support from his friends. "But what do you think?" Kingsley suddenly went serious, his smile turning into a hard line and his eye brows rising, he looked directly at Harry waiting for an answer.
"Well…" Harry stuttered slightly before continuing, "I'm experienced with leadership, not only as Head Auror but during the war as well. You know I cope well under pressure should something happen and a decision needs to be made fast. I have plenty of skill and power already, although I hope to learn more. And really sir, if I'm being honest, I don't think anyone else deserves this-" he was cut off by a loud crash from outside the room.
He stood instantly, as did the other aurors, wands drawn. Many close to the Minister stood around him, forming protection. There was another loud crash and someone shouting in outrage. Harry stood undeterred, as did Draco, who had been the first to move around to stand in front of Kingsley.
The doors burst open seconds later, revealing two very handsome and out of breath teenage boys.
"Albus! Scorpius! What in Merlin's name are you doing?" Draco demanded, placing his wand back into his sleeve. Albus ran into his father's arms, Scorpius copying him, both men calming instantly hugging their sons.
"It's Lily dad" Scorpius sobbed into his father's robe.
"Al, what's happened?" Harry said softly, stroking his son's hair.
"She's gone" the sixteen year olds stepped away from their parents, each with sullen and concerned looks. "I don't know where she is" Al sniffed "She and James had an argument in the common room, she stormed off, and she didn't come back"
"Are you sure she's not hiding? You know Lily, she's stubborn" Ron tried to reason but the boys shook their heads violently. "Well how long has she been gone for?"
"A few days" Scorpius said quietly. All aurors in the room gasped. They all knew the Potter children well; they would come in and have lunch with Harry during the holidays. They also knew how stubborn she was, having heard Harry moan about not being able to find her for hours at a time; but to be gone for a few days? That was worrying.
Harry was looking blankly at Albus, who was looking blankly back. Draco walked over to Harry, gripping his shoulder.
"Come on, let's go to Hogwarts, and talk to Neville?" Harry nodded mutely, before letting Draco lead him, Albus, Ron and Scorpius into the floo. "Dean, you're in charge of the aurors until we get back" Dean nodded in understanding before watching the five of them disappear in green fire.
They stumbled into the headmaster's office, Harry still looking blankly at nothing. Ron and Draco sat him down, before turning to the boys.
"Go get the others boys" Ron said, his voice shaking.
An hour later had the entire Weasley clan that was still at Hogwarts in Headmaster Longbottom's office, with Scorpius Malfoy and Frank and Alice Longbottom sitting amongst them. Ginny had also been called from work, as had Hermione and Astoria. The other Weasleys had been informed and were asking for a family meeting tonight at the Burrow.
"So what exactly happened before Lily ran off" Ginny asked, strangely calm as she sat on the arm of Harry's chair rubbing his back. He had since come out of his trance, but was still shaking uncontrollably, they all were.
"Well," James began, his voice wavering, "we had one of our arguments, something stupid, but she got really wound up, like it was worse than it was. She stormed out of the common room, and she didn't come back" James then broke down, his head coming down to rest in his hands, his whole body shaking with sobs. Rose put a hand on his back and rubbed gently.
"It's not your fault Jamie," she said "We don't know what happened"
"What if she's hurt Rosie?" James asked quietly looking up at her with wet eyes. "What if she's dead?" the whole room tensed at this, "What if we never see her again? It's my fault she left the safety of the common room. It's my fault she was taken!"
"Now we don't know what happened yet James, she might not have been taken"
"What other option is there Nev?" Al said quietly, diverting everyone's attention to him instead of his brother, who was now resting his head on Rose's shoulder. He was looking at the floor in front of him, eyes glazed over.
"He's right" said Scorpius "I know Lily, she wouldn't stay away for this long, she would contact us, to let us know she was safe, even if she was angry"
"Right," Draco said, clearly not hearing whatever his son was saying, "do you guys know where she would go, what she would do if she was angry? Somewhere she would go a cool off?" he asked the teenagers seated around the office. All but one shook their heads.
"She never told us where she went" Rose said.
"It was her private place, her time alone, she didn't want anyone to find her" said Hugo. There was a loud sigh from the other side of the office, everyone turned to see Scorpius frowning, as if arguing with himself. "Scorp" Hugo asked, "You know something we don't?" Scorpius only frowned more, still staring at a spot of the floor. He looked up and sighed.
"Yes, I know where she goes when she wants to be alone"
"She told you?" James asked, disbelieving.
"Not exactly"
"Well?"
"I'll show you" he stood slowly then made his way towards the door to the office. Everyone stood automatically, following his lead as he led them out into the halls of Hogwarts. Students walked past quickly, most gasping and whispering as they saw the Harry and the other adults, all famous and respected in their own right. Scorpius led them out of the castle, walking towards the forbidden forest. He took a sharp turn however, and ended up standing in front of the black lake. There were trees dotted around the edge of the water, only a few metres apart. The ground was uncommonly dry and patches of dead grass were littered around their feet. Scorpius sighed again, "This is it. She would sit here and look out across the lake until she calmed down"
"It's beautiful" Alice said, speaking for the first time. Everyone nodded, understanding why Lily would come here to cool down.
"I showed her this place" Scorpius said quietly, his friends turning to him in confusion. "In her first year, she was being picked on by these stupid gits from Ravenclaw; she came into the common room crying and I was the only one there. I found it when I first started Hogwarts, thought she would like it. Didn't realise she still came here" he was talking more to himself then to the others, staring out onto the still water.
"Does anyone else know she comes here?" Ron asked. Scorpius turned to look at him.
"I don't know whether she showed anyone else" he said quietly.
"Guys" James said, deterring everyone's attention from the guilty looking Scorpius. "There's blood" Most gasped and ran to see, some simply walked quickly to where James was standing, looking in shock at the ground. By a nearby tree, a patch of crimson stood out from the hazel ground, a broken wand lying next to it, Harry picked the pieces up carefully. "It's Lily's" James answered the unasked question.
The Great Hall was crowded, loud and bright. Harry, Ron and Draco stood at the front with Neville, students glancing at them then whispering to their friends. It wasn't often that they were at Hogwarts so publicly, only really when their children were playing quidditch.
Neville stood from his seat, silencing the entire hall with a look. The students sat up straighter and waited patiently for their headmaster to speak. Draco smirked.
"Amazing the amount of respect these kids have for Nev" he whispered in Harry's ear as they joined Neville standing before the school. Harry smiled in response, but then frowned, remembering the occasion.
"Good evening students" Neville began "I'm sure you have been wondering why these aurors are here today. It is with great sadness that I announce that a fellow student has gone missing, possibly taken from Hogwarts" there were scared murmurs and whispers echoing around the hall.
"Who is it?" shouted a 7th year sat next to Frank.
"Lily Potter" the whole hall looked at the Potter brothers, who were looking at their plates. No one saw that their hands were grasped together under the table. "Now we do not wish to alarm you, or scare you in anyway. And do not worry, we will find her" Harry stepped forward.
"Now, obviously, this is a hard and scary time for all who love Lily, but I do need your help" he paused and took a deep breath, motioning for his sons to join him, as they stood, he continued "if you know anything about Lily's disappearance, or saw anything odd, please do not hesitate to come forward" Albus and James stood either side of their father, faces tear stained and eyes puffy.
"Please" Al began, a new set of tears falling, "I need my sister back"
The following week was difficult for all in the Weasley family. Albus and James had been pulled out of school temporarily, their teachers saying they weren't able to focus. The other Weasley children at Hogwarts grumbled about having to stay, saying they wanted to help. Their parents said they would floo every evening to give news and that they could come home at the weekend.
Albus had stopped eating, sleeping and washing. He would stare blankly into space when anyone tried to discuss anyone who wasn't Lily. James was similar, although he was more focused, trying to piece together anything he could find on his sister's disappearance.
Harry had been given leave from work, to help find his daughter. He had been told he would be minister as soon as Lily was home; he feared he would never be minister. Ginny had also taken time out of coaching the Hollyhead Harpies.
In the last week the entire wizarding world knew of Lily's disappearance. Due to the Potter family's wealth and talent, they were known across world. Every wizarding community in every country had posters and fliers and search parties to look for the youngest Potter.
The following Saturday, Lily had been missing for nearly 3 weeks. No one had heard anything from her. Although some fellow students had come forward, saying things like:
"Yea, Lily was acting really odd, like more emotional"
"I caught her crying in the bathroom a few days before she disappeared, she said she needed to figure some stuff out"
"I saw her running from the common room"
All just made the family worry more, although useful information to have. They came to the conclusion Lily probably knew something, or was being threatened. What she could have seen, or who could have the means to threaten her, they did not know.
The Burrow was crowded, with the entire Weasley clan and Longbottoms all trying to find a place to sit or stand. Most of the children sitting on the floor, and adults perched on arm chairs. Harry stood staring into the fire place, as silence absorbed the room. He turned to see Scorpius stood in the doorway, his father by his side. He smiled slightly, motioning for them to sit. Albus hadn't talked to his blond best friend since the day by the lake, and didn't look up when Scorpius sat next to him. He only looked at his fellow Gryffindor when he spoke.
"I've heard from Lily" everyone looked shocked at Scorpius, who looked guiltier than before. "I got a letter, came over as soon as I had read it"
"What did it say?" a small voice came from the opposite end of the room. Scorpius looked up to see Rose, sat on the floor in front of her father, knees under her chin, looking expectantly at her best friend.
"I'll read it to you" he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a dirty napkin. "It reads:
Scorp,
I know you're worried about me, I know everyone is. The men who took me were laughing about it, how they'll never be found, how I'll die here. I know you guys will find me, I have faith.
I can't tell you where I am because I don't know, and I don't know the men who took me.
I am sending a memory crystal soon. But I don't know when I can; they have people monitoring my cell nearly all the time. Thankfully I know some wordless spells to make them leave for a few minutes at a time.
Tell Jamie it's not his fault and Albus to stop hurting himself. I know my brothers; they'll be messes by now.
I love you all, and don't worry, I'm a survivor.
That's all she said, I'm expecting a memory crystal soon" Scorpius put down the napkin to see everyone in tears. James stood, stiffing and wiping his eyes to sit next to Albus who was looking at Scorpius perplexed.
"Albus I-"James was cut off by his brother talking to Scorpius.
"You made it?" people looked confused but Scorpius only smiled.
"Yea, it was a good idea Al, and once I figured out how to do it, Lily helped to do the rest. We were going to surprise you with it at Christmas" Al smiled at his friend, realising it was the first time he had smiled since his sister's disappearance.
"I'm sorry to interrupt" Ron spoke up "but what is a memory crystal when it's at home?"
"A memory crystal is a stone charmed to look like a crystal; you then put memories into it. If you throw it at a wall or simply into the air it explodes then plays the memories like a sort of muggle television" Everyone looked, in a word, impressed. "Al came up with the original idea, then me and Lily figured out how to do it, and created the spell" Scorpius never took his eyes away from Al's, both boys staring undeterred. The family weren't put off by this, they did it often enough.
"So" Al continued "all Lily has to do is find a rock; seeing as how it's a spell that can be done without a wand. She then sends us the crystal and we can see what happened and who took her, maybe even clues as to where she is" It was only when Draco spoke did the boys break eye contact and look at him.
"Scorpius that is incredible" he smiled at his son with pride.
It had been two days since the letter from Lily, and the memory crystal still hadn't arrived. Scorpius had been staying at the Burrow since the napkin was read out, due to everyone not wanting there to be any time wasted. Everyone was in the living room of the lopsided house, like they had been two days prior, when a small package flew through the window, breaking it, and landed at Scorpius' feet.
He picked it up carefully and looked around the room, all faces glued to his. He then looked down, eyeing the small package.
"It looks like it's wrapped in some sort of clothing material" Scorpius said holding it up.
"Lily was wearing her school robe when she ran off" Al said. Scorpius nodded, gently un-wrapping the ripped material only to reveal what they had been waiting for. Now in his palm was a small oval crystal, clear with a slight brown tinge to it. It glowed slightly as he held it up in the Sun, examining it. Small cloud like swirls danced within it, Scorpius smiled.
"She did it"
"Well" Harry began, getting impatient "let's see what happened" people nodded and Scorpius smiled kindly at Harry before throwing the crystal at the wall above the fire place. There was a bright light, causing everyone to turn away, eyes squeezed shut. When the light subsided and they looked back, they saw a rectangular image playing above the fire place.
"Really like a muggle TV" Harry mused before silently sitting down as the first memory began to play.
The first image was Lily running, crying from the common room. She sobbed as she pushed people out of the way. She ran down to the spot by the lake, her ginger hair flowing in the wind. She stopped finally, looking out over the lake, taking deep breaths and wiping her eyes. She closed them briefly, counting to ten out loud. This clearly didn't calm her; she ran her hands through her long hair in frustration and fell to her knees.
"I didn't realise I upset her that much" James said, tears threatening to form. Rose grabbed his hand, turning her attention back to the memory.
Lily continued to cry loudly, until a crack was heard behind her. She looked up quickly, eyes alert as she stood up, turning in the process. She grabbed her wand when she saw a man stood there.
"Does anyone recognise him?" Draco asked the group, no one did.
"Who… who are you?" she sniffed; the man chuckled darkly, near black eyes never leaving Lily's puffy face.
"I don't think you'll ever know" he looked Lily up and down, she held her wand higher in response.
The man laughed again, this time big and loud, clutching his stomach and leaning his head back. Lily just stood there, wand raised, staring undeterred at the man in front of her.
"What do you want?"
"I want the Malfoy boy"
"I don't see why" Lily said, her voice now strong, confident, "he's no use to you"
"And why would that be?"
"Because no matter what you want him to do, however nicely you ask, Scorpius will never do what some deatheater says"
Everyone turned to Scorpius, who looked shocked. The memory ended, the next one beginning a few seconds later.
Lily awoke in a dark cell, not bigger than her bed at Hogwarts. She sat up slowly, body aching from the time spent unconscious on a concrete floor. She winced as her arm began to sting; she looked down to see a large gash in her shoulder, blood staining her once white school shirt. Her black robe lay over her body lightly, clearly put there to act as some sort of blanket.
"She didn't show us how she was taken" Al said
"It's because she lost the fight, didn't want us seeing that" Hugo said, knowing his cousin.
Her head throbbed as she held it. She examined her entire body, checking for any more injuries. She discovered large purple bruises on her torso and rope burns on her wrists and ankles. She sighed loudly, propping herself up on the wall. She knew this would happen eventually, if she kept going to that damn lake. She knew it was unprotected, but she still risked it.
"Ah you're awake" a voice came from the dark outside the cell, slow and deep, it echoed in the tiny cell as a shadow came nearer to the small metal door. Said door was then flung open, large hands coming in quickly and grabbing Lily by the shoulders, dragging her along a dark cold corridor before entering a larger, square room and pushing her into a wooden chair. Lily looked up through hooded eyes and saw ten men and women standing around the room, all looking directly at her with large evil smirks gracing their features. Lily noticed the black robes that stopped at the elbow, showing off the increasingly old dark marks. A man stepped before her, leaning into her face; his only inches away and smiled arrogantly at her. His smile faltered slightly when Lily returned the smile only hers with a raised eyebrow and showing of teeth.
"I will ask you this once and once only" he began, retrieving his wand from his pocket, "where is Scorpius Malfoy?" Lily continued to smile, and giggled slightly as she said:
"Aw sweetheart, you think a couple of scratches and bruises will make me tell you where he is?"
"Oh I can do a lot more than just that if you like"
"Go on then, no matter how much pain I'm in, how close to death I go, I will never betray Scorpius" she looked confident and brave, and it was clear the death eaters thought she was mad.
"As you wish" the unnamed man stepped back, raising his wand to point at Lily. "CRUCIO"
The memory ended with the family on the edge of their seats; all shocked and upset and looking at Scorpius for answers. But he could not give any; he did not know why this was happening.
"Turns out it's not your fault James" Scorp said quietly, "it was mine"
Lily awoke once again in her dark cell, aching more so than before. She sat up slowly, using the wall to stop her falling back to the concrete. She wrapped her school robe around her, and held her knees to her chest. She didn't cry or scream when she was tortured, not wanting to give the psychopaths the satisfaction. The unforgivable wasn't the only form of torture. She spread her legs out in front of her, examining the new gashes and bruises.
"Oh my God" Ginny gasped at her daughters injuries as many others in the room did. Others looked down slightly not wanting to look. Harry grabbed his wives hand and wrapped his free arm around Al, who was sitting on his other side. Al looked to his left at James and grabbed his hand; he received a squeeze back as he held it tightly.
"Ow" Lily moaned quietly. There was a low chuckle from outside the cell door and Lily turned to see the face of her torturer staring through an open hatch in the door. "Oh hi" she said casually, leaning against the wall, propping her head back and closing her eyes. "What can I do for you?"
"You can tell me where the Malfoy boy is" Lily giggled.
"I did say to you last night if you recall, I'm not saying anything that will jeopardise Scorp's safety. Plus, you know where he is"
"Yes, but not how to get him out"
"Same way you got me out"
"The lake? How are we supposed to lure him to the lake?"
"Well that's your problem"
Lily was then dragged out of her cell again and placed in the same square room as before. Except now, the room was empty, apart from her and the man who stood before her. She smiled almost sadistically as he raised his wand.
The third memory ended as there was an intake of breath.
"Did you see her face?" James asked, still squeezing his brother's hand, "Almost as if she were enjoying it" Al looked at his brother as if he had sprouted horns.
"Enjoying it?" he asked perplexed.
"Like she enjoyed teasing him and making him angry"
"Well whatever it is that was the last memory" Scorp said sighing.
"What? That's it?"
"Yea there's no more" he said, watching as the image faded and a rock drop to the ground in front of the fire place. "Spells over"
"But why did she send us those specific memories?"
"They were for me" Scorpius said, standing to address the families. "That man whoever he is wants me, the lake is the only place he can get to me, he doesn't know I'm here, and he's clearly not going to risk exposure by making some sort of threat. He's also not going to stop hurting Lily until he has me. So, the only option is for me to go to the lake and let him take me" he sighed as he finished and made his way out of the room.
"Scorp wait!" Rose shouted following him as did the others. He turned smiling and winked.
"Don't wait up babe" there was a loud crack, and Scorpius was gone.
It had been three days since Scorpius left the Burrow. Of course the aurors of the group went straight to the lake, but he was already gone. Draco had a small meltdown, locking himself in his office at Malfoy Manor, trying to piece together anything that would help get his son and goddaughter back. He only allowed fellow aurors and his wife in the room, and listened to nothing but news about his son.
Albus was worse than before, after Lily's letter he had begun eating normally again, due to his sister wanting him too. But Scorpius' disappearance stopped him doing that again. He was slowly losing his strength, not being able to stand for long periods of time being only one example. James spent most of his time looking after Albus, simply sitting with him or getting him to eat. He was unsuccessful for the most part, but still tried, he had already lost his sister, he wasn't losing Al too.
The rest of the family was in turmoil too, watching Al destroy himself, and not knowing whether Lily and Scorpius were still alive had taken its toll. It was only when another letter arrived did hope become less rare. The letter was addressed to Albus, who picked it up carefully. He noticed it came with another memory crystal. He read the letter first:
Al,
I'm so sorry about what happened, but I had to do it. Lily was at risk and I wasn't going to do nothing. They took me from the lake and now I'm with Lily. We're both alive, but injured badly.
Here's the important part Al, although all of the memories we saw are true, Lily was not the one who sent them. Her captors, as part of her torture, went deep into her mind, and found out knowledge about us and how to make memory crystals. Lily didn't want me here, didn't want me to be in danger, and the men knew that. They knew she was strong and stubborn, but they also knew that if I knew she was in danger, I would do anything to save her.
I charmed this letter to fly to the Burrow, knowing you'll be there. Thankfully we know some wandless magic.
This memory crystal contains more of our memories of what's happened the last few days. Don't give up hope Al; we'll think of a plan and we'll come back to you. I promise you that.
Scorp and Lily xx
When Albus had finished reading the letter aloud for the third time he finally looked at his palm, which contained a small oval crystal with cloud like swirls within it.
"He is clever that boy" Ron said, motioning for Albus to show them the memories. Al nodded as he threw the crystal at the wall above the fire place like Scorpius had, only days before.
Scorpius awoke in a dark cell, no bigger than his bed at Hogwarts. The concrete floor made his back ache from his unconscious stay on it, and his head throbbed badly. The small room was barely lit, only the sunlight coming through a small window 3 metres above him shed light into the room. He looked around with hooded eyes, trying to remember where he had seen this before. Then he saw her. Lily was lying on her side by the door, head resting on her left arm, eyes closed.
"Lily" Scorpius whispered, crawling over to her slowly. He gasped in pain as a sharp stinging sensation rocked his torso; he looked down and lifted his shirt to see a large deep gash across his abs.
"Oh my God my poor boy" Astoria and Draco had been there before the letter arrived, and were currently clinging to each other watching their son.
He grabbed his stomach and continued to make this way towards Lily, who was now stirring. It was only when she sat up slightly, eyes still closed, that he noticed the extensive bruising across her neck, her cut lip and purple eye. She had blood covering her school robes, and rips in her shirt.
"Oh God Lily I'm so sorry" Scorpius took her face in his rough hands, pressing his forehead to hers. She opened her eyes quickly a gasp leaving her lips as she reached for him. She put her hands on either side of his neck, rubbing her thumbs across his jaw. She looked up into his eyes and smiled, then frowned.
"What the Hell are you doing here Scorpius?" she whispered. He looked up too, their eyes locking. It was now that he noticed she had the exact same eyes as her brother.
"I'm here because of the memories you sent us, the man wants me, I couldn't let him hurt you" Lily looked confused and continued to frown.
"I didn't send any memories…" she paused for a second, looking away, disconnecting herself from Scorpius and propping herself against the wall of the small cell. "Wait" she said "I think you were tricked"
The memory ended there and no one questioned it, having everything already explained. Before anyone had the chance to say anything however, the second memory began to play.
Scorpius was leaning against the wall, with Lily held closely to his side. Her head was resting on his shoulder lightly, his hand in her hair. Suddenly the room was filled with laughter as the door was heaved open and the man appeared yet again. Scorpius' grip on Lily tightened, as she moved, if possible, closer to him.
"Well hello there Mr Malfoy" the deep voice echoed through the small cell as the man sneered at Scorpius, ignoring Lily completely.
"What do you want?"
"Nothing from you" Scorpius looked confused for a moment, looking down slightly before apparently coming to some sort of conclusion. He looked up again, "you want to kill me don't you" the man grinned from ear to ear, having been pleased with the conclusion Scorpius had made. His sadistic smile made Lily's stomach turn.
"Oh yes dear boy. Don't worry it's nothing personal, but it's the only way to make sure Draco suffered for what he did"
Everyone turned to Draco, who was staring shocked at the images before him.
"What did he do?" Lily asked quietly, intrigued.
"He betrayed us." The man was grinded his teeth as he spoke, "switched sides just because we lost the war, then ratted us out, most of us went to Azkaban, some of us survived" his fists clenched around his wand by his side.
"You do realise that he was never on your side to begin with right?" Lily said louder than before, growing more confident although the man grew angrier.
"Doesn't matter how he felt, he had… has the mark, meaning he's one of us, meaning he betrayed us" the man's logic was faulty, everyone but himself knew that. "He needs to pay for what he did to us. Now we couldn't hurt him, he wouldn't care; he's like Miss Potter here, strong. But hurt someone he loves, like his son for example," he leered at Scorpius, "that would hurt him too. But if you were to torture, then murder his son, well, that would almost kill him" with that he stepped forward, grabbed Scorpius and marched out the door.
"No! Scorpius!" Lily screamed as he was taken from her grasp and filed out of sight. She banged on the door loudly before sitting back and cuddling her knees to her chest. She cried for the first time since she was at the lake. She sat there rubbing her eyes, willing herself not to be weak, and prepared herself for a painful wait.
The memory ended and Harry noticed everyone was in tears, including himself.
"But he's still alive" Al said with a shaky voice, "he sent us the letter and the memories, he's alive Draco" he stood up to stand in front of his best friend's father. Draco was crying more than anyone and Harry noted it was the first time he had seen the man cry since his mother's death two years prior. Draco put a shaking hand on Al's shoulder, a small smile gracing his features and he squeezed.
Scorpius was thrown into the cell, his body trembling. Lily crawled over to him immediately, he had been gone an hour. She wrapped her arms around his shoulder as he sat up slowly; he winced visibly at the contact. She pulled back apologizing then gasped at the damage. Scorpius had deep gashes on his face, arms and torso. His clothes were ripped in multiple places, blood stained nearly every inch. Bruises were beginning to appear on both eyes and around his neck, evidence of being straggled. He was weak and his eyes were hooded, he smiled slightly at Lily as she gently put a hand on his cheek.
"We're going to get out of this Scorp, both of us" she whispered, kissing his forehead and lying him down.
"Got a plan?" was the shaking, croaky reply.
"Not yet, but we'll think of something" she smiled encouragingly, but you could see the fear.
It was another few weeks after the last letter and everyone was even more anxious than before. They didn't understand the use of the last memories; they didn't give them any hope. They all had gathered in the hall for dinner, the students at their respective house tables, and the teachers at the head under the giant window. Albus had returned to school, his mother insisting that he continue with his education. He had agreed, mostly due to the fact James would be coming with him.
The Potter brothers sat at the great hall, James doing all but spoon feeding Albus to try to get some food inside him. He had continued not to eat too much, and his roommates telling his cousins he was having violent nightmares, and James thought that this was the reason for Albus wanting to bunk with his older brother.
Their cousins sat around them, Rose looking up at her father and uncle every so often, who were seated at the teacher's table, along with Draco, all eating and talking quietly with Neville.
Suddenly there was a loud crash and a yell as someone was thrown through the massive stain glass window above the teacher's heads. The body landed half way along the great hall, between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables. The body stood quickly, clothes torn and dirty showing the muscled and blood-stained body beneath them, but no injuries. It was only when the figure turned to face the window it had just been thrown through that everyone recognised him.
"Scorpius!" Albus was on his feet in milliseconds, running to his best friend who had his arms out ready for him. "Oh my God Scorp don't ever do that to me again" Al whispered in his blond friend's ear over and over as he hugged him tight.
"I'm sorry Al, but I'm here now" he let go and smiled, looking up to his father who was approaching. "Hi dad" and embrace Draco in the same way he had Albus.
Suddenly there was another crash, and Lily appeared, standing in the hole in the glass window smirking.
"Miss me boys" she said as she jumped down from the window and walked quickly over to her father. Hugging him tightly and smiling as she released him.
"What happened Lily?"
"Turns out we didn't need you to come rescue us after all," she began smiling, turning from Harry and walking to where her brothers were waiting. It was only now that they really noticed how damaged she was, very similar to Scorpius, her clothes ruined, but body intact. "We could look after ourselves" she said as she was enveloped in a three way hug with her brothers. They both nuzzled their faces into the crooks of her neck, and made sure not to squeeze too tight, but held a firm grip nonetheless.
"Ladies and Gentlemen" Neville's voice came from the front; "looks as if our missing persons are no longer missing" he smiled as the rest of the Great Hall cheered in relief. Lily looked around confused slightly.
"You really missed us that much?"
"Are you kidding Lils?" Rose said as she wrapped an arm round Scorp's waist, "everyone did" there were cheers of agreement throughout the hall and they chuckled.
The next day, both Lily and Scorpius were released from the hospital wing, after Polly determining there being nothing wrong. When asked how they escaped, they simply answered that they used the wandless magic they knew to defend themselves and disarm the deatheaters before taking their wands and fighting properly. No one doubted or questioned this, knowing the two were strong and good fighters.
"Are we going to tell them the truth?" Lily asked as they lay by the edge of the black lake, legs spread out heads propped up on their jumpers.
"Do you want them to know?" Scorpius asked, not taking his view away from the landscape before him.
"I don't know" Lily said sighing quietly, "I just don't like lying to them" it was then that Scorpius looked at her. He noticed her hair was up in a messy ponytail, and her shorts were slightly ripped.
"Me neither," he said as she turned to look at him. It was then that she noticed his eyes were identical to Draco's and that his shirt had a pudding stain. "But them knowing is worse"
Lily nodded in acceptance and sat up stretching, her tank top riding up slightly.
"Come on, they'll be waiting for us"
Their arms still linked, Scorpius and Lily walked into the Great Hall. As they entered, the entire student body stopped, turning to the pair and they made their way towards where Albus was waving. The hall was silent, the teachers mimicking the student's staring, but they couldn't care less. As they sat down, Lily asked:
"So, what's good today?" Someone began clapping from the Hufflepuff table, only to be joined by another, then another. Eventually the entire Great Hall was cheering and clapping the two startled teenagers.
"Like we said before," Rose shouted to them from a few people down, "we missed you"
"I don't know how to react" Lily said, looking around with bewilderment clear on her face.
"Me either, let's just smile, wave and eat" Scorpius said as he began filling up his plate after waving at a swooning fourth year girl. Lily nodded in agreement, and did the same.
The Great Hall quietened as Neville stood to address the school.
"First of all, a hearty welcome back to Lily and Scorpius, I trust you are fully healed?" He spoke with a powerful, booming voice as he spoke to the student body; however, his voice became quiet and gentle as he addressed the teenagers. He smiled as they nodded. "Good. Well, not much else to say, enjoy your last week before Christmas!" he sat then, attending to his own dinner as his students did the same.
The hall was mostly quiet after that, in exception to the sound of knives and forks on plates, and quiet chatter between friends. But this was broken fifteen minutes later, with a deep booming voice coming from the Slytherin table.
"Aren't you even going to tell them the truth?" everyone turned, surprised by the sudden loud voice. They turned to see a seventh year Slytherin, who Lily didn't recognise, but he was staring straight at her and Scorpius.
"Mr Harrison" Neville said calmly, "what is the meaning of this interruption?"
"They" he pointed at Lily and Scorpius from across the room, "are not telling the truth. You all think they're heroes, surviving torture from deatheaters. But you don't know how they escaped! What they did-"
"They told US how they escaped Blake" Albus' voice cut Blake off, he clearly knew this boy even though Lily had never seen him before; he was sitting opposite Lily before he stood up. "They told their families. That's enough"
"But did they tell you the truth?" Blake was now addressing only Albus.
"Of course!" he argued "Why wouldn't they?"
"Oh ok," Blake paused in contemplation, "so they told you they drank unicorn blood then" there was a silent pause, where no one moved, no one dared. This boy had just accused two of the most respected and powerful teenagers in the world of an act of treason. Lily and Scorpius looked at each other, knowing other eyes were on them too. They then looked at Blake. Scorpius stood slowly.
"How do you know that Blake?" clearly Scorpius knew him as well. There was a continued silence across the hall, but the shock was apparent. Had Scorpius just admitted it?
"My father was one of the deatheaters that escaped, that you thought dead before you left, he told me" Blake looked almost pleased as he scanned the room, seeing looks of shock and disbelief. "Oh you didn't know?" He continued, a smirk forming of his lips, "they killed to get out of that place, not just stunned. Saying that, I don't think they used any stunners on anyone that day, only kill kill kill for those two" his smirk turned to an evil grin as he stood facing them.
Scorpius looked murderous, like he was about to pounce on Blake. Lily stood then too, smart enough to know this was going to end badly if she didn't do something.
"Have any proof Blake?" The boy in question looked momentarily shocked at Lily's tone, clearly not expecting the strong defiance.
"Why of course" he said, the smile reappearing, "you don't think I would accuse two angels of working with the devil without some sort of proof do you?" he then pulled out a small crystal from his pocket.
"Oh shit" Lily whispered, only people around her heard, they frowned in response.
"Another thing my father was able to get from you when you were there, the spell to make memory crystals" without warning he threw the crystal against the wall above the teacher's heads, and the memories began to play.
The memory began with Scorpius and Lily sitting cross legged in their cell; their clothes torn and dirty, cuts and bruises littering their bodies as they sat in silence, leaning against opposite walls. Lily's hands were shaking in her lap, her voice, quiet and broken, echoed in the small space.
"What are we gonna do Scorp?" she looked up to see Scorpius open his eyes, tilt his head forward from where it had been resting on the concrete wall.
"It's gonna be Ok Lil," his voice matching her volume, "we'll think of something" he stated this with certainty, but Lily knew better.
"We're gonna die here Scorp. We're gonna get tortured more and more until our hearts give in. We're gonna die in this God forsaken cell." Her voice cracked then, a single tear running down her face, she didn't bother to wipe it. "The funny thing is I'm not scared of that. I'm not scared of dying. I'm scared of my family hurting, fearing, and having to heal. It pains me to think I'm gonna make them go through that." Although her voice cracked every few words, no more tears fell.
"You are the only person I know that when faced with death, doesn't think about themselves, but about other people" Scorpius had closed his eyes again as Lily was speaking, his head falling back against the wall. He stayed in this position as he spoke. "But we are gonna get out of this Lily. I'll think of something, I promise"
The memory ended, with everyone looking in shock at Lily and Scorpius. No one except for their families had seen how bad it had got. The two teenagers in question were sitting back at the giant Gryffindor bench, heads down.
"You're incredible" Frank whispered quietly, but many heard, as there were nods of agreement.
"No I'm not" Lily whispered back, her voice breaking the same way it did in the memory. "Just wait"
The second memory began with Scorpius sitting in the cell by himself, looking at the giant metal door every few seconds; his hands fisting the dirt and his teeth knawing on his bottom lip.
"Come on Lily" he whispered, "come on be strong" as he said this he heard shuffling of feet outside the door. Seconds later it was being swung open, only to have Lily thrown through it onto the cold ground with no mercy. Scorpius crawled over to where Lily was lying, faintly registering the door closing.
Lily was lying on her stomach, legs slightly apart and hands either side of her head. Scorpius saw bruises and gashes across her entire body, with a large one across her cheek. She was breathing but only barely; her hands starting to claw at the ground, her eyes and mouth opening. She tried to speak, but all that came out was a throaty growl.
"Ssshhh Lily it's Ok, I'm here"
She tried to sit up, but no strength came to do so. So she just laid there powerless, as Scorpius stroked her blood soaked hair and whispered things in her ear.
The second memory faded away, and people were still looking at Lily and Scorpius.
"I didn't know they did that" Neville said from the front.
"No one did Nev" Lily said.
"What happened?"
"Watch"
Hours had passed, and Lily hadn't moved, still in the same position as she was thrown into, flat on her stomach, with her head lying to one side, her eyes closed and breathing faint.
Scorpius had never stopped soothing her, knowing somehow it did comfort her. He was lying next to her on his side, his hand stroking her hair gently, conscious of her wounds.
The door opened then, but only a fraction, only enough for a hand to come through and place a bottle in the cell. Scorpius stood and collected the glass container as the door quickly shut. He held it up to the small amount of sunlight streaming in from the small window above them. The liquid was silver and shiny and thick, Scorpius recognised it instantly.
Whoever was keeping them there, obviously wanted Lily to stay alive. Scorpius didn't think, he sat back down next to the dying girl, and opened the bottle.
"I don't know how this is gonna taste Lils, but it will save you. Please don't hate me" he gently put his fingers under her chin and tilted her head up slowly, she groaned quietly, barely audible against Scorpius' heavy breathing. He tipped the liquid into her mouth, about half the bottle before putting the lid back on and setting it aside.
He knew this would save her, if it was what it looked like. The effect came almost immediately, first with Lily being able to lift her head up, her eyes noticeably brighter than before. Then, she pushed herself up, so she was sitting on her feet, and looked around astonished. She jumped up then, suddenly full of life, energy leaking from her like flame.
"What the hell was that?" she asked; her voice no longer quiet and pained.
"Lily" Scorpius was still sat of the ground, looking guilty but relieved. "That was unicorn blood" There was a long pause, Lily looked indifferent for the most part, before her Weasley temper kicked in.
"WHAT?" she bellowed loud enough to make Scorpius flinch "YOU GAVE ME UNICORN BLOOD?" Scorpius stood then, regaining some confidence.
"Yes, I did. And I would do it again! You were dying Lily, what was I supposed to do?"
"Let me die Scorp" Lily looked at her feet, her eyes sad. "My dad told me what happens to someone who drinks unicorn blood; they are forced to live a half-life, a cursed life. I would rather die" she turned away from him then, walking slowly into the corner of the cell and crouching in it, resting her head on the wall.
The third memory faded, it was only then that people noticed Lily's tears.
"I feel stronger" Lily was pacing the length of the small cell for the hundredth time when she spoke. It had been hours since Scorpius had given her the blood, and she was getting more stir crazy by the minute.
"Of course you do, it healed you" Scorpius was sat in the corner, his head resting on the wall and his eye shut. Over the last few hours, Lily's injuries had healed. Her bruises had vanished, along with her cuts and gashes.
"I can do wandless magic" this is when Scorpius opened his eyes; he looked up at Lily, who had stopped pacing and was currently standing looking down at him. "I can do wandless magic Scorp; I can get us out of here"
Scorpius stood, "how?"
"The unicorn blood, it's given me something, like more power" she was looking at her hands, as if examining a rare artefact. You could practically feel the energy flowing from them.
"The blood did that?" Scorpius bent down to retrieve the still half-full bottle of thick silver liquid. "Why would they give us this if it made you stronger?"
"They didn't know. They wanted me to die, or curse myself, they clearly didn't know it would do this"
"What if I drink it too?" Lily whipped her head up, staring shocked at Scorpius.
"No" she began, taking the bottle from him, "I drank it to stay alive, you'll be doing it for personal gain, how do we know it will have the same effect?"
"We don't," prying the bottle away from her, "but I have to try, you can't fight a dozen deatheaters by yourself without a wand. Even with the boost, I won't let you" he opened the bottle, and drank.
"Those are all the memories I could get" Blake spoke up from his spot at the Slytherin table.
"How did you get my memories Blake?"
"Oh simple Scorpius" he said "You were sleeping in the hospital wing, just walked in and took them really" he shrugged, as if we would not be punished for it.
"That Mr Harrison," Neville began, "is not only an invasion of privacy, but against the law" Blake smile vanished.
"But sir" he said, "I have exposed two acts of treason. If they were to show you the rest of the memories from that night, you could see how they killed nearly everyone in that building" Lily stood then, the face tear stained and eyes suddenly dark.
"You" she said, her voice coming out deep and menacing, "know nothing" she walked out, eyes straight ahead, pace purposeful as she exited the Great Hall.
"We did what we had to do" Scorpius said quietly, "I had to get her out of there" he too then left the hall, leaving behind a tense silence.
"What do we do? I'm not losing them again" Albus was the first to speak, the entirety of the Great Hall having left for the night, gossiping as they went. All that remained were the Weasleys and Longbottoms.
"I don't know Al" Rose was sitting with James, head on his shoulder, "do you think they really killed those people?"
"It doesn't matter what they did" Harry Potter strode into the Great Hall, Draco and Ron behind him. "They are our family; we will protect them from everything the ministry may decide to do"
"What will they do?"
"Scorpius is the son of an ex deatheater. They will do anything" Draco sat next to Alice, looking to the floor.
"Can't believe they would do something like this, we could have saved them"
"Lily would have died" a voice came from the doors. They all turned, facing Scorpius as he spoke. "Lily would have died, I would have died, we had no choice."
"Did you really kill all those people?"
"Something happened." Lily walked forward from behind Scorpius, her eyes just as puffy as before. "I don't even remember it" she leaned into Scorpius' chest, crying silently. Scorpius held her, while also reaching into his pocket; a memory crystal lay in the flat of his palm as he held it out, shiny and swarming with unseen memories.
"Please don't judge us on this, we are still the same people" a tear fell from his eye as he threw the rock into the air.
The memory began much like the others had, Lily and Scorpius standing the small cold space of their cell. Scorpius' wounds had healed, his head had stopped ringing, and he felt more alive than he had in months. Lily was staring at him.
"What?"
"You shouldn't have done that Scorp," she said "who knows what will happen" suddenly there was a commotion from outside, "sounds like they're arguing"
Scorpius shrugged, not caring, not listening, relishing in the feeling that blood had given him. "Let's get out of this place"
The second memory was the door of the cell being unlocked, and a man in a black hood entering, then being promptly knocked backwards by a green light.
"Oh my God that felt incredible!" Scorpius appeared from the shadow of one of the corners, Lily appearing from another.
"Scorp, did you just kill him?" her voice was oddly calm given the situation.
"I think so, I just got angry, and the power just took over" he still looked pleased.
"I wanna try" Lily's voice was quiet and thoughtful.
The next memory began with Lily and Scorpius exiting the cell, and walking briskly down a narrow hallway. The lighting was minimal but they could see perfectly as another deatheater made their way towards them. Lily stopped, raising her hand as she did so, producing a green light that shot from her palm.
They kept walking, stepping over bodies as they fell.
"That's it" Scorpius said, catching the now normal rock as it fell. "That's what really happened" everyone was silent, staring at either Lily or Scorpius. The two teenagers in question just looked at each other, not sure of what to do.
"You say you don't remember it?" Harry asked.
"No, just glimpses really, it's like it wasn't me" Lily sniffed.
"Then how do you know you did it?"
"We kinda snapped out of it after a while, we looked around and saw what we had done"
"That's when we ran for it" Lily had stopped crying, although she was still puffy eyed and her voice was quivering.
"How are we supposed to live with ourselves dad?" Scorpius turned to Draco, who reached for him and held him to his chest.
"We all have to live with bad things we have done son" he paused, looking at Harry who had Lily in his arms, "but these bad things do not define us"
"Then what does?"
"How we survive them, how we move forward, how we face the problems that are thrown at us. You did what you had to do to get Lily out of a horrible and traumatic situation. We do not judge you for that, but you do need to take responsibility for what you have done" Harry had spoken quietly, stroking Lily's hair as he did. Scorpius nodded, understanding, processing.
"I can't stop thinking about it" Lily sniffled into her father's robes, "it haunts me"
"I fear it always will my love" Ron came took Lily from Harry, gathering her in his arms, "it will scare you and sometimes consume you, but you will be OK, I promise. You two are the bravest kids I have ever met" Ron smiled slightly, his cheek against the top of his nieces' head.
"I don't feel very brave at the moment uncle, I feel scared"
"Being brave isn't about not being afraid," James whispered quietly, looking between Scorpius and Lily, "it's about what you do when you are"
And that's all folks! I thought I would update this story and revamp it instead of writing a sequel. I was considering doing a kinda epilogue chapter as an extra thing? If you guys want that let me know Thanks for reading and a review would be awesome! x