Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter. As usual they were a mixture of praise & constructive criticism which all gives me a lot to think about for upcoming chapters.

I've been surprised by how much dislike exists out there for both Dumbledore & Lily. Hopefully some of that resentment will lessen as time wears on...

Chapter 10

The Cave

The clifftop stood several metres above the ocean where tall waves crashed violently against jagged rocks and foam sprayed high into the air. With a loud pop, three figures appeared on the cliff, wrapped tightly in thick cloaks. Long black hair whipped Severus' face as a strong wind blew; Dumbledore's beard blew over his shoulder and Lily crossed her arms tightly across her chest. Salty spray from the ocean far below sprinkled their faces.

Dumbledore stepped cautiously to the edge and peered over as far as he dared.

"It is not that far a drop," he said loudly against the wind.

He moved back to Severus and Lily and gestured over to the hills in the distance behind them.

"The children from the orphanage were brought to a nearby village on an outing," Dumbledore informed them. "But Riddle brought two of them here, or rather to the cave that sits just below us."

The Headmaster returned to the cliff's edge and began to climb down. Lily rushed forward.

"Albus! What are you doing?"

Dumbledore ignored her and continued his slow descent until he suddenly disappeared. Lily looked back at Severus.

"He's gone," she said.

Severus stepped to the edge and looked for himself. There was no sign of the old wizard. Lily took a deep breath, turned around and began climbing. Severus followed close behind.

Using the jagged cliff edges as hand and foot holds, they managed to work their way slowly down the cliff until they reached the bottom. Easing his way carefully off the cliff, Severus stepped onto a large boulder that was half submerged in the freezing waters. Ahead of him Severus could see Dumbledore and Lily standing on the very edge of the boulder; Dumbledore was pointing back at the cliff in front of them.

"In the memories of the children," Dumbledore yelled over the noise of the waves. "Riddle brought them down into a cave."

"But there is no cave here," Severus yelled back.

Without hesitation, Dumbledore slipped off the boulder and into the icy water. Lily screamed and reached out, trying to grab him but Dumbledore had already emerged and begun swimming towards the rock face and the light.

Lily turned to Severus again, a look of panic on her wind-swept face. She then turned and jumped in after Dumbledore. The water was so cold it instantly took her breath away. She struggled through the choppy water, following the silver-haired head of Dumbledore as it bobbed up ahead. She could hear Severus close behind her as she pushed against the raging waves and through a narrow opening that had somehow appeared in the rock face ahead.

One by one the trio swam a long tunnel that grew slowly darker as they made their way deeper inside. They continued for several minutes, Lily unable to shake the image from her mind of the poor, terrified children Tom Riddle would have brought down this way. As she continued on further, Lily tried to flex her fingers but they had lost all feeling long ago.

In front of her Lily saw Dumbledore getting out of the water, slowly climbing narrow steps. She followed, slipping several times on loose stones. Dumbledore reached out to help pull her up. They stood together on the platform, dripping wet, and looked around in awe as Severus emerged from the water to join them. They stood in a massive cavern, its ceiling towering high above.

Lily shivered, her teeth chattering loudly. Severus pulled his wand out of his pocket.

"I will dry you," he offered.

"I can do it myself," Lily said.

"We need to look for an entrance," Dumbledore announced.

The trio all dried themselves and begun to walk around the cave, searching the walls for any sort of opening. Dumbledore touched his wand to the rock wall at various points, casting spells to find a weak place. After searching for several minutes he stopped and pointed his wand at the wall. He cast a spell and the wall suddenly lit up in a blaze of brilliant white light and an archway was revealed.

"Brilliant!" Lily exclaimed.

"Well, we've found the door, now we need to find a way to get in," Dumbledore said.

For the next ten minutes Dumbledore aimed a number of spells at the archway, all to no avail.

"It couldn't be that simple," he said finally.

"What?" Severus and Lily asked together.

"If I know Voldemort's mind at all," Dumbledore said. "Then anyone coming here intent on getting in would have to pay a cost. A simple one though; one that was meant to weaken any intruder."

"So what do you think it is?" asked Lily. "How do we get in?"

Dumbledore bent down and picked up a jagged piece of rock. He raised it to his palm and made a slight cut.

"Of course," Severus said. "A blood sacrifice."

Dumbledore touched his bloody palm to the wall beneath the archway and stepped back. Suddenly the wall vanished to reveal a dark opening. Dumbledore turned to Severus and Lily with a look of satisfaction before he stepped through. They followed, passing under the arch to see a great black lake.

Ahead the water lie eerily still, its edges so far away they couldn't be seen, and above them the roof of cave so high it appeared to go on forever. Severus raised his hand, pointing to a misty green light shining from across the other side of the lake.

"The lakes edges are too far to reach," said Lily. "Do you think there might be a bridge where we can cross?"

They started walking around the massive lake but for as far as they could see around it, there seemed to be no way across to the green light. Dumbledore stopped, he smiled slowly and pulled out his wand. He began waving it around slowly as if seeking something; the tip of his wand delicately threading the air. After several seconds, a long, thick chain materialised; it ran down from high in the ceiling to deep beneath the still black waters.

"Look what I have found!" Dumbledore exclaimed as he grabbed hold of the chain.

Severus and Lily stood behind him as Dumbledore tapped the chain with his wand and it began to coil itself on the ground beside their feet. Slowly something began to emerge from the water and attached to the other end of the chain was a small boat. The vessel, big enough only to seat a single passenger, emerged from the water and drifted slowly to the shore.

Dumbledore, Severus and Lily all looked at one another in shock.

"Well obviously one of us has to get in," Lily said.

"Which should be all the more reason not to," Severus mumbled.

"I agree with you Severus but it seems Voldemort has set up this transport for a reason," Dumbledore said, stroking his beard.

"There is clearly only enough room for one of us," Severus noted. "So I will go across first and send the boat back for you two."

Dumbledore shook his head.

"There must be a reason why there is only room for one," he said. "So we will play along but we will need to be cautious of anything Voldemort has gone to such trouble to set up."

"If only one of us can go then I want to do it," Lily offered.

"I have already said that I will," Severus said, glaring at her.

Lily turned to Dumbledore.

"Please Albus; this is something I feel I need to do."

Dumbledore contemplated her for a while then nodded slowly. Severus huffed and folded his arms across his chest, watching with a scowl as Lily climbed unsteadily into the boat.

As soon as she sat down, the boat began to move forward, edging slowly towards the strange green light in the distance. As she travelled, Lily looked down into the water; she screamed loudly.

"Are you alright?" Dumbledore called out across the lake.

"Bodies!" Lily shouted back. "There're dead bodies in here!"

"Inferi," Dumbledore said. "I was worried about something like this."

"And you still let her go!" Severus' face was flush with anger. "Get her back here now."

Dumbledore raised a hand to dismiss Severus as the boat came to a stop. They could barely make out the form of Lily in the distance as she climbed unsteadily from the boat. She sent a light from her wand high into the air and it illuminated a tiny rock island on which Lily now stood.

She looked back at Dumbledore and Severus; all she could make out were two tiny wand lights back on the shore. With her heart beating wildly, Lily moved along the rocks until she reached a tiny plateau. In the centre stood a pedestal with a bowl on top which Lily thought looked curiously like a pensieve. She looked inside the basin and discovered the source of the green light; the bowl was full of a glowing liquid.

Lily tentatively raised her hand to the liquid and tried to dip her fingers in but she was unable to so much as touch the liquid.

"I don't know what to do," she yelled across the lake. "There's a bowl of green water here but I can't touch it."

"Can you see anything beneath the liquid?" Dumbledore called back.

Lily squinted through the murky green of the bowl.

"I don't know, I can't see anything."

Dumbledore turned to Severus.

"If the horcrux is hidden at the bottom then there must be a specific way of getting at it."

"Like what?" Severus frowned. "Lily said she could not touch it."

"Perhaps Voldemort meant for it to be drunken," Dumbledore replied.

"But you cannot let Lily drink it, it is probably poison."

Dumbledore shook his head.

"I doubt it; that would be too easy for Voldemort."

"So we are to act only upon your presumptions are we?"

Dumbledore yelled back across to Lily and told her to try and drink the liquid. Lily flicked her wand and a small goblet appeared in her hand. She dipped in easily into the basin and filled it to the top.

"It worked!" she called out happily.

Lily took a long gulp and pulled a face as the bitter liquid ran down her throat. She forced herself to finish the whole cup and as soon as she did, began coughing and clutching her stomach as she fell to her knees.

"Are you alright?" Severus called out.

Lily gestured back with a thumbs-up as she tried to stand back up. She looked into the basin, still full of the green liquid and sighed. She dipped the goblet back in, and after drinking again, Lily gasped. She dropped the goblet and clutched at her stomach again. Gagging, she stumbled to the ground, her head in her hands, and cried loudly.

"You must continue drinking," Dumbledore called across the calm waters.

Severus grabbed the old wizard's robes.

"Get her to stop!" he screamed in Dumbledore's face. "This is hurting her."

"I'm sorry Severus but we need to get the horcrux."

"We will find another way; I will do it!"

Dumbledore gently pushed Severus off him.

"We must do something to get Lily to keep drinking."

Severus slumped his shoulders and looked helplessly over at Lily.

"Please," Lily cried. "Give them back to me, I have no life without them."

Dumbledore raised his wand and pointed it towards Lily.

"Incendio!" his voice boomed, echoing throughout the cavern.

"NO!"

Severus slapped Dumbledore's hand down but it was too late; Lily stopped crying and got to her feet. She picked up the goblet and filled it back up.

Severus watched in horror as Lily drunk without complaint or reaction.

"What have you done?" Severus demanded.

"It is clear this potion was meant to be drunken," Dumbledore said slowly. "Lily chose to do it. She knew it was for the greater good."

"Greater good? Obviously Lily did not know what she was getting herself into."

They watched as Lily continued to refill and drink mechanically without so much as a flinch. After finishing the last of the liquid, Lily collapsed to the floor, the goblet clanging against the rocks as it fell. Severus called out in panic as Lily began to tremble violently.

"Aguamenti," Dumbledore called and a wave of water from the lake sprayed over Lily.

She sat bolt upright and shook her head to regain herself.

"Please," she begged. "Take me instead, kill me but don't hurt my baby."

Lily suddenly let forth with a high-pitched scream.

"WATER!" she wailed.

"Lily!" Severus called to her. "Reach the goblet and get water from the lake."

She reached out blindly for the goblet, having to lean right over the platform to pick it up off the rocks. She fumbled to grasp it firmly, then leaned over to the lake and dipped the goblet in. Suddenly a hand, pale and wrinkled, grabbed onto Lily's wrist and pulled her down into the lake. As Lily's feet disappeared under the surface, Severus shouted to her, diving into the lake before Dumbledore could stop him.

Severus swam ferociously through the murky water, gaining ground until he felt slimy hands grabbing at his legs and ankles. He tried to kick the grabbing hands away but they were persistent. Inferi, thought Severus, Dumbledore was right to suspect Voldemort would resort to such means.

As some of the dead bodies began swarming Severus, he reached for his wand and began firing at them. He had some success; the Inferi hit with his firey blasts recoiling, but Severus was overwhelmed as still more took their place. As Severus felt the last of his breath leaving his lungs, balls of fire began exploding around him. Shot from somewhere above, beams of light pushed through the water and struck the swarming Inferi.

The help from Dumbledore from the shore somewhere high above, allowed Severus to shake free from the clinging dead bodies and continue towards Lily. Deep in the water below him, Severus could make out the unconscious form of Lily as several Inferi held onto her tightly, pulling her down further. Severus shot towards Lily with his wand and a jet of white light reached out and wrapped tightly around her waist. Severus quickly began kicking up towards the surface, reeling Lily in behind him.

When Severus finally emerged, he spat water from his mouth and swam towards the rocks Lily had been pulled from. He reached down and pulled Lily up to the surface; she wasn't breathing.

Panting and exhausted, Severus climbed up onto the rocks, heaving Lily up with him. He laid her flat on her back and checked for a heartbeat; it was faint but there. Severus leaned down and pressed his lips to Lily's, exhaling steadily. Her chest rose in time with Severus' breaths and after only a few moments, Lily started coughing. She spat out water and Severus pulled her onto his chest.

"Hang in there," he soothed.

From the other side of the lake, Dumbledore slashed at the air with his wand, continuing to target the Inferi that clamoured up the rocks around Severus and Lily.

"The chain!" Dumbledore yelled.

Severus looked around; the chain that the Headmaster had used to pull the boat from the lake still hung from the ceiling. Severus aimed his wand and the chain broke free, flying across the lake towards the island. When the chain reached the centre of the island, Severus stood up, clutching Lily tightly to him. He looked into the empty pensieve basin and saw a gold necklace inside it. He reached out and piled it up, tucking it into his pocket as he took a strong grip of the chain in one hand. Severus was hauled into the air, Lily held firm against him.

As soon as the chain had raised its passengers high enough in the air to be out of reach of the persistant Inferi, Dumbledore stopped blasting them and helped guide Severus and Lily back to the shore.

In a minute the chain Severus clung to with one hand, and Lily with the other, reached Dumbledore and he helped them both to the ground.

"Are you alright Severus?" Dumbledore asked as he lifted Lily from his hands.

Severus nodded wearily and collapsed onto the ground; we gestured to Lily.

"We need to get her to Poppy."

The front doors of Hogwarts flew open as Severus and Dumbledore burst through. Severus cradled Lily in his arms, her head flopping lazily as she drifted in and out of consciousness. The two men puffed breathlessly as they raced up the Grand Staircase and down the corridor towards the hospital wing. Dumbledore dashed ahead and held the door open for Severus.

"Albus? What's going on?" Madam Pomprey, the school nurse, asked as she rushed to them.

Severus laid Lily down carefully on the closest bed.

"She has injested an unknown potion," he said.

Pomprey leaned over Lily and felt her forehead.

"She has also been spasoming," Dumbledore added. "And cannot seem to stay conscious."

The old nurse pulled a small phial out from a pocket in her robes and poured it gently into Lily's mouth.

"You two can wait outside," the old woman said. "You'll just get in my way."

Dumbledore put a hand on Severus' back and helped him forward as Pomprey slammed the door shut behind them.

"I know you are worried Severus, but Pamona will take the best care of Lily."

Severus held Dumbledore's gaze until his eyes began to mist over and he dropped his head to avoid any further eye contact. The Headmaster patted him on the shoulder.

"Perhaps Poppy may be convinced to let you stay," he soothed.

Severus nodded and pulled the horcrux from his pocket.

"I think you might want this."

Dumbledore took the necklace and looked it over carefully; the locket at the end was made of heavy gold.

"It is engraved," he said to Severus. "You see this S on the locket? It may perhaps mean Slytherin."

"Meaning that we do indeed have the horcrux and none of this has been in vain."

"Correct," Dumbledore nodded. "I shall go and destroy it at once. Now you get in there, Lily will need you."

Severus left him and stepped back into the hospital ward. Pomprey opened her mouth to object but Severus cut her off.

"I will be staying," he said, taking a seat on a chair beside Lily's bed.

Pomprey nodded.

"I have given her something that should counter whatever she has taken but we won't know for several hours whether it will work or not."

"Thank you."

The nurse nodded again and shuffled away into her office. Severus looked at Lily sleeping peacefully. He moved his hand tentatively towards her, hesitating briefly before taking hold of her hand. With his other hand Severus began stroking her deep red hair.

"If only my life had turned out differently," he whispered in Lily's ear. "I wish I had been able to make better decisions; you should have been more important to me than anything or anyone else."

Severus let his fingers trail delicately over the soft skin of Lily's cheek.

"I love you."

He leaned down and kissed Lily softly on the forehead then quietly left the room.

Lily opened her eyes and watched the ward door close. She sighed and let her eyes slowly shut.