Chapter 6

The sound of voices filled Lily with a sudden, intense, fear, but neither she nor Scorpius stopped. Her heart was beating rapidly against her chest, and Scorpius' grip was tight on her hand, as Lily wondered if this would be the place she died.

Voldemort's voice was easily recognisable, loud and angry, as he told his Death Eaters that Potter would come to him.

"I understand him!" He claimed. "He does not need to be brought to me...he will come of his own free will."

"You don't understand him at all." Lily hissed, causing Scorpius to grin a little as he imagined the fire that was undoubtedly in her eyes.

The two of them crept closer, careful where they stood and holding their breath, desperate to be unheard, uncaught.

And there he stood. In the centre of his followers, clearly the boss, the leader, the most powerful, the most arrogant.

Lily released Scorpius' hand - or he released hers, for neither was concentrating on the other anymore - and both moved closer to the clearing. Lily gripped a tree and stared at the man, understanding the fear he'd caused - for surely, this man was the product of a child's nightmares, or an element of a twisted horror tale, or something, anything, other than reality, other than something that could really walk the same earth as she did, who could really exist, really breathe and have a real heart that beat.

Scorpius understood, for the first time, why everyone said words weren't enough to describe this wizard, understood just why his father was so afraid, understood why few had dared to speak this creature's name.

And wondered, now that he had seen and heard, just why he'd been so curious. Neither he nor Lily would forget the things they'd witnessed tonight, and both would dream of this wizard, of the broken body with flesh stripped away, of the empty shell that life had abandoned, and of unstoppable green light.

What was wrong with them, he wondered, to have wanted to be here and see all of this, even after the looks they'd seen in their parents' eyes whenever they'd remembered this night.

It was then that he realised he no longer had hold of Lily, and suddenly he froze, because he had no idea where she was. And speaking would attract the Death Eaters, but he could hardly just wonder around and hope he bumped into her.

He looked around, in the hope that he would catch some movement, some ripple in the air, but saw none, for Lily was completely still, staring, transfixed, at Voldemort. She'd dreamed of this wazrd, when she was younger and James would tell her the stories, and yet she'd never imagined it correctly.

He wanted to leave. To go, to find their way home, and never think about this again. He'd have to risk it.

"Lily." He breathed it, barely made a sound, and not one of the Death Eaters heard. Unfortunately, neither did Lily. "Lily." He hissed, louder, and very nearly yelped when a cold hand gripped his.

"Be quiet." She hissed furiously.

He didn't bother pointing out that she had spoken too; instead he pulled her away from the clearing and she allowed him to, which was a relief. He'd suspected she might refuse and want to see more.

Neither of them dare to breathe until they were out of the forest, which, really, isn't a good idea. Then they were back in the grounds, and saw a few figures moving around in the darkness. Moving, both realised, the bodies, and helping the injured.

"That wasn't my best idea." He muttered.

"I want to go home." Lily whispered, trying not to look at the bundles littering the grounds. "Scorpius, please tell me you've thought of a way to get home?"

She sounded tired, he noticed. He felt the same. This whole experience was bitterly draining, and, really, Scorpius decided he could have done without it.

"No, I don't." He said, and tugged at Lily's hand to make her walk again. "Let's just get back into the castle, and to the plaque -"

"There is not plaque, remember?" She interrupted impatiently.

"I mean, to where the plaque to supposed to be. We'll start there."

"And if it doesn't work?"

Scorpius shrugged, then remembered she couldn't see him. "If worse comes to worse, we'll have to ask for help."

"Ask for...excuse me? Did you just suggest we ask someone here for help? Like, what, I just breeze up to my sixteen year old mum and tell her I'm her future daughter, trapped in the past?"

"Not exactly, no -"

"Good, because doing that would just get us both hexed." Lily replied flatly, and Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"Let's just try to plaque. I mean, the wall."

"Great plan." Lily muttered, then fell silent as they crossed the threshold to the castle.

Death seemed to be everywhere; not just in the bodies in the Great Hall, or in the anguished sobs of the living, but in the very air. Death, cold and unforgiving, had coated the castle.

The two of them avoided looking into the Great Hall, instead hurrying to the wall.

"Well, bright spark, what's the plan?" Lily asked dryly as Scorpius ran his hand over the wall.

"Maybe..." He began, then sighed. "It can't be that simple. Can it? Its how we got here...but..."

"Scorpius? Hello, I'm here, talk to me, not yourself, 'k? What are you thinking?" Her voice was sharp, but he knew better, now, than to take it personally.

"I...well...could it be as simple as just asking to go home?"

"Asking?" Lily repeated. "Scorpius...it's a wall. Generally they don't listen to requests."

"Think about how we got here. We were both touching the plaque, and talking about wanting to be here. It could be that simple."

"Nothing's ever that simple." Lily replied.

"Just try it, OK? Put your hand on the wall."

She sighed, but obeyed.

"OK..." Scorpius cleared his throat self-consciously. "I - uh - I want to go back. To our time. I've seen enough."

Lily opened her mouth, then closed it, and withdrew her hand.

"Scorpius..." She said quietly. "Since...since we're here and all...maybe we could stay a bit longer."

"What?" His hand dropped from the wall as he turned to the sound of her voice. "Stay? Why the hell - you just said -"

"I know." She cut him off. "I know, but...well, since we are here...why don't we just stay and watch the end?"

"Are you kidding? You're kidding, right? Just messing with my head."

"No. I want to see it end, I want to see us win." She told him, in a tone that implied he had no chance of winning this arguement.

"Lily, it's really dangerous, and -"

"I know. I don't care. I want to see this through." She told him, and he sighed.

"Fine. We'll stay, we'll watch, and, hey, if we're lucky, we won't die."

"Thank you." She said brightly. "We should just wait here for a bit - my dad should fake his death soon..."

"Great." Scorpius muttered darkly. "That's just great."