Chapter 7
They waited. There was nothing else to do. People wondered in and out of the castle, moving bodies with careful tenderness. Once or twice, someone would sit on the stairs and cry, or hold their head in their hands.
Seeing Professor McGonagall lower herself to a step and cradle her face for a long minute gave them a whole new perspective on the woman.
And then, as the living realised their time was almost up, despair and panic coated the air, as they moved their lost loved ones to safety and prepared to fight to the bitter, bloody end. And then families were crowding together, saying their goodbyes without speaking the actual words - the hugs were under the pretence of comfort, the "I love yous" under the guise of grief. But really, all knew that this could be their last chance to say those words, their last chance to hug another.
And then the voice rang out again; a voice neither Lily or Scorpius would forget, no matter what else they faced in their lives. The voice announcing Harry Potter's death.
Lily shivered, well aware that, for one little detail, her father could really have died this night.
"The battle is won. You have lost half your fighters." It was true; but the other half were prepared to fight and finish this, even if their lives ended too. "My Death Eaters out number you, and the boy who lived is finished. There must be no war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle, now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live, and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."
It amazed Lily that there was no discussion, no hesitation, but a unified movement, as the survivors spilled out of the Great Hall, and then out of the castle. This was it, and they all knew it.
She and Scorpius allowed themselves to be swept away with the crowd, and out into the grounds. Lily's eyes were instantly drawn to the huge figure of Hagrid; and the body cradled in his arms. She heard the anguished way her mother called Harry's name, and wondered how her dad could lay there like that when Ginny was calling for him so desperately.
Because she didn't want to look at her father like that, she turned her attention away from him and Hagrid.
The survivors assembled, facing the Death Eaters, and fell silent when he called for it. The silencing charm prevented any from making a sound, and the crowd watched in silent horror as Hagrid was forced to lay the apparently dead body at Voldemort's feet.
She'd heard the story a thousand times or more, of how Neville faced up to Voldemort and killed his snake, but seeing it was different. And despite knowing by heart how it ended, Lily couldn't help but fear for his life.
The snake's head spun across the grounds, a light trail of blood following it through the air, with a cruel, near-beauty about it.
And then - and Lily never did figure out how it started, what signalled it - sound and movement erupted suddenly, and people were fighting. Flashes of light were skimming the crowd, meeting and missing targets, multi-coloured and, bizarrely, looking completely unthreatening. To look at the pretty lights, no one would guess they could bring pain, death and disfigurement.
The battle moved into the castle; as did Lily and Scorpius, clutching hands again in an attempt to stay together. And when the fighters spilled into the great hall, they followed.
The chaos continued, with curses, hexes, and jinxes flying out all over the place. Lily was enthralled, seeking out familiar faces in the crowd, barely aware of Scorpius beside her, until he cried out.
If he hadn't been so close to her, the sound would have been lost in the rest of the noise, but Lily heard it, and turned sharply towards him.
"Are you OK?" She asked, frantic, because she heard the pain in the sound, and she'd seen the flash of light from the corner of her eye. "Scorpius?"
"I'm fine." He assured her quickly, although the discomfort in his voice told her otherwise. "It just...grazed me...whatever it was."
"Scorpius, don't play stupid. Are you hurt?"
"No." He told her firmly. "I think it ripped my sleeve a bit. Grazed my arm. But it's fine." She sounded so concerned, and for some reason he really liked that.
He'd analyse it later.
"Scorpius -"
"Look!" Lily couldn't help but turn back to the crowd, most of whom had stopped moving, in time to hear Molly Weasley's call.
"Not my daughter, you bitch!"
And Lily forgot about Scorpius as she watched her grandmother - the maternal, temperamental, loving grandmother she'd always known - storm across the hall and begin duelling with Bellatrix Lestrange.
Somehow, whenever anyone had told her that her grandma had beat one of the most evil, most crazy, death eaters Voldemort had possessed, she'd wondered if maybe they were lying, because it didn't seem to fit. But now, she saw her grandma send curse after curse, even as she dodged them, and she understood - her grandma wasn't fighting for the cause, she was fighting to protect her kids, and that made sense.
When the green light finally hit it's mark, Lily couldn't help but smile. Bellatrix Lestrange had taken so much from so many, and it was a matter of pride that it was Lily's own kin who'd finally ended her.
And then Voldemort turned, obviously ready to end Molly's life, and...
Lily smiled before Harry even revealed himself, because she knew he was going to, knew it was all nearly over.
She and Scorpius watched as Harry stepped up to Voldemort, as they spoke, and then...
She knew how it would end, and yet she couldn't help but hold her breath as Voldemort lifted his wand, as Harry lifted Draco's, and they both yelled the incantation each were best known for.
It was, Scorpius thought, anti-climatic in a way, that the most evil wizard to ever live simply crumpled to the floor like any ordinary man.
He and Lily were jostled by people who couldn't see them and didn't stop to wonder how they'd touched something that wasn't there, as the crowd surged forward to Harry, to hug him and speak to him, to grab his sleeve or clasp his shoulder.
Lily watched it all with a smile on her face, and then felt Scorpius tug her arm. "Let's go." He whispered.
"OK." She murmured, and together they left the hall, the survivors, and walked into the entrance hall. They crossed to the wall where the plaque should have stood, and then, as if they'd known what to do all along, both placed a hand on the wall.
"We're ready now." Lily murmured. "We've seen it all..."
And the wall began to swirl, unseen anyone but Lily and Scorpius, and then they were spinning, and then they'd both his the ground, rather painfully.
The disillusionment charm had been lost in the journey, apparently, as they could both see each other. And, Lily thought as she looked at him, he was a mess.
His robes were torn on his left upper arm, a gaping rip revealing angry red skin and a cut, where the jinx had grazed him. He had several more rips in his robes, from, she assumed, the falling rubble, and his face and hair were filthy.
She looked no better. Scorpius noted the deep gash running the length of her face, her dirty and torn robes, the dusty tangle of her hair, and the grime on her face, clearly showing the tear tracks.
"You don't look so hot." Lily commented, as they both struggled to their feet.
"Right back at you. You should get that cut checked out."
"And you should get the burn checked out." Lily retorted, as she rubbed her sleeve on her face, eradicating the tear tracks as the muck from her sleeve was transferred to her face. "I think I'll have to throw these robes."
"Probably." Scorpius nodded.
"Lily! Al - she's here!" Both turned to see Hugo running down the marble staircase, closely followed by Al. Both boys stopped in front of her.
"Where hell have you been?" Al demanded. "You weren't on the map - we've been going spare -"
"Cyndra said you went to watch the storm." Hugo told her. "It was hours ago, the storm's long gone, and we've been looking everywhere for you."
"Rose was ready to wake the castle and get the teachers to find you -"
"Where the hell have you been?" Hugo demanded, finally taking in her appearance. "What've you done to your face?"
Al finally saw Scorpius, stood behind Lily.
"What did you do?" He demanded irrationally, causing Lily to finally find her voice.
"He hasn't done anything Al. If you be quiet a minute, I'll tell you what happened.
"Al, she needs the hospital wing." Hugo said, disregarding her. "Look - she's got a big gash on her face -"
"Lily, how'd you get hurt?" Al demanded.
"Scorpius is hurt too." Hugo added. "And they're both filthy."
"Will you two be quiet and let me explain!" Lily cried, loud enough to silence her brother and cousin. "Thank you. And where's Rose - I don't want her worrying."
"Look, why don't we go to the hospital wing, you can get Rose - and whoever else you've got looking for her - and we'll explain." Scorpius said. Al, with all his protective big brother instincts at work, simply looked at Scorpius with distrust, despite the two of them having been friends for years.
"That's a good plan." Hugo said, and took the map from Al. "Rose and Cyndra are near the hospital wing, we'll detour and pick them up. Come on." He grabbed Lily's arm and pulled her towards the stairs; the two older boys followed.
----
Lily winced again as the aged Madam Promfrey dabbed at her wounds with a piece of cotton wool and a thick, mint-green, cream.
"You know, you could deal with Scorpius first." She said hopefully. The matron didn't answer, just carried on dabbing the cream, seemingly oblivious to the way it stung Lily.
"It doesn't make sense." Al said to Scorpius. "It just - it doesn't. Why would you two by the only ones to go back, in all twenty-five years since that night?"
"Hasn't been a full twenty-five years yet." Rose pointed out. Al ignored her.
"And how can it even happen -"
"Look, we don't know." Lily said impatiently. "It just did. Maybe when dad gets here, he'll know." She eyed Neville. "Not that you had to call my parents."
"It's standard procedure." Neville told her. "And your brother seemed to think it was necessary."
"Yeah, well, dad installed a stupid over-proctiveness in both Al and James." Lily shrugged, as Madam Promfrey drew back.
"Leave that for a few minutes." She told Lily. "It's clean; I'll seal it in a moment. Now, young man, let me see that burn." She said to Scorpius, who hesitently offered his arm.
"I bet James is coming too, isn't he?" Lily asked, and Neville nodded. "I thought so." She rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed, but really felt nothing but relief. Ever since she was a little girl, her brothers made her feel safer than even her parents, and somehow knowing James was on his way made her feel a lot more secure.
"It's not like I died or anything." She said. "No need to make a big deal -"
The doors crashed open at that moment; James Potter strode inside, closely followed by his parents.
"Are you OK?" Lily's brother demanded, as he sat next to her on the bed. "What happened?" He inspected the gash on her face critically. "Shouldn't that be sealed by now? Is it cursed or something?"
"I'm fine." Lily replied, then looked at her parents and repeated the statement.
"What happened?" Harry and Ginny asked in unison. Lily was fast becomeing sick of hearing that question.
"Scorpius?" All turned back to the doorway as Draco Malfoy and his wife walked through it. "Are you OK? What happened?" He barely glanced at Lily or her family, focussed on his son.
"Why don't we step outside?" Neville suggested. "I'll explain, and these two can have their injuries treated..."
"I'll stay here." James replied instantly, and Lily rolled her eyes, even as she visibly relaxed.