IMPORTANT - Well, I don't know how I managed it, but I made a big mistake yeaterday, and posted the wrong chapter. Jeez, I don't know what's up with me lately, I don't usually make stupid mistakes like that. Anyway, the chapter I posted was chapter nine. This is chapter eight, so try to forget what you read, OK...I'm just going to go repeatedly bang my head against the wall...
Chapter 8
"Well?" Lily asked, when Neville and their parents re-entered the room, accompanied by Professor McGonagall, who looked concerned. "Do you know why it happened? How?"
"We'll investigate." Professor McGonagall said, in her usual curt, controlled voice. Lily remembered how that same voice had sounded as it screamed at the sight of her father's dead body.
"We never did anything to make the memorial anything but a memorial." Harry agreed. He sounded confused, worried, and yet somehow impressed.
"Well someone did." Draco said curtly. "Otherwise this wouldn't have happened, would it? Your memorial could have got them killed."
"Maybe your son did something, did you think of that?" Harry snapped irrationally.
"Like what?" Draco replied. "Where would he have learned magic like that?"
"Hey - both of you, stop it." Astoria said loudly before Harry could retort. "There's no point trying to blame anyone - this isn't Scorpius' fault, Lily's fault, or Harry's fault."
"Hogwarts still has secrets." Neville agreed. "I told you what they told me - they wished to see that night, and they did."
"So Hogwarts grants wishes now?" Ginny asked, half sarcastic. She had, while Harry and Draco had argued, crossed to the bed next to Lily's and sat facing her daughter.
"No." Neville replied. "But...well, I guess the castle...remembers. And it showed them."
"Well I don't like it." Ginny muttered quietly, and she and Harry were both remembering another object cloaked in memories.
----
Lily woke, sitting bolt upright and letting out a childish scream. She was six, and a few hours previously, James had told her the story of the battle at Hogwarts, the end of the war. Subsequently, her dreams had been filled with curses and giants and spiders and Death Eaters.
Their parents were still out, at some charity thing Lily was too young to care about. Teddy was babysitting, but he was downstairs and hadn't heard her scream. Her brothers had, however, and they rushed to her room.
"What's wrong? Are you OK?" Al demanded as they both dived onto her bed.
"I had a nightmare." Lily said quietly. Al looked angrily at James.
"I told you to stop telling her stuff. It scares her."
"I'm sorry, Lily." James said sincerely. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Lily looked around the room, scared she'd see big spiders lurking in the corner, or a giant's face pressed against her window. "Will the giants and the spiders and the bad guys come here?" She asked, her eyes wide and her tone hushed.
"No." Albus assured her. "They're all gone now, Lily. No one's going to hurt us."
"Besides," James said, because he saw she was unconvinced, "even if they did, Al and me would protect you."
"Yeah, we'll keep you safe." Al agreed quickly.
"Go back to sleep now." James said quietly, and Lily shook her head.
"Scared." Lily said softly.
And so her brothers lay on either side of her, and knowing they were there, she felt safe, and slept easy.
----
Madam Promfrey healed both Lily and Scorpius' respective injures fully, but ordered them to spend the remainder of the night in the hospital wing, despite their protests. As it was nearing two in the morning, James refused to leave until daylight, and the collective parents were with McGonagall, discussing the events and, most likely, trying to figure out how to prevent it happening again.
"Get some sleep, Lily." James said softly. "You look shattered." He glanced at Scorpius, who'd been rather quiet. "You too, mate."
"Are you lot going to stay here?" Lily asked, casting her gaze over her brothers, Hugo, Rose and Cyndra.
"No, they're not." Madam Promfrey replied. "There isn't enough room in here. And you're disturbing my other patient." She gestured towards a third year boy in a bed at the other side of the room, deeply asleep, with a faint purple rash on his face.
"I'm staying." James replied and offered her a winning smile.
"Used to having you here, aren't I?" Madam Promfrey replied, though with a slight smile. "Always here with Quidditch injures..."
"I'm staying too." Al added.
"Fine. The rest of you - out."
----
She awoke about an hour after she'd fallen asleep, covered in sweat and her eyes frantic.
She dreamt of the bodies.
"Lily?" James said quietly, moving forwards in the darkness. "Are you OK?"
"Nightmare." She muttered, and willed herself to relax.
"It's OK." Al whispered, from her other side. "We're here."
"I know." She murmured, and allowed sleep to claim her again.
Scorpius heard her breathing change, deepen, even, and relaxed again. Back to staring at the ceiling then, unable to sleep, and lost in his thoughts.
----
"You expect it to stay secret?" Lily asked. "Secrets never stay secret in this place."
Harry opened his mouth to speak; Scorpius beat him to it.
"We're the only ones who know, though. Us in this room. How's anyone gonna find out?" He asked Lily.
"They find out." Lily replied, talking directly to him now. "I don't know how, but someone always finds out."
"If no one here tells anyone, they won't." Scorpius said firmly. "And I'm not going to tell anyone."
"Uh-huh. I'm sure. Half the school probably knows we were here - I bet someone saw our parents and James arrive - and what are you going to tell your buddies when they ask where you've been, what happened to you?"
"I don't know - I'll think of something."
"You'll lie." Lily stated, and he nodded. "Well, I see why the hat didn't put you in Hufflepuff. Loyalty clearly isn't your strong point."
Scorpius opened his mouth, looking annoyed, then closed it, half-grinned. "You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?"
"Winding you up? Yes. I've discovered it's rather easy and extremely amusing." Lily replied lightly, and smirked at him.
The rest of the room exchanged looks, then Draco cleared his throat. Lily and Scorpius both jumped, and looked suddenly uncomfortable.
"Anyway, you'll both have to lie - or avoid questions, or something." Harry said distractedly, looking thoughtfully at his daughter. "If this gets out, they'll be students messing with the memorial day and night."
"Fine. Sure." Lily replied, and Scorpius nodded.
"We've put a magical barrier around it anyway." Professor McGonagall put in. "To prevent sutdents getting within a foot of it."
"Well, we better go." Astoria Malfoy said finally.
"Yeah, I guess." Ginny murmured. "That means you too, James."
"I know mum." James muttered, seeming closer to the twelve year old boy he'd been that the nineteen year old he was. "Come here, little sister." He added, and hugged her tightly. "Bye."
"Bye, James." Lily murmured as he released her.
"Whatever you do, don't get caught." He warned her with a grin. "Goes for you too, Al."
"See you at Christmas." Al replied.
"Uh-huh. You look after her, right?"
"Course."
There was a round of parental goodbyes, then both sets of parents, and James, left. Neither Scorpius or Lily heard Astoria murmur to Ginny; "They seem to be getting on well, don't they?" Nor did they hear Ginny's light laugh and reply. "Lily and Scorpius? Extremely well..."