Author's Notes: Thank you for your lovely reviews!

Chapter Sixteen

Lily was still kissing Scorpius when he sighed out loud.

"What?" she asked softly, moving her lips on his cheek, and then his chin, and then his jaw, and pecking his skin softly.

"We've got to go," he murmured against her forehead. "Albus…"

She let out a sigh as well. He was right. Albus was still with those horrible people, and they were all waiting for them to bring back the Orchid as if the two of them were slaves doing all the dirty job for them. "Do you think," she murmured, "do you think he's… I mean they didn't…"

"Of course he's alive and well," Scorpius reassured her, "otherwise they know that we'll never give them the flower."

She nodded. "You're right," she replied. "I just hope that he's alright…"

"He's a tough guy," he told her gently, "as long as he doesn't keep on talking as he usually does, and doesn't piss anybody off, he's going to be alright."

Lily nodded again as she stood up and glanced at the mirror with diffidence, before walking around it. On the other side of the room there was a passage. A small passage that they hadn't even seen before, too entranced as they were in that horrible, horrible device. She stood and looked at the light that was coming from that place, she was pretty sure that the only glow before had been the one that lightened the mirror, but now, that other light was gone and the brightness was coming only from the other room, as if someone was showing them the way. Maybe the Golden Orchid itself. Maybe they were worthy enough to find it. They had proved themselves after all and now there was only one task left.

The third and final virtue examined is nobility. Only those who are free from covetousness will truly understand that the flower cannot be owned, for whoever dares to take the flower for their own vile purposes will be punished accordingly.

Scorpius came to stand next to her, his arm wrapping tightly around her shoulders. "Are you ready?" he asked her, looking in front of him.

She nodded firmly. "When I'm with you I'm always ready," she told him.

Unexpectedly, he chuckled at her words.

"What?" she asked slightly offended.

He shook his head. "I was thinking that if Al was here, he would be gagging at how corny we are."

She laughed too. "You are right," she replied. "We need to find him a girlfriend."

"Or at least a date for the wedding," pointed out Scorpius. "But that's a miracle for the Golden Orchid, I guess."

Lily punched him playfully. "Scorpius!"

"What?" he asked, rubbing his arm. "He's not as bad as James, but you've to admit that he is not exactly good with girls. He just snogs them and then forgets their names."

Lily shrugged a shoulder. That was true. Albus had turned to her for help remembering his girlfriends' names more than once. "We'll see if the Orchid can be used to make him more… charming…"

Scorpius laughed heartily. "Sweet," he said, "let's go now. The sooner we get our hands on that flower the sooner we'll get out of here."

The light became brighter as they started to walk towards the passage. It was a warm glow that seemed to come from a hundred lamps and torches. "It's so eerie," she murmured almost to herself, "there was no light before, and now…"

"Now it's as if we're going to walk straight into the sun," Scorpius murmured back, "it's just as hot too…"

She nodded at his words. She could feel her shirt stick to her back now, she actually considered taking off her clothes, just to avoid fainting, and she would do just that if there wasn't a horde of people waiting for them to come out with the flower.

And inside the following room it was even hotter, except none of them seemed to care anymore as that section of the cave came into view.

It was a sight to behold.

There were ampoules and vases and jars and phials and glasses, and they were all gold, or so they looked in the bright light. They were placed on high and low shelves that were scattered all around the room and against the white walls. They were filled with what looked like potion ingredients: Nettles, Dittany, Eel Eyes, Fairy Wings, Dragon Horns, Horse Hair, Gillyweed and so on and so forth.

Lily stared at a big jar filled with rat tails and then cast her glance upon a vase where spiders were trying to reach the top with her long, hairy legs without managing.

Suddenly Scorpius grabbed her upper arm and made her turn towards him. "What?" she asked softly.

He didn't look at her, but nodded in front of him and she turned to look ahead as well.

And there it was. It was sprouting out from the dark soil in a golden flower pot and it was more beautiful than Lily could have ever imagined. More beautiful than the pictures she had seen in the book, more beautiful than anything she had ever seen.

Now Lily understood why the Order had to hide that flower to preserve it. The Golden Orchid was bigger than any other orchid she had ever seen, but its most breathtaking quality was the colour. It looked like the flower was made of gold. And yes, of course she should have expected that considering the name, but she had thought that the flower would have only been gold in colour. And it was really. Lily just couldn't explain it, but now that she looked closely at it, she saw that the Golden Orchid looked as if it was actually made of gold.

And it looked like most of the light radiated straight from it.

"It's beautiful," she breathed.

Scorpius nodded. "Let's go and get it," he murmured, stepping forward and dragging her with him.

She followed him through the shelves, eyes wide and trained on the flower. She found that it was impossible to look away from it. It was like the light at the end of a tunnel that people were drawn to.

They climbed up the few steps that brought to the flower pot. Scorpius' fingers were enlaced tightly in her own, both of them afraid to lose the other just like it had happened before.

She squeezed his hand in hers when he stretched his arm to wrap his fingers around the pot. "Scorpius," she finally breathed.

"What?" he asked, without looking at her. It was all right, she wasn't looking at him either.

"The third task," she murmured.

"What about it?"

"We didn't pass it… we didn't even encounter it…"

He swallowed and withdrew his hand. "Maybe, maybe we don't have to," he told her, "maybe we've proven ourselves enough already…" He stretched his hand again, his fingers almost brushing the pot, Lily could see the muscles of his hand strain with the tension.

But before he could wrap his hand around it, Scorpius let out a small gasp of surprise as he was yanked off the floor and hung upside down in midair.

"Scorpius!" gasped out Lily, grabbing his wrist with both hands and trying to pull him down.

"Bloody hell," he muttered as he looked at her from the ceiling.

"Thieves will be punished for their insolence," squealed a voice near the Orchid, "nobody steals the Golden Orchid when Gurdyroot is guarding it!"

Lily turned to look at the source of the voice and found herself face to face with a little house-elf, he had a round nose and big brown eyes and he was wearing a little flowery tea towel as a dress. "Oh," she let out as she took in the fact that very probably that was their last task: a house-elf.

Gurdyroot looked back at her with as much surprise, before bowing until his potato-shaped nose almost touched the ground. "Oh Milady," he mumbled, "Milady is beautiful and doesn't look like a thief at all."

Lily giggled as she let Scorpius' hand go and knelt at eye-level with the elf. "Thank you, Mister Gurdyroot," she said gently, "you're a most charming house-elf yourself."

The elf raised his face and looked at Lily with a big smile tugging at his lips, before he raised his eyes towards Scorpius. "Now, that man up there, he is certainly a thief, Milady, because he is ugly like a Bubotuber."

"Hey!" snapped Scorpius. "Don't you dare!"

Lily looked up at him and bit her bottom lip. "Well, he is my fiancé," said Lily slowly, "and I don't think he's ugly at all, Mister Gurdyroot. And I don't reckon you're very nice to say those things about him."

The house-elf scratched his nose and looked pensively at Lily for a while, before looking up at Scorpius again and sighing. "I'm sorry," he replied, "but Milady's beauty blinded Gurdyroot for a moment and he couldn't recognise that the thief is not… too ugly…"

"I'm not a thief," snorted Scorpius, folding his arms across his chest as he still hung upside down in midair, "and you better put me down or I'll use you as a Quaffle and throw you into one of those vases!"

Gurdyroot looked at him unimpressed, before returning his eyes to Lily. "Does Milady want something to drink? Or something to eat? Gurdyroot can cook something for Milady if she's tired," he asked her eagerly.

Lily fanned her neck again. "Some water would be nice," she replied, "but I'd appreciate even more if you could put down my fiancé."

"Every desire of Milady is an order for Gurdyroot," said the elf. He snapped his fingers and Scorpius let out a very unmanly scream as he fell to the floor.

"Damn you… bloody creature…" he muttered as he rolled on his back and rubbed his elbows.

"Scorpius!" exclaimed Lily, going to him. "Are you alright?"

"Better than that little monster in a couple of minutes," he grunted, glaring at Gurdyroot. He stood up and the elf squealed and scampered away from him.

"Scorpius…"

"I'm just going to stuff him in a vase and cork it, Lily," growled Scorpius, following the elf.

"Gurdyroot doesn't know how Milady is promised to marry such a brute," squeaked the elf.

"I'll show you the brute…"

"Scorpius!" Lily called him. "We need to focus on the Orchid, remember? Al is still out there…" She stared as he stopped and sighed, and finally he turned and walked back to her.

"You're right," he conceded, "let's get the flower and bring it back to Toots."

She nodded and smiled to him, but the moment they turned to walk back to the Golden Orchid, Gurdyroot came to stand before them. He raised a glass of water in front of Lily and beamed at her. "For Milady," he said. "Fresh and cold."

She smiled and took the glass in her hands, it was really nice and cold. "Thank you, Mister Gurdyroot," she told him, bringing the glass to her lips.

"Wait!" Scorpius urged her. "It's not spiked, is it?" He took the glass from her hands and sniffed it like a dog.

Gurdyroot scoffed at him, "Gurdyroot doesn't want to poison Milady."

Lily took the glass back from Scorpius' hands. "Thank you," she said, gulping down the water as if it was the sweetest nectar that she had ever tasted. And at that very moment, in the heat of that cave, it was delicious. "Ah!" she let out when she finished it, her body cooled down at once.

"Hey, I'd like some water as well," pointed out Scorpius, licking his lips.

Gurdyroot eyed him warily, but Lily added a, "Please," to Scorpius' request and the elf capitulated with a smile.

"Water for the thief," he said lightly, handing Scorpius a glass as well.

"I'm not a thief," Scorpius replied, already gulping down the water. "Thank you, by the way…" he mumbled when he handed the glass back.

Lily did the same and Gurdyroot made them disappear.

"Okay," said Scorpius, "if you could be so nice as to move now, we've a flower to retrieve and my future brother-in-law to save."

The elf shook his head. "Gurdyroot is sorry," he said, "but Gurdyroot can't move."

Lily furrowed her brow. "Are you our third task?" she asked softly.

"Oh, Gurdyroot is no task," he replied, "Gurdyroot is the keeper of the Golden Orchid. The Maestro himself said that this was Gurdyroot's task." He nodded eagerly. "Yes, to guard and admonish thieves of the perils of the Orchid. And Gurdyroot has been the keeper for fifty years and he has never let anyone take the Orchid."

"Oh, how many people have tried to get to it?" asked Lily.

The elf shook his head. "None," he replied. "The Order of Dìthean knows how to keep their secrets secret and the Golden Orchid has never been found before."

"So, basically you haven't done anything in fifty years, right?" asked Scorpius, raising a questioning eyebrow at him.

Gurdyroot glared at him. "Gurdyroot is always present when the Maestro comes to take the pistils for a new Orchid or when he brings the new Orchid in."

Lily nodded in understanding. "And what do you have to admonish us about?" she asked softly.

The elf took a deep breath, his chest heaving at the question as if he had waited all his life to reply to it. "The Golden Orchid is a gift to the world," he declared, "just like Princess Michaela gifted the Green Man with it, that same night the world was presented with the flower. The Order of Dìthean is the keeper of the flower, and the first Maestro had decided that only who is pure and without fear nor greed can use the flower."

"Well," said Scorpius, "we're here, so we're most definitely pure and without fear…"

"How do we prove ourselves without greed?" asked Lily softly.

Gurdyroot opened his arms. "Gurdyroot has enough ingredients for every potion in the world here," he told them, "Gurdyroot will make a potion each and you'll leave the Orchid here with Gurdyroot, and Milady and the thief will be on their way."

Lily swallowed. Ah, that would have been perfect. She could have asked for some Morning Dew and a petal of the Orchid and then everything would have been all right. She would remember how it was when she was little, when her mum read fairytales to her and when Albus pushed her off his bed on Christmas morning or when Dad took her to Honeydukes. And the next time she saw her mother and her father she would tell them, and Mum would cry in happiness and Dad too.

But… what if they brought the Golden Orchid back and it was missing a petal? What would they do to Albus? Those people were evil and crazy, and – Lily knew it well – crazy and evil people didn't stop in front of anything to obtain what they wanted.

"Right," said Scorpius, snapping her out of her reverie, "we need a petal and two drops of Morning Dew."

Gurdyroot's eyes widened. "Ah, a Memory Charm," he said, "did the thief forget why he is a thief?"

"It's not for me," growled Scorpius, "it's for—"

"We can't," said Lily urgently, turning to look at Scorpius and grasping the front of his uniform, "we can't take a petal. What if… what if they kill Al because a petal is missing? We can't…"

Scorpius bit his bottom lip as he grasped her upper arm. "Lily," he murmured, "if they take the Orchid with them we'll never have another chance to collect a petal for you."

She lowered her eyes. She knew, and the thought made her want to cry. But the thought of taking a petal and remembering all her childhood and then walk out of there and stare as Albus was killed because of her greed made her sick. "I don't care," she murmured back, "I can survive without memories, but Al… no, Scorpius, I'd die if Al was killed because of me."

He looked torn. He surely would have gone mad with pain if Albus was killed, but at the same time he seemed to really want her to regain her memories, especially now when they were so close and everything was crumbling under their feet once more.

"I understand," he whispered dejectedly. He cupped her cheeks and kissed her softly on her lips and Lily tried to push back the tears. "You're a good person, Lily."

"Milady is without greed," beamed the house-elf. "Milady is pretty and valiant and pure and without greed."

"I know," whispered Scorpius against her lips.

Lily smiled and kissed his back, before tilting her head back. "Shall we go?" she asked softly.

Scorpius nodded. "Let's go," he agreed, turning towards the Orchid. "We need the flower," he informed the elf.

The house-elf shook his head vehemently. "The Golden Orchid can't go anywhere," he told them. "The Golden Orchid can only be taken by the Order."

Lily's heart sped up in her chest. "What? No, no, we need it," she pleaded, kneeling in front of Gurdyroot, "we need it for my brother. He is held captive in the cave, they… they'll release him only if we bring back the flower."

The elf grasped his tea towel and started to fidget with it, shifting his weight from a leg to the other. "The Golden Orchid can't go past the seal," he squealed, "the Maestro put up wards. The Golden Orchid can't go past the seal!"

"What seal?" asked Scorpius.

The elf looked up at him. "The seal of the Order," he replied, "the seal on the column."

"It's a flower, isn't it? A Rose, right? I've seen it on the column closest to the wall, right?"

Gurdyroot nodded eagerly.

"And what happens if the Orchid goes past the seal?" asked Lily, eyes wide with apprehension.

"Terrible things," whispered the elf.

Lily swallowed as she looked up at Scorpius.

"Okay," said Scorpius, "okay. We'll bring the Orchid to them and tell them not to bring it past the column. They are evil and greedy, but hopefully they are not stupid."

"And what if they are stupid?" asked Lily.

"Well, it's going to be on them," he replied, "it's not going to be our fault. I hope the Orchid will recognise that."

"It's a flower," pointed out Lily.

"A magic flower," sentenced Scorpius, before turning towards the elf. "We need the Orchid."

Gurdyroot stepped aside. "Gurdyroot had admonished the thief about the perils of the Golden Orchid," he said with a bow, "Gurdyroot hopes that the humans are not stupid."

"I hope that too," muttered Scorpius as he stretched his arms and closed his fingers around the golden flower pot. "It's nice and cold," he murmured, "and bloody heavy…" He had to use both arms to move it off the shelf and finally take it with him. "A golden pot, really? A freaking golden pot…"

"I'll help you," offered Lily, but he probably felt those simple words as a threat to his masculinity because he jerked the pot away from her hands. "No need to, Lily," he told her, "it's too heavy for you."

She smiled condescendingly and looked back at the elf. "Thank you for the water, Mister Gurdyroot," she told him, "and for warning us about the seal."

The elf blushed dark brown. "You're welcome, Milady," he replied. "Gurdyroot wishes Milady to find her lost memories again."

"Thank you," she told him once more, "how do we get back to the wall?"

"Oh," replied the elf, "Milady and the thief walk straight back from where they came from, and they don't worry about the wall, they walk straight back into it."

Lily nodded as she looked at Scorpius. "Like going to Platform 9 ¾," she told him.

"Just like that," murmured Scorpius back. "Let's go."

She nodded again, before hugging the house-elf and placing a kiss on the top of his head.

"Oh, Milady," beamed Gurdyroot, "Gurdyroot will never wash his face again."

"Hey, quit wooing my fiancée, if it's not too much of a hustle, please," grunted Scorpius.

Gurdyroot retorted something about him being a thief and all, but Lily was already focusing on the way back and on Albus, and deep in her heart she just hoped that his brother was still alive.

oooOOOooo

The golden flower pot in Scorpius' hands was exceptionally heavy. He imagined that being another sort of task. Only who is incredibly strong can take away the flower, or something like that. Luckily, he was incredibly strong, no doubt there. And even if it was not the time, he hoped that Lily saw the flexing of his muscles under his uniform. Even if she really didn't need to see them at all, she had agreed to marry him already, he could develop a bit of a Butterbeer belly now and let himself go, and still have the girl of his dreams forever at his side.

But that was really not the time for those thoughts. They were walking back towards the wall, back towards where Albus was kept by those barbarians who wouldn't stop in front of anything to get what they wanted. They needed to devise a plan to sneak out of there the moment those people were focusing on the Orchid.

"Lily," he called her.

"What? Is it too heavy? Shall I carry it a bit?" she asked anxiously.

"No, no, no," he replied almost sulkily, "stop asking, I'm not letting you carry this all the way to the wall. You'll ruin your back."

She beamed at him and he smiled back at her.

"Now," he said as they walked past the mirror, "we must do this the Auror way, okay?"

She nodded eagerly. "Good Auror, bad Auror? I'll be the bad Auror!" she announced triumphantly.

"Great, but no," he chuckled. "Listen, we will exchange the Orchid with Albus. You'll take Albus and I'll pass the flower pot, okay? The moment they get the Orchid, you have to have Albus in your arms. We can't risk them to play any tricks, they are evil remember?"

She nodded again, seriously this time. "I know," she replied.

"Good," he told her. They walked in silence through the dark room with the now innocuous mirror, both he and Lily didn't cast a sight at it, still too shaken by the earlier events that had occurred in that room. Their hidden fears were probably the scariest things they had to face in their whole lives.

Soon they were walking through the passage and back to the room located on this side of the wall.

"Walk straight through it," murmured Scorpius. "Just like at King's Cross."

Lily squeezed his forearm. "Just like that," she replied. She stood on tiptoes and kissed him quickly on his lips before turning towards the wall again.

"On the count of three," he said. "One."

"Two," whispered Lily.

"Three."

They walked forward as if the wall in front of them was not there. They walked forward as if that was the first of September and they were just a pair of students going to get the train. They walked forward and the wall disappeared around them just as they went through it.

Suddenly there was light and there were voices and there were people.

Scorpius had to blink a couple of time to put the whole scene into focus, but when he did he found that all eyes were trained over them.

"Al!" exclaimed Lily, horror in her voice.

Scorpius tried to look for him and he was horrified as well to find him tied up and with a face covered in bruises and blood.

"What the hell," he shouted. "Al, are you alright?"

"All good," he slurred a little, his voice nasal. "Jusd had a bid of a gonfrondation wid Whiddle here."

Lily brought her hands to her mouth, while Scorpius gritted his teeth.

"Bring the Orchid," shouted Mrs Toots excitedly, "bring it here and we'll give you your friend."

Scorpius shook his head. "No," he replied tersely, "we exchange them at the same time."

Mrs Toots' nostrils flared and Scorpius could see the motion even from the other side of the cave. "Very well," she said tightly, "come here and we'll exchange them."

"We'll meet in the middle," hissed Scorpius.

Mr Whittle grabbed Albus' arm and pushed his wand under his chin. "Our patience has boundaries," he snarled, "bring the Orchid or he'll die."

Lily gasped next to him, her hand going to his arm to squeeze him almost painfully.

Scorpius swallowed. "Kill him," he shouted back, "and the Orchid goes back behind the wall."

Mr Whittle gritted his teeth, ready to bark something back at them, but Mrs Toots placed a hand on his shoulder and he pushed back any retort he might have had for them. "Alright, Auror," she said, "you take a step, and we'll take a step."

Scorpius nodded jerkily. "Let's go," he murmured to Lily, "stay behind me—no! Lily, behind me!" He wanted to stretch a hand and push her back, but he couldn't carry the flower with only one arm. Lily was standing next to him, exposed to any kind of spell they might have sent her way. "Lily," he called her again, and again she just ignored him.

He looked as half a dozen people took a step forward from the group.

"Hey," snapped Scorpius, "just you and Albus."

Mrs Toots glared at him, but raised her hand to stop the people at her back. "And Pat," she said, "it's only fair, two of you and two of us."

"Alright," Scorpius gritted through his teeth.

One step at a time, they took one step and the other three took another step, small ones, both sides wanting to move as little as possible from their positions. Toots was pushing Albus forward and Lily's brother seemed to wince with every step he took. Scorpius could only guess how many of his bones were broken; surely a couple of ribs, hopefully none in his legs since he seemed he could walk properly, his nose was a mess though.

They stopped a few feet from each other.

"Beautiful," murmured Mrs Toots, entranced by the Orchid. "It's beautiful."

"The same cannot be said about my Auror partner," hissed Scorpius.

"I'd say we improved his appearance," sniggered Mr Whittle, slapping Albus' cheek and making him whimper.

"Hey! Don't touch him!" cried his fiancée. There was a sudden burst of magic coming from Lily, Scorpius could feel the heat rising abruptly near his arm, and if there had been something that could have been thrown she would surely have hit them already and the three of them would have been fleeing that place. But the cave was empty and the only thing that happened was that the columns creaked slightly and her hair stood a bit around her head.

"Lily," whispered Scorpius. "Don't worry."

She didn't reply, but he could almost hear the gritting of her teeth.

"Move forward and give us the Orchid," said Mrs Toots, stretching a hand towards them.

"Bring us Albus and untie him," snapped Scorpius, "Lily will take him."

Mrs Toots nodded curtly before pushing Albus forth. Mr Whittle's hand was grasping his arm to the point where Scorpius could see her knuckles becoming white with the straining, her other instead waved her wand in front of herself to cast a Counter Spell on his arms.

"You alright there, Al?" asked Scorpius as they got closer.

"Been bedder," replied Albus, weakly shrugging a shoulder and massaging his wrists.

Scorpius nodded. "Lily," he murmured, "grab him."

She stretched a hand towards him and placed her little fingers on his arm, a small, reassuring smile stretching her lips at the contact. Scorpius took a deep breath as he stretched his arms in front of him.

"It's heavy," he told Mrs Toots as her fingers curled around the shape of the pot.

"I'm strong enough," she let him know with a sneer. "And I'll be even stronger once I've got that flower." She narrowed her eyes and said, "Now!"

Mr Whittle pushed Albus forward and he let out a surprised groan as he fell on Lily and they tumbled on the floor together. Scorpius let the pot go and Mrs Toots closed her arms about it, pulling it to her chest. "Pat, help me," she grunted, "it's heavy."

Scorpius knelt next to Albus and Lily. "Al, are you alright?" he asked for the third time. "Bloody hell, you are a mess."

Lily was sobbing and hugging him and kissing him and caressing his face, her nose and fingers blushing red with her brother's blood.

"Id's good do see you doo," he murmured as he once again rubbed his wrists where they had been tied until a few minutes before. It must have been a powerful spell because his hands were purple and swelled.

"It's mine," said Mrs Toots, "finally, the Golden Orchid is mine!"

"Hey," snapped Scorpius as he helped Albus to his feet. "You can't take it past the Order's seal."

"What are you talking about?" asked Mr Whittle while Mrs Toots was already dragging it back to the crowd of people.

"You can't take the Orchid out of here," he repeated, wrapping an arm around Albus' middle. The dark haired Auror leaned against his shoulder and against Lily's. "There are terrible consequences for whoever takes the Orchid past the seal of the Order."

"What seal?" asked Mr Whittle.

"It's on that column," snapped Lily dryly, nodding towards the column closest to the crowd of people. "Don't bring it past that point."

Mr Whittle had the decency to look at least a bit upset as he turned to stare at Mrs Toots dragging the pot away.

"Aunt Daisy," he called her, "we can't bring it out. Did you hear? We can't—"

"Shut up, Pat," snarled the woman, "they're just trying to scare us."

"No, we're not," interjected Scorpius sharply. "We're most definitely not." He grasped Albus' hand over his shoulder and walked forward. "Can you walk?" he asked him softly. "We need to reach the stairs and climb them up."

"I'm an Auror," he said feebly, "I'll manage."

"Oh, Al!" whispered Lily. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!"

"Id's alrighd, Lils," murmured Albus. "You were good. Loog ad you dwo, finding de bloody Orjid all alone…"

"We're a good team," agreed Scorpius, dragging him forward. He glanced at the group of people and saw that they were carrying the Orchid all together now towards the columns that led back to the stairs. "Bloody hell," he muttered, "we need to hurry."

Lily too looked at them. "They really are stupid," she said dryly.

"Why? Whad's gonna habben?" asked Albus, jerkily turning his head towards Mrs Toots.

"Something terrible," murmured Scorpius. "We don't know what, but nothing good. Let's go." He sped up, but Albus was whimpering at his side and he kept stumbling on his feet.

"Scorpius, he can't," whined Lily. "He's in pain. He can't run."

Scorpius' lips pressed into a thin line as he glanced at Mrs Toots. "We need to get out of here," he urged them.

"Go," slurred Albus, "go widhoud me. I gan't run. Save yourselves…"

"Don't be ridiculous," muttered Scorpius, dragging him forth, "you and your stupid Gryffindor chivalry. We'll get you out of here with us."

Albus shook his head. "You and your…" His words trailed away, swallowed by what seemed the rumble of a thunder.

Scorpius' eyes darted towards the group of people, they were running and screaming and… and the Orchid was now on the other side of the column. Discarded on the floor as people looked around themselves in panic.

"Great," hissed Scorpius, "now we really need to hurry, guys."

He took a step forward, but there was another rumble and the whole cave was shaken by what seemed an earthquake. Albus slipped, falling to the floor and dragging Lily with him as Scorpius failed to keep them upright.

"Are you okay?" he cried. "Lily, are you okay?"

She tried to reply, but the column with the seal just fell down with a crashing sound, opening a deep crack on the floor. "Ah!" she screamed instead.

"Bloody hell," muttered Scorpius. "Let's go!" He stood up and helped Albus to his feet again, before bending next to him and pushing him over his shoulder. Albus cried out when his ribs came into contact with Scorpius' shoulder, but that was a small price to pay for his life. They had to reach the exit of the cave before they were crashed to death and that was the only way they could do it.

"Scorpius!" cried Lily.

"Come on!" he urged her. "Lily, just go, we'll be right—"

"No! I'm not going to leave you!"

He gritted his teeth. "Just go, Lily! Merlin, you're stubborn!"

There was another tremor and the crack under the column grew bigger as the floor opened before them.

"Jump!" cried Scorpius as he did just that. He landed on the other side and fell to the floor with Albus. Lily just landed a second later next to them, her face scared beyond words as she turned her head to look at the hole that had opened on the floor. Scorpius couldn't see the bottom of it.

"We've got to go, we've got to—"

"Ah!" cried Mrs Toots from a place dangerously close to them. "The Orchid! Save the Orchid!"

Scorpius had just the time to whip his head to see the Golden Orchid fall over the edge of the crack that had opened and Mrs Toots' throwing herself after it.

"Shite," muttered Scorpius, hurling behind her and trying to catch her hand to save her.

He slid on the uneven floor as Mrs Toots' heavy body dragged him towards the hole. He found himself perched on the edge, his sweaty hands around Mrs Toots' right wrist as she stretched her other arm to try to reach the Orchid. The flower pot, tipped over to one side, was resting on a rock a few feet under them. She wouldn't have been able to reach it even if she hadn't been that short.

"Summon it!" snapped Scorpius, trying hard not to let her go.

But her wand was probably lost somewhere, so she just stretched her hand a bit more, her fingers straining to reach it.

"Use your wand!"

But she wasn't listening to him. She was pushing her foot against the wall of the crack to find some leverage to get to the flower, and the more she tried the more he could feel her arm slipping through his fingers.

"Give me your other hand," he cried at her, "give me your other hand!"

"I'm almost there," she replied, voice strained as well. "Almost…"

"I can't," shouted Scorpius, "you're gonna fall! Give me your other hand."

But no, it was as if she couldn't care for anything but the Orchid. As if her greed was playing her a terrible trick. A terrible trick indeed. She pushed herself off the wall a bit more and Scorpius felt the last inches of her hand slipping through his own. He perched himself over the edge and tried to catch her again, but she just fell down and didn't even cry as she hit her head against a rock and blood splattered everywhere. A moment later, her eyes turned to glass and she disappeared into the darkness.

Scorpius, on the other hand, cried as he fell over the edge and he was about to follow Mrs Toots with his untimely death if it wasn't for the little hands that closed over his wrist, very much like he had done with Mrs Toots.

He wanted to look up to see who his saviour was, but his eyes were glued to the Orchid. It was there, now as he stared at it from that height, it looked so close. So close that if he stretched his arm he could almost grab it.

"Scorpius, no!" cried Lily from above him.

"Almost there," he told her as if he was in a dream.

"No! Scorpius!" she cried again. "I can't hold you! Scorpius! Give me your other hand! Please!"

He heard her, but her words were so far away and the meaning even more so. All that mattered was the flower.

"Scorpius, no! Leave it!" She was crying now and he didn't know why.

"I'm almost there," he told her as another rumble shook the earth, "almost there, Lily, for you… just for you, my love…"

"Scorpius! I don't want it! I don't want it! Leave it! Give me your hand, please, Scorpius!"

Scorpius bit his bottom lip. "But it's for you, Lily…" He pushed his foot on the wall, just like Mrs Toots had done before him.

"I don't want it, Scorpius! I want you! I don't care for the memories! I don't care for them if you're going to die! Scorpius, please! We need to go! Give me your hand!" she cried, her hands closing more forcefully around his fingers. Wasn't she grasping his wrist a few seconds a ago?

"Lily…"

"Scorpius, I can't hold you," she sobbed, "please, give me your other hand! It's not worth it… Please… don't leave me… I love you… If you die, I'll… I'll…"

His arm fell to his side. She was right. She was right! It wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth his life. Merlin, what was he doing? He couldn't reach it. He was going to die and never reach the Orchid. It was a useless act. He raised his head to look at Lily, she was trying to grasp his hand with all her forces, trying hard not to make him fall.

Merlin, what was he doing? What was she doing? He was too heavy for her, he was going to fall and drag her down with him. "Lily, let me go," he told her, his free hand trying to find a rock to which hang on for a while. "Let me go, I'm too heavy, I'm going to drag you with me."

"I'll never, never let you go," she told him, eyes filled with tears. "Never, Scorpius, give me your other hand!"

"No! You're going to die, if you don't let me go. You're going to fall down with me! Let me go!"

"No! Ah! Nooooo! Scorpius!"

He could feel his sweaty hand sliding through her fingers and he couldn't decide if he wanted to look at her as he died or not. He swallowed and cried, "I love you," as his fingertips slid through her hand, then he closed his eyes and waited for his death to come.

Author's Notes: Oh my... this is such an evil cliffhanger! Muhahaha!