"He's alive." Sarah smiled as more tears fell. "You stay here. I'm going to go get Dumbledore and whoever else I can find." Sarah nodded. She placed a hand on her stomach where she had been shot and felt the blood flow out.

"He didn't get you too did he?" came a voice from on the floor. Sarah looked down and saw Snape had opened his eyes and was trying to sit up.

"Dad," said Sarah softly. She dragged herself by her hands until she was next to him and collapsed on the ground, panting and rasping in pain. He pulled her into his arms and held her closely, thinking of all the gruesome things he would do to Bud once he laid his hands on him again. Sarah's pain was too much, and she struggled to remain conscious. And she was afraid she'd die right then and there. She reached over and grabbed his other hand and held it tightly in hers. He remembered the day when he held her for the first time and she grabbed onto his hand. The grip was still as tight, and her hands were still so small compared to his. Just then Professor Dumbledore, Professor Mcgonagall, Madame Pomfrey, and Malfoy all burst in.

Snape and Sarah were both rushed to St. Mungos. Snape's injury was minor and would heal quickly. The bullet that got Sarah, however, had gone into her spine, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.

"She won't walk again." said the healer sadly. Samantha gasped and Sarah groaned. The healer left and Samantha turned back to Sarah.

"Honey, I am so sorry. This is all my fault," she said.

"No mom, it isn't."

"Yes, I should have known what was going on."

"Mom, it's really my fault for not telling sooner. And this might not be that bad. I mean you can still do some cool stuff in a wheel chair. And dad's okay. Everything's fine." Samantha sighed and nodded. It was completely not normal for Sarah to seem so fine with things like this. It was almost a relief for Samantha.

"I guess so," she said, forcing a smile for her daughter's sake.

"Speaking of dad, you two are going to get remarried right?" Samantha frowned. Sarah's smile faded. "Right?" Samantha shook her head. Sarah snarled and shook her head. "I don't believe this."

"Honey," said Samantha softly. "It's a little soon, don't you think? And the divorce is settled. It's done."

"But you only divorced because of me. Now dad likes me. It should work now."

"And if it doesn't? Honey I don't want to go through all that again." Sarah looked at her angry.

"You aren't even going to try?"

"Your father and I discussed it, and we both think it would be better if we stayed like this."

"Mom, I am so sick of living without a dad. Now that I have one you're taking him away from me. You can't do that!"

"I'm sorry honey, but you have no say in this."

"No say? I'm the one who is hurting a lot more than you would think. What part of, 'I'm sick of living with no dad' did you not get? This is not the way a family is supposed to be."

"It isn't, which is why I'll try to find another man to marry so you will have a male influence in your life."

"I don't want another man! I want my dad! I want both of you together again. Our family is broken enough. Please don't make it any worse."

"I'm not trying to make it worse."

"Well what are we going to do all year? Switch me back and forth between houses?"

"That's the plan." Sarah rolled her eyes and glared at her.

"I can't believe you're my mother." She rolled over (as much as her body would allow) so she wasn't facing Samantha and would not look at her.

"Sarah. Sarah."

"Get out of here, mom."

"Sarah, please. Let's talk about this." Sarah rolled over and looked at her angrily.

"I'm through with talking to you. Now unless you change your mind, leave me alone." She turned over and did not respond when her mother tried to talk to her again. Samantha eventually gave up and left. She went down to Snape's room and sat down next to him. Snape saw her face and sighed.

"It didn't go over well with her did it?" he asked.

"No. She wants her father now more than anything."

"Can't say I blame her. I remember what it's like." He reached over and gave her hand a soft squeeze. "We can't stay like this. She's torn up enough. We need to get back together for her sake." Samantha shook her head.

"No," she said softly. "Sarah's a strong girl and can handle this. Besides, we can't force ourselves to do something we don't want to do just for her."

"Sometimes," said Snape. "That's exactly what being a family is about."

"Look, I'll try to find the right guy and get her a father again." Snape shook his head.

"It won't work. You could search the entire planet and no one will be able to replace her father. No one was able to replace mine."

"I don't expect anyone to. The point is, I'm not in love with you anymore, Severus. I can't remarry you like this. It's a dangerous spot for both of us." Snape listened and was more patient than Samantha had expected.

"I understand that, but what about Sarah?"

"Sarah, will just have to cope with it. And she will." Samantha handed him a peice of paper. "Here's a schedule of all of Sarah's breaks from school, like spring break. If it'll work out, maybe we can send her over to Hogwarts during that time." Snape nodded.

Sarah rolled back and forth in her wheel chair.

"This is great," she said happily. She spun it around and smiled.

"We figured it would be better for your health if we did this instead of electric. That way you can still get a workout." said Samantha. Sarah nodded at her. She was dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt, and black jeans. She also had the usual black nails, lips, and eye makeup. Her wheelchair was also black, much to her and her mother's amusement.

"Did you talk to dad?" Sarah asked, her eyes showing hopefulness.

"Yes."

"And?"

"Honey, I already told you. We aren't getting back together." Sarah groaned and burried her face in her hands. "Sarah, listen to me. Your father and I, we aren't in love anymore. We both think it will be better this way." Sarah waved it off.

"Right, mom. Whatever."

"I see you're moving again," said a cold voice. Sarah looked up and smiled.

"Dad," she said as she rolled over and hugged him. Snape was dressed in his usual black robes.

"Ready to go home?" he asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." she said brightly. She went home with her mother, while Snape returned to the school. Once they were inside Sarah rolled her way to the stairs then paused. "Uh, mom?" she asked. "How do I get to my room?"

"Oh," said Samantha. "I switched our bedrooms. It would be easier if you were downstairs, don't you think?"

"Yeah. Okay." She wheeled into what used to be her mom's room and looked around. Her mother had moved her bed, dresser, and everything in her closet downstairs. All Sarah had to do was a little decorating. She pulled out some posters that used to hang in her room and hung them up. Then she hung one of her favorite photos up that had been taken at Hogwarts. She was standing with Hermione, Ron, and Harry and smiling and waving. Sarah sighed. She was going to miss Hogwarts.

She moved into the living room, and was a little surprised to see a large swarm of owls sitting there. They all were carrying letters and a few had some parcels attached to their feet. Sarah looked at all of them and realized that they all came from Hogwarts. Neville sent her a sympathy letter and some photos taken at Hogwarts incase she missed it. Hermione sent her a large batch of homemade fudge and a letter. Ron sent her a bunch of sweets, and a black handmade sweater his mom had made her with a large red 'S' on it. Harry sent her a sympathy note and promised that the next time he saw her he would take her to Hogsmeade and buy her anything she wanted.

Sarah moved on to a larger envelope from all the teachers at Hogwarts. It was a sympathy note signed by all of them and enough cash (muggle kind) to pay off any doctor's bills and for frivolous shopping. Sarah smiled widely as she moved to the next letter. It was from Malfoy. Her heart froze. Already she had almost forgotten about how much he had done for her that day. How he had been the one who had warned her. She wondered how he was doing. Smiling, she opened it and read it.

Dear Sarah,

I just heard that you're going to be alright. That's great. I also heard though that you won't ever walk again. I can't help but feel that it's my fault since I didn't kill Bud when I had the chance. I'm really sorry and I hope that maybe you will walk again. Also keep an eye open. Bud wasn't caught that night and he's still out there. If you ever think he's threatening you again or you're in danger, tell someone.

Sincerely, Draco Malfoy

P.S. Be careful and I really am sorry.

Sarah wasn't sure how she felt about this. She felt bad that Malfoy thought it was all his fault, and she was terrified to know that Bud was still out there. Her mind never really thought of Bud the last few days. She had just assumed that he had been caught. She placed the letter in her jean pocket and rolled over to the TV and turned it on. There was nothing really good on. Just a bunch of soap operas and info mercials. She managed to find a news station. The headlines were pretty dumb too. There was a robbery at a jewelry store, a cat stuck in a tree nearby, some kid took the top off a fire hydrant, and finally a reminder for people to keep an eye open for Bud. Sarah flipped the channel when she saw his picture. She didn't even want to think of him at the moment.

She flipped the channel to some children's show. There was nothing else on so she decided to watch for fun. At the end of the show, the main character would read letters asking questions and answer them. There were ones like "Why should I share with my sister/brother? What are stars made of?" Then there was one that got her attention. A child had wrote in that her parents were getting a divorce and she thought it was her fault and her parents didn't love her anymore. Sarah's heart froze. The main character shook her head sadly and said, "Oh honey, I know it can be hard when parents do that. It was not your fault though. Parents decide these things and sometimes it's for the best. But they will never stop loving you. And sometimes they get back together, and sometimes they don't. And if they don't, it was never your fault. Just hold on sweety. You'll make it through. And if you're hurting, you can always tell your parents how you're feeling. They want to know...."

Tears flooded Sarah's eyes and she placed a hand over her mouth to muffle out the painful gasps coming from it. She turned off the TV and rolled away into her room where her mother wouldn't see her like this. The tears more painful than any she had ever shed. After a few minutes she pulled herself together and rolled back into the living room and retrieved a book she was reading.

(A/N: okay, this was the last major downer. Sorry, I kinda forgot about this part. Now it goes uphill. Oh, and the preceding as inspired by Mrs. Doubtfire. Yes, kind of cheesy, but oh well. )