"I want your flowers like babies want God's love
Or maybe as sure as tomorrow will come"

For a brief moment she felt like she was dreaming again. She felt her father's strong arms enfold her and she didn't want to open her eyes, fearing it would all disappear. It wasn't until she heard his deep, husky voice in her ear. He was there; it wasn't a dream at all. "Dad? Dad, is that you?" Her eyes flickered open and she saw the top of his head, his hair pulled back and she smelled his scent, his masculine, soap sent.

"Yes, yes Ella it's me," he murmured, pulling back from her slowly to get a better look at her. There were large tears forming in his gray eyes and a small smile played on his lips. She felt a sob rise in her throat and she felt a surge of energy.

"I-I can't believe it's really you!" she exclaimed through sobs. He pulled her into his arms again and this time she wrapped hers around his neck, not wanting to let go. She was free; she wouldn't ever have to go back.

"Let's get you home dearest," Sirius whispered, sliding one of his arms under her legs and the other supporting her back. He pulled her out into the cool air, the tiny, delicate snowflakes fluttering down and catching in her eyelashes. Remus and James hurried to her side, matching grins stretched across their faces. Remus got to her first, leaning down to give her a soft kiss on her cheek. James followed close behind kissing her on the top of her curly head.

"You gave us quite a scare," James said, chuckling nervously. Remus' smile only grew, apparently having gone mute.

"I'm so happy to see you," Ella returned hoarsely, nestling more closely against Sirius' chest. Her eyes panned the station, searching for Andrew and Mr. O'Brien. Her eyes fell on the fallen form of Martin first. Fear gripped her chest. She gasped and tried to scramble from Sirius' arms. Startled, he lowered her down to the ground. In her hurry to get to him, she momentarily forgot her handicap and attempted to take a step, her jelly legs buckling under her.

"Ella. . ." Sirius trailed off, trying to help her to her feet.

"What happened to Mr. O'Brien?" she asked, supporting herself on her arms. She looked each wizard in the face, trying to understand.

"It was Greyback," Remus said finally. "He was sent to get you and the boy-"

"Andrew," Ella corrected automatically.

"Right, well, he found you and I think he might have bit, um, what's his name?"

"Mr. O'Brien," Ella said softly. "Martin O'Brien."

"Right. . ."

Ella looked horrified. "But, it's not the full moon is it? Nothing will happen to him." Her gaze didn't leave the old man who had yet to wake up.

"Well, it doesn't happen very often," Remus said uncertainly. "We should take him to St. Mungo's and they'll deal with him there."

"We need to get you there anyway," Sirius stated sternly, picking up Ella again. Ella's arm wrapped around his neck again but she was still gazing at Mr. O'Brien.

"I certainly hope he's okay. Where's Andrew? He's not hurt is he?"

"No, he's fine," Sirius answered quickly. "He's right over there." He turned so she could see him. Her pale face split into a smile.

"Come on Andrew; they won't bite," she called over to him. Hesitantly, the lanky nineteen-year-old slunk over.

"We should get him to St. Mungo's too it seems," James mused. A small pop interrupted them and Dumbledore appeared a triumphant grin on his old face.

"He's being held at Azkaban at this very moment. Now Ella, aren't you a sight for sore eyes m'dear. And who is this fine young gentleman? I seem to remember a boy who looks quite a bit like you, forever holed up in the library." Andrew blushed. He looked like he was ready to collapse.

"Yes sir, I did seem to gravitate toward the library," Andrew replied gently.

"It's good to see you professor," Ella stated dreamily. The adrenaline which had entered her upon seeing her father again was quickly fading. Sleep was coming on quickly.

"Sir," Andrew began, his eyes studying Ella intently. "Ella won't stay awake for very long. You'd best get her to St. Mungo's." Sirius nodded, vowing to have a nice long chat with the boy as soon as he had his daughter situated.

"Don't worry Sirius," Dumbledore began. "I'll handle the men in the petrol station. You just focus on Ella." Sirius nodded and, with a pop, he and Ella had apparated within the sterile, white walls of St. Mungo's hospital. Remus appeared a second later, a hand gripped tightly around Andrew's elbow. James came soon after, Martin O'Brien in tow. A sharp looking healer marched over to them, her arms folded over her bulging chest.

"And what do we have here?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

"This is my daughter, Vela Black. She's been given a poison by Voldemort. This boy came with her, he's been held by the Death Eaters for over five months and the man, I think it's O'Brien, has been bitten by Fenrir Greyback. Obviously we'll need some immediate attention." The healer was taken aback for a moment but only a moment.

"Right, follow me." Her boots clicked noisily down the hall.

An hour later, Sirius was sitting in a chair beside Ella's bed, clutching her small, bony hand in his. Remus had gone to the Potter's to bring Leo and James had gone to the Ministry to get some Aurors to patrol the hospital. Dumbledore was outside the room talking with the healers. She was in bad shape; he could see that; he had expected it. The girl that was sitting in front of him, however, was in worse shape than he could have imagined. Andrew had explained everything before he'd fallen asleep himself in the bed beside Ella's. Sirius couldn't imagine what she must have been like before the O'Briens cleaned her up. Her once oval face was now sunken and bruised. Indeed, her whole body was covered in angry welts, bruises and cuts. But the thing that bothered him the most was how shrunken and weak she appeared. He would never forget the sight of her sinking to the ground at the petrol station.

The healers had explained to him later that she was basically paralyzed from the waist down. She was sleeping now, her breathing coming in sharp gasps and her body occasionally revolting in strong spasms. With a shaking hand, Sirius traced her chin. At least, he told himself, she was here and safe. He would make her safe. Dumbledore came in a moment later, his face grave and serious.

"They can't figure out what they've poisoned Ella with," he said in a low, rumbling voice. "They've asked if there's a potion expert who owes you a favor." Sirius' head fell into his hand. No, he did not have a potion expert who owed him a favor. "You've got to ask him Sirius, for Ella's sake." Sirius nodded, resigned to his fate.

"Would you sit with her for a bit? I'll go use to the fireplace. He'll be at Hogwarts right?" Dumbledore nodded and Sirius stood. Each step seemed to bring him interminable grief as if he were walking toward his death. He didn't want to ask Severus Snape for a favor. He didn't want to be indebted to his oily-haired nemesis. The very thought of it made him shiver but it was for Ella, his Ella. His baby was dieing slowly on a hospital bed and he'd be damned if he let his stupid pride get in the way of her health. A long row of fireplaces, separated by tall gray partitions, ran across a whole wall. He walked up to the first one and pulled out five Knuts and slipped them one by one into the small slot outside of the cubicle.

A mechanized voice echoed grainily from a rusty speaker. "Thank you for your service, step inside and make your call; the fire operator will give you a three minute warning. You have paid for ten minutes." With a click, the voice went off and Sirius stepped up to the fire. After he'd sat down in the squat, brown, moldy chair the fireplace filled with bright emerald flames.

"Severus Snape, Potion Master's Office, Hogwarts," he stated clearly. Snape's office immediately swam into view. The vile creature was sitting at his desk, shuffling through a large stack of paper. The oily git looked up at the fireplace and his face split into a grimace.

"What do you want Black?" he spat, not putting down his quill.

"I need to ask you for a favor," Sirius stated sullenly, looking down at his hands.

"You want a favor? Sirius Black wants a favor from me? Well, I'll give you an answer Black, yes even before you ask. The answer is no. I wouldn't do a favor for you if my very life depended on it. I wouldn't sink to that level-"

"Listen Snape, if it were for me I would never have asked you. The thing is, the thing is, it's not for me. It's for Ella," Sirius interrupted. It might have been wishful thinking but Sirius thought he saw the slightest change in the professor.

"So you've got her then?"

"Yes, and, well the Healers can't seem to figure out what Voldemort's been poisoning her with. If you could just come and have a look at her, I'd be in your debt. Please, she liked you." Even as he spoke the words he felt hot bile rise in his throat. He'd never been too keen on Ella's misplaced respect and platonic affection for Professor Snape.

"I liked her too, the only NEWT student I had that knew a god damn thing. She was hard not to like, Vela. . ." Snape trailed off, not talking to Sirius any longer.

"Will you then? It really is urgent. She's lost all feeling from the waist down, can't walk or even stand. She falls asleep after only a few minutes awake." Sirius tried to hide his weakness, knowing full well it would just come back to haunt him. Snape seemed to think about it for a fraction of a second before nodding his head slowly.

"I'll floo over there in a minute; I just need to gather up a few things first. Oh, and Black, this is not for you."

"I know," Sirius hastened, biting back a snide remark. Snape left his office and Sirius pulled back from the fire. He had a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach but he knew he had done what was best. He walked back toward Ella's room to wait for Snape. Hopefully he would be able to make heads or tails of the situation.

As he was walking, he caught up with Harry, Lily, Leo, and Remus. Leo was pale and shaking but seemingly happy. Lily looked nearly frantic. Remus looked drawn but elated, and Harry looked uneasy. Sirius smiled inwardly; Harry had an almost pathological fear of hospitals. "Sirius! What did the Healers say? I've been absolutely frantic," Lily exclaimed.

"They don't really know what's wrong. It's some potion but we knew that before. I just flooed Snape; he'll be here momentarily.

"Can we see her?" Leo asked faintly.

"Sure, yeah, definitely," Sirius answered, cuffing his son on the shoulder. The five-some marched on to the room. Dumbledore was examining Ella, passing his wand over her slowly, his brow furrowed intently. James was in the corner, conversing in a low voice with a couple Aurors. Andrew was sitting up in his bed, gazing at Ella.

"Aw, Sirius, will he be here soon?" Dumbledore asked. Sirius could only nod. "That's good, very good. A Healer came by to say they've patched up Martin O'Brien. His wife will be here shortly. He'll carry some residual wolf-ish qualities but nothing greater than a desire for very rare meat."

"Ella will be glad to hear it," Remus said, smiling.

"I'm sure she will. . .when she wakes up," Sirius trailed off.

"Um, I was wondering if maybe there was any way I could contact my father," Andrew asked tentatively. Sirius jumped.

"Yes, of course. Maybe Harry could lead you to the fires?" Harry nodded quickly, eyeing Ella with apprehension. Andrew smiled appreciatively and slid out of his bed and followed Harry out the door. After Harry and Andrew had disappeared, James came up, the three Aurors followed.

"Sirius, I've put Shacklebolt, Dawlish, and Savage in charge of patrol." James put his arm around his wife and gestured to the three Aurors with a jerk of his head. Sirius nodded.

"Good," Sirius answered softly.

Meanwhile, Harry and Andrew were making a slow, silent journey toward the fires. That is, it was silent until Harry was sure they were out of earshot of the inhabitants of Ella's room. "So," he began, trying to keep the venom from his voice. "Are you and Ella, you know. . ." he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence without losing his breakfast. Andrew shrugged lamely.

"I love her. I don't know how she feels."

"Well, you love her huh? Let's get a few things straight," Harry spoke authoritatively, continuing to look foreword. "If you hurt her in any way, make her suffer in any capacity, I'll personally castrate you." Andrew nearly choked. He certainly hadn't expected that sentence. He, for one, was Harry's elder, at least by a year. For another, he had just escaped Lord Voldemort's clutches. "If I hear you've done anything. . .impure with her you'll have me to answer to. She's a special person and it's my job to look out for her."

"I know she's special!" Andrew exclaimed, his voice at least an octave higher than usual. "I'd never do anything to hurt her."

"I hope for your sake that's true. Here we are. You just step in there and I'll put in the Knuts." Andrew, quite happy to get away from Harry, stepped into the booth without a second thought.

"Do you know anything about the potion?" Snape asked, studying Ella's Healer chart, running his finger down the paper slowly.

"Only what Andrew's told me about the side-effects," Sirius answered through gritted teeth.

"That and, well, after Voldemort gave her the potion, he said it would kill her slowly, like knives "he was told"," Remus put in.

"Andrew said she didn't wake up for days after it was first administered. After he got some food in her, she began to have brief periods of alertness but she quickly fell asleep again."

Snape nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off the chart. "I need to question her," he murmured, looking to Professor Dumbledore who nodded. With a flick of his wand, he woke Ella up with a slight electric shock. She jumped and looked around the room, her eyes finally falling on Professor Snape.

"Professor," she began, pushing herself up weakly against her pillows and smiling brightly.

"Ms. Black, how are you feeling?"

"Alright I suppose, a bit better than before," she replied.

"I'm here to find out all I can about what You Know Who gave you, what made you so sick. What can you tell me about it?"

"Well, he put it in tea so it is obviously soluble and is not affected by heating or the addition of other "flavors" is suppose you could call them. It felt like knives stabbing my insides on the way down and the sharp, stabbing feeling continued until I passed out. When I woke days later the sharp pain had faded to a dull ache. It's odd; the first thing that went was the feeling in my legs. I can feel it, coursing through my veins, it feels. . .black," she finished lamely, knowing the description was sub-par. It felt "black"? What was that supposed to mean? It took everything in her to stay calm and to speak about her poison as she would any other in Potions. Snape smiled weakly.

"Thank you. Has anything else gone?"

"No, I mean I don't think so. I just feel very weak, tired."

"Do you mind if I run a test?" Ella shook her head. He touched the tip of his wand to her stomach. Words shot up from her, spelling out what could only be potions ingredients. The words didn't disappear immediately and Snape quickly copied them down on a scrap of parchment from his pocket. Beside each ingredient was a measurement. The Potions Master studied the list.

"Well?" Dumbledore probed.

"It's not a potion I've heard of, not one he's used in the past. My guess is that it's either very old and obscure or he's made it up himself. Let's hope it's not the latter. I'll be back as soon as I can find the answer."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Lily asked. Snape shook his head.

"Don't worry Ms. Black; I'll get to the bottom of this." He disappeared a second later leaving the group stunned and silent. Harry and Andrew appeared a moment later.

"Andrew!" Ella exclaimed. The room disappeared for him and he rushed to her side.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, bending down to kiss her temple. She smiled awkwardly.

"Okay, you?"

"Never been better. My dad's going to meet me at the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow."

"Good, I'm sure he missed you." Andrew could only smile. He felt a warmth sweep through him as he gazed at her sweet face, her sparkling eyes and tempting red lips. Before he could stop himself, he had bent down again for another kiss. This time, however, his lips seemed to gravitate toward her lips instead of her temple or cheek. Their lips met and there was an explosion of energy. For a second everything melted away, that is, until five pairs of very angry hands pulled him roughly away and he was face-to-face with a set of very irate wizards.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!"

A/N: Okay, I'm really, super duper sorry I've been so long updating and that I haven't read any from Lost in a long while. Our computer crashed and we had to buy a new one. This is the end of Fever Dreams, not the end of the larger story (don't worry). The next story: Making My Way Through the Dark will be a continuation. I hope to post the first chappie of that in the coming days. Thanks to all of you who reviewed! I won't leave you on tender hooks very long. REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!