Disclaimer: I don't own it...

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Chapter Sixteen: "You Showed Your True Colors"

The time Hope spent in the Gryffindor common room was too short for her. In the half hour Hope was there, she was shown the dormitories and common room, as well as meeting many of the Gryffindors. They all seemed friendly to Hope, although a few of them did have issues with her also being in their rival house.

Hope had time to explain how the points would work, and how she would sleep and eat at whichever table or dormitory she chose at the time. They asked her about flying lessons and offered to give her some after she returned from Diagon Alley, and she enthusiastically accepted.

She left with Hermione, who was on her way down to the library, and met Draco at the top of the stairs. He looked ready to start talking, but she raised her hand to stop him.

"She's not coming with us, she's just going to the library and I'm sure you know how to get to Severus' quarters from there, so just shut up and go along with it."

Draco closed his mouth and refrained from replying. He quietly walked with them down to the library and listened to their girl talk with a frown. When they reached the library, Draco was extremely grateful that he wouldn't have to listen to anymore descriptions of the Gryffindors.

Hope hugged Hermione quickly as Hermione turned to enter the library.

"I'll see you after I get back from flying lessons!" She called to the retreating girl.

"Okay, and I'll make sure to talk to Harry about being such a git around you all the time!"

Hope muttered something unintelligible before turning to Draco and motioning that they could continue on.

"Hope…listen. About earlier, I just wanted to…"

Hope cut him off. "You're not here to apologize or anything else. You are here to escort me down to Severus' quarters, so just shut up and do that."

Draco looked hurt and for a moment Hope felt sorry for him. She quickly brushed it off and followed him down the stairs to the dungeons. Once down there, he stopped in front of a portrait and said a password causing it to spring open. She followed him into the room and stood back in the corner while he went to speak with his newly adoptive father.

Severus was bottling a newly finished potion when he heard the door to his chambers open, signaling the arrival of his goddaughter. He put the potion down and stepped out to where Draco stopped him.

"She's in a right foul mood, just so you know. I haven't got a clue what's wrong with her, but watch what you say or she'll get even madder at you," Draco warned him, going back to the lab to finish the potion.

He rolled his eyes and walked out to meet his goddaughter, only to find her standing in a corner by the door.

"You are allowed to come in, you know," he explained to her, rather sarcastically.

"That's okay, I'd rather get this over and done with. I'm meeting the Gryffindor quidditch team for flying lessons after dinner, and I still have to go to Diagon Alley."

"We're going to talk first. Hope, why are you so upset with Draco and I?"

"No, I didn't come here to talk. If that's why you called me here, then you are wasting your time."

Severus sighed. "Hope, take a seat and please just listen to me."

"No! You listen to me! You've made it quite clear where your priorities lie and who they lie with. I was an idiot to think you actually cared about me after all that time in Voldemort's clutches! I was a fool, and you showed your true colors the other morning when you decided Draco was more important than a promise you made me. I know I'm nothing more than a pawn to you, something you need to win the war!" Hope's voice rang throughout the room before, but now had quieted down to a whisper. "I was stupid to think that you would actually want anything to do with me, to think that you actually wanted me to live with you."

Severus was shocked. "Hope..."

Hope shook her head before cutting him off again. "Don't. I know the truth now. You adopting Draco and broke your promise to me and showed your true colors in the process, proving he was more important. He has everything in the world; why couldn't he wait one day to take the only thing I had left? Why did he have to have you too? I've lost my parents; I had to watch them die! I still didn't give in, and what did I get in return?"

Hope had tears pouring down her face that broke the ice around Severus' heart. He walked toward her but she turned and ran out of his office. Severus decided against following after her and instead, went and sat down in the chair and put his head in his hands.

Draco was just finished bottling the potion when he heard Hope start yelling. He rushed out to the room where they were and stopped dead when he heard what she was whispering. He watched as she left and Severus hesitated going after her, and instead, sat down in the chair.

"What do we do now?" He asked quietly.

"Give her time. She's hurting. I should've thought about it before, but we had to get you away from the danger of your father. She feels like she's being used as a tool in the war. All we can do is show her it's the opposite."

"How do we do that?"

"Start tonight. I'll speak with the Gryffindors. She's not supposed to start staying in the dormitories until tomorrow. She'll stay down here. Somehow we have to show her we really do care."

Draco nodded and they became quiet as they pondered over how they could best handle the situation. Soon Severus stood up and left saying something about Diagon Alley and finding Hope.

After leaving Severus' quarters, Hope ran until she couldn't run anymore. She couldn't stop crying, and felt embarrassed for everything she had just said to her godfather.

She felt someone sit down next to her and she hurriedly tried to wipe her eyes when the hand reached up and grabbed them.

"I'm assuming the meeting with the Gryffindors didn't go well?" Dumbledore's kind voice spoke.

"Oh, that went fine. It was when Severus decided it was time that we 'had a talk' that everything went downhill."

"Hope, Severus is trying his best. He's new at all of this."

"Ugh, I'm not having this conversation again. Look, I need to find my way down to the doors. Could you help?"

Dumbledore nodded and stood up with Hope. He tried making conversation with her on the way to the entrance, but she had withdrawn inside herself. As they reached the doors, Dumbledore reached in his pocket and pulled something out.

"This is the key to your parent's vault in Gringotts. Severus and Minerva will be able to explain to you how it works, but you will find a lot there."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Hope said, taking the small silver key with sapphire's into her hand.

"Don't thank me for returning what is rightfully yours, my child. Ah! And there are your escorts. I will see you later," he said, his eyes twinkling in the direction behind her.

Hope turned and sighed. Severus was walking with Professor McGonagall.

"So much for hoping he'd get lost," she muttered under her breath, preparing herself for a long night.

Hope was apparated to Diagon Alley with Severus and stepped away from him and looked around.

"Wow," she whispered, taken aback from the vast amount of shops that appeared.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Severus said from behind her.

Hope didn't say anything but turned back around. "Umm, I need to go to Gringotts first."

McGonagall nodded and motioned for her to follow before walking off toward a tall stone building. Hope was a little wary of the goblins, but otherwise reached her parents vault without any problem. Inside the vault, besides a large amount of money, were pictures and another key.

"I don't understand. How can all this be mine?" Hope asked, turning to the two professors for an explanation.

"You're parents were very wealthy, Hope. They didn't boast about it, but as most pureblood families are, they had a family fortune past down through the line," McGonagall explained.

"What about everything else? The pictures, the jewelry, and the key? What does the key go to?"

"Your parent's manor. I'd be willing to take you there tomorrow if you'd like," Severus answered this time. "The rest is things that were put back because we didn't want to risk them being taken."

Hope nodded, tears coming to her eyes. She had never known these people, but they had died for her and left all this. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"They wanted to give you a piece of them Hope. I was asked to make sure that when you first learned about your heritage, you were given this," he continued, handing out something.

Hope took the ring from his hand and let the tears fall. A ring was now shining in her hand, the diamonds and sapphires mixing together in a beautiful arrangement.

"It was my mum's?"

"No. It's yours. They bought it for you when you got older. They were very proud to have had you. You were their hope in the war. That's where they got your name."

Hope felt the tears falling viciously down her cheeks and sunk to the ground. She felt an arm go around her shoulders and leaned against Severus, despite the fact that she was upset with him.

After a few minutes, Hope calmed down and stood up. She was glad for the fact that McGonagall had left them alone. She grabbed some gold and left to go and get what she needed for school.

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A/N: Hey!! I love this chapter. It's so sentimental! Yipee. lol. Sorry, I'm a little hyper. Well, thanks to the reviewer...and to my beta...and anyone else that is reading my story but isn't being a good little person and reviewing. I still love ya.

Please review..it really helps me.

Kayla