Disclaimer: I don't own it.

----------

Chapter Twenty-Six: Snape Manor

Hope stepped through the fireplace with Harry again, but this time she was entering Snape Manor. She heard chatter in the room down the hall, followed by laughter.

"I've apparently come at a bad time…" Hope muttered to herself.

Harry shook his head and dragged her with him down the hallway. They followed the sounds and soon were right outside the doorway, listening to the conversation.

"I'm so glad I get to spend time with you, Dad," Draco said while dropping an ingredient in the potion.

Apparently Severus made a face at the name, because Draco began apologizing.

"It's fine Draco," Severus interrupted. "Just took me by surprise. I'm your father and you should feel welcomed to call me such."

"Well, I'm glad I got to spend break with you either way. Everything's been better since you adopted me. We get to spend so much more time together," Draco said, sounding like an excited first year.

"That will change, you do realize that, right Draco?" Severus asked, his eyes never leaving the potion.

"I know, it will change when Hope gets here…"

Hope's face fell during the conversation, but she couldn't stop herself from interrupting. "Hope's here, but don't worry, it will only last a day."

Severus couldn't help but imagine how that sounded to her from outside the door. He walked towards her, ignoring the potion.

"Hope, it's not like that," he said quietly.

She shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Can Harry stay over? He brought me here since I'm not accustomed to floo, but is it all right if he stays the night?"

Severus really didn't have a problem with Harry any longer and Draco and him were friends.

"I don't have a problem with it. I'll find him a room later."

"No need, he'll share mine." At her godfather's shocked look she sighed. "It's one night, and I took Sasha back to school."

Severus looked towards Harry, who was now engrossed in a discussion with Draco.

"Very well," he said, grudgingly. "Tell him to go get his things and then return."

Hope nodded and unknowingly played with her necklace while she explained to Harry what was going on. He nodded and said he'd return in about two hours. (The Weasley's were expecting him to play quidditch.)

As he left, Hope settled down on the couch and was surprised when her godfather and Draco did that same. She was even more surprised when she looked over to the Christmas tree and noticed it was still full of presents.

"You've not opened gifts yet?" She asked, sitting up.

"No, we were waiting for you," he said and nodded toward Draco, who got up and passed them out.

Hope was surprised but opened her presents anyway. She got some new clothes and a cage for Sasha from Severus. Draco had gotten her a set of colored quills and colored parchment. She loved them both and hugged each person in turn, forgetting their earlier discussion.

She gave them their presents which was a set of rare ingredients and a cauldron that couldn't explode for Severus and a necklace with a dragon for Draco. Hope watched as they opened the rest of their presents and laughed at a few of them. Finally Hope explained the other presents she had received and got stopped when they realized she hadn't gotten anything from Harry.

"Oh, he got me something I just haven't gotten there yet!" She exclaimed to the two men. They laughed and she continued her story. When she explained about the necklace, both immediately wanted to see it so she unlatched it and handed it to them.

"What's up with the tears, star, and hearts theme?" Draco asked.

"They each symbolize something. The teardrops are something lost, the hearts are the love gained, and the star is the future."

"Very evasive answer, Hope. Care to give a little more detail?" He said, teasing her. Hope looked over at Severus and saw he was just as curious.

"The four teardrops represent the loss of my old life, the loss of my freedom, and one for each set of parents I lost. The star is self-explanatory, the future, whatever it may hold. The hearts are for the love I've found; one for my friends, one for you, Draco, one for Severus, and one for Harry and our relationship."

Draco nodded, finally satisfied, and gave the necklace back to her. "I'm going to go see if the elves will have dinner ready by the time Harry gets back. He should be here anytime."

Hope nodded and asked Severus to show her to her room. She was up there setting out her clothes for tomorrow when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, catching her off guard. She turned around and faced Harry.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized.

"It's no problem. Draco is getting dinner downstairs, want to go down?" She asked, as she moved his bag toward the closet.

"Sure, let's go," he said, taking her hand in his as they went downstairs.

Dinner passed relatively quickly and then Harry and Hope were exploring the manor. It was a total of four floors, three floors and a basement used for potion making. The first floor had the living room, dining room, kitchens, and two bathrooms. The second floor contained ten bedrooms and bathrooms, and four rooms had balconies; (Hope's, Draco's, Severus', and the main guest room.)

The third floor was a recreation floor. There was a pool, a workout room, and an area to watch the quidditch pitch from. Hope let Draco show her and Harry his room. The walls were dark green, and the carpet was black. His bedding was black and he had a green rug on his floor. The curtains were all a dark green.

"It's so dark in here," Hope muttered to herself.

"It's how I like it. So your room should have decorated itself as soon as you walked across the door. Want to show us?" Draco replied.

Hope shrugged and led them to her room. The wall with the head of her bed against it was a light-medium blue. The other three were light blue. The flooring was wooden with a moon rug at the foot of the bed and another one in front of the entrance to the balcony. The curtains were translucent white and she had a canopy over her bead in the same color. She also had a white desk and blue couch.

They all sat around in Hope's bedroom until late. Hope fell asleep leaning against Harry, causing Draco to laugh. The two boys continued talking until Severus entered at midnight.

"The two of you should be in bed, and for Merlin's sake, Harry, put Hope on the bed, not on you," he said with a face.

"Yes sir, but if she wakes up, I'm blaming you."

"Nevermind. Draco, go to bed."

Draco got up and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Harry repositioned himself so that he was holding Hope still but they were both lying down. He watched her for a few minutes before drifting off to sleep himself.

Hope awoke in pain the next morning. She refrained from screaming because of the arm wrapped around her waist but couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes. She tried to move but it only made the pain worse.

"Harry…" she groaned out and watched as he jerked awake.

"Hope!? What's wrong?" He asked worriedly.

"Sev'rus…" She closed her eyes against the bones breaking in her body. She'd had one attack since the last one…and it came earlier than they expected. This one was right on schedule, and the pain coursing through her was unbearable.

Severus entered the room and cast silencing charms around. He kicked Harry out, and closed the door.

"Hope, focus on me." He tried to get her attention but the pain was too great for her to focus through. She started screaming, and the noise caused Severus' heart to go into his throat.

He sighed and lifted the potion to her lips and watched as she tried to swallow it. She took the potion in two swallows and felt the effects immediately.

"Hope?" Severus called to her, watching her warily.

"Better," she sighed out, kicking off the blanket.

Severus nodded. "Harry is outside, you want him or Draco in here for the effects of the potion?"

Hope shook her head. "I don't even know the effects of the potion."

Severus explained to her about the side effects of the curse leaving her body. She would not be up moving around, would be dizzy, and would not want to eat anything. She would sleep a lot, and more than likely get cranky from the headache she's going to receive. He also explained she would feel a few broken bones left over from the last attack.

Hope nodded as he explained, showing she understood. "Send Harry in here for a few minutes?" She asked gently, already feeling tired.

Harry walked in and sat down next to her. He knew not to touch her because of the pain, but couldn't help taking her hand in his. He saw her hide a wince, but she squeezed his hand.

"I want to stay here with you, Hope," he said while sitting on the bed.

"Fine, but you're not laying about my room hovering all day. Go swim or something with Draco."

He nodded and brushed her hair out of her face, noticing how tired she looked. "Go to sleep, Hope. I'll be back later."

She nodded, and he left as Severus reentered. He held a glass of tea out to her, which she drank quickly. Severus set the glass on the table and sat next to her where Harry just was.

"Feeling okay?" He asked her worriedly.

She nodded. "I'm tired, and sore. But it's better than it was."

He nodded. "This potion will not mix well with others for an hour. I'll wake you in that time to give you a pain reliever. Go to sleep."

She nodded and laid for awhile until the potion's pull became too strong and she drifted off, with her godfather still sitting beside her.

Hope didn't remember being awakened for the pain potion, or any other times during the day. But when she awoke at ten in the evening to find Harry laying on the couch and Severus still beside her, she was wide awake.

She turned as she heard someone else enter and smiled at Draco. "Hey," she whispered.

"Hey. Everyone was worried," he said, coming over to the other side of the bed.

"Really? Why?"

"Because you were supposed to awaken hours ago. You're feeling fine though, right?"

"I feel perfect. Different than I have in ages."

Draco nodded. "Should I wake them up?" He asked, motioning toward Severus and Harry.

Hope shook her head. "Let them sleep."

They sat in a comfortable silence for awhile before Draco interrupted it.

"You know I didn't mean what I said earlier in a bad way, right?" He asked, looking at her blankets.

"I know, Draco. You want to spend time with your dad. I understand perfectly."

Draco shook his head. "You don't understand. I can't tell you exactly what, but there was something about that sentence you mistook. I didn't mean it because I didn't want you around. You're like my sister, Hope, and I love you like one. I just meant that…"

"That we would have a new addition to our family, therefore, we would be making some new changes," Severus said, surprising both teens.

"What?" Hope asked, confused.

Severus got up and left the room before returning. He handed an envelope to Hope, who cautiously opened it and felt her eyes fill with tears as she read the first two lines.

WIZARDING FAMILY SERVICES

ADOPTION APPLICATION

"All that's needed is your signature. You have as long as you need to decide. Just sign it and bring it to me, and the adoption will be final."

Hope put the papers back cautiously and hugged her godfather. "I'm not ready yet, but I really appreciate the offer."

He nodded and hugged her back. "I understand. When you are, you have what you need."

Hope nodded and wiped away the tears with a laugh. "I have a question. Can I stay here for the remainder of the Holidays?"

"Of course!" Both said at once.

"Good, now there's only one problem," she said, glancing at Harry with a laugh. "Who's going to wake him?"

They all laughed and decided to leave him for the night, but their laughing eventually woke him up. Harry joined them all on the bed where they sat talking until they all were tired and went to bed.

----------

A/N: Wow I owe you guys a lot of chapters. This one is for Wednesday. I should be getting them out on time, but wouldn't let me in or I was working. Sorry!!! This is Wednesday's chapter.