Disclaimer: I don't own it.

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Chapter Thirty-Four: Getting Better

Hope was still sleeping when Harry returned, and so he sat next to her bed and took her hand. They stayed that way until six when Severus and Draco returned. They nodded to Harry and gently woke Hope up.

She rubbed her eyes and looked disoriented for a minute before she sat up.

"Hey," she said, while yawning.

"Hope, I have the antidote here," Severus informed her, getting straight to business. "I would, however, like for you to be in your room before I administer it to you."

"Why?" She asked, glancing at him wearily.

"It doesn't immediately make you feel better. It has to drain the antidote from your body, so you will feel the effects of it, and I just want to watch you until the poison is out of your system."

Hope's pale face lost a considerable more amount of color. Severus shot her a sympathetic look before moving to help her out of bed. With the support of her father and her boyfriend to lean against, she made her way to her bedroom in the dungeons.

Severus laid the girl down gently, before pulling the vial back out of his robes. The pink liquid bubbled viciously inside.

"Please tell me that's not the antidote…" Hope whimpered, her voice pleading

He shot her another sympathetic look before handing it to her. She grimaced and drank the potion in one gulp. She handed it over and leaned back against the bed.

"So how, exactly, can this go wrong?" She asked, watching each of their faces turn to shock. "Oh, come on. I'm not stupid. I know if I had to be down here, then there's a chance of something going awry."

Severus sighed and sat down next to her. "To tell you the truth, it may not work at all." Hope gasped quietly, but Severus heard it, and touched her shoulder gently.

"Hope, I know that it's bad, and it's scary, but we are positive that we caught it. There will be some nasty side effects, and the longer it takes for them to appear, the closer we were to not being able to stop the poison. You just have to trust us in the time it takes to begin working."

Hope nodded shakily. She understood what it meant. Whoever administered it to her wanted her to die, and apparently they had almost succeeded.

The after affects didn't kick in until the next day. Hope was laying in bed, with Harry beside her in a chair, sleeping, when she was hit with a fierce pain in her stomach.

She got up and started walking toward the bathroom, but only made it halfway before the dizziness caused her to fall to the floor with a loud thump. She waited to see if someone would hear her, but soon gave up and tried to stand up.

Unable to stand up, Hope turned and let the contents of her stomach empty onto the floor. After a few times, she had nothing left in her stomach and leaned against the wall, gasping for air.

She continued like that a few more minutes until the dry heaving began. Hope was trying to figure out how to get Severus, but she couldn't do much. She put her head in her hand and felt the scratch of the ring on her hand.

She remembered back to the day she received the ring, sitting in the cell feeling the after effects of the torture.

"But first…' he said, pulling something out of his pocket. A tiny ring glittered, but as he slid it on her finger, it became invisible. "…this matches the one I wear. If you need me, just switch the ring to your left hand and say my name. I'll come as soon as I can get away without raising suspicion."

Hope knew he still wore the ring. She slipped hers off and slid it on her other hand before dropping her head into her hands and letting out a few tears.

Severus felt the ring on his hand warm up and become visible. He hurriedly stood up, scaring Draco, and ran toward Hope's room. He saw her leaning against the wall with her head in her hands, and his heart broke. He walked over and cleaned the area around her up before kneeling down in front of her.

"Lea?" Severus quietly asked the crying girl in front of him.

"Hurts…" She muttered out.

"I know. Come on, lets get you back to bed." He whispered soothingly, helping her stand. He laid her back down and cleaned her up before pulling the blanket over her.

"No…" She muttered, pushing the blanket away

Severus frowned and felt her head for a fever, surprised when he found one as it was not a typical side effect of the potion.

"We'll leave the blanket off. Is there anything I can get you?" She shook her head and laid her head back against the pillow. Severus conjured a cold cloth and laid it across her forehead. He watched as the girl fell asleep, knowing when she woke up, the poison would be expunged from her system.

Hope awoke a few hours later, and felt better. She stood up and walked out into the living room and laughed. Severus was reading a book by the fire, while Draco was asleep on the couch and Harry asleep over his potion's book on the floor.

Severus turned when he heard the girl laugh and motioned her over to him. He felt her for a fever and then nodded, assured that she was better.

"Are you feeling any left over symptoms?" He asked, watching her sit in the floor across from her boyfriend.

"Nope. I'm 100 better."

"Are you positive?"

"Merlin, Severus, if I knew all I had to do to get your attention was be poisoned, I would've done it a long time ago."

Severus got a hurt look on her face and Hope realized what she'd said. "I'm sorry…" she muttered, looking at the ground.

Severus stood up. "Do not apologize for saying what you mean." He turned and walked toward his study, slamming the door and successfully waking both boys.

Harry shook his head and looked toward Hope and noticed her staring at the office door with tears in her eyes. She stood and silently made her way back to her room, before closing the door. A moment later the lock clicked.

Both boys turned to look at each other and sighed. "I'll take Hope and you take Professor Snape?" Harry asked Draco.

"I think we should switch it up. Hope's feeling neglected and unwanted. Let me talk to her. Meanwhile, you can go get killed by my dad."

Harry's face paled but he stood and knocked on the office door anyway. Receiving a grant of entrance, he walked into the room, and watched the older man's features turn into those of surprise.

"Harry? Why are you in here?"

"Two reasons actually. I wanted to ask your permission to escort Hope to the ball this weekend, as well as to Hogsmeade tomorrow with Hermione and Draco to get a dress."

Snape considered this a moment. "There is one reason, what is the other?"

"Um, you didn't answer."

"That's because my answer depends on your next reason."

Harry laughed. "Okay, I wanted to make sure you are okay. I know Hope can say some pretty cruel things, and you were probably on the receiving end of that, and you probably deserved it about as much as the door deserved being slammed."

The potion's masters lips turned up into a small smile. "Yes, I'm fine. My daughter spoke her mind, and I'm a little puzzled on how to fix it. I took my frustration out the easiest way, and woke you and my son in the process, I presume?" At Harry's nod, he continued. "I appreciate the gesture, but it's nothing brewing a couple potion's can't fix. As far as you escorting my daughter, yes you may, to both places."

Harry couldn't hold back his smile. "Thank you, sir!" He said before turning and leaving the office. He saw Draco sitting on the chair grumbling to himself.

"No luck?" He asked the blonde.

"She threw me out of the room. Literally. And my dad's floor isn't the softest thing for your arse to land on," he said with a scowl.

"Well, good news. We're going to escort Hermione and Hope to Hogsmeade tomorrow evening so they can get gowns."

Draco's face lit up a bit. "That's great! I'm in need of some new dress robes!"

Harry laughed. "Well, I better go console my girl. Besides, who are you taking?"

Draco blushed. "I don't exactly have a date."

Harry laughed before turning and walking to Hope's room.

Hope was crying into her pillow when Harry entered. He considered turning around and walked back out, but knew he couldn't. Instead, he walked over and sat down, pulling the crying girl into his arms.

"Shh, it's okay," he whispered into her hair.

"It's not okay! I almost died and he still doesn't want anything to do with me!" She cried into his chest.

"Hope, I'm sure he does. He just isn't used to being around a teenage girl."

She shook her head. "He doesn't want me…" she whispered.

Harry was shocked. How could Hope think that? He moved her so she was looking at him. "He does want you. You are his daughter and he loves you, but he's never had a child, and now, within a year, he has two. You can't blame him for being a little scattered."

Hope shook her head. "Why do you agree with him? You're supposed to be on my side!"

Harry sighed, knowing if he didn't respond right, Hope would be mad at him. Throwing caution to the wind, he spoke what he felt.

"Hope, I'll be behind you no matter what you choose, but that doesn't mean I agree with you. I'll always fight with you, but you may be on the wrong side."

Harry's emerald eyes locked with Hope's midnight ones. "What do I do?"

"Talk to him. Calmly," he whispered.

Hope nodded before standing up and going into the living room with her boyfriend. She watched him sit on the couch and nod to her, before she took a deep breath and knocked on Severus' doors.

"Come in," came the distracted voice from inside. Hope threw a pleading look at Harry, who only nodded for her to go in.

She quietly opened the door and stepped inside, looking at the ground the whole time.

"Hope?" Severus was surprised for the second time that day.

"Hi…"

"What are you doing in here?" He asked, putting the potion he was working on into containers.

"I thought we should talk…but if it's a bad time I can come back later," she said with a downcast look.

"No, now's fine. Sit down," he said, motioning toward the empty chairs. She did as he suggested, then he sat down in the chair beside her.

"What did you wish to talk about?"

"Do you want me?" She came right out, looking up to meet his coal eyes.

Severus was shocked. He wasn't sure where Hope had come up with some of her ideas.

Hope took the silence as meaning a no, so she looked back down, feeling the tears enter her eyes.

"Hope, I don't know why you even asked that, but, of course I want you."

Hope looked up. "Then why don't you act like it?"

"I don't know what you want me to do!?" He exclaimed, frustrated.

"I want you to spend time with me. I lost my family, and was gifted with a new one. But you and Draco never have time for me because you always brew potions. So I offered to help and you wouldn't let me!" She yelled back, the tears falling down her face. "I was ready to go to Dumbledore and have the adoption canceled, just to make you happy," she added in a whisper.

Severus pulled the teen into his arms. "Hope, you couldn't be more wrong. I didn't know you felt like this or I would've done more to include you. I figured you would be more interested in hanging out with your friends or Harry."

Hope felt assurance dawn over her. "So you really don't regret adopting me?"

He shook his head. "I'm glad I adopted you. But if something is bothering you, tell me."

Hope nodded and wiped the tears away.

Severus walked back over to the cauldron. "Would you like to brew something now?"

Hope sighed. "We could…or we could go do something else?" She asked, hopefully.

Severus laughed. "We can do that also. What did you have in mind?"

Hope's face went blank. "I don't know…we could play some games or something in the living room. Harry and Draco are there too…"

Hope smiled as Severus nodded, and lead the way into the living room. It didn't matter what they did, because she knew he wanted her, and she knew he wanted to spend time with her now.

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A/N: Here's a new chapter. Gotta go to school. Later