Disclaimer: Need I say more?

I've made you wait so long and I'm so sorry! I'm such a bad person! Thank you to erised1186 and Aflibble for reviewing! I love you guys :)

There's been a lot of flooding in my area over the past few days so I'm hoping my school bus will be cancelled tomorrow! If it is I'll be able to hopefully start the new chapter.

Anyways, on with the story!

I know you didn't bring me out here to drown

So why am I ten feet under and upside down

Barely surviving has become my purpose

Because I'm so used to living underneath the surface

If I could just see you

Everything would be all right

If I'd see you

This darkness would turn to light

And I will walk on water

And you will catch me if I fall

And I will get lost into your eyes

And I know everything will be alright

Lifehouse - Storm

"Harry?! Harry you need to wake up for me buddy! Come on open up those eyes!"

Groaning against the hands that gently shook him from sleep, he turned his head away from the light that shone directly into his eyes, lifting a weak hand to bat away the source. He didn't want to wake up, he wanted to sleep. Why couldn't the nurses understand that? Both he and Annessa desperately needed rest if they were going to beat the stupid monster that had taken over their bodies. Annessa! His eyes flew open, seeking out his companion, ignoring the headache which made his stomach swirl. Where was Annessa?

"Woah slow down tiger, you need to rest, your body has been through a lot these past days."

The room spun as he attempted to regain his balance, once again fighting against the hand holding him down. He needed to find her. He needed to make sure she was okay. Needed to make sure they didn't take her back. That wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to stay there, by the sea. Not in some hospital room!

"Harry it's okay, Annessa's fine, they're loading her up in the ambulance now."

His eyes snapped towards Whittker, shaking his head despite the shooting pain that accomponied the movement. Thrusting the book at the doctor, he strained to get to his friend, to make it right. They couldn't take her back! He wouldn't let them!

"She needs help Harry, help only the hospital can give her. The infection's worse, and out here she'll only get sicker, and it'll hurt her even more. You don't want that, do you?"

Of course he didn't! Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought of all the pain she must already be in, and he had just made it ten times worse by taking her out there. He should be the one in pain, not her. Annessa hadn't done anything wrong in her life, she wasn't supposed to die so young. It wasn't fair! Turning his face into his father's chest as he was scooped up, Harry took calming breaths, listening to the soft whispers of a man that should have been furious with him. He had broken the rules. He had made Annessa worse. He had made himself worse. Snape should have been seething. So why wasn't he? It was all too confusing for Harry to understand. So instead he would sleep. Sleep and hope that by the time he awoke again, the world would be right once more.

.

Hermione could sense there was something wrong with her best friend without him even opening his mouth. Ron sat hunched over a bowl of porridge, twirling the spoon in his hand, his eyes fixed on the lukewarm goop he hadn't even attempted to eat. Every so often his eyes would flick upwards, towards where the owls normally came from, and then with a shake of his head he'd go back to staring at what was supposed to be breakfast, the spoon not stopping its motions. Hermione wished there was something she could do to make it right. She had tried writing to Harry, and when that failed to gain a response, she had even turned to Snape. But whatever was going on at the hospital, neither of them had replied, and she was beginning to worry.

"It's almost Halloween."

Blinking in surprise, all she could do was nod as Ron abandoned the bowl and fixed his attention on her instead. They hadn't spoken properly in days.

"We could get Harry some of those sweets from Honeydukes, you know to make him feel better."

"I think he'd like that."

Satisfied, he stood from his spot at the table, slinging his bag onto his shoulder and disappearing out of the main doors leaving Hermione to sit in stunned silence. The last time they had spoken about Harry was on the train. Since then, any mention of him had Ron running in the opposite direction. Clearly he had been thinking about him a lot though, much more than Hermione had thought. And the sweets would be a nice touch, if she managed to get in touch with Snape to tell him of their plan. Sighing, she stared down at the parchment in front of her, hoping this one would finally get a reply. If not she was going to find a way to get to the hospital, whether Snape wanted her there or not.

.

He should be mad. Snape stared down at the sleeping boy beside him, a hand softly stroking his cheek. He should be fuming. But he wasn't. Harry had put both himself and Annessa in so much danger, and right at that moment the chance of a severe infection was much too high for Snape to even attempt to imagine. Yet all he could think about was the look in his son's eyes as they loaded Annessa into the ambulance. That heartbroken way he cradled the small book of her wishes, as if it was the most precious thing in the world. Harry was scared, Snape could see that. Scared of losing Annessa to something so viscious. But also scared of what might become of himself. Everything that was happening to Annessa could happen just as easily to Harry. The disease was unpredictable and wild, and Annessa didn't have half the problems Harry had presented with. Seeing your own fate laid out in front of you would be scary as hell for an adult, let alone a teenager. So no, he just couldn't be mad. Because he knew he would have done the exact same thing.

"His vitals look good."

Snapping his eyes up at Whittker, he managed a small nod. It was too soon to tell if he would pull through without a scratch, and the last thing Snape needed was false hope. Hope wouldn't cure his son, or make life any easier in the hospital. Hope wouldn't make Annessa live to see another birthday, another Christmas. Hope was toxic, and sooner or later it would drag them all down with it.

.

The young girl watched from the window as nurses darted up and down the corridor, some with medication, others with bandages and IV's. She wanted to go home. Or at least to see her sister. But she couldn't do either. Instead she was stuck in a stupid hospital, and it was all because of the damn disease. Her parent's always said it made her special, like a butterfly. Too fragile to be handled by the world. Basically it meant a butt-ton of pills, and never going anywhere that might carry a risk of a serious illness. Auto-immune. At least that's what she thought it was. Basically her immune system sucked, and without the tablets she took on a daily basis it would begin attacking her healthy cells instead of the ones that made her sick, which just made her even sicker. She was surprised her parents had even consented to taking her on holiday, but she knew they never would again, not after how it turned out. Not that she knew exactly what had happened. All she could remember was the pain.

Tugging on the pole that held her IV, she dragged it towards the door, making sure the stupid paper mask was securely in place before stepping out into the corridor. She was bored as hell, and the head nurse had said she could go check out the play room as long as she wore the mask. Studying the sign for a minute, she took a step forward, pressing herself against the wall as a bed came trundling towards her. Flicking her eyes towards the occupant, her breathing stopped momentarily. Her eyes growing wide. Reaching out a hand, she stopped the bed in its tracks, ignoring the protests of the nurses surrounding it. Pulling down the mask, she placed a trembling hand on the shoulder of the girl, a single tear falling down her cheek. "Annessa?"

A/N: Well that's another chapter done and dusted! I hopefully have a cadet weekend camp soon if the weather improves so I may not be able to post another chapter until after then but I won't forget this time!

Hit review and tell me what you think :)

Seeya next post, nicholosaur