i need a cure (there's no escaping your love)

Part 4

Hope has been in the hospital wing of Hogwarts for three full days.

Josie has been worried about Hope for three full days.

It's not that the brunette didn't think about visiting the Durmstrang champion. She thought about it, she even almost went to the hospital wing a total of five times. Every time she went, Josie saw Hope's fans begging to be let in, and Klaus refusing every single time. The Slytherin never gathered the courage to go there herself.

But today is different. Today, when Josie stops at the corner between the main hallway and the one that leads to the hospital wing, she hears nothing. No girls complaining they can't see Hope, and no boys arguing with Klaus. Josie takes a quick look at the hallway, and it's completely empty. She wonders if it means Hope has been discharged. The brunette quickly makes her way to the entrance of the hospital wing to get a look inside. It takes her only a handful of seconds to spot Hope sitting on one of the beds.

Josie can't see much from where she's standing, but something stops her from walking inside. Seeing Hope actually sitting up floods Josie with relief. The last image she had of the Quidditch player was a bloody one. Hope had been so pale as she was standing in the middle of the arena, holding the golden egg over her head, blood pouring out of the open wound on her stomach. Josie still remembers the way her heart almost stopped when Hope fell to the ground, unconscious.

The Saltzman girl has a small smile as she looks at the auburn haired champion for a couple more seconds. Hope is safe, and she's healing. That's all Josie needed to know. So, the brunette sighs and turns around to leave.

As soon as she does so, her eyes fall on Klaus Mikaelson, and she jumps in surprise. The man is standing a few steps away from her with a knowing smirk on his face. He takes two steps before he starts talking.

"Josette, what a pleasure to see you again."

Josie gives him a respectful nod. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Mikaelson."

"I was expecting you to visit sooner." He says, taking another step closer. "You are here to see Hope, right?"

"Oh." Josie swallows the lump in her throat. Quickly, she searches through one of the pockets of her robes, getting Hope's necklace out of it. "I was just gonna return this. I'm sure Hope would like to have it back." The brunette hands it to Klaus with a small smile. "I wouldn't wanna bother her, so maybe you could give it to her."

Klaus looks down at what Josie is handing to him, and when his eyes finally catch the necklace his smile disappears. If the Slytherin hadn't been directly looking at the man, she would have missed it since his smile comes back in full force a second later.

"You should give it back to her yourself." The man says, indicating with his hand for Josie to go inside the hospital wing. "Trust me, she'll be happy to see you."

Josie's fingers close again around the necklace as she retracts her hand, forcing herself to offer a nervous smile to Hope's father. The brunette nods before she starts making her way inside the hospital wing, immediately noticing that Klaus isn't following her in. Josie slowly walks over to Hope, noticing that the girl's attention is stuck on a piece of paper she's writing on.

"Dad, do you finally know when I can leave?" Hope asks, never looking up.

"Uh, I'm not your father." As soon as Josie speaks, Hope's head snaps up, her eyes wide with surprise. Josie smiles as she closes the distance that separates her from Hope's bed. She stands next to it, deciding to not take a seat yet. "Hi, Hope. It's good to see you... " The brunette pauses, unsure about the next words to use.

"Alive?" Hope supplies with a chuckle. Josie swallows with difficulty as she answers with a simple nod. The right corner of Hope's mouth lifts in a half-smile as she looks at Josie with her piercing blue eyes. "I'm happy you're here. Do you wanna take a seat?"