Hope In Hiding (Book 2 of the Lost Potter Series)

The Battle at the Ministry

Over two hours into her recovery, Olivia finally felt stable enough to pull herself away from the toilet bowl, instead propping herself up against the cool ceramic of the bathtub. Sirius had her take as much of the potion as he felt she could handle, all the while remaining gentle.

About an hour after that, Olivia finally relented and allowed Sirius to begin to draw her a bath. Her head still pounded with every heartbeat, but the stench was beginning to get to her as well. It was as the water ran that Kreacher's lies spewed forth from four floors below.

"I'll leave you to the bath then," Sirius said as he turned the water off, "But I want you out of here by the time that clock hits 7, alright? I don't want you falling asleep or anything."

Olivia nodded wordlessly, standing somewhat unsteadily.

"And Liv," Sirius said on his way out the door, catching her eyes, "You know I'm not the serious parental type, but we're going to have to talk about this once you're feeling better."

Olivia nodded once again, the shame of her actions pouring over her in waves. Yet her secret gratitude for Sirius overpowered it still, so she couldn't help but smile as she climbed into the bath. She managed to keep herself from falling asleep for the full hour she was allotted, and soon got out to dry herself off.

After drying herself off and getting dressed with the clothes Sirius had gathered for her while she was still in the vomiting stage, she stumbled over to his open door as best she could and knocked to get his attention.

"Right on time," Sirius said with as much humour as he could muster, standing to help her walk over and lay on the bed on her side.

Olivia allowed herself to be ushered along. The shame of the situation had been steadily growing in her chest to the point that her heart felt as if it was made of lead. She wanted nothing more than to cry until she fell asleep and just hope that everything would be better in the morning.

Sirius left her momentarily to grab her some water, though he returned with the now empty bottle of rum also in hand.

"How much was in here when you started drinking? When did you start?" He asked as he waved the bottle around, "Here, drink some water, it'll make you feel better."

Olivia dipped on the tall glass of water before answering meekly, "I started drinking after a nightmare this morning, so maybe 9. And it was only a quarter full I swear."

Sirius sighed and sat in the armchair opposite her, "You're new to drinking, you're tiny, and this is hard liquor, Liv. It's no wonder you're this bad off."

Olivia just nodded while covering her face with her newly wet hair, sipping on as much water as she could handle.

"I'm not even going to ask how you got ahold of this, since I assume I've been careless about locking up the cabinet downstairs and that's where you've got it."

Olivia nodded once again, her heavy heart beating slowly.

"Merlin." Sirius shuddered under his breath, running his hands over his stubbled face and through his grey-streaked hair.

"I'm sorry." Olivia said quietly as the silence hung heavily in the air.

"No I'm sorry. You've been struggling for months and I've been doing fuck-all to help you. I should've seen this coming." Sirius's voice trailed off before he hugged again and continued, "And I'm sorry I don't know how to act in this scenario. Am I supposed to punish you for acting out whenever I've been doing the same? Am I supposed to just not say anything and hope the illness is enough punishment? I've no idea what I'm doing here, Liv."