Unlocking The Obscurial

Hope had been poked and prodded all morning by Madam Florence who, while in her best bedside manner, searched Hope for any signs of being infected by the Obscurial. Last night had resulted in many panicked nerves from everyone involved, though Hope tried convincing them every other minute that she felt fine.

"I don't understand it," Madam Florence shook her head as she felt her pulse again, "being able to absorb an Obscurus, yet having no sign of it less than five hours later. It's simply impossible."

Glancing to the corner of the room, she met Newt and Albus' eyes. Aberforth and Credence stood there, too. Watching her intently.

While not wholly healed, Credence looked much better today than yesterday. For one, he was able to physically stand, even if he used the wall to hold himself up. She met his eyes; they were dark and curious, as if he too couldn't believe what had happened between them.

Hope looked at Madam Florence again, who hadn't stopped talking, and sighed. "I'm telling you, I feel fine."

Moving a little closer, Albus sat on the bed across from her. "When this happened, what were you thinking of, Hope?"

Thinking back, she tried to recall. It all seemed like a blur now, but she could remember the moment before vaguely. "I was thinking…that I wanted to take the pain away. I didn't know anything would happen, but there was a part of me that…" she trailed off as she recalled the sensation in her chest that forced her hand forward.

"Yes?" He prodded with a frown.

Hope met his eyes. "It was instinctual. I didn't know what would happen, but I knew I could help if I let myself. It was painful." How best could she describe this? "It was like…you know how when you watch water boil? It was like that but everywhere."

"Your body was fighting it off like an infection," Newt offered in a soft voice from the corner of the room, "Whatever your blood contains, it was stronger than the Obscurus, which is basically a parasite. Your blood killed an unkillable parasite, Hope."

Hope looked around the room. "And that's never been done before?"

Credence spoke now, his voice low and graveled. "No. It's never been done."

"I…can cure an Obscurial?" She asked, looking at Albus with wide eyes.

"Your blood can, it seems."

Newt spoke again. "The healing properties you already possess. Your strength and speed. The temperature you always run. It seems your physiology is far stronger than we anticipated."

Hope looked at Credence. "Is it gone then?"

"No," Aberforth swallowed hard, "some of it is gone, but not all." He took a deep breath. "That's why we're here…"

Hope stared at him for a long moment before it clicked. "You want me to do it again?"

Silence filled the space.

Perhaps if she were smarter, she would think more about it. If Hope were smarter, she'd think through the consequences and decide for herself after intense contemplation, but in her eyes…what was there to determine? The Obscurous didn't seem to hurt her, at least not permanently, and it could save Credence's life.

What other choice could there be?

No one answered still, as if terrified to ask her the question, but she could see the burning desire behind Aberforth's eyes. The fear he had of her saying no was palpable.

"Of course I will," Hope nodded, "if I can survive it, why shouldn't I help?"

"Hope…" Albus started but fell silent when her gaze cut through him.

"I can and I will. Try and stop me."

There was no argument after that as she stood to her feet, but Madam Florence pushed down on her shoulder again. "We'll have him come here so you can both be near a bed if needed. We will take this slow. How long did you touch last night?"

Hope thought back and slowly shook her head. It was a blur as it happened.

"Easily less than three seconds." Aberforth offered.

Hope looked at him in surprise. Had three seconds been all it took for the Obscurous to do so much damage to her body? She supposed if that was the case, more than three seconds could be detrimental.

More than three seconds could kill her.

They knew nothing about what this would do; it was completely experimental and subject to unknown outcomes. Still, Hope would do this.

She had to do this.

Credence came over slowly, at a limp, and sat down next to her.

"Alright," Albus started and took a breath, kneeling between them, and placed his hands on both wrists. "Two seconds is the time we will stick with for now. No more than that." He gave Hope a pointed look. "I'll count and take your hands away. Hope, think the way you were last night. Are you ready?"

Both she and Credence nodded their heads.

Hope looked over at Credence, observed his pale skin and the dark circles under his eyes, and thought about how she wanted him to improve. To be free of the Obscurus.

Albus put Hope's hand over Credence's, and she distantly heard him count "1…2…"

"Hope?"

Blinking her eyes, Hope quickly realized she'd lost consciousness momentarily. The muscle aches riveting up and down her body told her the blood in her veins was still fighting the new dose of the Obscurus.

Her blurred vision cleared enough to see Newt over her, lightly stroking her jaw with his fingers.

"I think it was too soon to try again," Madam Florence murmured, "I respect her decision to help, but this needs to be monitored and spaced evenly. It will be a longer process, but we can't subject her body to this. Not regularly."

"Of course." Credence spoke, his voice a hint more robust than before.

Hope rolled her eyes back as another wave of pain coursed through her body. Her body lay stiff; she had no use of her limbs. It was like she'd been paralyzed.

"I can't feel my legs." Hope gasped softly.

Newt stroked her hair lightly behind her ear. "It's going to be okay," but she could see the moisture behind his eyes, threatening to spill down his cheeks, "just keep taking deep breaths."

She hadn't realized her breaths were as hoarse as Credence's last night.

Albus laid a cool cloth over her forehead, eyes filled with the same worry as Newt's.

"Try this," Madam Florence offered a vial of blood, "it helped strengthen her before."

Before Hope could argue, Newt tipped the vile past her lips. She sputtered, terrified the blood would make her go into some sort of frenzy, but it didn't.

Letting out a relieved sigh, her limbs unclenched and slowly relaxed. The blood warmed her inside and out, but not in the same way the fever did. It offered an extra ounce of strength her body needed to fight off the infection.

"Thank you, Hope." Aberforth's shaky voice came now. "I thought I'd be burying my son this morning, not finding a cure."

"It's not a cure-" Madam Florence started.

"The start of one then," Aberforth nodded, "even if it's just a little more time, that itself is a gift."

Hope tried to smile, but she wasn't sure if she was. Her face felt numb, so she couldn't be sure. She couldn't feel her eyelids closing, but soon, she was greeted by blissful nothingness.

Quick whispers woke her, but Hope kept her eyes closed. The words she woke to were ones she didn't want to miss.

"I fear it'll be too much for her. An average Obscurous, maybe, but Credence has developed his so far past the years it would have destroyed anyone else." This was Albus' voice. "This Obscurus is particularly powerful, and perhaps Hope is strong enough to handle it, but what if she isn't. Can we risk losing her like this?"

There was a pause, and Newt answered in a hushed whisper.

"We can't decide that for her, Albus. She's already made her position quite clear. She wants to help Credence, and so she will. You know what she's like. Trying to tell her what to do is a lost cause."

Another silent pause.

"Hm, yes," she could feel the weight of Albus' eyes on her, "even as she pretends to be asleep right at this moment. Always so stubborn."

Hope opened her eyes and glared at them both but managed a smile with a slight shrug. "Hm, busted." She cringed as she sat in bed and shuddered, only for Newt to offer her more blood, which she quickly drank.

"How do you feel?"

"Sore," she shrugged, "but fine. I think you two might be worse off with all this worrying."

"Can you blame us?" Albus asked in a soft whisper.

"No…" she smiled crookedly and then gave them a fixed look, "but I don't believe for a second that if either of you could siphon infection from an innocent person's body to save their life, you wouldn't do the same."

"But at what cost to you?" Albus asked, brows furrowed in deep worry.

"Does that cost matter?"

"It should."

They stared at each other for a long moment. Hope wasn't so naive to not understand his perspective. After all, he must be the most conflicted of them all. Both lives of the people he loves are on the line with this. Watching both suffer must be torture, but Hope had to stick to the conviction she felt in her soul.

Her voice softened to a whisper as she took his hand. "I will gladly suffer for a just cause. It hasn't killed me."

"Yet," he answered thickly, "yet…"

Hope bit her lip and nodded slowly. "If it becomes too much, we can stop, but until then, I want to do what I can to help."

Moonlight lit the hospital wing as they nodded, though reluctantly.

It was a difficult thing- wanting to support someone's freedom of choice at the expense of their own comfort.

Difficult, but necessary.

This, what Hope was doing, was the definition of necessary.