A/N: Here's the next chapter. Yay..yeah actually on time for once. Erm...no other warnings...Enjoy!
Chapter 2: SAAVE (Safe)
Song: SAAVE by There for Tomorrow
The blackness was all encompassing as Harry struggled to make any sense of what was going on. There was no sound save the whir of of his own thoughts and his eyes seemed to not be working. The immense pain had lessened and he forced himself to use his other senses to try and comprehend his predicament. His magic flared and "felt" the surrounding area bumping lightly into another prescence. It felt familiar, comfortable. Safe.
He tried to move closer to it, tensing as he felt the pain flare up once more and settled for just touching it with his magic. He relaxed minutely and sighed contently before fading once more.
Severus cursed colorfully, while he had managed to heal the fractured bones, many of the cuts and some of the burns that decorated the prone form he couldn't stop the bleeding, also the curses used on the boy's eyes and ears were too powerful for him to heal without the aid of Poppy. He could feel the questing tendrils of wild magic coming from the boy and allowed it to roam as he finished doing what he could. Finally satisfied the boy would at least live; he took a breath and ignoring his mental, physical and magical exhaustion, summoned his will once more.
"Expecto Patronum!" A flash of white exploded from the tip of his wand and with a howl raced off.
Dumbledore was not pleased.
Harry Potter was missing with a man he was fast starting to lose trust in. They had scoured the grounds and were searching the Castle when he heard the baying. A white flash darted down the Main Staircase. The phantom stopped just before him and Minerva.
Shaking its great head, the phantom morphed into the form of Severus' Russian wolf patronus. It bayed once more before beginning to speak in the clipped harsh tones of Severus' voice.
"I have the boy. Taking him to the Hospital wing. Moody's betrayed us. I have him secured. Hurry."
Shock shrouded his mind before he steadied himself. He watched as the huge wolf bounded away before it exploded in a flash of light. Dumbledor remained still for just a second more before he and Minerva hurried towards the infirmary.
On what felt like his very last legs, Severus finally made it to the infirmary wing. Holding Potter gently in his arms, he elbowed his way into the large hall of the sick wing. As the long row of beds came into sight he saw at the very end a tearful Poppy comforting an obviously anguished Diggory.
"Poppy.." was the only thing he could call out before his knees gave and he collapsed in a heap, mindful even still of his precious cargo.
"Severus!" The mediwitch scuttled down the hall casting diagnostic spells as she went. When she reached his side she attempted to help him up, but he firmly gripped her arm.
"Help him first," he said, turning to his side to reveal Potter curled into his arms. She hesitated mere seconds before reaching for the boy instead and pulled him from under the Potions Master.
As she turned to hoist Potter into a bed, her Wing doors burst open yet again. Dumbledore and McGonagall flew through huffing lightly and surveyed the scene. Grateful for reinforcements, she started again to put Harry to bed, calling for the Headmaster to help Severus to a bed.
Turning to her charge she blanched at the horrific burns and visible wounds, taking in the torn and bloody robes. She began casting charms, a clean change of clothes, diagnostic charms and heart monitoring spells all the while calling for Minerva to bring her blood replenishing potions, pepper up potions and a dreamless sleep potion. The diagnostic test appeared in her hand. Her eyes widened and she set to work accessing how to best reverse the substantial damage done to the young man before her.
The echos of dark magic radiated from every injury he had sustained during this night. Her heart broke as she began administering the blood replenishing potions, trying her hardest to heal each hurt with minimal scarring. Bleeding lacerations were closed, ribs put back in place and healed, and slowly the boy before her was pieced back together.
However, she did not possess the means to reverse the damage done to his eyes. The curse that had been used was rare; a degenerative curse that ate through the eye until blindness set in. Mere seconds was all it took.
She sighed sadly as she felt the presence of the Headmaster behind her.
"How is he?" Dumbledore questioned softly.
"He'll live. That much I can promise." She shook her head sadly. At his confused glance, she explained. "He's been cursed excessively, the damage done to his nerves was severe. The worst of his injuries will scar, hopefully that will be minimal. His hearing was so suppressed for so long he might not recover that sense fully. The many broken bones have been set properly by both Severus and myself so no worries there...but..." She trailed off.
Albus gave her a second to calm before asking, "But?"
She turned and looked him dead in the eye, "But his eyes...the damage done is beyond my skill to heal." She dragged in a deep breath, "He'll most likely remain blind for the rest of his life."
At her words a low chilling moan sounded behind her. It expressed the pain and anger without need for words.
When Harry gained his next lucid moment he could feel that nearly all the pain he felt from before had been eradicated, leaving only a dull echoed feeling. His mind explored the rest of his body without so much as a twitch. He felt perfect save for the muffled quality his ear had. He could hear murmuring and concentrated. Catching bits and pieces.
"Live...I promise...damage...Will scar...No worries."
He strained harder feeling his ears pop and relaxed when he could hear the murmuring grow slightly louder.
"Remain blind... For life."
He froze before realizing what the voice was saying. This inky blackness, that was all he was to see? For life?
At the thought he allowed his distress to flare and his heart clenched in panic as he moaned in pain and anger, alerting the voice to his wakefulness.
"Harry?" The muffled shuffling of clothing and the stomp of feet as they hurried to his side echoed dully. "Harry?" The voice was as soft as a whisper to his ears, as hands flew along his body, rough and fast. He moaned when they touched a particularly sore spot, the hands gentled but continued on.
"Can you hear me at all?" The voice said next to his ear, and he jumped. Not having been expecting the sound. His sightless eyes swiveled back and forth in his panic and he tensed trying to comprehend the question. His tongue felt heavy and his mouth was dry as he tried to speak.
"Y-yes," he croaked out. Something hard and cold touched his lips.
"It's a cup. Harry, can you try and drink something?" The voice seemed muted, far away. Harry nodded slightly before sipping at the air till a cool liquid filtered between his cracked lips. Water. He sighed as it cooled his throat. He lifted his hand to signal when he was done and the glass was pulled away.
He relaxed back against the pillows and tried to make sense of what had happened. The last few hours seemed to be a confusing and frightening blur. Echoes of pain laced each memory, fuzzy and distorted. His tension level ratcheted up a notch when he tried to shift and nearly toppled from the bed. His blindness an impenetrable darkness, as hands fought to settle him once again atop the bed. The blackness of his mind swirled and the images of spell light and maniacal laughter ate at his preciously teetering calm. Panic flowed freely, burning through his system and giving him a shot of strength. Out of the darkness a golden light flashed somewhere close by. He forcefully tried to make his way towards it, crawling when his knees gave, mindless of the muffled calls of his name. The light unerringly guided him until his questioning hands found another bed. He frowned in confusion before raising himself and crawling slowly towards the body heat he could feel radiating from the bed. The light enveloped him, calming him and displacing some of the darkness and willing him into sleep. He snuggled closer to the person in the bed before drifting off, sighing as the light soothed his fraying mind.
Shocked expressions watched as the boy, not only made his way across the infirmary, but also as he climbed in bed with the one and only Severus Snape.
The man was sleeping off his exhaustion and didn't respond as Harry shifted closer and wormed his way into Severus' arms before sighing contently and falling into a restful sleep.
Blue eyes narrowed slightly before questioning light sparked and they met the shocked ones of his Deputy Headmistress and the Mediwitch.
"Seems he's comfortable enough for now." He grimaced wryly before beckoning to Minerva. "We should secure our wayward Defense teacher," he said imperiously before turning and walking to the doors of the hospital wing. "Poppy I would appreciate updates on Mr. Potter's recovery if you would."
She nodded and moved to place privacy spells around Harry and his oddly chosen comfort giver.
A/N: So...This is the plan.
Every other Sunday I'll be posting a chapter (hopefully) I live at a boarding school and computers with no blocks for fanfiction are hard to come by. I now have a Beta! Say thanks to OneRedNeckGoddess for editing the crap out of my story. Hopefully my bumbling english will be much improved with her editing for me! THANKS!