Author's Note: JKR owns everything.

My sincerest apologies for letting this story sit for a year untouched. I revised the first chapters a bit, so if you feel so inclined you might want to check them over again. If not, you should still be quite fine to continue. Thank you for your patience.

P.S. Snape is especially snaky and selfish in this chapter, so beware :)

Albus Dumbledore gently removed his spectacles from his wrinkled face and placed them carefully upon his ancient oak desk top. His eyes perused the short missive once more, taking in again their bittersweet information.

Hermione Granger had rejoined the world of the conscious.

It did not escape the immensely thorough man that she so happened to awaken five years exactly from the hour of her cursing, if not the minute or second. Curses that were set so precisely in their timing took a great deal of magic, especially when it was meant to last for the expanse of several years.

It distressed him, as it had the many healers who had looked after the girl all that time, that no name could be placed for such a curse. No one had noticed, in the violent fray that was the final battle, who had been the perpetrator, either. And now, so much later, for the girl to wake up seemingly unprovoked was truly a phenomenon.

How unfortunate, though, that such a wonderful and joyous time should be interrupted by the case of her eyesight.

Or lack thereof.

He knew that every minute that went by without her vision's return meant the likelihood of its natural reappearance that much less. And he had already received this note from her faithful healer an hour ago, which reported her awakening having happened at precisely noon of the previous day.

Vision was always a tricky situation, as far a magic went. Any accidental wrongdoing on the healer's part, and all hope would be lost for the patient's sight. It was why the healers had as of yet been too hesitant to tamper with her fragile situation using the complex charms or potions at their disposal. It would take a master, surely, to effectively study her case for unusual aspects to the curse that might interfere with common sight renewal methods. They would need someone quite adept and familiar with the dark arts as well, since the magic used was so great and thus the curse most probably had the same trait.

But whoever did the headmaster know that would be fit these requirements?

Albus smirked to himself as he set down the letter which asked for his assistance in the matter of Hermione Granger. It was not his assistance they would be needing.

He hastened over to his floo and grasped a small handful of the powder that rested on the mantle into his willowy palm, saying, "Severus Snape's Quarters"

It was some time later that the headmaster found himself in quite the unlucky situation.

"Severus, please. The girl needs your help. She fought in that battle just as you did, as we all did. She deserves our best efforts at retrieving her vision."

"I really fail to see how the many capable and willing healers that St. Mungo's sees quite fit to employ and overpay cannot solve the simple case of a blindness hex. Furthermore," Snape continued, "I do not wish to spend my precious time living in the solitude and freedom I have worked my whole life for just to immerse myself back into the war and Potter's insufferable presence. Unless you are willing to assure me that Potter and his little sidekick would not be hanging around like doting puppies whilst I treated the third member of their trio?" He asked.

Dumbledore remained silent.

"I thought not, Headmaster. Now please leave me to my marking and reply to the unqualified witches and wizards who call themselves 'healers' at St. Mungo's that I am quite unavailable and to try to muster up enough skill within their ranks to do it themselves!"

"Now, Severus, you don't understand. Or you just aren't looking at the situation clearly enough because of your stubborn nature. What kind of run-of-the-mill Death Eater could create a curse so strong as to send the girl into a precise five year long coma? It had to have been one of the higher-ups in Voldemort's ranks. And you know that means there are most likely aspects to this curse we do not even know of yet. We need your knowledge of the Dark Arts. And perhaps, if her sight does not return swiftly, a Potions Master on site would be immensely valuable to research a potion that could cure her vision. We don't know what hit her Severus. The fact that she is still alive, let alone awake, is incredible. Let her enjoy her gift of consciousness."

Dumbledore looked imploringly at his employee and continued, "We need someone to survey the girl, so we can be assured that there are no other negative side effects. The girl needs helps. Hermione Granger needs you, Severus. And Severus," he continued, "You know how crucial her vision is to her magic."

The Potion's Master rose lithely from his lounge chair and paced in front of his roaring fireplace. He supposed it was true…the healers at the most reputable wizarding hospital in all of Great Britain combined would not have the knowledge of dark curses that he had. If they administered a charm, or potion, to the girl without fully knowing all of the curses effects on her it could be disastrous to her eyesight. If fact, any tampering to the girl in her fragile and unknown state could be so dangerous as to the point of live-threatening. And he also knew that a witch without her sight was not really a witch at all.

He knew his assistance would be valuable. He sighed.

He hated having to stand up to his own pride.

"Fine." he allowed reluctantly. "I shall attend to the girl because of the blatant incompetence of those who we entrust with the well-being of our world."

Albus smiled indulgently at his antics. This was Severus in a generous mood.

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