Within Blind Eyes

(Again, this is the usual Disclaimer area)

SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER! Been trying to kick my parents out of the house to go on their vacation and now trying to avoid my brothers. And between it all, I've been sleeping or towing around friends. Don't kill me!

Chapter Six:

Severus waited with Mary until she had slipped into sleep. He thought he saw her stomach move against her breathing but after several minutes of staring at it, he decided he was imagining things and strode out of the Hospital wing. It was the first day that the students had outside since winter and it was very warm. He wandered aimlessly; any student would have thought he was walking with intention. But in fact, he was quite lost in his thoughts. Gaunt… Devon… both he recognized… yet he could not think where they came from. He had the half of mind to find Dumbledore but he had seen him leave from the window next to Mary's bed. He turned the corner and saw a girl with bushy brown hair, a boy with flaming red hair and sneered at the boy with messy, black hair. They were talking quietly to themselves and he wanted to say,

"Don't think we as teachers don't know what you are doing." But thought better of it. He instead strode up to them and sneered,

"What are three Gryffindors doing inside on a day like this?" The three students turned around, and for the first time, Granger was speechless. The Weasley boy, as always, was in a stupid silence. However, Potter gave him a look that in all rights said very simply, what are you going here? Snape's sneer deepened. "People might think you are up to something."

He stepped around them, fed up with Potter's presence and began to walk down the hall. He turned the corner and stopped to listen to the hushed voices.

"We got to get the stone… tonight." The Potter boy's hushed tone was urgent. Snape raised an eyebrow and returned to his classroom, secretly wishing Mary would be there.

Hours later, Mary was allowed to wander about after the students had gone to bed. Good thing because she had much to think about. Such as, how was she going to tell Severus of her latest trance? How in the light of a child, he may perish? That if she stayed, he would die sooner?

She remembered how she had silently shook with pain after he had left earlier. The hospital wing had changed to a house, marred with age and darkness. Even secrets bred within its decaying walls. She heard voices. She came to a door that was slightly cracked. Peering in, she saw a fire roaring and a chandelier with at least, a thousand candles shining above what appeared to be an empty room.

"The wand only serves you." A voice, solid and void of fear, almost forced, said. She recognized it. She followed it until she was peering in. It was him. He looked tired, a forced expression on his face. She heard a small hiss and saw a snake, floating in the air, protected by a sphere of power. A man, grey skinned, red eyed with an angry look on his face circled Severus.

"It still disobeys me. For I am not its true master. You killed Dumbledore, he owned the wand. You have been a faithful servant, but in the end, only I must live forever." The man hissed. Mary shivered as quietly as she could; a small intake of air drew her attention. It was the Potter boy!

A flash of fear danced in Severus's eyes. He began to speak, "My lord-" His words were cut short with a flick of Voldemort's wand. A small bit of blood oozed onto his white collar. The Man smiled grimly and waved his wand at the snake that looked at him expectantly.

"Kill." He hissed. Severus's face paled as the snake knocked him to the ground, attacking savagely at his neck. "Enough! Come, Nagini. We need to keep you safe." With a crack, the man and the snake with Severus's blood still dripping from its head were gone.

Mary felt all the life be sucked out of her. She silently slumped to the ground, a growing pain in her throat. She watched as the Potter boy, and two of his friends, crept from behind a crate and approached Severus. Potter bent and put his hand against Severus neck. She was unaware the flood of tears pouring down her face, but she counted each tear on Severus's.

"Take them!" Severus gargled. Several tears, softly glowing rolled slowly on his cheek. Potter turned to the girl with brown hair.

The Trance ended with that. She stopped her walk and turned to look out across the lake. In its surface, the light of the moon glowed up, brightening the nearest trees.

"M-m-miss M-ma-malfoy! W-what a p-p-p-pleasant s-surprise." She faced Quirrell, she couldn't see him, due to her blindness but was happy with his presence. She was about to say something when something hard hit her head and she fell to the floor without so much as knowing what hit her.

Severus was sitting at his desk, grading when a knock came to his door.

"Enter." He said without looking up.

Poppy strode in, Minerva and Flitwick in tow. All three bore an urgent and rather panicked expression.

"Where is Harry?" Minerva demanded. "I found Neville Longbottom on the floor of the Gryffindor Common room stiff as a board and when I unjinxed him, he began blubbering about Harry, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger wandering and getting Gryffindor in trouble. Where is he, Severus?"

"I have not seen Potter and his familiars since this afternoon." He said looking back down at his paper. But didn't write anything. He looked back up at the three of them with a rising horror. "Where's Mary?"

"She isn't anywhere! I allowed her to go walking and now she's vanished with them!" Poppy said. "If she gets too seriously hurt, it will not bode well for her." She said looking down at the floor.

Severus gave her a confused look. "Is there something that I am supposed to know about my apprentice?"

Poppy looked up and shook her head.

"Then lets stop chatting like it's our birthdays and go look for them!" Snape stood from his desk and rushed from his classroom. "Minerva, forgive me, go to the Owlry and send and Owl and get Dumbledore back here. Poppy, return to the Hospital wing and ready several beds. Flitwick, come with me."

The two witches departed, he and Flitwick hurried to the third floor corridor. A rising dread in Severus's chest began to consume him. What did Poppy mean, 'Not bode well'? She seemed to be holding some secret from him, by her suddenly blank expression when he addressed her. It was then he realized that Quirrell wasn't around, not really surprising since the man was virtually petrified of him. But it still didn't add up. They reached the door and Flitwick preformed a spell.

"Several people have already been through here." He said. A soft undertone of fear laced his voice.

Severus didn't hear him as he pushed through the door. "You may come or you may stay. I have no time to decide for you." He growled as he waved his wand at a golden harp.

The three-headed dog was caught by surprise but before it could react in an attack, it rolled to the ground, all three heads fast asleep. Severus took his teaching robes off and threw them onto the filthy floor. He didn't give Flitwick a second glance as he jumped down into the darkness and landed on something soft and moving.