Chapter 11 - Giving Up on More than Sight
Danielle's POV
In the middle of the night, I wake up needing to go to the bathroom, so I get up, and unable to see anything in the dark, stumble my way to the bathroom. The moon must be behind some clouds because I can't see anything.
I fumble for the matches in the bathroom and strike one. It doesn't light. Still holding the match, I give up and decide to use the toilet in the dark.
In less than two seconds, I'm shaking my hand like crazy and running it under the sink.
I yelp in pain and surprise, wondering why my finger hurts.
I hear footsteps coming towards me, and a quick, "Lumos," from Severus. He's standing right in the front of me, and I know his wand must be illuminated.
And the match must have been lit.
No.
That would mean…
"What's wrong?" Severus asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
"I'm blind," I cry. "I lit the match, and I couldn't see it, but I felt it burn me. And I can't see your wand illuminated, but I heard you say Lumos!" I cry, hugging him and burying my face in his nightshirt. I know it is white with little blue pinstripes. But I can't see it.
I may never see it again.
"Vulnera Sanentur, Vulnera Sanentur," Severus chants hypnotically.
I feel my lids going heavy, but something tells me that it won't work this time. It's 5 AM, or so Severus tells me, and we're upstairs again.
It's not going to work. I'm going to be blind forever.
Severus's POV
Why would the healing spell reverse itself? How could this happen? Will it work again a second time? Maybe I should take her to some professional Healers; they'd know what to do better than I.
Surely she can't be blind forever? This must be terrifying for her; first she gets her sight back, and is skipping with joy, literally, and then it's stripped from her again.
I chant for hours, despite knowing deep down that after three times, it probably does nothing at all. When I'm finally exhausted and cannot cast another spell, not even a Lumos, I collapse in the floor beside her and pray.
Danielle's POV
When I wake up, I find what I was expecting to find. Darkness. I sit up and swing my legs off the recliner. I plant my feet and start to stand up before I realize that I'm standing ON something. I fall back as I hear a "umph" from below me.
"Severus, what are you doing in the floor?!"
"I must have dozed off," he says, trying to catch the wind I knocked out of him.
"Are you OK? Sorry I stepped on you," I apologize.
"Can you see?" he asks cautiously.
I shake my head. "No. But you did your best Severus. At least I know what you look like in your PJs, and what your home looks like," I say, trying to see the bright side even now.
Severus gets up and sits beside me on the large chair. I'm sitting on the edge, and he leans back into the chair. I feel his arms come around me and then he's pulling me back so I'm lying against him.
"I like how you always try to see the bright side and make others feel better."
"I like how you always know what to say, no matter what," I say back to him.
He's quiet for a few moments and then says, "I've been denying my feelings for you."
"You're obviously not now," I say seriously.
"No," he sighs. "I gave up. You already know too much about me for me to ignore you."
"I know too much? What, are you going to kill me so I can't tell anyone?"
He hesitates, as if pondering the idea, and then continues, "No, that would be a waste of a smart mind and a beautiful girl."
I don't know what to say to that, so I don't say anything.
But then a foreboding subject comes to mind. "Severus, how can I attend Hogwarts without having sight? I won't be able to get up stairs quickly, I'll probably fall off the Grand Staircase even. I won't be able to read the textbooks or anything!"
"I've been thinking the same thing," he says quietly. "Letters you receive could be enchanted somehow to make them speak, like a Howler, but without the…howling. You could learn Braille," he suggests.
"In 9 weeks?" I ask critically.
"If we start now, we could both learn it simultaneously. We would at least be able to get a good start on it," he says, completely serious.
"How do you create a spell?" I ask. "I could create a spell to translate my notes that I take with a quill into Braille, couldn't I?" I ask.
He contemplates it for a moment, and then says, "It would have to be a Glamour, I really don't see much of a possibility there. I mean, you couldn't make the ink move once it was on the paper without a Glamour, and the spell itself…"
"Yeah, I know what you mean…but then I won't be able to read my own notes if I write them."
"Hmm…"
"Oh no, more Potion Master thinking noises," I tease.
"Do you even take notes?" he asks seriously.
"Yeah, but I rarely use them," I admit. "I usually just use the textbooks. You could always read me my notes after classes when I'm doing homework in the library," I suggest.
"No, people would start rumors, and…"
"Voldemort would find out?" I finish. "And use me to control you?" I say, connecting the dots.
I feel him nod. "My mother could help you."
"Your mother?" I ask incredulously. "Who's your mother? At Hogwarts?"
"Madam Pince," he says feebly.
"MADAM PINCE IS YOUR MOTHER?!" I exclaim. "Blimey, why didn't I connect the dots before? You do kind of look alike! You have the same nose!"
"Are you saying that I have a big nose?"
"Uh, no," I say quickly. "Does it matter? I can't see anything wrong with your nose," I say dismissively.
He laughs. Again.
"Wait, if Madam Pince is your mother, why doesn't she have the same last name?"
"Because my father was a sadistic…abuser. Her maiden name is Prince, her name is an anagram of I'm a Prince."
"Why hasn't anyone seen that before?" I wonder. "It's not very hidden, is it? Irma Pince unscrambles to be I'm a Prince."
"Yes, Dumbledore's been hiding her in Hogwarts for a while now so that Voldemort can't use her against me too."
"That's smart, Hogwarts is pretty secure."
"More secure than Gringotts," Severus adds.
"You really think that?" I question.
"Yes. I can't think of a safer place."
"Your father, what was his name?"
"Tobias Snape."
"He was an abuser? Did he hit you and your mother both?"
"Yes, he did. He was a muggle. He didn't know she was a witch until after they were married and she was pregnant with me. He hated her for it, and so he hated me."
"That's awful…So you're a half-blood then?"
"Yes," he says like he wants to say more, but doesn't. I don't push it.
"Is your father the one who punched all the holes in the walls? Why don't you fix them?"
"He punched them, yes, and I don't know why I never bothered to fix them. I just…"
He doesn't finish, and once again I don't push. "Going back to school is going to be weird now."
"Yes, I have to admit it is."
"What if I slip up and call you Severus instead of Professor?" I ask, figuring I probably will.
"Then I will give you detention," he says seriously, without hesitation.
"What? That's not fair…"
"How is that not fair? That's what I do to anyone else who dares disrespect me in front of an entire class."
"Well, it's not fair because I have no way to punish you if you call me Danielle."
"You would want to punish me for calling you something you've asked me to call you all along?"
"I might ask you the same thing."
"I never asked you to call me Severus," he states.
"I know, I've just always wanted to say that," I say dismissively.
"I would only give you detention as an excuse for us to see each other."
I'm surprised at this and happy at the same time. "That is probably the sweetest and strangest thing a teacher has ever said to me."
"Probably? Have you been messing with Flitwick or Binns as well?"
"Definitely, and Merlin no."
"You have a house, don't you?"
I nod. "I'm the only heir."
"Is it fancy?" he asks seriously.
"No, not really. I mean, it's big, but it's old too. My dad inherited it from his parents. There was no way we ever would have had the money to buy a house for ourselves. They both worked for the ministry, low-paying jobs and all," I explain.
"Do you miss your home?"
"I haven't been there since my parents died…it will be weird when I see it again."
"I'm only asking because I want to know if you want to go back there and get some things, or we could even stay there so one of us doesn't have to sleep on the couch, or like last night, both of us."
"There is enough room…Do you really want to?"
I feel him nod again.
It's only a few minutes later that I realize I referred to seeing my home again, when in reality, I probably never will.
