The Halls of the Blind
Chapter Two
A Bitter Breakup and Something New
A/N: Thanks to all who left comments on my story... I was surprised when I checked my mail a day or so later... I did not expect to get so many reviews considering I had told no one that the story was up... So I thank you all... there were two or three people who voted for Harry and Draco... and one of those suggested a menage trois with Snape, and while that made me laugh, the fact remains that everyone else who voted said Harry and Snape... so Harry and Snape it will be... Snape and some of the others will probably be OOC... But, then again... Time has passed... I should probably say that this starting school year will be Harry's sixth. Thank you to Qraisi for the wonderful ideas though you did not comment online... and now, on to the story...
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They had gone to the Hospital Wing. Snape had to carry Harry, and once they were there Harry had stayed sitting on Snape's lap. He didn't say anything as Madam Pomfrey had tried to heal him. She had been able to heal everything but his eyes. His mind had cleared, he no longer hurt, and for that he was grateful, but he still could not see.
"I can do nothing about his eyes, Headmaster, whatever did this to his eyes had nothing to do with magic and happened awhile ago," she had said to Dumbledore after fussing over him for an hour. "I know of no way to help him see again."
Up in Dumbledore's office he sat next to Snape, silently wishing inside that he was still in the professor's lap, but the chairs were not big enough for him to be there, so he sat next to him. That was where they were now. He could hear the Headmaster pacing in front of them, walking to one side of the room, only to stop and stare at the wall, then turn around and do the same thing once he crossed the room. He repeated the process until Harry was ready to swear that he was wearing a hole into his floor, had the floor not been made of stone.
Harry had said nothing at the infirmary nor at Dumbledore's office, and Snape had given one word answers to Pomfrey's questions, then hadn't spoken a word once they had left the hospital wing. He had stayed near Harry though, and had allowed Harry to cling to him as they made their way to the office. He had even allowed Harry to clutch at his wrist and hand once seated in the office without so much as a single word or sound of protest.
"What did he mean when he said that you had sent him back," asked Snape. Harry heard the underlying anger in Snape's voice, and though this was Snape it did not seem out of place to Harry. Maybe he was crazier than he thought and this was all a dream. He turned his head toward where Dumbledore had stopped.
"I sent him back to the Dursley's for the summer."
There was a flutter of wings as Fawkes came and landed on Harry's knee. Reaching out, he pets the phoenix blindly. "Hello, Fawkes." He allowed the two to continue talking about him as if he wasn't there, at least this way, he didn't have to answer any questions, yet. He pet Fawkes for awhile then looked up. He hadn't known when the room had gone quiet, or why. Lifting his head he strained to hear Dumbledore, knowing Snape was still there because of the hand in his.
"Tell him, Harry," came Dumbledore's soft voice, "tell him where the sorting hat wanted to put you."
"How do you know-?"
"Harry..."
"Slytherin, that was the house it suggested for me. What does that have to do with anything?"
"My dear boy, were you not listening?"
He shrugged. "Why should I listen when you talk about me like I'm not here? And don't call me your 'dear boy'." He held his breath for a moment. Remembering where he was and who he was with, he let it out like nothing had happened. He wasn't going to get hit for speaking his mind or mouthing off, not here.
There was silence from Dumbledore, and Snape had gone extremely still beside him. Harry grit his teeth, knowing what was coming next.
"Harry, I need to know-"
Fawkes gave a squawk of indignation as Harry pushed the bird off his leg and stood up. "No." He said it quietly, but he knew Dumbledore had heard him. "No, I don't care if you want the answers to your bloody questions to save your own life, but I'm not answering any of them. You sent me back there after I had asked to stay with the Weasley's. 'You will be safer with your relatives, my dear boy'," he said, imitating Dumbledore. "Then I asked to stay here, it's safe here, everybody says so, even you, but did you let me? No. 'I am sorry, Harry, no student has ever stayed here over the summer holidays.' But there were teachers, and there were students! There were two students from orphanages staying here over the summer... I heard them talking about it at the end of last year! You lied to me about there being nobody here over the summer, and because of you I can't see! Because of you, I am what you see before you and I will not put up with being your pawn to play with, not anymore. I will not answer any of your questions. I will no longer play your bloody golden boy. I am no longer the child the sorting hat put into Gryffindor."
Dropping Snape's hand, Harry turned around and started walking. He had been in Dumbledore's office enough times to know its layout. Pushing the door open he stepped out on to the stairs and stumbled slightly as they began to move. Feeling the brush of a cloak behind him, he turns his head slightly, waiting for Snape to speak.
"You're to be moved to the dungeons, Potter. Your rooms will be there."
Giving a nod, Harry turns his head forward, and almost falls as his feet hit unmoving stone. The only thing that kept him from falling was Snape's hand on his arm. "Thanks," he muttered as they started moving down the hall.
He had the feeling that Snape wanted to ask something but was holding back, which was unusual. Hell, everything that was happening here was unusual, why should Snape remain unaffected? He didn't know what he wanted to know, and he didn't know why the professor had allowed him to cling to him like he had been doing. Harry felt eyes again and asked, "What?"
Snape's grip tightened momentarily as if he had been surprised. He recovered smoothly, if it had even happened, posing his question, "How long have you been blind, Potter?"
"A month," he said quietly, as Snape lead him down steps. He could tell when they got to the dungeons. There was a dampness to the air, almost a stale smell to it, there was also a drop in temperature in the surrounding air. Harry put his hand against the wall, trying to picture the place in his head. "Why am I staying in the dungeons?"
"Your head of house is not here till two weeks before school starts, you will stay in the dungeons so someone can keep an eye on you."
Harry almost stopped at that, but he dared not to. "Am I still going to be a student here?" he asked, confused.
"Why do you ask, Potter?"
"I didn't think..."
"Of course you didn't."
Harry smiled slightly. Now that was the Professor Snape everybody loved to hate, and, for a very select few, hated loving. At least Snape had not changed, everything else had, but not Severus Snape. He might have had a brief moment of insanity, but he did not change. For that Harry was greatful, he'd had enough changes in the past two months to last him for awhile. "Will I go back after school starts, Professor?"
"That will depend, Potter."
He frowns slightly. "On what?"
"On whether or not you decide to be resorted, as suggested by the Headmaster as we were leaving."
"Oh, I didn't hear him."
"So I... have noticed. You will be staying near my private rooms, though I do not expect that you will be able to find your way there so soon, they are three portraits down from the potions room."
"The potions room is across the hall and down a little," said Harry, smiling slightly.
"Yes, it is," said Snape warily, "and your hand is on the entrance to your rooms. Slytherissia."
Harry dropped his hand and looked in the direction of Snape. "The Snake of Slytherin? Why that?"
"Because the portrait is that of a snake, Potter. The supposed 'Snake of Slytherin' if you will." He walked Harry forward, then stopped.
When Snape didn't say anything, Harry asked, "Where in the room am I?"
"You're standing in the middle," he said, sounding as if he didn't want to be here. "Bedroom is to your left, bathroom to the right, twelve paces apiece."
Harry nods. "Thank you, sir."
"I'll leave you to acquaint yourself with your rooms. If you need me for some godforsaken reason," Snape pushed a small sphere into his hand, "just squeeze this and say 'Snape'."
Harry nods, refusing to repeat himself again.
He heard Snape turn around and walk away, then heard as the portrait closed behind the professor. Sitting down on the floor he hung his head, allowing the tears he had held in check for so long to finally fall freely.
Q/N: Ah yes, a Qraisi note. I am very pleased with my contributions and how this came out, and that's very difficult considering I'm writing this note before she's even started with the story. No matter, I honestly thought she should have had a Dumbledore/Harry but she keeps slapping me every time I suggest Dumbledore/anyone. How about a Hagrid/Harry? (BOA: Only if you do it) Well at least I didn't get slapped for it. Ah yes, I do hope you enjoyed this fic that I worked so hard to help Angel finish. Yes, I consider my mindless rambling and odd pairings as help.
A/N: You asked for longer... I know Snape may have been a bit out of character as well as Harry... but as hard as I try I can't seem to get them back into that little itty bitty mold of theirs... we'll just say, time has changed them... however subtle or blaringly obvious. As a side note... 'Slytherissia' I'm having that be 'The Snake of Slytherin' or 'Slytherin's Snake' in Parsel tongue... hope that doesn't bunch up anybody's knickers...