Disclaimer: Don't own any of this world...sighs...can only wish...oh well. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling. Dirt Poor...No Money...Don't Sue.

A/N: Hello all. I am soooooooo sorry about the wait. My muses have finally sent some inspirations via floo from Ireland. If anyone has any hints, suggestions, or anything in general I have done wrong then please feel free to inform me. I am open to everything.
Well, I'm gonna shut up so I can type this and work thru it before the muses pull another nasty trick and vanish… Enjoy….Looking forward to reviews. My computer wasbeing stupid so I used (HPHP)to show a seperation of thoughts or time periods. Hope it is too confusing...SRY.

The Houself, KitKat, was named for an inside joke with my friend for her nickname. But also…With Snape being tall, dark, and handsome who could resist using the name of a chocolate confection for the name. LoL

Deep in the dungeons of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, one Severus Snape moved frantically from cauldron to cauldron. A simmering yellow bubbled to life next to another pewter with a spitting green. A fire red; second simmering silver that sent the moon hiding from its brightness, and the overwhelming fumes were of no regard as he worked feverishly with each experimentation; each no better than the last.

He had been working tirelessly for several days. No one entered his domain and he never left. Time had learnt to bleed into one another; becoming yet another unexplainable mess that would never be right in his solitary. The only separation was the sporadic appearances of his personal house elf, KitKat, to bring food that would often remain untouched and taken back to the kitchen looking almost the exact same as it did when it had arrived.

What mission was so important? What kept him from eating, sleeping restfully, or even banishing the dark circles and fatigue shown so simply on his tired body? What haunted him? It was simple, really; it was the haunted emptiness in the 17 year old, green eyed man's eyes. The way the boy cowered from everything; everything except him. In that moment, floods of memories- nightmares- bombarded the mental walls he had trapped them behind. Though he was far from what one could call a sentimental person, seeing Potter so helpless had brought back a childhood he had thought to have died nearly two decades before.

During the last fire-call, Poppy had informed him that Harry Potter now lie in a healing coma. It was meant to give him the needed rest to bring his physical and magical reserves to peak but it would do nothing for his senses. The emotional damage from facing Voldemort, recurring nightmares rolling across his unseeing eyes, the silence and helplessness could never be remedied.

But that was about to improve.

Unbeknownst to the world, Hogwarts' resident Potions Master had concocted a remedy to bring back and cure the boy's wretched eyesight. Truthfully, No sound would ever breech his ears nor would his vocal cords vibrate from his laugh or sob with his tears but his world would cease to be black. The colors would rise once more.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

It took a full two more days to fine tune the ingredients. Through experimentation and piles of potions stained notes, a balance was achieved between the amount of Phoenix Tears and Dragon's Heart without creating a chain reaction turning the rest of the ingredients into an instant poison for the unlucky drinker.

At last, it was completed.

Snape bottled the perfected potion, stored the rest in labeled bottles, and banished the mess from his work station. In a flurry of movements he arrived at the infirmary, his legendary cloak billowing effortlessly behind him. The scene he arrived upon was most disturbing.

The purity of whiteness was darkened with the anguish rolling from the young man on the white cot. His contrasting body lie bound to the cot with magiked manacles while he thrashed about uselessly. One look at the nurse and ever the most oblivious eyes could see how close to her wits end she was now.

"Severus, maybe you can calm him." She sighed heavily; worry was evident in her stance.

"How long has he been in this condition and why was I not contacted immediately?"

"I was more focused on him. He awoke a couple hours ago and it was instant panic mode mixed with his battle mode. I finally cast immobilus and he has been like that ever since." She made a gesturing motion towards Harry.

"Poppy, you must realize how much the boy must be frightened. His only comforts are the last battle. He has neither seen nor heard anything to dispel those images. With his hearing, vocal and visual loss he is only able to recognize magical signatures; though I doubt he knows what he is doing. He is acting on instinct and only a signature that he considers near as familiar as his own will he trust near him in this subdued state of mind."

"Severus Snape, will you help me or not?"

"Yes, dear woman. I have a theory and a solution to one of his disabilities."

"Will it help him?"

"Of course, I did not just…" His on-coming rant was cut short by a wave of her hand. It was amazing the power this 'dragon lady' held over everyone.

"I only have his best wishes at heart." She smirked, a Snape worthy smirk and continued with a rueful wink, "As I'm sure you do as well."

Unfazed, Snape responded, "Yes, well, I have created a potion to return Mr. Potter's eyesight to him. He will have no need for those infernal glasses but the process is painful. The potion will take effect immediately; however, the boy must be held still. Magic is out of the question. The potion is delicate and magic in effect while it is being administered will trigger an unknown effect. Also, due to the questionable stability, if he is left alone, any rash or violent, sudden movements will damage his magical center."

"I have tried numerous times to calm Harry but nothing helps. I suggest you take a shot. He warmed to you last time." Severus promptly handed the vial to Madame Pomfrey and cautiously moved towards the young man.

He had done the research and had discovered the boy was most powerful at his weakest point. The condition Harry was in prompted him toresearch a similar baringthat had been rumoured about.An old Dark Arts Tome explained a ritual, of sorts, that helped witches and wizards reach the maximum of his or her powers. It was labeled as a journey of the brave, fortis praemium, but was labeled dark for the rarity and torturous aspects of the ritual. Magical beings subjected themselves to this of his or her own free will though often the being held too much surety or pride to let them truly accept what was to come.

The preparations were simple. The process was deadly.

1) A silencing charm was placed on the vocal chords to stop the ability to call for help. This strictly was to test that one person, not those who showed up to pull them from the quick sand of trouble they were likely to find themselves in.

2) An invisible 'barrier' was erected over each ear so all sound bounced back and was left unheard. It would do no good for sounds to alert of danger before the magical core of the witch or wizard could sense it.

3) Lastly, a blindfold was produced and positioned over the eyes. This was to ensure the ultimate vulnerability as well as destroy the last physical barrier preventing the tapping of the magical core to protect and be used at will.

From that point, everything is placed in the hands of the master, or trainer. The witch or wizard is taken to unfamiliar but deadly terrain. A place similar to the Forbidden Forest is the most common. Any place that would be dangerous to a fully trained and armed wizard is the environment deemed suitable.

There is only one way to ensure safety, or at least life, in a challenge of this caliber. It was only by using a sixth sense (A/N: no pun intended) of magic. The aura surrounding the person is supposed to reach at and determine the intention of the unknown creatures and hazards. It also becomes a beacon; similar to a red light flashing randomly in a pitch black room. Different colors determined the potential threat it held. Another effect was that the sensing of magical signatures could essentially be equivalent to sight, but could not be hindered by a Polyjuice Potion or Concealment Charm; A living version of the Marauders Map. Tapping into the ability is the only road to survival. Suffice, many did not live more than a couple hours if they were extremely lucky.

Very few attempted the ritual for two key reasons. First, the process lead to an almost certain death. Second, the only known way to hone the senses to a magical signature is to instill complete and utter control and trust into the person who sends them in. Though the idea of giving complete trust to someone is a simple concept, it is a hard barrier to break. It is a barrier that is only broken when a person will put themselves at someone else's will and trust enough to believe that no matter how dire the situation, that person will care for him or her and keep them safe.

It is thru this bond of trust that the wanted skills are obtained and used successfully. It the two attempts that did succeed, it was recorded that if the trusted was to stand at the exit of the unknown area then the trustee could find the way without much trouble. The trust bond was said to be equal to not only a tracking charm but also a shielding charm.

As written, only two wizards survived this journey of the brave. Salazar Slytherin, a man who truly reveled in challenges and his very own grandfather, Spencer Tiernan Malfoy-Snape.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

In all honesty, Severus Snape had stared at that piece of parchment for a very long time. He had never seen reference to his grandfather, especially with Malfoy proceeding his given name. But that is one question that may never be answered. Well, that may just be an answer he will never willingly search out. But that is a different story.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

'Because his loss took effect during the final battle, his last sight must have been his showdown with Voldemort.' Snape grimaced at the thought. He knew for a fact that Harry- no, Potter- had lost Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley during the battle. In fact, loathe as he was to admit it, it was tragic that none of the Weasley family survived. Except the two eldest, both of which were in different countries at the time. His thoughts turned back to the young man. He knew very well what the Dark Lord could do to people. 'His only comfort is death.'

Snape continued to inch closer and closer until he was behind the red, drawn curtain. The thrashing stopped as soon as he was within distance. He took out his wand and muttered a short spell he knew would fall on deaf ears. It was simple Latin that would make his magical signature more prominent. After that, a simple Lumos and Nox did the trick. Severus was finally within range enough to hear the injured boy take shallow breaths. He reached down to move a loose strand from the scarred face and was surprised to see him lean into it. He took an elegant, potion stained finger and lightly began to trace the battle scars the 17 year old should have never had to bear.

From the left temple, an angry line stood prominately on the abnormally pale skin. Straight across his eye, down across the left half of his upper lip and diagonal to just below his bottom lip on the right side. Another, an X, the size of a galleon, the tip just hitting the corner of his right eye. The final was a burn, from a break in one's magical core, below his left ear at the back of the jaw bone.

Soon enough, he climbed gently behind the boy and positioned him so that Harry's back was against his chest. The boy tensed for a sweet moment but soon felt no threat with this signature. He relaxed comfortably into the safe warmth he was being provided. The binds were adjusted but kept in place for safety reasons.

With a wave of his hand, the curtain opened slightly and Poppy entered cautiously. Harry began to tense again and was nearly in a fit. Severus put a strong arm across the chest and began rubbing soothing circles on his stomach. That calmed him.

"Poppy, bring me the potion but do make it quick. I will keep him still for the duration of the effects and by some means, please keep others out; you included." No malice was heard in his tone; only simple truth. She did as was asked and bustled out, closing the curtain on the gentle picture of Severus Snape, horror of Hogwarts, rubbing circles on the toned stomach and likewise on the throat to coax the potion down without choking him. Such care was given by a man who claimed to not care. She smiled softly and wandered to her quarters; leaving the men to peace.

As the potion began to take effect, Harry's body went rigid. His mouth hung open in a silent scream as he tried to get from the grip. Severus tightened the restraints magically and tightened his hold. It was enough to keep him still but the pain must be unimaginable. The comforting hand on his stomach wandered aimlessly to end up in the soft, raven hair. An unconscious attempt at comfort.

Severus knew the potion; after all, he created it. It was meant to literally burn the old retina and lens; only to build a new one. Regardless of the pain, every minute passed brought Harry to 'snuggle' closer to Severus.

When the potion had finally been completed, the young man's breathing evened out and he was asleep.

The last thing Severus Snape saw, before his eyelids drooped heavily and skewered his vision, was a small man curl tightly into his arms only for him to unknowingly tighten his grip; to protect when sleep overtook his tired form.

A/N: Off I go and Happy reading (on this and the 6th book). Hey, thanks again for the patience. I am trying very hard to catch up and update…though review would be some good motivation. Also, I am looking for a BETA…however, I would like one to do more than just spell check. I want them to feel free to inform me if something is entirely confusing or what not. If you are up for the job, leave your email in a review or send me an email Thanks…and Enjoy O.O
I have been told the ritual is confusing. It is not being invoked...it is a comparison as to what Harry is going thru and the fact that Harry only lets Sev near him says something. Sorry for confusing