A/N: YES I HAVE EXPLAINING TO DO!
I am so sorry for going MiA on all of you. I do realise that I last updated over a year ago and I have valid reasons. I finished my internship, moved back home and got a job that takes a lot of my time and energy and as much as I love it, it's been rough and busy.

Now before this turns into a ridiculously long note, you can of course just go ahead and read the chapter but for those of you still reading this, I hope you all are safe. The world is experiencing a pandemic and most of us are on lockdown.

South Africa just began our 21 day lockdown on Friday and that's one of the reasons that I now have time to write and update.

I'm hoping that I can continue writing once this lockdown is over too but for now I'm gonna write and update as much as I can.

STAY HOME AND STAY SAFE!

If you're up for it, let me know where you guys are from and how you're dealing with this lockdown. In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Let me know what you think of this new chapter!

xoxo

Sometimes Harry wished that he'd been born blind rather than have his sight taken away from him, the way it was.

It's just like how a part of him was glad that even though he had to suffer at the hands of his uncle, aunt and cousin, he couldn't recall what life with his parents had been like. That way, he couldn't miss a life he never even remembered.

But, oh how he missed his sight.

Xxx

The fact that a stranger had come by to rescue Harry startled him more than hearing Aunt Petunia shouting about a giant at her doorstep.

Weird things usually did happen around Harry, or at least they did when he could still see and observe the effects.

Now however, he did feel a spark of something in him when he got angry or irritated but that's mostly all it ever was. If he'd truly done anything that constituted as forbidden in the Dursley household, he was sure that he'd hear of it from Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon.

Harry had been nine when his sight first started to get worse until about six months in when his world went black.

Today he was eleven and he was entirely unsure how to feel about the fact that he was apparently a wizard who was being rescued from the Dursleys to go study at a school for magic.

Xxx

Severus absolutely refused to spend the night pacing and so he resigned himself to tossing and turning in bed chasing a fitful sleep.

He'd resolved to start with a basic tour of the castle- if the boy was comfortable with his surroundings then they could start training his senses and once Severus was satisfied that the boy wouldn't fall down a flight of stairs, he could start training the boy to do basic spells.

When morning arrived, Severus felt more on edge than he'd ever remembered feeling in all his adult life, and he had been a Death Eater for Merlins sake!

Nevertheless, he pushed down his uneasiness and made his way to the hospital wing.

Potter was surprisingly already wide awake, breakfast halfway eaten and a huge smile on his face as he conversed with Poppy.

"Ah Professor Snape! Good morning," greeted Poppy, "Harry here was just telling me about all the new things he's hoping to experience now that he's at Hogwarts."

Severus mustered up a small smile directed at Poppy, "Good morning Madam Pomphrey, Mr Potter."

Potter turned his head in the direction of Severus' voice, "Morning Professor Snape! Where are we going today?"

"Well since you have already taken breakfast, we shall head to the Great Hall later in the day for lunch," answers Severus, "For now though, the castle is quite expansive and it might be a blessing right now that the staircases move around of their own accord so I think it would be a better idea to walk in whichever direction the staircases lead us…"

Potters' eyebrows shoot up to his hairline and he turns to the general direction of where Poppy is standing, "He's kidding right? Or are you really telling me that the staircases move around on their own?"

Poppy looked amused but Severus replied, "I am not in the habit of kidding, Mr Potter."

Severus was he heard a huff of amusement from Poppy before Potter bravely replied, "Okay Professor Serious… the stairs still sound spooky though."

Severus' glare was lost on Potter but Poppy outright chuckled, "Okay gentlemen, I think you might do well to get on your way now. I'm sure there's a lot that you need to accomplish today."

Potter wolfed down the last of the food on his plate before sliding out of bed fully dressed for the day, slipping on his sneakers with practised ease before facing Severus with a giant grin, "I'm ready Sir."

Severus nodded, "Good. I need to have a word with Madam Pomphrey first and then we shall leave."

He signalled for Poppy to follow him into her office.

"Was there something you needed to ask, Severus?" she questioned as she entered the office.

Severus turned to face her, "I gather that I will not in fact be returning the boy back to the hospital wing at the end of the day. Has Albus mentioned where exactly in the castle he plans on setting up Mr Potter until the start of term?"

Poppy looked unsure, "Well there's certainly nothing wrong with Harry to warrant him remaining here but I assume that Albus will directly speak with you later about his residence in the castle."

Severus sighed, "That is fine. I shall be on my way now."

He turned to leave but was stopped by Poppys' hand on his arm, "Thank you for looking out for the boy, Severus- no matter how begrudgingly. He at least has someone with his best interests at heart."

It was a hard pill to swallow knowing how much this boy is going to depend on him and how much he was about to open his very private life- no, how much he needed to open up his very private life in order to gain the boys trust.

"I need to leave now," was his response before he went to meet Potter.

Potter was waiting for him in the same spot that he left him.

"Can we go now?" asked Potter.

"Yes," Severus stopped and thought deeply for a moment before adding, "You will need to follow me closely to ensure that you can safely navigate the castle…"

"Well I could always hold onto your arm?" the boy sounded unsure and then he added, "Or if you don't want me to touch you, maybe you could just tell me when I need to turn and which direction we're walking in…"

Severus decided that this was his first test. Instructing the boy verbally could very well teach him faster how to navigate the castle but this was only day one in a foreign and giant castle, he couldn't already leave the boy to fend for himself. He made a decision.

He dropped his arm to his side and gently nudged Potter, "Grab on to my arm, but I will also be telling you where we are going and how we are getting there to help improve your awareness of your surroundings."

Potter placed his palm on Severus' robe clad forearm and smiled up at him, "That's great, thank you."

Xxx

"So Professor, what's closest that we can visit first?" asked Potter as Severus led them through the corridor.

"I suppose that we might as well go to the Gryffindor common room while we're this close to the 7th floor."

"What's Gryffindor?"

"It is one of the four houses at Hogwarts that students are sorted into at the beginning of their first year," answered Severus, "Your house becomes your pride, and you strive to bring honour to it through academics, sport and good demeanour."

"Oh," there was wonder in Potters' voice, "What are the other three?"

Severus stopped suddenly and informed Potter, "We have reached a staircase and we need to move quickly lest it change direction and our destination is altered."

Potters' eyes widened and Severus could feel the boy starting to tug on his sleeve to hurry them along. He chuckled before walking again, "It is not nearly as daunting as you are imagining it to be, just very inconvenient having to alter your route especially when one is in a hurry."

They reach the landing for the fifth floor and a look of relief flashes on the boys' face.

"I also said that it's spooky… I mean staircases moving by themselves."

Before Severus could reply, a lady in one of the nearby paintings spoke instead, "Worried about the staircases, is he? Wait till he figures out where this voice is coming from!"

Harry whipped around, grip tightening on Severus' arm, "Who said that?"

"Goin' to be in for a rude awakening the first time a ghost sweeps through him," cackled an old man from another painting.

"G-g-ghost?" the boy was visibly trembling at this point.

Severus sighed and for the first time he seemed to realize just how young Potter was. He was a child who had been through far more than anyone his age should have gone through. He was a child who was fascinated by magic and scared of ghosts and couldn't comprehend how staircases moved by themselves. And while it may not be the perfect time to have had an epiphany, he did feel awful about the fact that the boy had so much resting on his shoulders- even if he didn't know it yet, and that Severus himself was grooming him into the weapon that Albus and so many others expected to save the world.

Severus broke out of his thoughts and glared at the two paintings, "That will be enough from the peanut gallery. Unless you wish to see your frames go up in smoke, I suggest that you leave the boy alone."

Potter still looked startled but he'd stopped shaking, "Who are you talking to?"

"I should have probably warned you about a few things before starting this tour of sorts," Severus drew in a breath, "In the wizarding world, the pictures move… the ones in books, newspapers and as we have all over the castle, the paintings as well."

"So that was a painting talking to me just now?" questioned Potter.

"Two in fact," answered Severus.

The boy seemed to be taking deep breaths before he spoke again, "And there are ghosts?"

"There are ghosts," stated Severus flatly.

"Cool… I mean, can't get any crazier than this right," Potter seemed to be struggling with the idea of ghosts.

Severus shifted his arm so Harry lets go of his still tight grip before laying that same hand on the boys' shoulder reassuringly, "Potter, I assure you that these ghosts are nothing like the ones that muggles tell tales of. They inhabit the castle and everyone is quite fond of them. The most harm that they can possibly cause is talking you to sleep with the same stories over and over again."

Potter seemed to relax, "Okay, I can deal with that."

"Let us be on our way then."

Potter nodded and as Severus' arm fell back to his side, he placed his palm on Severus' forearm just as it was before.

They walked further and climbed a few more staircases during which Severus told Potter a bit more about the other houses as well, before they stopped and Harry heard a lady ask for the password.

"Is that another painting?" asked Potter.

"Yes, this is the Fat Lady and she looks after the entrance of the Gryffindor common room," said Severus as he gave the Master Password and guided Potter to enter.

It was only once they were in the common room, and Severus had looked to see Potters' reaction to the place that he realized there was really not much of a point to come in here. It wasn't like the boy could actually look around and appreciate the place where both his parents had spent much of their time during their Hogwarts years.

Severus felt at a loss. He had thought that he knew what he wanted to try to accomplish but it was much more difficult to think of things that would actually help the boy to adapt to his surroundings than he had initially thought.

"Professor," came Potters' voice breaking him out of his thoughts, "Is this the fireplace?"

Potter is currently running his hands along the mantle and Severus is reminded that he can at least test how good the boys' senses are before he writes this entire mission off as pointless.

"It is the fireplace," replies Severus, "but I think that we might make a bit more progress if we go test out how sharp your other senses are to make up for the loss of your sight."

Potters' face fell slightly, "Oh, I thought we were going to do a bit more exploring of the castle."

"That can still be done, we can go down to the courtyard and practise there until lunch," he made it sound like a suggestion.

Potter shrugged, "Okay," he walked towards Severus and held out his hands when he thought he was near enough.

Severus stepped closer and gave the boy his arm, leading him out and into the corridor.

As they made their way to the courtyard, Severus pointed out various paintings and statues that they were passing and the trip took them twice the usual amount of time because Potter made them stop at everything so that Severus could describe them in detail.

Severus thanked the fact that he was a patient man otherwise he couldn't comprehend how he would have gotten through that ordeal. He also figured that it was about time the new term started and he found some miscreants to rain his wrath down on because he feared he was becoming soft after the past few months without students around- he figured this because he felt that all the trouble of describing every single thing they passed was outweighed quite heavily when he got to see the look of happiness across the boys' face whenever he learned about all the things around him that he couldn't see.

Xxx

When they finally reached the courtyard, Severus took a moment to breath in the fresh air before pulling out his wand and turning to Potter, who had his face upturned, basking in the warm sunlight.

"I think that your hearing is going to be our most advantageous sense to train and so we will start with me inducing several noises in different directions and you will need to tell me which direction the sound is coming from," said Severus.

Potter took a deep breath and then squared his shoulders, "I'm ready."

Severus nodded, pointed his wand to the left and sent a knock-back jinx towards a stone to displace it.

Potter jumped at the sudden noise but he recovered quickly and said "My right, that was on my right."

"Good Potter, now we are going to do that at a faster pace."

Severus continued to send the jinx in various different directions, moving silently to prevent Potter from knowing exactly where he'd hit next.

There was no mistake on the boys' part. He got every single one correct and Severus decided to up the difficulty.

"You will now follow the sound that you hear to the source," explained Severus, "They will start off as loud noises but as we progress they will get softer and softer."

Potter just nodded and said, "Ready."

Severus started off with loud and obnoxious trumpets that he transfigured out of a few flowers in the nearby garden.

Potter followed the sound easily.

He stuck with the loud noises for a while, changing the type and location and finally putting one all the way across the courtyard just to see how the boy handled navigating the area.

There were a few trips and fumbles but Potter was moving in the correct direction. He caught himself the few times he tripped and always seemed to find things to grab onto to steady himself.

Severus then started decreasing the volume of the noises.

The speed with which Potter had been previously moving started to decrease as he held himself still and tried to listen intently before making his move.

He had a few false starts with the trickier sounds and the sound of dripping water was the one that eventually stumped him.

Potter stood and turned in circles trying to identify where the noise was coming from, "I can't seem to find this one Professor."

"Take slow, deep breaths and block out any other sounds. Stop thinking so hard, just focus on that sound of the droplets," coached Severus, "Try taking a few steps in any direction."

Harry took a few steps to his right.

"Is it getting louder?" asked Severus.

"Softer," replied Potter.

"So?"

"Opposite direction," answered Potter as he stepped towards his left.

"How does it sound now?" enquired Severus.

"Louder but still not quite right… I'm going to go backwards," he turned 180° and started to walk slowly until his foot hit a step. Potter picked his foot up, trying to judge the height of the step. He seemed to deem it suitable for himself to step up and then he walked a bit more until he stopped and exclaimed, "Yikes, I think I found the water!"

Severus couldn't help his chuckle as he watched the drops from the ceiling of the corridor above drip onto Potters' head, "You did. Well done."

Potter grinned and stepped away from under the dripping ceiling which Severus quickly made disappear with a flick of his wand.

Potter still lingered, running his hands on the wall and the balustrades, "Is this a corridor? Closed off on one side maybe, which is why it sounded like the sound was everywhere. It was an echo."

Severus looked at the boy in wonder. He hadn't expected him to be able to account for why this noise was so difficult to place but he felt a bloom of hope in his chest that maybe this boy wasn't as forlorn as he suspected, maybe this was a work in progress after all.

"Very observant of you Mr Potter. Let us head to lunch in the Great Hall and we shall see what more we can get out of this day thereafter."

Potter walked to where Severus was standing and said, "So what's my prize for winning?"

Severus narrowed his eyes, "Your what?"

'My prize. I won, I beat your game so I should get something right?"

Severus rolled his eyes, "This was not a game, this is your training and there will be no prizes."

Potter pouted, "Come on. Just to make it fun too? I won't ask for much. How about my prize for this round is you calling me Harry?"

"No," refused Severus, as he nudged Harry to hold onto his arm so he can lead them to the Great Hall.

"What, why?"

"Mr Potter is your name as well and it shall suffice."

"Okay fine," said Harry with a sigh, "If you won't do that then tell me what your first name is."

"Absolutely not, Harry," protested Severus.

Potter just laughed as he was led back inside the castle.

Albus Dumbledore watched them disappear back into the castle with a pensive expression.

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