Chapter 2

Hermione sighed as she walked beside Ron to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry hadn't been on the train yesterday and Hermione was extremely worried. She noticed that even the teachers were worried; they had been called to the Headmasters office yesterday right after the welcoming feast to be questioned about Harry, apparently they hadn't heard from him in weeks either. Hermione sighed again and looked up at her boyfriend as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

As they entered the hall they both cast a quick glance around the room in hopes of spotting Harry sitting at the table waiting for them. With heavy hearts, they sat down at their spots at the Gryffindor table, nearest to the teachers.

Time seemed to pass like molasses for the rest of the day. By the time dinner finally came, Hermione thought for sure she was going to have a mental breakdown from all the worrying she was doing. A tiny bit of hope entered her heart as she noticed Professor McGonagall coming toward them.

"Ron." Hermione said, causing the red-head to stop playing with his food and look up startled. She nodded her head to the approaching professor. When the professor arrived, she looked as stern as ever, but there was a bit of sorrow and concern showing in her eyes.

"If you two would follow me." McGonagall said briskly. They followed her quietly, worry rising once again as they noted they were headed in the direction of the Hospital Wing.

The first thing they noticed was the Headmaster and resident Potions Master, Severus Snape. Dread and sorrow hung heavily in the air, threatening to crush every one by its shear force. They quickly walked over to Harry's bed and sure enough it was occupied by a familiar messy haired boy. A bandage covered his eyes, and his cheeks were sunken in. The rest of his body was covered in a blanket so they couldn't see if there were any more wounds.

Ron's arms wound themselves around Hermione's waist tightly. Hermione let out a gasp at the tightness. "Ron," she said "too tight." Ron quickly let go and turned around, his whole body shaking. Before anyone could do something Ron pulled back his arm and slammed his fist into the wall.

"Ron! You breaking your hand isn't going to solve anything!" Hermione turned to the teachers, "Just how bad is it?"

"He's extremely malnourished and dehydrated. He has lacerations covering his body, some of which have caught an infection. There's also evidence of rape." Snape told her.

"And his mind?"

"We don't know yet. He hasn't woken up." Just then there was shifting on the bed they stood next to. A whimper escaped Harry's mouth as he shifted and Hermione grabbed a hold of one of his hands.

"Shh, Harry. You're safe now. I won't let anyone hurt you anymore." Hermione said, lightly caressing his hand. The hand pulled itself out of her grasp and came up to his bandaged eyes. Hermione quickly pulled the hand back as he tried to remove the bandage. "I'm afraid your eyes are beyond repair anymore Harry. The damage was too extreme and too old also."

A choked sob escaped the small boy. Madam Pomfrey came over to the duo and flicked her wand to check how everything was healing. "Are you in pain anywhere, Harry?" She asked softly.

Harry shook his head. "No ma'am."

"You're healable injuries should be healed in a week. I'm going to have you drink a dreamless sleep potion now so your body can rest."

Harry nodded and the potion was administered. He was asleep in seconds.

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"Where are we going Hermione?" Ron asked as he followed his girlfriend through the halls.

"To the library of course. I want to help Professor Snape find a cure. Just sitting around isn't going to anybody any good so it's better than nothing. Ron simply sighed and quietly did as he was told. There was no use saying or doing anything else since Hermione was too stubborn to be moved when she got an idea in her head.

They stayed till just before curfew and they were chased out of the library by Madam Pince. They trekked up to Gryffindor Tower, and headed to bed after a quick good bye.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry woke from his dreamless sleep to the sound of someone rushing around. He tried to open his and only remembered what happened when he was unsuccessful for the third time. He cleared his throat slightly and all movement in the room stopped.

"Oh Harry, you're awake. How are you feeling dear?" Came Madam Pomphrey's voice from nearby.

"Fine, thank you Madam." Harry replied quietly. A swishing noise was heard and a weird tingling feeling spread through his body. He stiffened. "What did you do?!" He asked alarmed, panic started to run through his body.

"Calm down dear, I only cast a diagnostic spell on you. You've healed pretty well so far. The Headmaster thinks it a good idea you move in with Professor Snape, and I'd say you're well enough to be moved already." A hand touched his own and he jumped in surprise, the hand didn't move though.

"Why?" Harry asked, "He hates me, and I don't want to be a burden."

"You're no burden Harry, and Professor Snape doesn't hate you it's just a mask he keeps up." Another hand brushed through his hair causing him to jump again. "And we thought it best to be Professor Snape because he hass experience with the blind and can teach you how to live a normal life even without your sight."

"How?"

"He has a younger sister who is blind, so he'll be able to teach you brail and how to take advantage of your other sharpening senses."

"Is that why I was able to hear you moving around so well, because my senses are sharpening?"

"That's right. The professor will be here after breakfast sometime to take you to his quarters. In the mean time you can take your potions and eat breakfast."

Breakfast was a messy affair. He ended up spilling more on himself then he managed to get into his mouth. Harry sat there flushed with embarrassment after Madam cleaned him off and got him into some muggle clothes.

Harry's head whipped around towards the sound of the Hospital Wing doors opening. The soft click of shoes and the swish of clothes came nearer to Harry and he tensed in fear. The person stopped by his bed but remained silent. Harry reached out a hand and came into contact with a hard, cloth covered chest or stomach. His hand moved up, and guessing how high he had to go to reach the shoulder it was either a tall adult or an elder Weasley. He got onto his knees to continue his adventure and touched first a cloth covered neck before reaching a smooth strong jaw. He moved his hand to the side away from the direction of the mouth and up a smooth cheek and defined cheek bones. His hand moved up to the temple, briefly coming into contact with silky soft hair, and across a forehead. Finally he decided to move down again. His fingers trailed down a large nose and he froze.

He knew exactly who this was. Quickly he snatched his hand back, but only got it halfway back to himself when another hand stopped him. "It's alright." The other man said in, what could only be described as, a deep smooth voice. "What you were doing was right. You'll need to get used to it so you can be able to identify people."

"Professor Snape?" Harry asked tentivly.

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I wanted to see what you would to identify the person near you if they didn't say a word."

"But why?"

"Because being able to identify who is around you is the first step to getting used to losing your sight. That and becoming aware of your surroundings and being able to direct yourself without the help of others."

"Oh."

"Oh indeed Mr. Potter." Snape sneered. "I'll be removing your bandages and putting a burn salve on your burns and a tissue restorative in your eyes." Snape removed the bandage from Harry's eyes and lightly smeared the cold cream on and around his eyes. "Lay down Mr. Potter."

Snape pulled back the eye lids and put a dropper full into his eye. Harry jerked back and gave a shocked yell at the sudden burning in his eye. "What did you do?!"

"Calm down Potter. It only burns because it has to fix the tissue damage." Snape said not letting him get away. He quickly took care of the next eye as well. "Now close your eyes so I can put something on to seal them. I don't want anything getting in them or messing with the healing."

Harry closed his eyes and only gave a twitch as a cold paste was smeared over his eyes. "Madam Pomphrey gave you leave to go so we'll be headed to my quarters now." Harry nodded and got up from the bed. Snape took his arm and had Harry grab a hold of his before they slowly moved forward.


AN: Not as good as i would like. Hopefully the next one will be better. Hope you liked it anyway. Please review and tell me your thoughts and what you would like to see happen in this story. Thanks for reading!