A/N Another chapter. We learn about one of Harry's friends... Hmmm... And Harry himself makes a proposition.
Disclaimer: That chick over in Europe owns HP, not me.
Blind
Chapter 7
When Harry woke up, he sensed a prescence beside his bed. And indeed there was.
"Puffessor," Harry croaked, pulling on his glasses to see the man clearer.
"Potter," Snape said, his voice less filled with malice than usual.
"Are y-you o-oak-okay?" Harry asked, his voice full of empathy as he stared at the broken dull eyes.
"As well as to be expected... But what about you? It seems..." Snape couldn't finish.
"I'm a little sore now, but I'll be all right." 'I always am,' hung unspoken between them.
They fell into an uncomfortable silence where Severus pressed his eyelids and Harry pressed his tummy, both to rid themselves of pain. But Harry managed to whisper, "Don't do that sir. It will only damage them further."
Snape scowled angrily, and ground out, "How would YOU know Potter? Have you ever dealt with this before?"
"A friend in Primary school's father did that to his eyes," Harry answered emotionlessly. "The doctors said he would be blind forever."
Snape sighed, moving his hands to rub circles on his forehead now.
"But he wasn't." Snape's head snapped up. "He focused on learning how to get along being blind, he stopped focusing on the pain. His eyes healed themselves, and he got enough of his vision back to see with glasses."
Snape shook his head. "It is probably different with a child."
Harry paused before saying slowly, "He was magical, I think. His magic healed him... But after he got his vision back, he moved to a foster family in America, instead of staying with his aunt here..."
Severus shook his head, feeling so sorry for the poor child. The kid's own father had taken away one of the most vital sensory receptors! "How old was he? When it happened?"
"Seven... For a while, he told the teachers and us that it had been an accident at the playground; there were all these broken bear bottles lying about, so it would have been easy to do... Though eventually he told the truth. They saved him..." The boy spoke the last thought wistfully.
'But they didn't save you,' Snape thought, tiredly. He felt sick, and tired, and... Everything. Like he needed a bottle of firewhiskey, a hot shower, and a comfortable bed.
But he had something else to say to the boy before he left.
"I'm sorry Potter. For everything: For not seeing about your home life, for always seeing your father, for pushing you about yesterday..."
Harry shook his head. "No, none of that was your fault. I wanted to be rescued, but yet I didn't want anyone to know about how I was treated. And you didn't 'push me about'."
Severus sighed. "But I did push you away."
Harry blushed bright red, glad his Professor couldn't sense his embarrassment. "Uh, I didn't mean to hug you... Sorry... But you didn't mean to push that hard. When you loose your sight, you have trouble at first, remembering your strength and depth perception."
Snape raised his eyebrow. "You seem to know an awful lot about this, even given your friend."
Harry shrugged. "I helped him get used to things, like changes in air pressure, sensing slopes, things like that..." A pause. "You know... I need a new guardian. And you need help getting used to you new 'eyes'," Harry tapped the man's hands. "We could take care of each other."
Snape sat as still as a statue, face emotionless. When the boy said no more, and his breathing turned a bit uneven, filled with pain, Severus muttered, "I'll think about it. Good day, Potter."
A/N Hmmm? Good? Not my best, but I'm a bit tired. Watching College graduations are fun. Not.
Anyway, review! It makes me smile!