To See A Falling Star

What Sighted Eyes Refused To See

By Lady FoxFire

July 14, 2002

Snape's hand fell from Harry as if he was burnt. "Just get out professor," Harry said in a tired voice as he turned away from the man, feeling for his chair.

In numb silence, Snape watched Harry grope for his chair that was just a few inches from his out stretched fingers. He watched as the boy lowered himself into his chair and started to stoke the feathers of his owl once again.

"Excuse me," A timid voice said from the doorway. "Sir?"

"Go away Snape," Harry command. "Just go away."

The Potion Master stared at the boy for a few moments more before silently walking away. "I want an explanation," he growled as Harry's aunt pulled the bedroom door shut behind him.

"In the kitchen," Petunia said as she brushed past Snape and down the stairs.

"What did you Muggles do to him?" Snape said in a low, dangerous, growl as soon as he stepped into the kitchen.

Petunia head snapped up at his comment, her eyes narrowed. "What happened in this house is just as much your kinds fault as it is mine," she said in a bitter voice.

Snape's eyes widen not at her words or tone of voice but at the sight of her face. Her face was covered with fading bruise, her lip still slightly swollen from someone hitting her. Unconsciously the Potion Master reached out to touch her injured face.

She flinched as his fingers brushed against her skin. Her face was a patchwork of fading greenish bruises. Her eyes were full of pain and hopelessness.

"Tell me everything," Snape command in a gentle but firm tone as his hand fell away from her face. "I need to what happened in this house. I need to know everything if I am to help," he explained as he sat down at the kitchen table.

Petunia busied herself in the kitchen, preparing a pot of tea. "I was jealous of Lily when she received her letter. She stopped being my sister at that moment and became something more. Our parents praised everything that she did. They never notice me after that day," she said setting kettle on the fire. "Or that's the way I felt at the time."

"When I meet Vernon everything in my life changed," she said in a wistful voice, her eyes glazed over as she remembered a happier time. "Everyday he would call me and we would chat for hours on end. He would send me candy and flowers to my job. I would get long love letters from him weekly. I felt like Cinderella as her prince Charming arrived on his white stallion to rescue her from her evil family." Petunia snapped out of her trance with a snort. "And I've become the evil stepmother."

Snape sat in silence as he watched the woman prepare the tea. He watched her move stiffly and cautiously as she sat the tea set and biscuits on the table next to him.

Pouring a cup of tea for Snape and herself, she, Petunia, continued with her story. "My parents approved of Vernon almost immediately. He was quite a charming gentleman. He complemented everything about my mother, and discussed world affairs with my father. He had everyone under his spell, everyone but Lily, some how she knew. She knew that he was evil, that he was a monster. I thought she was jealous of me at the time. Here I had found a handsome, intelligent businessman and she was still a dateless freak. But some how she knew the truth about him."

"The truth?" Snape asked as he sipped his tea waiting patiently for her to continue.

Petunia swallowed nervously, her hair falling around her face to hide her shame. "Vernon.. he... he like to be in control of everything, of everyone. And when he wasn't he would get angry."

"And he would hit you," Snape said, saying what she couldn't.

Petunia nodded her head in silence. "It didn't start out that way. At first he didn't approve of this friend or that friend; soon the only friends I had were his friends. I didn't know how to say no to him. He was my life, my reason for being."

"When our parents died in the accident, he became more controlling. He wanted to know where I was at all time, who I talked to. He even had me quit working. He wanted me to stay home and take care of the house and our future children," Petunia explained as she swept the hair from her face. "By the time I was pregnant with Dudley I was completely cut off from my old life, I couldn't even contact my own sister."

"The first time he hit me was when I was late returning from a doctor appointment. He had a bad day at the office, the house wasn't as clean as he wanted and dinner was late. And... And.. Then he said he was sorry but I shouldn't have gotten him angry with me. He would only hit me when I got him angry and then he was always so sorry, so loving."

"After Dudley was born he promised me, never again. He would never hurt me again. But it was all lies."

Petunia raise her teacup to her lips, her trembling hands causes the tea to splash around. "As a baby, Dudley cried a lot. And Vernon would get so upset. There was time I feared that he would do something to our baby. He would get jealous of Dudley if I paid more attention to Dudley than to him when he returned home."

"I finally had enough the first time he struck Dudley. It took a month until I was able to contact Lily. She agreed almost at once to help us escape Vernon. She was... she was to come the day after Halloween when Vernon was at work."

"And Potter?" Snape asked softly.

"When I found him on the step, I realized that Lily was gone. That my sister was dead. Vernon wanted to drown Harry. He didn't want to spend the time or money on raising Harry. I was finally able to convencine him that it would be dangerous to kill or abandon the child. That someone might check on him and would be upset to find him missing. I had so hoped that someone would check on him but no one did."

"I had thought of taking the children and running away. But I had no jobs skills, no friends or family to flee to. And I had two small children to care for. You headmaster had wrote in the letter he left with Harry about the protection he had placed on the house to protect Harry from those that killed Lily. I couldn't leave the house. He was protected here. Better to face an evil you know than one you didn't."

"You could have contacted us. Dumbledore supplied you with parchment in case something happened and you needed us," Snape stated as he began to realize how much this woman had sacrifice to protect her sister's only child. "We would have taken you and the children from this place. We would have protected you."

Petunia wiped the tears from her face. "Vernon hid it from me. I think he kept in contact with your Headmaster. I think he was demanding money from him for him to take care of Harry. For years I've searched for a way to contact someone, anyone who would help us but I never could."

"And Harry? Why did your husband hurt him?" Snape asked.

"Vernon hated Harry, not because of what he was but because he took me away from him. He could accept the time I had to spend with Dudley, after all Dudley was his heir, but Harry... Harry was a nothing to him. He had wanted to drown Harry when we found him or abandon him someplace where he could not be tracked back to us. Maybe someplace only the animals would find him. It took all I had to convince him that it would be dangerous to get rid of him. That they would be upset if they found him dead or missing."

"As long as I didn't pay extra attention to Harry... As long as I was hard on the poor boy then Vernon wouldn't hurt him, won't beat him to bad."

"He hit Potter?!?!" Snape snapped in surprise.

Petunia nodded her head sadly. "Vernon liked to hurt him. But if Harry was busy with chores for me then Vernon would leave him alone. Harry was safe then."

"And his eyes?"

"I would never leave Harry alone with Vernon. I never trusted him, I was afraid of what he would do." Petunia rested her head in her hands as she continued. "In the beginning of July I had to take Dudley to the store for new clothes. Vernon was at work. Harry was safe, I thought. When we return Vernon was already there. He had been there for hours. When I asked about Harry, Vernon said the boy was sick and in his room."

"Vernon was so happy. So proud of himself. I tried to check on Harry but Vernon changed the locks. I tried. I really did try."

"When Vernon finally let Harry out of his room... I wanted to take him to the hospital..." Petunia touched the bruises on her face. "It was no fun for him to beat up a 'blind beggar' as he called Harry."

"Where is he? Where is your husband?" Snape asked.

"I don't know," she said with a shake of her head. "He ran away when he realized what you kind would do to him when you found out what he did." Petunia was silence, her hair hiding her face. "Can you help him? Can you make him see again?"

"I don't know," Snape simply said. "Old wounds are hard to heal with magic, sometimes they're impossible to fix."

"But I thought...."

Snape shocked his head sadly. "That's what many young witches and wizards think. But magic can't solve all the problems of the world. In truth it creates more problems than it solves."

"What's going to happened now?"

"You're going to pack everything you absolutely want to keep while I gather Potter's possessions," Snape explained as Petunia looked at him in confusion Snape reached out and squeezed her hand gently. "We failed you. As a community we failed to protect you and Harry. We locked you and the children in with a monster with no way to escape. I can't changed the past but I can promise you I'll help you create a new future."

Tears ran down Petunia's face as hope once again filled her eyes. "Harry's trunk is in the cupboard under the stairs," She said wiping the tears from her eyes. "It was his bedroom for ten years. Vernon didn't want him anyplace close to us while we slept. Vernon often locked Harry in there for days on end as punishment. He always had the key on him so I couldn't free Harry while he was at work."

~*~

"Potter?" Snape said opening the door to Harry's room once again.

"What do you want, Professor?" Harry replied in a tired flat voice.

Walking over to Harry, Snape laid a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's time to go," He explained.

"Why? What does it matter. We both know my sight can not be restored," Harry said as a tear ran down his check. "And a wizard without his sight can be a dangerous thing."

"We don't know that Potter. It's possible that Pomfrey will be able to heal you."

Harry sat in silence for a few minutes before speaking. "The last thing I saw... The last image burned in to my mind... Vernon had come home early. He knew Aunt Petunia and Dudley were out for most of the day. He had figured out a way... A way to end my freakish nature. To put me in my place forever."

"He started punching me. Beating me. Hurting me. Then when I was on the ground he pinned me to the floor. I... I thought... I thought he was going to... He just grinned at me. At that moment I feared him more than I fear Voldemort. And then came the pain in my eyes. I screamed and screamed. It was like they were being eaten by acid or cover in lava. Some how I past out and when I awoke, I was in my room.... I was blind."

"Harry."

"What's going to happened now Professor. What's going to happen with Aunt Petunia and that monster? You know she's been trying to protect me all these years. I hated her for so long for what she's done but she was doing it to protect me. To protect me from Vernon."

"We're going to Hogwarts. I promised to help your aunt and cousin start a new life, free from that monster."

"And what of me Professor. What will happen to me? It's not like I can take classes any more. I would be a danger to my fellow students." Harry snorted in frustration. "The only class I wouldn't be a danger in is History of Magic."

"You would probably die from boredom," Snape commented. "Binnes was never a living teacher even when he was alive."

A small smile appeared on Harry's face. "You can't lose hope Harry. We'll figure something out. You can't let your uncle win, Harry. You got to keep fighting."

Tears started to run down Harry's face. "Why? Why didn't anyone see what was happening? Why didn't someone help us?" He sobbed as Snape gathered him in his arms.

"I'm ready," Petunia said from the doorway, a small suitcase at her feet.

Snape's eyebrow raised in disbelief at the sight of single small suitcase. "Is that everything? You understand that there will be no coming back for anything you forgot."

Petunia nodded her head in understanding. "There's nothing I want from that monster. All the memories I have from him are bad."

"I need to get my stuff," Harry stated as he wiped his face.

"I have your trunk downstairs Potter," Snape explained as he watches Harry slowly making his way over to his bed.

Kneeling next to his bed, Harry ran his hands over the floor looking for something. "But you don't have everything professor." They watched in confusion as Harry popped one of the floorboard losses. "I discovered this little hidey hole around my third year. How else to you expect me to do my homework," he explained as he pulled out packages, letters, scrolls, food and his wand.

"I would hide my wand and school books in here as soon as I got home. Vernon would lock my trunk in the cupboard. He wanted me to fail."

Harry suddenly stopped, his brow frowned in confusion. "Professor how are we getting to Hogwarts? Are we taking the train or the Knight Bus?"

"No Potter. It's too dangerous for either the train or bus and the floo system can be intercepted too easily," Snape explained.

The blood rushed from Harry's face, as his breath seems to catch in his throat. "A portkey," he said softly with a tremor in his voice.

Petunia looked on in confusion, only knowing that her nephew was suddenly afraid, very afraid. "It's the fastest and safest way Harry," Snape explained in a soft voice as he tried to reassure Harry. " I'll be with you the whole time Harry. You don't have anything to fear. I'll protect you."

Swallowing nervously Harry nodded his head. "Lets go."