To See A Falling Star

Wear My Sunglasses at Night

By Lady FoxFire

Oct 27, 2002

"Where are we?!?" Harry panicked as his legs collapsed underneath him, throwing him to the ground. "Aunt Petunia, where are we?" he asked desperately as he wildly reached out his flailing arms trying to find someone, something to reassure himself

"It's ok, Harry," Petunia mollified as she knelt next to him, her hand resting on his shoulder in a comforting way. "It looks like we're on the outskirts of a town. I can see buildings down the road."

"Get up, Potter. We're on the road to Hogsmeade," Snape snapped sharply as he glared down at the boy and his aunt. "I told you we would portkey to the borders of Hogwarts. After last year, the Headmaster increased the wards on the school. Or didn't you trust me, Potter?"

"After last year, I don't take anything at face value anymore," Harry countered steadily, standing up. "You were acting too... nicely. I wasn't sure you were who you claimed to be."

"And now?" Snape asked, looking condescendingly down his nose at Harry. "Do you now believe that I am your 'greasy' Potions Master?"

Harry turned his face towards his professor, his sightless eyes staring up at him. "I do now," Harry explained with a slight teasing smile tugging his lips. "So tell me, Professor Snape, what was it? Was it shock?"

"Insolent brat," Snape muttered bitterly under his breath as he rolled his black eyes and started down the road towards the school,

"My glasses," Potter said suddenly turning towards his aunt. "Aunt Petunia, do you have my glasses? I forgot them."

"I have them right here," she said as she dug through the bag slung on her shoulder. "I thought you would forget them, so I packed them myself."

"Glasses?" Snape asked in confusion as he stopped and looked back at them. "What do you need glasses for?"

Petunia pulled out a pair of glasses and placed them in her nephew's hand. "Mostly for protection," Harry replied simply as he slipped a pair of dark sunglasses on his face, hiding his sightless eyes from the world. "But also so I don't upset anyone. People don't like looking into dead eyes; it upsets them. It makes them pity me-- makes them treat me as if I'm completely helpless."

"It allows you to hide from the world," Snape added with a sudden understating. "If they can't see your weakness, then they can't use it against you. Is that why you hide the fact you were being abused from everyone?"

Harry cocked his head to the side, lost in thought. "I never hid it, Professor. People either never looked or never believed," he answered regretfully in a wistful, lonely tone.

"Umm, I hate to ask this, but are we safe here?" Petunia asked nervously as she glanced around uneasily, her eyes flickering to the dark, ominous Forbidden Forest nearby.

"She's right. It's best if we proceed to Hogwarts," Snape said with a sigh.

"We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Hogwarts!" Harry sang off key as Petunia threaded her arm in Harry's.

"Wonderful! He's gone insane," Snape mumbled under his breath as he led them up the road toward the school.

~*~

"It wonderful," Petunia whispered her voice full of child-like wonder and awe as she got her first look at Hogwarts.

Harry smile as he heard her reaction in his aunt's voice. "You should see it at night from the middle of the lake while the castle is aglow with lights. It looks like a fairy tale castle, the type you find sleeping princesses in and dragons outside guarding it from Prince Charming," Harry explained as he remembered with nostalgia the first time he saw the school.

As they passed through the gate and walked towards the regal double doors of Hogwarts, they could hear Hagrid's booming voice. "Now this little creature is a Fennec from the Saharan desert in Egypt. In Ancient Egypt, witches and wizards used them as messengers and guardians of precious belongings. The Fennec has the ability...."

"Hey look, its Harry Potter!" A boy's voice called out from Hagrid's class. "Potter is back!"

"Wonderful! It's my favorite stalker," Harry sighed in frustration at the sound of Colin Creevey.

Snape snort in amusement at Potter's statement. "Yes, he does have some stalker quality about him."

"Professor," Harry turned toward Snape's voice. Harry's tone betrayed his uneasiness in meeting any of his fellow students at this time.

Snape's attention turned to the number of Gryffindor rushing to see their hero. "Mr. Creevey," Snape snarled icily at the young Gryffindor, his eyes cold and heartless. "Perhaps you return to your class before I decide that you need to scrub all the cauldrons in the castle for the rest of your stay here.

Colin skidded to a halt and looked at the Potion Master in fear. Swallowing nervously, Creevey nodded his head before turning and jogging as quickly as his legs could carry him back to his class, casting fearful glances timidly over his shoulder once in a while.

"Irritating pest," Snape spat darkly under his breath as he watched Colin walk into a tree, knocking himself unconscious.

"You should try living with him!" Harry chuckled merrily as the continued up the path. "Most of us have developed an inborn Colin-and-camera radar system. You don't want to get caught by Colin coming out of the shower."

Snape looked down at Potter in shock. "He wouldn't dare!" He sputtered.

Harry turned his head so that his face was facing Snape, a twisted grin on his face. "Oh, but he did!

"If he tried to take my photo, I would shove his camera up...."

"Ron almost did," Harry replied with an evil chuckle. "Luckily, Fred and George were able to save Colin... minus the camera, of course."

"Of course," Snape replied as Petunia looked upon the men with disapproval but with a twinkle of merriment in her eyes.

~*~

"Harry! Welcome back," Dumbledore exclaimed with a smile, his eyes twinkling as Harry and his aunt followed Snape into the office. "And Mrs. Dursley. A pleasure to finally meet you."

"Nice to meet you, Headmaster," Petunia said politely as she looked around Dumbledore's office in awe. "And please call me Petunia, I don't go by Mrs. Dursley any more."

Dumbledore blinked in surprise at Petunia's statement. "Of course, Petunia. Would you care for a lemon drop?" He asked politely, holding up dish of candy. Petunia shook her head no as she wondered over to Fawkes. With a shrug of his shoulder Dumbledore popped a piece of the hard candy in his mouth before turning towards Harry. "Why weren't you on the train, Harry? We were worried about you. You should have sent a message to us if you were having trouble."

"I just didn't see the point in it, Headmaster," Harry explained as he took off his sunglasses. He turned and blinked his sightless eyes at the headmaster.

"By Merlin's beard," Dumbledore whispered in shock and horror as he sunk in to his chair. The lemon drop falling from his gaping mouth as he stared at Harry. "What happened, child!?! What happened to your eyes?"

"Why?" Harry asked with all the pain and anguished he felt evident in his voice. "Why did you leave us there. Why did you allow him to do this?"

"I don't understand, Harry," Dumbledore said in confusion as he looked at Petunia and Snape for understanding, for explanation. "Please, tell me what happened."

"Abuse. Torture. Hate," Petunia, replied from where she stood stoking the phoenix's feathers. "You placed Harry in my house, but you never checked on him. You never checked if he was safe... if he was loved... if he was wanted. You trapped us in that house. You trapped Harry, my son and myself in that house with a monster. And no one cared. No one cared to check on us even once."

Petunia walked over and sat down in a chair near the windows. She then began the tale of abuse in the house and her disparate struggle to protect the Harry and her own son.

Dumbledore sat in silence as Petunia finished her tale. "I... I... I don't know what to say to either one of you. I had assumed that Harry would be safe there...that he would have been cared for. I never thought..."

"That right. You never thought," Harry snapped at Hogwarts' Headmaster. "You left us in that house. You left him there to take my sight."

"Harry!" Petunia admonished in surprise as she heard her nephew's savage attack on Dumbledore.

"No. He's right," Dumbledore admitted in a defeated tone. "I should have watched him better. I should have kept my promise to your mother, Harry. She made me promise to watch after you if something would have happen to them and your godfather."

Snape suddenly sniffed in disgust. "Well I guess we can finally put that mangy mutt to use, finally. While I'd rather not have him underfoot, he could be useful right now."

"Fluffy?" Dumbledore said in confusion. "I hardly think this is time for that animal."

Snape snorted in surprise. "Wrong mangy mutt. I was thinking that his godfather could be of use right now. He could act as a guide dog and as a protector for Potter while the boy learns to do magic without his sight."

"His godfather," Petunia stuttered. "The mass murder!"

"He's actually an innocent man. But I'm sure he'll gladly kill Vernon," Harry explained nonchalantly as he leaned his face into the sunlight. "So who's going to break the news to him? I won't suggest Moony; he would probably help Sirius carve Vernon up."

Dumbledore lean forwards his head in his hands. "I'm getting too old for this," he mumbled to himself. With a sigh he lean back in his chair. "Severus, would you please take Mr. Potter to the Hospital Wing. Perhaps there is something that Poppy could do for him. Meanwhile, Petunia and I have to discuss her future."

~*~

"This way, Potter," Snape beckoned curtly as he placed Harry's hand stiffly on his shoulder.

"What do you think will happen, Professor?" Harry asked as the Potion Master led him down the halls towards the hospital wing.

"I don't know. I expect that the Headmaster will help your aunt and cousin set up a new life safe from your uncle."

"His not my uncle. He's a...." Harry's voice trailed off as his hand slipped from Snape's shoulder.

"Potter?" Snape turned towards Harry. Taking a few steps away from his teacher, Harry cocked his head to the side, listening for something. "Harry?"

Harry raised his hand toward his professor, motioning him for silence. "I hear something. Voices."

"The Chamber of Secrets," Snape whispered unknowingly.

"No. This is something different. It's all around us," Harry explained, his face showing his confusion. "Can't you hear it?"

Snape shook his head before realizing that Harry couldn't see him. "No I can't hear anything. Can you understand what they're saying?"

"No. I can't quite make it out," Harry replied his brow furrowed in frustration. "It's not.... It's gone. They've stopped."

Snape looked around nervously. "Let's get out of here," he said, grabbing Harry's arm and dragging him towards the Hospital Wing.

~*~

"And you said that he couldn't understand what the voices were saying?" Dumbledore asked as he watched Snape pace back and forth.

"Potter said the voices were mumbled... that he couldn't make them out." Snape stopped this pacing and ran a shaking hand through his hair. "But he was positive that the voices were unlike the time the Basilisk was released."

"And you didn't hear anything?" Professor McGonagall posed from her seat as she chewed on the bottom lip. "Perhaps he imaged it. He has been under a great deal of stress since last year."

Snape shook his head no. "I didn't hear a thing, Minerva, but that doesn't mean Harry imagined the voices either."

Dumbledore looked deeply into the crackling fire, lost in thought. "It could be that Harry..." Just then a knock came at the door, all eyes locked upon it. "Severus, would you please open the door. I expect that it's Poppy."

Madam Pomfrey came in to the room, her face answering their unspoken question. With a weary sigh Pomfrey sank into a chair.

"WELL!" The normal calm McGonagall exploded.

"I'm sorry that I took so long, but I wanted a second opinion," Pomfrey explained.

"That's fine Poppy," Dumbledore replied calmly with a nod of his head. "Pray continue."

"Do you remember Deana Donovan, a Ravenclaw from about eight years ago?" Poppy started her tale. "She went on and became an ophthalmologist." Seeing the blank looks on their face. "She's a doctor specializing in diseases and injuries of the eyes. While she was training to be a surgeon at a Muggle university, she met her husband, Rick Carnahan. To make a long story short..."

"Too late," Snape mumbled under his breath, annoyed.

"I sent my report of Harry's condition to them to see if they have a possible treatment for the poor child," Pomfrey continued, ignoring Snape's blunt comment.

"And?" McGonagall growled in frustration.

Pomfrey sighed wearily before explaining what she had learned from the two doctors. "If Harry had been able to receive treatment from St. Mungo's within seventy-two hours of the injury they would have been able to save his sight. A Muggle hospital would not have been able to help him."

"Poppy," Dumbledore began, drawing their attentions. "Is there anything that can be done. You said that Deana and her husband was doing research on eye injuries, have they made any breakthroughs?"

"Due to the nature of the injury and the amount of scar tissue present..." Pomfrey shook her head. "At this time there is nothing they can do. Perhaps in a few years, there might be a treatment. But at this time, there is nothing that can be done."

~*~

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Harry woke screaming.

"Harry?!?" Madam Pomfrey rushed to her only patient, wrapping her dressing gown around her. "What is it, child?" she asked as she gathered the crying child in her arms. "Was it a dream about You-Know-Who?"

Harry pulled back from her and silently shook his head. "I was dreaming about that day... the day Vernon..." Harry's shaking fingers brushed over his eyes.

"The day that monster took your sight." Pomfrey finished what Harry could not. "Oh, Harry," she soothed softly as she stroked his hair in a motherly fashion, rocking him in her arms. "I'm sorry. I wish I could make it all better."

Harry arms snaked around her and held her tight. "So do I. So do I," Harry whispered into her dressing gown.

Poppy held Harry until he started to draft off to sleep. "Try and get some sleep, Harry," Pomfrey whisper as she laid Harry down and tucked him in. "You're safe here. No one will harm you."

Harry snuggled down under his blanket. Madam Pomfrey's footsteps echoed as she walked back to her room. He was almost asleep when he suddenly heard the faint sounds of a lullaby coming out of nowhere.

"Safe," Harry whispered contentedly as his eyes closed and he fell to sleep. "I'm safe."