To See A Falling Star

Snuffles, The Guide Dog

By Lady FoxFire

Dec 7, 2002

The Great Hall was full of noise as the students sat eating their breakfast, discussing their classes, fellow students, or whatever they felt like. Silence slowly descended upon the students in an invisible wave as one by one they caught sight of Harry stepping quietly with Professor McGonagall towards the Gryffindor table. His dark sunglasses were reflecting the early morning light.

When they reached the Gryffindor table, McGonagall placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and directed him into his seat next to Ron and across from Hermione. "Your cup is at eleven o'clock. Bacon is at twelve, toast is at two, and sausage is beyond your glass. If you need any help just ask, child."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry replied as he reached out tentatively for the toast. McGonagall watched him for a few minutes before turning to the High Table where a number of the professors looked over in confusion. This count included Remus Lupin.

"Harry?" Neville asked nervously from where he sat next to Hermione. "What happened, Harry? Why weren't you on the train?"

"Yeah, and what's with the glasses?" Dean asked from next to Harry. "They're cool but don't you have problems seeing with them on?"

"Not really, Dean, considering that I can't see any more," Harry answered casually before shoving some bacon into his mouth.

"What!" Ron exclaimed in astonishment as he sprayed food all over Lavender who had been sitting across from him chatting with Parvati.

"Ronald Weasley!" Lavender squealed as she stood up trying to brush the food from her clothing. "You'll pay for this! Just you wait, I'll get you for this!"

"Lavender, sit down and shut up," Dean snapped at her before turning to Harry, "What do you mean that you can't see? You're just kidding right?"

Harry reached up and pulled off his glasses giving his classmates a chance to see his sightless green eyes. "Nope. No joke. Vernon decided that I wasn't going back to school again," He explained as he slipped his glasses carefully back on. "If you can't see, you can't do magic. At least that was his logic at that point."

"Madam Pomfrey could..." Hermione blurted out suddenly which snapped everyone out of his or her shock.

"Tried already. There's nothing anyone can do. They even contacted a couple experts in the hope..." Harry started calmly with a shrug, "But from what I understand, I get to have a dog at least. Always wanted to have a big black dog. Maybe I could let it sleep at the foot of my bed."

"Harry?" A voice suddenly came from behind him as someone laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Hello, Professor Lupin," Harry said turning towards him. "Are you back to teach?"

"Yes, Harry, I am," Remus replied nervously. "Umm... could we talk?"

"Sure," Harry answered as he stood up and grabbed a slice of toast and some bacon, "Hope you don't mind me eating while we talk."

Remus smiled as Harry wolfed down half of his sandwich in two bites, "You know, your father was the same way."

Together, Remus and Harry walked out of the Great Hall as whispers and rumors spread like wildfire among the students with each footstep they took.

"How is Harry going to stop You-Know-Who if he can't see?" was the main question on everyone's lips.

~*~

"I take it that Sirius has been informed," Harry stated calmly as they walked down the halls.

"No, not yet. He's been called but..." Remus struggled for words as he ran a hand through his hair. "Hell, Harry, Dumbledore just told me what happened this morning. Why didn't you tell anyone about what was happening?"

"It should be interesting to try to keep Sirius from tracking down and trying to murder Vernon," Harry continued evenly, ignoring Moony's agitated question, "Do you have any idea what I could do for Aunt Petunia? She's spent most of her life trying to protect me, having to share her bed with that...I feel like I owe her something."

"Harry..."

"McGonagall said that Dumbledore is sending them to the United States or Canada, maybe even Australia. They'll have new faces, new bodies, new memories...Vernon will be gone forever from their life."

"Harry..." Remus started again but Harry shook his head.

"Moony, we both know that life isn't fair. You're a werewolf and I'm the Boy-Who-Lived, but that doesn't change a thing. Each day, we have to go through life alone."

"No, Harry! We aren't alone. Ron, Hermione, the Weasleys, Sirius, myself...we're all here for you. We always were."

Harry bowed his head, his breaths becoming shaky. "I know. It's just that..." Remus gathered Harry into his arms and held him. "Every morning before I open my eyes...I pray...I wish with all my might...but it's always the same. Darkness."

Remus wrapped his arms tighter around the boy, trying to comfort him. "We'll figure out something."

"How am I to stop Voldemort? How am I to protect my friends?"

~*~

The Gryffindor common room bustled with noise as the students talked about Harry's condition and what it could mean to them all.

"How is he going to stop You-Know-Who without his eye sight?"

"You think I have a chance to be the Seeker?"

"I couldn't go on without my sight. Never being able to do magic, never being able to fly again..."

"...Canary Cremes in to professors' food..."

"We've done that before! We need something new. Something big."

At that moment the portrait door swung open and the trio walked in with Harry on Hermione's arm and Ron bringing up the rear, watching their backs. The room immediately plunged into silence.

"What, did someone die?" Harry asked curiously, breaking the silence.

"Ummm...Harry..." Neville struggled to say something but Harry interrupted him.

"I'm blind, Neville, not helpless. I'm not going to break down if someone says something. I've had time to adapt," Harry replied simply as he pulled away from Hermione and took a few steps farther into the room alone.

"What I need from you, from all of you, is for you to watch my back; to keep the Slytherins off of me. We all know that some of them will go after me to make points with Voldemort."

Most of the Gryffindor nodded their heads in agreement while a few of the first years looked nervously at their elders. "We're with you Harry!" someone within the crowd yelled out.

"Yeah! You can depend on us, Harry," The group cheered.

A huge grin broke out on Harry's face as he listened to the support and love from his friends. "There is one thing more I'd like to ask from all of you, especially from you Dean. Keep things picked up. I can't see if you left something in the middle of the floor or if you moved furniture until I run into it."

"Hey, why did you center me out?" Dean called out from were he sat near the fire.

"Cause you're the messiest!" The fifth year Gryffindor boys called out together, causing the others to laugh as Dean turned as red as Ron's fiery hair.

"I'm not that messy," Dean pouted as he tried to defend himself.

"Yes you are, Dean," Ron called out, "It's safer to enter the twin's room at the Burrow than it is to enter your area in our dorm room."

Harry chuckled at the Ron's statement. "He's right, Dean. I've felt safer enter the twin's bedroom than going near your bed, even when I could see it. Speaking of the twins, where are they?"

"Over here, Harry," One of the red haired twins called out from where they sat in private, plotting their next prank.

Harry took a few steps over towards them, his hands out reaching out for things to trip him up, "I need to talk to the two of you. In private."

Fred quickly left his seat and hurried over to Harry. Grasping his upper arm, Fred led him back towards his brother. "What did you want to talk about Harry?"

"My family legacy," Harry said simply as he sat down motioning the twin closer.

~*~

Through the thick blanket of impenetrable fog, a huge dark shape silently slipped among the trees. It weaved its way through the foliage growing closer and closer to the castle. The cloaked figure got so close, that it was outside of the castle. The fog seemed to deaden all sound as the obscure form crept silently towards the pacing figure.

"SHIT!" Remus exclaimed as a wet nose touched the back on his hand. "Damn you, Sirius! What are you trying to do to me, give me a bloody heartache?"

If it was possible the huge black hound at Remus's feet laughed at him. "Very funny, you mangy mutt. Get inside before someone sees you," Remus barked, opening the door for the dog, "Why couldn't you have been something with hands? You could have open your own doors then," Remus grumbled around a yawn. "Won't have to get up at O'Dark Thirty to let you in."

Sirius sniffled at Remus' harsh comment as he padded down the hall towards a blank section of the wall. With a quick couple taps on the wall, a section swung aside. Sirius and Moony disappeared inside before the wall swung shut.

"Ok, what is it?" The tall, slim muscular man with his long black hair braided down his back stood in place of the dog. "What was so important that Dumbledore pulled me off my mission? Does it have to deal with Harry? Is he all right? Where is he? He hasn't been hurt, has he?" Some how, he was able to say all of his in one breath.

"Sirius, you better sit down," Remus began as he refused to look Sirius in the eye. "It is about Harry," Sirius stared at Remus in shock.

"Something happened to Harry," Sirius said sinking down into a chair. "He's dead isn't he? Death Eaters found him and killed him. He's dead!" His head fell into his hands as a sob racked through his body.

A sad smile crossed Remus face, as she shook his head no.

"No Sirius, he's alive," Remus took a deep breath as he ran his hand through his hair, "I don't know how to break this to go so I'm just going to tell you. He's blind. Harry's blind."

Sirius looked up; his eyes wet with unshed tears. "He's alive?" He whispered in disbelief, "He's not dead?"

"He's upstairs in the tower, probably asleep," Moony uttered simply, calming his friend's fear, "Sirius, Harry can not see. And it's permanent."

"How? How did it happen?" Sirius asked concernedly as Remus's news just began to sink in.

"It was Snape's fault, was it? It happened in his Potion Class." His hands clenched tightly into fists with anger at the thought that his old archenemy had harmed his godson.

Remus shook his head again, "It was his uncle." Remus knelt down next to Sirius. "He wanted to destroy Harry's world, so he figured that if Harry couldn't see, then he couldn't do magic."

Sirius flew off the chair, throwing it behind him as he stormed through the passageway. "I'll kill him! I'll rip him limb from limb!" He growled, his eyes blazing with hate and cold fury.

Remus grabbed Sirius by his shirt and threw him into the wall.

"I don't care what you want to do. Right now, Harry needs you more than he needs revenge!" He let go of his old friend's shirt and ran a hand through his hair. "He's barely holding it together, Sirius."

Remus began to pace the room as he tried to explain his concerns, "He's defenseless against anyone who wants to harm him or control him. Could you image what would happen to him if Voldemort gets his hands on him? Or someone like Fudge? He would use Harry to gain more power-- more control over the community."

Sirius slid down the wall until he could go no farther.

"You're right," Sirius replied as he looked up at his old friend, "What do you need me to do?"

"Harry needs you to act as a guide dog and guardian for him," Remus explained with a sigh as he sat down next to his old companion, "But there's something else, Padfoot. Harry's hearing voices."

"Meaning what? That he's hearing voices that ain't there or we just can't hear."

Remus shrugged slightly, "Don't know. I wasn't there at the time, Severus was. He said he didn't hear anything but he believes that Harry did. And that it wasn't voices in his head. But one thing Harry was sure about was that it wasn't a snake he was hearing."

~*~

The door to the fifth year Gryffindor boys' dorm room swung opened silently as a huge black hound padded into the room. The dog nosed the door and it closed with a click. His nose to the floor, the dog sniffed his way around the room until he found Potter's bed.

Cocking his head to the side the dog let out a small whimper before bunching his feet together and leaped onto Harry's bed. The sudden new weight on the bed caused the sleeping child to bounce awake.

"What!" Harry squeaked as he scrabbled back until his back was pressed against the headboard. "Who's there? What's going on?"

By this time Ron had already rolled off his bed unto the floor, his wand in his hand aimed at the dog sitting motionless on the bed. "Sirius," Ron hissed as he lowered his wand. He quickly looked over at the other boys. "Go back to sleep. It was a dream," He explained to the few sleepy-eyed boys looking around in confusion.

"Ron?" Harry whispered as turned his head in the direction in which his friend stood.

"It's okay, Harry. Snuffles decided to wake you up," Ron clarified as he reached out to pull Harry's curtains shut. "I'm going to close your curtains and cast a silencing spell so you can talk in peace. And in the morning, I'm going to have your dog fixed for waking us up."

"Remind me to help you," Harry replied around a yawn.

"Waking up Ron is a dangerous occupation," Harry said as he grinned and felt the bed shift.

"Sirius?" Harry called out nervously when Sirius hadn't replied.

A sniffle came from where Sirius sat. "You would really have me fixed?" He asked in a pouting tone.

Harry chuckled at the comment, "Only if you keep waking me up that way."

"I'll try something different next time. Maybe turning your sheets to ice," Sirius countered tauntingly.

"You do that, and I'll fix you myself," Harry stated in an evil tone. Sirius grinned at Harry.

"You get the cruel evil streak from your mother. She was always promising to have me fixed. But I'm willing to bet that you have the same weakness she did."

"Oh, and what was that?" Harry said warily.

Sirius suddenly attacked Harry, "She was ticklish," He exclaimed with delight as he tortured Harry mercilessly.

"Stop! Stop Sirius! Please stop!" Harry gasped in between laughing as he tried to fight off Sirius.

"So you and Ron aren't going to try to have me fixed, right?" Sirius asked as he backed off.

Harry lay there gasping for breath, "Can't promise you anything about Ron, but I can promise you that I won't try to have you fix for waking me up tonight."

"I accept," Sirius answered in a smug tone, but frowned in exasperation when he realized what Harry had promised. "Hey! That not what I meant!"

Harry's face broke into a huge grin. "Promises made under torture are not binding in a court of law."

A low growl came from Sirius at Harry's comment.

"So you're my guide dog," Harry stated quickly changing the topic, "I bet Snape is going to have a aneurysm over that!"

"Harry," Sirius began sadly as he plucked at Harry's bed sheets, "Why didn't you tell me about what your uncle was doing to you? Why you didn't tell me about the abuse?"

"First off he's not my uncle," Harry spat out firmly, leaving no room for debate on that fact, "And he wasn't hitting me. Ever since I received my letter, he hadn't dared to hit me. He would just yell at me or threaten me but he had never psychically hurt me...until now,"

"But before he did," Sirius saying what Harry wouldn't, "You could have told someone before! Why didn't you? You could have told a teacher, a neighbor, anybody..."

"Clumsily little boy. Wrestling with his cousin. Fighting with neighboring kids," Harry explained with a shrug of his shoulder, "Vernon had an excuse for everything and if he went too far... I had the 'flu' at times," Harry grabbed hold of his pillow and hugged it towards him.

"Did you know that there are ways to hit a person so the bruises don't show? If you hit on the torso or on the legs, clothing will hide the mark. But you had to make sure not to damage the face or hands. It's harder to explain bruises there."

"And no one noticed?" Sirius asked in disbelief, "Ten years of abuse from that monster and no one noticed? No one noticed that you were bruised or that you were so thin?"

"Once. Only once did someone asked about the bruises. And only once did I tell the truth," Harry answered in a dead voice, "I was seven at the time when my teacher saw the bruises from the whipping. She said she was someone I could trust... someone who would protect me from him."

"What happened?" Sirius asked, dreading what would come out of Harry's mouth.

"I told her everything, made her promise not to tell anyone. I didn't want Vernon from finding out I was talking to people. She promised and then she turned around and went to the Headmistress. She told them everything and they went to Vernon with it. It turns out that the Headmistress was an old school chum."

Sirius crawled up the bed until he was next to Harry, "No one is every going to hurt you again, Harry. I swore on my soul that I'd protect you," Sirius whispered into Harry's hair as he hugged the boy desperately towards him.

Harry clutched at Sirius's clothes as tears began to fall down his face, "Because it was so close to winter break...Vernon took his leather belt and..."

Stoking his hair, Sirius slowly began to rock Harry as he told the tale.

~*~

Ron yawned loudly as he rolled up in his covers. He stares at the curtains encircling Harry's bed, thinking.

"I'm worried about him," Dean spoke from his bed. "If I were suddenly blinded, I wouldn't be taking it as calmly as he is."

"He's right, Ron," Seamus replies as he sat up in his bed, "He's keeping it all in. He's going to crack."

"He'll be fine. Harry's made of stronger stuff than the rest of us," Ron mumbled in reply.

"Everything and everyone has their limits, Ron," Dean stated as he looked over at Potter's bed, "Even Harry."

Ron stated up at looked over at Seamus and Dean, "He's not going to crack. You'll see. He'll be fine," Ron snapped. Laying back down, Ron once again took up his vigilance, "Please be fine, Harry," he whispered to himself.

~*~

"I never realized how Aunt Petunia was able to protect me. She was able to keep Vernon from punishing me worse than he did," Harry leaned away from Sirius to wipe the tears from his face, "When he was done, he threw me in the closet until school started once again. Aunt Petunia would give me food everyday. I don't think Vernon would have cared if I had starved to death."

Sirius pulled Harry back to him, "It's all my fault. Everything you've gone through is my fault," He said to himself as he rested his check onto of Harry's head.

"What?" Harry reared back in shock, "What do you mean it's your fault? It's not your fault!"

"Yes it is! If I hadn't gone after Peter, you wouldn't have grown up with them," Sirius explained, "You would have grown up with me."

"You're wrong, Sirius. I would have grown up with them. Think it through, Sirius. They had already left me on the doorstep before you went after Peter."

Sirius shook his head no. "No, no Harry. If I hadn't gone after Peter I would have raised you. I would have taken care of you," His voice broke with all the emotions he tried to hide. "You would have known...you would have known you were loved."

"Sirius, I know I am loved but you're putting your faith in the Ministry," Harry stated with a small sad smile. "These are the people who sent you to prison without a trail. Even if you hadn't gone after Peter, they would still have captured you and thrown you in Azkaban. And Peter would have been free."

Harry reached out and allowed his finger's tips to brush over Sirius's faces, for his fingers to trace the tears running down his face.

"They didn't want answers. They didn't want the truth. They wanted an end. They wanted to forget it and they didn't care if the guilty were free and the innocents were imprisoned. They didn't care. Think about it, Sirius. Not even Dumbledore questioned your so-called betrayal. He didn't even question about what my life was like. If you want to blame someone for what I went through, then blame Vernon; it was his choice to do this to me. Blame the Ministry for not caring about the truth. Blame Dumbledore for breaking his promise. But don't blame yourself."

Harry reached up and wiped the tears from his face, "Can you image if Peter had been free to move around the wizard community? And because he was my parents' friend..."

"He would have been given access to you. Remus wasn't because he's a werewolf but Peter would have," Sirius finishing Harry's statement, his eyes wide with shock. "By Merlin, all this years I thought..."

"You never failed me, Sirius. You didn't know it at the time but you were protecting me the best you could. Granted, I would have rather grown up with you," He continued with a sad smile.

They sat in silence looking at each other thinking about what had been said when Sirius finally let out a shaky sigh, "So when did you become such a philosopher?"

Harry shrugged, "After two months of being left alone in a room, you end up thinking about life," With a sigh Harry leaned against Sirius, resting his head on his shoulder. "This is getting kind of depressing."

"You're right," Sirius said as he tucked Harry's head under his chin, "So do you have anything less depressing to talk about?" An evil grin suddenly grew on Harry's face.

"Well, I have gone into the family business."