'All right, Harry, let's see what we've got here,' Patterson said, pulling his wand out of his bag.

He, Harry, and Madam Pomfrey were in a private room in the hospital wing, the room that Harry had been taken to weeks earlier, after the attack against him by Crabbe and Goyle, Draco's ex-henchmen. It was new a few days after Harry had been released, and Patterson had deemed him fit to undergo an examination.

Harry lay there quietly, letting the mediwizard do what he must. He didn't think that there was anything that could be done for him, but he allowed the examination, since Sirius, Severus, and Remus were insisting upon it. But somehow, Harry knew that there was nothing wrong.

'Harry, you may feel a bit of pressure. It's perfectly normal, however. Don't worry,' Patterson assured him.

Harry nodded slightly. He heard something large rolling about the room. 'What is that I'm hearing?'

Patterson placed the machine over Harry's head. 'It's a magical device much like a Muggle X-ray machine. It will give us a perfect view of your eyes from all angles. It's safe, don't worry; all our machines are much safer than any of those used by the Muggles,' he boasted.

'If you say so,' Harry said, trying to relax.

Harry frowned a bit when Patterson fit the machine snugly around his head. Harry took a deep breath and tried to think of anything that would get his mind off the pressure of his head.

With a flick of his wand, Patterson activated the machine. He and Madam Pomfrey watched various views of Harry's head flicker across the screen. Patterson adjusted the view to focus directly on the optical nerve.

Madam Pomfrey looked at Mr Patterson expectantly. Patterson shook his head and wrote his findings in Harry's file. Then Patterson took one more look at the screen and turned it off. He would have pictures developed for Harry's medical file when he got back to St. Mungo's. Patterson removed the machine. 'That wasn't so bad, now was it?'

Harry sat up, rubbing his head. 'No. Why did you have to wait so long just to do that?'

'We didn't have to, but we thought it best to let you regain some of your strength.' Patterson didn't mention that it was Harry's mental strength that was in question, but Harry had figured it out anyway.

'Come along, Potter,' Madam Pomfrey said, helping Harry up. She guided Harry out of the room and into the main expanse of the hospital wing.

Severus, Sirius, and Remus all looked up from where they were sitting. Pomfrey guided Harry to the bed and Harry sat between Sirius and Severus. 'So, what did you find?' Harry asked, as if he didn't already know.

'Like I thought, there is no physical cause for your blindness, Harry. We missed nothing, and your eyes are in perfect condition.'

Harry nodded. 'So it's just me,' he said dully.

'I'm afraid that is most likely,' the mediwizard agreed, ignoring the glares of Harry's protectors. He knew that there was no use in denying the facts. It would do the young man no good at all.

'Patterson,' Severus growled warningly.

'Severus, it's fine,' Harry said, placing his hand on his lover's forearm. 'So what do I do now?'

Patterson thought for a moment. 'Well, first off, St. Mungo's has a wonderful psychiatrist who has had some experience with this sort of thing. You know, dealing with the casualties of You-Know-Who and all.'

Severus, Remus, and Sirius all rolled their eyes and Harry snapped, 'His name was Voldemort! Bloody hell! I wish people would grow up already. Voldemort is dead.'

Patterson flinched but continued. 'She's an excellent mediwitch, and she spend many years studying both Muggle and wizarding medicine. She's really quite competent.'

'Is that it?' Severus asked coolly.

'No. There is also a witch who works with the blind. She works mostly in the Muggle world, but she does work with the few blind wizards there are. I'll send them both here in a few days. I'll owl you when I find out when they can schedule you in.'

'All right,' Harry said. 'Can I go now? I'm tired.'

'Of course,' Patterson said. 'I'll owl you as soon as I get the dates and times.'

Harry nodded and allowed the others to lead him out of the hospital wing and down to the dungeons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry got an owl the next day, stating that the mediwitches would be there the next afternoon, at three o'clock and five o'clock, respectively. Harry didn't really care.

Harry did his best to put up a brave front for everyone, but inside, Harry was devastated. Even though he had known that there were no physical problems, he had hoped he was wrong. What was really bothering him, however, was why? Why would his body, his mind, betray him like this? Why would his body just shut down something so essential to him?

He brooded over these questions from the time he left the hospital wing, to the afternoon that the mediwitches were due to see him. Only when family and friends were around did he feign optimism. The only one who really knew what he was feeling was Severus.

About twenty minutes before the first witch was due, Severus came into the bedroom. He had gone to teach the first classes of the day, and then he left Albus to teach the rest, since Harry asked that he be there for his first appointments. He noticed Harry sitting on the bed, biting on his bottom lip.

'Harry, are you well?' Severus asked, sitting down beside Harry on the bed.

Harry took a deep breath and nodded. 'I am, but I'm just nervous. This is all new for me, and I don't know what to expect, from them or myself. I know they say that they're the best, but I'm still so nervous. There's so much that I have to learn and re-learn and I'm afraid that I won't be up to the challenge. I'm also scared to see the psychiatrist. What if she tells me I'm completely mad?'

'She won't and you're not.' Severus sat down with his back resting against the headboard and he pulled Harry to him. 'Harry, I won't lie to you and say that it won't be difficult, and I won't lie and say that I have any idea what you're going through, but I have absolutely no doubt that you are up to the challenge set before you. You are one of the brightest, one of the bravest, and one of the most determined people that I have ever met. There is no one that would take this challenge on as well as you will.'

Harry smiled slightly. 'Thanks. I'm glad to know that at least you believe in me.'

'Harry, everyone around you believes in you. We are all here to help you, whenever you need it, whether it's to help you learn something or just to sit here and listen to you rant and rave about anything and everything. Some things will be more difficult than others, but you will prevail. Never doubt that.'

Harry chuckled ruefully. 'There's one thing that I would love to see if I could do properly, but you won't let me,' Harry muttered. He pouted slightly in Severus's direction.

Despite Madam Pomfrey's consent, Severus still wouldn't touch Harry sexually. Oh, he would cuddle Harry and kiss him as much as Harry wanted, but he refused to have sex with him until he was sure that Harry was fully recovered and on his way towards learning what he needed.

Severus snorted. 'That little pout of yours isn't going to work, love, no matter how adorable it may be. I told you that we wouldn't make love until you are completely well. You need to see how tired these lessons are going to make you first.'

Harry huffed and pulled away from Severus. 'Never thought I'd see the day you'd turn down an offer from me,' Harry said sullenly. He wasn't really angry. He was just seeing if he could get Severus to cave in.

Severus wasn't taking the bait. 'Harry, love, it's not working. I will make love to you, but not now. Soon, though, I promise.' Severus pulled Harry back towards him. 'We have our entire lives to make love. Don't be in such a rush.'

Harry sighed and curled up next to Severus. 'All right, you win. I'll be a good little boy, but I'm warning you now. Much more of this abstinence nonsense, and I'm reverting back to pre-Severus sexual release.'

'And what is that?' Severus growled. He laughed when Harry held up his right hand and wiggled his fingers. 'I see. I doubt you'll get to that point, but let me know when you do. I may want to watch.'

Harry stuck his tongue out at Severus, who swooped in for a kiss as he did so, sucking on Harry's tongue gently. He pulled away when he heard a knock on the door. 'Come in,' Severus said.

Sirius stuck his head through the bedroom doorway. 'One of the witches just arrived, and she's on the way down.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Hello, Mr Potter, I'm Virginia McMahan. You can call me Virginia,' the small brunette said softly, taking Harry's hand into hers for a light handshake.

'Hello. You can call me Harry,' Harry said shyly. He was still nervous, despite Severus's earlier assurances.

Virginia smiled at the others. 'Harry, I know you're probably quite nervous right now, and don't worry about it. It's not unusual at all. I would only be worried if you weren't a bit nervous.'

Harry relaxed a little and smiled waveringly. 'I'm not sure what we're supposed to do here,' he said.

'Well, Harry, this visit is just to assess what kind of facilities are available here, and what kind of environment you're living in, so my team can adjust our program to your personal needs. I'm not here to make you uncomfortable. I'm here to help you. I will be here for the next several months, but some others in my staff will be coming to Hogwarts often to help you in more specialised areas.'

'You mean, learning how to do magic,' Harry said.

Virginia nodded. 'Yes, that's right,' she said to Harry. 'They will start coming about a month after we start.

'When will that be?' Severus asked. He was curious about what the woman was planning, and he couldn't help but interrupt.

'As soon as the meeting today is over, I will have to go back for the equipment and my personal belongings, and order anything that I may need that we do not have in stock.' She looked at her calendar. 'Today is Friday, so I should be here by Tuesday, which means that we can start on Wednesday,' she said.

Harry was becoming more at ease. The woman, Virginia, had a nice voice and she seemed like she truly wanted to help. The last thing that Harry wanted was to be a burden on anyone. 'What kind of things will you teach me?'

'Oh, many things, Harry. I'll teach you both Muggle and wizarding ways of dealing with more mundane things, and others will teach you to do your spells and brew your potions, and they will help those professors who have never dealt with a blind student before learn how to teach you. Each of the wizards and witches under my employment are specialised in specific areas.'

Virginia pulled a small object out of her bag and put it in Harry's hand. 'This, Harry, is called a personal reader. It's the best one on the market, and I know the name sucks. In fact, I wish I knew who invented it, just so I could hit them for the boring name, but it's really an ingenious device. This is a wizarding device, though the Muggles have their own version. This one is much better and more fun.'

She moved Harry's finger to the right side of the small device. 'You feel this button? It's the only button on this, so you don't have to worry about settings or anything. It's rigged to understand voice commands. You can tell it to slow down or speed up, or to raise or lower the volume.'

'What does it do?' Harry asked curiously, running his fingers over the small object.

Virginia picked up a book and set it on Harry's lap. 'It will read to you, whatever reading material you want it to. This will help you at first, while you're learning to read Braille, and it will help when there is a book that you can't buy in Braille. Unfortunately for wizards, you can't buy most wizarding books in Braille, since they aren't in high demand, but Muggles have many more than we do, which means you will have plenty of books on which to practice.'

Harry pressed the button and placed the reader over the opened book. 'How do I do this?' he asked.

She placed it at the top of the page. 'Say, "expand to fit the width of the page," and it will widen or shorten as necessary. Then, all you do is pull it down the page, and it will read it to you. You don't have to worry about going too fast, because it will remember the words and continue reading until it reaches the last word.'

Harry tried it and smiled when he heard a voice reading a page out of one of Severus's potion books. Harry was afraid that the voice would be a boring monotone, like Professor Binns, but the voice was lively and energetic, speaking as if the book it was reading was the most interesting subject on the planet. 'This is great.'

Virginia smiled. 'That's for you. I was sure that you were getting bored here. At least this will give you something to do until I come back and we begin our lessons.'

'You can use it also to help you keep up with your regular lessons,' Severus said pointedly. He didn't want Harry to get too far behind.

The rest of the appointment passed quickly, and by the time Virginia left, after explaining what she would be teaching Harry, Harry was in much higher spirits than he had been in awhile. He did as the others asked and rested a bit, before his next appointment. Severus woke him up at ten minutes before five, when word was sent that the witch was coming through the main gates.

Harry sat down beside Sirius, his hands wringing nervously. As anxiety-filled as his last appointment was, it was nothing compared to this meeting. This was the woman he would have to talk to, a woman that he would have to trust with his feelings and his memories, a stranger that he would have to talk to about everything, in order to figure out what his problem was. He didn't know if he could trust her that much.

Harry jumped slightly when there was a knock on the door. Severus went to open it while Sirius rubbed Harry's back soothingly, trying to calm him down a bit.

Albus walked in with a short, rather plump and cheerful-looking woman who had to be at least sixty or seventy years old. She had black hair with just the slightest touch of grey, which she wore in a tight bun, and she had on blue robes, which matched the colour of her eyes. 'Good afternoon, everyone. Hello, Harry,' she said, coming over and taking Harry's hand in hers.

Harry smiled nervously. 'Hello.'

'My name is Mortiana Widdleforth, but you may call me Ana. And who are all these nice people surrounding you?' she asked, looking around at the others, who were watching her with expectance, almost as if she could snap her fingers and make everything well again.

'This gorgeous dark-haired man with long hair,' Harry said, patting Sirius's knee, 'is my father, Sirius Black. The handsome one next to him is Remus Lupin, my godfather. The smirking blond over there…yes, I know you're smirking, Draco, I don't have to see it to know…is Draco Malfoy. The handsome one that opened the door is Severus Snape, my…partner, boyfriend, lover, significant other, whatever you prefer to call him. Someone came in with you, but I don't know who it is.'

'It's I, Harry,' Albus said, taking a seat on a nearby chair.

'How wonderful! You have a lovely little family here, Harry.'

'Thank you,' he said softy. 'I like them.'

'I'm sure you do. Well, let's get down to business here. I've been in contact with Mr Patterson, and I just had a conference with Virginia McMahan. I have here a copy of your medical file, and I also have a tentative schedule of the things that Virginia has planned for you. I haven't been able to look at her schedule in detail, but I will look it over before our first meeting, and we can discuss it then. I have, however, had time to look at your medical history.'

Ana pulled Harry's file out of her briefcase and opened it. 'As you know, Harry, your vision problem is not physical. Rather, it is psychosomatic, which means, for some reason that we will have to determine, your mind has decided to shut down your ocular senses. I've had specialists better than Mr Patterson look at your records, and the pictures that Mr Patterson placed in your file, from your last examination, and they all agree that there is absolutely nothing wrong with your eyes. That, my dear, is good news for us.'

'How so?' Sirius asked curiously.

'If the problem had been physical, there may have been no chance at reversal, but because it's psychological, it's only a matter of figuring out what is blocking your ability to see, and working on that problem until your brain co-operates again. I won't lie. It could take years, especially with a traumatic childhood such as you had. Not many would be able to face Voldemort and not have issues.'

Harry turned in her direction, surprised. 'You said his name.'

'Of course, Harry. Mr Patterson told me of your dislike of calling him You-Know-Who, and I have to say that I agree. Why give a dead man power? As I was saying, it could take years, or it could just be months. I simply don't know how long it will take us, since there is an infinite number of possibilities that could have caused this problem. But don't despair, we will keep going until we get our answers.'

'When do you want to start?' Harry asked.

'Well, the sooner, the better. Virginia told me that she'll be starting with you on Wednesday, but I wish to talk with you about your schedule. So, I'll be here on Monday. I think, for now, we'll keep your appointments to once a week, until you get used to your other activities and regain your strength, and then we'll go with two appointments per week. How does that sound?'

'That sounds fine,' Harry said quietly. 'What time will you be here?'

Ana looked at her appointment book. 'I'll schedule you in for 9:00. That way, it will be early enough, and you won't be too tired, and it will give us a few hours to get to know each other better, and go over your schedule. During that session, you can ask me anything you want. You can think up questions during the weekend, if you wish. I want you to feel completely comfortable around me, Harry. We're going to be delving into your life quite intimately, and I want you to know that you can trust me implicitly.'

Harry nodded and Ana stood up. 'Well, I think that I'll be going now, so you can get some rest. Rest well, Harry. Albus, if you'll walk me to the front of the school. I fear that I'll be lost if I try to find my way out on my own.'

'Of course, Ana,' Albus said brightly. 'I'll see you later, Harry.'

'Bye,' Harry said, smiling a little. When he heard the door close, he relaxed a bit more. He had been afraid that Ana might start asking his questions in front of everyone. It's not that he didn't trust them, but this was something that he'd have to do without their help.

'You know what I want to do? I want to go for a little walk outside. I haven't been out there in so long.'

'Harry, I don't think that's a good idea. You're still supposed to be on bed rest, and-' Sirius said.

'Oh, come on. Please? I've been doing nothing but that, just like I promised. I'm not even talking about staying out a long time, just for a bit. I'm going mad, staying in the castle. I want to feel the sun, the wind.'

'I don't know, Harry,' Severus said reluctantly, but when Harry's face clouded with disappointment and sadness, he relented. 'Very well, we'll go, but when we get back, you are to go straight to bed. I'll bring your dinner in to you, and then you will go to sleep, no arguments.'

Harry smiled brightly. 'I promise.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday morning, Harry sat nervously, waiting for Ana to show up. It was ten minutes before nine o'clock, and he was sitting inside his living room. Sirius was sitting with him quietly, waiting with Harry. Sirius had told his class that he would be a few minutes late, since it was Harry's first meeting alone, and he wanted to be with Harry, so he didn't have to wait by himself.

As soon as Ana came in, led by Albus, Sirius gave Harry a quick hug and left for his classroom. Albus left with him, and Harry and the witch were left alone.

'How are you feeling this morning, Harry?' she asked brightly.

'So nervous that I feel ill,' Harry replied truthfully.

Ana chuckled. 'I assure you, that's a common occurrence. Most patients feel that way, at least right before their first meeting. I assure you, there is nothing to be nervous about, but you'll come to that conclusion yourself soon enough. How about we start with any questions that you have about me? That way, you can get to know me, and you'll feel more at ease.'

Harry had thought about questions over the weekend, and he had decided just to stick with some basic questions. 'What do you look like?'

'I'm five feet, three inches tall, rather plump, as some people would say, and I have black hair that reaches to my waist, but I always wear it up in a bun. I have blue eyes, courtesy of my mum, and I have my father's lips, thin, but they suit my face. I also have my father's nose, which is long and narrow.'

'Are you married? Do you have any children?'

'I was married, a long time ago. Voldemort killed him because he was a member of the Order of the Phoenix. I have three children, a girl, Athena, and two boys, Claudius and Marius. They're twins. All three are adults now, with families of their own. I also have a great-grandchild coming soon.'

'How old are you?' Harry asked curiously.

'I'm sixty-seven, though I've been told that I don't look a day over fifty. My mother was a pureblood, but she married a Muggle-born, and she was thrown out of the family. You know how purebloods are about their family ties,' she said, chuckling softly.

Harry grinned. 'So I've noticed. As different as Draco is now, I doubt that he'd become involved with anyone less than pureblood. Why did you decide to become a psychiatrist?'

'I wasn't, at first, but when Voldemort came to power, I saw that many people were having difficulty dealing with the horrors that he wrought upon our world. I noticed that many had easier times dealing with things if they would just talk to someone. I decided that I would take matters into my own hands. My children were grown up and gone, and I had nothing to do, since my mum had left me plenty of gold when she died. I trained at St. Mungo's for my medical training, and I went to a Muggle University for my psychological training, since they seem to have delved deeper into that field than the wizarding world has. It didn't take long, and I had opened my practice in the wizarding world before you were born.'

'Oh. I don't have anymore questions right now, if you want to go on to something else.'

'Very well, Harry. If you think of something else, feel free to ask. Now, how about we take a look at what Virginia McMahan has in store for you?'

She and Harry spent the next couple of hours going over the list, and she asked Harry his opinion on each subject, and the fears that they might be causing. When they were done, Ana put away her files and patted Harry's knee. 'Don't worry about a thing, dear. I'm absolutely certain that you're going to do just fine.'

'Is there anything else you want to talk about?' Harry asked.

'If there's anything you wish to discuss, Harry, by all means, let me know. I'm here to help you, and our learning to talk to each other is absolutely essential.'

'Do you really think you can help me? I mean, even I don't know why my stupid eyes won't work. How are you going to figure it out?'

'Don't underestimate the value of these sessions, Harry. We'll be working through many things, and our talks will probably take abrupt turns where we least expect it, but as we go through everything, we will be able to resolve many issues. The more things that are resolved, the smaller the list gets. Like I said, it can take years, or it could take a few months. It depends on the problem, but I assure you, our time will never be wasted.'

Harry nodded and sighed. 'Are we going to do anything else today?'

'No, today was more of a getting-to-know-you session. The next one, we'll start working in depth.'

'All right. Do you want Professor Dumbledore to come down and escort you out?'

'Yes, that would be splendid. I still don't think I could get through this castle without losing my way. I went to Durmstrang, after all.'

Harry smiled and got up. He carefully made his way to the fireplace and felt the mantelpiece, looking for the Floo powder. He threw some into the fire and said, 'Professor Dumbledore.'

Albus's head shot out of the flames. 'What can I do for you, Harry?'

'Ana is ready to go. Could you come down and escort her out?'

'Of course, my boy. Just step back and I'll come through the fire.'

Harry stepped back and to the side, and Albus came into the room. 'Hello, Ana. I trust you two had a nice chat?'

'Of course, Albus. Harry, I'll be back next Monday, at nine. Virginia and I decided that this would be our scheduled time for our sessions. When we increase the sessions to two a week, we'll also meet on Thursdays at nine o'clock.'

Harry nodded. 'I'll see you on Monday, then,' Harry said, walking back to the sofa and felt the table beside the sofa for his reader and his book. He started listening to his History of Magic text while the two adults left the room.

Albus walked along with Ana. 'Do you think he'll be all right, Ana?' he asked, concerned.

'I think that eventually he'll be better, but I get the impression that there's much in his life that was wrong. Would I be correct in that assumption?'

Albus sighed. 'Unfortunately, yes. He's dealt with far too much in his life, but I'm sure you'll hear all about it.'

'Yes, I'm sure that I will. Well, Albus, thank you for showing me to the door. I can make my way from here. I'll see you on Monday.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry sat nervously inside the empty classroom that would be his for the rest of his stay at Hogwarts. Virginia had said that it would be essential for Harry's study area to be a place where no one else could go around, moving things out of place. Harry would be able to learn where everything went, and it would be better to help him in his studies. So, the room was locked and only those who knew the password were allowed inside. The password would be changed weekly, and those who wanted inside would have to ask Harry for it. That way, he could keep out whomever he wished.

He jumped when the door opened. 'Hello?' he called out.

'Hello, Harry,' Virginia said, sounding to Harry like she was a bit out of breath. 'Sorry I'm a few minutes late, but I had to carry this box all the way up those steps, and it was quite a walk.

Harry chuckled. 'Had a hard time, did you?'

'Yes, but fortunately a lovely young man came to my rescue,' she said, dropping the box on the floor, next to the professor's desk. 'He's bringing in the larger box now.'

'You mean to tell me that you were carrying two boxes? Why didn't you just levitate them?'

'Some things in these boxes aren't appreciative of magic, and besides, if I don't want my students dependent on magic, I shouldn't rely on it so much.'

'Fine, but you were carrying two boxes?'

'She was trying to, but it wasn't working, and I just had to take pity on her,' Draco said, coming into the door. 'I'll be late for Transfiguration, but I think that Professor McGonagall will forgive me, considering the circumstances.'

Harry grinned. 'I see you finally met Draco. Draco Malfoy, meet Virginia McMahan.'

Draco smiled and held out his hand. 'It's a pleasure to meet you. Harry told me all about his meeting with you the other day.'

'Yes, and he's told me all about you as well. Thank you for helping him while he was recovering. You made my job a bit easier, and we can go on to other things,' she said, referring to Draco teaching Harry how to eat and drink, during his stay in the hospital wing.

'Oh, there's nothing I wouldn't do for him…well, almost nothing,'he said brightly and giving Harry a soft clip 'round the ear. 'I'll see you later, Harry. I'd better get to class, before McGonagall transfigures me into something horrid.'

'I don't see what's more horrid than you!' Harry called out as Draco left the room. He smiled in Virginia's direction.

Virginia was chuckling softly. 'I take it you two are fond of each other,' she said.

Harry nodded. 'We used to hate each other, really loathe each other, but that changed after I went to stay with Severus for the summer. We were forced to live in the same house, and we learned to get along quickly, or face the wrath of his disgruntled uncle. We then learned to like each other. Now he's like the brother I've always dreamt of having.'

Virginia smiled to herself. 'That's wonderful, Harry. I'm glad he's such a big part of your life. Now, how about we get down to business. I'm sure that you're anxious to get started.'

'Actually, I am. What are we going to do today?'

'Today, we are first going to go over your schedule for this week and next. As I said, it would be a month or so before I start bringing in the other members of my staff, so it will just be you and me for awhile. Today, we're going over this schedule, and then I'm going to show you around this room. As you know, this room will be your classroom for the rest of your time here at Hogwarts, and you will sit your N.E.W.Ts here as well. I'll be showing you where all the furniture is, and I'll show you how to count your steps and memorise the room, so that you can get from place to place without worrying about tripping over anything. This is your room now, and no one will put any obstacles in the way.'

Harry nodded. 'What about our schedule, then?'

Virginia and Harry spent an hour going over his schedule for the next two weeks. He knew that at nine o'clock, Tuesday through Friday, he was going to be taught how to use different materials, such as quills, ink, and parchment, and a ruler, to be taught how to write his essays and assignments, without writing crooked and all over the paper. He would also learn how to use his measuring cups and spoons, and his newly charmed scales, so that he could measure his potion ingredients (and cooking ingredients) properly. At ten-twenty, he would get a ten-minute break, and then he would use that time until lunch learning the layout of the room, and when he had learnt that, they would venture out into the castle, so that he could know his way around, without relying on everyone just so that he could go somewhere.

He would spend lunch in the Great Hall with his friends, if he felt up to it; otherwise, he could have lunch in his own room. After that, he would get an hour and a half to sleep, since he was still recovering. Virginia assured him that in a few weeks, she would be taxing his strength all day long.

After that, he would spend an hour and a half learning how to read Braille. She said that this would be his most time consuming of all the things she had planned, and it would be the most difficult, at least until his magical training started.

After they were done with the schedule, Virginia started showing Harry how to get about the room. He learnt that the professor's desk was fifteen steps from his desk's upper right-hand corner, the cabinet where his Potions supplies would be located was ten steps from the lower left-hand corner of his desk, and the door that led into the corridor was twenty-five steps directly to his right. His bookshelf was thirty-six steps directly behind him, and the window was ten steps to the left and then seven steps to the right. Harry stood there for a moment and smiled. Though he couldn't see it, he could feel the sun on his face, heating his skin pleasantly.

Harry spent over an hour practising walking around, sometimes with Virginia's help, but most of the time on his own. He finished for the day with a happy smile on his face.

Harry was getting ready to leave when he heard someone open the door. He jumped slightly when he heard a happy "Yip!" and he heard clicking across the floor.

'Oh, here she is! I was hoping that she would get here before we were through here,' Virginia said. 'Harry, I would like you to meet Tabitha.'

'Tabitha?' Harry asked. Virginia came over and took his hand. She tugged him onto the ground, where he promptly got a lap full of hair, wet nose, and a thump-happy tail that kept slapping him in the arm.

'This is Tabitha. She's a guide dog for the blind, and she's yours.'

'She's mine?' Harry asked. 'I didn't know I was going to get a dog.'

'Yes, she's yours, and she'll be an immense help. She'll be able to help protect you, she'll help you get around, since she can guide you away from anything that might harm you, especially outside, where you can't be sure that anything will stay in place. She's a Crup, so she's used to magic and such, and her tail's been clipped so that you can take her out into the Muggle world without causing a fuss.'

'You know, this is much better than what I was going to do. Draco suggested that I use Luthien, but I think a snake would have been a bit conspicuous,' Harry said, scratching Tabitha behind the ears.

'Yes, especially if you have to speak Parseltongue to it. You might as well put a sign above your head saying "Boy Who Lived". Everyone knows you can speak Parseltongue, and since you're the only one alive who can…'

Harry sighed. 'I know. Also, I can't exactly walk around the Muggle world with a snake on my arm, and I can't hide her, because then, what would be the point? She couldn't see to help me anyway, and that would defeat the purpose of having her there.'

'Plus, guide dogs are more accepted in stores than snakes, and they're less feared, for the most part.'

Harry chuckled as he thought about the looks he would probably get if he took a snake into Diagon Alley and started speaking in Parseltongue. Forget "Boy Who Lived"…think more along the lines of "Next Dark Lord". Harry knew that wizards knowing he could speak it and seeing him do it were two entirely different things. 'Thanks for the dog. I really appreciate it.'

'Don't mention it. It's actually all a part of what you're paying me for,' Virginia said playfully. 'She's only three years old, and she's fully trained. She's one of the better dogs we've had, actually. We don't train many Crups, since not many wizards deal with blindness, but we do tend to give them to families that know about the wizarding world, through relatives. She's got all her papers and her records with the Ministry, and she's registered now as your guide dog. She won't be rejected from any wizarding store, in any country, should you go abroad.'

'So I can take her back to my rooms?' Harry asked.

'Of course. Actually, how about you and I take a trip outside? She can do her business, and you can get some fresh air.'

'That sounds great,' Harry said, pushing the dog off his lap gently and standing up.

Virginia put a leash in his hand. 'Here, you get the feel of having her guide you. I'll be right next to you, don't worry, and she won't go faster than you can go.'

Harry nodded and grabbed his cane. He let Virginia and Tabitha lead him down to the Entrance Hall and outside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'What is that?' Severus said loudly, looking at the bed with abject horror.

Harry smiled in Severus's direction and continued rubbing Tabitha's belly. Tabitha was lying on her back, her feet in the air, her tail thumping happily on the bed. 'This is Tabitha, my new Crup.'

'I realise what it is, Harry. What is it doing here on my bed?'

'It's our bed, thank you, and she's my guide dog for the blind. Virginia brought her to me today. She's terribly sweet.'

'Who, Virginia?' Severus asked snidely.

Harry rolled his eyes. 'No, Tabitha.'

'So this means that I'm going to have to get used to having yet another ruddy canine invading my territory?'

'Yes,' Harry stated matter-of-factly. 'She's staying.'

'Very well,' Severus said, sitting on the bed. Tabitha rolled over and began sniffing the newcomer. Severus reluctantly started scratching her behind the ear. 'I suppose I can get used to her presence. After all, I tolerate a mutt and a werewolf. The least I can do is find room for the only pure-bred.'

Harry burst into laughter and leant over. He found Severus's face with his hand and pulled him in for a kiss. 'Thank you.'

Severus kissed him back. 'Just don't think about allowing her to share our bed. The only one I share with is you.'

'Deal. We'll need to get her a dog bed, and some toys, and she'll need food. Virginia supplied her with enough food for at least a week or so, but she'll need some more, and some little dog snacks.'

Severus released a put-upon sigh. 'I'll go to Diagon Alley this weekend.'

'Thank you,' Harry said happily, sliding over and leaning against Severus. Isn't she sweet?'

'Yes, I suppose she is, for a dog.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry had a good week with Virginia, and he got to know Tabitha. He had an easy time learning the classroom and the castle wasn't too hard, at least the few parts that they explored. Learning to write wasn't too terrible, but the Braille seemed almost impossible: however, he did work hard on it, so by the end of the week, he had learnt to recognise a few letters.

He spent the weekend studying the Braille that he had learned, practising walking around his rooms without tripping over anything, and studying his regular course books. He spent little time worrying about his appointment with Ana, since he had so much to do.

Monday morning, Harry finally decided to start thinking about his therapy, and he grew nervous again. He wasn't sure what Ana would want to talk about, and he wasn't really sure that he wanted to talk about some things, but he knew he had to do whatever it took to get back to normal.

Ana had decided, or so Virginia told him, that she wanted to have their sessions in his living room, since that would be the one place in the castle that he was the most comfortable. He thought about telling Virginia that the most comfortable place in the castle was underneath Severus, but he wisely suppressed the urge.

When Harry heard a light knock, he walked to the door with confidence and let Ana in. 'Good morning,' he said, stepping back. 'Come in, please.'

Ana smiled to herself. 'I see that you're progressing nicely,' she said, walking past him and settling into a chair.

'Yes, I am. Virginia's been helping me so much this past week. I've had a lot of work, but I like it. The Braille is rather frustrating, though, but she won't let me become accustomed to the reader.'

'I can understand that. It would be all too easy to allow you to become complacent. Other than that, how did you fare? You didn't overdo it, did you?'

Harry shook his head. 'I wouldn't have been allowed to overdo anything, even if she wasn't' dictating my days. I have about six people who check on me at different intervals during the day. I'm being smothered with concern,' Harry joked.

Ana chuckled. 'Does it bother you that they're so concerned about you?'

'On occasion, when I get five people within a span of fifteen minutes, especially when I'm trying to do what they want me to do…rest. But most of the time, no, it doesn't. I like that they care enough to check on me, to see if I'm okay.'

'I take it that you haven't had much of that in your life?' Ana said.

'No, not really. As the entire wizarding world knows, my parents were murdered when I was a little over a year old, trying to save me from Voldemort. After that, I went directly to my Aunt Petunia's home. She was my mother's sister. She and her family really didn't care if I was fine or not.'

'What was your home life like, when you were a small child?'

Harry shrugged. 'It was terrible, if you want to know the truth, but it was all I knew. My cousin was a bully who got everything he wanted, and his parents looked at him as if he were the Second Coming of Christ. He would always beat me up and he would take away anything that I found to play with, even if it was an old, broken toy of his, or a wildflower that I found growing in the garden, one of those dreadful weeds that my aunt detested. As long as I was miserable, Dudley was happy.'

'How did you feel about your aunt and uncle? How did they treat you?'

'They hated me, and when I got older, I felt the same way about them. They treated me like rubbish, and if they could have got away with tossing me out into the street, they would have. They never treated me like a part of the family, and they only supplied what they absolutely had to. All of my clothes were Dudley's hand-me-downs, too big and bulky for me. They never bought me presents. For my tenth birthday, I got a hanger and an old pair of socks, while Dudley got over thirty presents for his. They thought I was a freak, and they despised me for it.

'How did you feel when they died?'

Harry stiffened slightly. 'They didn't die. They were murdered. There's a difference. I felt horrible. I may not have liked them, but they were my only family left. I didn't want to see that happen to them. It hurt.' Harry heard the sound of a quill scratching on parchment. 'What are you doing?' he asked curiously.

'I'm just jotting down some notes. Today we're just going to talk about some of the people in your life. These notes will help me to decide which direction our next few sessions should go, which areas we should delve into deeper. I promise, no one will ever see these notes but me. I have a special charm on them, and they'll look like uninteresting psychology notes to anyone else.'

Harry nodded. 'Thanks. All I need is for someone like Rita Skeeter to get them in her grubby hands.'

'I understand. So, tell me about Sirius Black. I've noticed that you seem to have a great deal of affection for him.'

Harry smiled. 'I do. He adopted me this past Christmas. That was my gift from him. He's great.'

'How did you two meet?'

'It was during my third year. He'd escaped from Azkaban, and he was trying to get his hands on Peter Pettigrew, who was masquerading as my friend Ron's pet rat, Scabbers. He ended up dragging Ron and Scabbers into the Shrieking Shack, and Hermione and I followed him, to save Ron. That's when I found out that he wasn't the one who betrayed my parents. It had been Peter. But then Severus came in and ruined everything, but Hermione and I managed to help him escape.'

'How did it make you feel, knowing that you had a tie to your parents?'

'I liked it, but Remus was one of those ties as well. I'm glad that they knew my parents, and they can tell me about them, but I was happier that I finally found someone who was family and cared about me. Dad was my godfather, before he adopted me.'

'And how is your relationship with Sirius now? Are you affectionate towards him, or do you find yourself shying away from him?'

'Oh, we're very affectionate. You see, I never had anyone who wanted to hug me or hold me when I was little, and then when he came along, after he was exonerated, I realised that I had finally found someone who didn't look at me like I had the plague every time I touched him. It felt good, knowing I had someone that I could hug, sit next to, or even jump into his lap, and he would welcome the affection. I think that he missed human contact as well, especially after spending twelve years in Azkaban and three years on the run.'

'Do you share this kind of affection with anyone else?'

'Sometimes with Draco, and I used to with Fred, but I was once involved with him, and Severus gets jealous if I show too much affection to him, even if it's accidental. Draco, it's been more since he was raped several months ago. Oh, and Remus, but I see him like I see Dad. I think he would have adopted me as well, if the Ministry of Magic had allowed it. He's one of us, one of those in the "Starved for Affection Club". He's a werewolf, as I'm sure you know, and he finds that people shy away from him. I don't.'

'Remus's affliction doesn't bother you?'

Harry shook his head. 'Of course not. He's a brilliant person, intelligent and witty. He's so caring and he loves me for me. He's never loved me just because I was James Potter's son, or because I'm the "boy who lived". Neither has Sirius. In fact, none of those who are important to me have ever really looked at me like that. Well…maybe Ron and Hermione, at first, but we were eleven and that doesn't really count.'

'Tell me about Severus Snape. I know that you are involved with him, romantically, that is.'

Harry smiled. 'Would you believe it if I told you that we hated each other's very presence for years? We did. I hated him with a fiery passion, right up until my fifth year, when I finally discovered that I found boys much more interesting than girls were, and I really took a long look at him, when he wasn't watching. I found that there were some things that I found attractive, and I developed a crush on him, but I never stood a chance. I knew that.'

'Why was that?'

Harry laughed. 'For one thing, he still loathed the sight of me. He always thought I was an arrogant prat, like my father. I can fully admit, after listening to some of the things that my father had done, that James Potter was indeed an arrogant prat, but I never thought it was fair that he judge me by a man I never really knew. He also thought that Professor Dumbledore spoiled me, and I did get into a bit of trouble and break the rules a bit. It drove him insane.'

'When did his opinion change?'

'I think it was this past summer, when Voldemort attacked. He had a long talk with Professor Dumbledore, and much of the things that he thought he knew were drastically changed. He thought I was practically worshipped at home. He had no idea that my family loathed the sight of me. There was no way that he could have really known, honestly. When we got to his home, he gradually became nicer, less harsh, and I fell in love. On my sixteenth birthday, I finally went to him. After that night, he felt remorse, and he tried to keep me away from him, but I eventually wore him down. We've been together since.'

'And you've had no problems?'

'Oh, I wouldn't say that,' Harry said, laughing loudly. 'When Draco was raped, he lashed out at me, holding me responsible because Draco was supposed to be with me and not wandering the halls alone. He blamed me and banished me from his life. I was completely miserable, so much so that I actually crawled into bed with my dad and Remus and bawled my eyes nearly right out of my skull. I was so upset. A week of not eating, sleeping, guilt over losing my house three hundred points, and over all depression landed me in the hospital wing, right next to Draco. By then, Draco had awoken and told Severus that he had left me when I wasn't looking, and Severus was remorseful. It took me a few weeks to finally forgive him.

'Then there was the whole thing with Ron telling his parents, and then the fiasco with the Ministry and the Board of Governors. That could have got him sacked and me expelled, but Dumbledore finally got them to see reason, and they left us alone.'

'How does Severus feel about you?'

'He loves me. I know he does, even though he doesn't say it nearly as much as I do. He gets irritated with me sometimes…well, a lot of times, and he's unforgiving of stupidity. Every time I do something less than intelligent, he's sure to point it out to me. He's rude at times, almost always sarcastic, and his tongue is sharper than a razorblade, but he always manages to make me feel like I matter to him.'

'I'm sure you two have your rows now and again.'

'Of course we do. What couple doesn't? We've always argued, and just because we're together now and we love each other doesn't mean that we don't have a good row on occasion. There are a few sore spots in our relationship, and we're trying to get over them. It just takes time.'

'Yes, I'm well aware of the arguments that take place. My husband and I got into quite a few nasty altercations in our days. We'll talk more about Severus at a later time. Now, tell me what you think of the other professors here at school. How do you get along with them?'

Harry spent the better part of an hour talking about the different teachers at Hogwarts, those that had gone on and those that he no longer studied under, as well as those that he would be working with one on one, as soon as he was capable of focusing on his magic. At the end of their session, Ana put her quill and parchment away and went over to pat Harry's arm supportively. 'There, that was a nice start, wasn't it, dear? We'll have much to talk about at our next session. That wasn't so bad, was it?'

Harry shook his head. He had to admit, it was nice, having someone to talk to and not having to worry about hurting someone's feelings. 'You'll be here on Monday, right?'

'Yes, I will. No need for you to get up and see me out. I'm sure you're a bit tired. I'll see myself out, and you go and get some rest. I'll see you in a week.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus came in at lunchtime, carrying a tray of food. He found Harry lounging on the bed, listening to his Potions book. 'Hello, Harry. I thought you'd like to have lunch up here, since you're probably tired.'

Harry nodded and smiled softly. He put away his reader and his book and patted the bed. 'You're having lunch with me, are you not?'

'Of course,' Severus replied, setting Harry's tray on his lap and grabbing his own. He sat down next to Harry. 'Shepherd's pie, today, and apple pie for pudding. Tuck in.'

'Yum,' Harry murmured to himself, picking up his fork and getting on with it. He was fairly confident with his ability to use utensils, and by now everyone around him knew how to position his food and utensils so that he knew what was where. 'How has your day been?' Harry asked between bites.

Severus swallowed and said, 'Not too terrible. A few failed potions, but none of them boiled over or blew up, so all in all, I've been lucky for a change. There are the afternoon classes, however.'

'I know. I miss going to class. I like learning with Virginia, but it's not the same. I wish I could go with Draco, Ron, and Hermione, like I used to.'

'I know, Harry. Just give yourself some time. You won't be able to do it this year, but next year, you should be able to sit in on classes if you want, if you don't have your own to attend. That way, you can have some extra help, and you can know what's coming up.'

'Yeah, but I won't be able to participate,' Harry replied, his shoulders slumping slightly.

'No, but it will give you something to do, and while the practical parts will be taught in your classroom, you can listen to the lecture and get your assignments,' Severus noted. 'Just because you are blind doesn't mean that any of us are going to let up on you. You'll be treated just as any other student, and I will deduct points and give you unpleasant detentions if you think about handing in assignments late or half-heartedly done. I expect better from you, because you have more of a challenge. I will fully expect excellence from you. Do you understand?'

'Yes, sir!' Harry said, giving Severus a salute. 'I'll do my absolute best, I promise.'

'Good. Now, finish eating and take a nap. When I get back, I fully expect to see you working on either your course books or your Braille.'

Harry smiled. 'I'll work on it,' he said before forking a large piece of apple pie into his mouth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday afternoon, Harry and Virginia were outside, and she was showing Harry how to give Tabitha orders while she was on her leash. Harry was doing fairly well. He also had his cane, and he was learning how to adjust to using it, so that he could find any objects that might obstruct his path. He'd fallen once, and it had been mildly alarming, since he couldn't see where he was falling, but he realised that falls were going to be a part of his recovery.

'Harry, you're doing fine,' Virginia said as they sat by the lake, letting the sun shine down on their faces. 'You're much farther than I expected you to be. I have to tell you, you've made my job much easier, and more pleasant. Usually, I have to fight through weeks of stubbornness and denial, while my patients learn to cope with the fact that they're blind. You, however, are determined to learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible.'

Harry shrugged. 'I wanted to be in denial, but that just didn't work for me. I was upset, angry, depressed, but I couldn't deny the fact that I couldn't see. Then they told me that it's my own fault, that it's my brain that's malfunctioning, and that's kind of hard to deny. Now, I just want to be as independent as possible. I don't want everyone to put their lives on hold so that they can take care of me. The hardest part, though, is the Braille. I just can't seem to grasp it.'

'It's only been a couple of weeks, Harry. Give yourself time. You'll get it eventually, and it's not an absolutely essential part of your work, though it is best if you know it, in case of emergencies. It's just like anything else. Some people learn it in a few weeks and others take months. Just keep working at it, and little by little, it will become easier. Just don't give up. You do need to learn this.'

Harry nodded. 'Okay, I trust you.' Harry turned his head when he heard Hagrid yell for Fang. 'Can we go see Hagrid? I haven't really had the chance to talk with him in a while.'

'Of course. I think it would be wonderful.'

Harry called for Tabitha, who had been roaming around since they sat down, and put her on her leash. As soon as he was ready, he walked in the direction from where Hagrid's voice had come. 'Is the hut nearby?' Harry asked, not sure exactly where he was.

'Yes, it's directly in front of you. There's nothing in your way, but remember to always check, just in case.'

Harry let Tabitha lead him to Hagrid's cottage, and he knocked on the door.

Hagrid opened the door and gasped with delight. 'Harry! It's been so long since I've seen yeh! Come in! Come in, Ma'am,' Hagrid said, stepping back and letting Harry and Virginia come inside. 'How are yeh, Harry? Been doin' all right?' Hagrid asked as he pulled out cups for tea.

Harry smiled at the half-giant. 'Yes, I've been doing much better, thanks. I'm sure that everyone is keeping you updated on my health and recovery.'

'Yeah, Ron and Hermione have been down here often, tellin' me what Draco's been sayin'. They said they're not lettin' yeh have much in the way of company.'

Harry shook his head. 'I've seen them for a few minutes, but Severus, Sirius, and Remus are keeping most visitors away for now, since I've started classes. They're afraid I might get too tired and have some sort of relapse, I guess. I'm getting stronger, though, and Madam Pomfrey's released me from bed rest, as long as I don't overdo it. That means I can start roaming about the school again. We'll come and visit, I promise.'

'Good. I've missed yeh somethin' terrible,' Hagrid said, putting the tea on the table. 'Here yeh go, Harry.' Hagrid placed a cup of tea and some cakes in front of Harry. 'The cakes are a gift from Olympe. She says to tell yeh she hopes yeh get better soon.'

Harry reached for a cake and nibbled on it. It was wonderful. 'It's good. Thanks, Hagrid. Tell her I said thank you.'

'I will. Here yeh are, Miss-' Hagrid was at a loss, because he did not know her name.

'Virginia will do just fine,' she replied, giving him a pleasant smile.

Harry blushed. 'Oh, I'm sorry, Hagrid. How rude of me! Hagrid, this is Virginia McMahan. She's teaching me how to get along with my lack of vision. Virginia, this is Rubeus Hagrid, the gameskeeper and Care of Magical Creatures professor.'

'It's a pleasure, Hagrid,' Virginia said.

''Tis my pleasure, Virginia. Has Harry been a good student?'

'The best,' Virginia said, squeezing Harry's hand. 'I was just telling him how impressed I was with his progress.'

'That's wonderful!' Hagrid replied, beaming at Virginia and clapping Harry lightly on the back. Harry smiled at Hagrid.

Hagrid's attention was caught by a soft "Yip!" at his feet. He looked down at the snow-white dog sitting beside the table. 'I see yeh've got a new pet, Harry.'

'That's Tabitha. She's my guide dog,' Harry said. 'She's sweet, isn't she?'

Hagrid leant down to pet Tabitha, and she jumped up and licked his face. 'Yeah, she's somethin'. Do yeh think yeh could bring her to my fifth year classes in a few weeks? We're supposed to be studyin' Crups next.'

Harry nodded. 'Sure. Just let me know when you want her, and I can bring her to you. Will that be all right, Virginia?'

'Of course, Harry. It will give you a good opportunity to see how sitting in on classes will be for you.'

'Then it's all set,' Harry said, his smile lighting up the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Virginia let Harry have the rest of the afternoon off. He spent it in the library with Madam Pince, who helped Harry take books to his table and showed him how to put a sound bubble around him, so that others wouldn't be bothered by the voice of his reader. He stopped when Ron and Hermione came in and disturbed him, and he went with them to Gryffindor Tower to see his friends.

He had fun, and he decided to go into the Great Hall for the first time since the match. He sat with his friends at the fifth table, feeling that for once, he was a part of things again. He had no idea that Severus, Sirius, and even Remus were glaring at him, but Ron and Hermione noticed, and they knew that Harry was in trouble.

After dinner, Harry wasn't ready to go back to the dungeons, so he went to the library with Ron and Hermione, to pick out some books to take with him. He was there for about half an hour, and he was just about ready to go, when Draco came in to get him.

'Harry, I think you'd best go back to your rooms. I think Severus, Sirius, and Remus are a bit put out that you've been roaming around all day.'

'Nonsense,' Harry said, picking up his books that interested him and carrying them to Madam Pince, so that he could check them out. Draco noted that Harry seemed completely unconcerned. 'They should be happy that I've felt this wonderful. I haven't felt this strong, this…content in a long time.'

Draco was not the least bit convinced that the three men downstairs would see things the way his friend did, but there wasn't anything he could say. He hadn't actually gone down to the dungeons, but he'd seen the three men stalk downstairs after dinner, and he had a feeling that a screaming match was about to ensue. Personally, he was on Harry's side, and he wanted to see Harry get angry with them, which he was sure to do. Draco knew how pigheaded his uncle could be, and Sirius was just like him. Remus, he wasn't sure about, but he thought the man could have a temper if properly provoked. Draco also knew that Harry wasn't someone to cross when he was angry, and this would prove to be an entertaining altercation, at least for one not involved.

Draco helped Harry down the stairs and into the dungeons, but after he was off the stairs, Harry needed no help. For the last week and a half, after learning his classroom, he'd been learning the route from the stairs to his front door, and he had it down pat. Draco kept out of his way, impressed that he knew exactly what he was doing. He wondered if he would be this together if it had been him that went blind.

Harry said the password and the door swung open silently. He and Tabitha stepped inside the room, his books in his arms.

'Harry James Potter Black!' Sirius yelled, and Harry jumped, his books crashing to the floor. One of the books started snapping angrily and fastened onto Harry's leg.

'Ow! Book! Book!' Harry yelled at Draco. Draco, laughing loudly, knelt down and stroked the book's spine. It fell open harmlessly and he picked it up, along with Harry's other selection.

Harry glared in the direction that he had heard Sirius's yell. 'What's the matter with you?' he snapped. 'You scared me half to death!'

'Me? What do you think you were doing today, roaming about the school? Hagrid told me that you were out at his cottage, and then you were traipsing about the school!'

Harry frowned. 'So what? Madam Pomfrey took me off bed rest, and she said that as long as I listened to my body and didn't overdo it, I could do what I wanted.'

Severus jumped into the conversation. 'So that gives you the right to go flouncing about as you wish, without informing anyone of your whereabouts?' he snapped. Harry could hear the fury dripping from every syllable. 'You should have informed us, to see if it was permissible!'

Harry's eyebrows shot up and got lost underneath his fringe. 'So now I have to clear everything I do with you? I never had to clear anything with you before the match,' he said in a low voice. 'Now I have to have your permission?'

'Yes!' Severus and Sirius said simultaneously.

Remus could see the anger about to erupt from Harry, and he decided to try and intervene. 'Harry, I'm sure these two didn't mean that you have to have permission to do everything. We were just concerned. We came down to see if you wanted to go to the Great Hall for dinner, and you weren't here. We had no idea where you were, and we were worried.'

'I'm sorry, Remus, if you were worried, but I was just fine, and I didn't mean to worry you. I was at Hagrid's, with Virginia, and then I was in the library, with Madam Pince. Then I went to the Gryffindor common room with Ron and Hermione and spent some time with my friends, something I haven't been able to do in a really long time. Not once did I think that it would be a problem. I thought that you three would be proud that I could finally do something even remotely independent. I guess I was wrong,' Harry said, anger boiling underneath his calmly spoken words. 'I didn't realise that the rules had changed. I was under the impression, after all, that I'm old enough to judge my abilities for myself.'

Severus glared at Harry, and Draco had to suppress a snort. He found it funny that his uncle wasted the energy to glare at a man that couldn't see it. The effect was completely wasted, even if it was natural. 'You, young man, will clear everything that you do with us, and that's an order! I won't have you gallivanting around this castle without knowing what it is you are doing!' Severus snarled.

Harry was so angry that Draco fancied he could see tiny wisps of smoke coming out of his friend's ears. 'Oh, really?' Harry whispered, the two words dripping with venom, and Draco couldn't help but grin. He wondered when the fangs would come out.

'Yes!' Sirius snapped, actually agreeing with Severus. 'I am your father, and you will do as I say!'

'Yes, you are my father…I just didn't realise that you were also my dictator!' Harry snarled. He turned to where he knew Remus was sitting. 'Tell me, Remus, do you agree with these two idiots?'

Remus cleared his throat. 'I don't think they've put it in the best possible way, but I really do think we need to know where you're going at all times. What if something happened?'

Harry shook his head and scowled. 'Don't you dare try to put that kind of guilt trip on me,' he warned. 'You three would love that, wouldn't you? Me, having to tell you every single thing on my itinerary. Tell me, why go through the trouble of bringing Virginia and Ana here? I would think that you'd love having me helpless. Poor blind, useless Harry, at the mercy of your every whim, grateful for the generosity bestowed upon me. You'd love that, wouldn't you? Play the hero, and make me feel like I owe you everything in the world just because you put up with my existence! Go ahead! Why don't you owl them and tell them that you don't want me to get better, tell them that you want to keep me locked up like a little pet, something for you to bring out and play with from time to time?'

'Harry, that's not what we meant and you know it,' Remus snapped, losing his patience.

'Isn't it? You three want to run my life? Go ahead, try it,' he retorted. 'See how far you get! I don't need any of you! I'm nearly of age, and I've got enough money to pay for my teachers and live on my own! Now, I'm going to have a shower, and then I'm going to lie down and read my book. If that's not all right with you, well, sod off! I don't give a fuck!'

Draco watched, a grin plastered on his face, as Harry stalked confidently to the bedroom door. Harry allowed Tabitha to run through the door and then he slammed it so hard that several of Severus's phials of potions toppled over and rolled around on the shelves. Draco then turned and saw that all three men were staring at the door Harry had just gone through, identical expressions on their faces: mouths hanging wide open, eyes as wide as Dobby's, and all three were stunned by Harry's anger and his words. Draco couldn't help but laugh.

All three turned to Draco, disbelief still clouding their faces. 'Oh, please! What else could you have expected? The three of you acted like utter prats, complete morons. You're lucky, actually, that Harry hasn't learned how to do spells just yet. I believe that all three of you just might have been on the receiving end of the Cruciatus curse, and quite frankly, you would have deserved it. How could you even think you could treat him like that?'

'He shouldn't have been out there, running about the castle. He could have been hurt,' Remus managed to say, shaking off his shock at being spoken to like Harry had. He'd never been on the receiving end of Harry's anger before, and it wasn't a place that he wanted to visit again.

'Why not? He's worked so hard to regain even an ounce of his former independence. He hates being dependent on everyone, especially those that he loves. Yet, you three want him to feel like he's a burden.'

Severus shook his head. 'That's not what we want at all.'

Draco snorted. 'No, you just want him to tell you his every action and thought, so you can dictate whether or not to deem it appropriate. Think about it. Did you ask him to do anything that you're asking him to do now, before he lost his sight? He wants to get back to normal, yet you're asking something of him that is completely unfair. Personally, I am quite proud of Harry for telling you three off. You deserved every single word. Now I suggest that the three of you re-think your position on Harry's life; otherwise, you might find yourselves on the outside, looking in.'

Draco went into his uncle and Harry's bedroom, closing the door behind him. He heard the shower running, so he sat down on the bed and waited, after placing the books he'd been holding on the bedside table. When Harry came out of the bathroom, Draco started clapping. 'Nicely done, Harry. I couldn't be prouder.'

Harry jumped slightly. 'Draco? What are you doing in here?'

'I just wanted to tell you that you were right, and those three are the personification of stupid. You do what you want, Harry. Don't let their fears stop you from living your life.'

Harry sighed and sat down next to Draco. 'I know they're worried, afraid even, but that's not fair to me. I shouldn't have to hinder my needs just to placate them. I love all three of them, so much, but I can't let them tell me what I can and can't do with my life. It's my life, not theirs. They aren't blind, and they have no idea how I feel.'

'I agree,' Draco said, cocking his head thoughtfully. A sudden flash of brilliance invaded Draco's brain, and he said, 'They don't know how you truly feel, do they?'

'You have something in mind?' Harry asked, his curiosity piqued. He knew that tone of voice all too well, and it was usually followed by one of Draco's sneakier schemes.

Draco chuckled softly. 'Yes, my friend, I do. I think that tomorrow, I'm going to show them exactly how you feel.' Draco leant over and whispered into Harry's ear, just in case someone should come in and hear. As Draco spoke, Harry got a wicked grin on his face. 'Do you think Fred would help?'

'I happen to know that he'd do anything for me,' Draco said. 'I'll go and owl him right away.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus walked into the bedroom an hour after Draco left, and Harry was still up, using his reader to listen to Hermione's Transfiguration notes, which she had copied for him.

Severus was still angry with Harry for scaring him. He had been truly worried. He had come here earlier, fully expecting Harry to be here, and then he had no idea where he was. Virginia had said that she had left him with Hagrid, and when Sirius had gone down, Hagrid had escorted him to the front doors, but after that, they couldn't find anyone that knew where he was. Severus didn't have the Marauder's Map, since Harry had lent it to Ron and Hermione, who were trying to figure out how it was made, since Sirius and Remus wouldn't tell them how they had done it. Severus had no idea where Harry was or if he was fine or not.

Personally, he thought that Harry was being completely unreasonable. He knew that Harry was having a difficult time, but he didn't think that his request was too much.

Severus silently got ready for bed. He slid between the sheets and picked up the journal that he had been reading. He turned to look at Harry, who was sitting beside him with a scowl on his face, still angry, obviously. 'Harry, I wish you would understand-'

Harry snarled and slammed down his parchments on the bedside table. He turned onto his side, facing away from Severus, and pulled the blankets high, over his head. He couldn't wait until tomorrow so he could listen in, as Draco's plan was set into motion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At midnight, Fred came through the fireplace, a bag in his hand. 'Here you go, love. This should work perfectly.'

'This will work all day?' Draco asked, looking inside the bag at the bottle of liquid. 'And there are no side effects?' He wanted to teach the morons a lesson, not injure them.

'It will last eighteen hours, and the only effect is the one that you requested. This is a new product, but it's been well tested. The smaller bottle is the antidote, which will neutralise the one you're using, should they get the message and you take pity on them.'

Draco chuckled. 'Trust me, I won't take pity. All three deserve it. Now, tell me how this works, and how much I should use.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Are you sure that this is a good idea?' Remus asked, sitting down on the sofa. Draco had called him and Sirius early that morning, telling them that they should come down and have breakfast with him, Severus, and Harry.

Draco nodded. 'The three of you need to talk with Harry. If you don't, Harry will be upset all day, and I don't want him to be. Now sit down. Breakfast will be here soon, and I'll do all the work.'

A few minutes later, Harry and Severus came into the room. Harry was still scowling, and he and Severus obviously had not talked at all since their argument the night before. Harry sat down, as did Severus. Draco squeezed Harry's shoulder as he passed by. The first thing he did was serve Sirius, Severus, and Remus coffee, which was laced with Fred's "special blend".

All three immediately started drinking their coffee. Draco didn't expect anything right away, since Fred told him that it would take about five minutes. Draco figured that it would give him a few minutes to get their breakfast ready, all of which would have to be eaten with utensils…no finger foods for these idiots.

Just as Draco placed their food in front of them, all three men squeezed their eyes, as if trying to get rid of their blearing. Sirius rubbed at his eyes, blinking them rapidly. Within a few moments, all three had gone from perfect vision to complete darkness.

'What the hell is going on here?' Sirius growled, waving his hands in front of his face.

'What's going on here, gentlemen, is that I'm teaching you three a little lesson. Harry was right last night when he told me that you three have no clue about what he goes through every single day. Now, thanks to a gorgeous redhead, I can give you that opportunity. Enjoy it, boys, because it won't wear off for another eighteen hours.'

'Draco, this is not amusing! I order you to stop this right now!' Severus yelled, trying to figure out where his nephew was so that he could wring his neck.

'Sorry, but no,' Draco said from behind him.

'Quit moving so I can throttle you, you insolent little brat!' Severus growled.

'Leave him alone,' Harry snapped. 'I want the three of you to do this. You want to sit there and act imperious, telling me what to do, but you're not willing to spend one small day trying to see how I feel? I'll tell you this: either you do this, or I won't speak to any of you again. I'm tired of being treated like an invalid. Do this for me.'

'I'll do it, Harry,' Remus said. The other two mumbled their agreement.

'Good. Now eat,' Draco said. 'The plates are right in front of you, and the forks are to the left of the plate.' Draco watched, with satisfaction, as the three men fumbled with their silverware, attempting to eat, but finding it difficult. Draco remembered how hard it was to eat, when he had blindfolded himself, to know how Harry would feel. True, he made it a bit more difficult for his professors, but it was what they needed to know.

Harry wondered what else his friend had in store for the three blind men. 'So, what do you think we should do today, Draco?'

'Oh, I was thinking that the five of us should go for a little walk.'

'Oh, no,' Severus protested. 'I'm not going out there so I can make a fool of myself in front of the entire school.'

'I see,' Harry said, his voice about two degrees above freezing. 'I can make a "fool" of myself all the time, but you can't. Well then, you can just stay here and figure out what to do. I'm going with Draco. What about you, Remus, Dad? Are you going to stay, or do you dare go out in public?'

'I'm staying here. I don't feel like a walk,' Sirius said, sitting back and slumping down into the sofa.

'I'll go,' Remus said in a near whisper. Deep down, he felt that he deserved Draco's prank. He wasn't as stubborn as the other two, and then he had thought long and hard about what Harry and Draco had said the night before. He figured out that they were right, and he had been wrong. He was willing to do whatever Harry wanted.

'Brilliant,' Draco said brightly. He transfigured one of Harry's course books into a cane for Remus. He handed it to his professor. 'Shall we go? It's a beautiful day outside.' Harry got up and whistled for Tabitha. She ran to him, leash in her mouth. Harry fastened her leash and picked up his cane. The three left, and Severus and Sirius were alone.

'Can you believe this?' Sirius muttered. 'Blind for the entire day…just bloody fabulous.'

Severus had an epiphany as he listened to Sirius sulk. 'Do you have any idea how selfish we sound? We're whining because we have to spend eighteen hours without our eyesight. Harry may have to live years without his. How can we be so selfish?'

Sirius sighed. 'I don't know. You're right, you know. I sound like a pathetic little brat who didn't get his way. You suppose that Harry was right last night?'

'As much as I hate to admit it, I do. I think I realised that the moment he slammed the door in our faces, but I was just too stubborn to admit it. We have no right to tell him how to live his life. We can't know where he is every second of the day. It's not fair to him. He's nearly an adult, and he should be treated as such. We can worry, but we can't rule him,' Severus said, pinching the bridge of his nose. 'I'm getting a headache. I hate it when I'm wrong.'

'Do you have any potions? I have a bit of a headache myself.'

Severus sighed wearily. 'Yes, but it will take some time to find it. None of my potions are labelled for the blind, and I wouldn't have a clue how to read them even if they were.' Severus ignored Sirius's snort and got up carefully. He slowly walked toward where he knew his shelves of potions were. He cursed as he ran into a chair, and Sirius laughed louder. 'Oh, shut up, mutt,' Severus grumbled as he rubbed his knee.

Severus reached the shelf, finally, and he felt for the different phials. He had an idea where the potion should be, but he wasn't exactly sure which one it was, since Harry had knocked them over last night, and Severus hadn't bothered reorganising them.

He popped open a phial and sniffed. 'Sleeping draught,' he murmured, putting it off to the side. He grabbed another one. 'Dreamless Sleep.' He went through several more before he found two that contained a headache draught. He carried them cradled next to his chest, the empty hand out to find the chair that he had tripped over earlier. He finally made it back to Sirius. 'Here,' he said, shoving one phial into Sirius's hand.

'You're sure that this is the right one?' Sirius asked sceptically.

Severus snorted. 'I know all my potions by smell, thank you very much. I'm positive. Now take it before I shove it down your throat.'

Sirius drank down the draught and a few minutes later his headache started to subside. 'Oh, bloody hell. I've got to use the loo now.'

Severus smirked. 'Go ahead, be my guest,' he said, getting off his chair and walking to his sofa, tripping over the coffee table in the process. 'Ouch! Bollocks!' he growled, rubbing his shin, which he had skinned. He just hoped it wouldn't bleed, since he didn't trust himself to perform a healing spell on his leg.

'I'd laugh, but I'm afraid of bad karma,' Sirius said, slowly walking toward where he thought the door to Severus's bedroom was. 'Why couldn't you have your toilet connected with the living room?' he asked grumpily.

'It wasn't a priority at the time,' Severus retorted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remus, however, was having a much better time of it. Draco was helping him, and he found the entire experiment intriguing. His hearing picked up more things, now that his ears were starting to compensate for his eyes. He could hear footsteps, when before he would see the person and the sounds of their footfalls wouldn't really register in his mind.

Getting up the steps was a chore, since he couldn't remember which steps were trick ones, and if Draco and Harry hadn't been there, he might have panicked when the stairs shifted, while they were on them.

Now they were outside, and he enjoyed the feel of the sun on his face. Draco had let go of his arm, to allow him to feel what it was like to have to traverse unknown ground without seeing where he was going, but he promised that he wouldn't let Remus hurt himself.

At first, Remus was scared, unsure of his steps, not fully trusting the cane, but the further he walked, the more confident he got. When they sat down at the water's edge, Remus was smiling happily. 'Harry, I'm so sorry about last night. It was wrong of me, what I said,what I expected of you. Can you forgive me and forget that moment of stupidity that I had?' he asked.

Harry reached over and found Remus's hand. Squeezing it, he said, 'Yes, I will, but promise that you won't say anything like that again. I hated it, thinking that you three thought so little of me, that you wanted to run my life. I can't live like that. It's not living.'

'I won't, I swear on my wand. Your life is your own, and I should let you live it. After all, you know your own body better than anyone. I can't fathom how you live with this every day. I'm terrified to move, as if I might break my neck.'

'As Draco said, we won't let you come to any harm. We want to show you what I live with, not hurt you. I wouldn't do that for anything in this world.'

Remus chuckled. 'I have to admit, this is a wonderful prank that you've thought up.'

'I'd love to take the credit, but it was all Draco's idea.'

Draco laughed. 'Actually, it does come back around to you, Harry. I got the idea from Fred, who has been working on this for a few weeks. In fact, he's about to put it on the market, in time for the new school year. He got the idea from you, Harry. He thought that if people had to live without their eyesight for a time, then they would better understand what a blind person goes through.'

'I think it will sell quite well,' Remus said. 'It truly is an excellent prank. But eighteen hours?'

Draco sniggered. 'That's the time it takes to wear off naturally, but there is an antidote that can be taken at any time. Before you ask, no, you three aren't getting it.'

Remus smiled. 'Fair enough. I know I deserve it. So, what do we do now?'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sirius finally made it back to the sofa and sat down next to Severus. 'I think I might have missed.'

'What?' Severus yelled, disgusted.

'I'm joking,' Sirius said, laughing. 'Lighten up a bit. It's not that horrible, is it?'

'I'm stuck here, blind, and I'm with you. What do you think?' Severus snapped.

'As if being stuck here with you was at the top of my "to do" list. I'm just trying to make the best of a bad situation.'

Severus snorted. 'Why even try? No one is here but us, and the only reason that you and I are the least bit civil is because of Harry. Well, Harry isn't here, though I wish he were. He would save me the energy of having to carry on a conversation with you.'

'As if I want to sit here and listen to you snivel,' Sirius retorted. 'If my son didn't love you so much, do you think that I would spend one minute in your presence? But no, Harry has this morbid attachment to you and thus I'm stuck with your company.'

'No one's forcing you to stay. These are my rooms, after all. Feel free to leave at any time. I won't stop you, I assure you.'

'You'd love that, wouldn't you? Can't wait to see me break my neck?' Sirius snarled.

'If only I were so lucky,' Severus retorted.

'You know something? I'm sick of the sound of your voice. I'm going next door and sit in Draco's room. That way we'll both be happy. Tell Harry where I am when he gets back.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three hours later, Remus, Draco, and Harry returned to Severus's rooms. Draco looked around and frowned. 'Where's Sirius?'

Severus pointed in the direction of Draco's door. Severus had found Harry's reader and was currently listening to one of his books. Harry smiled slightly. He wondered how much trouble the two men had while they were gone. Apparently they got sick of each other's company fairly quickly.

Draco escorted Remus to a chair and went to get Sirius. Harry sat down on the sofa, next to Severus, but he didn't say anything to his lover. Severus grimaced, knowing that the only way he was going to get out of this was to apologise, something he loathed to do. 'Harry, can I speak with you in the bedroom?'

'Not until I talk to my son,' Sirius said. Draco was helping Sirius in the sofa, where he sat beside Harry. 'Harry, I'm so pathetic. Can you forgive me for the stupid blunder I made last night? You were right. I am your father, but I have no right to run you life, and it's not fair that I try to do it now, especially when I didn't do something that dumb before the attack. Will you please take pity on me?'

Harry couldn't suppress a laugh, his father sounded so pathetic. 'All right, this time, but only because I already accepted Remus's apology, and I don't want him to get a big head and act superior.'

'I am superior,' Remus said, pretending to be affronted.

Harry smiled. 'So you say. Dad, just don't act like that again, please? I promise not to do anything stupid, if you won't.'

'Fair enough. Now can we take this spell off?'

'No,' Draco stated matter-of-factly. 'You're going to keep it on until it wears off. It's not a spell anyway. It's a potion that Fred concocted, and before you go flying off in a tangent, Uncle Severus, it 's well tested, and there are no side effects.'

'Black and I both had headaches,' Severus pointed out.

'Remus didn't, and you can't blame Fred because your own stupidity caused your body to protest,' Draco replied.

'Can Remus and I go then?' Sirius asked. 'I'd like to have a little nap, since I didn't get much sleep last night.'

Draco chuckled. 'Again, your fault, but yes, I'll take you to your rooms. It looks like my uncle has some arse kissing to do anyway.' Draco led the two men to the door, ignoring the scowl on his uncle's face after his last remark, and they left Harry and Severus to work out their problem. As soon as the door was closed, Harry got up and went into the bedroom.

Severus followed him, his steps more unsure than Harry's were. 'Can I talk to you, or are you going to ignore me?'

Harry sighed. 'I've been outside for hours, and I'm all sweaty. I'm going to have a shower, but you can feel free to talk while I do so.'

Harry took off his clothing and threw it in the hamper. He turned on the shower and then turned to Severus. 'Are you going to stand in the doorway, or are you going to join me?'

'You want me to-'

'Severus, I know you're sorry. If you weren't, you would be off in the other room, pouting and fuming, waiting for me to get down on my knees and beg for your forgiveness. Come on and join me,' Harry said, walking towards him. He placed his hands on Severus's arms, sliding his hands down and clasping his lover's hands. He pulled Severus into the room and helped him remove his robes and boxers. 'Careful getting in the shower. Feel for the edge with your foot. That's it, love.'

Severus relaxed as he made it into the shower without incident. 'I don't know how you do this all the time,' he said, in awe of his lover.

Harry chuckled. 'It's not like I have a choice. So, talk,' he said, ducking his head under the stream of hot water. He laughed when Severus seemed to hesitate. 'You don't have to say you're sorry, you know. You could just tell me that you were wrong.'

'I apologise,' Severus said, taking the lesser of two evils.

'Apology accepted. Don't do it again. Now, come here and help me wash all this sweat away,' he murmured, reaching out and pulling Severus closer.

Severus lathered his hands with the soap and slid them down Harry's back, while he nuzzled his face in Harry's neck. 'Merlin, I've missed this,' he whispered before biting his lover's neck gently.

Harry groaned as slick hands kneaded his arse. 'You're not the only one,' Harry said, his own soapy hands sliding up and down Severus's back. 'I've missed you.'

Severus slid his fingers between Harry's cheeks and massaged his hole lightly, before sliding his middle finger deep inside. 'How long has it been since we made love in the shower?'

Harry rocked back on his lover's finger, crying out when it flexed and brushed against his prostate. 'Entirely too long,' he gasped. 'Do that again!'

Severus chuckled. 'Oh, you like that do you?' he asked, flexing his finger again and making Harry moan loudly.

'Quit being such a cockteaser,' Harry said, wiggling on Severus's finger.

Severus slipped a second finger in and very slowly fucked his lover. 'But I enjoy teasing your cock,' he whispered into Harry's ear as his free hand brushed over the tip of his lover's cock. 'It's fun to watch you writhe and beg. Otherwise, I would have just turned you around and shoved my cock up that tight little arse of yours.'

'Really?' Harry gasped. 'Two can play that game.' Harry slid his hands down and slid two fingers into Severus's hole, searching until he felt Severus shudder and bite down on his neck. 'Like that, did you?' he said, playfully mocking his lover.

'Floor, now,' Severus growled. He slid down, bringing Harry down with him, neither removing their fingers, making their descent rather awkward, but they somehow managed. When they were on their knees, Severus reluctantly removed Harry's fingers, as well as his own, and reached for a bottle. Sniffing it, he realised he had the conditioner, which would do nicely. He quickly stroked his cock to complete hardness and helped Harry turn over, so that he was on his hands and knees, and Severus thrust inside with one smooth stroke.

Harry's body welcomed the intrusion eagerly, and if there was any pain, he didn't realise it. He pushed back with unfettered enthusiasm, wanting nothing more than to be fucked right through the floor.

Severus shifted until he was sure that he wouldn't slip, and then started thrusting in and out of Harry with unhurried relish, sighing with contentment. He'd missed the feel of his lover enveloping him in his warm, soft body.

Harry, however, wasn't satisfied in the least with the slow pace. 'You can make love to me later. Right now…fuck me!' he half-snarled, pushing back impatiently.

Severus stopped his movements and held Harry still, until Harry started whimpering. 'Please, Sev, move! Please?'

Severus smirked and then slammed back into his lover, and Harry screamed blissfully. 'Yes!' he hissed, shoving back, meeting every thrust, and shouting every time Severus hit his prostate.

Severus knew he wouldn't last long, not this time, so he slid one hand underneath Harry's body and wrapped his hand around his prick. He squeezed the end of his lover's dripping cock in time with his thrusts, his thumb massaging the tip relentlessly.

Harry threw his head back and howled as his orgasm hit and his body clenched around his lover's prick. Severus thrust in almost savagely, prolonging Harry's climax and giving in to his own, shuddering as he filled his lover with a pleasant warmth.

Harry slid to the floor and Severus followed, after slipping out of his lover. Harry rolled over and pulled Severus toward him. 'Now that was fun,' he murmured softly.

Severus found enough strength to crawl beside Harry and lay his head on his lover's chest. 'Yes, it was,' he replied. He stuck out his tongue and lapped one of Harry's nipples, laughing when Harry's breath hitched. 'However, I don't think that this activity was conducive to washing the sweat off you.'

Harry snickered. 'That's fine. I'll work on that in a moment, when I can actually get up. Right now, I don't think my legs could hold me.'

'You're not the only one,' Severus murmured. 'How would you like to spend the rest of the day in bed and do a little exploring?'

Harry smiled. 'That sounds wonderful.'

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