Blinded By The Dark   von Astrido
                          (a Snape adopts Harry fic)
================================================================================
                             Kapitel 11: The Talk
                             --------------------


Chapter Eleven: The Talk

Severus turned away from him and looked at Draco with an unreadable expression.
"It is time you and I had a talk." he said and Draco shuddered inwardly. He knew
by Severus' tone that he had done something seriously wrong, though he didn't
know what, and that made him feel even more nervous.

"Laures, please, get dressed so we can have breakfast. Be in the small dining
room in half an hour." Severus told the small boy, before he stood up and looked
at Draco with a meaningful gaze. Draco nodded and followed him out of the room.
They walked in apprehensive silence to the dining room, and Draco was a bit
worried about what was to come.
He wished Severus would just yell at him for doing whatever it was he'd done.
His Godfather's silent disappointment made him feel a thousand times worse than
the punishment he received at the hands of his father.
They arrived at the dining room and Severus gestured for him to sit down across
from him. He looked at Draco for a moment before he started to speak. At first,
Draco held the eye contact, but then he averted his eyes and glanced at the
polished and still bare table surface. Nervously, he twisted his hands and
waited for his godfather to begin. 
"I have told you to be gentle with Laures. I know how easily Laures is
frightened, so I do not blame you entirely. But you sent him into a panic and
were at a loss as to what to do. Remember how he reacted to you today and keep
it in mind when you interact with him again." Severus warned and took a deep
breath, before he went on. 
"Since you will be living here with Laures for a time, there are certain things
about him that you should know. Firstly, Laures is blind, and that only
recently. Furthermore, he underwent some terrible experiences this summer and
has been severely traumatized. I will not give details about this. That is for
Laures to tell you if he chooses. So, do not touch him unless it is absolutely
necessary." 
Draco looked closely at Severus. It was clear from his expression that he wasn't
joking. He was very very serious and wouldn't hesitate to send him home if he
didn't behave. But what an odd request. Why on earth was he being told not to
touch him? 
"Do you understand?" Snape asked quietly.
"Yes, sir. I do." he replied absently, still thinking about Laures. Laures was
blind, too. That would explain why he was so scared of him. He didn't know who
he was and he couldn't see what he was doing. Thinking about it, he'd be nervous
too if there was someone standing in front of him and he couldn't see what they
were doing. 
He found it hard to believe that Laures was a boy though. He was so pretty, like
a real girl, not a sixteen year old boy, thought Draco, blushing in spite of
himself.

It was at that moment that Laures decided to stumble into the room.
++

He opened the door and slowly and uncertainly walked into the dining room. A
chair scraped loudly over the floor shortly after and somebody walked up to him.

"Laures, I am going to take your left arm and lead you to your chair, all
right?" 
He recognized Snape's voice instantly. The soft baritone belonged to only him
and so Laures nodded. Then he felt something warm on his upper arm. He still
flinched at the sudden touch - he couldn't help it - but he didn't pull away. He
let his professor lead him gently to his chair and help him into it.
Harry felt a sudden increase of magic in front of him and he could smell the
breakfast, or rather the lunch as he had got up quite late.
Feeling rather hungry as he had not eaten much the day before, he heartily
tucked in. As hungry as he was, he couldn't bring himself to eat very much. He
still wasn't used to eating a great deal. He felt a bit uneasy about Malfoy as
well. Harry knew he was sitting at the table with him. He couldn't see where he
was, but he could feel Malfoy staring at him, and it made him uncomfortable. Not
knowing if Malfoy was up to something or not was quite disconcerting. 
"Why are you looking at me? Please, stop it." he asked softly. 
"Why would I look at you? You're ugly." Malofoy sniped with a sneer. 
"Draco!" Snape snapped furiously. "What have I told you?!"
Harry didn't listen any further. He was too caught up in stopping the tears that
threatened to fall. Blinking furiously he put down his fork and knife and bowed
his head. Why was the bastard being so mean to him? He had hoped for Malfoy to
be different than he was at school. Here, where he didn't have to be a
prejudiced arse who did what his father told him. Obviously, it was no act and
he really was how Harry had gotten to know him.
It hurt to see him be like this. He wished with all his heart that Malfoy would
change and be civil to him, maybe even have a decent talk. He didn't think that
Snape had told Malfoy who he was, because then he would have been drowned in
insults and mockery for his current situation. There had to be something else
that made him hate Laures, but what? He had hoped for a new beginning, a
different beginning.
He remembered the picture Colin had taken of him at school. Colin had told him
that he had followed Malfoy to take a good shot of him and Malfoy never realised
that he was being watched from the shadows. 
It was easy to persuade Colin to give him the photo. For a few photographs of
Harry, Colin happily handed it over to him. He hadn't known what to expect when
he'd heard about it but he had to admit, it was an amazing picture. He'd never
seen Draco looking quite so...well, he didn't know how to describe it. But it
changed his whole perception of his school nemesis.

And here he was being the mean spirited git he always was at school. Harry knew
that the injuries Vernon had given him must have left him with ugly and
disfiguring scars. He could feel them when he touched his face and his body. In
some small way, he was glad that Vernon had blinded him and spared him the agony
of having to look at them every day. He certainly didn't need Malfoy to rub it
in, though.

"Laures!" A voice said sharply and Harry flinched and his head snapped up.
"Laures." the same voice said, a lot calmer. 
"Yes?" he replied in a small voice.
"I have to have a look at your injuries one last time. After that I will start
teaching you the spells you will need to know to be able to read and write now
that you cannot use your eyes. You have only four days left here. It is time we
got started, don't you think?" Snape said warmly.
Harry nodded and picked up his knife and fork again. A short time later, Malfoy
asked Snape: 
"I still have to buy my school books. Father didn't have the time to come with
me and suggested I go with you instead. Is that okay?"
"Yes. Laures still needs some things from Diagon Alley as well."
'Oh, yeah.' Harry thought. 'Snape only bought my school books and writing
utensils. I still have to get new robes, better yet I need a whole new wardrobe.
I can't keep on walking around in Snape's clothing.'
"May I have your Hogwarts letter to copy it, Draco?" Snape asked politely,
though it was clear from his tone that he would not accept "no" for an answer.
"Yes, sir. May I ask why?" Malfoy anwered curiously.
"Yes, you may. I need to know what is needed for Laures. He still has to choose
his subjects, though it's rather late to do so. And you have yet to show me your
OWLs." he reprimand Malfoy lightly. Harry listened intently to their
conversation while he ate. When Snape mentioned the OWLs, Harry remembered that
he had yet to get his. He decided to ask Snape about it.
"Professor, do you know why the owl couldn't deliver my letter? It's not as
though I've been unplottable." Harry carefully worded his sentence, so Snape
would know what he was talking about. He didn't feel comfortable enough to talk
freely about this topic with Malfoy in the same room. 

"No, I do not. However, I shall ask for them, so you can choose your subjects."
Snape replied.

"You will be in my year at Hogwarts then? Why don't I know you?" Malfoy asked
suspicously.
"I..." Harry began.
"He's been living Merlin knows where and has gotten private tutoring up until
now." Snape answered curtly for Harry who didn't know what to say.
"Why is he here, anyway?" Malfoy asked further.
"I have already explained this to you. I found out that he was a wizard and
proposed that he come along when I go back to Hogwarts." Snape explained
shortly. 
Harry sensed the tension between Malfoy and his professor. Snape was obviously
not tolerating his rude behaviour towards him now. It made him feel very awkward
to be in the middle of their argument. He felt really miserable, too, that Draco
was pointing out all of his bad points and that he just wanted to kick him while
he was down. Plus, causing all of this trouble between Draco and his Godfather
made him feel only worse.
Maybe it was that Malfoy did not seem to be able to stop asking questions about
him.

"Laures, have you finished?" Snape asked, but when he saw my empty plate, just
went on. "Good you have emptied your plate, Laures. At this rate, you will
quickly regain your strength," Snape said, quickly changing the subject. 
"Would you like another helping?"
"No. I can't eat anymore," Harry replied. 
"Very well then. Come with me." Severus said, pushing his own half-empty plate
aside. 

"What about me?" Malfoy asked incredulously.
"You can do your homework or brew some potions. I will speak with you later."
Harry stood up and walked around the table keeping one hand on the edge the
whole time, before grabbing Snape's sleeve and following him out of the dining
room. They walked through many corridors and hallways and Harry was sure he'd
never been taken to this part of Snape's home before. Snape stopped suddenly and
led Harry into a room. He could feel waves of magical energy emanating from the
edges of the room. 
"This is one of my potion storage rooms. Sit here while I gather the potions I
will need for you."
The potions master guided Harry to a chair in the middle of the room, before he
walked away. 
Harry waited nervously, because he wasn't sure how Snape would determine the
state of his injuries. 
He heard some bottles clinging against each other and scraping on shelf boards.
Finally, Severus returned to Harry and placed the vials and tubes he had
gathered on a table beside him.
"Please, remove your clothes." Snape asked gently, but Harry froze nevertheless.
After he had come out of his stupor again with the help of hands calmly stroking
his back, he nodded. Snape surely wouldn't do anything like Harry had initially
thought at being told to strip. 
"All of them?" he asked shyly.
"You can leave your boxers on." 
He quickly got out of his clothes, blushing furiously the entire time, and sat
back on the chair. Harry felt uncomfortably vulnerable without his clothes even
if it was just Snape with him. The professor prodded and poked Harry gently
around his ribs and his ankle. 
"Your wounds seemed to have healed quite nicely. Are you in any pain at all?" 
Harry shook his head quickly.
"Good. Now I am going to apply a salve that will be able to remove some of the
smaller scars. It will not hurt, but the salve is quite smelly."
Harry felt him move and crouch in front of him. Then Snape took his left hand
gently in his own and rubbed the salve in, before he moved on to the other scars
that were on the skin of his arm. 
The nearer he moved to his face, the more he could smell the salve. Snape was
right, the salve was really smelly and it smelled just like the cleansing agent
the Dursleys always used at their home. 
The one that had been used so brutally against him. He started shivering while
the memories flooded his mind and he forgot the world around himself. He was
trapped under his uncle, desperately trying to push him off and dodge all of his
uncle's slaps and punches. He screamed when Vernon poured the cleaning solution
over Harry's face and some of it spilled into his mouth. He tried to spit it out
but the bottle was forced into his mouth, which was held shut while his nose was
pinched so he had to swallow the contents. 
Strangely, the fluid going down his throat didn't taste that bad. And then he
heard a gentle voice, speaking soft words of comfort, breaking through his
memories to bring him out of his own private darkness. 
He opened his eyes to see why it was different this time and where his unlce had
gone to. Black was all he saw, though. For a moment he was really disorientated
and blinked a few times, but he had opened his eyes. The colour didn't change,
however. Harry closed his eyes and tried with his other senses to find out where
he was. The first thing he felt was the calming potion that had been poured down
his throat. Then he felt a great comforting warmth. 
"Have you calmed down now, Harry?" a deep soft voice asked him. Realisation
dawned on him. He was in Snape's study. He must have fallen from his chair,
because he found himself in the potion master's arms. 
Harry nodded and sat up, even though he was very reluctant to do so. While he
could be very surly and grumy sometimes, Snape had a really soothing warmth and
aura.
"Are you able to begin the lesson now?" Snape inquired. "You will tell me later
what happened. Let us conentrate on the lessons now or we will never get
startet."
"Yes, sir." Harry agreed. 
"Good. First of all, since you don't have a wand yet, you can use my old wand."

He handed Harry a relatively short wand. The moment Harry took the wand in his
hand he felt that the magic channeling item was not like his own at all. Harry
thought it was coming from a dragonheart string, but he wasn't sure. The wood
from which the wand was made was really hard and solid. 
He probed it with his own magic and assumed that it would work for him, though
not in it's maximum capacity.
"I think we will start with the reading that is easier than the writing." Snape
said, placing a book on his lap and moving behind him.
"Take the wand into your hand. I'll show you the wand motion." The professor
directed, but you could hear that he fell back into his lecture mode. Harry was
really nervous that he would screw up and his hand was trembling slightly. The
warm hand that closed around his own must have felt it, but the professor didn't
comment on it. 
Instead he slowly guided the hand in the way he should move it while saying the
incantation accordingly. Snape performed the spell a few more times, before he
let Harry try on his own. A few times the professor had to correct the hand
motion and the aim where he should be casting the spell. 
Finally, Harry got the hang of it and a dry voice slowly rose from the book,
reading the text in an uneven  monotonous drone.
"I think that will do for the moment." Snape announced and canceled the spell.
"Now, let us attempt the writing spell."


After lunch, Snape proposed that they all go to Diagon Alley as it would be
likely less full than it would be on the last or second to last day of the
holidays. Harry had practiced his spell work with Severus all morning and now he
could spell a quill to write for him and to let a certain charm read the written
texts or books for him. 
Meanwhile, Draco had spent the morning finishing up his holiday homework and
brewing potions for his godfather. He was happy to let Draco improve his potions
skills and brew the simpler potions to replenish his stock.

They travelled by Floo again. Malfoy stepped through first but Harry was still
feeling nervous until Snape pulled him close and they stepped into the fire
place together. He had a firm grip on him, but not hard enough to make Harry
uncomfortable. It was strange to be so close to him, though. The way Snape held
him, it almost felt like he was getting an awkward hug from the older man. 
He appreciated the gesture and also that he didn't have to travel alone. He was
scared of travelling. The thought of being whisked along while he couldn't see
scared him. He was afraid that he would step out of the wrong fireplace or get
sick again. Snape's strong hold grounded and calmed him greatly. 

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that they had arrived at
Diagon Alley already. Harry was dimly aware of Snape, still securely wrapped in
his arm. He never noticed the many people that were surrounding them. It was
easy to get lost in thought, he thought, when you had little to disturb you. The
buzzing of the people was an even background noise and he did not care much.

Malfoy's familiar drawl brought him back to reality. He certainly didn't like
Malfoy, but his behaviour toward him was so familiar that it was comforting. It
brought with it a strange sense of normality that Harry missed. Sometimes he
felt so detached from the others and the world in itself, because he couldn't
connect with it visually any more.
So hearing Malfoy ask who would pay for him gave him an odd sense of relief. 

When Snape released him from his grip he was left feeling exposed and cold.
"Laures, wait here with Draco until I get back." Snape spoke insistently. 
"Why? Where are you going?" Harry asked, beginning to panic.
"I need to go to my vault and withdraw some money. Wait here." he explained,
before he grabbed Harry's hand and placed it on Malfoy's shoulder. Harry could
hear his footsteps fading and blending together with other people's hurried
steps.

"Would you mind removing your hand from my shoulder?" Malfoy demanded with mock
politeness. 
"S-sorry." Harry mumbled and jerked the hand back as if he'd just burned it
while he blushed furiously.
An uneasy silence descended upon them and they shifted awkwardly, hoping that
Snape would come back soon. 
"Sorry. About earlier, you know." Malfoy suddenly apologised haltingly. "You're
not ugly. I think I... I'm a little jealous, because normally... normally it's
me who gets all of his attention, you know." he went on so quietly that Harry
had to strain his ears to hear him. 
He was sure he'd never heard Malfoy apologise even once in all the years he'd
known him. Snape must have given him quite a tongue-lashing with some threat to
persuade him to apologise when he had left for a moment to check up on Malfoy
during the lessons. That was propably why he left the two alone and got the
money by himself.
"It's alright." Harry said, beginning to understand. "I know I'm intruding on
you and the professor and I'm sorry, too. I don't know why he's been so kind but
it feels good...after everything that's happened."
Harry confided in him. It was by no means easy, but maybe it would clear the air
between them a bit and they could move past this bickering and fighting and
maybe start to become friends. 
He needed friends, he realised. Hermione and Ron were his best friends, but they
could be annoying, too. Sometimes they didn't seem to understand that he needed
some space. 
Besides, they hadn't written to him since school had let out. It could have been
that his relatives had destroyed all letters that had arrived, which would have
meant his school letters and others, but they could have written after he had
been abandoned. He had gotten no letters then, either. Naturally, he was a bit
dissapointed, but maybe they had a good reason not to write him. 
(Not to mention, that he just forgot in all the trouble that he told them not to
write *gg*) 
Malfoy interrupted his thoughts.
"Severus won't tell me what happened and why he took you in. Said it wasn't his
place to tell."
Harry recognised the unspoken question in that statement.
"He was right." He confirmed. "Maybe I'll tell you later. This is neither the
place nor the time. Besides, I think Snape is coming back."
Harry said, as a set of footsteps steadily approached them. 
"You are right." Malfoy agreed relcutantly. 

"Shall we go? We have much to do today." Snape said when he reached Harry and
Draco. 
Buying school robes was a time consuming exercise, so they did that first to get
that out of the way. They visited the Apothecary next and restocked their potion
supplies. Snape spent quite some time speaking with the Apothecary, buying some
items and placng others on order. It was only after they had left the shop that
Harry realised that it was probaly his fault that Snape's potion stores were so
low.
After that they headed for Eyelope's owl imperium to get some owl treats and
food, before they had some trouble in the store for parchment and other writing
utensils. Malfoy pitched a fit because the expensive ink he always used was
unaviable and he wouldn't take another. Harry finally baited him with a shaky
voice into buying common ink with the promise to tell him everything that
happened to him over the summer.
Harry's promise had an instant effect on Draco, who stopped yelling mid-word.
"Are you serious?" he asked. 
"I am," Harry gulped.
Snape initially objected to that promise and that he should choose something
else, but Harry was unamendable. Their last stop was the bookstore where Harry
could text his new-learned spell in the real life. 

TBC

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