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Eye of the Beholder	By : BlueSchmoo Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 3725 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 35
- 36
- 37
A/N.

I am really sorry for not updating for such a long time. I am usually much faster than that (really - I am!), and I will try to get the remaining chapters up soon (they still need a bit of tweaking). The rest of my private life is calming down a bit, so I will have more time to focus on writing again.
I woulke tke to sincerely thank Msmalcontent, ligro, GoddessByline (Bibi), Stebu, White Lilac and Carmen for their continued support in following this story, and providing encouraging feedback, even after I had to move it over to aff.net.
Finally, I want to address White Lilac�s comments (you always give the best criticisms - I always look forward to reading them!). First, I have to admit that yes, the last fluffy chapter was a bit ooc for Snape. However, things with Sasha have been going on for 34 chapters so far, so I do not think it was sudden, or unexpected. Also, it probably did not come across as well as it could have (my fault for not writing a bit more clearly), but during the Dark Revel chapter, I wanted to convey the idea that Snape had finally come to the decision that he cared enough for Sasha to put her life before his. He stood by and allowed "Sasha" to be tortured until he could no longer take it, and so he conceded to "Lucius" to stop the torture in exchange for himself. It was at this point that Snape (whether he realized it or not - probably not) actually felt �love� for someone else. Hence, the next step in Snape�s development would be to admit this to Sasha. Hence his verbal declaration of the "L" word, at the end of that chapter. pe tpe this makes sense. Lastly, I have to admit, I need to finish this story soon (it is already longer than I had intended).

Chapter 36. The Messenger

Snape grabbed her chin is his firm grasp, forcing her to remain still. "Stop moving Sasha," he demanded, annoyed, as he continued to apply the thick potion to her face.
"Ahhh... But it burns," she ground out between flinches. "Is it supposed to hurt this much?" she asked, visibly trying not to grimace, and losing the battle to hold back her tears of pain.
Snape gave a snort of disbelief. "Of course it is. What did you think it would feel like, tickling? This potion is designed to break down and destroy the scar tissues much like acid will eat through paper. At the same time, it is promoting new skin cells to grow and replace the old ones, but at a much accelerated pace. All of this comes at a cost, and the currency is pain, I am afraid. Consider yourself lucky - at least you don�t have to re-grow bones. Now that process is incredibly painful, and takes days."
With that reprimand, Sasha closed her eyes and tried not to pull away from Snape�s administrations. She was under the impression this potion would somehow work instantly, and painlessly, but she realized that was probably more wishful thinking on her part. Toughening her resolve, she kept still.
Snape finished, then set down the wooden spatula he was using to apply the caustic potion. He picked up a roll of gauze and carefully rolled it over the left side of Sasha�s face, making sure all of the skin and potion was covered, but that it would not int into her eye. On top of the gauze he placed a wide bandage, bringing it up under her chin and tying it off on top of her head. The two ends of the bandage drooped over slightly, giving her the vague appearance of a sad, white rabbit. She looked up at him with her large eyes filled with misery, and it was all he could do not to laugh. She truly looked quite pathetic at the moment.
"How long do I have to leave this on?" she asked, her voice muffled by the snug bandage, which restricted her jaw movements.
"An hour, perhaps two. The actual time will vary depending on how deep the damage to the tissues actually is. I suggest you keep it on until you stop feeling any pain, then leave it on for another hour. After that you can remove the bandages and wash off the remainder of the potion. Rinse it well, and remove every trace of it very carefully - you do not want to keep any of it in contact with your skin longer than what is absolutely necessary," he warned, looking at her intensely.
Sasha nodded her understanding, then stood up from the stool she was sitting on. "I think I will go back to my dorm room and lay down. I really don�t think I am very good company at the moment," she said apologetically. As much as she cared for Snape, she needed a bit of time by herself at the moment to wallow in her misery.
Snape reached out and very gently brushed a stray wisp of hair away from her face, so he could see her better. "Frightened?" he inquired, referring to the fact that they would not know if, or to what extent, the potion would work.
"Yes," she replied in a very small voice, the uncertainty clearly revealed in her eyes. Snape reached out and squeezed her shoulder once in reassurance, before turning away to clean up the potion and bandages from the table top. He did not want to trouble her further, but there were still some issues they had to discuss before too long.
"I do not wish to frighten you any more than I have to, but we must talk about a few things before too long," he began. "Specifically, about Lucius. We will have to decide how we want to deal with him, and how we are going to plan out next moves. Knowing him as I do, he will want some sort of reassurance that his plans from the Dark Revel were fulfilled. Most likely, he will come to gloat, and will want to see you for himself. We have to prepare for that. However," he said, turning back to face Sasha, "I am sure that can wait for the moment. Lucius will probably have a hell of a headache today, so I don�t expect to hear from him this soon." Snape looked at her with amusement, knowing that she was in no mood to discuss things at the moment. "Go, Sasha. I will find you later," he said gently.
Snape watched as Sasha painfully turned and walked slowly out of the lab. He was just finishing cleaning up the potions tables when he heard a faint scratching noise coming from his office. Frowning, Snape hurried out to find out what the noise was. He heard it again coming from the office door to the potions class, and very carefully he opened the door in question. A large golden eagle burst through, almost hitting Snape with it�s wings. It was awkward for the large bird to manoeuver in the small room, but it swooped around to perch regally on the edge of Snape�s chair.
He recognized the animal at once. Only the Malfoy�s would refuse to use owls for their messengers, considering the birds too common for their purposes. Narrowing his eyes at the majestic bird, Snape carefully approached, and reached out to remove the message attached to its leg. It refused to lift the leg out to assist Snape, but watched him malevolently with it�s unblinking eyes, as if blaming Snape for it having to lower itself to that of a mere messenger. Once the letter was removed, the eagle immediately took flight, circled the small room carefully, and then placed a well-aimed dropping right in the middle of Snape�s desk, before flying gracefully out of the room.
Rolling his eyes, and sighing in disgust, Snape removed his wand to clean up the mess the bird had intentionally left. Typical Malfoy petty tricks, he thought bitterly. Lucius probably instructed the bird to do that, he realized.
Looking at the letter in his hands, it confirmed his previous observations. The thick, white parchment with embossed with silver script, and was sealed with the Malfoy insignia. Snape broke the wax seal, and removed the translucent card within. Reading it over, Snape was surprised that Lucius would react so quickly. So, he intends to pay me a social call today, Snape though dryly. With a smile of satisfaction, Snape could imagine Lucius�s frustration at having the floo connection to his office and lab blocked. Still, there were other floo connections into Hogwarts he knew, and Lucius could just as easily apparate outside of the school grounds, and be within the castle within minutes. Knowing Lucius, he would be here sooner, rather than later, and Snape still had to think about how he was going to deal with him. He now wished he had not sent Sasha off so quickly, however perhaps it was best that she was not here.
Snape rose and walked towards his bedroom chambers. He had better get ready. If Lucius was using a �social call� as an excuse to meet with him, then he had better prepare, and dress for the part. He intended to keep Lucius off balance and confused, and the best way was to play along as if nothing of importance had happened last night. Most importantly, Snape did not want to give the blond wizard the satisfaction of thinking he was still upset at seeing "Sasha" tortured the night before; although he knew Lucius would remember nothing of the evening, after having his memory Obliviated.
With a cruel smile of anticipated pleasure at the inevitable meeting, Snape opened his armoire doors, and reached inside for his best robes.
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- 36
- 37
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Eye of the Beholder