Harry suffered during classes. Once things got so bad that he actually took off his glasses and tried reading the board. Things were much clearer. But the situation was much blurrier.

Occlumency was usually on Thursday, but when Harry, rigid and tense, arrived at Snape's office, a magical note swept in front of him, stating that the man was busy at the moment and that he was to report on Monday evening instead. Harry didn't know if he was more relieved or annoyed.

Friday passed by in a blur of strange happenings. Harry's hair, much more manageable now, looked shiny and glossy and Hermione noticed.

"Wow Harry! Your hair's really looking good today," she said and then blushed. Ron looked annoyed.

"Yeah, but I don't really get why. They aren't nearly as messy as they used to be," Harry said, not understanding her sudden embarrassment and wondering anew about his newly easy-to-manage hair.

"Oh, do stop squinting!" Hermione said suddenly. "Just take off your glasses, Harry."

"I look weird," Harry said self-consciously.

"These round specs are weirder," Ron joked, plucking them off. He and Hermione stared at Harry.

"I look stupid, don't I?" Harry muttered.

"A little bereft." Hermione said carefully. "But perhaps if we got used to it, you'd look fine,"

Harry blinked. He hadn't noticed before the prominent dimple on Hermione's cheek and when he snatched his glasses back it seemed to disappear in a blurry haze.

He couldn't wait to get his eyes checked. This was just getting confusing.

XXX

Harry was glad to note that, despite the change in his eyes, the colour was still intact. He loved having a piece of his mother on him and wouldn't change his eyes for the world. He dragged a hand through his hair and saw as they fell loosely over his face. He tensed. It should have gotten untidy, it should have stuck up at the back and looked as if he had just tumbled out of bed. It shouldn't have hung over his face like that.

Maybe it was his new shampoo? Harry shook his head. He'd been using the same shampoo for like, forever. Nothing like this had ever happened.

"Hey, will you keep staring at yourself or will you get a move on?" Ron demanded. "Hogsmeade trips only happen once in a while, you know!"

"Coming!" Harry quickly wore a scarf and he and Ron walked out of the common room together. They met Hermione at the entrance of the castle and the three of them walked out into the grounds.

Soon they reached Hogsmeade. Hermione suggested that they go to that optics shop first, but Ron declared that he was starving. So they made a visit to The Three Broomsticks and ordered some sandwiches and drinks.

"And fries," Ron said, smoothening his red hair when Madam Rosmerta looked at him. He blushed as she walked away with their orders.

They ate and talked. Harry found himself enjoying their company very much. Soon they were all full and were heading towards the optics shop.

"Shall we come in too?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Sure," Harry said. "D'you think I should buy some new frames? They look pretty good..." He looked wistfully at a blue pair of glasses.

"Let's check your number first," Hermione advised. She suddenly held Harry back from a group of passing people. "Watch out, Harry!"

"Whoops," Harry took a swipe at his glasses again but they stayed resolutely blurry. Once they had entered the shop, the optics man took a special magical eye-test. He made Harry take off his glasses and peer at pictures on the wall.

"Do you see the broom?" He asked.

"Er, yeah," Harry peered at the projection from far away, a magical lense hovering in the air.

The man looked confused. "Clearly? Do you see the name of the broom, too?"

"Yeah,"

"What is it?"

"The Boomerang?" Harry read.

The man looked more confused than ever. "But...I have barely put a .5 lense! You don't need glasses at all!"

XXX

This stunning revelation did not wear off even when Hermione, Ron and Harry came back to the castle.

"Don't-don't need glasses..." Ron was shocked.

"How is that possible? What could have happened?" Harry was miserably confused.

"Maybe you got hit by a spell? A spell which healed you? Maybe you accidentally healed yourself? Maybe you drank a special potion?-" Ron began.

"Unlikely," Harry said.

"Well, it's certainly rather strange," Hermione said, perplexed. "Maybe that man got it wrong?"

"How else would I have been able to see that broom?" Harry demanded. "It's obvious-I don't need glasses!"

"Hey, don't take a swipe at us!" Ron retorted. "We didn't do this to you!"

"I know that, I'm just trying to-"

"Okay, okay, that's enough," Hermione said, firmly. "Can we please discuss this in the common room, not in the open air where anyone can hear us?"

XXX

Snape sipped his coffee as he started grading his stack of essays. Dipping the quill into the pot of ink, he started on the corrections. He absolutely hated checking essays. The only fun part was giving the essays their marks at the end-huge spiky Ds and Ps.

Ha! He had never gotten a D in his life. He wondered why the people who wrote these essays took school so unseriously. He was just trying to translate what somebody had written on his or her essay when there was a knock on the door. He sighed and put the quill aside and went to open the door. It was rather unusual for anyone to visit him in his quarters. At least here he deserved some privacy.

When he opened the door, he saw Dumbledore. He scowled at the Headmaster but settled for a sarcastic greeting, "Oh, a pleasure Headmaster. What brings you here at this time?"

"We need to talk, Severus," Dumbledore said disapprovingly.

"I am rather busy, perhaps another time?-"

"No. I want to talk to you now,"

Snape frowned at him. No choice, he let the Headmaster in. They sat on one of Snape's stiff chairs.

"Well, Dumbledore?" Snape motioned for the old man to start.

"It is about the Occlumency lessons, why haven't you started them again?"

Snape's temper flared. "Excuse me?"

"I am aware that you sent Harry back this Thursday,"

"I was busy," Snape said, stiffly. "Believe it or not, Dumbledore-I spy for two people, teach and grade and am a Head of House-I am busy."

"So busy that you couldn't-"

"I asked him to come back on Monday," Snape said, stubbornly. "I don't see what the problem is."

"So you are resuming the lessons?"

"Yes, you ordered me to, Headmater. How can I go against your will?" Snape's teeth were gritted.

"I do not like the animosity that is going on between us, Severus," Dumbledore sighed. "It is not like I do not care for Harry. It's just that the circumstances are such-"

"Nothing will happen to the war if you give him a better home," Snape said lightly. "But you know best, of course. My job was to inform you. Now I'd rather you go as I have a stack of essays I need to finish before tomorrow,"

Dumbledore sighed and got up. "Goodbye Severus,"

Snape didn't reply. He was much too angry to reply.

XXX

"Things are getting risky, the charms are wearing off," Dumbledore muttered to himself. Nearby, Fawkes squawked and ruffled his feathers.

Dumbledore was extremely stressed.

XXX

Harry knew that not wearing glasses was going to attract attention to him. Lots of it. Whenever he took off his specs for even a second, people stared and some Slytherins asked if someone had broken them. All Harry could do was dumbly put them back on.

However, once he was seated in potions class, he took them off to read the board.

Things were gratefully clearer, but he felt a strange sense of bareness-his nose had been used to the little frames resting on it. Now he kept rubbing at his nose, trying to ease the ticklish bare feeling.

Harry felt himself flushing in embarrassment. Did he really look like a clown without his glasses? Would people EVER get used to him like that?

"You look perfectly fine, Harry," Hermione whispered when she saw Harry duck his head. "Dont worry,"

Ron was immediately stiff but he also reconsoled Harry and told him that he didn't look that bad.

"Hardly anyone's bothered," Ron said encouragingly.

Harry was the first to leave when class was over. He hurriedly left his potion (which was supposed to simmer over the weekend) on his desk, and rushed to the door. Hermione and Ron left the classroom next. To their surprise, Dumbledore was standing in the dungeons, smiling.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione said respectfully.

"Hermione," Dumbledore beamed. "Is Harry alright? Where are his glasses?"

"Oh, Professor, Harry just got his eyes checked on Saturday! The man there said that Harry didn't need glasses at all. It's very strange, isn't it?"

Dumbledore didn't hear the last sentence. He was much too shocked. No, no, no!