~ Love in Blindness ~ Part 2
"What do you mean you can't do anything?!" Ron Weasley shouted. "You've got to be able to do something for her!"
Madame Pomfrey sighed sadly. "I'm sorry Mr. Weasley. I've tried everything I know and nothing has worked. If this blindness had been caused by some physical accident I could fix it easily, but I have no idea what curse You-Know-Who used on her to cause this."
"It is my belief," Dumbledore said, "that not even Voldemort himself would know what curse he used. He must've simply shot the first curse he could think of with his dying breath, not caring what damage it caused so long as it caused harm." The old headmaster shook his head. "I'm sorry, there's nothing more we can do for her."
"How are we supposed to tell her?" Harry muttered bitterly. "How are we supposed to tell her that? She's already had so much sadness in her life, including the murder of her parents two years ago. How are we supposed to tell her that she's blind for life?!"
"Harry..." Ron placed a hand on Harry's shoulder but Harry viciously brushed it off.
"Its all my fault!" he shouted. "If it weren't for me, none of this would've happened! I should've just never existed!"
"You know that's not true!" Ron shouted. "If it weren't for you, You-Know-Who would still be around! You've saved the bloody world again!"
"Mr. Weasley is right, Harry," Dumbledore said. "If it weren't for you, Voldemort would still be in control and we would all be far worse off."
Harry said nothing but it was clear that he had calmed down. With a sad sigh, he said, "I'll go tell her," and gloomily walked into the hospital wing.
"H-Harry, is that you?" Hermione called out as Harry walked into the room. Harry felt his heart break as he glanced at Hermione curled up on her bed. She looked so small and vulnerable, and it was clear that she was terrified. Harry could only hope to imagine what she was going through. He remembered a time back when he was about seven when the Dursleys had locked him into the cupboard with the lamp broken for three days. The sheer darkness during that time had been so frightening. How could he tell Hermione that she was going to spend the rest of her life in that darkness?
"Yeah its me," Harry said. He lost his voice in his throat and couldn't continue speaking. It was clear however that Hermione instantly figured out what Harry was going to say, the silence giving her the dreaded answer. Tears started to stream down her cheeks as silent sobs shook her body. Harry made his way over to her and wrapped his arms around her. Hermione leaned her head on Harry's chest and continued crying as Harry also let a few tears fall from his eyes.
Finally, Hermione spoke, "Well I suppose it can't be completely bad, right? At least I'm still alive." She managed a small smile though the tears did not stop.
"Yes," Harry said. "I'll help in whatever way possible so that you can live your life just like all of us." He bent over and kissed her hair.
* * *
Classes started again and life at Hogwarts soon returned to normal. Although Hermione was excused from classes for the time being, it was clear that she didn't want to be. She may have lost her eyesight but she had certainly not lost her thirst for knowledge.
Madame Pomfrey helped Hermione change into her standard school uniform, helping her into the holes in the clothes that Hermione couldn't see. Unfortunately, the first class Hermione had was Arithmancy, meaning that she couldn't be with Harry and Ron who had Divination.
Using her wand, Hermione managed to easily maneuver her way through the castle with the use of a handy guidance charm. The sight of a girl walking around with her wand sticking out in front of her in her hand was a slightly weird sight but since Hermione couldn't see the expressions of other people, she really didn't care what she looked like. By delving into her studies, she could keep her mind off of the fact that she was blind and she just might've been able to get through the day. Dumbledore had given her a special reading charm that worked like the muggle form of reading called brail. With this charm, Hermione simply ran her finger over the words of the book and the words formed in her mind. Thus, she was able to pursue her favorite hobby.
After a successful Arithmancy lesson, Hermione was in much better spirits than she had been in days. Using her wand, she was navigating through the hallways hoping to get to her next class when an eerily familiar voice called out, "Expelliarmus!" To her alarm, Hermione's wand flew out of her hand. Furthermore, someone suddenly pushed her down the stairs. She landed in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the steps and moaned in pain. Tears sprang in her eyes as she tired to pull herself back up despite the pain in her sprained ankle.
"Ta-ta mudblood. No getting up yet," sneered a familiar voice.
"M-Malfoy?" Hermione said. The fear was clear in her voice as she tried to pinpoint where exactly Draco Malfoy was. "W-where are you?"
"Awww, what's the matter? Can't the mudblood see?" said Malfoy as he circled around Hermione. He had never seen Hermione so scared before and it gave him a certain sense of power over her.
"P-please, can I have my wand back?" Hermione whispered, more tears falling out of her eyes. Malfoy for his part couldn't be believe that he had reduced Hermione Granger, whom had always simply ignored his taunts and had even slapped him once, to begging. Her blindness had clearly rattled her more than even she herself had realized.
"Oh, I don't know," Malfoy said. He paused to give the illusion as if he were actually considering it and said, "No, I think I'll just torment you a little more. You know what? In fact, I think I've got a better use for you now." A sick grin adorned his face as he grabbed Hermione's arm and yanked her to her feet. Hermione yelped in pain as Malfoy proceeded to drag her away, the terror on her face clearly visible.
"Let her go, Malfoy!" called a voice that sounded like a song of angels to Hermione. It was Harry, his green eyes blazing with rage and His wand pointed at Malfoy's face. Behind him, Ron looked like he was ready to throttle Malfoy.
"Don't you dare touch her!" Harry hissed.
Malfoy smirked and shoved Hermione into Harry's arms. He threw her wand at their feet and stalked away, laughing.
Hermione burst into tears and buried her head in Harry's chest. "H-Harry," she said. "I-I was so scared. I've never been scared of Malfoy before, but I w-was begging. Because I couldn't see him I was so scared. I-I don't know if I can live like this."
"Its OK, Hermione," Harry said soothingly. "He's not going to hurt you anymore. I won't let anyone hurt you anymore." Harry noticed Hermione's sprained foot and scooped her up. "Come on, let's get you to the hospital wing."
Harry proceeded to carry Hermione toward the hospital wing and Hermione leaned her head on Harry's shoulder, drawing in his warmth and security. Behind them, Ron trotted along, his former angry faced now laced with a sense of epiphany. Ron had been studying the way Harry was looking at Hermione closely and had come to a conclusion.
"Well what do you know?" Ron muttered to himself. And despite everything, Ron couldn't help but smile.
To be continued...