None So Blind
Title: None So Blind
Author name: Romulus Lupin
Author email: galigad@yahoo.com
Category: Angst
Keywords: Harry Hermione JK Rowling
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers:SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP, HBP
Summary: "There are none so blind as those who refuse to see…"
The question never asked, however, is who can really say who is blind-and what it is that people refuse to see.
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various
publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc.
No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter 2. Dawn's Early Light
She felt a prickling somewhere but she couldn't move… clinically, her mind told her that she was simply too tired, too exhausted-she'd been tired when she woke up here, wherever 'here' was-only to be Stunned when she woke up minutes (or was it hours?) before…
She wanted nothing more at the moment than to return to the blank emptiness of sleep… but another small shock passed through her-and she realized that there was a faint circle of light shining from somewhere above her, breaking through the darkness around her…
Unwilling but compelled to do so, she felt her mind (and soul?) making their way towards the light.
Words began to form… she realized that she was hearing voices once again. With something other than that faint light to focus on, she tried to concentrate-and was rewarded as mind and hearing started to synchronize… and the words began to make sense…
A young girl's babbling: "… didn't mean to… Stupefy… nothing more, I swear!"
An older, male voice, authoritative but compassionate: "Poppy… ask her… Strengthening Solution…"
The words were followed by the sound of footsteps running away… followed a moment later by a harsh, almost-bitten off "Enervate!" and she steeled herself for an electric shock, her mind fixated on the television shows which showed dying patients being revived, bodies almost leaping off their beds-
Nothing.
Not even a tingle as had happened only moments before.
Her fuzzy mind tried to hold on to that thought, wondering why that should be so but the moment was lost as she felt her conscious self being pulled, faster and faster, towards the circle of light above her…
She knew the moment she 'stepped through' from wherever it was into wherever this was-and instinctively threw an arm up to cover her eyes from the light, even as her logical mind told her that the light wasn't harsh or bright or intense… in fact, the light that she saw in the split second before she closed her eyes tightly and covered them with her arm was soft… rosy… almost dawn-like in its appearance.
She felt her mouth moving, an instinctive swallowing to remove the lump in her throat… and, as so often happens, said the first words that came to mind: "You could have sent a Patronus, you know."
"Indeed." She refused to drop her arm or open her eyes to look, fearful that a visual confirmation of what her ears were telling her would throw her back into the darkness… briefly she wondered whether that would be such a bad thing right now, considering who it was she was talking to. "But as you can see, Milady, I am unable to."
The words were spoken with such a strange mix of regret and acceptance that her next move was instinctive: she sat up and blinked, trying to focus still-bleary eyes on the person in front of her… and releasing a gasp of mingled fear and surprise at the sight of a fully made-up Richard Harris in his last movie role-translucent, silvery from the tip of his high wizard's hat to the hem of his robes, the eyes behind silvery half-moon glasses looking at her in concern.
"Richard?" She blurted out the name even as she tried to hold it back, as her stormy mind tried to make sense of it all. She watched as the apparition's forehead crinkled in a frown, its head cocking to one side as if trying to retrieve a memory of something and then shaking its head slightly.
"You must be mistaken, Milady," he said finally. "Allow me to introduce myself-"
"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," she responded, her brain finally catching up and providing a logical explanation to the spectre in front of her, the words running through her mind: "Wizards can leave an imprint of themselves upon the earth, to walk palely where their living selves once trod."
She noticed a flash of surprise in the ghostly features in front of her-and felt her face flushing in embarrassment at her presumptuous tone. It was the height of impoliteness, interrupting the old man before he could introduce himself properly-but she was still dizzy and in shock, trying to adjust to her surroundings and the person-spectre-in front of her…
"Well met, Milady." The humorous tone in the ghost's voice made her look up and she saw an appreciative twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes and she smiled in relief as he continued, "Or should I say, 'Dame' Rowling?"
"Please call me Jo," she replied, shaking her head at the continued confusion over her Order of the British Empire-and caught the sly wink from the ghost. With a smile of her own, she extended her hand-only to drop it in confusion as the old man didn't move. "Oh," she whispered softly as her brain gave her a small kick: ghosts do not shake hands-not really, anyway. The thought caused her to blink and a strangled "What-" escaped her throat before she covered her mouth, successfully keeping herself from blurting the rest of her statement: 'What's he doing here then? He should be in his portrait in the Headmaster's office-'
"You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble?" She blinked in surprise at the soft yet steely and determined voice of the former Headmaster of Hogwarts who had moved to the edge of the clearing, eyes fixed on something in the distance.
"It's not the same as Sir Nicholas; I am not afraid of moving on," he said softly as she struggled to her feet. "I am not afraid of death; I have said it often enough here and in other places… but I am not yet ready to move on to that next, great adventure."
She opened her mouth to say something but stopped as she saw what he was looking at, wondering what a large, shining white anvil was doing by the side of the lake-and shook her head in recognition. It was the marble tomb that held whatever was left of the Headmaster's mortal remains after its immolation by the cleansing flame of magic…
She bit her lip as she realized that there was someone standing beside the marble tomb. There was no need to ask who it was-Dumbledore's melancholy eyes said it all… and she felt a momentary pang of pain at the thought of what the young man would have to go through-Hades, she thought to herself, what he had gone through before!
She took a shaky step forward and stopped, chilled to her very bones… unthinking, she had tried to walk through Dumbledore, and remembered each and every sensation she had described about such encounters. She felt the ghost stepping away from her and closed her eyes tight, allowing the warmth from a still-rising sun to seep into her, and she raised her face to the sun as she took in a deep, cleansing breath.
The pain and regret she felt seeped away with her exhalation; with another slow and deep breath, she felt ready to go down to the tomb… not to pay respects to the mortal remains and memories of a beloved teacher, but to give what comfort she could to the young man standing there-
Only to stop and gape… wondering for the briefest of moments if she was really in Hogwarts or had wandered on the set of the movie as she watched a brown-haired girl approach the young man. It was a scene that even she could only smile at when Jessica pointed it out to her: Dan on the set of the Quidditch World Cup stadium, a pensive look on his face… Em walking up behind him and resting her head on his shoulder even as she placed her hands into the pockets of his robe-the preoccupied look disappearing as a smile broke out on his face…
"Is something wrong, Milady?"
She realized that she was shaking her head from side to side. The scene below her should be sweet, lovable… charming even, given what she'd heard about those two in the real world, but this wasn't the real world! This was Hogwarts, she thought, my Hogwarts-
"Professor!"
The strangled shout broke into the boiling cauldron of her mind and she turned towards the sound of running feet-and felt her breath catch at the sight of the redheaded student she thought was Lindsay Lohan accompanied by a grey-haired, stern-faced witch with a white apron over her clothes, both dishevelled from their mad rush from the castle-leaning against a tree, trying to catch their breath.
"Professor-"
"Headmaster-"
The words from the new arrivals were stopped by the raised hand of Dumbledore's ghost. "Rest a moment, you two. Poppy, thank you for coming-" a twinkle in his eyes-"I know you don't make house calls."
A sputter of indignation from the school nurse was ignored as he turned to the flame-haired witch who was on her knees, still trying to catch her breath. "Rest a moment, Miss Weasley-"
"Weasley?" The shocked whisper escaped her lips before she could stop herself and she felt herself the centre of attention as heads turned in her direction. She felt her face flushing as she tried to stammer a response while kicking herself mentally for her slip-'Of course! Who else could it be…"
She realized that she was sitting on the grass, Madam Pomfrey hovering around, waving her wand and murmuring incantations as a warm glow flowed over her and she felt herself relaxing… unthinking, she opened her mouth when Poppy said "Open Up!" and felt something trickle down her throat and she reflexively swallowed-only to leap to her feet as the liquid burned its way into her and she could only wonder if her blood was boiling… she clamped her hands to her mouth to keep from throwing up even as she wondered why her head was surrounded by a cloud of steam…
She turned wide eyes to the now-smiling nurse who had conjured up a small fan which she handed to her. "Feeling better, dearie?"
She opened her mouth to snarl a retort but stopped as she realized that she did feel better: her earlier chill was gone… the feeling of listlessness had all but disappeared-and she smiled at the suddenly-flustered nurse who'd caught her earlier expression. So what if she did walk around with steam coming out of her ears? It was normal, she reminded herself, her grin growing wide as she contemplated the fan in her hand-and caught herself, wondering why it seemed so easy for her to accept that she was in Hogwarts.
Dream or magic, she didn't care… this was familiar, recognizable-one may even say that this was her 'other' home, populated by people she was more than familiar with…
She turned to smile at the still-uneasy nurse, hand held out in greeting. "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey and, you're correct, of course-I do feel so much better."
Surprisingly, the nurse didn't shake her hand-instead, she did a small curtsey as she bowed her head. "You're most welcome, Miss-ehem?"
"My apologies," Dumbledore's ghost spoke up as he floated closer. "Poppy Pomfrey, Joanne Kathleen Rowling."
Jo stifled a giggle at the pole-axed expression on Madam Pomfrey's face-and grinned to herself at the idea of feeding the matron with some of her own potions-but she quickly approached the flustered nurse who looked as though she was about to genuflect in front of her, mumbling "My Lady… er, Dame Rowling… I mean-"
"Please, Madam Pomfrey," Jo said, placing a firm grip on the older woman's arm. "Just Jo, please… I'm an Officer in the OBE; I haven't been knighted or anything."
"Oh." The nurse met her eyes for a brief moment, smiled and nodded before falling back into her medi-witch mode. "Well, uhm… it's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am-Jo," she corrected herself. "You have some lingering effects from colds, as well as general exhaustion. I would suggest a few days of rest…" She stopped as she saw Jo glance to one side; following the latter's gaze, she turned to Dumbledore with a slight incline of her head.
"Of course," the shimmering form said. "Come over here, Miss Weasley… Joanne Rowling, Miss Ginevra Molly Weasley."
The flame-haired teen approached slowly, a strange expression on her face… it took Jo a moment to realize that it was a look of awe: pure, unadulterated awe and she wondered if the young girl would fall down on her knees and grovel in front of her. The moment passed and she could only gape as she watched tears leak out of the girl's wide, expressive eyes, her mouth flapping open and closed silently, the muscles in her throat working as she tried to form words…
"Thank you."
It was a sibilant whisper that, for a moment, Jo thought had been carried on the wind-a notion quickly disabused as the words were spoken again in a stronger voice-and she found herself almost thrown backwards as the young witch literally lunged for her and grabbed her in a fierce, rib-breaking hug that everyone assumed was a Weasley trademark but something that, in truth, only Mrs. Weasley and Hermione had ever done, babbling continuously and half-incoherently from her shoulder: "Thank you… thank you, oh thank you, Miss Rowling."
She felt the air being crushed out of her lungs by the redhead's fierce embrace and she turned pleading eyes to an amused Dumbledore and a gaping Madam Pomfrey; the latter quickly shook herself of her stupor and said, in a stern voice, "Miss Weasley! Control yourself!"-and when that didn't work, near-screamed, "You're choking her!"
The constriction around Jo's chest suddenly eased, and she drew in a lungful of the cool forest air as an embarrassed redhead stepped away from her, the trademark Weasley blush turning her face close to the shade of her hair-and Joann Rowling stared in amazement at the teenaged girl in front of her.
Her first impression hadn't changed-the girl looked remarkably like a younger version of Lindsay Lohan, except that this girl's eyes were brown, unlike the American actress' blues… and she found herself wondering where Bonnie Wright, the young girl who had played Ginny Weasley in four-make that five-of the movies, was.
The girl in front of her was a stranger… no matter that Dumbledore had addressed the girl as Miss Weasley, her mind refused to accept it. This was not the Ginny Weasley she knew-although, she had to admit to herself, she didn't really have a clear of idea of what anyone other than Harry really looked like beyond the rather vague descriptions in her books--
Or maybe not. She had to admit that Chris Columbus' idea of casting the films with an all-British cast went over well with her, which was one reason she'd entrusted the movie rights to him and his crew. She had to admit that the casting was inspired-Richard Harris as Dumbledore, Dame Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall, her own suggestion of Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid… Alan Rickman as Severus Snape was an admitted surprise as she never thought of the Sheriff of Nottingham as a Potions Master-
Her only real input had been Harry-and she grinned to herself at the casting horror that everyone had gone through in their search for "Harry." She herself had become involved-and had happily gone along with Chris' selection of Dan Radcliffe to play Harry…
She shook herself as she realized that the girl-"Ginny!" she told herself-was speaking to her, and blinked when she recognized the apologetic tone in the girl's voice. She shook her head and tried to smile although, she admitted to herself, she had to wonder if her 'smile' had reached to her eyes…
"Well then, since we have all been properly introduced…"
Jo Rowling smiled gratefully at Madam Pomfrey's tactful interruption and looked around her, realizing that she wasn't in a clearing but a copse of trees overlooking the lake-and saw, with a pang of disappointment, that Harry was no longer by Dumbledore's tomb. She wondered where he had gone but decided not to ask, the memory of seeing Harry and Hermione together still fresh in her mind-
"Miss Rowling?"
She shook her head slightly and turned to look at a concerned Madam Pomfrey. She realized that the nurse had been speaking to her and she gave a small, apologetic grin as she replied, "I'm sorry… my mind must have been off somewhere. You were saying?"
The frowning nurse looked at her carefully, almost as if she wanted to whip out her wand and stick a thermometer in her mouth, but quickly relented. "I was asking if you would care to join us for breakfast, ma'am."
"Breakfast? But I thought-"
She quickly shut her mouth at the concerned looks that were cast her way. She was sure it was twilight when she'd fallen asleep on that dratted couch-so why were they talking about breakfast? The thought was quickly disposed of, however, as she remembered the dawn light that had greeted her-had she been asleep all night? Or was this a part of her dreamscape… but why should it be…
She felt their eyes upon her and quickly shook her head. "I'm sorry-I think I'm still a bit out of sorts." She quickly raised a hand at Madam Pomfrey's expression: "I'm all right… need to adjust and all that, you know."
She shaded her eyes and looked around her-seeing the multi-spired towers of Hogwarts to one side and the wooden structure of the Quidditch pitch on the other as she continued, "I think I fancy a walk before breakfast… that is if you wouldn't mind, Albus?"
"Of course not," the courtly ghost responded with a slight bow.
"I'd be happy to take you around, ma'am," "Ginny" spoke up. She continued before Jo could protest, "Please… call it apologies for having Stunned you earlier and for… err, I mean… uhm…"
"It's all right… Ginny," she said, hoping that the young girl didn't notice that she stumbled over her name. She didn't want to impose on the girl… at the same time, she needed some time to herself to process her thoughts and experiences-but the look on the girl's face made it clear that it wasn't to be an easy option. She was casting about for a way to politely decline when a shout made them look up-"Oi, Ginny! You're late for practice!"
They looked up and Jo felt a radiant smile break out on her face as a familiar face came into view, swooping down to hover a few feet over the ground-Rupert Grint in all his pride and glory, wearing Gryffindor practice robes and clutching a familiar broomstick in one hand. Behind and above him flew the other players-Jo could just make out Dean Thomas astride his own broom but the others-Demelza Robbins, wasn't it?, as well as the new beaters…
She frowned-there was someone missing-but before she could voice her thought, "Ginny" beat her to it: "Ron, where's Harry?"
An exasperated look passed through the other boy's face briefly, quickly replaced by a rather surly expression. "He's not joining us… said he had something to do."
"Ron!" Jo had to bite her lip at the petulant tone of voice-it sounded remarkably like Di in her younger days when she had to deny her sibling something she couldn't give. A cough from above her distracted her attention and she grinned as she heard Dean's voice: "Uhm… we'll go ahead, meet you guys at the pitch!"
She resisted the urge to shout "Cowards!" after them-she knew all too well the mess that could result from a sibling war and couldn't really blame them, and turned to see the two in question facing off-Ron had dropped to the ground, his broomstick in one white-knuckled hand, Ginny's broomstick lying ignored on the ground, the feisty witch literally in her brother's face as she poked him in the chest-and felt her mouth drop open as Ginny's heated words made their way to her brain.
"She's with him, isn't she? Isn't she?"
The thunderous look on her brother's face was all too clear to Jo-it was the expression she imagined him having in every confrontation with Draco or the Slytherins… at every insult and slur made by Snape or Lucius Malfoy… the altercation in the Gryffindor Common Room after the Yule Ball…
It was the face of boiling anger held under tight leash-and it didn't require a rocket scientist to figure out what they were talking about and why Ron's face had taken on such a dangerous cast…
Ginny's rant wasn't over, however: "If you only have the balls, Ronald-"
Jo's gasp of surprise was drowned out by a harsh "Miss Weasley!" and she blinked in surprise at hearing the words from a red-faced Madam Pomfrey. "You are embarrassing our guest-that will be twenty points from Gryffindor!"
The glare that the young witch directed at the school nurse should have petrified the latter but the nurse's stern visage never wavered-matching glare for glare until the flame-haired witch dropped her eyes and mumbled something under her breath-to which the nurse responded in a manner that would have done Minerva McGonagall proud: "What was that, Miss Weasley."
The Lindsay Lohan look-alike looked up, a contrite look on her face as she whispered, in a clear voice, "I'm sorry, Madam Pomfrey… Miss Rowling…"
It was obvious that the young witch was about to say something more but was stopped by the shocked exclamation of her brother: "Miss Rowling?"
Jo turned to him with a smile, glad of the opportunity to break the tension between the siblings-and felt herself rooted in her place, wishing that she could take a step back from the icy, angry glare that was directed her way. It was a look that she had never even contemplated seeing on Ron's face-Voldemort's, definitely… Lucius Malfoy's, oh yes… Snape, when thinking of James and Sirius… but Ron?
Before she could gather her scattered thoughts, the moment was broken as the young wizard turned away, mounted his broom and kicked off, his angry but controlled voice floating back to them, "Five minutes, Ginny or you're off the team!"
Jo released the air that she wasn't aware she'd been holding in-wondering, in the next second if she would need a dose of Skele-Gro to re-grow the bones she thought had been removed from her legs as she staggered a step-only to straighten up as a shiver ran down her spine as a soft voice spoke, "Are you all right, Jo?"
She turned around to see Dumbledore's concerned face close by and she nodded, turning quickly as she heard Poppy's strident voice, "Well, I never! I will be making a full report to the Headmistress about this, Miss Weasley and you better tell your disrespectful brother that he better have a good excuse worked out! I have never seen such discourteous, boorish behaviour from students outside of Slytherin-"
"Poppy!"
The steely but quiet use of her name served to deflate the full head of steam that had built up in the nurse's demeanour and she lowered her head in apology. Before she could verbalize the words, Jo Rowling stepped forward and laid a hand on her shoulder.
"It's all right, Madam Pomfrey… teenagers!" The nurse and the one-time teacher exchanged an understanding look and grinned, although behind her smiling façade, Jo's mind was roiling at what had transpired. There was something strange going on, she thought, but her thoughts were diverted as she glanced at the young witch standing to one side, the anger and tension rolling off her in palpable waves as she struggled for control.
She hesitated, unsure of what to do or whether to approach the angry teen-but Dumbledore took the matter out of her hands.
"Ginvera-"
The witch's head snapped around and locked with the ghost's eyes for a long moment before she nodded silently and, without another word, picked up her broomstick and mounted it. She stood there for another moment, worrying her lower lip before turning to Jo, a stricken look on her face.
"Miss Rowling…"
"I'll see you later, Ginny." Jo smiled, which was returned (albeit querulously) by the young witch, and Jo continued. "You did promise me a tour of the Hogwarts grounds."
A genuine smile broke out on her face and, with a whispered "Thank you," she kicked off and followed her brother.
The two mortals and one ghost left on the ground looked at each other and shrugged. Poppy Pomfrey repeated her suggestion of breakfast-a suggestion that Jo just as politely refused, although she urged the older woman to proceed ahead to the castle.
The nurse was about to protest but fell silent at a gesture from her former superior; with a sigh and a small bow, she started walking back to the castle.
The moment she was out of sight, Jo turned to the ghost beside her.
"Albus… what the hell is going on?"
. The move startled Madam Pomfrey and Ginny, who had both been gaping at the departing wizard and they were immediately at her side, apologetic words falling from their lips…
With an effort, she pulled away from their attempted ministrations