Blind

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form…trust me.

Summery: Hermione is now in her sixth year and she and her friends are preparing for the war to come. One night, while brewing a potion, something happens that causes Hermione to begin to lose her sight and find an unlikely friend in the darkness.

Ages:

Hermione: 16yrs. (6th year)Ron: 16yrs. (6th year)Ginny:15yrs. (5th year)

Draco:16yrs. (6th year)Crabbe & Goyle: 16yrs. (6th year)

Blaise:16yrs. (6th year)Harry:16yrs. (6th year)

Chapter 3

Hermione gently led Ginny down from the girl's dormitory. She had promised the younger girl that she would deal with Harry and Ron for her so that she wouldn't have to.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry I broke down like that," Ginny apologized shakily. "I don't know what came over me. I was just thinking about me and Harry and…and" Hermione shook her head.

"Shh," she responded soothingly as she pulled Ginny to her side in a hug. "It's okay. Harry and Ron are being idiots and I made sure that they know it." Ginny smiled halfheartedly.

"You know, when I was younger I used to watch girls get so stupid about a boy…you know, crying and stuff. I promised myself that I'd never act like that. I didn't want to be that stupid." She looked up to Hermione with tears threatening to fall. "I guess I broke my promise, huh?"

Draco swallowed a bit nervously and glanced over at Blaise who, he was pleased to see, was just as pale as he was. The two had entered Dumbledore's office not twenty minutes before and offered their services in the fight against the Dark Lord. Dumbledore, of course, had been beyond stunned and it made Draco happy to see the normally composed and prepared headmaster too stunned to speak.

However, as time passed by, Draco began to realize the gravity of their situation all the more. If he and Blaise were found out, then they'd surely be killed and their families…well, their families would also be punished in everyway conceivable to wizardkind. He swallowed again as Dumbledore began to speak.

"I appreciate your offer to serve as spies for the order," the headmaster said slowly. "But I'm afraid I cannot accept. At the moment, you are both too young for me to feel comfortable putting you in that position." Draco growled in disgust, not even bothering to pretend to agree.

"Professor, with all due respect, Blaise and I will be put in danger whether or not you accept our offer. At least this way our involvement with Voldemort will give way to some good and hopefully help Potter destroy him." Dumbledore blinked and again Draco was amazed that he could be stunned.

"I agree with Draco, headmaster," Blaise said suddenly. "Voldemort will try to turn us as soon as the summer holidays begin. If we have to, we will accept. You know this, it's how we survive. At least allow us this chance of redemption…we'll do horrible things…" Dumbledore nodded.

"I know. If you're absolutely sure-"

"We are," Draco interrupted. Dumbledore smiled warmly.

"Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix."

Hermione smiled as Ginny entered the common room from the girl's lavatory. She had left ten minutes before to freshen up and she now looked gorgeous. Her eyes were no longer puffy but back to their original state. Her smile, though somewhat sad, was no longer mournful, and Hermione knew without a doubt that the younger girl would survive.

"Thanks Hermione," Ginny smiled when she reached her older friend. "I'm okay now. I think I just needed to get that out of my system." Hermione nodded.

"So you and Harry are…"

"Not over," Ginny interjected. "I love him and I'm not giving him up without one hell of a fight." Hermione smiled.

"Good because he loves you too." Ginny smiled.

"I know. I just want to hear him say it."

"He will one day." Ginny nodded and Hermione took a deep breath.

"Ginny, I have something I have to tell you. Now, I want you to promise you won't tell anyone about this, okay?" Ginny frowned.

"Okay, of course," she responded. Hermione let out a heavy sigh.

"Ginny, I'm going blind," she said in a rush as if the words would fly over Ginny's ears and spare them the pain that came with them.

"What?" Ginny asked as she unconsciously put her hand to her chest. She felt like her heart had just dropped into her feet and her lungs were devoid of air.

"I'm going blind," Hermione said again more slowly. "I-I know it's sudden but that's why I've been so weird lately. Um, M-Madame Pomfrey said that my sight would, uh, be completely gone by the end of this week. If I'm lucky it'll come back to me by the end of the year."

"Hermione," Ginny said breathily. Hermione laughed lightly.

"I'll be okay, Ginny. It was my own fault. A potion blew up in my face and now my eyes are suffering because of it but I do need your help."

"Anything," Ginny said immediately.

"I need you to lead me around when I'm around the others. If Ron and Harry know, I'm afraid they'll panic and not prepare themselves for battle like they should." Ginny nodded. "I also need you to take my place. I need you to teach them spells and potions…keep them in check." Ginny's jaw dropped.

"Hermione, I'm nowhere near powerful enough to teach them those things and why would they listen to me anyway." Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"One: you've a temper reminiscent of the great Molly Weasley, two: you're just as powerful as I am…maybe more. Ginny, you're a brilliant witch. You just have to get the confidence." Ginny nodded.

"Deal. Oh, Hermione…"

"Don't feel sorry for me, Gin. I won't stand for it. Look, I'll be in a completely different class when my sight is gone so I'll tell the boys I've been entered into a special program for academia and they'll believe me. Madame Pomfrey and Dumbledore have set it up so that I can take all my classes separately and I'll get different books so I can read with my fingers instead of my eyes…everything will work out fine."

"Of course it will," Ginny responded with a nod. "Everything will work out fine."

Harry watched as Hermione and Ginny entered the great hall that night for dinner. He saw how Ginny seemed slightly more protective of Hermione. Finding the other girl a place to sit and making sure that she was eating her food. When he pointed this out to Ron the other boy just shrugged and expressed the same confusion Harry was feeling.

Not too long ago Ginny had been the one in need of a protector and now here she was with the roles reversed on Hermione. He shook his head to clear it of thoughts. It was just too weird.

"Ginny Weasley," Hermione whispered with a bit of pink tinge to her cheeks. "I am not an invalid. Have a seat and stop hovering over me. I'm fine." Ginny nodded.

"I'm sorry, I just-"

"My sight won't be gone until the end of the week, Gin. I'll be fine until then. After it's gone, then you can act like a mother hen but right now it's wearing on my nerves…have a seat and try some of this strudel. It's delicious."

Blaise glanced over at Draco as the two sat down for dinner that night. Not surprisingly, Draco had chosen a seat across from Blaise, giving him a perfect view of the Gryffindor table…of Hermione Granger.

"I would like to say, for the record," Blaise said easily to his moony friend. "That you are now officially pathetic." Draco said nothing but continued to glance covertly over at the Gryffindors in hopes of catching Hermione's eye…even for a split second. "Honestly, Draco, why don't you do something instead of all this moony love-from-afar crap that will eventually drive me to kill you and make it look like a suicide?" Draco stopped his mission long enough to give Blaise a hard glare. He was silent for so long that Blaise began to think his heart had exploded, leaving him dead but with his eyes open.

"Are you out of your mind?" Draco said slowly. The response was so unpredicted that Blaise had no return for it. "If I even gave the slightest hint of interest in Granger, Potty and Weasel would lock her up in some unknown tower never to be seen again by the likes of me." Blaise raised an eyebrow.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you rummage through that muggle bookstore. You read a fairytale didn't you?" Draco scoffed.

"Never. I only wanted to see what muggles found so fascinating about a book with pictures that never move. Who enjoys that crap?" Blaise laughed.

"My little sister for one."

"Yes, well…your mother married a muggle-lover."

"And you're not?"

"Hey, Granger is a witch."

"Yes but her parents are muggle, making her a muggleborn." Draco glowered.

"I don't care. I never have and I doubt if I ever will." Blaise laughed.

"I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to think this year will be more entertaining than I thought. Imagine, the great Draco Malfoy falling for a girl who would just as soon rip out his heart than accept it." Blaise glance at Draco again and his mirth died in his throat as he saw the hurt look on his friend's face.

"You're right," the young man said sadly. "There's absolutely no chance at all." Blaise was silent for a moment.

"Malfoy," Blaise said quietly. "I hate to break it to you, but there's always a chance."