Chapter Seven:

Ronald Weasley stood outside Hermione's door for what seemed like forever before he could muster up the courage to knock. He knew she was in there because he could hear her thinking aloud to herself. She was rattling off various schools and what they offered—it was a very Hermione thing to do. Finally, he knocked on the door and as soon as he did he knew exactly what he needed to say to her. They had been best friends for so long and he knew he had treated her unfairly.

"Come in," Hermione shouted. Ronald slowly opened the door, forgetting that it did not matter because she could not see him. "Ronald?"

"How did you know?" Ron was surprised that she knew.

"Your cologne." Hermione knew it from a mile away. She picked it out for him as a birthday present last year.

"Oh. Hermione, look, I know I've been a right foul git. I want you to know how sorry I am for everything. I should have been there for you."

"So why weren't you?" Hermione fumbled around the room making her way towards the bed.

"Hermione, I don't know. I was so worried something happened to you and that I would lose you. Then when I found out about the accident, I panicked. Everything I was afraid of was coming true and what scared me the most was my reaction. I was a complete arse, Mione."

"I refuse to believe that you left me just because I am blind, Ronald. Even you are not that shallow." Ron began to make his way over to where Hermione was seated on her bed. Even though he knew that Hermione couldn't see him, he got down on his knees so that he was eye level with her and put her hands in his.

"It's funny, Hermione—the other day I saw you lying in bed with Malfoy and my blood boiled. It's so pathetic that it took me until now to see just how—dumb—I have been. "

"I don't understand, Ron," Hermione snatched her hands away from his," Being dumb doesn't excuse anything. It doesn't excuse the fact that you weren't there for me when I needed you to be."

"You're right, Hermione. It doesn't excuse anything, but I should have handled it better. You know, I spent the past few days trying to convince myself that I wanted to win you back and that you and I were absolutely perfect for each other. But I realized all of my feelings were coming from something else—guilt. I am not asking you to forgive me but I want you to understand that this had nothing to do with you. I think you know exactly what I was feeling, don't you?" Ron could hardly choke out his last question because it was excruciating for him to admit that he and Hermione just were not right for one another. They stayed together as long as they had because they thought it was right. Them being together seemed so perfect—just like in novels.

"That we were not perfect for each other? I did feel that in the back of my mind," Hermione conceded," I just was afraid to admit that because I did not want to lose your friendship. That, however, still does not make up for you breaking my heart even more than it was already. Ron, don't you remember the promise we made each other when we started dating?"

"Yes, I do. We promised that no matter what our friendship would come first and you're right, Hermione. What I did was wrong, and I was such a coward. I began realizing that I was not in love with you the way I thought I was—the way you thought. I realized that we were hiding behind the picture perfect relationship even though in reality it was not so perfect, was it? I wanted this to work so badly, Hermione. How could I find a more perfect woman for me? You're brilliant and everything anyone could ever need, but you're meant for someone else. Someone who would not use your accident as an excuse—a pathetic excuse at that." Ron was surprised even at himself. He was sad that he had become this broken man that he could not even be proud of anymore. The idea that he allowed one of his best friends to feel so hurt and alone all this time bewildered him.

"You have no idea how much I needed to hear this from you," Hermione whispered as a tear began to slide down her beautiful face. "In spite of everything, I still know in my heart that you are a good man, Ron. As heartbreaking as it is, I needed to know that that was the real reason you left me and not because of the accident."

After a few moments, Hermione insisted that Ron leave. Ron knew that she would not forgive him anytime soon for how badly he had hurt her, but at least he told her the truth. In his mind, that had to count for something. He left feeling good about his conversation with Hermione and he hoped it really did help her get closure. At the same time, Ron felt so ashamed at how delusional he had become. Maybe finally letting go of all the guilt and anger would help him move forward as well.


Hermione felt good. Correction—she felt amazing. That is to say more amazing than she had felt in quite some time. The conversation with Ron had really helped her to move on. She was now officially ready to start her "new life" as she referred to it. It helped her to imagine how proud her parents would be to see her making progress in her life instead of remaining stagnant and depressed.

It had been two weeks since Hermione had dinner with Ginny, Harry, and Draco and she was now ready to tell them what her decision was. She was content with her choice. She really just wanted to start doing something productive with her life. In the past two weeks she spent a lot of time with Draco. They would talk about the different choices she had and he was great because he would get just as excited as she did. From time to time Draco would bring up her job and let her know that he was willing to hold the position for as long as he needed to. Hermione knew there was no point in arguing because knowing Draco he would have everything converted to brail. Actually, he would probably use a spell to have everything read itself to her. Hermione, however, felt no pull to go back to work as a wizarding lawyer.

"I have decided that I would like to attend the Royal London Society for the Blind. It is after all closest to my apartment and sooner or later I'll probably have to learn to be completely self sufficient. At this moment what I want to learn most is how to get around without falling flat on my face," Hermione laughed. She had been falling everywhere and it was beginning to get dangerous.

"If you're sure, Hermione," Ginny sounded hesitant. Ginny really wanted Hermione to go the wizarding route, but she was starting to realize that maybe the muggle way was best for Hermione.

"We'll get you set up, then," Harry said enthusiastically. "We're all so excited for you!"

They all probably were very excited for Hermione. Hermione could not help but feel like a child going off to Kindergarten in a way. She would be dropped off and picked up everyday just like a child. Maybe she would be able to take herself sooner than she thought. It still did not stop her from being excited—she was ready to meet other people who shared her dilemmas. She wanted to feel like she was understood. Out of everyone, Draco was the most understanding but even he did not know how hard it was to be blind.

"What I really want is to get out of this blasted house!" Hermione was frustrated and becoming quite stir crazy. Most of her days were spent sitting around. Molly would try desperately to keep Hermione entertained and Arthur would bring home muggle books to read to her. Arthur eventually brought home a muggle CD player so that Hermione could listen to books on CD and so that she could also listen to music. Draco came by frequently just to keep her company. Hermione was becoming bored, though.

"I could help with that," Hermione heard Draco's voice coming from where she imagined the front door was.

"I didn't know Draco was here," Hermione was confused," That's weird because normally I can tell who's here."

"I just stepped in. Where would you like to go, Hermione? I have the afternoon off—we could go anywhere you'd like." Draco was starting to become addicted to Hermione's company. She was so easy to be around compared to work. Draco did not have any family of his own to visit and his friends were scarce.

"You don't have to spend your day off shuffling me around. I'd only be trouble," Hermione muttered.

"Nonsense. Besides, I've been spending most of my days off with you. I think it'd be good for you to get out. I am not taking no for an answer anyway."

"St. James Park in London?"

Draco said yes, of course, and waited patiently while Hermione went upstairs with Ginny to get dressed. It was cold outside and snow was on the ground—it was late January. Hermione insisted that she did not care how cold it was. She missed the cold and the snow. She missed everything about outside. To her, it felt like she had been cooped up inside forever.

Ginny helped Hermione pick out an outfit to wear. Over it she wore a stunning trench coat with knee high boots. She was so ready to get out of the house and away from the Weasley's. No matter how much she loved them they had become more than overbearing.


Draco led Hermione through the snowy and slushy streets of London to her favorite park. He just hoped that even though she could not see how beautiful the park was, she would still enjoy it. Even in the snow, the park was still stunning to Draco. As Draco led her down the path he told her exactly what they were passing in the most vivid descriptions. Once they arrived to the duck pond he was in awe. It was the most striking wintry scene he had ever seen with his own two eyes. The pond was frozen and all of the trees around it were covered in snow and icicles. It was lovely. To him, though, the loveliest sight was just how happy Hermione was.

"Even though I can't see it, I know exactly what this place looks like right now. I love this place," Hermione concluded as she threw her arms out to her side and spun around in circles as the snowflake began to fall around her.

Draco watched as she spun around and was amazed how beautiful and full of life she was even in that moment. Her lips were rosy red from the cold and her pale skin was almost porcelain like. Her honey brown eyes were so bright that it was hard for Draco to believe that they just could not see what he was seeing. Draco was sure she was the most magnificent part in the whole scene around him.

As soon as Hermione stopped spinning she must have lost her balance. Draco thought that might happen. He couldn't help but laugh as she floundered around trying to catch her balance. Before she fell face flat in the snow, he caught her in his arms and lifted her back up to her feet. Even though she nearly face planted, her smile was still as wide as it was before.

"Be careful," Draco warned.

"I'm not worried," Hermione giggled as plopped down on the ground and laid in the snow," You'll catch me."

"What are you doing?" Draco was bemused.

"Making a snow angel, of course." It was funny because she said it as if Draco was supposed to know that. He had never seen such a thing in his life. He watched as Hermione carefully lifted herself up off the ground.

"I see now," he said looking at the imprint she left in the snow—he could see the angel.

Draco was mesmerized by Hermione and her happiness. She continued to dance around as if she was not blind at all. It was clear that she did not have a care in the world at that moment.

Before Draco knew it, snow was pouring down heavily upon them. He had been so caught up in watching Hermione that he did not realize how dark it had gotten. It was getting colder and he could see Hermione shivering. It was obvious that she did not care, but Draco grabbed her by her hand and began leading her out of the park. As they made their way down the dark and snowy pathway, Draco realized that he could hardly tell where the path was. While he was busy trying to figure out which way to go, he felt Hermione starting to slip. He scooped her up in his arms and began walking past the playgrounds and what he assumed was the fields to the exit.

"I can walk," Hermione suggested. Her teeth were chattering and she shivering from the cold.

"Don't be silly—it's easier this way," Draco was right. She was cold and the ground was slippery.

"My flat is right beside the coffee shop that's across the street from the entrance of the park. We can go there and wait for the snow to calm down."

That's exactly what they did. It took Draco a little while to figure out where he was going but he found Hermione's building and managed to get them safely inside. He insisted on carrying her up the five flights of stairs even though she protested strongly. The elevator in the building was broken. Hermione did have her key with her—it was always in her pocketbook.

It was obvious that her apartment had been empty for a while. Draco fumbled around for the lights—Hermione had to walk him through quite a few things since he was not accustomed to muggle technology. He managed to turn on the heat and find blankets. Hermione told him how to turn on the TV and Draco was absolutely amazed. He knew stuff like this existed but it was so much different in person. They both sat on the couch—Hermione listened to the television and Draco watched. She was still freezing, though, and her lips were blue from the cold so Draco pulled her over to him and held her closely in his lap in an attempt to warm her up faster. Soon enough, Hermione was warm and sound asleep in Draco's arms…again.