Author's Note and Disclaimer at the bottom of the page if you really want to read them...
Note: Just to tell you, each chapter will have its name (the blind dragon) in a different language. Any guesses on this one? =)
Yeux Bleux Aveugles
Draco's POV
I'd been frozen with shock from the moment I'd heard her voice. Mechanically, I removed the blindfold and watched her struggle with hers. I made no offer to help, because behind her head I could see faces whirling. Hermione smiling sweetly at Harry, my father magically beating me time and again, Hermione again, glaring at me after some smart crack. I broke out of the trance a second later, my eyes meeting Hermione's. I held her gaze steadily, locked in place by the warmth in her eyes, their depth of brown. I could image what would happen next : the warm brown would turn cold as it always did when she looked at me, and she would let her grip slacken. Her lip would curl almost imperceptibly as I'd seen it do so many times, and she'd make some smart insulting crack then leave me embarrassed in the centre of the dance floor.
But she didn't.
"Oh..." she whispered, cheeks turning slightly pink and looking down as if she was....embarrassed? Hermione Granger...embarrassed? The look on her face made me want to tell her it was okay, that I'd make whatever she was ashamed of go away. To tuck that loose strand hair behind her ear, to-
"I thought you were Neville." she stated, then realizing the humour of her statement, giggled slightly then regained her composure, and replaced her laughter with her half smile that had grown to drive many guys around the bend.
*And who said you aren't like most guys?* piped up a little voice in my head.
My Malfoy charm kicked in without my consent, and, lifting her chin lightly with my thumb and forefinger, looking into her eyes, whispered, "That good a dancer?", teasingly, provokingly, daring her to flirt back.
Flirt? My God, I was flirting with Granger.
The sudden thought of what my father would do brought me back to reality. I quickly took a step backwards, and tripped over the edge of the dance floor. I twisted to try and break my fall with my hands, but to no avail and landed squarely on my elbows. The pain shot through the aforementioned body part, making me wince.
Hermione's POV
Wow. Draco Malfoy. Boy was I going to head about this later... But in that moment, it didn't matter. For a second, it didn't matter that he was a Slytherin and I was a Gryffindor, or that at any other point in time we couldn't be within 6 yards of each other. I was too caught up in those beautiful blue eyes that had taken the place of the every day icicles. These eyes showed pain, suffering, and compassion. These eyes cared.
The I realized what I was doing. I blushed and looked at my feet, suddenly realisation that I didn't totally hate him...not one bit. This made me blush a little harder, my lips forming an o. I let out a little sound of incredulity. Surprised at the sound I made, eager to make up an excuse so that he wouldn't guess what I felt, I blurted out the first thing I thought of.
"I thought you were Neville"
Oops.
So that wasn't exactly what I had in mind... Suddenly realising the hilarity of this statement, I giggled, glad of the comic release. Then I realized that he was looking at me, not angrily, but half in surprise, half in insult. I controlled my giggles but couldn't refuse a smile. Once again, I looked at my feet. 'Here it comes,' I thought to myself, 'this is where Malfoy gets over the shock and embarrasses me. This one isn't going to be-
I felt a soft finger and thumb gently push my chin upwards so that I was looking directly into hi eyes. Shorter than Ron's overstated 6'2, but still taller than my 5'5, I had a perfect view into "the windows of his soul", pulling me into their depths.
"That bad a dancer?" he said softly. At that moment, I forgot everything except the soft fingers holding my head and the blue orbs that were drawing me nearer and nearer. Then a look of pain crossed those beautiful blue eyes and he pulled back, looking frightened, angry. He took a quick step back and tripped over the ledge that started the area where the tables were. He landed with an 'OOF'. I watched in confusion as he sat back up, looking around to see if anyone had seen him. Luckily no one had - Lavender and Ron were nowhere to be seen, and Harry and Ginny obviously had eyes only for each other. No one else was looking in our direction. He pushed up his sleeves to see if any damage had been done. Still I watched, too surprised to move, considering his every move. And watching him do that, I saw something that didn't belong on any person, Slyterin or not. A long, dark purple scar ran along his arm, from wrist to elbow, sticking out like a beacon on his pale skin. This broke me out of my trance. I kneeled beside him.
"Who did this?" I asked, hoping my concern didn't show too much. He swung his head towards me. His eyes were cold, frozen, like a cat's before pouncing on prey. Dangerous eyes, that made me want to back up and run away. Not the eyes that moments ago I'd been swallowed up by.
"Get away from me, Mudblood," he hissed, his eyes narrowing. There was nothing in those eyes. I must have been halucinating. I didn't need telling twice, not from someone who looked ready to bite, but hesitated for a moment, unsure about the scar.
"Why the wait? Poor slut can't get anyone else to dance with? Where'd Colin go, in some corner with-" he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. His words hurt, more than they should have, coming from Malfoy, and I slapped him. Hard. Leaving a bright white hand print on his face. Or, at least I think I did. I didn't stick around to see it. I walked away, quickly, getting quicker until, at the door of the great hall, I broke into a run, my eyes starting to well up. How stupid had I been?
By the time I got to the entrance to the common room, tears were streaming down my face. Why had I let him get to me? Probably just trying to weaken me to get at Harry, I thought, as I gave a rather disgruntled Fat Lady the password. As I proceeded through the hole, I heard her whisper to her friend Violet, "Poor dear. We get one or two of these every ball, such a shame.." her voice faded out. I collapsed onto one of the fluffier chairs in the common room.
How could I have let him get to me like that, when after all, he was a Malfoy.. But what I had seen in his eyes, the compassion and pain, I couldn't forget. Or that other look he had on his face when he was looking at me. Or the fact that he had flirted first. Flirted. Wow. What had I gotten myself into? So, sitting there in the Gryffindor common room, I sorted out my thoughts. A playboy, I told myself. Using me to get to Harry. By the time I'd convinced my self that he was a rotten example of a human being and wizard he was, I could hear the others coming up from the Great Hall. Not wanting to be questioned, I slipped quietly up to the dorm, and changing into my comfiest nightshirt, pretended to be asleep when the others stormed in. As I drifted off to the sounds of Lavender describing how sloppy a kisser Ron was, all I could think of was the pain in those blue eyes.
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A/N Haha!! I've finally got it out!! I'm horribly sorry that this has taken so incredibly long to produce, but I went through a couple of bricks of writers block and wasn't sure where I was going with it. Now that I do actually have a clue, the next parts should be faster. Anyhow, I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed, you were all very kind on everything and thanks for the tips on grammar etc., they are much appreciated and needed. I've spell checked this one! =) Oh, and thanks to the person who pointed out Draco's eye color, yes, you are right, but for the purposes of this story I'm just gonna make them blue.. politically incorrect me! Thanks for your attention to that detail, sorry that I won't be doing anything to it. Well, thats bout it, enjoy the story!
-Aikan =)
Disclaimer: Harry, Hermione, Ron, Lavander, Draco, his evil father, Hogwarts and about everything else that you recognise belong to the creative genius of J. K. Rowling. I'm not making any money off this and probably couldn't, so please don't sue me. You can have a quarter if you like... Reviews are nice..*hopeful smile* I hope to get the next one out soon! -Aikan