"What's happened to Harry?" were the words on almost everyone's lips the following morning. Well, everyone's but the Slytherin's. The green table was getting enough glares that if it were possible, it would have exploded by now.
"What do you think happened to him?" asked Ginny worriedly from where she sat beside Dean.
Across the table Seamus shrugged and Lavender said, "Maybe he's not coming."
"Or gone into hiding," piped Parvati. When everyone looked oddly at her, she added, "From You-Know-Who."
"He really can't be back, can he?" asked Lavender.
Several of them shrugged then went wide-eyed when Ginny softly said, "Or maybe You-Know-Who got him."
The fifth years all looked at each other, the same thought on all their minds.
Harry couldn't be gone.
Could he?
As the others pondered this, Neville watched the doors, wondering when Harry, Ron, and Hermione would make an appearance.
As the chatter in the Great Hall continued, three people stood outside, waiting. Hermione and Ron stood on either side of Harry, the bushy-haired girl slipping the dark glasses over the blank emerald eyes.
"Are you okay?" she asked, looking worriedly at him as she straightened the glasses on his nose.
"Fine," replied Harry.
Ron looked at his two friends then asked, "Shall we go in?"
Harry looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded slowly.
"Might as well," he said. "They'll see me soon enough anyways."
"Okay," said Ron, gripping Harry's arm. "Here we go."
"Just follow us," said Hermione, patting Harry's hand where it rested on her shoulder.
Harry turned his head towards her and said, "I know. You two lead, I follow. At least until I get a cane."
"Your not old," remarked Ron in confusion as they stepped into the Hall.
Harry grimaced and Hermione said, "A cane for blind people, Ron."
"Oh. Sorry, Harry."
"S'alright. Just don't run me into anything till then, okay?"
"You got it, Harry."
Very few people took heed of the Trio as they entered the Hall. Then one Ravenclaw nudged another and word spread like wildfire.
"It's Harry!"
"He's not dead!"
"Looks like it. How'd he get so pale?"
"Yeah, he can just about rival Snape now!"
"What's with the sunglasses?"
"Harry!" exclaimed Dean as the Trio sat down across from him. "You're alive!"
Harry winced and asked in a low growl, "Why does everyone seem to think I was dead?"
"Because You-Know-Who's back and you're the Boy-Who-Lived," replied Parvati matter-of-factly.
Harry's expression hardened behind his dark glasses at those words and he growled, "Rumors of my demise were highly overrated then."
The other fifth years looked at each other nervously and Hermione coughed politely.
Seamus then leaned onto the table and said around Ron, "What's up with the glasses, Harry?"
Hermione felt Harry go still beside her and she squeezed his hand reassuringly. He turned his head to smile at her then sighed as he turned back towards his year mates.
"Well," he said, reaching up and taking the glasses off, eyes closed and head tilted down slightly. "There's a good reason for that."
He looked up and there were several gasps and jumps at the sight of his lifeless eyes.
"I'm blind."
"How?" gasped Lavender as Harry slid the glasses back onto his nose with a little help from Hermione.
"Hot iron."
"Hot iron?" exclaimed Parvati as Seamus asked, "Is it reversible?"
Harry laughed harshly, perhaps more harshly than he should have. But he didn't really care how harsh he sounded.
"'Is it reversible?'" he repeated with a sneer. Then, shaking his head, he said softly, "No. It's not."
"So you can't play Quidditch anymore?" gasped Dean.
Several moans went up as Harry nodded. Hermione suddenly snapped, "Oh, shut up! We can get another Seeker!"
"Not one as good as Harry," muttered Dean.
"That doesn't matter! What matters is Harry! Maybe he can't play Quidditch – so what? He's still here! And no different than before."
"Except for the tiny little morsel of fact that I can't see anything," quipped Harry without humor.
Hermione sighed and laid her head on the table with a groan. At a light touch on her arm, she looked up. Harry's face was turned towards her and his fingers gently touched her arm, an expression between worry and loss on his face. With a small smile, she took his hand and squeezed it. The boy nodded at her and she gave a low chuckle.
Parvati and Lavender giggled softly at this exchange while Seamus let out a chortle.
On the other side of Harry, Ron scowled.
~*~*~*~*~
The Trio was heading for their first class of the day (Potions) when they were ambushed.
"Well, well, well," drawled a voice from behind a pillar as they passed. "Look at the Boy-Who-Lived now. Completely helpless. How pitiful."
"Malfoy," snapped Harry, his upper lip curling.
The blond Slytherin stepped out of the shadow of the pillar and gave a short round of applause.
"And here I thought the blind were also stupid."
Ron glared at the other boy as Harry clenched his fists tightly at his sides. Hermione glanced at both boys then began to reach for her wand.
"What do you want?" growled Harry, trying to focus his blank gaze towards Malfoy.
"A vacation home in the Swiss Alps and a dog," drawled Malfoy. "Oh, and you out of my life, Potter."
Ron gaped. Had Malfoy just made a joke?
"Well," said Harry coldly, thinking he had finally pinpointed the blonde's position, "I don't think you'll be getting any of those any time soon. Especially not that last one."
"We'll see, Potter," said Malfoy, walking forward to go past them to the Potions classroom. He stopped next Harry, turned his head, smirked, and added, "Wait. You won't see, will you?"
Harry sneered and growled, "Ron."
"What?"
"Take a step back, will you?"
Ron frowned and took a tentative step back. Harry's left fist whizzed through the air and struck Malfoy squarely in the jaw. The blond was thrown back a few steps, hand flying up to his jaw as his gray eyes stared at the dark-haired boy in surprise.
"How…how the fuck did you do that, Potter?"
"What?" asked Harry innocently, rubbing the knuckles of his left hand.
"Hit me?"
"Are you implying that I can't hit you? Just because I'm blind?" Harry scowled and spat, "I've been unable to see since the beginning of summer hols, Malfoy. You think I haven't gotten used to trusting my other senses? As long as you keep your big mouth going, I can find you. And if you keep walking like an elephant, that'll be something I can track you by too."
"But you're blind," grumbled Draco, rubbing his jaw. "You broke my jaw!"
"Oh damn," said Harry, snapping his fingers, "and I so was aiming for your nose. Perhaps you could hunch down a little next time? Thanks."
With that, Harry took a little step to his right and headed towards the Potions classroom. Hermione hurried to catch up with him, looping her arm through his to steer him into the room safely. Ron lingered for a moment to glare at Malfoy before he followed. But not before Hermione had to turn and snap at him.
"Mister Malfoy," said a silky voice from the corridor as the Trio took their seats. "May I ask why you are clutching your jaw?"
"Sir, it was Potter…"
You could practically hear the anger in Snape's voice in the next instant.
"Mister Potter is currently blind, Mister Malfoy. Should he have been able to strike you, it is your own fault for not having the sense to duck. Now take yourself up to the Hospital Wing. And five points from Slytherin."
"Sir!"
"10 POINTS FROM SLYTHERIN!"
Ron and Hermione stared at each other as Snape entered the room, a dark scowl upon his face. He started to stalk to the front of the room but stopped when he reached where the Trio sat. Turning towards them, he said, "Misssster Potter."
"Yes, sir?" said Harry, looking up.
"I trust that Mister Malfoy did not cause too much trouble."
The entire Gryffindor side of the room's jaws dropped whilst the Slytherin's scowled.
"No, sir," said Harry, sensing there were going to be points taking.
"Very good. And five points from Gryffindor."
"Yes, sir."
Snape nodded and swept up to the front of the room, hurriedly scrawling the ingredients for the potion they were making on it. Hermione whispered the ingredients to Harry, who was trying to identify the ingredients by smell.
By the end of the class, Gryffindor had only managed to lose forty points and Slytherin had – to everyone's shock and amazement – lost twenty-five.
Maybe Aunt Petunia's a good influence on him, thought Harry as Hermione and Ron cleaned up their table before steering him out of the room. Did I just really think that?