Colors

Chapter 2: The Incident

I must have fallen pretty hard, hard enough to knock me unconscious anyway, because I woke up in the Hospital Wing. I knew because I could hear Madame Pomfrey addressing another student. I sat up and groaned. Head rush. Madame Pomfrey must have heard me, because the next second she was pushing me back to the bed.

"I'm glad to see you awake, Miss. Granger. I was beginning to get worried. You had quite a fall, and I'm keeping for the day, just to make sure you're fully recovered."

"What? No, I'm quite fine. I just slipped. It won't happen again, really. I don't need to stay the whole day!"

"I'll have none of that, Miss. Granger. I know it's hard to adjust to your blindness, but –"I cut her off.

"No! I am not blind! I simply can't see because my eyes are closed! I'm not…I'm not blind." My fading voice sounded soft, even to my own ears. There was complete silence, and I could only imagine what she must want to say to me. When she finally did speak, I'm sure it wasn't everything she wanted to say.

"Be that as it may, you will stay in bed for the day. I will be in my office should one of you need me. I'll bring out your lunch, and Miss. Granger…please, don't hesitate to ask for help."

The sharp clicking of her heels told me the discussion was over and I had lost. With nothing else to do, I lay there trying not to think until sleep overtook me. I awoke to the smells of lunch and was informed that Harry and Ginny had stopped by and Ginny would be coming to get me after dinner. Those words, sounding so normal falling from Madame Pomfrey's mouth, crushed a little part of me inside. I wasn't stupid. I knew I was blind. But…knowing one thing in your head and speaking, admitting it, was a totally different thing. It seemed that it would only be real once I opened my eyes and still saw the blackness, or even said it aloud. I just couldn't. What will the rest of my life be like? I can't do anything! I'm no use to-

"Granger?" a voice interrupted my thoughts. "Hello?" It was Malfoy!

Oh Merlin! I completely forgot someone else was in the room with me. Malfoy. He must have heard it all. He must know I'm blind. I can't bear the thought, it's so awful. I turned on my side, away from his voice. I heard soft footsteps…he's wearing socks then…what kind of a person sleeps with socks on? Malfoy once again brought me out of my thoughts, as he stopped right in front of me. I turned over.

"Go away, Malfoy. I don't want to hear it."

"You don't even know what I'm going to say."

"Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Don't change the subject." He walked around the bed, facing me again. I turned over again. "Don't do that, it's annoying. I'm trying to help you."

"How could you possibly help me?" I said in a rather scathingly skeptical voice. He ignored my question in favor of his own.

"Have you opened your eyes at all?"

"Yes." What the hell would it hurt? It's not like I could get any lower…

"When?"

"When I first woke up. At the optometrist…"

"And afterward?"

"Never."

"You should open your eyes, Granger."

"Why? So I can be doomed to stare eternally into black nothingness? No thanks. I can't see because my eyes are closed. That's all." I could hear him sigh.

"Never knew you were one for melodramatics…Just open your eyes." He sounded impatient.

"No."

"Just do it."

"No." He walked around the bed again, to face me. I didn't move.

"Do it!"

"No!" He sat on his knees. I still didn't move.

"Open your damned eyes!"

"No!" I could feel him even closer now.

"You think you're a real witch? Any pureblood witch would've opened her eyes." That slimy little –

"I'm as good as any pureblood, and we both know it!"

"Prove it then." Sneaky little bastard!

"I can't."

"Why?" he taunted me. "You'd jump at the chance any other day."

"I just can't Malfoy! Merlin, just leave me alone!"

"Not until you open your eyes."

"Then I guess you'll be there all day!" There aren't enough words to describe how much I hate him! He's gotten me so riled I'm sitting up and didn't even notice till now.

"Open your eyes," his voice was strangely calm; it sounded deeper. "Mudblood…"

Out of instinct, my eyes flew open so I could see that stupid smirk fade from his face as I beat him with words. And instead of the expected blackness, there was so much color I had to shut my eyes.

"What the hell?" I hadn't realized I said the words aloud till he responded to me.

"I told you…too damn stubborn for your own good." I could practically feel him get up, my other senses having made up for my lack of sight. Instinctively I reached out to hold him there. How had he known?

"How did you know? What changed? Why – " he cut me off.

"Easy there Granger. I can only answer one question at a time…Merlin!" I shrugged, and then opened my eyes to slits. It took me a minute, but before long I had my eyes fully open and had sight of the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I was still taking everything in when I heard his voice again, soft and quite, almost sounding…reverent.

"What's it like?" I snapped my head towards him, taking him in fully.

"What do you mean?" How could I possibly explain what I was seeing?

"What do you see? What are the colors like? What's so different? How does everything look?"

"I see everything that you do."

"But not in the same way! What is it like?"

"It's like…" I thought about it for some time. It's so hard to explain…I'd never seen anything like it. "It's like, everything is still the same, it's just…brighter…and there's much more color, the most amazing colors you've ever seen and it's like…I don't know. It's like things are coated in a thin, flimsy layer of color. I can see everything, but it's so much different now. So beautiful. Thank you, Malfoy!"

I don't know what I was thinking when I hugged him. I really don't. It just seemed to happen. He was so stiff and I immediately realized what I'd done. I just up and hugged my enemy? I mean, he was still the enemy, wasn't he? But he had just helped me, and he certainly could have let me go through my life with my eyes closed very easily. I glanced at Malfoy, and saw him turning the softest pink I've ever seen. No, it was like a new color. Everything seemed to be so dull now, compared with what I see now.

"You've turned pink!"

"What?" He glanced frantically down at his hands, but to him they were still the same, I guess. I started talking again.

"The color that's…covering you, for lack of better term, it was…well I don't know how to explain it, but it definitely wasn't pink-ish! See, now you're back to normal. I don't get this. You're back to the color you were before I-" I cut myself off. We both knew I was talking about the hug.

"You're turning pink again! Merlin! Is it because you're embarrassed I hugged you?" He turned even pinker. "It is!" I stopped for a moment, feeling embarrassed myself. "Listen, I'm sorry about that, I was just so excited and happy and I had to hug someone and you were the only one around…and really, you helped me, so I was feeling very congenial towards you…but it won't happen again…"

"It's fine. Doesn't matter." He wouldn't lookme in the eye. His voice was gruff and the pink-ish color was starting to fade, soI didn't press it. It hitme all of the sudden that Malfoy still hadn't told her why he had helped me, or for that matter, how he knew he could help me.

"How did you know? I mean, you did know that this would happen, right?"

"Well, I had some idea it would be similar. You sounded just like her…describing it, I mean."

"Oh…who?"

"My mother. She, ah, hit her head a couple years back and woke up seeing everything differently. Of course, after that she had to stop shopping in the muggle world, cause she really couldn't see –"

"Wait! You mean to tell me I still can't see in the muggle world?"

"Pretty much. I'm not exactly sure why-" I interrupted him again. I'm bad like that.

"Isn't it obvious? It's magic. My eyes must be responding to magic. That's what so different about the colors! That's why they're shifting and changing –oh Merlin! Just imagine – oh. Sorry." I gave him a sheepish grin. "Continue, please."

"That's about it."

"No it's not. You haven't told me why you helped me. We're practically enemies, even if the war is over. You've never liked me and –OH! Can I read again?" Wow, did that come out pathetically hopeful or what?"

"Well, mum can, but I don't know if it'll be the same for you."

Before he could even register it, I was out of the bed and prancing around the room, looking for something to read, to test if I could, and my eyes quickly fell on a book, sitting on a rumpled bed. Dashing to it, I realized it must be Malfoy's and quickly read the cover. I could read! I set the book down and started dancing, not caring if he was there to watch. I didn't care about anything in that moment, cause I COULD READ! There was nothing that could bring me down. And then he walked in. A person that I had crossed out of my life - Ronald Weasley.

To: DracosBaby07 - sorry, I didn't mean to be confusing! Maybe the next two chapters will clear things up a little bit. Just ask away if you're still confused...thanks for being my first reviewer!

Fiona McKinnon - Hey! Thanks for the review! I'm glad you think it's "whoa"...that is a good thing, right:)

Antanaqui - Thanks for reviewing, and sorry for the cliffy. I can't stand 'em, but I sure do write them alot. I'll try to not do that.

iluvdanrad - I hope you're not too disappointed that Hermione isn't really and truly blind. But she will be whenever she visits the muggle world... Thanks for reviewing, I hope you liked it!

I'm so sorry it took me such a long time to update. That'll get way better, I promise. So, to make up for making you guys wait for such a long time, I've posted the next chapter already! So go read it after you leave a review!

Dizzy