Colors

Chapter 3: It's Been A Long Time

I stood frozen in place. He was here. Why was he here? I quickly glanced at Malfoy. Thank Merlin he was here; I never want to be alone with Ron. I prefer to not be around him at all now, and a part of me is sad for that, but most of me is glad. He gulped nervously. What is he doing here?

"Hermione…" he said my name slowly, like he hadn't used it in a long time.

"Ronald." I made my voice short and clipped.

"I heard…I heard you were blind. I wanted to…check on you. Make sure you're okay."

"Well you heard wrong. I can see just fine. I don't need you to check on me." Ron's color was unusual…I hadn't seen it yet. It looked like a once-bright yellow, sodden with black. It wasn't pretty and I didn't like it.

"Hermione…I…you know I'm sorry." He cast his gaze upon Malfoy. "Does he have to be here?"

"Yes, he does, Ronald. That's what happens when you're sick. You stay in the Hospital Wing." I could barely keep the sneer off my face. Ron's color looked even darker.

"Please, lets just go back to the way it was, Hermione."

"No." No way in hell. Not after what you did to me.

"But-"

"But what? There is nothing. We are not friends anymore Ronald. I've already talked to McGonagall. You're not supposed to be around me, and you know it." I could hear Malfoy moving around in back of me, very slowly, as if he didn't want Ron to notice.

"Would you stop calling me Ronald? You know how much I hate it."

"No, I can't. Why did you come here?"

"I want to be friends again. I'm sorry for what I did. Can't you give me another chance?"

"No, Ronald, I can't. I can never forgive you for what you did. Never. Now please leave. And stay away from me."

I didn't scream at him the way I wanted to. I didn't let the whole world know just how low he was, though I easily could have. The only people who knew were Ginny and Harry. They had been sworn to secrecy, but that didn't stop them from ostracizing him. And frankly, I don't feel bad about it. He tried to take advantage of me when I was weak. He ruined everything. He was one of the reasons my world was so black. If you couldn't trust your closest friend to understand and protect you, who could you? No, no one else would know. But that didn't mean I forgave him, or forgot. That seemed so far away now, and I was glad for it as I saw him glare at me and then leave. I turned around and went to lie down. Malfoy was still standing there and I could see he had been going for his wand.

And suddenly, it didn't seem like such a good thing he had been there. Now he knows we're not friends anymore. He knows that Ron did something. And I'd bet anything he's just dying to know what it is that Ron did. I sighed softly, but Malfoy heard me. I could hear him hear me. How weird is that? My other senses are still compensating. It's like my body still thinks I'm blind. I wonder if they'll stay like that forever. That would be interesting. To be able to see like this, in this totally different way, and to have my other senses still on hyper-drive sounds pretty cool right now. I could hear him notice my sigh. That's crazy. I wonder if I could write his mother? Would it be too weird? What if she doesn't want a letter from someone like me? Even though they escaped the war with the protection of McGonagall, it doesn't mean that Narcissa Malfoy would really welcome a muggle-born writing to her about something very personal. And I knew that her blindness was just that; very personal. I would have heard about it otherwise, what with everything I had to gather in order to make a psychological profile for the three of them. Well hell, it couldn't hurt to ask him…

"Malfoy? Would it be all right if I maybe…wrote your mother? Ask her about all this?" I made myself very casual. Otherwise he could take something the wrong way. I heard him shrug. So weird!

"Well…give me a couple days to write a letter myself. I'll let you know. Tell Pomfrey I'm fine and had to do some prefect work or something…" I could hear his confident steps leaving, and I didn't bother turning over again. He still hadn't told me why he helped me in the first place. I heard him pause at the door, opening it, then hesitating again; I spoke.

"Malfoy…thank you." I couldn't let him leave without saying it again. Even if he went back to calling me a mudblood behind my back, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. And I'd be damned before I let him get to me like that!

"Don't thank me Granger. After all, if you were disabled, I couldn't make fun of you anymore." He muttered the last part to himself. "Bloody bushy hair."

I held in my laughter until after I was sure he was far enough away that he wouldn't hear me. Yeah, things would be just like normal between us. I can't wait to tell Harry and Ginny of this new development! They'll be shocked. Of course, after Ginny comes over to get me we'll have plenty of time to talk since I don't even know the way to the head dorms. I can't wait to get started on my homework, and I'll have to give my assignments to my teachers first thing in the morning, I'm so sad I missed the first day of classes. And naturally I'll have to look up everything I can in the library. That already puts me behind my study schedule for this year…

I woke up a little later, hearing Ginny and Madame Pomfrey talking…I can't believe I fell asleep again! I really must have hit my head harder than I thought…oh well; she said I would be fine by now. I sat up and felt perfectly fine. I was surprised by Madame Pomfrey's color; it was a beautiful shade of light…plum. I decided it suited her. Ginny seemed to be glowing a bright green…except it kept shifting from bright green to dark green and back again. The color-shifting would take some time to get used to, I suppose. I don't expect to automatically adjust. And to my great happiness, I found my newly developed senses were still running high. I think they've decided to stay. I was in my robes again. Apparently, Madame Pomfrey had done it while I was sleeping. I got up quietly and walked up to them.

"Hey Gin!"

"Hermione! You're eyes are open!"

"Yes, they are. Wonderful observation. Listen, I've got great news. I can see!"

"What?" She and Madame Pomfrey were both shocked.

"I can see again. Although, it's not what you think. I can only see in the magical world…my eyes really are blind, but something in me is responding to the magic. Ginny, it's the most amazing thing! For instance, you're shifting from bright green to dark green and back again. And Madame Pomfrey, you're a light shade of plum. It's extraordinary, you have no idea!"

"Are you…I mean…what is going on here? I've never come across this in all my years at Hogwarts."

"I don't fully understand it either, but I intend to learn everything about it I can. Ginny, you won't have to show me around anymore, although I do need you to lead me to my dorm. Gosh, I have so many things I have to do. Professor McGonagall will have to be notified, of course, and I can stop wearing those ridiculous sunglasses, and oh, I'm so happy!"

"I'm thrilled for you! Let's tell Harry after I show you your room. Hermione, you'll love it! I didn't tell you earlier, because I thought it might upset you, being blind and all, but you're got this huge bookcase in the common room, filled with books I've never even heard of. I'm so happy for you! Let's go!"

So Ginny dragged me around the castle, finally reaching my rooms, where I found all my homework had been deposited. I was glad to see no one would have taken it easy on me, though it probably shouldn't have mattered to me. Nothing could get me down right now. There was homework to do, all my friends to see again…letters to write to my parents, they'll be so thrilled! I decided to go and see Harry quickly so I could get to work on my homework. I had a lot to do if I still wanted to make it to the library before curfew. I'd have to tell Anthony, too. So much to do, and I could do it all by myself. It was the best day of my life. It was a turning point for me. This wonderful new gift that I'd been given gave me a whole new outlook on life. The world wasn't black anymore. But it wasn't the same as it had been, either. I was somewhere in between. I knew what the world was like now, no matter how hard it had hit me at first; I was back on my feet and my hope invariably returned, quite unable to be crushed, almost as it had been before the war. For the first time in months I felt like myself again.

The world is full of color; you just have to look for it sometimes.

So? How is it? Did you like it? I'm not confusing youtoo much, am I? A lot has happened in the last two chapters for Hermione, and in the chapters to come you'll get to see her interact with people more…

Dizzy