During the month that followed Hermione and Draco's outing, Draco was extremely busy. There seemed to be a drastic increase in dark activity and Draco was away for most of the time. Narcissa was a bit put off by it but it didn't matter too much because she was happy that he was doing something that he wanted to do.
Hermione on the other hand was bored to death by the fact that he was not here. She was forced to listen to Narcissa rattle on and on about her pureblooded friends and how much they hated their husbands. It was amusing to no end but she had other things to do than to listen. As much as she hated to admit it, she was in desperate need of company even if the only company was Draco's.
On the morning of July 6th, (it had been about a month since Hermione had become blind) Hermione was sleeping peacefully in her bed. She had gone to sleep at around ten the night before and had every intention of sleeping in till about ten despite what Narcissa said. That was not going to happen though because at six o'clock in the morning, Hermione was woken up by a very loud knocking at her door.
She lifted her head up and scowled. "Who is it?"
"Who do you think?" came a male voice.
Hermione dropped her head back down onto her pillow and mumbled, "Go away, Malfoy."
Draco rolled his eyes from outside her door and said, "I would but I was sent by my mother to wake you."
"Pray tell," replied Hermione from her bed. "What does she want?"
"Just get up, will you?"
"I think I'm fine right here," muttered Hermione turning onto her side.
"I'm coming in then." Hermione merely let out a loud snore and pulled the covers over her head. Draco glared at her door then after a few seconds said, "I'm coming in now, Granger and don't say I didn't warn you." He whipped out his wand and waved it at the door. He heard a click and slowly pushed the door open. He walked up to Hermione's bed and rolled his eyes. The only thing he could see was a huge lump. He gingerly poked the lump with his wand and said, "Get up."
"Leave me alone. I'm trying to sleep."
"Granger, we both know that neither of us are morning people so I suggest you get up before something drastic happens."
"If you know that I'm not a morning person then why are you here?" mumbled Hermione from under her pillow.
Draco scowled at her and ran a hand though his blond hair which was not in the neatest state. Like Hermione, he had been woken up by Narcissa only ten minutes ago and his awakening had been much ruder than this. Narcissa had poured a bucket of cold water over him. Once he was up, she used a drying spell on him and told him to wake Hermione up.
"Don't make me pour a bucket of water on you." When Hermione didn't reply, he yanked the covers off from over her. He almost laughed when he saw what she was wearing. She was wearing some sort of muggle pants and a huge shirt that said "smile" on it. The pants were bright green and shirt was an ugly yellow color.
Hermione screamed as soon as he pulled the blanket off. "Give back the blanket Malfoy! It's freezing cold!" she yelled, trying to whack him with a pillow.
Draco stared at her unfazed and said, "You need to get up, now."
Hermione scowled and ran a hand through her hair. "Why? Do I have a mysterious date that I don't know about?" she spat. "What time is it anyways?"
"Six."
"You were sent to wake me up at six o'clock in the morning."
Draco's eyes closed for a second before he yawned and said, "Yes. We're going to Diagon Alley today."
"I don't need anything from Diagon Alley though."
"Neither do I," replied Draco impatiently, "but we don't have a choice."
"Of course we do, we're adults. At least I am. I'm not to sure about you but-
"Enough, Granger!" Draco exhaled and rubbed his forehead. Rolling his eyes at her, he said, "Just…get ready, will you?"
Hermione huffed as she reached for her cane, which was at the side of her bed. Making sure to whack Draco with it before she left her bed, she slowly walked to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. Draco looked at the door with a scowl. Rubbing his arm, he walked out of her room.
She emerged from the bathroom about twenty minutes later with a look of pure boredom on her face. Grumbling to herself, she tapped her way to the door of her room and left for the dining room. Once she made it safely down the stairs, she was met by Narcissa who was pacing anxiously at the bottom.
"Thank goodness! You're finally here!" Narcissa took Hermione's arm and began pulling her towards the table. "I've been waiting for almost 45 minutes. At this rate, I am going to be late."
Hermione yawned and said, "Not meaning to be disrespectful but why exactly do I need to go to Diagon Alley?"
"I can't possibly leave you at home alone. Besides, fresh air will do you some good. You've been cooped up in this manor much too long." Narcissa gathered a few papers that were scattered on the table and stuffed it into a large black purse. "Come dear…the blue study!"
Hermione shook her head as she followed Narcissa out of the room. "Are we going to wait for Mal- Draco?"
"No, we aren't. He has some business to attend to but he'll join us there in about an hour or so." Narcissa stopped and fixed her blue eyes on Hermione whose face looked unusually pale today. "Is everything alright dear?"
"Yes…" Hermione frowned. "Why?"
"You look a bit pale."
Hermione shrugged as she replied, "I took a cold shower."
Narcissa frowned before resuming her path towards the blue study. Hermione followed behind tapping away as she went. She didn't need to tap her way around as much any more. She was a lot more familiar with the corridors and she was able to walk through many of them without using her cane at all. She was proud to say the least.
At last, she came to the blue study. She paused for a moment to relish the feeling of the magic in the room. It seemed a little stronger than usual. It must be because Narcissa was in here. Hermione knew that the woman had done much dark magic in her lifetime. Naturally, her aura must be having some effect on the room.
"What is it dear?" asked Narcissa, noticing Hermione's dream-like state.
Hermione's eyes widened as she realized what she was doing. "Oh-nothing. I must have dozed off for a second, that's all."
Narcissa narrowed her eyes at the girl before stating quietly, "You feel it, don't you?"
Hermione hung her head with shame and replied, "Yes…I wish I could see it though."
Narcissa sighed and said, "It looks beautiful yet, you must also keep in mind that beautiful things can often be dangerous." Narcissa closed her eyes. "I never get tired of it. It reminds me of my past…"
Hermione leaned on her cane before saying, "Draco hates it when I stop to feel the magic."
"Draco hates anything that has to do with his father." Narcissa let out a short laugh that sounded funny. "Then again, there's also the fact that he can't feel it as well as I can. I suppose that he realized that you would also be able to feel it stronger than him because our type of magic is foreign to your system."
"Oh," responded Hermione. "I wasn't aware."
"Not many people are, dear," Narcissa replied sadly. "Come on, I have a lot of work to do today." She took Hermione by the arm and led her to the fireplace. Taking a pinch of the floo powder, she threw it into the fireplace, which roared noisily. After Narcissa had gone in, Hermione followed, coughing as some of the powder got up her nose.
Hermione stumbled out of the fireplace almost dropping her cane in the process. She was caught by a kind passerby who smiled at her as he passed. She thanked him and stood in the same place waiting for Narcissa.
Narcissa came over to Hermione a few seconds later and said, "Alright…I have a few errands here and-
"Pardon me, but where is here?"
Narcissa set her lips firmly together, a bit annoyed at being interrupted but answered, "The apothecary. Anyways, you must hungry." She placed a few galleons in Hermione's hand and said, "This man will take you to the café across the street." She motioned for a man with a red hat to come to her. She turned to him and said, "See that Ms. Granger gets to the café without any harm. She'll be staying there for quite a while so please keep an eye out for her."
The man nodded and took Hermione's hand. He led her out of the shop and deposited her at the café, which had a quite a few customers though it was rather early. After asking her if she needed anything, he left for the apothecary where he waited outside, watching her just as Narcissa had asked him to.
As Hermione sat at the table, she suppressed the urge to yawn. She was very tired and hungry. She was not at all pleased that though there was a menu right in front of her, there was no way that she would be able to choose anything until someone came and read off of it. Sulking to herself, she waited until a waiter or waitress came to order her food.
When the waiter finally came, ten minutes had passed. Scowling at the poor man, Hermione had ordered a glass of orange juice and whatever the special of the day was. She didn't even care what it was as long as she got something. As she was waiting for her food, she heard someone approach her table.
"Is this seat taken?" asked a voice with an American accent. Hermione shook her head as the person pulled the chair out and seated himself in it.
"I'd rather eat with someone else than by myself. This place is a bit overwhelming."
"It can be to those who are not from around here," replied Hermione sulkily. She silently reprimanded herself for speaking so rudely to a stranger.
The man in front of her raised an eyebrow as he heard her answer. "True, very true." He held out his hand to her and said, "Charles Duprés." When Hermione didn't take his hand, he said, "My hand is perfectly sanitary if that's what you're concerned about."
Hermione merely scowled and replied, "I'm blind. I can't see your hand."
Charles looked at her with surprise as she spoke. She certainly didn't seem blind. Most of the blind wizards he had met were rarely seen alone. Even if they were alone, they were always inside somewhere, not out in the open.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Have you always been blind?"
"No. I had an accident." Hermione sighed impatiently and began tapping her fingers on the table. "What is taking them so long?"
Charles smiled at the woman in front of him, admiring her features. She had beautiful chestnut colored hair with bits of dark brown here and there. Though her eyes were a bit hazy, he could see that they were an interesting amber shade that seemed to sparkle. Her face seemed deathly pale, almost like someone he knew. She was a beauty.
"Are you a pureblood?"
"Does it really matter to them whether or not I'm a pureblood? I just want my food."
"No but…never mind." Charles ran a hand through his immaculately combed dark hair. "Would it be prying if I asked why you're in Diagon Alley?"
Hermione shook her head and replied, "I'm here with a…friend's mother. She didn't want me to be alone at home." Hermione continued tapping her fingers on the table. "Why are you in England?"
"I'm just visiting a relative of mine." Charles's blue eyes widened as he saw a figure approaching. "What are the chances of that? He's here right now."
"Joy," muttered Hermione.
Draco Malfoy had not been having a very good day. Firstly, he had been woken up at six in the morning by his mother and was then forced to wake up a girl who had a temper nearly as bad as his in the mornings. On top of that, he had been called into the ministry because there had been some emergency paperwork to be done.
Now, he was in Diagon Alley looking for Hermione or his mother. He spotted her curly hair at a café with some man. As he approached the table, his eyes froze. Sitting at the table with Hermione was none other than his cousin, Charles Duprés. A person could have mistaken him and Charles for twins had it not been for Charles's black hair. Draco scowled as he walked over to the table.
He stood right behind Hermione and scowled at his cousin. "Charles."
The two stared at each other for a moment before Charles's face broke into a grin. "Cousin! It's been a very long time, hasn't it?"
Draco didn't reply but grabbed a chair from another table and sat down. He turned to Hermione before muttering, "Granger."
"Malfoy?" Her eyes widened in realization. "You are his cousin?"
"In the flesh," muttered Draco, eyeing his cousin with disgust.
"You two know each other?" asked Charles, frowning.
"We went to school together," replied Hermione absentmindedly.
Draco nodded, fixing Hermione with an unfathomable look. He turned back to Charles and said, "What are you doing here?"
"Ah, well, that's a long story. In the mean time," he to Hermione who was still tapping her hand on the table, "where were we?"
Hermione sighed as her stomach growled. "You were telling me why you were here."
"Oh…right. I suppose you already know now."
Hermione snorted at his stupidity and promptly ignored him. Charles looked at her with an amused look before turning to Draco.
"So, how have you been cousin? It's been what, almost ten years?"
"Twelve years," replied Draco narrowing his eyes at his cousin. He looked at Hermione for a second before leaning closer to Charles and whispering, "Just say what you want to say and be gone."
Charles laughed causing Hermione to turn to him. He had a pleasant sort of laugh that caused her stomach to jump. She frowned for a second before rubbing her head. "Well, you see Draco, here's the thing." He shifted in his seat and fixed Draco with a smirk. "News travels very quickly…things that happen here, us wizards in America find out about it just as fast as you do."
"Get on with it," snarled Draco.
Charles merely grinned and said, "The papers have been saying that you've been seen with a…mudblood."
Draco coolly raised an eyebrow and flashed a look at Hermione whose face now held a very ugly scowl. "Tell me cousin," asked Draco. "Do you think that it's true?"
Charles looked at Draco with a look of mild disgust before replying, "I should hope not."
Draco smirked coldly at the man. "What do you think people would say if they knew that you were in the company of a mudblood right now?"
Charles looked at Draco for a moment with confusion in his eyes. He tilted his head and asked stupidly, "You're a mudblood?"
Hermione let out a short laugh as Draco snorted. Charles's eyes snapped to the brunette. He looked at her in a way that Draco didn't like but that look soon turned into something else. "Her?"
"That's right," cut in Hermione. "I am a mudblood and I'm proud of it." She picked up her cane and nudged Draco with it.
"What?"
"Would you mind calling a waiter and asking them what the hell is taking them so long to bring me my food? I have been waiting for almost twenty minutes."
Draco rolled his eyes and looked around for a waiter. Charles looked at the two of them with mild disgust. He would have never believed in a million years that his cousin, a person who was very vocal about his hatred to those other than purebloods was here, taking orders from a mudblood, and a good looking mudblood at that. Mudbloods weren't supposed to be beautiful. Charles looked at Hermione with a thoughtful expression on his face.
Draco saw this and a scowl immediately formed on his face. If it was from general dislike of his cousin or something else, he did not know. "See something you like?"
Charles snatched his eyes away from Hermione before muttering a discreet, "No." He got up quickly and dusted off his robes. He turned to Draco, both their blue eyes meeting. "Well, I'd be on my guard, cousin. You never know what people will do once they find out that it's true."
"What, that I associate with Granger?"
Charles swiftly nodded and ran a hand through his black hair. "People will do anything to get the kind of power you have. When I say anything, I mean anything."
"And how would you know this?"
"I've heard talk," replied Charles with a shrug. "I thought I'd come and warn you."
"I'm touched."
"This is no laughing matter, cousin. Anyways, I might drop by for a quick visit before I go back home. Mom and Dad don't know that I'm here. They think I'm in Italy."
Draco snorted before nodding his head. Charles walked over to Hermione and took her hand in his. He placed a kiss on it and said, "Ms. Granger, it was a… pleasure to meet you." With one last glance at Draco, Charles looked around and swiftly walked away.
Hermione was rubbing her hand with a funny expression on her face. "Are all American wizards like?" she asked more to herself than to Draco.
"Why?" asked Draco nastily. "Would you like him to do that again?" He narrowed his eyes at her waiting for a reaction.
Hermione frowned as she replied, "No but- actually, you know, I wouldn't mind." She smiled and said, "Despite the fact that he called me a mudblood, he was rather polite. He didn't make a big fuss about it at all unlike you."
"What's that supposed to mean, Granger?" asked Draco glaring at the girl.
Hermione turned to him and asked, "Would it kill you to be nice to me once in a while? I know that I'm not the easiest person to get along with but the least you could do is make an effort."
Draco looked at her, his eyes not leaving her face. He didn't really know what to say to her. There really wasn't any reason that he was rude to her apart from the fact that she was a mudblood. He'd been rude to her since day one and it had stuck. He couldn't just change their hostility towards one another like that. After a few minutes of thinking he replied slowly, "I can't, Granger."
"What?"
"I can't."
Hermione frowned as she heard him. "I heard you. Why not?"
"It's…complicated," replied Draco hesitantly.
"Complicated…you know what, Malfoy?" asked Hermione. "I don't know what's going on with you. I ask you one small thing and you tell me you can't." Draco lowered his eyes to the table unable to look at the blind witch. "I suppose it's a secret why you can't. Then again, you've always been full of secrets that no one could figure out."
"That's why they're secrets," Draco replied looking up.
"You're dreadful." Hermione tapped her fingers on the table and sighed. "Can you do one thing for me at least?"
"What?"
"Would you tell this café that their service is horrible and that I refuse to pay for my food?"
Draco smirked at her despite the mood he was in. "Will do, Granger, will do."