Smile for me, Harry
By sumisweet
Beta-ed by Mon
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot.
Author's note: Ahem! Well, it has been about a month since I have updated. I meant to update last night, but I didn't have time. I just want to say thank you to those who have review for me. Thanks a lot guys! Words of encouragement really cheer me up. Oh yeah, I forgot one thing. YAY! I got over 100 reviews for this story already! I'm so happy. Hic, hic.
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Chapter Seven
Eureka!
Harry slowly got up and avoided his best friends'
gazes. Taking a deep breath, he said in a shaky
voice, "I'm going outside to clear my mind. I need
some time alone to deal with all this."
Going out to the backyard, Harry let out a long sigh
as he wearily closed his eyes and contemplated the
events of the afternoo. When Ron got home from work,
he had managed to successfully surprise him with the
balloons. When the laughter died down, Hermione
then came out of the kitchen and led her husband
to the dining room, where freshly baked cookies and
a 12" by 9" chocolate vanilla swirl cake was waiting
for the birthday boy.
The three best friends sat down at the table and
started to dig in happily, Ron the most enthusiastic
of them all. After a few glasses of wine, Hermione
began to relax and whispered softly to Ron that
Draco is presently asleep in their (room).
Ron's cheerful mood was suddenly replaced with a
dreadful look on his face as Hermione began to tell
him the whole story--how Harry had found Draco and
rescued him from the rapists and how the poor boy
cried himself to sleep in her arms, mentally &
emotionally exhausted.
When the sad tale was finally finished, Ron got up
and comforted his wife. Startled, Harry noticed that
Hermione's brown eyes were filled with tears. He could
not help but be confused by the situation and screamed
his frustration at the grieving couple. Why was
Hermione crying for Malfoy? What had that spoil ferret
done for her?
At this outburst of Harry's temper, Hermione let out
a dramatic wail and hung onto Ron for dear life.
"Please, Ron. Let me tell Harry the truth. I can't
take this any more!" she pleaded pitifully to an
equally stressed Ron.
Finally, the redhead turned to Harry tiredly and
said, "Harry, there's something we have to tell
you."
"Harry, Draco, Draco . . ." Hermione hesitated, "he
was the one who gave you your eyesight."
"Harry finally recovered from the shock & said in a
harsh whisper, "....No, no....that's not true! Please
tell me that it's not true!"
He ran into the bedroom and collapsed on the edge of
the bed. Draco was still asleep with a peaceful aura
surrounding him. Looking at the beautiful vision
before him, tears began forming in his eyes. Leaning
over, Harry outlined Draco's soft lips with one of
his fingers. He noticed that they were still slightly
bruised from the kisses he had stolen this afternoon.
Tears began to trail down his cheeks as he closed
his eyes and remembered the softness of Draco's lips
and the blond's sweetness in their kiss.
Unable to look anymore at Draco's slight form, he
got up from the bed. Covering his mouth with one
hand, Harry retreated to one of the dark corners and
began to sob. The magnitude of Draco's sacrifice
finally hit him & his knees gave out. As he slumped
down onto the floor, all he could feel inside himself
was loathing and guilt. How could he have taken
advantage of Malfoy like that after what he had done
for him? What he did was disgusting and despicable;
he was absolutely ashamed of himself.
A few minutes later, Hermione and Ron came in.
Looking extremely shaken by the ordeal, Hermione sat
down on one of the chairs next to the bed and looked
sympathetically at
Harry.
All alone in bleak silence of the night, Harry began
to cry softly again as he sat down on the grass. Why
must things be so complicated? If it wasn't for the
extra training he had decided to undertake for his
Auror classes, there would have been no accident and
he would never have lost his eyesight. And if he
hadn't lost his eyesight, then Malfoy would not
need to sacrifice his own vision for him.
But . . . if he hadn't lost his eyesight, then he
would have never known the depth of Malfoy's love for
him . . .
Malfoy....no, Draco loves him . . .
Somehow, that single thought made Harry feel all
weird inside. He couldn't describe it, but the
feeling is akin to the elation he felt when he caught
the snitch during Quidditch. It started as a tingly,
lighthearted feeling that manifested itself into
indescribable wonder, making Harry's heart feel like
it is about to burst.
Harry shook his head and ignored the strange feeling
bubbling up inside him. What is he going to do when
Draco wakes up? What would he say to him? "Uh, thank
you for giving me your eyesight. It was nice of you.
Bye." Harry winced at how pathetic that sounded. He
wanted to repay Draco somehow....
Eureka! A smile blossomed on his face as the perfect
solution came to him. He would simply stay and take
care of the frail blonde until he is well enough to
go home. Besides, it was the least he could do
for Draco. He knew he should owl the Malfoys about
their son's condition, but what should he say to
them?
Shaking his head slightly, Harry went back inside
the house and straight into the bedroom . Hermione
had a hopeful look on her face and Ron just looked at
him nervously.
"Harry, I should have told you sooner. It's just that
Draco made us promise not to tell you. I'm so sorry.
Are you all right?" Hermione stuttered nervously.
"Hermione, it's okay....I'm okay. I'm just startled
right now. I just can't believe that Draco was the one
who gave me his eyesight......all these years I had
been so awful to him and yet . . . yet . . ." Harry's
voice began to break. He could feel the hot tears
forming again.
Swiping at his tears with the corner of his
sleeve, Harry said, "I'm going to stay with Draco
till he gets better and can take care of himself
again."
Harry stared defiantly at Hermione and Ron, whose
faces were white with shock.
"It's a great idea, Harry.....it's just that it's so
. . . sudden. Are you sure? I know this whole thing is
probably weighing really heavily on you right now. I'm
not even sure how Draco would react when he wakes up
and finds out that Ron and I broke our promise to him.
Are you sure, Harry? You don't have to do this," Hermione said with
an air of great discomfort around her.
Harry sighed and closed his eyes. He was sure; he
could not willingly let Draco stay blind for the rest
of his life without knowing how grateful he is for his
selfless sacrifice. "Yes, I'm sure, Hermione."
"Okay, Harry. Draco would really appreciate this. He
really loves you." Hermione gave Harry a hopeful
smile.
"Yeah Harry, he would be so much better if you
stayed with him for a while. Almost getting raped
is a traumatic event, but I don't think he would
want his memory erased, not to mention that it could
damage the brain," Ron added.
Harry smiled for the first time that day. ?I agree.
Guys, I'm going to take Draco to my house and owl the
Malfoys to let them know what had happened to Draco."
"No problem. Do you want me to help you apparate
Draco to your home?" Ron offered.
"Thank you, but I can handle it." Harry said, walking
over to the bed.
Bending over, he gathered the frail looking
half-naked blonde in his arms. A warm sensation ran
up and down his spine as Harry felt a de-ja-vu of
Draco being in his arms before. Mouthing goodbye to
Hermione and Ron, Harry muttered softly and
disappeared with a puff.
Turning to face Ron, Hermione sighed, "Well, that
didn't go so bad. I actually feel better now with
that load of weight off my shoulders.?
"What do you mean, better? Draco is going to kill us
when he wakes up and finds himself at Harry's house!
We promised, Hermione. We promised Draco that we
wouldn't tell Harry. But no, we just have to confess
the whole thing! Oh my god! The worse has yet to
arrive!" Ron warned with a solemn voice.
"Cheer up, Ronny. I think this is an opportunity. If
Harry is going to stay with Draco until he is
recovers, maybe he will fall for Draco," Hermione
smirked mischievously.
"Oh, no. Oh, no. 'Mione, I'm too old for this. It'll
never work. You think Draco is going to make it easy
for Harry to fall in love with him? What kind of
person do you think Draco is? He loves Harry. What
does one wish for their loved ones? Happiness.
Draco wants Harry to be happy, and that means not
being tied down to a blind person for the rest of his
life. Aye, I see nothing good is going to come out
of this, except for more suffering and sorrow."
"Oh Ronny, you are not thinking positively."
"No, Hermione, I?m thinking of reality, not
fairytales. One thing is for sure, Draco will put
up a good fight before he gives in. We'll just have to
see if Harry is strong enough to break the barriers."
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Author's note: Well, what do you think of this chapter? Tell me! 'til next time. Thank you for reading this story!