Notes: Like the HP series, I have no claim to the plot which was created by Erica. From Darkness begins after the final war in a time of rebuilding and regret. Hermione, blind and lost, struggles to find her place while many seem already secure in the new world. A story of hopelessness and hope, depression and happiness, solitude and companionship…DHr. For Erica, in hopes that this lives up to what you imagined.
To Nicoli—If I told you whether or not Hermione regains her eye sight why would to continue to read:-P Keep reading and you'll not be disappointed—My promise to you.
Language is a bit more strong in this chapter and Hermione... Well I hope everyone is pleased at the end.
From Darkness
By Rei (Of Reminiscence)
For Erica
Previously in From Darkness Chapter Three: The Momentary Insanity of Despair
"Your dog ran down to the Leaky Cauldron then one of men there recognized him and owled Harry. He found you and brought you here late last night, you've been asleep since yesterday morning…"
"I will provide for your arrival although it will require your cooperation—a lock of hair will do fine. I take it you'll be at the Weasleys for the day…" At Hermione's nod, Draco leaned back and pulled a small knife from an arm sheath. "That's fine then… Expect me tomorrow about 2 and be dressed to work."
The tenor voice filled her ears and she leaned against the doorpost unknowing that from the top floor of the house a young man watched her. She smiled for once peaceful in the darkness.
Chapter Four: Changes and Manipulations --(Possibly Subject to Revision later on)
After waking from sitting in a heap on the ground, Hermione cheerfully went to breakfast with Ginny. They chatted for a while before she headed home and Ginny went off to work. When Ginny left her at the Leaky Cauldron, Hermione took her time heading home. The CD of Hogwarts—A History rested in her bag and the mere presence of it gave her some comfort. Books weren't out of her reach—instead, the reader's voice washed over her like waves in the ocean carrying current after current of replenishing nourishment.
The long walk and brief stops at the crosswalks seemed shorter than usual. Three steps up and the door on the right was her flat. The key on the small ring for the door lock opened the door and Hermione stepped in. It wasn't much cooler indoors when she finally closed the door. The summer's heat had set in and by Rufus's sneezes he was glad to be home too. Someone, probably Ginny or Harry, had cleaned up the coffee mess and after a cool glass of water, Hermione went to her room intent on finding decent clothes. Half an hour later, though she had found several possibilities, Hermione had no clue if any of the clothes matched which brought her to the current predicament.
Hermione carefully knocked on the neighboring flat door and hoped someone was home at the same time of hoping no one answered. She knew that the woman was older, rarely had any visitors, and preferred Mrs. C as opposed to her full last name that Hermione couldn't remember. Although Ginny had talked with her, this was Hermione's first chance to actually meet her neighbor.
"Just a moment!"
Hermione heard a couple bangs and a muttered curse before the door finally opened.
"Well, what is it?"
For a moment, Hermione thought the words would emerge out of her mouth, but through she swallow and took a deep breath nothing came out.
"Cat got your tongue yes?" Apparently the woman gave her a swift assessing examination before pushing the screen door open. "You must be the girl next door—Hermione Granger. I met your friend—the redheaded girl—she told me your predicament. Is there anything I might help you with?"
"I, uh, am meeting someone in an hour who is… Well I need clothes and I have some picked out but…"
"Matching?"
"Huh?"
"You want to make sure your colors match."
Hermione blushed, "If you don't mind."
"Course not. Honestly I'm surprised you haven't been over here before."
They walked to the door of Hermione's flat and after the first try she successfully grasped the door's handle and pulled it open. The woman followed her to the room and chuckled seeing the mass culmination of different colored clothing. After some muttering Hermione reached out a hand and sat on the nearest chair, "Its…my friend will be helping me out but he said I needed clothing I could move around in."
"Yes well I think the nice dark red shirt and black pants which will do fine. Socks?"
Hermione nodded in the direction of Mrs. C's voice and anxiously waited for the results. The clothes were on her lap a second before Hermione was thrown behind a screen. She supposed her clothes had to be tried on for the final say and sighed. Draco would demand promptness and a muggle woman helping her pick out clothes would not be a good way to start this new arrangement. Wiggling out of her clothes and into the new ones Hermione thought over Draco's presence. Surely, the new Draco Malfoy was different from the one she met in her First Year.
Hermione pulled her old shirt off, frowned when her hair crackled with electricity, and pulled the new one back on. He was frank and practically admitted this was a way to show Harry and Ron up. Hermione fumbled as she cautious shimmied the pants off and pulled the new ones back on. Her fingers numbly clinched the strap into place and buttoned it on—besides what harm could this arrangement make? Hermione stepped from behind the screen with her socks in the other hand while her right hand felt around. "Will this do?"
"Fine I say. You'll be moving around so I'll even braid your hair—Just sit on the bed and we'll get those socks on too."
Hermione sat down and Rufus (already scrawled out on top) nosed her side begging for attention and she obliging scratched behind his ears—it wasn't his faults he couldn't see colors.
Mrs. C moved like she had known Hermione's flat all her life. Her hands were adapt at pulling the socks on and tying the string of a pair of black sneakers found in the dark recesses of the closet. Her hands were gentle but fast as she brushed out Hermione's crackling brown hair and braided it until it stretched down her back in a thick rope.
Of course, when Mrs. C left, Hermione blushed but promised she would ask for help when she needed it. Her hair swayed behind her and surprisingly Hermione felt herself playing with the braid's tuft end. A whine from Rufus was all the warning she had before a pressure popped her ears and sent her stumbling backwards. Two cool hands gripped her arms and pulled her hands away from protecting her ears.
"You alright there?"
Hermione nodded at Draco's voice, "What was that?"
"A tracing spell—you can tell someone is tracing you by the increasing pressure. In this case I used your hair as the focus." The cool hand flipped the braid over her shoulder and pulled something around her neck. Hermione started to pull away but the motions of him tying the object made her stop. "This is what you'll use to reach the Manor. The lock of your hair is inside the Rosite combined with a drop of my own blood." Draco chuckled at Hermione's hesitation to touch the hard glassy object. "It looks like a necklace but if you tap it and say 'Abra Malfoy Manor' you'll appear in the receiving room. Any other apparition spell and you'll probably end up as fertilizer in my mother's gardens." Draco stepped away, "I'll go on ahead but remember its 'Abra Malfoy Manor' and don't forget your wand."
With a crack he left and Hermione felt stunned.
Hermione's arrival minutes later was a great sigh of relief. The passage to the manor clenched her stomach until she thought she had nothing left. With wand in her right and the cane in the other she slowly began exploring the room. Hermione started when her cane was ripped out of her hand and another strong hand gripped her wand trying to steal it away. After moments of struggle, Hermione was gasping to steady her breath.
"That's a start a least. Your first lesson is to see the area around you."
"And how am I to do that?"
"Listen and you'll find out."
The lesson sped by faster than Hermione thought. Draco forced her to sit still on the floor and slow her breathing down until all she felt was silence and emptiness. The lesson moved on until Hermione could predict if she was about to run into an object.
Malfoy's hands and voice were calm and impersonal yet deep down Hermione was satisfied with the blandness. Of course, not to say that her eagerness of the new information wasn't spinning around in her head, but the appealing nature of finally doing something worth while appealed to her in so many different dimensions.
From knowing the area around her, Hermione could feel the shift of the air. Before and beside objects the air bent as if to accommodate the furnishings and if something raced toward her then she felt a slight inclination to the air towards her. Weeks later, Draco promised, Hermione could move on from evading someone or something to taking an offensive approach.
Hermione's life became routine. Usually it was breakfast or lunch with Ginny, then a light lunch with Mrs. C, followed by outfit picking, and then of course lessons with Malfoy.
Six weeks from the very first session, Hermione would often return home and listen to her books on CD as she relaxed in the bathtub. Hogwarts—a History was followed by The Practical Guide to Wizarding Traditions by the Historical Society, which was followed shortly after with Witches throughout the Ages by Nelly Neilson.
The words relaxed Hermione more than the water could and whenever Letia saw Hermione she always seemed to have a new CD case for her. A laugh somewhere in her flat and Rufus's playful bark sent Hermione out of the tub and into a fluffy robe. For some reason Hermione knew exactly how it was. "Ginny?" Hermione's hand reached out and pushed the second to the right button effectively stopping the CD.
"Yeah, its me. Good guess! You know in the revised version of that book Nelly Neilson mentions you."
Hermione leaned against the door frame before dropping into the nearest chair. "Me?"
Ginny laughed and playfully pushed Hermione. "Oh yes, now let me see…" Ginny coughed and cleared her throat, "In most recent years the defeat of You-Know-Who has added one more witch into the hall of fame. Recent receiver of the Order of Merlin—First Class, Hermione Jane Granger was a crucial factor in the defeat of the dark side. Her injuries from the final battle has left the infamous friend of Harry Potter blind, but yet the brave heroine refuses to sit in the dark and as always remains faithfully at Harry Potter's side." Ginny laughed at Hermione's faint blush and began opening several drawers, "You're the heroine of the age Miss Granger, and the public demands another appearance".
Molly Weasley critically eyed Hermione's appearance at the table of honor. Hermione didn't smile as easily as she wanted to but it was better than what it was at the reception. The constant financial strain on the Wizarding Community was something Hermione wasn't quite aware of, but instead of complaining Hermione applauded during some particular good buys from the auction and made an effort to be social.
The appearance of Draco Malfoy wasn't entirely unexpected but the cool acceptance by Hermione caught Molly off guard. The fundraiser continued and when there was a brief break Molly shuffled forward.
"Mrs. Weasley!"
"Its always Molly to you dear." Molly smiled brightly before realizing that Hermione was wearing dark sunglasses. The shades drew attention away from clouded eyes and Molly liked the change. "How have you been?"
"Just fine I suppose. Have you seen Ron? I haven't seen him in a while and I was just wondering what he was up to."
Molly bit her lip before pushing a stray hair out of Hermione's face. It was odd how all the rest of Hermione's hair was one length except for this one lock. "He's been a little tied up with work but I'll tell him to take one morning off to see you."
"Oh…"
"I see that you're on good terms with Draco Malfoy."
"Yes, he's not exactly the friendliest, but—"
The relaxed atmosphere was broken up when a young male's voice broke out, "Minister! Urgent Letter!"
Molly hurried over to the Minister thinking of her duties to the Order and Hermione turned her head towards Draco. "What going on?"
"The Minister just received bad news from the looks of it." Draco cursed and pushed Hermione underneath the table just as unbelievable coldness penetrated through her clothes and skin. "Get down!"
Hermione's eyes ached and she pressed at her temples with an urgent necessity. She could faintly hear Draco's voice shouting at Ginny before an unbelievable pain seared her nerves from her eyes but darkness consumed her.
The next morning Hermione woke up in an unfamiliar bed. She hated the hospital. She sat up and gratefully leaned against the pillows when moving became too hard for her. A shuffling beside the bed made Hermione turn her head.
"Glad to see your awake."
Harry. "How's Ginny?"
"Just fine now. She's at home sleeping." Harry's hands adjusted the collar of her hospital gown and Hermione faintly registered how (years ago) that attention would have made her blush. "I have to go to the Ministry now but the Healers will watch over you." Harry chuckled at Hermione's scowl, "Play nice Hermione. They really do have your best interests in mind."
Hermione just barely leaned into Harry's hand when he held her face and kissed her forehead good bye. The door to her room was held open for longer than it would take for Harry to walk out and Hermione calmed herself and Looked out. She cringed—another person possibly a Healer was in her room.
"Good morning Miss Granger! How are you today?"
"I feel fine really and ready to check out."
The voice chuckled, "I'm afraid only my superiors can give you leave to check out. I'm your immediate care specialist Healer Argon but my supervisor Healer Seifert will be your standing doctor. I hear that we're to cure your blindness."
Hermione sucked in a breath, "Its permanent and I refuse to give permission for any treatment."
Healer Argon shuffled his papers, "Not according to this. According to our by laws any person wounded by dark magic may not be in their capabilities and so they must accept any care their standing doctor suggests."
"This is bull shit!" Hermione forced herself up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. When a pair of hands restrained her and the owner of those hands called for help she cried out in frustration. The door to her room slammed open and uncaring hands pulled her back down. Leather restraints clamped down on wrists and ankles but the spells were already lulling her senses into dormant sleep.
When Hermione was given a few hours of her own she did her best to talk to her friends, but they ignored her pleas. Healer Argon explained the supervisor had discussed the situation with Harry and no her friends would not be checking her out any time soon. The two attempts to return eye sight had so far failed but Healer Argon said a new potion was almost ready for testing.
A Healer assistant was cleaning her bed and Hermione was permitted to sit by an open window. A rush of on coming air and Hermione instinctively held out her arm. An owl dropped the letter in her lap and then plopped heavily on her wrist. The assistant ooh-ed and awe-ed and the pretty bird before scooping up the letter and reading it out loud.
Hermione,
If you can please send a reply. The letter is spelled to copy out your spoken words for a return message. I inquire to your health and any other concerns. Potter is not forth coming with information.
Sincerely,
Draco
The assistant giggled absently before returning to the other side of the room and Hermione picked up the letter holding it to her lips. She spoke softly and when she was finished, held the parchment up for the owl to take. The door propped open again and the leap out of the window now seemed very comforting.
Hermione calmed her thoughts and sent out feelers—three Healers and someone she suspected that could restrain her just by himself. Hermione's arms and legs were forced back into the restraints and the thick potion was dipped into her mouth and down her throat. As a stringing pain began in her head Hermione's only comfort was that they didn't know about the letter.
Hermione's heart beat slowly returned to normal and she tried to wipe the sweat that drip from her nose to her upper lip. The Healers mumbled about their results and she cursed. The time was a blur now –a mix of tests, questions, brief meetings with her friends, poor food, and even poorer sleep. She faintly knew she sent for Malfoy but she thought her imagination could also be working over time.
Dinner was thin soup with soft bread that was spoon fed to her. Shower time was a light sponge bath. A decent grooming of her hair was a brief brushing and a low pony tail. Suitable bed sheets were hard to find and the lack of a thick comforter left her shivering at night—another symptom of a disease they could cure the Healers said.
After every attempt to return her eyesight, the night mare of Voldemort increased her distress. Hermione felt the harsh grasp of his damp skin, the slithering of his voice, and the pain of his works. Whatever peace she had in her routine was distorted.
Hermione forced herself to pay attention when she faintly heard the whisper of "Mr. Draco!" and her old rival's voice inquiring the number for Hermione Granger's room.
Draco's gruff voice shouted until she heard her door open all the way and shut behind her new visitor. He ripped the blankets off her bed and forced slippers onto her bare feet. "Why did you wait so long to Owl me?" His wand made the restraints disappear leaving red marks behind as the only proof of their existence.
Hermione gasped as her aching muscles were forced to move from their cramped positions, "I didn't know if you would come."
Hermione couldn't exactly hear what Draco said but plainly answered she didn't know where her necklace was when he asked. A crack later and Draco had a house elf looking for her things while Draco bundled her up in his arms. The shout of Healers broke through the door as they disappeared to Malfoy Manor. From Malfoy Maner they waited for the house elf to return with Hermione's possessions (most importantly the necklace) before leaving again for Hermione's flat.
Being carried was a bit distorting at first and at the end she was pleased when Draco finally tucked her into her own bed and Rufus's ministrations. Draco busied himself in her kitchen conjuring up tea while the elf helped her change her clothes.
"Hermione?"
She rested against the pillows and gladly accepted the cup of tea. "Thank you Draco."
"You mind telling me what the hell is going on?"
Hermione scowled, "The Healers are mad because I refused their little experiments, but when I was admitted after the fundraiser they wouldn't let me leave and told Harry that it was for my health." At Draco's disbelieving snort, she took another gulp of the hot brewed tea, "When Ginny said that she believed the Healers I wanted to just wait but after the last try …the Healers…"
The explosive shout in the living room earned a growl and a running jumping attack from Rufus. Harry's voice shouted a freezing spell before Draco leaped to Rufus's defense. A few seconds later though Draco had his wand extended out before him.
"Why the hell would you kidnap Hermione Malfoy?"
"Why the fuck would you abandon her?"
"Look at her! She is in no condition to be released!"
"She's fine Potter. If you talked with her about it and not some busy-bodied fool you would know that too."
Hermione shivered at the steel coldness of the room. She felt confused and of course couldn't quite understand what exactly was happening. She knew that Draco was the one who released her from the Healers grasp and that Harry would always be her friend. "Release Rufus Harry before I try to aim my wand without eyesight, and Draco put down your wand before the Ministry comes barging in." Hermione took a better grasp of her wand as the house elf popped back in and whimpered at the sight he came upon. Moments later, Rufus's growl and protective stance in front of Hermione gave her incentive. She was tired of being helpless and ignored, "Now tell me what the hell is going on".