Author's Note: Thanks to those who reviewed. I appreciate it so much. Also note that the character of Kody is legally or partially blind. I try to convey this as accurately as I can. You see, I, myself, am legally blind, meaning I can see, just not well or in low light situations. There are varying degrees of blindness, so I just made the character have the same condition I do. Hope that makes things a bit clearer.

Disclaimer – I forgot to do this on the last chapter. I am not the owner of Harry Potter or any of the songs I reference. Thank you.

Chapter Two – Innocent

Satan, you know where I lie
Gently I go into that good night
All our lives get complicated
Search for pleasures overrated
Never armed our souls
For what the future would hold
When we were innocent

Angels, lend me your might
Forfeit all my lives to get just one right
All those colors long since faded
All our smiles all confiscated
Never were we told
We'd be bought and sold
When we were innocent

This prayer is for me tonight
This far down that line and still ain't got it right
And while confessions not yet stated
Our next sin is contemplated
Never did we know
What the future would hold
Or that we'd be bought and sold
We were innocent

Innocent - Fuel

Hermione let out a sigh as she sat down in Gryffendor Common Room. It was summer break, the castle should have been empty, but right now it was serving as home to all the released innocents of Azkaban – being the only place large enough to hold them all. She, Harry, and Ron were staying at the castle as well, helping to care for these recently freed people.

"How many do we have?" Ron asked, looking up as Hermione took her seat in the arm chair.

"Around two hundred or so," Hermione answered. "We put fifty in each of the house dorms. Professor McGonagall and I decided it would be best to organize them by age. Luna and Professor Flitwick are watching over the elderly in Ravenclaw tower, Neville and Professor Sprout are watching the youngest children in Hufflepuff dorms, Professor Slughorn and Dean Thomas have the school age children in Slytherin dorms, and that leaves you and I with the over age wizards under the age of fifty."

"And you're telling me that was evenly fifty in each group?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not quite," Hermione said. "There were far fewer young children, so some of the eleven and twelve year olds are in the Hufflepuff dorms and such. That was just the basic idea."

"So where's Harry?" Ron asked. "Isn't he babysitting, too?"

"He said he was going to see Andromeda Tonks," Hermione said, quietly. "Going to tell her about Remus and Tonks… He wants to see Teddy."

"Yeah," Ron said, quietly. "Yeah… and what about Professor McGonagall? Where is she?"

"She and Kingsley are down in the Great Hall with the families and helping find the children and parents and all," Hermione explained. "She'll come up and get people as their families arrive."

"Right," Ron said, quietly. "Right…." He looked off out the window. "Its sickening, you know. These people… a lot of them are insane, gone mental. I don't know if they'll ever be in their right mind again."

"Some of them probably won't," Hermione agreed, nodding. "Some of them will come around, though."

They sat there for a long time in silence. Voldemort had been dead for only twenty-four hours. None of it had been able to sink in just yet. The instantaneous peace had been disrupted by the realization of all that remained to be done. The prisoners in Azkaban had to be released. The bodies of the dead had to be buried. The wounded had to be taken to St. Mungo's. By no means was it over.

Hermione jumped slightly, feeling Ron's hand enclose round hers. She glanced at him. He'd reached across the gab between the couch and her chair to take her hand in his. She smiled gently. This was their first moment alone together since Voldemort's defeat. They hadn't had time to think of anything but the prisoners since then.

"The family has gone to make funeral arrangements for Fred,' he said, quietly. "I told them I had to stay here…. George is a wreck."

Hermione nodded, sadly. "Fred was his best friend,' she muttered. "It must feel like losing your other half – like part of your soul."

Ron didn't answer.

Hermione got to her feet and moved to sit next to Ron on the couch, still holding his hand.. She looked at him for a long moment. "Ron," she began. "Ron, I…."

Hermione was cut short. There was a sound from nearby. She turned, quickly, to see a figure coming down from the girl's dorms. The girl didn't appear much older than they were. She stopped at the base of the stairs, looking around.

Hermione recognized this girl immediately. She was short, no more than five feet or so. Her hair was brown, falling with a slight wave just past her shoulders, the two pieces framing her face, slightly shorter than the rest, were hot pink. Her long bangs fell over one eye. She had a curvy, womanly figure, though it seemed somewhat out of proportion, her waist being so thin now due to lack of proper food. This was one of the girls who looked better with a little weight. It was her eyes, however, that Hermione recognized. The one that was not hidden by her bangs was a very distinct shade of gray-blue. This had been the girl she'd taken from the cell next to Mr. Lovegood's.

"Hello," Hermione greeted, looking at the girl. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Fine," the girl answered. "Um… can I have a bit of help? The lighting in here is dim, and I can't really see. I don't know this place."

"What? Are you blind or something?" Ron asked.

"Yes," the girl answered, unoffended. "Actually, I am… partially, anyway. They snapped my cane when they put me into Azkaban."

Hermione threw Ron a scathing "you insensitive git" kind of look before standing and walking over to aid the girl. The young woman took Hermione just above the elbow and allowed her to lead the way to an armchair. Once she was seat, Hermione took her seat on the couch again.

"Who are you, anyway?" Ron asked, a bit more politely.

"You know who she is, Ron!" Hermione said, annoyed.

"I do?"

"She's Kody Pryce," Hermione reminded him. "She was a year ahead of us… Prefect…. You never pay any attention, do you?"

"Why should I when I have you to do it for me?" Ron asked, yawning.

Hermione rolled her eyes. She turned back and looked at Kody. "Sorry about him," she said, irritably.

"I don't mind," Kody said, looking over into the fire.

Hermione pasued. "Well," she said. "I'm sure your parents will be here soon to get you. All the news papers have posted messages that all the prisoners that were in Azkaban have been released and are here at Hogwarts, so…."

"Mine won't be showing up," Kody said, quietly.

"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I haven't seen my Dad since I was …. Twelve, maybe? He doesn't like the whole magic thing. He things it's a load of trash," Kody said, shrugging. "He left, remarried, and had 'normal' children. I think he assumed that, since he wasn't a wizard and mom wasn't a witch and I was, that I wasn't really his daughter…. Like my mother had an affair or something." She paused for a long moment. "And my Mom…. Well, she's a worrier and when I went to the hearing…. I had heard stories about these hearings already. I knew I wasn't coming back. I figured that her life would have been easier had she had a 'normal' daughter…. So I altered her memory. She and my sister, who also doesn't remember me, live somewhere in Japan now." She never looked at Ron or Hermione as she spoke.

"Aren't you going to go find them and restore their memories?" Ron asked, surprised.

"I wasn't planning on it," Kody answered. "The way I see it, if I restore their memories, I'll have to explain everything…. I know my mother. She'll blame herself for being a muggle – for me being muggle born and persecuted. I don't want her to do that. She deserves a normal life … she and Reese both do."

"Reese?" Ron asked.

"My sister."

Tears were trailing down Hermione's cheeks. She knew the pain Kody had to feel. She'd erased her parent's memories as well, though she planned to restore them eventually.

There was a long and pained silence as Hermione tried to stop the flow of tears from her eyes. Once she'd steadied her voice, she decided to speak. "So…. So what are you going to do now, then?"

Kody shrugged. "I haven't really thought about it," she said. "To be honest, I never thought I'd get out of Azkaban, so I didn't really make plans." She paused then looked quickly at Ron and Hermione, not quite meeting their eye due to her inability to focus her vison in the dim lighting. "Where is Mr. Lovegood?"

"Huh?"

"Mr. Lovegood," Kody repeated. "Where is he?"

"He's in Ravenclaw tower with his daughter," Hermione said, a bit surprised.

Kody sighed with relief, sinking into her armchair. "Good," she said. "Good…. I kind of grew fond of him. I never really saw him, but he was in the next cell, and I talked to him everyday, trying to reassure him. I'm glad he's with Luna."

"It must have been awful there," Hermione said, quietly.

"It was Hell," Kody said, firmly, though she didn't elaborate. She sighed and got to her feet. "So…. I guess since I don't have parents coming, I can leave, right?"

"What?" Hermione asked, stunned.

"I can go," Kody repeated.

"No," Ron said quickly. "No way. We can't let you go. You can't….. you won't be able to make it out there on your own."

Kody's eyes flashed stormy gray for a moment. "If you're referring to my vision, you best shut your mouth," she snarled. "I can make it on my own just fine."

"What he means," Hermione interjected. "He means that…. That…."

"I can see what he means," Kody retorted. "Listen to me," she said. "I just spent six months in hell. I was alone, my only company being those soul sucking monsters and the screaming nutters who will never be in their right minds again. I was in the dark, lost, confused, terrified, and I made it. I forced smiles. I fought back. Now you tell me I can't go out on my own because I'm blind? I hardly think that's a problem of mine anymore."

Ron got to his feet. "I thought Ravenclaws are supposed to be smart," he said, gritting his teeth. "You are a Ravenclaw, aren't you?"

"I am," Kody said.

"Then think like one," the red head hissed, his ears turning red. "You couldn't even walk into the common room without help. How do you expect to get out of the castle? To get anywhere? You don't even have a wand."

Kody glared at him, shaking a bit.

"You know I'm right," Ron said, sternly.

Kody stared at Ron, and she was not the only one. Hermone stared at him in shock. This was a side of him she'd rarely seen.

"We'll take you to Diagon Alley tomorrow and get you a knew wand, then you can do what you like," he said. "But until then, you aren't going anywhere."

Kody glared at him for a long moment before turning and storming away, though the dramatic element was slightly ruined when the girl tripped over a footstool. Quickly regaining her footing, she made her way, rather slowly, up the stairs and back to her dorm without a word.

Ron rolled his eyes, sitting back down next to Hermione. "What an idiot," he said. "Thinking she could go out on her own."

"She's not an idiot," Hermione said, quietly. "Think of how frustrated she must be. She probably wants to get as far away from this place – from the other prisoners – as possible right now. She's heard their cries for months. She's probably really confused. She's alone; her family is gone. She probably just wants to know where she's supposed to go next. She didn't do anything wrong and she was punished severely. It's a confusing time for her."

"Do you analyze everything?" Ron asked, rolling his eyes again.

Hermione sighed. "Never mind," she said. "I just mean that, I can understand her frustrations….. but I am glad you stood up to her. I think she needed to hear a bit of a reality check."

Ron nodded. "Well, like I said, she can do what she wants once she has a wand. Until then, she's under our watch."