Chapter Four

Be Careful

"Draco, get up. It's time for your acclimation therapy." The raspy voice of Aspera, the mediwitch who took him to therapy echoed in his ears as he stretched and reached up to fix his hair.

"Give me a minute, honestly! And just because I'm blind doesn't mean you can forget that you're talking to a Malfoy." Malfoy's face fell back into it's usual sneer as he felt for the clothing Aspera had put on the end of his bed before closing the door to wait for him in the hallway. At least all his clothes were black, he thought, so he wouldn't have to worry about whether they matched or not. He carefully pulled off his pyjamas, using the rail on the side of the bed to balance and dropped them on top of his pillow so he could find them later. He found his slacks and pulled them on, fumbling with the clasp. Frowning, he grabbed his jumper and pulled it on. He had gotten much better at changing in the month he had been staying at the hospital, but he knew it still took him much longer than it would have for someone who could see. He slipped into the shoes at the foot of his bed and walked to the door, counting the steps as he always did so he would know when to stop.

As he neared the door, his foot made contact with the leg of a chair and he tripped, sticking his hands out to brace the impending fall. He cursed Aspera's carelessness and stood up slowly. Groping around, he managed to find the doorknob. He turned it and stepped out into the hallway.

"What took you so long? Hurry up, you know Leo doesn't like to be kept waiting!" Aspera said sternly, taking his arm so she could guide him through the building.

"Well I would have come faster, if you hadn't left a chair out for me to trip on."

Draco wanted to say more to convey how much pain she had caused him, but he knew Aspera would leave him to find his own way if he got her mad. And besides, she was normally pretty good about leaving things in exactly the same spot and keeping pathways clear. She even went out of her way to make sure his clothes and sheets were to his satisfaction. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that she cared about him. He wasn't used to that. His father loathed him, and although his mother had loved him, Lucius wouldn't permit her to display any emotion for him at all. Over the years, Draco recognized that she slowly became more and more distant.

He felt Aspera stop and push a door open in front of them, and he quickly snapped back to reality, walking tentatively into the rehab room. He knew that Leo, his rehab healer, would leave things lying around to test him, so he stepped carefully over to where he could hear Aspera and Leo talking.

"Are you sure he's ready?" Aspera asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Ready for what?" Draco demanded.

"Well, today, I'm taking you to muggle London and letting you wander on your own for a while. Of course, I'll be following you, but I promise I'll pretend I don't know you unless you need help. And don't even start with that Malfoy pride rubbish, because no one will recognize you anyway."

"I won't need any help, and I don't care what they think."

"That would be the first time," Leo responded with a chuckle.

"Whatever," Draco said dismissively. "Are we going to go or not!"

"Be careful!" Aspera added in anxiously.

"We'll travel by floo and go through the Leaky Cauldron, if that's alright with his highness," Leo said sarcastically, handing Draco several pound notes.

"Fine. Let's just go." Draco was nervous about being back in public when he wasn't sure if he could get around too well, but he had a new tool Leo had recently equipped him with. It was a small orb, called a Path Pilot, and Leo said he had charmed it emerald green just for Draco. The Path Pilot hovered at Draco's waist, and if Draco put his hand on it and stated a destination, it would slowly go there, giving Draco something to hold onto. It couldn't sense all obstacles that might trip Draco, so it was nowhere near as good as a real guide, but it gave him some freedom.

Leo had transfigured a cane for it to rest on, so he would look less out of place in muggle London. He felt himself being guided into a fireplace, he could tell because it reeked of soot. There was the familiar spinning feeling, and they stumbled into the Leaky Cauldron. There was a dull hum that didn't pick up as the two quickly strode through and into London. Draco felt Leo let go of his arm and fall back into the crowd. He grabbed his Path Pilot.

"The nearest café," he said quietly so as not to attract attention from passersby.

He could feel as the orb started tugging him down the sidewalk, and then stopped abruptly at a zebra crossing.

It started forward again, and he soon felt it bounce as it waited for him to open the door to a café. Reaching out, Draco found the door and pushed. He heard a bell tinkle as he walked into the building, and speaking quietly, directed the Path Pilot to find him an empty table. He felt it stop and groped around for a chair. Feeling the back of one, he ran his hand down to the seat and sat down. He commanded the stick to shrink back into a sphere and quietly slipped into his pocket. A moment later, high-heeled footsteps approached the table.

"What can I get you?" a cheery young woman's voice asked.

"A cappuccino, please," Draco said in a monotone.

"Of course," she replied with a flirty giggle. Draco knew she wouldn't be acting that way once she figured out he was blind.

He waited, lost in thought, until she came back with the coffee. She set it down in front of him.

"Your check's on the table," she announced with the same bright voice.

"Well, could you tell me how much it is?" Draco asked, aggravated that she hadn't put two and two together yet.

"Sure, but can't you see the check? It's right there on the table!"

"As a matter of fact, no, I can't. I'm blind," Draco replied smoothly. He heard her gasp quietly. "So could you tell me how much that's going to be?"

"I'm sorry," said the waitress, snapping out of her trance, "It'll be two quid twenty pee."

"Fine," said Draco, reaching into his pockets. He felt the shape and weight of each coin just like he had done with Leo as practice. He found two one pound coins and placed them on the table. He started to feel for the pence coins when the waitress spoke up.

"Would you like help with that?" she said, much louder than she had spoken before.

"First of all, I'm not deaf, and second, no thank you, I know how to count change." Draco knew this was something he would have to get used to, but it was hard not to get angry when people treated you like an invalid. Draco felt the slightly heptagonal twenty pence coin and pulled it out of his pocket, putting it forcefully on the table. He heard the waitress utter a quiet 'thank you', gather the change, and walk away quickly.

Sighing, Draco felt the tabletop, moving his hands forward until he felt his cup. He grasped it with both hands and brought it carefully to his lips. He drank his coffee slowly, and when he was done, he set down his cup and stood up. Pulling the Path Pilot out of his pocket, he commanded it back into the walking stick form and told it to take him back to the Leaky Cauldron. He heard a chair scrape against the floor as Leo got up and followed him out of the café and back to the door outside the famous pub. Leo once more hooked his arm and guided him to the fireplace. He threw in floo powder and called out their destination.

Draco was silent as Leo led him back to his room. Once they got there, Draco pulled his arm back from his guide and walked angrily over to his bed. He sat down and stretched out on the bed, resting his head on the pillow, only to come into contact with his pyjamas, which he threw angrily away from himself. He could hear Leo walk to fetch them from where they had landed.

"Careful, Draco, because what would you do back at school if you couldn't find your pyjamas when you needed them? I won't be there to pick them up. I'm going to put them on the chair next to your bed, alright?" Leo walked toward the bed and stopped by the chair to put the offending articles back in place.

"Fine. Thanks," Draco said tiredly. He wanted to give up so badly. It just wasn't worth it like this. He had nothing to live for: no family, no friends, and no sight.

"So, based on today's experiences, do you think you'll be ready to head back to school in the fall, Draco?" Leo said in a far too perky voice.

"No."


Thank you to ChEeKeE mUnKeE, Sailor J-chan aka Luna Weasley, I Heart DM 11, aishteru, Switch, ditzbabe592, and RDFCFSAF. I especially love constructive comments, it helps me make my story better for my wonderful readers! Seeing reviews in my inbox is what motivates me to update, so keep 'em comin. Oh, and Sailor J-chan aka Luna Weasley gets a cookie for picking up on the Wandlights/Highlights parody!