Author's Note: So I hadn't really planned to upload this so soon, but I tend to be a little absent minded so if I don't do it now, I'll forget to do it until way later. This chapter is about Alex's trip to St. Mungo's... to me this is a pretty touching chapter (for multiple reasons) and I hope you enjoy reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it. Stay tuned for more to come... and as always, reviews are welcome.
Chapter Four
She was standing with Dumbledore in his office, waiting for him to start the side along Apparition. After waiting for about twenty seconds she heard a loud crack and they were standing somewhere else. There were noises she didn't even recognize all around her and honestly, it scared her.
Dumbledore calmly walked her to where they were supposed to be. She heard the voice of an elderly witch conversing with Dumbledore about the treatment. The nurse then took Alex's hand from him and walked her into a different part of the ward. She had Alex sit on the hospital bed while she asked a few question.
"Were you born blind?"
"Yes ma'am."
"How long have you been blind?"
"Fourteen years."
"Are you sure you want to go through with this treatment?"
"Yes ma'am."
The nurse patted her hand, "Alright then dear, wait here and I'll go get the other nurse assigned to you and we'll begin your treatment."
She sat there waiting for about ten minutes before the nurse came back with the other attendant. She could hear the two of them moving things around her bed. The other nurse had her lay back on the bed and tilt her head back.
"Honey," the other nurse was talking, she sounded younger. "this is going to feel funny the first time, but what we're doing is putting an eye potion directly onto your eyes. It's going to be four drops in each eye followed by a warm compress on your eyes for thirty minutes. This has to happen a full twenty-four hours to ensure that the change is permanent. If this hurts at any time, let any of the nurses know so we can fix the issue quickly. Alright dear, are you ready?"
Alex nodded slightly. She felt the nurses hold open her eyes and felt four drops of something in each eye. They allowed her to close her eyes before placing a warm wash cloth on her eyes. She could feel a tingling sensation underneath the wash cloth that almost tickled. She decided that now was as good as any to take a nap. Eye drops, wash cloth and nap. The cycle repeated like this for the next twenty-four hours with small breaks so she could eat a little before continuing the treatment.
Meanwhile back at the castle. Hermione, Ron and Harry were sitting together in one of the courtyards. The boys were playing with some Exploding Snap cards while Hermione was finishing up an essay she had for her Ancient Runes class. They all looked up when they heard leaves crunch and saw Malfoy walking over to them.
"Granger, a word please." Draco smirked as he waited for a smart comeback from Harry or Ron.
"Er… sure." She set her essay down, "Be back in a second."
She followed Draco a distance away before he turned and looked at her. His eyes looked haunted, as if he hadn't gotten any sleep last night.
"Where is she Granger? She told me she wasn't going home for the holidays, but she's not here either." He sounded desperately concerned.
"She's at St. Mungo's."
His knees buckled underneath him, "Is she -"
"She's fine. She was going for a consultation."
"For what?"
"For her eyes. She wants to see."
"Is that even possible?"
"It's complicated, but yes it's possible. You should see if Dumbledore will let you go see her, he's letting us go see her. The first two days she won't be allowed to have visitors, the third day is generally reserved for family and the fourth through the seventh day are open for any visitor. So go ask Dumbledore, I'm sure he won't mind letting you go." Hermione tried to comfort him for Alex's sake.
He slowly stood up. "Thanks Granger, I'll go do that." He turned and started walking away, pausing; he called over his shoulder. "You know, you aren't half bad."
Hermione smiled as she walked back over to Harry and Ron. They were staring bewilderedly.
"What did he want?" Harry asked.
"To make sure we weren't doing our essays for Ancient Runes on the same topic. Something about it wouldn't be proper for it to look like he'd copied his essay from a Muggle born." She replied.
"So then why did his knees buckle?" Ron jibed.
"He realized that I had the better topic." She smiled knowing neither of them would ever question her answers.
Draco marched up and into Dumbledore's office with the intent of having to argue seeing Alex considerably. He was surprised however to see that it looked like Dumbledore was waiting for him.
"Mister Malfoy," Dumbledore waved to the chair in front of his desk, "have a seat please. Tell me what's on your mind."
Draco walked over and sat down, exhaling deeply. "I want permission to go see Alex Draven at St. Mungo's. Granger told me that was where she was at."
Dumbledore smiled. "Well you can't go the third day and I'm sure you'd rather not go when Potter and Weasley are going. So are you willing to wait until the fifth day?" The question was simple.
"Yes sir."
"Alright then Draco, I'll make the arrangements. You may leave now if you want." Draco stood up, "Oh and Draco…"
"Yes sir?" He felt nervous.
"That's a very beautiful necklace you gave her."
"How did you -"
"You're father gave a similar one to your mother, although if I remember correctly, her pendant was a star and not a moon." Dumbledore smiled a knowing smile at Draco.
Draco nodded, then turned and left the office.
Alex was doing great today, the treatment was finally over and now all that was left was the recovery period. She looked around at all the colors she didn't even have names for. It was beautiful, sight was beautiful. She smiled from ear to ear.
The first bit of recovery, she was practicing writing and identifying letters. It didn't take her nearly as long as she thought it would and she was glad that she didn't have to learn spelling all over again. Next were color flashcards, each card had the name of the color and an example of the color on it. Although, she had to read the name of the color herself. It was a fun experience.
The last thing they wanted to do was work with her coordination. They had her walking around the courtyard, doing exercises and even playing some Muggle games. She couldn't wait to show off her new found football skills to Hermione and the others. When all was said and done, she finished her sight training just in time for supper.
"Well dear, tomorrow your family comes to see you. I bet that's exciting." The younger nurse commented.
"I'm nervous actually."
"That's to be expected though Alex. It's the first time you'll see your family."
"Dewy?"
"Yes dear?"
"Why can't I look in a mirror until after my family leaves from visiting?" She asked in earnest.
Dewy patted her hand. "We want you to recognize your parents first. That way when you first see yourself, you'll know who you look more like."
"I guess that makes sense." She yawned, "I hope my boyfriend visits me sometime too."
Dewy smiled sweetly, "You never told me you had a boyfriend. What's he like? How long have you two been together?"
She laughed. "Well I'm not quite sure if he's my boyfriend. He hasn't actually asked, but we really seem to like each other. He's the one who gave me my moon necklace. He's a really nice guy. He carries my books, he holds my hand during the classes we have together and we write each other secret notes." She yawned again.
Dewy chuckled and turned off the lights. "He sound like a nice boy, I'm sure he'll visit. Now get some sleep, you've got a big day tomorrow."
She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillows and she dreamed of Draco. She had a nice full sleep, waking up when she heard her alarm clock go off. She got up, completed her morning routine, got dressed and waited a bit before going to the cafeteria to get breakfast. She brought her food back to her room and ate quietly. She was throwing away her trash when Dewy came in to announce that she had visitors.
She sat on her bed as she watched three people walk into her room, a woman, a man and a young boy. The woman was not much taller than her, very pretty in a plain Jane kind of way with bright red hair, hazel eyes and light freckles. The man was taller than her by about six inches, handsome with dark auburn hair and hazel eyes. It was the young boy who caught her attention the most. He was a foot shorter than her, copper red hair, light hazel eyes, almost invisible freckles and he was absolutely adorable.
She sat still, taking in the sight of her family; she smiled and ran to hug them all. Tears ran down hers and her mum's face.
"Mum! Dad! Roiben!" She cried more, not knowing what to say to them.
After a while they pulled themselves together and sat down in chairs around her bed and talked about the treatment she had received. Her mom would get teary the she talked about how the changes were noticeable at every single step.
"Are you alright though?" Her mum asked. "Are you sure you want the go back to Hogwarts when you get released from here?"
She smiled at her mum's concern. "Yes mum I want to go back. I can use the remaining two weeks of break to explore the castle with sight and that way I'll be able to rely more on myself once school starts back up."
Her parents smiled at each other and then they turned their smiles towards here. She smiled back and turned her head when Dewy walked in with a tray of tea and scones.
"Thought you all might like some tea and scones while you're talking." Dewy smiled as she set the tray down.
Alex smiled at the nurse. "Thank you Dewy, that's very thoughtful."
Dewy politely exited the room and Alex and her family resumed their conversation. Her family stayed and talked for two hours before they had to leave so her parents could return to work.
"Alex, honey, I'm sorry we can't stay longer. We requested an extended lunch, that's why we were able to stay as long as we have." Her mum apologized.
She looked up at her mom and faintly smiled, "It's alright mum, I understand. I'm glad that you both got your old jobs back and that they're willing to let you bring Roiben into work with you."
She hugged her mum and dad. Turning her attention to Roiben, she grabbed him and pulled him into a bear hug.
"Love you little bro. Be good and feel free to send me an owl anytime that you want." She let him go and ruffled his hair.
Her brother smiled, turning away to try and hide his tears. She stayed standing until her family was gone, then she sat on her bed and buried her face into the pillows to cry.
She hadn't realized she had cried herself to sleep until Dewy walked in with her dinner on a tray. Alex rubbed her eyes as she sat up, trying in vain to get rid of the dried tears on her eyelashes. She looked over at Dewy who was smiling at her. She tried to smile back, but she only managed to tweak the corners of her mouth up.
"I have something that will make you feel a little better." Dewy set down the tray on Alex's bedside table.
She raised her eyebrows at the nurse, her interest peaked. "I'll bite. What do you have that will help me feel better?"
Dewy laughed and opened the bathroom door and removed the spell that was obscuring the full length mirror. "Come take a look at yourself. I'm sure that will help a bit since I'm certain that you've been curious about it all day."
She gingerly stood up and walked over to the bathroom door. She stared at the person in the reflection, willing her mind to make the connection that she was looking at herself. She touched her face and watched the person in the mirror make the same movements. She noticed that she looked almost exactly like her mum except she had auburn hair and blue eyes.
"Why did my eyes stay blue?" She inquired out loud.
"It's your natural eye color. The solution we put in your eyes does nothing for the color, just the sight." Dewy shrugged.
"Wicked." She smiled at herself and then returned to her bed.
"Tomorrow you'll have some visitors as well as the day after that. Do let me know if your boyfriend shows up." Dewy smiled as she closed the bathroom door then she turned to leave, "Enjoy your evening Alex."
She watched the nurse leave before she tucked into her dinner. She was hungrier than she had thought. After she finished her meal, she went into the bathroom to clean up and get ready for bed.
She climbed into her bed and fell asleep almost instantly while wondering who would be showing up these next couple of days.