Blind Love

Part 1

Not being able to see had never really been a problem for me. Until I got my letter.
When I was younger, I was home-schooled since there was no school for blind kids near us and my parents didn't want to send me to a boarding school. But when I got my letter, I begged them until they agreed. Their only condition was to meet Dumbledore beforehand. We wrote back and soon had an appointment with Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall. I was almost bouncing in my chair, while they explained everything to my parents, since they were muggles. Professor Dumbledore also performed a spell on the entire castle, so that it would tell me where I was whenever I put a hand against the wall or floor. After that, my parents were okay with letting me go to Hogwarts. They always said that we'd try the first semester and see how it'd go from there, but everything went perfectly fine and now, I was in my fourth year.
Fifteen was a difficult age. All around me, girls and boys were having dates and boyfriends or girlfriends. But I was always alone. Sure, I had my small group of friends, but I wasn't exactly popular. I had special books and exams, special homework and sometimes special lessons. The teachers were incredibly nice and helpful, but the students...they kept their distance or eve used my inability to see, to their advantage. It would be a lie to say that I'd never been pranked or picked on, but I usually just dealt with it, being used to it, since the kids at the playgrounds weren't much different. But I've always been afraid of four certain boys.
They were one year above me and Gryffindors. They were known for pulling prangs on everyone and being quiet reckless. So far, they never seemed to take notice of me, for which I was thankful, but the constant thought of just walking in on one of their pranks, was unsettling.

I was on my way to the library, when I heard noises in the distance, making my head snap around. Except for that, it was completely quiet, since most of the students were in class right now. My own class was having a potions lesson, but since I couldn't tell when a potion turned from one colour to the other, I was excused. So, I was wandering through the hallways, all alone, when another loud crash, this time way closer, made me jump. Then, I heard pounding footsteps coming my way.
I was scared and just turned around, not knowing where I would have to go to dodge what- or whoever was coming this way. Before I knew it, I felt someone run past me and then another one, before someone ran straight into me. I was knocked back and a yelp escaped my lips while I was falling. But before I could hit the floor, a strong arm wrapped around me and caught me. My fingers immediately dug into the fabric of a cloak, holding me up.
"Sorry..." It was a boy, and he spoke very quietly, but I managed to pick it up. "I-It's oka-." A voice interrupted me. "Oi! Sirius! Come on!" I felt muscles tense underneath my fingers, before I was suddenly picked up. I wanted to scream, but a quiet whisper stopped me. "Trust me." So, instead of screaming for my life, I wrapped my arms around the nearest thing I could find, what just so happened to be this boy's neck.
I felt him running, loosing track of how many turns we took and where exactly we were in the giant castle. Just when the boy started to lose his breath, he stopped running. I could hear two other people panting near us. "Who is that, mate?" It was the boy from earlier. The boy that was carrying me, carefully set me down, his hands holding me at my waist, until I was steady. "I don't know." My hands were still on his shoulders, so I felt him shrug. "Who are you?" "Y/N Y/L/N. And you are...?" The panting slowly died down. "Sirius." The boy that carried me. "James." The boy that interrupted me. "Peter." The third boy. Probably. "Oh. You are from Gryffindor, aren't you?" Sirius chuckled. "We sure are. And you? Y/H, I guess?" I nodded and turned my head, so that it was facing the ground. "What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" James spoke up. "Uh...no. Everything's fine. Just...where exactly are we?" There was a moment of silence, before Peter told me that we were on the first floor, near the bathrooms. I smiled. "Thank you. Could you...Could you place my hand against the wall?" I felt a strong hand gently grab my hand and guiding it, until it hit the cold stone. I immediately hear a soft voice, telling where I was and where I was facing.
I was about to get going, when Sirius spoke up. "What was that?" I turned towards his voice. "What do you mean?" "You placed your hand against the wall and there was a soft whisper. I couldn't make out what it was saying, but it was creepy." I felt my face heat up. "Th-That was a spell Professor Dumbledore placed on the castle. It helps me get around and gain my orientation. I...I barely need it anymore. But it's still practical when someone picks you up and carries you through the whole castle." I didn't know where that sudden burst of bravery came from, but it disappeared quickly. "Why do you need a spell to get around?"
"I'm blind."
Silence again. "You...You're blind?" I nodded, my head tilted to the ground. "Oh." I laughed at their reaction. That's by far the most hilarious I ever got. "Anyway, I'll get going now. See you boys around." One of them started to laugh and I couldn't contain a quiet giggle, before I turned into the direction I needed to go and started walking. I only got to take a few steps, before a voice held me back. "Wait!" It was Sirius that had called after me. I could hear that he was running towards me and turned to face him. "I-I'll accompany you. If you don't mind." I shook my head and before I knew it, he took my hand in his and we walked together. While we were walking, none of us said a word, unless Sirius warned me about small stuff, like a small step or so. And I only ever talked when I told him where I needed to get.
"Why aren't you in your class right now?" I chuckled. "Why aren't you?" He laughed at my question and we continued walking. "I'm excused from potions, since...well...I can't really see what's going on. You?" "Didn't feel like going. Plus, we had a prank planned, and I couldn't miss it." I nodded in understanding. Then there was silence again.
Exactly forty-three steps later, I stopped, and Sirius did too. "You know, you could have just said you wanted to go to the library. I would have known a shortcut." I chuckled and turned to Sirius. "That's nice, but I like it better that way." I slowly moved my hands onto his shoulders, pulling me onto the tip of my toes. Then I wrapped my arms around his neck and quickly hugged him, before I let go again and took a step back. "Well, thanks for bringing me here. Bye." I walked into the library and moved to a place near the entrance, where I always sat. Then I took my books out and started to move my finger over the pages, the book slowly and quietly reading itself to me.
But the whole time, I could only think about Sirius.