Blind No More

The Flames Ignite

BLIND NO MORE

By: tweety-src-clt9

Chapter One: The Flames Ignite

It's been six months since the Battle of Hogwarts ended. Voldemort is dead, the wizarding world is healing, and for the first time since Harry Potter became part of the world of magic, he finally feels normal. Well, as normal as any other eighteen-year-old teenage male in spite of being known as the Man-Who-Conquered or whatever the press calls him these days. At the start of the school year, Harry's life in Hogwarts seemed to turn back to the way it was. Homework (which is now more intense given that it is N.E.W.T year), hanging out in the Gryffindor common room, Quidditch, and just spending time with Hermione and Ron. Everything was back to normal - well as normal as it was with the added responsibility of being Head Boy. Ron is the Quidditch captain after all his best mate is the biggest Quidditch fan he's ever met. All is well in Harry's world except for the crazy fangirls. If the ladies were all over him during their sixth year when he was named the "Chosen One", well you can't imagine how insane they were being now. Girls follow him everywhere except restricted areas like the comfort room, lockers, and well you get the picture. It's hard to find a girl who's just interested in "Just Harry". He's never going to be "Just Harry".

Without constantly watching his back for a Voldemort attack, he's now plagued by the normalcy of his teenage hormones which were on overdrive given this being the first time that he has nothing important to think about also known as defeating Voldemort. Without the dark wanker, his hormones dominate most of his thoughts. While there were many girls to choose from, he has applied a can look but can't touch policy, after all, most girls just want to snag the Harry Potter. Despite this policy, he does enjoy the company of the ladies (and it's all innocent mind you). He constantly enjoys the company of random girls in every Hogsmeade weekend. Of course, he makes sure that each girl he brings there understands the rule that it's only a one time date and they should have no further expectations. It's all innocent fun - a walk around the village, mild flirting, drinks at the Three Broomsticks, light conversation, and a kiss to the cheek to end the date. He's not looking for a girlfriend but that doesn't mean that he can't enjoy a fun day with a pretty girl on his arm. Many girls agree with this setup since a lot of them want to be seen on a date with Harry Potter. He's also made sure to never be seen with the same girl on a Hogsmeade weekend ever. The only girl who's always seen to be in his company is Hermione Granger - his best friend in the entire world.

It was some time in December when Harry began to notice a change in his daily Hogwarts routine. He didn't know what it was but there was something definitely wrong. He'll have to analyze (I'm pulling a Hermione here) the situation first to find out what's different since he wasn't sure. He just knows that something changed. He definitely should find out. Maybe I should ask Hermione if she notices something. After all, nothing ever escapes her notice. With that thought settled, he hurriedly made his way down to the head's common room to wait for the head girl so they could go down to the Great Hall together.

"What's taking Hermione so long?", he said after checking his watch and seeing that it's already eight in the morning. Hermione is never late for anything. She should have been down here by 7:30. That's the latest she's ever been. Ever.

"Hermione? You there?", he called out in a loud voice to check on her. Maybe she overslept. Damn! Maybe she's sick. With those thoughts in mind, he hurriedly climbed the stairs and knocked on her door. When there was no response, he slowly opened the door and checked if she's still on her bed. Seeing no one there, he checked their shared bathroom only to find out that she's also not there. It then hit him that she left the common room without him. She's never left without waiting for me before. Excluding the time when I was a prat in their third year due to that broomstick. And then there was that time in their fourth year during the day of the second task in the Tri-Wiz tournament when she was taken into the Black Lake as Viktor Krum's hostage. With those thoughts in mind, he grabbed his bag and went down to the Great Hall.