Blind to the Same Sun

Blind to the Same Sun

There was a huge tree by the lake, one that almost nobody knew about. Somehow, everyone just walked right by it. Everyone, that is, except her. Ever since she had arrived at Hogwarts, a scared first year scorned by others her age, she had felt drawn to the weeping willow. She had sought refuge from the taunts of her classmates countless times beneath its forgiving leaves. Wept countless times among its vast roots. Poured out countless secrets to its branches. She had run there when there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel, when it seemed as if there would never be another sunny day. Ever since she had gained friends, popularity, and respect, however, she hadn't been visiting the willow. For years, she walked by it without so much as a passing glance. And as time went by, she began to forget. Forget all the comfort she had received from her tree, even forgot that there was this tree, this willow that, for a time, had been her only friend. But then one day, something happened that made her remember once more...

By the lake there was a tree, a huge tree, one that only he knew about. He first came there as a first year, torn up inside by a refusal from another first year like himself. He had really wanted to befriend the other boy, even though his father would have disapproved. He ran to the tree that day, where privately, away from everyone else, he wept. Wept for what could have been. All through that first year, he came to the tree and poured out his sins and fears, his accomplishments and tears. But then he stopped coming. He had people to brag to, and he had learned that fears and tears were marks of weakness. As for sins, to his new self there was no such thing. And so with this loss of innocence, he forgot. He forgot the ways of his former self, and in doing so he forgot the tree. Until something jolted his memory...

One day, in her seventh year, she runs down to the lake. Something is calling her there...

It is his seventh year. There has been an attack, and that is when he knows. He knows that all his work of the past year had been futile; he could never go through with it. Not knowing what else to do, he ran outside. Some inner voice was urging him to go somewhere, beckoning, coaxing. And so he went...

After being pulled toward the lake for what felt like hours, but in reality was only minutes, she sees it. And she remembers. Slowly, she makes her way toward its old, knotted trunk. Once before disappearing beneath its boughs, she looks at the sun and notes its position. She laughs humorlessly. The west, she thinks. It was always on the west side that she sought refuge. And with that thought, she heads straight to the center of the tree, where she can no longer see the sun.

He looks toward the lake, and for the first time in a long time, he sees it. Without looking back, he heads right toward it. But first, he looks up at the fading sun. The east side, he realizes. He is, as always, on the east side of his tree. Fate plays ironic tricks on him ; this comes as no surprise to his cynical mind. He disappears beneath its foliage and makes a beeline for the center, where all is dark and there is no one to witness him cry.

While she cries, she thinks of him. It is the second time in as many weeks that she has realized that there is more than the hate that exists between them. This time, she grabs the thought and holds on, not ready to let go of one more thing.

As he weeps, he wonders if she will be all right in the upcoming months. He then wonders why he wonders about it- what is she to him? He remembers his inner monologue about her two weeks ago, and he remembers his thoughts. The passion running alongside the hate and yet separate from it. He is somewhat surprised to realize that he doesn't want to put that thought into his suitcase of forgotten thoughts. It is something to take his mind off this old future, and something to set himself on the road to his new one. And so he thinks of her...

Hermione Granger lies beneath her favorite tree and weeps for the future of her world. Both her worlds. She weeps for her family, her friends, and even for him, for what he may become. Although she still hates him, the hate is lessened. And as she thinks of that, once more she sees no light at the end of the tunnel, no more sunny days.

Draco Malfoy cries beneath his tree, not caring about his robes or his hair, or anything else. He simply cries because of what will happen to his kind, his world, and her. Because she is a constant in his life, as he realized two weeks ago, and he couldn't stand to have her gone. He is taken back to his first year, where he thought there would never be a bright side, and he finds he thinks the same thing once more.

They sit on opposite sides of the same tree, blind to each other's presence, blind to the same sun.