Two Tickets to Rome
Summary: Two strangers. One train. A ten-hour journey. Who said magic can't happen on a train ride to Rome? A new take on the first meeting between our favourite Witch and Wizard. RomioneAU
A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful feedback. Love you!
Capitolo undici: Opening Up
"I don't know why they always chose me," Hermione started in a voice so quiet that she was surprised he heard her. The voice didn't feel like her own. A numbness was spreading in her body, making her feel alien in her own skin.
Hermione didn't know where to begin. She simply couldn't remember a time where she hadn't been lonely.
So, she told Ron about everything, from the very beginning.
"You already know I was an only child," she said in a clipped voice. Her mouth felt dry, "I was lonely,"
The statement alone sent relief through her body. Instantly, it was like a wave washed over her, making every tense muscle soft and silencing her screaming brain. The thoughts – the fears – which had been rushing in her mind halted and left her in a numb state of calm.
It was too late to go back now. She had promised to tell her story.
Her heart was pumping hard in her chest. It throbbed in her temples. She could hear herself swallow.
"When I started Muggle school, I had never really had a friend before. I don't –" she blinked away tears, "I guess nobody wanted to be friends with me in school either. I worked so hard to get them to like me, but they never did,"
She remembered all the times she had eaten lunch in the girls' restroom. She preferred it there. It was the only place that she could escape the ugly remarks. Hermione remembered how she often cried there, in the girls' toilets. The puffiness in her eyes afterwards was always difficult to hide, but without friends, nobody bothered to ask anyway.
Shaking her head, she tried to let go of the memories.
"So, when I got my Hogwarts letter, I was ecstatic. I could finally leave home and all the cruel children there," she hadn't dared look at Ron, her eyes fixed on her feet, "It was a new chance,"
In the corner of her eye, Ron glanced at her worryingly.
"And then, Malfoy came along," she laughed a humourless laugh. It was dry and raspy, and even to her it sounded awful.
He muttered something under his breath. If she knew him correctly, she would say it was a curse. She paused and he repeated it louder, "Malfoy, that bloody git. I wish I could punch him,"
"I actually did," Hermione admitted.
"What?!" Ron shouted, "Hermione, you did?"
"He deserved it,"
"Of course, he bloody deserved it!"
Hermione huffed.
Ron sent her a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry. I interrupted you, please continue,"
The numbness in her chest had momentarily disappeared. Now it came back at full force. It took her breath away.
"At first, he seemed arrogant, but when I told him I was a Muggleborn, he became downright cruel. He started commenting on my appearance. He called me all sorts of ugly names, called me bucktoothed and Mud–" her voice hitched.
She glanced at Ron, who thankfully was looking on the road. Otherwise, he would have seen the tears glistening in her eyes.
"It became worse when he realized I was better than him in school. He probably felt threatened that a Muggleborn could do better than his own Pureblood arse," she spat, "He scared away anyone who dared to be friends with me. He would do these awful things, like curse them or threaten them. Malfoy never got caught either, he always snivelled his way out of punishment, like the snake he is,"
She could feel anger hot on her lips. How she hated that bully.
He deserved Azkaban. She hoped Ron' father would testify against Lucius Malfoy and bring him there as well. What a sweet revenge that would be. To have the boy who insulted her parents land his own in Azkaban.
"In the end, the only person that wasn't scared away by Draco, was Luna Lovegood. I'm very thankful for having her in my life. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't,"
"You are a strong girl, Hermione," Ron's voice was clear and genuine, like he really meant it.
She didn't expect the softness in his voice, and especially not his understanding. It was silly, she had expected him to laugh at her or think she was weak. It felt good to be proven wrong.
Hermione didn't want to speak anymore. She felt like she had told him enough already. He didn't need to hear all the things Malfoy and his cronies had done to her.
Therefore, she tried lightening up the mood by telling him the story about when she punched Malfoy.
She told Ron about how Malfoy, in an attempt to make Luna leave her, had continuously threatened her. It didn't work, mostly because Luna wasn't the most rational girl in Ravenclaw. Threats didn't work on her.
Malfoy got angry and cursed Luna's owl with fear of heights. Her owl had tried flying from the tower, gotten surprised by terror, and fallen out of the air. It died on impact. Hermione still remembered how it had looked when she and Luna found it.
Feathers and blood everywhere.
Malfoy then boasted to her about his curse. Hermione was furious when she saw the smug expression on his face. She had punched him in the nose.
With a silent chuckle, she added, "What I didn't know was that Professor McGonagall was nearby and saw the whole thing. When I turned around to leave, she was standing in the other end of the hallway watching us. She didn't even intervene. I couldn't believe it, but I think now that she too thought Malfoy deserved it,"
Ron tapped his fingers on the steering wheel again.
It felt nice to speak her feelings out loud, she realized.
She had buried them so deep that she expected the pain to be fresh like new again. She dreaded the pain almost as much as the openness to Ron. She felt vulnerable, and for a girl who always overcame difficulties alone, it was scary. But, Hermione thought, it felt good to know that the pain from the past didn't feel the same in the present.
"I hope Malfoy broke his nose," Ron said, finally.
"Ron!" Hermione said, "Don't say that,"
He looked at her with wide eyes.
Leaning towards Ron, she added in a whisper, "He did,"
With a triumphant look on his face, he exclaimed, "Yes! You are brilliant, Hermione!"
Hermione smiled.
They fell into silence together. It felt strange. She wanted to speak, but at the same time, she didn't. Her mind was already racing with doubts. Was it right to tell Ron about the bullying? Maybe he thought badly about her now, like a girl too weak to stand up for herself. With a calming breath, she reminded herself that he had been impressed. She had punched Malfoy. Ron was genuine.
"Do you want me to read your letter to you?" she asked him, who was driving.
His eyes left the road ahead. In the glow of the car, they locked with hers and he smiled, "Yes, please,"
A/N: I'm going to offer you the grand prize of two pennies for your thoughts. So, fire away!