Two days later, Hermione was absentmindedly walking down some shops,
window-shopping for her wedding. Since Rufus had proposed, her mind had
been spinning from the choice of flowers to the location. She had already
decided on periwinkle blue robes for the bridesmaids and the list of people
she wanted to invite, but there were still so many things to accomplish
before the next four months were up. She was so absorbed in herself that
she failed to notice where she was walking and bumped into a man,
scattering his papers and other work documents.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry sir..." She looked up and her breath was caught as she saw the familiar flaming red-hair, now curling around the edges of his ears, and falling to the nape of his neck, the same freckles that she used to count while she saw him, and the most familiar blue eyes that entranced her with a single glance.
"Oh my god...Ron?!"
Ron looked ultimately familiar and yet different all the same. Sure, he still had his Weasley signature freckles, red hair, and blue eyes, but there was something so different about him that Hermione couldn't quite grasp. Perhaps it was the way his blue eyes flickered nervously at her, trying to read her expression. His eyes looked painful, as though he had come home from a long raging war; he grew taller and leaner from the years they were apart. The most terrifying moment about him was the way he smiled at her- she suspected he was probably happy and nervous at seeing her, but his smile was so...haunting. It was a crooked, rather iniquity smile that reminded her of her old Potions teacher, Severus Snape. It reminded her of dreadful movies she'd watched before or stories that she wished she'd never heard. It was mortifying yet still unbelievably blissful. She sprang into his arms, burying herself into his chest as tears drenched down into his shirt. He awkwardly patted her on the head, as though he hardly knew her anymore and at this, she broke apart suddenly.
"Ron, do you remember me anymore? I'm Hermione Granger, remember?" She looked desperately into his eyes, but he merely chuckled.
"Of course I remember you 'Mione! How are you?" He asked as though they were having a casual conversation. Hermione grew hot with rage.
"What?? Okay, what happened? You were dead!! The Aurors, they said you were dead, Voldemort murdered you. They buried your body and everything." Hermione wept quietly.
Ron's expression turned dark. He bent down to pick up his documents and looked round him. "Hermione, there's been a lot going on in the last ten years we've been separated. I guess maybe we should sit down and talk about this."
Wholeheartedly agreeing, she decided to take him to the nearest coffeehouse. They sat down and ordered cappuccinos. While they were waiting, Ron started his story, holding Hermione's hands.
"Hermione, I can't tell you how much I've missed you in the decade. These last ten years have been the worst nightmare I've lived through and I swear, if it wasn't for you, I'd be dead by now. I suspect that you're engaged now...I wasn't surprised. After all, you weren't planning on waiting for me all your life." Ron stated, looking at Hermione's gorgeous ring. She blushed unceremoniously.
"Ron, I swear...Rufus only proposed yesterday and I was thinking back to the anniversary we had where you made me promise that I'd do anything to make myself feel happy. Believe me Ron, I...I actually didn't really want to marry him. I even told him that I hold you closer to my heart than he'll ever come, but he said that he knew that and he wanted to make me feel happy, so I agreed. In my head, it was you who was telling me to do the right thing and marrying Rufus seemed to be the right thing." Hermione replied.
Ron looked down for a moment, stirring his cappuccino. "So, are you going to still marry him?"
Hermione's face grew hot. She didn't know what to do. Here, in front of her, was the love of her life, the man she planned on marrying ages ago, back from the dead. But on her fourth finger was the bond that connected her to Rufus, and she didn't know whether or not she wanted to break it. She looked hard at her ring then at Ron and sighed, "I don't really know. Don't ask me that now, it's too difficult. Please tell me what happened."
He nodded understandably, "Of course. Anyways, I guess it all started to the night that I was captured..."
"I was coming inside from Quidditch practice because I got hit with a Bludger. I was passing by Hagrid's hut and saw a few lights in there so I decided to have a cup of tea with him. I spent the next half hour talking with him, but it was getting darker so I decided to go back to the castle. After all, my arm needed healing. Anyways, I was passing by the Forbidden Forest, and I heard rustling. I didn't have my wand at the time so I was defenseless, and I think that the attackers knew that because they came out straight away. There were about twenty or thirty of Death Eaters, surrounding me. They easily fastened me to a nearby tree. I watched as they wrote a ransom note for Harry and they took a knife and scratched my arm open a bit, for blood. Five of them went to the castle, disguised as students, and up to the boys' dormitories. I knew that Harry was still working with you on that potions project, so he wouldn't get back till late that night. They had killed someone earlier that day and gave him everlasting Polyjuice potion, so that he'll be disguised like me. He had a Dark Mark and was severely injured. The Death Eaters laid him out near the edge of the forest, about ten feet where I was tied. They waited, each minute becoming more precious as we all waited for Harry to come.
"Harry came with Elizabeth about two hours later, flying on her broomstick. I thought that the Death Eaters were going to capture them as well, but they thought that two was too risky since Elizabeth's fast with spellwork and can easily knock them all out with a single spell. So, they just waited and were satisfactory when they saw Harry and Elizabeth mourning over my 'dead' body. Anyways, later, I saw you and Ginny come, along with a bunch of Aurors and professors. Even the Minister came. I saw Dad, and Mum and my brothers. They were all crying...I was devastated. I didn't know what the Death Eaters were planning to do with me. After all, what good am I?" Ron snorted at this point, causing Hermione to frown.
"You're good in a lot of..." She started but was interrupted as Ron shushed her.
"Don't worry, I know what you mean. Anyways, after they carried out the dead body, they Apparated me to Voldemort's side. He thought I'd be a useful tool so he told them to lock me up in one of his prisoner flats. It was located underground, small, yet quite comfortable. That was my living quarters for ten years. Voldemort occasionally came round to gather information from me, yet I gave him hardly any. He would torture me of course when I didn't, but I sustained my energy. While he was torturing me, the only thing I saw in my head was you calling out for me, telling me to hang on, so I did." There were tears filling up in Hermione's eyes as Ron told his story. She reached out to touch him, but he quickly pulled his hand away.
"A year later, Voldemort died. His Death Eaters deceased as well. You might think that I would have been free at this point, but I wasn't. After Voldemort deceased, a new, sinister enemy came up. His name was Bronstein, and he had been following Voldemort's evil path ever since he could walk. He kept me prisoner, since he knew that I was connected to Harry and that old past of Voldemort's. He thought I was handy but he hardly cared. However, he was still generous in his own ways and gave me my own personal jailer, Bob. Bob was alright, after all, he wasn't really evil, he just needed a job to support his family and Bronstein, despite his wickedness, had a lot of Galleons. Bob always came in three times a day to check up on me, bring me food, and to bring me the Daily Prophet. Well, over time, Bronstein lost interest in me but Bob stayed with me. I kept journals about my daily routine, thoughts, whatever came up. I exercised, I ate, I wrote, and I read. Oh boy, I read a lot. There was this library in the flat and it contained over two thousand titles. I read them all. I realized that though I was hardly considered a wizard anymore, after all they wouldn't allow me to have a wand and I can still barely say the incantation for a Levitating spell, I was a masterminded genius in strategically purposes. I used my new talent and with Bob's help, I managed to escape from the flat without Bronstein knowing and that's how I ended up here bumping into you."
Ron finished, finally looking up to meet Hermione's face. She was startled; the usual sparkle to his blue eyes was gone, replaced by a dull yet blazing fire that she wished she never saw. She gulped, mortified at what had happened to him.
"Are you hurt? Is everything alright?" She asked. He chuckled and showed her some of the cuts, bruises, and scars that would remain etched in his skin for life. She gasped when she counted them- over thirty.
"Ron, you're hurt. Both physically and emotionally. I can't believe this. Oh, my goodness. Ron, I...I don't know what to say." She sniffed.
"You don't have to say anything right now. Let's go. I think I would like to see Harry and the others now." With that, he slapped some money on the counter and headed out the coffeehouse, Hermione trailing despondent, behind him.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry sir..." She looked up and her breath was caught as she saw the familiar flaming red-hair, now curling around the edges of his ears, and falling to the nape of his neck, the same freckles that she used to count while she saw him, and the most familiar blue eyes that entranced her with a single glance.
"Oh my god...Ron?!"
Ron looked ultimately familiar and yet different all the same. Sure, he still had his Weasley signature freckles, red hair, and blue eyes, but there was something so different about him that Hermione couldn't quite grasp. Perhaps it was the way his blue eyes flickered nervously at her, trying to read her expression. His eyes looked painful, as though he had come home from a long raging war; he grew taller and leaner from the years they were apart. The most terrifying moment about him was the way he smiled at her- she suspected he was probably happy and nervous at seeing her, but his smile was so...haunting. It was a crooked, rather iniquity smile that reminded her of her old Potions teacher, Severus Snape. It reminded her of dreadful movies she'd watched before or stories that she wished she'd never heard. It was mortifying yet still unbelievably blissful. She sprang into his arms, burying herself into his chest as tears drenched down into his shirt. He awkwardly patted her on the head, as though he hardly knew her anymore and at this, she broke apart suddenly.
"Ron, do you remember me anymore? I'm Hermione Granger, remember?" She looked desperately into his eyes, but he merely chuckled.
"Of course I remember you 'Mione! How are you?" He asked as though they were having a casual conversation. Hermione grew hot with rage.
"What?? Okay, what happened? You were dead!! The Aurors, they said you were dead, Voldemort murdered you. They buried your body and everything." Hermione wept quietly.
Ron's expression turned dark. He bent down to pick up his documents and looked round him. "Hermione, there's been a lot going on in the last ten years we've been separated. I guess maybe we should sit down and talk about this."
Wholeheartedly agreeing, she decided to take him to the nearest coffeehouse. They sat down and ordered cappuccinos. While they were waiting, Ron started his story, holding Hermione's hands.
"Hermione, I can't tell you how much I've missed you in the decade. These last ten years have been the worst nightmare I've lived through and I swear, if it wasn't for you, I'd be dead by now. I suspect that you're engaged now...I wasn't surprised. After all, you weren't planning on waiting for me all your life." Ron stated, looking at Hermione's gorgeous ring. She blushed unceremoniously.
"Ron, I swear...Rufus only proposed yesterday and I was thinking back to the anniversary we had where you made me promise that I'd do anything to make myself feel happy. Believe me Ron, I...I actually didn't really want to marry him. I even told him that I hold you closer to my heart than he'll ever come, but he said that he knew that and he wanted to make me feel happy, so I agreed. In my head, it was you who was telling me to do the right thing and marrying Rufus seemed to be the right thing." Hermione replied.
Ron looked down for a moment, stirring his cappuccino. "So, are you going to still marry him?"
Hermione's face grew hot. She didn't know what to do. Here, in front of her, was the love of her life, the man she planned on marrying ages ago, back from the dead. But on her fourth finger was the bond that connected her to Rufus, and she didn't know whether or not she wanted to break it. She looked hard at her ring then at Ron and sighed, "I don't really know. Don't ask me that now, it's too difficult. Please tell me what happened."
He nodded understandably, "Of course. Anyways, I guess it all started to the night that I was captured..."
"I was coming inside from Quidditch practice because I got hit with a Bludger. I was passing by Hagrid's hut and saw a few lights in there so I decided to have a cup of tea with him. I spent the next half hour talking with him, but it was getting darker so I decided to go back to the castle. After all, my arm needed healing. Anyways, I was passing by the Forbidden Forest, and I heard rustling. I didn't have my wand at the time so I was defenseless, and I think that the attackers knew that because they came out straight away. There were about twenty or thirty of Death Eaters, surrounding me. They easily fastened me to a nearby tree. I watched as they wrote a ransom note for Harry and they took a knife and scratched my arm open a bit, for blood. Five of them went to the castle, disguised as students, and up to the boys' dormitories. I knew that Harry was still working with you on that potions project, so he wouldn't get back till late that night. They had killed someone earlier that day and gave him everlasting Polyjuice potion, so that he'll be disguised like me. He had a Dark Mark and was severely injured. The Death Eaters laid him out near the edge of the forest, about ten feet where I was tied. They waited, each minute becoming more precious as we all waited for Harry to come.
"Harry came with Elizabeth about two hours later, flying on her broomstick. I thought that the Death Eaters were going to capture them as well, but they thought that two was too risky since Elizabeth's fast with spellwork and can easily knock them all out with a single spell. So, they just waited and were satisfactory when they saw Harry and Elizabeth mourning over my 'dead' body. Anyways, later, I saw you and Ginny come, along with a bunch of Aurors and professors. Even the Minister came. I saw Dad, and Mum and my brothers. They were all crying...I was devastated. I didn't know what the Death Eaters were planning to do with me. After all, what good am I?" Ron snorted at this point, causing Hermione to frown.
"You're good in a lot of..." She started but was interrupted as Ron shushed her.
"Don't worry, I know what you mean. Anyways, after they carried out the dead body, they Apparated me to Voldemort's side. He thought I'd be a useful tool so he told them to lock me up in one of his prisoner flats. It was located underground, small, yet quite comfortable. That was my living quarters for ten years. Voldemort occasionally came round to gather information from me, yet I gave him hardly any. He would torture me of course when I didn't, but I sustained my energy. While he was torturing me, the only thing I saw in my head was you calling out for me, telling me to hang on, so I did." There were tears filling up in Hermione's eyes as Ron told his story. She reached out to touch him, but he quickly pulled his hand away.
"A year later, Voldemort died. His Death Eaters deceased as well. You might think that I would have been free at this point, but I wasn't. After Voldemort deceased, a new, sinister enemy came up. His name was Bronstein, and he had been following Voldemort's evil path ever since he could walk. He kept me prisoner, since he knew that I was connected to Harry and that old past of Voldemort's. He thought I was handy but he hardly cared. However, he was still generous in his own ways and gave me my own personal jailer, Bob. Bob was alright, after all, he wasn't really evil, he just needed a job to support his family and Bronstein, despite his wickedness, had a lot of Galleons. Bob always came in three times a day to check up on me, bring me food, and to bring me the Daily Prophet. Well, over time, Bronstein lost interest in me but Bob stayed with me. I kept journals about my daily routine, thoughts, whatever came up. I exercised, I ate, I wrote, and I read. Oh boy, I read a lot. There was this library in the flat and it contained over two thousand titles. I read them all. I realized that though I was hardly considered a wizard anymore, after all they wouldn't allow me to have a wand and I can still barely say the incantation for a Levitating spell, I was a masterminded genius in strategically purposes. I used my new talent and with Bob's help, I managed to escape from the flat without Bronstein knowing and that's how I ended up here bumping into you."
Ron finished, finally looking up to meet Hermione's face. She was startled; the usual sparkle to his blue eyes was gone, replaced by a dull yet blazing fire that she wished she never saw. She gulped, mortified at what had happened to him.
"Are you hurt? Is everything alright?" She asked. He chuckled and showed her some of the cuts, bruises, and scars that would remain etched in his skin for life. She gasped when she counted them- over thirty.
"Ron, you're hurt. Both physically and emotionally. I can't believe this. Oh, my goodness. Ron, I...I don't know what to say." She sniffed.
"You don't have to say anything right now. Let's go. I think I would like to see Harry and the others now." With that, he slapped some money on the counter and headed out the coffeehouse, Hermione trailing despondent, behind him.