DISCLAIMER: Nothing's mine! Happy? Heheh..just foolin' around…please see disclaimer on first chapter. Thanks!
CHAPTER 4: Nothing To Look Into
And nothing to look backward to with pride,
And nothing to look forward to with hope.
Robert Frost, The Death of the Hired Man
He wanted to run to her but his feet seemed to have buried themselves deep into the solid earth. Even with a great distance and thick bushes planted before his face, he witnessed clearly how she fell unconscious. He saw everything, actually, from the time she walked out the door escorted by the tall Bulgarian Seeker he once revered as a sportsman and reviled as an adversary over her attention, to the moment she started moving uncomfortably on her seat, wiping every now and then her pale moistening face. He watched her as she stretched her neck and scanned the area for a good of ten minutes; watched her as she settled her stare into the thin air and slowly got weaker as if being disillusioned by it. He watched from afar as she collapsed and he could only wish he was that man who caught her faint body and carried her to safety. If not, he still would've settled being one of the crowd who followed in concern.
What could she have been working on now? He knew her so well with the many years they had been friends. She over tasks and overloads, he never really understood but she seemed to always enjoy stressing herself out, Hermione has been. Nevertheless, he knew himself as much. He was taking it to her attitude the blame for her passing out so he wouldn't worry too much. It wasn't working this time, though. He felt he was going to die in agony if he wouldn't hear a word about her condition.
Luckily, before he could think of a stupid move, information had come flying towards him as two young women from their neighborhood discussed in concern about what just happened.
"What else could it possibly be? She's married, she's young, they looked so in love…"
"Are you trying to say, she's pregnant?" from a worried face evolved an excited one. The woman hushed down as she pulled her companion further the crowd, which happened to be nearer him, something that none of them was aware of. "For a moment I thought she was still too fragile concerning Ronald's death."
This sent the other in consideration, "Now that you mentioned."
"Well, but you said they looked so in love…true, she may have loved Weasley a year ago, but Krum wouldn't be too hard to fall for." She giggled.
The other woman slapped her companion's shoulder lightly, "And that shouldn't be the issue anymore. I mean, she already married him…two months after Ronald was gone. What else could it be but love?"
"What if she only married him to escape loneliness?" doubted the other.
"That's silly! I could expect that from all women, but not Hermione Granger."
"That fast, though? Do you think she was even in love with Ronald then?"
"You think she never has?" she was completely taken aback by the suspicion, but seemed to be too interested to drop the topic.
"First, they were best friends for years, maybe she just didn't want to turn him down and hurt his feelings. Second, she let him go…Ginny had Harry stay. And…"
He couldn't stand it any longer. Obviously, those two whipper-snappers knew nothing about him, Hermione, and their relationship most specially. He didn't know why she married Viktor…He didn't know why the marriage happened so quick…He didn't know why the day he came back, which was one day late as he promised and one day after he was proclaimed dead, Hermione's lips were locked with Viktor…He would never know and might just never want to know. What he did know, was that he and Hermione shared something special, something true. At least now, he also came to know that Hermione was happy…she should be, anyway.
Ron opened his eyes and winced against the striking light peeping from the window adjacent to him. Where was he? He tried to move and tilt his head but he felt his body ache an awful lot. He winced again trying to remember what exactly happened. He knew he was about to go home in days time. Was he home? But he couldn't remember being welcomed by any of the familiar faces he always wanted to see after almost two years of training. He remembers being so excited, yes. He remembers Egypt, yes. He remembers…He tried to open his eyes once more. Yellow light. He remembers light, only, it wasn't yellow…but green. And he remembers a lot of noises…yells, laughters, shots…Death Eaters! His training buddy…
"Xander! No!" Unconsciously, Ron was able to pull his body up in spite of the pain that was cutting through his bones.
There were foot steps, "It's all right." The room dimmed, and there was a hand tapping his back fondly. "It's all right. You're safe now."
Ron finally opened his eyes, and found himself staring right back into a pair of hazel eyes. "Hermione." He called.
"No. Not Hermione, I'm sorry." The girls said politely.
And Ron recognized that it wasn't Hermione's voice, not her face, most of all. "Who are you? Where am I?" he tried to reach for his pocket, but the throbbing pain hacked in once more. "Xander…Lestrange…Hermione…" he started to panic.
The girl held his hand and Ron felt they were warm. After what seemed like ages of fret, he felt safe. "I'm Memorie." She smiled, "I'm a friend." and nodded making her short brunette locks bounce. "And you are Ronald Weasley, right?"
Suddenly, the apprehension came running back on Ron's head, he drew his hand away despite the pain it caused, he kept a harsh face, "How did you know me? Where are the others? Are you a Healer?" he asked getting flustered.
Memorie only sweetly reached her hand on his forehead, for a brief moment, her brows furrowed, but she pulled a smile when she looked back on him, "You still have a fever, but you'll be fine in hours' time." She pulled a wand from her side and pointed it to him. She felt Ron stiffened, "Don't worry, it's not painful." A swish, a flick, and a spell chanted on an undertone and Ron dissolved into another sleep.
The next time he woke up, he saw the moon instead of the blinding light from the window. Quietly, he scrutinized the room. Feeling that it was safe to start an escape plan, he moved making the bed creak.
"How are you feeling?" a voice asked. Ron quickly turned and saw on the door the same girl standing with a tray of food on her hands. Before he could speak a word, his stomach had growled in betrayal. "I thought so." The girl laughed. "Here, I made some soup." She placed the tray on the bedside table, lifted the cup, and offered to her red-head companion. "Go on, it's safe."
For some reasons, Ron's doubts slowly faded and he accepted the cup, sipped the contents like there was no tomorrow. "Memorie?"
"Memo." She answered, "I much prefer that. Besides, it's shorter…and your wand says you're Ronald." She handed him his wand.
For the second time, Ron accepted something from her, and he decided she could be trusted, "Thanks, Memo." He returned a wry grin, "…and please call me Ron instead." she nodded energetically, "Well, I have many questions…" Ron began hesitantly.
Memo cut in at once, "Let me trim it down for you, then, and well…leaving you questions of my own in the process" She beamed, "You're here at my home in Ireland." Seeing his eyes widen in disbelief, she repeated, "Yes, Ireland." Ron, however, looked indifferent, "I live here alone since my parents died during the war. I don't know where you're from, and I perhaps wouldn't know your name at all if it weren't for the wand. Also, I most definitely do not know Xander, Hermione, Harry, or Ginny. Although I do know Lestrange and Malfoy." She paused thoughtfully, "…those were just the names you often called in sleep."
"How did I get here?" Ron asked confused.
Her companion looked as confused, "I dunno, really. I found you at my front door, battered and all…were you from an encounter with Lestrange and Malfoy?"
"…at your front door?" Ron echoed as he tried to absorb the details, "I was at an Auror training…yes, I was at an encounter. But, that was supposed to be in Egypt, but then…"
"You probably have apparated yourself to safety, or someone might have transported you from there." She tried to fill in his self queries.
"That's a possibility, but who could have done that?" He sounded intrigued, "I mean, not me, definitely, since I don't know this place at all…and you said you don't know Xander, he's my training buddy…"
Memorie shook her head, "No. Maybe it wasn't that friend of yours. Maybe Hermione, Harry, or Ginny." She suggested. Ron explained his relationship with the three persons. "But if you were coming back on the fifteenth…today's that day, you know."
"Today?" Ron asked, but did not wait for confirmation as he handed her back the cup and quickly stood up to put his robe on. He was about to apparate himself home when he felt dizzy. He glanced at Memo as she carefully placed the cup on the tray. Then he caught sight of a bottle of potion with it. "What did you make me drink?" he demanded.
"Medicine." She said simply.
He tried to fight the lightheadedness he was slowly feeling, "But I've already been sleeping for fifteen days, if you haven't realized that."
Memo marched towards him, placed his arm around her shoulder, and assisted him back to the bed, "I know. It's part of your medication."
"I need to go back." He slid his arm from her, and he started swinging left to right, feeling heavier every second.
"You're under medication. You can't go now." She insisted.
Ron tried to fight her away, "I can…I should…I promised…" but he only grew weaker.
She supported him back to the bed, "You could go back tomorrow, Ron." She whispered on his ears as she fixed his head on the pillow before leaving him at the room. "If she loves you the way you love her, she'll wait."
"But I have to keep my word. She has faith…" he whispered back still trying to resist.
"Shh…What difference could one day do?" She pulled the sheet up to his chest and ran her hand from Ron's forehead to his chin, his blue eyes dropping close with it.
Exactly, what did he gain from the stupid Auror training? He lost his life, his family, and his love. What difference could one day do? Give him a time-turner and he probably have gone back to that day he was supposed to leave, then he would stop before touching the portkey, run back to Hermione and tell her, "I'll stay, because more than being an Aruror, my dream is really you…and you're here, so I'll stay."
AUTHOR's NOTE: The last line was a bit cheesy, but I just love it.
I had a dream last night, but I'm not sure if it was R/Hr or Rupert/Emma…anyway, in my dream, they were acting like a real couple. Hr/Emma kissed R/Rupert's cheek and he kissed her hand before walking away—although I didn't get to know where he went. They were so cute…I can't wait for the book when they'll eventually get together (fingers crossed)—of course the movie that should come with that.
What did you think about this chapter? Please review…and thanks a lot for those who have been consistently leaving their own says about the story. I appreciate it a lot!
