Pain Doesn't Cost a Thing by Ron x Hermione
Chapter Notes: This was written for the TriWizard Tournament Challenge. I will hurry to finish this by the deadline of July 20th *shakes head furiously at procrastinating self*. Please enjoy, because I'm quite proud of this first chapter.
The landscape rolled on and on for miles. Scotland, the place that the boy called his home, held a beauty like no other. The deep, vast scenery that encompassed him never failed to bring him a sense of calm and a feeling of belonging, especially when he was with his best friend, like he was now. The view stretched on as far as the naked eye could see, making the boy’s eyes water for the heat and intensity the space beheld. The couple sat on top of a rolling hill that continued on for miles with immense splendour. The fresh grass rubbed stains into their shirts, gnats buzzing in their sun-tanned faces. Overlooking to one side of them was a pond, another a field of weeds and tall grass that went up to their knees.
They sat in the heat, the droplets of perspiration sticking to their backs and necks, soaking their hair and causing them to have an aroma of something particularly smelly. Dirt was smeared either on their foreheads or on their soiled clothes from their endless games of hide and seek, riding bikes, or swimming in their pool. They played just like small children, even though they were fifteen, not a care in the world but for each other and their school, which was out now. They lay on the dusty ground, uncaring of how much they would need to shower to get the smell out off their bodies, just enjoying the hot day and each other’s sweet company. A swing tire dangled off a distant tree in the far corner of their eye, swinging back and forth for the slight breeze, and the blue sky stretched out in front of them. They were happy.
One lay on a towel, the other on the actual ground, the boy being thoughtful and allowing his friend to not get even dirtier than she already was.
Brett and Emma.
They both sweated inside their thin, white t-shirts. The thin trickles rolled down the boy’s back, the tank top sticking to the girl’s abdomen as she lay there. As he reached behind him to wipe his own away and on his tattered jeans, he felt his best friend and companion, Emma, lying next to him on her stomach, just staring out. He looked over to her and just stared.
Emma had shiny, thick black hair that was beautiful and went a little past her shoulders, but it was usually pulled back in a ponytail or hidden behind her lucky headband. She had a cute face and was usually looked at twice by boys, making her popularity soar as she aged. You could get lost in her deep, blue eyes. They took on a misty form when she was excited, dancing with childlike simplicity nearly all the time. Her thin face accentuated her features perfectly, blending in with her perfect teeth and rosy cheeks. She was the biggest tomboy to come out of her town, but when she was at Hogwarts she resumed the role of a sophisticated, mature fifteen-year-old girl. Emma was now about to be in her fifth year at Hogwarts, in awe that something as wonderful as magic had entered her life. She had been a bit disappointed by her being placed in Ravenclaw, but had immediately elated when she had found that Brett had been positioned in the same house. It was not only lucky that they were both Muggleborn and had received letters, but that they were both smart enough to be placed in Ravenclaw, jointly. Emma wouldn’t have been able to make it if they hadn’t been able to be together.
Emma was a sensitive being; she cried just as much as others when deaths happened in the family or sad movies were watched, but when she was upset she wouldn’t scribble into a diary or bang things into walls or scream, she would cry. It wasn’t just any usual cries; it was terrible, pitiful screams that were heard all the way from her dormitory and into the common room. This had stopped in her second year, but they had started up again soon after her father’s death in her fourth year.
Her father had died the summer of the fourth year she would have gone off to Hogwarts, and it had nearly ripped her apart. Her father and her had been very close; they were the couple that had always stayed up late on Saturday nights until two or three in the morning during the summers and before school had started, watching movies that Emma had picked out and eating candy and sweets until they threw up. Literally, that was the two’s trademark--- buying loads of candy and consuming it. Anytime Emma was feeling sad she would find a bag or bar of candy and eat it, wallowing in sad memories but trying to find the strength to make newer, happier ones. Emma’s father had spoiled her with no mercy; if she wanted ice cream, she got ice cream, even if it was late and no store was open. Emma’s father, of course, was the best dad a child could ask for, and she truly was a ‘daddy’s girl’. She had only realised that she had always taken his company for granted after he was gone. She had cherished it, but she had never thought about death and its effects on the person it disturbed. She was too young and shouldn’t have been exposed to it that early anyhow, so why should she even ponder something so morbid?
While Emma’s family was not the richest, they considered themselves middle class and had enough to get what they needed. But when her father had died, her mother had sunk into a deep depression and not wanted to work, eat . . . do anything, really, but stare at an old picture frame and think about ‘what could have beens’. Emma had wanted to do the same, but she knew that she had been destined to do something great with her life. Even though her father had died, a piece of him still lived on inside of her, and she would never, ever forget him. She still mourned for him inside, but on the outside she eventually grew back to her old self, waning to make him proud.
But Brett had been the source of light throughout everything for her. He had comforted her at any time she needed; whether she’d call his house at four in the morning or three in the afternoon, he’d always put on his sneakers and a shirt, even if he were in the middle of something, and meet her somewhere to talk during the summers. While in school, they possessed special coins that would always grow freezing cold in their pockets if one were in need of the other.
Brett had sandy blonde hair mixed with a tinge of light brown that spun into small wisps of curls under his ears. His brown eyes were the casual eyes you would see, but Emma thought them the most beautiful thing on earth. His smile was adorable, some girls said, and while he wasn’t the most popular boy in his year at Hogwarts, he did have admirers and friends. Brett was mostly quiet unless he was around his very best companions. He didn’t make them easily for his shy nature, and if he had them they were cherished. Emma was his very best friend, and to say the least, he loved her.
He was in Ravenclaw, proof that he was intelligent, and he prided himself in his studies and helped tutor smaller children in his House when help was needed. He spent most of his time with Emma--- they had all of the same classes and they dined together and helped each other with homework. They both were exceptionally smart; they made good grades in nearly everything they worked on. Their professors thought them a good match for the next Prefects.
Emma and Brett were so close it was sickening to some. They could tell each other anything without being hesitant, which made them even closer. They could talk about friends, parents, magic . . . the possibilities were endless. Their parents thought it unhealthy, but after Emma’s father’s death no one really had paid attention anymore. Both sets of adults figured it was time for the two to grow up, and they knew that Brett provided the endless comfort Emma sought. Emma felt safe with Brett; nothing could harm her while she was in his arms. Then, one not so very special day, they were in love.
They had been best friends and neighbours since they were only a year old, their parents friends since their own school days. Muggles, they were called, but their children were different, both of them a witch and wizard. They had been showing it since the day they were born, being able to levitate objects and throw things across the room when they were angry or upset, and changing a colour of a dress or shirt when they didn’t want to wear it.
Being together was as normal as breathing for the two. And they knew that they would be together forever.
~ * ~
“No, Mom! I’m going to be the one to tell her, she’s my friend.” Silence followed for a moment before Emma had the courage to knock on the door of Brett’s home, and he immediately stepped out without taking a backwards glance and slammed the door. He looked extremely upset when he walked out, not even looking at Emma but acknowledging her presence.
“Let’s go back to the field. I . . . need to talk to you, Emma,” he told her softly, finally deciding to take a glance at her before walking ahead and crossing his arms, silently going to their hiding place.
Emma nodded and ran up to meet him. She took his hand, walking slowly and solemnly to their hiding place, bringing a red quilt to lie on and gaze at the stars. She knew not to ask anything about the quarrel he had just had with his parents until they got to their spot. The sun was now nearly out of sight, hidden behind a horizon of pretty blues, yellows, and pinks, and the limited light cast shadows on their faces as they finally sat down. All they did was sit there in silence. Emma decided to finally break it.
“What was that about?” she asked quietly, picking at the grass, the grains of dirt from the ground getting lodged under her fingernails. She didn’t look up, only voiced her question as she stared at the ground.
Brett sat there in stillness for a few moments. Then he shook his head, scoffing as he shrugged his shoulders.
“What is it, Brett?” she asked soothingly, reaching up to grab his hand again. He didn’t necessarily shove her away, but he didn’t recognize it. He looked at her fingers as if it was something he’d never see before, and didn’t take it. Emma noticed that he was gazing out at the sky through blurry eyes.
“Brett . . .” she asked questioningly. “Seriously, come on. You know you can tell me anything.” She gave him a soft but playful punch in the shoulder, sending him off balance and swaying, but his thin mouth still stayed in its grim line, not even allowing a smirk to play at his lips.
Brett shook his head again, finally making contact with her eyes and opening his mouth.
“We have to move.”
Emma’s heart felt as if it had just exploded.
“Wh- what?” she asked. She was surprised that he could even hear her answer, her voice was so small.
“Mom and Dad’s jobs require them to move somewhere . . . else. Somewhere up north. There’s no avoiding it.” He shook his head furiously again, shrugging his shoulders hardheartedly. He just looked into the sky, rolling his eyes back and forth irately from the forthcoming tears that he wanted, needed to shed, for they were comfort, but he just couldn’t in front of Emma. “It’s like I can’t. Like I’m not allowed. I can’t move away from here, away from you.”
She gave him a watery smile, reaching up her arms to wrap them around herself to warm her body. It was nearly eighty-something degrees, but she suddenly felt freezing. She caressed her shoulders with her fingers, her teeth chattering.
“Why? Why do you have to go?” she asked suddenly, looking up at him.
“I have to leave in two weeks.”
Two weeks? It might as well be today. That was no time at all.
“Well, we’ll still be able to see each other at Hogwarts, right? A summer won’t be that hard. We can write back and forth, and use the phone even if it’s long distance. And we can visit. I’m sure our parents will understand---”
“Emma, I have to leave Hogwarts, too.”
Emma’s eyes suddenly widened and all she could do was stare at him with her mouth trying to find something to do other than burst into a sob or scream and yell and hit him, telling him that he wouldn’t, that he couldn’t leave her. She had been trying to convince herself in those last few split seconds that it wouldn’t so bad, just a summer . . . but when he had told her virtually no contact . . . not even school together . . .
“You can stay here.”
“Emma, please don’t make it harder than it already is.”
“No, maybe my parents could let you have the room upstairs, you know, the one we don’t use? Maybe your parents will let you stay here during the summers for a month or so, and you can stay with them the other half of it, and then we’ll be going to Hogwarts, so you won’t be seeing your parents anyhow, so---”
“Emma . . .” He blinked back his own tears and shifted on the blanket, bringing his face closer to hers.
“You know that I couldn’t impose myself like that.”
“No,” she said defiantly, rolling her eyes at him, “you know that my parents wouldn’t care. You know that. You’re already like a second son to them. It’s just a matter of your parents saying yes.” Her smile elated him and gave him a small ray of hope, but it was soon crushed because he knew he couldn’t. His parents would never allow it.
Brett just shook his head. “Emma, please. Don’t.”
Emma had pulled up more of the grass beneath her trembling frame, and she now had a small pile next to her. The small blades sliced at her palms, drawing small droplets of blood every now and then, but she didn’t care. Her life, as she knew it, was ruined. Her heart was torn apart, and her best friend was leaving her. She knew how hard it would be to keep a long distance relationship, whether he was a friend or a boyfriend. She set her head into her hands and she heard sobs emerging from her throat. She soon felt soft hands on her own, pulling them away.
“Emma, please don’t cry. I can’t bear it.” He reached out his arms and she snatched him closer to her, and before they knew it, they both were sobbing into each other’s arms.
And before they even realized what they were doing, Emma felt her arms wrapped around his neck and his lips pressed into her own. It felt so good; there were no words to express how sad she had just been, but to change her feelings so drastically from that last moment to this was amazing. She felt so free in kissing Brett; he had been her first and only kiss, and she cherished them so when they happened. But this one, she could tell, meant something. A lot of somethings.
But after it was broken, another one followed, and then another. His lips were soft against hers, and they could soon feel their ragged breaths from their former sobs still caught in their throats, but both of their breaths had been caught from this sudden kiss that they were soon found pulling apart for air. They both laughed in merry, then pulling in for another kiss.
By the time they had travelled home, it was nearly two in the morning. No, they hadn’t done anything they would eventually regret, but they both had spoken to each other about bottled up feelings, parents who ruined lives, and the forthcoming of their relationship and how it could work even though they were going to be so far apart. They had both heard the endless chatter of long-term relationships and how it eventually wore down the couple to where each wanted to see other people, but they knew in their hearts that they cherished one another, and would never allow that to happen.
Brett’s home was sold soon after the announcement, and all of their belongings placed into boxes and a moving truck soon after that. Emma suddenly realised that she may never see Brett again unless one of them begged their parents enough to pay for a visit. She could travel to see him any time after she got her Apparition License, but it would have to wait until her seventh year; she wouldn’t be of age until then.
As she watched Brett pull out of the driveway in the back of the station wagon that his parents owned and the moving truck in the rear of them, Emma realised that she already missed him. He placed a shivering hand onto the glass window as he placed his headphones of his music played in his ears, only staring at Emma. He’d soon return, and he’d always be faithful to her. He’d wait for her, just like he knew she’d wait for him.
The tears were falling thick and fast down Emma’s face before he was even out of sight.