Esprit de Corps

Chapter 2

Ronald Weasley awoke with a start, shaking and breathless. Rubbing his eyes, he glanced at the clock by his bedside. 3:20 A.M.

Ron wiped the sweat from his brow and stood up. He crept downstairs as silently as he could, careful not to wake up his family. He didn't want anyone to know about the horrible nightmare he'd had just now; especially since it was about his best friend, Harry Potter.

I wonder what Harry is doing right now, he thought, hoping what he'd seen in his dream was not true. Nah, real dreams are Harry's cup of tea, not mine, he thought, trying to comfort himself as he poured himself a cold glass of water and gulped it down. He immediately felt a little better.

But his worries didn't dissipate. He had been very worried about his best friend since the Ministry incident in June...Harry had lost the only parent figure he had ever known in his life...as if he didn't have enough to trouble him already...what with Lord Voldemort following him around all time and the public worshipping and hating him at their convenience...poor Harry. There had been a time when Ron had been jealous of Harry. Very, very jealous of his fame, his wealth...

But not anymore. Ron had realised the burden his friend had to carry, and he intended to support Harry through it. That's what friends were for...

Ron headed back to his room quietly. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep now...not after what he'd seen. It had been too vivid...too real...he wouldn't be at peace until he knew that his friend was all right...he wondered if he should tell anyone about the dream...it had been really unlike his normal ones...there had been a greenish mist all around...

Hermione.

Ron was happy he'd come up with the idea. She would know what to do. She'd been given a new car by her parents, and she could drive out to places...she could visit Harry the Muggle way without arousing any suspicion...like they'd already done twice before.

Ron wrote down a short note to Hermione.

Dear Hermione,

I had a really frightening dream concerning Harry just now. I'm worried. Can you check up on him and inform me?

Love,

Ron.

He tied the letter to his owl Pig's leg and the little bird zoomed out of the window. Ron watched his pet go...Sirius had given Pig to him...

Ron returned to his bed and tried to sleep, but in vain. His mind would shift to his awful dream again and again...Ron thought about asking his father, but rejected the idea at once; the order members weren't telling them anything about Harry's condition or anything. All they said was that Harry would join them soon; sooner than ever before. Ron wondered how soon it would be. Three weeks of July had already passed. Next week was Harry's birthday...

Ron's musings were broken by the arrival of his owl. He was shocked that Hermione had replied so promptly...hadn't she been sleeping? He untied the letter quickly as he glanced at the clock. 6:30 A.M.

Dear Ron,

I am worried, too. I felt something like terror and woke up at 3:20 in the morning. I didn't see anything though. I just felt that something had happened to him...I haven't been able to sleep since, and I think, neither have you. I've been looking through certain books, but I haven't found anything yet. I'll drive out to Little Whinging soon after sunrise - I wish I could go right now, but I think I'll land him in trouble with the Dursleys for appearing at such ungodly hours. It'll take me around three hours to get there. If Hedwig is there, I'll send a note to you. Then I'll drive over to Ottery St. Catchpole with him. Meet you there around noon. I'm having the feeling that I'll have to force some breakfast into him before we come to you...

Let's just hope that he's okay.

Love,

Hermione.

Ron's eyebrows arched so high that they disappeared into his red hair. Hermione had felt something, too? Was something really wrong with Harry? Had his dream been true? He fervently hoped that it wasn't.