Esprit de Corps

Chapter 5

"How are you feeling, Harry?"

Harry Potter looked up into the face of Hermione Granger and attempted a weak grin.

"Fine, 'Mione. Where am I?"

"Hospital Wing at Hogwarts."

"How'd I get here?" he asked, bewildered.

"I Port-keyed you and myself."

"You what?" Harry was wide awake now. He tried to sit up, but Hermione pushed him back.

"Rest. Ron'll be here soon."

"You used magic? Out of school? They'll expel you!" he cried.

"Dumbledore said they won't. He'll take care of it."

Harry laid back, a bit relaxed.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"Who did that to you?"

"His family," came a bitter voice from the doorway and Ron Weasley ran in and pushing all restraints of manhood aside, hugged his best friend so tightly that Harry nearly choked.

"I'm so glad that you're okay, Harry," Ron said, wiping his eyes. Hermione patted his shoulder and Harry patted his arm.

"How'd you know?" Harry asked curiously.

"You mean it was the Dursleys that stabbed you?" hissed Hermione, "I'll kill them if it's the last thing I do!" She stood up abruptly.

"Cool down, 'Mione," said Harry softly, "they were under the Imperius. There was someone else there, too, but I couldn't see him."

"Neither did I," said Ron.

Harry looked amazed.

"Explain," he ordered his friends. Upon hearing what had happened, he smiled and said, "Lucky me...I'd be dead if it hadn't been for you...the Order people wouldn't have come until the day after..."

"Fantastic job they're doing of looking after you," growled Ron, "and they won't even tell me anything!"

"Enough of this nonsense. They're incapable of looking after Harry. I am staying with him wherever he is for the rest of the summer," said Hermione firmly.

"Me, too," said Ron.

"Guys, I don't think you..."

"SHUT UP, HARRY!" Ron and Hermione shouted simultaneously.

Harry looked abashed and hung his head. After a few minutes of silence, he said softly, "You two need to know something about me before you decide anything..."

Ron and Hermione looked at him strangely.

"I'm destined to be a murderer," whispered Harry.

"We all are, Harry. This is war. And we are soldiers in it. There will be casualties..." said Hermione calmly. Ron nodded.

"No, you don't understand...I have to kill Voldemort or he will kill me!"

Harry's best friends stared at him. Staring at his feet, Harry told them all about the prophecy of Trelawny that Dumbledore that told him in June...

The room was deathly silent when he finished. Harry didn't look up at his friends, afraid of what he would see in their eyes. Disgust? Pity?

He felt two warm hands on each of his shoulders and looked up at his two friends on either side of him. Hermione was to his right, with her left hand on his shoulder and her right fist on her chest. Ron was to his left, his right hand on his shoulder and his left fist on his chest. Both of them looked very serious. They nodded at each other and chanted clearly,

"By all the magic that resides in us,

By all the powers of the universe,

By all our wealth - lot or few,

By all we hold holy and true,

We bind till death ourselves to thee,

To be used as it need be,

Through thick or thin; by leg or hand,

By thy side shall forever we stand."

Ron and Hermione glowed with a soft white light and Harry felt a strange warmth pass through him. He put his own hands on his friends' and he noticed that his own hands were glowing with a greenish light. Ron and Hermione glowed green for a few seconds and Harry felt himself glowing as well. Then they returned to their normal state, feeling strangely joyous.

"What did you do?" asked Harry.

"We bound ourselves to you. We pledged our loyalty to you," said Ron.

"You would not have been fully convinced of our support otherwise," said Hermione softly.

Harry was dumbstruck. He didn't know what to say. He felt as if his heart was swelling within him...his friends had not rejected him; they had accepted him and they had sworn to be by his side forever...he felt a fierce surge of affection for his friends. He would kill Voldemort for them. He would not let them be harmed.

There was a sudden flash of light and all three felt a strange sensation on their left wrists. They held it up and saw that a white and green blossom had appeared there...it was very beautiful and was glowing softly.

"Is this supposed to happen after the oath?" Harry asked. Ron shook his head.

"I don't even know what it is," he said.

"The mark of our friendship..." whispered Hermione, "the symbol of our love for each other..."

She looked up at the boys with tears in her eyes. Ron's eyes widened. Harry looked confused.

"What does this mean?" he asked. Ron and Hermione turned to him, their eyes shining with unshed tears.

"This means," said Ron shakily, "this means that we're family."

Harry felt his own eyes water. Ron and Hermione threw themselves on him and the three of them clung to each other as they laughed and cried simultaneously.