Chronicles of Camelot

No matter what

When Hermione Granger saw the doors to the Hospital Wing open, the last person she had expected to be brought through them was Ronald Weasley, let alone in the state he was: his jaw was broken and his nose seemed almost flattened against his face; he had both eyes blackened and, as he passed her bed, Hermione then noticed the dried blood on his robes.

One name came to the mind of the young Miss Granger, "Harry."

The only question was why he had done it and, as Hermione continued to look, she then saw her fellow second-years Dean and Seamus walking into the Wing, both of them looking to the battered carcass before, to her surprise; they both walked over to her bed and stood there, almost protectively.

"Guys?" asked Hermione worriedly, "What happened?"

"I think it best that Harry explain it to you Hermione," Dean advised her, remaining at his post as if ordered. "Cliff Notes version: Ron called you practice and Harry became the Hurricane that we all know and fear."

'Oh no,' thought Hermione, watching as the door opened once more, this time admitting the familiar figure of her boyfriend, his emerald eyes filled with rage as he saw the two Gryffindors standing there; at a closer glance, Hermione also noticed that Harry's hair was almost literally standing on end, raw magic being exuded as he walked over towards her. 'How could Ron do something so stupid as to insult me in Harry's presence?'

"What are you two still doing here?" asked Harry warningly, his tone of voice telling Hermione all she needed to know: the wrong word would probably cost them the ability to reproduce or, even worse, walk over the summer.

"We're here protecting something that is worth more than gold to you Harry," Dean explained, before he stepped aside and watched as the two Gryffindors embraced one another, Hermione running a soft hand through Harry's black hair, the raw magic leaving him in calming waves as he felt his girlfriend's hands on him.

'Good answer,' thought Hermione, before she looked at her Harry and asked, "Dean gave me the cliff notes version, but I want to hear it from you Harry: what happened to put Ron in here?"

Harry didn't waste time explaining: as he did, his voice became slightly darker and a lot less innocent until it sounded like Harry Potter had become The Terminator: his voice was cold and emotionless as he looked up at Hermione, "I will never allow anyone to say a cross-word about my girl: I promised you that I would love you and protect you and, if that means resorting to Muggle means to deal with the situation then so be it."

"All right," Hermione replied, her hand still soothing Harry's rising temper, "But please Harry, if you need to resort to that, then make sure I am around to keep you calm: I don't want my boyfriend getting into trouble over some idiot who can't keep his mouth shut; promise?"

"I promise," Harry replied, now fully calmed as he seemed to curl up in front of his Hermione, her soft hands even more therapeutic than even her kind words could have managed. Looking from his girlfriend to Dean and Seamus, Harry nodded calmly to them, "Thank you both for what you chose to do: my Hermione means more to me than you can ever understand. I know it's not much, but I hope that I can start considering the two of you as my friends as well as Neville."

"We'd be glad to be friends with you Harry," Dean answered, before he indicated Hermione as he added, "Besides, my mother always taught me to stand up for my friends and, even though my dad decided to do a runner, I stand true to my beliefs. I'll protect Hermione when you're unable to be there and Hermione, I'll do the same for Harry."

"He's right," Seamus agreed, "Think of us as your personal bodyguards and the first line of defence between idiots like the git over there and the Oncoming Storm."