The Blackthorns

The Burrow

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. Therefore I do not own the HP characters or world. I do however own any number of original characters you might meet along the way.

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Our story begins one summer night...

*~* The Burrow *~*

"I'm sorry, Harry. I'm so sorry about Sirius," Hermoine said softly. There was something in her voice that stopped Harry from snapping back at her as he might have done. She was sitting next to Harry on one of the Twins' beds after Ron had run off at his Mum's command.

"I'm all alone now, Hermione. Remus is great, but Sirius was my godfather, my dad's brother in all but blood. The person they trusted to raise me if something happened to them. He was the last of my family. It's not the same," Harry muttered as Hermione dropped her head on his shoulder.

Oh, how that would have hurt Remus. They both knew it, but it was true nonetheless. Harry Potter had no one else he could claim as family. Hermoine bit her lip for a second.

"I know what you mean. The Aurors came to see me while I was in hospital. Apparently Professor McGonagall contacted them when she tried to see them about my delay going home. They had pa-packed up everything and were moving away. No forwarding address. They told McGonagall to take all my things with her. Then they signed me over to be a Hogwarts ward like I was nothing. Apparently everything recently was just too much for them to handle. They left me. Looks like we're both alone." She allowed herself to feel it. The hurt over being abandoned and alone.

"My dad and Sirius were like brothers. Even their magic recognized it they had such a strong bond. Like you and me, You've always stood by me never wavered not even when Ron did. You're my sister. Or that's how I think of you," came Harry's sympathetic voice touched with a bit of shyness

"Yeah, I think of you the same way. I guess we aren't as alone as we thought." Which had been her point in sharing that mortifying piece of trauma.

"Did you ever see kids on the playground, swear to be blood brothers?" Harry began, with half-laugh, "Or was that only a boy thing? I sometimes wonder if Dad and Sirius did it."

"I saw it a few times. I don't think I ever saw a girl do it. Why?" She could almost see the moment he decided it was a good idea.

"You and me, Moine. We're going to do it. I'll be your brother and you'll be my sister and neither of us will be alone."

She almost told him no, but as she looked in his eyes she admitted, even if only to herself, one fundamental truth in her life: she would do anything for Harry. They both needed this. They both need someone to belong to; so she sighed and agreed.

Now, anyone who had grown up in the wizarding world would have warned them about what they were doing. Vows were serious business in the Wizarding world. And you never added magic unless you wanted to make the binding even more powerful. It was an unwritten rule in the wizarding world. Funnily enough, no one had ever thought to teach the two muggle raised friends the unwritten rules. They had barely been taught some of the written ones.

Harry took out his wand and did a simple cutting spell on his left palm, while Hermoine did the same. The grasped bleeding palms together Hermione only moaning a little bit about it being unhygienic.

Harry smirked but looked her straight in the eye. "You are now my sister, even in blood. I will never abandon you. I will always protect and defend you."

"You are now my brother, even in blood. I will never abandon you. I will always support and encourage you."

The magic hummed in their blood and neither noticed the glow around their clasped hands.