FOREVER BOUND, FOREVER FRIENDS

Disclaimer: If I owned HP then Sirius would still be alive, but I don't which is why he was killed by JK.

Summary: A character piece about the Golden Trio. What they're like from the point of view of another Gryffindor. Set after HBP, but they're still at Hogwarts.

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Being a Gryffindor isn't a picnic like everyone always believes. We have a reputation to uphold. We are supposed to be the brave ones, the ones that protect the school from danger. And everyone expects us to be like them.

Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The Golden Trio of Gryffindor. They're proud, smart, brave, reckless and courageous, so in other words they're the perfect Gryffindors. And they're not afraid to show it.

Sure, we Gryffindors are brave; the Sorting Hat wouldn't have put us in this noble house if we weren't. But we're not like them. For them, bravery means facing dragons, basilisks, Dementors, Death Eaters and even the Dark lord. And they take it all in their stride, as though they expect it to happen to them, as though they think it's their burden to protect the noble castle of Hogwarts, especially now that Headmaster Dumbledore has died.

And perhaps they do think that. Perhaps they really do take it in their stride. It has always amazed me how those three can go through unimaginable horrors but still laugh and joke as if it was nothing.

I know that if it was me, I would just want to curl up under the covers and die. But they just 'smile and wave' and they continue on with their day, never mentioning how much it must hurt to nobody but each other.

And it does hurt them. You can see it in their eyes. It all started after the Tri-wizard Tournament. Perhaps it was the death of Cedric Diggory or perhaps it was the resurrection of the Dark lord. Either way, after that year their eyes became slightly haunted. But it wasn't enough for many people to notice so they didn't. They just ignored it.

But something had definitely changed. While before, they had only rushed into danger if they had no other choice, it seemed that the events of the previous year had had a profound effect on them, for they became more reckless, more willing to take chances, no matter the cost.

That was how the DA was born. But something else happened that year. Nobody knows what, how or why, just that it did. The Trio along with three other members of the DA, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, or disappeared one night, last seen heading into the forbidden forest. They reappeared a few days later in the hospital wing, but they were changed, emotionally scarred, Harry Potter most of all.

In the Daily Prophet it was discovered that they had, once again, faced Voldemort and triumphed. But what else had happened that night? Nobody knew and it was a secret the Trio, with their companions, guarded with all their might.

The next year it was even more obvious that the strain was getting to them. To the rest of the world, even to the rest of the school, they were still 'The Golden Trio', the Chosen One and his two best friends. But those of us in the noble house of Godric Gryffindor realized what others did not. They were a trio of sixteen year-olds and they were expected to do everything. It was only a matter of time before they bulked under the pressure.

Which they did, Harry was caught using dark magic on a student (though it was Malfoy), Hermione had a screaming match with Ron who started dating Lavender Brown, though it was obvious he did not like her in that way.

And then when Dumbledore died, the illustrious Golden Trio had done what they had been threatening to do since the end of their fourth year. They cracked under the strain.

They started to get noticeable bags under their eyes; they were always in the library studying something they never told anyone about. They were closer than close. Hermione even took up residence in the boys dormitories on a conjured camp-bed so that she could be closer to her friends.

They comforted each other, they ate together and they studied a mysterious subject together. The Daily Prophet was constantly talking about how the Trio apparently had a plan to defeat Voldemort, which seemed to just make them study harder.

Several times I found them sleeping on top of their books in the library. I covered them up with blankets, each time noticing the ever-growing bags under their eyes. It was obvious they were not getting enough sleep.

No longer were they ever out of each others sight and company. There were rumours going around that they were going to leave Hogwarts and not return next year, their final year.

And we can tell that it is the truth. For although their eyes are filled with pain, tiredness and grief, there is also determination.

Determination to prove to Voldemort that they are not weak, and that he will not win. Determination to stay friends, no siblings, no matter what he threw at them. Determination to stay together through thick and thin, no matter what the world may throw at them.

And though they are haunted by the horrors they have seen, I know they will succeed, for they are the perfect Gryffindors, and they will not give up until they have won this war, and proved that all that have died did not do so in vain.

We in Gryffindor try to help them, play pranks to give them something to laugh about, surrender the common room when it seems they have something important on their minds, by taking them food so they don't starve. Whenever we find a way to help, we do so.

Because while the rest of the world may see Harry, Ron and Hermione as the invincible Golden Trio we Gryffindors see them as a trio of teenagers with the weight of the world on their shoulders trying to get through the day.

But no matter how you see them or what you think of them you can always tell that they are and they always will be Forever bound, forever Friends.

((())) Authors Note ((()))

Well, that just didn't turn out the way I expected it to. I don't know why, but please tell me what you think! Was it good, horrible, missing something… please tell me what you guys thing by reviewing!

Seriously guys, this is my first venture into the Harry Potter universe and I would love to know what you guys think about it. So please review!

Amber-chick