The Gryffindor Secret: Chapter 3

It was really just their luck that it was Percy who caught them. It was mid-way through second year, shortly after the disastrous dueling club. They were slowly spending more nights in the others' beds, usually Harry's. For his particular incident they were in Ron's, Harry already cuddled close to the red-head. Hermione, as usual, had waited till past midnight to sneak out of her dorm and up into the boys'.

It was only Wednesday, but this was the third time they shared a bed that week. Hermione had been having terror filled dreams of monsters stalking the halls, creeping up behind her boys. Ron has dreamed of Hermione and Harry, unprotected because of their blood statues, stiff with petrifaction, eyes dead to the world. Harry's dreams, his nightmares, were filled with Voldemort hissing about heirs and joining him in the purification of the wizarding world. They needed each other.

But, as fate would have it, in Hermione's hurry to the dorm of her boys, she missed the red-haired prefect as he studied by the fire, but he didn't miss her.

With in minutes of Percy dragging the embarrassed trio down to the common room after finding the three curled up in Ron's bed, the entire of Gryffindor tower was gathered around the screaming prefect and the infamous second years.

"I don't know what you were thinking! Other than you weren't! Sharing a Bad! What is the matter with you three?" Percy shouted.

"Perc…" Ron tried to explain.

"Be quiet Ronald!" Percy cut him off breathing heavily, "Go back to your dorms. Your separate dorms. And go to sleep!"

With one last glare at Percy and the other staring Gryffindors Hermione hugged her boys tight and walked up the stairs to her dorm, her head held high. Ron and Harry stared at Percy, who pointed to the stairs that led to boys' dorm. Quickly the two second years went to their dorm and climbed into their respective beds. Silently they closed their eyes and ignored the whisperings of their roommates.

With in 45 minutes of all of Gryffindor Tower being awoken by the screaming prefect, they were all asleep. It didn't last long though, the noise woke Lavender and Paravti first, Hermione was whimpering and crying in her sleep, occasionally shouting "No!" and "Please! Leave them alone!". The next to wake was the second year boys, the combination of cries and screams of Ron and Harry soon woke the rest of Gryffindor Tower. Franticly and confused the occupants of the tower scrambled down to the common room as Hermione's screams punctured the air.

It was chaos in the boys' dorm; Ron and Harry were screaming and clawing at their arms, "Harry! Harry! Ron! Wake up! Please wake up!" Neville shouted, as Seamus and Dean tried to hold their arms down.

Harry woke with a yelp, and quickly yanked his arms out of Dean's grip and scrambled out of his bed and into Ron's, whose thrashings evaded Seamus' attempts to hold him down. Harry cuddled close to Ron, the thrashing stopping almost immediately. The dorm door banged open and Hermione, supported by Fred and George, was thrust into the boys' embrace as she continued to sob loudly. The three of them huddled close, automatically assuming their usual position of Hermione and Ron using Harry as a pillow, his arms around them.

The gathered students stared down at the trio, trying to understand what had just happened. They all knew about what had happen with Quirrel at the end of the previous year, but none of them had put it into context of three eleven year olds almost dying.

Many students had gone pale, and Fred and George herded all of them down into the common room. Once all of the students had settled into various seats, some even just sitting on the floor, Fred spoke, "We just have to ignore it."

"What? Fred, they are sharing a bed!" Percy shouted, although he too was extremely pale.

"And they are our family Percy!" retorted George, "Haven't you realized it yet!"

"They will always be best friends, even after Hogwarts! They are going to be together at the Burrow every summer, every Christmas Mum will make them a sweater, and every time something happens with Ron they are going to be there!" Fred shouted at his older brother.

"Do you really think this will stop? That they stop sharing a bed? It obviously stops their nightmares!"

"Remember this summer! Ron woke up at least three times a week with a nightmare until Harry came!"

"Why do you think they stopped?"

"They shared a bed then, and now they share one here."

"We just have to ignore it happening."

"Ignore it. Don't acknowledge it. Don't say anything about it to anyone outside the house. No teachers, no other students, no friends.

"Nothing to your parents, nothing to McGonagall, nothing to anyone."

Fred and George breathed heavily at the end of their speech; the rest of the tower looked shocked, for once the twins were serious about something.

"Okay." Percy said, "I'll ignore it."

George eyed the rest of the room, "And you guys? Are you going to ignore it? Will you take on a Hufflepuff trait and be loyal?"

"Will you betray your fellow Gryffindor?" Fred added.

All around the common rooms heads nodded, the decision was unanimous. Together a student from each year stood up and spoke, "We will ignore it. We swear as Gryffindors. We swear on Magic."

"So mote it be." Fred and George replied.

"So mote it be." Intoned every student that sat around the common room.

That night the Gryffindor Secret was finalized. No one would say anything to anyone, and the next night when the Grandfather clock struck midnight, with 12 long 'Clangs', one boy in the second year dorm slid into the bed next to his, and not five minutes later the dorm door opened, and a girl with bushy brown hair snuck into the bed that held her boys and together they cuddled and comforted, and went to sleep.