by tranquilitas
A/N: Chapter three reposted! This has been beta-read. Thanks, trina-k! . Hope you enjoy! Reviews (constructive criticisms, suggestions, the occasional flame) are very much appreciated.
DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and co. doesn't belong to me! The names of the Blythes are not mine either!
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Chapter 3: Soldiers of Light
"She's gone," Hermione confirmed, letting go of the woman's wrist. "Let's bring her to the castle. Professor Dumbledore will know what to do."
Ron nodded his reply.
She conjured a stretcher which lifted gently off the ground with the woman's body aboard. Ron waited for her at the other edge of the secluded area, swaying gently as the child squirmed a little in his arms. Side by side, they walked toward the Hogwarts castle.
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Dinner was always a glorious event at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Students sat upon the four long House tables chatting happily about the day's events accompanied by the symphony of the light clanging of the cutlery on the gold dinner plates.
A certain dark-haired boy, though, was merely pushing his food around with a fork. He'd occasionally pop a spoonful of food into his mouth, slowly chew on it, and then return to his brooding. He sighed as he ran a distracted hand through his hair, messing it up more that it was already was.
"Anything the matter, Harry?" Seamus Finnigan asked his Housemate.
"Got anything to do with the fact that there are two empty seats beside you?" Dean Thomas pressed on. They both knew, of course, what had occurred. In fact, almost the entire school knew. Ron and Hermione knew just when to put up a show for the enjoyment of the whole academic population. Ron just had to open his mouth and ask Hermione about Bulgaria.
"Would the two of you bugger off! Harry doesn't need any more pestering." defended Neville Longbottom, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Harry Potter smiled a little in gratitude. He wasn't really in the mood to retort. "We've certainly given him a backbone," he mused to himself silently. "Thanks, Neville," he said, this time, out loud.
Neville patted him on the shoulder with a smile and went back to his seat to continue eating, hitting Dean and Seamus on the backside on the head as he passed.
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As fate would have it, when they entered the hospital wing, the Headmaster himself was checking on the students in the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey quickly entered the scene and walked over to check the body laid on the stretcher behind Hermione.
"Good evening, Professor." Hermione greeted.
Before she could continue, however, the old professor began to talk.
"Good evening, Ms. Granger. No need to explain, Mr. Weasley." he interrupted Ron as he opened his mouth to speak. "I received a letter from a neighbor of the late Mr. Gilbert Blythe, informing me of the attack. I see you've found Mr. Blythe's wife and his daughter," he said.
Hermione laid the stretcher down on the floor with a wave of her wand. Madame Pomfrey extracted the small girl from Ron's hold to check on her condition. As soon as she had left his arms, she started wailing loudly.
"That's odd," Hermione noted. "She was quiet the entire time we were in the forest."
It was evident that Madame Pomfrey was having a hard time calming the almost hysterical child. Ron, irritated and tired of hearing the little one scream her voice hoarse, took her from the matron's hold. Amazingly, she quieted almost immediately.
"How peculiar." Dumbledore remarked.
Hermione approached Ron and laid a hand on the little girl's arm, her other hand gently stroking her auburn hair. She took out the remaining ribbon and combed through the red curls, fixing it as much as she could. Neither of them noticed the pale blue light the surrounded them as they were both too busy tending to the, now calm, toddler.
"How very peculiar, indeed," he restated. "Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, please come with me to my office. And bring the child with you."
"Her name's Gillian, Professor." corrected Ron, his eyes not leaving the little girl, who had clutched the front of his shirt tightly in her small hand.
"Very well, Mr. Weasley, please bring Gillian along," he said with a small smile, his blue eyes twinkling in amusement.
When they arrived at the Headmaster's office, Ron and Hermione took their seats in front of his desk, while Professor Dumbledore went around it to take his seat. Ron seated Gillian on his lap. Her tired brown eyes slowly drooping to sleep again.
He took a breath before explaining. "The Blythe's were very good friends of mine. Gilbert and Anne were also my students; in fact, Gilbert graduated from Ravenclaw House, and Anne from Gryffindor. This afternoon, Voldemort's Death Eaters attacked their home near the Forbidden Forest."
Hermione gasped. Ron put his cheek on Gillian's forehead in a protective manner.
"Another attack, Professor?"
"Well, Ms. Granger, Gilbert Blythe inherited from his mother the responsibility to protect a bracelet of absolute magic. For generations, they were the Bearers of the Bracelet of Aphrodite, which, I believe, is now around Gillian's right arm," he replied.
Indeed it was.
In the whirl of the recent tense events, neither Ron nor Hermione noticed the white gold charm bracelet on Gillian's wrist.
"But what does it do, Professor?" Hermione asked, examining it closely. The bracelet's charms consisted of a heart, a tear, a bird with its wings spread in flight, a silhouette of a boy, a lightning bolt, and a silhouette of a girl, each made in white gold as well. There was something, though, etched on the back of the heart. But it was so small that Hermione was unable to decipher it.
"There is a prophecy about this bracelet," answered the Headmaster. "Which I believe is something similar to: Through the magic the bracelet bestows on its bearers, it will strengthen two of the Light who will give reason and great magic to one of the Soldiers of Light who will defeat the Dark Lord."
Three words lingered on in the minds of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger: Soldiers of Light…
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"ADESDUM FLAMMA DICIO ADFIRMO!"
Jets of fire-blue light engulfed the three of them, whirling around them, touching every part of their body. Heads up, eyes closed, arms outstretched, palms open; they barely felt the flames licking their entirety and whirling about. Their feet started to lift from the floor, the power of the spell blowing through their hair. It pulled out the scrunchee that held Hermione's long brown hair in a ponytail. It raked through Harry's thick black hair and made it messier than normal. It made Ron's come alive to look like the burning torch flame that illuminated the room they were in. They felt its power surge through them, not hurting them, but giving them strength.
As quick as it came, the feeling of power left them and their feet settled back on the floor. Releasing the breath they hadn't realized they held, they looked toward the man who cast the spell.
"Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix. Welcome, Soldiers of the Light!"
.~*~.
It had been more than a year since their initiation into the Order of the Phoenix.
"We shall discuss this further tomorrow morning," Dumbledore finally said, interrupting their thoughts. "I believe, we require the presence of another."
"What about sleeping arrangements for Gillian, Professor?" Ron asked.
"Anne Blythe performed a spell before she passed away, is that correct?" they nodded. "It seems that she has cast on the three of you a very powerful binding spell. Gillian is bound to you as a child is bound to her mother and father. I believe Anne wanted to make sure that her daughter would be in good hands. You are now as much as her parents as Gilbert and Anne Blythe were." He concluded.
With that, they bid their Headmaster good night, left the office and started for Gryffindor House.
"Can I hold her?" Hermione asked, albeit shyly. Ron stopped abruptly in mid-step, obviously thinking about something and surprised at being addressed out of the blue.
"Oh, um, sure," Ron answered. He slowly unclasped Gillian's grip on his shirt and handed her gently over to Hermione. She was uneasy for a moment but soon got used to the little one's weight. She settled her gaze on her surrogate daughter's features. She had long curly auburn hair that just passed her shoulders, a peachy complexion and cinnamon eyes behind her closed eyelids. Hermione giggled suddenly.
"What is it?" she heard Ron ask. She shifted her gaze and met his inquiring sapphire eyes.
"Gillian could very well pass as our daughter," she answered, smiling. "Her hair is similar to yours and she has my eye color."
Ron let out a nervous laugh and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I guess so. Imagine that. Listen, about earlier this evening…"
"Never mind that, Ron. Let's go back to the dorm. We have a two-year old to take care of and Harry's probably worried about us," she said. They continued on to their dorm.
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Sorry about the delay. Thanks so much for the reviews! They're what make me continue writing! ~z