The Burrow: The Triumvirate
By Lauren Besquillo
We all know them and have grown to love them–the infamous HP trio. Whether it be in the books or the movies, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are the superheroes of their time. Their unbreakable friendship and undying loyalty to each other has led to exciting adventures and has carried them over through tough times. Their loyalty and friendship is the stuff of legend.
Numerous examples of their friendship can be found almost everywhere in the HP series. However, only two will be focused on: the beginning of their friendship in Sorcerer’s Stone and the tribulations that put their friendship to the test in Order of the Phoenix. Their relationship is at its strongest during the more heated areas in the books, which seem to be the most important and have the most effect on them. Every friendship has a beginning. In Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s friendship is young and unadulterated. They have not yet seen the hardships they will encounter. Harry and Ron became fast friends, but Hermione took a little more than an introductory handshake. Their first test together was when Professor Quirrell released the mountain troll, and both Harry and Ron set out to find Hermione. This shows but a mere inkling of their eventual relationship with each other. It shows that both Harry and Ron care for Hermione. They risk their lives to save her, and in doing so win her trust and her friendship. Their relationship is basically formed out of sacrifice. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are tested again with their search for the Sorcerer’s Stone itself. Both willpower and physical limits are tested in the quest to find the Stone, and at the end, everything turns out alright. Their friendship at the end of SS/PS is the beginning of something bigger.
OotP is probably one of the most difficult times for the trio. Not just because of the dreaded “P” word, but also because of what people think of Harry.
Harry doesn’t hear of anything from his friends or Dumbledore the entire summer, and without warning gets attacked by Dementors. He is then accused of using powerful magic outside of school grounds and faces an expulsion from Hogwarts. No one tells him what is going on when he reaches Grimmauld Place, and Hermione is practically in tears when she tells him how much she wants to tell him everything. In addition, Harry is almost declared mentally insane by some, if not many of the wizards throughout the world. Even his fellow Gryffindors don’t trust him anymore. The only people who truly stand by him are Ron and Hermione. They are the only ones who do not believe that Harry is crazy. Their loyalty and friendship is strengthened tenfold as they stand firmly at Harry’s side.
Even though Harry is jealous of both Ron and Hermione for quite a number of reasons, he still protects them and cares for them. He does not show his anger when Ron and Hermione are chosen to be prefects, or when Ron continues to play as the new Keeper for the Gryffindor team while Harry is banned from Quidditch; yet, he puts his own life on the line when they all enter the Department of Mysteries. Friendship and loyalty are shown both ways when he warns them not to tag along, and yet they still persisted on going with him.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione would not have been the same if they were not friends with each other. The friendship they share and the loyalty they hold are too great for even Lord Voldemort to damage.
