Ginny fingered the silver pendant hanging from her neck. The cold temperature of the metal gave her immediate comfort. She wrapped her hand around it and squeezed tightly, closing her eyes. Ginny had been wearing the necklace for as long as she could remember, since her Birth Day. She knew all about the pendants. All of her older brothers wore similar ones, and her parents wore them. Theirs fit together like puzzle pieces, to show that they were soul mates. When a child was conceived, their soul mate was calculated and selected using data from the unborn child's parents and from the fetus, to figure out the perfect person that was meant for them. This way, no one could make a mistake in who they loved. Ginny laughed softly. That would be awful! What if someone chose wrong? When the child was born, they received their necklace, and it was a law that you must wear your necklace at all times from the day you are born, your Birth Day, to your Death Day. Sometimes the necklaces heated when you were near your soul mate, or changed colours slightly. All her brothers had yet to find a match, except for Bill. His necklace fit perfectly with Fleur Delacour's pendant. He told her at his necklace had turned an off-white instead of silvery whenever they were close. Once you find your partner, your pendant turns gold. Bill, her mother, and her father were the only ones with gold pendants. Bill had met Fleur when Ginny was thirteen in her third year, and Harry Potter was competing in the Triwizard Tournament. Harry Potter. When she was younger, perhaps six, she had gotten smacked because she said she loved him. Saying love about anyone but your soul mate was forbidden. She shuddered at the memory. She brought her necklace to her lips and breathed on it. Her necklace was a shiny silver, like all the pendants were. It had a round outer side, smooth and comforting, and a bumpy inner side that looked like a puzzle piece. She knew it would fit perfectly with her soul mate's pendant, because they were made for each other. The necklaces were too.

OoO

Ginny had been at Hogwarts for four years, and she hadn't found her soul mate yet. There was this one boy, Kristopher Porter, whose necklace was rather similar to hers. She had practically had a mini panic attack when she spotted him, and he had blanched dramatically. But as they had walked past each other, Ginny had noticed his pendant had multiple, but barely noticeable, small bumps on the outer rim, while hers was perfectly smooth. She had been incredibly relieved, as Kristopher was in Slytherin and it was rumoured he snuck into girl's lavatories and cursed them when they came out of the stalls. She cringed just thinking about it. Ginny shook the memory from her head and continued walking down the hall. She passed Harry, Ron, Hermione, Seamus, Dean, and Neville. They were all laughing, walking down the way lazily, and Ginny felt something against her chest. Her necklace was slightly warmer than it was before. This happened constantly, turned just a tad hotter. She knew this meant her soul mate was nearby, but she was beginning to doubt the necklace, because it happened so often and she hadn't found her mate. She grabbed the silver chain of her pendants and clung onto it so harshly that when she removed her hands there were indents from the chain. She rubbed her hands on her robes and joined her brother and his friends.

"Hey, Gin," Harry said, smiling.

"Hi, Harry." She grinned back, brushing her long russet hair behind her ears.

"What are you doing here?" Ron demanded, shoving a Chocolate Cauldron in his mouth.
"Talking to you lot, what do you reckon I'm doing?" Ginny snapped.

Hermione placed her hand on Ron's shoulder. He relaxed immediately. "Ron, it's fine if she stays with us. I like having your sister around. You don't care if she's here, do you?"

"Yeah, it's fine, Ginny, you can stay here." Ron smiled at Hermione, smitten. Then he drew away from her touch as if scorched. Contact between anyone but your immediate family or your soul mate was strictly forbidden. Hermione jumped away, flustered and embarrassed, and knocked into Harry, who bumped into Ginny.

"Sorry, Gin," Harry said apologetically.

"No, no, it's okay," she reassured him. Her pendant grew slightly hotter still and felt as though it was a second heart, thumping against her chest. She willed it to stop. It's not as though she could tell who her soul mate was, if he was even in this group of five boys. Sometimes the pendants sense whether or not they are within a close range of each other, or even just in the same building.

Ron glanced down at his pendant peeking through his robes.

"Hey, Hermione, want to eat lunch with us?" He offered. She nodded enthusiastically.
"Oh, I'd love that," she exclaimed.

"Are you guys soul mates, or what?" Seamus grumbled teasingly. That was a saying often used when two people who were not soul mates were flirting with each other. It was a forbidden thing to do, but it wasn't harshly enforced since no matter how much they liked each other, they were not allowed to ever be together. They simply weren't meant for each other.

"As if," Hermione laughed. Ron looked crestfallen. Ginny sighed, exasperated. How come he didn't understand the rules? Everyone else did! She remembered this one time when George liked this one girl, Angelina, and he knew that he couldn't like her, so he backed off. How come Ron can't just back off?!

"Ginny?" Harry said. "Gin?"

"Huh? What?" Her eyes widened, shocked out of her daze. Harry chuckled.

"Nothing. I was just wondering if you'd like to study one night with me? I've heard you're pretty good at Astronomy, and I can't even tell the Big Dipper from the Little Dipper!"

"Sure, I'd love to, Harry," Ginny smiled. She couldn't tell if the warmth coursing through her was from her overactive heart or her pendant. They parted ways when the group headed to lunch.

"Bye, Harry, Hermione," Ginny waved.
"Bye, Gin," Harry smiled again.
"Well, goodbye, Ginevra," Ron snapped.

"Goodbye, Ronald." Ginny shot back. Then she grinned.

OoO

Ginny yawned. She tugged her nightgown tighter around her thin waist, shivering. Of course she forgot about her Astronomy homework that was due the next day, and had to come to the Astronomy tower at nearly midnight to finish it. She kept walking quietly, trying not to yawn too loudly. She quickly hopped up the steps and swung the door open, only to walk into Ron and Hermione, holding hands, looking shocked. They sprung apart.

"Ronald!" Ginny exclaimed, then clapped her hand over her mouth.

"Hey, Ginny," Ron's voice wavered.

"You know the rules! You can't touch her! Or flirt with her! You are not soul mates, don't pretend like you are!" She burst, whispering as fiercely as she possibly could.

"Who cares, Ginny? I like her, and it's not fair that we don't have a choice!"
Ginny gaped at her brother. "A choice?! This is why we don't have to choose our partner. You'd choose wrong!"
Suddenly Ginny's pendant began thumping against her chest. It burned, and she felt as though it had scalded her. It was vibrating and buzzing. This was strange, Ginny panicked. The only boy moderately around, even awake, was… Ron. His necklace was tucked under his night robes so it wasn't at all visible. She grasped her silver pendant and dared to take a peek at it.

It had turned a luscious, deep gold.