Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, I just worship the ground J.K. Rowling walks upon and this story is homage to such a wonderful author. Anyway, this is me, just borrowing the characters for a little playtime. I promise to have them back before dinner, still sparkly clean, with no scrapes, bruises, mussed hair (wink) or rumpled clothes (wink – wink).

Soul Spark

Chapter 1

She walked into the Great Hall a scared first year. She looked at the Sorting Hat like it was a dragon, about to pounce on her head. He could see her lips moving to talk up her courage. He knew she would be in Gryffindor, just as surely as he knew his own name. But what his eyes saw and his soul saw were two entirely different things. His eyes saw a bushy haired, buck-toothed eleven year old who was as awkward as she was naïve. His soul, on the other hand, saw its mate, its one true calling. His eyes knew what his soul saw the moment their eyes met. She wouldn't understand it, she was of course too young to recognize a soul spark, but she would see it eventually, and he could wait. He had waited this long, hadn't he? He could wait a bit longer. He was after all a patient man in everything except teaching.

Across the Hall, the young one felt the spark. She didn't know what it was or why she felt it, but she knew it was very important, just as surely as she knew her own name. She decided to wait and see if it happened again, and hopefully there would be a book in the library to help her, once she figured out what she had felt, and what to look for. She knew it had something to do with the raven-haired man. It had happened when they looked at each other and despite the scowl on his face; she felt a safety she had never known before, not even with her parents. She slowly pushed her thoughts away from the feeling and returned her attention to back to dinner. She needed to make some new friends.

Severus also turned his attention back to his meal, only to look at his own house. Sadly he would have to teach Malfoy's son and so many other children of Death Eaters. He could already tell it was going to be a long year with Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson in his house. He also had to keep an eye on Potter. He silently damned Lily Evans (he could never think of her as a Potter) for making him protect the child. The boy looked just like James, a severe tragedy. And the girl, Hermione seemed to have made friends with him. That would make things a little easier for him to keep an eye on Potter, as well as his soul mate.

He could feel the spark rising again. She was watching him. He could feel her gaze just as easily as he felt the warmth of the spark. He knew that they had a strong bond, when he felt it start to override his Unbreakable Vow's. Then it was gone and he could feel the Vow's slide back into place. He made a mental note to speak to Albus after the feast was finished. He needed more information. The rest of the feast passed agonizingly slow but it finally ended and she left for her dormitory. When Albus rose, he followed.

"Severus, do you need to speak with me?" The Headmaster asked when they were almost to his office.

"Yes, Albus. Something very important has occurred." He answered.

"Very well, come along." He followed the Headmaster and took a seat in front of his desk. He waited for the customary offer of a lemon drop to signal the beginning of their conversation. When the formalities were completed, he related what had happened.

"You said the spark started to override your Vow's?" The Headmaster questioned with a bright twinkle in his eyes. Severus wondered, not for the first time, if the lemon drops were laced with something, as the Headmaster was always so happy, and ate them at every chance.

"Yes, Albus. I didn't think it was possible." Severus answered, his worry seeping into his voice, something that almost never happened.

"Its very rare, but it was has happened before." He rose and peered at his bookshelves. He searched for a few moments before coming up with a slim volume. "This is the best book I have about soul sparks. It was written many years ago. It magically catalogs soul mates of the highest levels. The rest are in a much larger volume. To the point there are levels of soul compatibility. The first level is friends, next is spiritual connections, and so on. In this book are the souls and their mates that have found each other in every single life since they were first created. These are the souls that have the strongest connection. They are called founder souls. They are the ones that were originally one entity and split into two beings. They are the parents of the lesser souls and their mates. These core souls, because they remember what it's like to be whole, often have the hardest lives." Albus opened the book. "I believe you and Miss Granger are such a pair." He continues to scan the pages until he came o the last one. "Here Severus, read this list." He took the book and read the names. There was a name from each era. Some of them he knew, some were unknown, but at the end of the list was his name and that of his soul mate.

"Severus Snape and Hermione Granger…" He breathed in awe and not a small amount of anguish for all the injustices already done upon them and for those not yet served up.