Title: Fate's Screwy Thinking
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Ron/Daphne
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 1,063
Summary: Soulmate!AU. This wasn't what Ron thought it would be like.

Notes:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: DADA – Task – magical creature: Soulmate!AU

Big Damn Prompt Race Competition:7. Ron/Daphne

Ultimate Patronus Quest Challenge: Class G. Birds - 27. Swallow: Write a fic that includes the use of a Pensieve

Ron always knew what the first sentence his soulmate would say to him was.

"Move."

It wasn't the most romantic opening sentence, but since it would come from his soulmate, it was perfect.

It was tattooed on his stomach, just above his bellybutton. All people had the first sentence tattooed somewhere, but the locations varied from person to person.

And like with other people, every time Ron met a new person, he would pay attention to the first sentence they said and hoped it would be the one.

He was continuously disappointed. When he got to Hogwarts, he was sure he'd find his soulmate there. After all, with so many students, one of them had to be his soulmate, right?

Every year he was there, he kept his eyes open. He always looked at the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs. No way would his soulmate be a slimy snake, right?

For the first three years of his schooling, despite his numerous adventures he had with Harry and Hermione, he still had no soulmate.

And when he began his fourth year, he began losing hope that he'd ever find his perfect match. Ever since his parents told him about the magic of soulmates, he couldn't wait until the fateful day when he laid his eyes on the one that was the other half of his soul. Maybe he wouldn't ever find the perfect person for him. Ron knew there were adults that never met their soulmate, and maybe he would end up being one of the unlucky ones.

Harry and Hermione had already found each other, and although they weren't dating yet because Hermione wanted to wait until she and Harry were both fifteen, there was no doubt that they would be together forever.

Although Ron was happy that his friends ended up being each other's soulmate—they really were a great match—he was also envious. Why did they deserve to find their soulmates, but he didn't?

It just wasn't fair.

When the Yule Ball came, Ron spent his time at a table as Harry and Hermione danced. He winced when he saw Harry accidentally step on Hermione's foot, and he felt bed for Hermione. Harry might be graceful in the air, but he seemed to have two left feet when it came to dancing. She definitely had her work cut out for her if she ever wanted to dance with Harry again.

He stood up and began walking towards the exit. There was no reason to stay when he had no one to dance with.

Suddenly, he was shoved to the side. "Move," a voice snarled.

Ron stiffened as a girl with blonde hair curled down her back strode passed him in a hurry to leave.

The word echoed in his mind.

Move.

Could it be?

He chased after her as she left through the double doors. When he got out of the Great Hall, he saw her form retreating at a rapid pace and raced to catch up to her. In desperation, he yelled, "Wait, I think you're my soulmate!"

The girl stopped in her tracks. She looked at the underside of her arm.

"Checking your mark?" he asked.

The girl turned around. She was vaguely familiar, be he wasn't sure who she was. "Ron Weasley is my soulmate. This is just great!"

"You don't sound very happy about it." He nervously scratched the back of his head.

She raised her eyebrows. "I'm guessing you don't recognize me. If you did, I doubt you'd be happy."

Ron thought about lying—after all, wasn't it bad to admit you didn't know your soulmate's name despite the fact you've been in the same school for yea rs—but he had a feeling she would see right through him. "Well, no."

"I'm Daphne Greengrass."

Ron blinked. She was the Slytherin Ice Princess. She was considered the most beautiful girl in Slytherin, from fourth year all the way to sixth year, but she kept everyone at a distance.

"My soulmate is a Slytherin?"

Daphne glared at him. "You can imagine how thrilled my parents will be about my soulmate being a blood traitor."

Ron glared right back. "Don't act like you follow You-Know-Who. I know for a fact your family has always been neutral."

"Maybe, but the Greengrass family still has a problem with the Weasley family since they don't follow the old Pure-Blood traditions."

"Well, we're soulmates, and we'll have to figure out how to deal with it."

"How can we be soulmates with our clashing personalities?" Daphne queried.

Ron didn't reply because even though he wished he knew the answer, the truth was he didn't. He didn't see why he and Daphne were soulmates either. "What now?" he asked instead.

"Come to Dumbledore's office tomorrow after breakfast. We'll need his help."

Without giving him a chance to answer, she whirled around and continued her trek to wherever she had been going.

The next morning, he didn't feel like eating. His stomach was in too many knots, so he went to Dumbledore's office and waited for Daphne.

When she showed up, she was with Dumbledore. The Headmaster smiled genially and stated, "Skittles," The door swung open and the three of them walked up the stairs.

Dumbledore began when they were inside the office. "Miss Greengrass explained the situation, and I think her idea is a marvelous one."

"What idea?" Ron asked, feeling a little out of it.

Daphne's gaze was stony. "For some reason, we're soulmates. And we have no idea why it happened. I thought we could use the Headmaster's pensieve and look into some of each other's memories. Maybe we'll begin feeling a connection if we see some of things the other one went through."

Ron felt like refusing. Memories were private, but he guessed that could be a good idea. He still wasn't happy about doing it, though.

Daphne was obviously the take charge type, and it made Ron feel useless, like his opinion didn't matter.

Ron had been so excited about having a soulmate. He thought there would be an instant connection like there had been with Harry and Hermione, but that wasn't happening. In fact, despite her attractiveness, he found himself not even liking Daphne, and he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to love her.

And once again, Ron found himself silently asking, 'What was fate thinking?'