Holly was a witch, an honest to goodness cauldron brewing, owl owning, wand waving, broomstick flying magical witch. Eleven years of life and Holly had always thought she'd been nothing more than a freak. That all the odd things that occurred to Holly really were because she was abnormal and wrong. All her life Holly had believed all the lies her aunt fed her, that everything she got she deserved; that her parents died because of her, that her soulmate wouldn't accept her either because she was a freak and freaks didn't deserve soulmates. Now she knew the truth. She wasn't abnormal, she wasn't a monster, and her parents were not drunks; they had been heroes, and they had saved her life from an insane dark lord.

Now Holly's entire life had changed. She had money for one, enough to pay for her schooling and much much more. She was now going to a school of magic. She now had friends in Ron and Hermione; though the first thing Ron had done was ask about her scar. It wasn't a huge deal since the first thing Hermione had done had been to insult Ron and Holly both. But Holly was still happy to have them, her first friends, first real friends.

One of the first things Ron had told her when they met was all about the girls' voice in his head, how she sang so quietly that sometimes he was never sure she was singing, but that he stilled adored her. While Hermione had spoken in great detail about the accent her soulmate had and how she knew he had to live somewhere in Bulgaria - she also claimed she'd learned to speak Bulgarian due to the songs he sang. Holly, in return, had hedged her answers speaking of what she did know, which was next to nothing considering the language her soulmate spoke in didn't exist.

Hogwarts, in the end, wasn't too different from the rest of the world when it came to soulmates; namely singing and songs were as important as ever. Everywhere Holly went, she heard the conversations, with a slightly different context.

"Double double toil and trouble~."

"Have you heard that new weird sisters song?"

"Her voice is like a siren-"

In Hogwarts lessons were given every Wednesday on singing, pitch, and figuring out your soulmate from songs were key lessons, but mostly they just sang. Holly had found herself frozen in terror when the Professor asked her what she'd like to do, she'd been terrified he'd ask her to sing. She'd managed to stutter out that she could play an instrument, which caused everyone to stare at her as she accepted an violin instead of singing. Which unfortunately for her, caused quite a few rumors to spread about how Holly Potter didn't want anyone to know what her singing voice was like. They all assumed it to make sure no one tricked her because she was a celebrity, no one suspected Holly had never sung before which was unheard of.

Despite learning she wasn't a freak, despite knowing her aunt would have no idea if she sang at Hogwarts, Holly still couldn't use her voice. Holly would allow her soulmate to warble on, singing every day and night all kinds of music as if begging her to join it. He never gave up, eleven years, and he was unwilling. He sang jaunty tunes during her lessons - angering Snape on more than one occasion as she caught her swaying to the song. He kept on to the point that she'd long ago memorized every song he sang whether or not she knew the meanings of the words or not. Yet months into her first year at Hogwarts and Holly hadn't sung once. Not in their lessons, not in the hallway, not in the shower, or even during her quidditch team bonding sessions. Not a single note had passed her lips, and no doubt none would.

Unknowingly Holly was beginning to scare Albus Dumbledore with her silence. He'd been watching her progress through the year, especially during music lessons and he'd noticed her habit of mouthing along or going with an instrument. The pattern was eerily familiar to another little boy who years ago had done the same thing. Tom Riddle had never sung either, refusing to do so ever. He'd refused to acknowledge he could even possess a soulmate, let alone let himself sing and confirm it for his other half. Riddle had always considered them a weakness, and Albus worried Holly would do the same while following in Riddle's path.

This changed in November. After the troll attacked the school where Hermione had been hiding in the bathrooms after Ron insulted her singing. After Hermione joined their group, she had started to join Ron and Holly during their music lessons. Which meant she was right beside Holly on the girls' side of the room, allowing her to see quite plainly that Holly was mouthing along to every song they sang. Then Hermione Jean Granger decided she needed to know why that was happening, and Hermione had never been very good at denying her curiosity.

"Hey ho Sabastian," sang her soul-mate as Holly got comfortable in the common room while doing her homework with Ron; Hermione naturally had finished her own several days ago. Perched on her chair with her work on her needs Holly swayed a bit her fingers absently tapping on the arm of her chair. Her soulmate had been singing that one quite a lot recently, he had learned it only a month prior and he clearly enjoyed it.

Across from her, Hermione's eyes narrowed on her tapping fingers, then up to her mouth. Once again, Holly was mouthing the words of a song in habit, and yet wasn't verbalizing them: "Holly." Hermione finally cracked, "can I ask you a question?"

"Sure 'Mione." Holly set aside her homework her, hand flattening as she stopped tapping to focus. Yet her soulmate continued on in her head singing softly, quietly due to the late hour.

Hesitating only a moment Hermione scooted forward, beside her Ron lowered his own book giving them his attention; anything to distract himself he decided. "Why don't you sing?" she blurted out.

Holly's eyes flew wide as she scooted back on her own chair, her books lifted as she placed them between her and Hermione, almost a shield: "I… what are you talking about? Of course I sing, I sing every lesson-"

Hermione shook her head, her curls flying out: "That's fake singing, you're only mouthing along."

"Of course I don't-"

"You do," Ron spoke up setting aside his own work, "I was wondering about that too."

Holly glanced between them, she reached up a hand distractedly and tugged at the skin of her lips. Before she snapped her hand down recalling her aunt yelling at her for the habit, an echo of the punishments that had built up every time she'd gotten even close to singing. Holly's eyes clamped shut, her hands clasping in her lap. She reminded herself that Ron and Hermione were her friends, and they'd never tell her aunt; they'd never even meet her aunt if Holly had anything to do with it. So gingerly Holly whispered a confession she'd never spoken of before: "I've… I've never sung, I wasn't allowed to."

"Wait, never?!" Ron blurted out. Holly flinched minutely then hopelessly nodded unable to look at either of them. "But then, how does your soulmate know how to find you?"

"They wouldn't… he sings doesn't he? Or they I guess? She?"

"He," Holly confirmed for Hermione who hadn't known, "I guess he wouldn't know."

"Well then." Hermione straightened up giving Ron a look, Ron nodded to her reading her quickly despite the short time they'd been friends, "I guess you just have to sing now then. A short song, right here, right now; to make sure he knows." She gestured around the common room when Holly gasped snapping her head up, "it's just Ron and me here, it's minimal pressure."

"Yeah, and we'll sing with you." Ron agreed as he made a show of checking for people in the darker areas to make her feel secure.

Still, Holly hesitated.

Holly's aunt wasn't here. Petunia would never find out… and she knew now that she wasn't a freak that didn't deserve a soulmate. Still, Holly couldn't help but think the worse; maybe he wouldn't like her, perhaps he didn't want her like her aunt and uncle claimed. Perhaps he'd hate her for making him wait for so long, or perhaps he'd be put off by what would surely be a terrible singing voice. Or maybe they'd never find each other like so many other pairs.

Singing she knew made everything real. It made her soulmate aware of her when he might currently believe she didn't exist and might be happy with that.

Tugging at her lip again Holly heard her soulmate in her head, singing ever on despite Holly never responding to him. He'd returned to his favorite song what she assumed was called Bink's sake. That one she knew by heart even if she didn't understand the words. She glanced at Hermione who gave her an encouraging nod, and at Ron who copied the muggles thumbs up.

He… he deserved to know. To know he at least had a soulmate, even if Holly was a terrible one. They deserved a chance, a chance to be like her parents, a chance to be happy.

She opened her mouth and choked out the words she'd never sung; "B-b-bikusu no sake no todoe no yuku yo." But Hermione and Ron shook their heads.

"That's just talking Holly, you gotta make it more… singy." Ron told her scooting forward until he was knee to knee with her.

"Singy isn't a word Ronald." Hermione moved a seat over till she was beside Holly as well, she took Holly's hand stopping her gently from tugging at her lips.

"Well, how else would you describe it?!"

Hermione huffed, smothering her desire to know what language Holly was speaking it, she'd never heard of it. She'd have to look in the library right away for it. "Just do it like he does it… make it-" she sighed, "'singy.'"

"O…okay uhm… umi-kaze kimekase na- mi- err… mimakase~" she was stumbling over the awkward wording and accent, but she was doing it. For the first time in her life, Holly was singing.

In an entirely different world, Shanks was sitting in the crows' nest with his legs hanging. Beside him lay a snoozing Buggy - who wasn't supposed to be sleeping and if Rayleigh caught him, Shanks' would be all manner of trouble. Shanks didn't really care either way if Buggy was caught, he wasn't responsible for the other cabin boy - that said it was much too quiet when Buggy was sleeping. Instead, Shanks was loosely looking around the dark ocean while he practiced his haki. Absently Shanks sang binks' sake while his fingers blackened before he lost control again.

Shanks sighed lightly as he thought of the day. The crew had been awoken by the man on watch screaming about marines - which was why Shanks was actually paying so much attention to the ocean and why Buggy would be worse off if he were caught sleeping. The marines had forced them into battle, a battle that had killed one of their own. The poor soul had been brand new to the crew and had died instantly from some shrapnel from a cannon blast which Roger had redirected. Roger had been both devastated and furious, he'd lost control of his haki and Shanks didn't remember much after that. He'd come to hours later in bed with Miss Rouge asking him to keep watch since most of the crew were drinking away their sorrows. Shanks wasn't technically allowed to drink, and the crew knew better now than to let him sneak some of the drink. The previous time he'd tried Rayleigh had caught him absolutely sloshed, and he'd suffered for it.

Hours later, Shanks had been joined by the now sleeping Buggy, and his louder singing had faded into the soft words he was singing into the night. As always, his soulmate refused to respond to him, and as much as Shanks loved to sing and party, he was finding it difficult to continue on alone.

Then he heard it-

"umi-kaze kimekase nami… -mimakase~"

Shanks choked on air flailing and nearly falling right out of the crows' nest as he gave a choked up scream. Buggy beside him snorted and woke with a cry that caused a bit of chaos down below. The crew convinced that they'd just raised the alarm; not that Shanks noticed at all because his soul-mate was SINGING.

"Shanks what the f-"

"Shut it!" he snapped his hand over Buggy's mouth hears straining desperately. She was quiet, singing so softly that he was convinced he had been mistaken for a moment. Shanks clamped a hand over his mouth and stopped breathing entirely to silence himself. He even pleaded for his too loud heart to just stop a moment, so he didn't hear it's throbbing in his desperately searching ears. It didn't; instead, it grew louder when she continued. She continued!

Overwhelmed and clueless at how he was supposed to feel after all this time, all Shanks could do was choke out the words to a still flailing Buggy. "I have a soul-mate." His eyes burned as he grabbed his shoulders and curled up. Shanks was glad he was already sitting down because he knew if he'd been standing, he surely would have fallen in the sheer joy of that moment.

She was real, she was singing! His soulmate was real!

In his head, his soul-mate stumbled over the song he knew by heart as if she couldn't quite wrap her tongue around the words. Shanks found it adorable no matter how awkward, tentative, and soft-spoken it was. She was lovely he decided, beautiful, perfect, and all his. He recalled everything the crew had told him about soulmates to comfort and teach him. How he'd be her other half, how he would protect her, but also fight with her if she wanted to like Miss Rouge said. He'd show her the world and seas like Roger told him. And he'd love her- he already loved her.

Shanks pressed his hands to his mouth as a smile split across his face, and he eagerly belted out, "Yo hohohoho! Yo hohoho!" ignoring the furious complaints below and beside him as well as Rayleigh's demands to know why they'd just set off a false alarm after the day they'd had. He didn't care as Buggy sobbed at the first-mate apologizing profusely having been caught out sleeping or when his soulmate temporarily stuttered to a stop when he joined in; before starting up once more sounding a touch more confident. Didn't notice Roger standing below finally relaxing as he puffed up as proud as he possibly could already having guessed while Shanks' mood had turned so quickly.

Together he sang with his adorable soul-mate, and knew one day he'd find her.

"It's like facing your fears or something," Ron told Holly emphatically, "the more you sing, the less nervous you'll be about it."

With Hermione on vacation, she'd put Ron on a mission and Holly on a different one. Holly's was to locate who in Merlin's name Nickolas Flamel was; while Ron's was for him to get Holly to sing more often. So bored of hunting through the library he sat practically nose to nose with her and was 'ordering' her to sing. "I'll even sing with you, it'll be fine."

Wincing Holly glanced around the library which was completely empty before nodding. Her soul-mate sang constantly now encouraged by her own response; his voice echoed in her head all the time, and she honestly didn't mind. Though he was also quick to become very quickly depressed because it was a rare occasion that Holly ever sang with him. It broke her heart with how depressed he could make his songs sound as time progressed. Her soulmate was excellent at a guilt trip through song she decided.

"Okay," Ron clapped his hands to his knees leaning back a bit to her relief, "that weird sister's song then, you know the lyrics to that right?" he tilted his head, "unless you wanna sing a Christmas song? Dad told me muggles have lots of those"

"'Do the Hippogriff' is fine," she rushed to say having learned what Ron's dad thought Christmas songs sounded like.

"Brilliant!" Ron straightened happily and began with enthusiasm as he pretended to play guitar in his seat. He was convinced the odder he acted, the more secure Holly would feel, so Ron went all out. "move your body like a hairy troll~" he gestured at her eagerly while a voice in his own head joined him whispering along, but still singing. As Ron told Holly before, his soulmate sang as if she was terrified of being overheard. Yet the past few months - since the start of his year at Hogwarts actually - she'd gained more and more volume which made him wonder, especially when she started singing the same songs he was in their lessons, but on a different day.

Holly licked her lips choking slightly on the next line. But she managed to force it through her teeth "L-Learning t-to ro-ck and roll~" goodness she sounded like Quirrel!

Ron beamed though, proud of his best friend for trying when it was clear she was terrified. Happily, he sang the next line encouraging Holly to join him, "spin around like a crazy elf~" he pushed off the chair and took Holly's hands heading tilted in question. Holly blushed, accepted it, and allowed him to pull her up. She'd could dance at least, her aunt hadn't forbidden her from doing that.

In another world, Shanks froze in the middle of a training match with Rayleigh and was struck across the face and sent flying into a nearby railing. But he didn't even care as he gave a dazed smile to the skies.

"Brat what was that?!" Reyleigh demanded.

"Shush!" Shanks urged frozen in his spot. His soulmate was singing again, which in itself was exciting, but the language? He'd never heard of such words before.

"No stoppin' to the break of dawn~."

Shanks had traveled all over the blues, to countless different islands, and several had possessed different languages. But he'd never heard one like that before. Wordlessly he mouthed the odd words to himself as Rayleigh through up his hands in exasperation.

"Put your hands up in the air~."

"What's wrong with him?" Buggy asked as he leaned on his wooden training sword also pausing..

"His soul-mate his singing again," Rayleigh guessed, "not sure why it's affecting his training though," he emphasized trying to reclaim Shanks' attention, "considering how he acts like this every time, he's going to get himself killed early, and before he meets her."

"Can you dance like a hippogriff. Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma"

"Ma ma ma ma ma." Shanks repeated, bouncing a bit to the odd song, "Rayleigh have you heard this language before?" he repeated it loosely, tripping over the words. And suddenly it made sense why she couldn't sing his own songs properly if that was what her regular language sounded like.

Rayleigh listened carefully before shaking his head, "never heard it, try the captain after training. He can understand most things- not right now! Shanks! You still have training!" Rayleigh gave up on him for the time being, Shanks was clearly useless and would be until he got used to his soulmates voice in his head: "Buggy, front and center, your turn!"

"WHAT? Noo!"

Shanks ignored them and rushed off for the captains quarters at a run. He paused halfway through to do a little jig as his soul-mate got a bit more into the song she was singing. "Na na na, ma ma ma~" he sang with her picking up on the chorus. She heard her stop for a brief moment and froze, had he… had he scared her? Shit, should he have not-

"M-move around like a spooky ghost."

"Yes!" he punched the air and rushed on.

Holly giggled as Ron spun her around in the library, the pair of them acting like the creatures in the song they were singing. She was surprised Madam Price hadn't kicked them out yet especially since Ron and Holly's singing and dancing had dragged George and Fred from the bowls of the castle. Both the twins had joined in, and the four of them were dancing in a semi-circle. The twins grabbed both her hands and spun her around. Then as they sang the chorus, she heard a voice align with hers as her soul mate attempted to join her. Holly honestly faltered slightly, it made her nervous and self-conscious. But… but he sounded so eager... like he actually enjoyed it as much as she enjoyed hearing him in return.

George and Fred both nudged her at the same time, and she picked back up. As she did, she smiled to herself and decided she rather liked to sing.

Shanks was over the sky islands with joy; because now that she'd sung once she now sang regularly. Of course, Shanks couldn't understand a single word of any of the songs she sang, he'd never heard any sort of song like the ones she sang, though he did his best to memorize the odd words so he could share them with his captain. He'd tried when his soulmate had sung the first new song to him, but he'd been unable to recreate the song, which meant Roger couldn't help him. It had taken a few months for Shanks to memorize enough to share with Roger, enough that he didn't have less than a few words because Roger needed full sentences so Captain Roger could make sense of them. And thankfully, the Captain was eager to assist.

"Sing them for me, let me hear them."

"Okay, so… it goes like this," Shanks told the man. "Okay, uhh" Shanks went for the one he'd heard the most. The words felt wrong on his tongue, but Shanks did his best to copy what his soul mate had sung. "Dance- likue a hip-po-gufu" He tried loosely when he jerked. In a tone that was entirely amused, his soul-mate sang out correcting him.

"Dance like a hippogriff," she sang at him.

His stomach fluttered as Shanks felt his skin warm up in embarrassment and pleasure. He quickly repeated the line for Roger correcting what he'd accidentally said before moving onto the next line. His soul-mate corrected him again, the two working through the song slowly.

Listening carefully, Roger closed his eyes and hummed along. "Again." He said when Shanks finished, so Shanks picked right up at the beginning and restarted the song. Then after three repetitions Roger opened his mouth and began to sing in their language.

"Move your body like a hairy troll. Learning to rock and roll," Shanks gaped as Roger laughed and continued to sing a translation. How- HOW?! "Not an innocent girl your lass, it's a fun song," the pirate king grinned when they finished the song together, "what others does she have?"

"How?" Shanks choked out.

"I have the voice of all things brat," Roger flicked his head causing Shanks to yelp, "you memorize those songs of hers, and I'll translate them for you."

"Can you teach me the language?" Shanks asked, leaning forward, "then I can translate our songs for her, and she can learn ours!"

Roger made a so-so motion with his hand: "Sorry lad, you'll have to figure that out yourself. I can only tell you what the words mean in our language. I don't actually speak it."

"Okay," Shanks nodded determinedly. He could do that… but he needed more songs from her. Perhaps Shanks could coax her to sing if he sang new songs? She'd already tried to copy Binks Sake, so she was listening to him.

Voldemort was still alive, he'd been in the castle the entire year disguised as Quirrel. Holly lay in the hospital bed, staring at the burns across her hands from the magical damage she'd suffered during the fight. Hermione and Ron had been forced to leave her and Dumbledore had left only moments before after telling her what happened. And all Holly could think was that Voldemort was alive.

In the back of her head, her soul-mate sang, his happy-go-lucky songs meant for dancing, for fun. And Holly found herself completely unable to respond to him. As she wondered if she'd made a mistake by giving him hope by singing. Because Voldemort was alive and hunting her, and now she'd angered him. Chances were, Holly might very well end up dead at Voldemort's hands. And then… what would happen to him?

"Yo hohohoho."