After a few hours of talking where Hermione reminded him she would stand by him no matter what and he relished in the feeling of her attention, Harry had to admit to himself. Sirius may have told him he had another soul mate out there, but Hermione was certainly the perfect soul mate for him. She had been his everything. Through the chaos of returning to the Wizarding world and then fighting a war, she had been his rock. Through tough times and lost battles at the ministry, she had been his point of reference.
Harry had known that night she called him to cry about Ron that he was in love with her. But at that point it was too late. Wizarding Marriages were permanent and seeing as Ron and Ginny were purebloods, society would side with them for any other transgressions, such as adultery. That was why Ginny got away with it. But beyond that, Harry had wanted to be there for his kids and put on a strong face to try and help everyone navigate the process.
So he had done his best to remain friends with Hermione. He had stood by her through her own challenges. He had fought political battles for her whenever he could, willing to throw the full weight of his hyphenated titles behind her because she was Hermione.
In the end it had not mattered. He had failed her. She had been beaten by Ron and was being pushed out of the ministry by the purebloods. She was facing similar struggles with her children as Harry was and after considering what he knew of his own brood, it was not a long jump to make to know what was going on with her own.
It did not matter what it took, Harry would be there for her. She would be successful this time around. And she was his soul mate. It was the least he could do.
Harry arrived in the fourth-year boys room just in time to hear Ron ranting to Dean and Seamus.
"I mean honestly, how could that selfish bastard not tell his best friend how he did it? He and I could have been champions together! I am the only reason he is still alive after all. I mean if it wasn't for-"
All talk died as the three realized Harry had just entered the room. Considering all he had learned and that when Harry had last seen Ron, it was with the red head casting the killing curse in his direction, he could really do without this confrontation.
That said, if the moron did anything to harm or insult Hermione, all bets were off.
"If it wasn't for you then what, Ron? Do tell, this sounds good." Harry had a silky drawl as he leaned casually against the door frame. He had perfected that voice when dealing with dark wizards. By the time he made senior auror, most would run just at the sight of him or the sound of his voice, he was considered that dangerous.
"Well…ummm…you know what, you should have just told me. At least me. We are best mates, aren't we?"
"I thought we were. But then a best mate would believe me when I honestly tell him I did not put my name in the Goblet. And apparently you feel I did that and you are, for some line of thought, the reason I am still alive. Considering you were incapacitated for our last adventure and nearly obliviated in the one before that, I would love to hear how you are the reason I am still alive."
The two ex-best mates stood and stared off. Harry appeared relaxed, but one with careful observation could see he already had his wand in his hand. Dean and Seamus cautiously moved to their own beds as the two faced off. Ron's temper was legendary, but Harry had the power to back his up. Finally, Ron broke the tension as he rolled over in bed and drew the covers up.
"Wormtail would be proud."
Harry covered his gobsmacked look well. Ron, of all people, referring to someone else as a traitor? That was rich. It was also preposterous.
With those tired thoughts, Harry had drawn himself into bed, letting Morpheus take him.
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Hermione lay in bed, unable to find peace. She trusted her parents. If they told her something, it was true. It was part of why she had been able to rebuild a relationship with them. They had not accused her nor magic for the rift that had formed. They blamed it on poor choices as a teenager. And they admitted, finally, that it was probably for the best no matter how much they had hated it. That had allowed her to reconnect with her parents.
And that was why she trusted what they told her.
But now, here she was. She sat in her fourteen-year-old, buck toothed, bushy haired body once more. While Hermione was far from vain, age had been good to her. It allowed her to leave the demons behind and focus on life. She still maintained her enthusiasm for books and knowledge, but no longer being able to be teased for having beaver like teeth nor hair which could not be controlled had been a boon to her self-esteem. And now that was all gone, years away.
Seeing Harry had left her heart hurting. She desperately wanted nothing more than to wrap the boy in cotton and hide him until it was all over. She had seen the man he had become. Hell, she knew the man he already was. These trials were the things that gave him the will to overcome even Voldemort's Imperius Curse. It was living through all of this that had given him the conviction to march into Kingsley's office and punch the much larger man in the face when the then minister had decided not to permanently remove all marked death eaters.
It was this man who had stolen her heart, despite potions, from one Ronald Weasley. He had, even as an eleven-year-old boy, had the strength of character to jump on the back of a rampaging troll to defend her. Hermione had known then that she would follow him anywhere he asked. Of course it was during fourth year the first time she had realized the one place she had hoped to follow him was the one place he would never go. Her unrequited love for one Harry James Potter was one place her heart still hurt. Sure he had been potioned, but he never loved her that way.
And apparently it did not matter. She had to find these soul mates in order to stop Voldemort before he could attack her Harry. She would do whatever she could to stand between the madman and Harry.
The thought of soul mates returned her to what she had learned. Apparently one of those people who was supposed to connect with to find this great power was a witch who had been the bane of her existence. One Bellatrix Lestrange. Hermione had no earthly idea how the wicked witch had returned and even how she was their age. What she did know was that working with, let alone loving her, would be impossible. The bitch had carved words into her arm! She had killed Sirius, Harry's only remaining family and Bella's own cousin! And what she had done to Neville?!
How did Fate honestly expect her to overcome all this to work with, let alone come to love the evil witch.
As Hermione cried herself out behind silenced curtains, she faded finally to sleep.
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Bella was silently stealing out of the Ravenclaw tower. When she had returned, the first name she heard was the one name she dreaded. Harry Potter. The little boy was apparently supposed to be her soul mate, or some ridiculous notion like that. And there was supposed to be another mate out there for both of them to bond to? And this other mate was supposed to be of light magic. What rubbish!
Bella had been pondering this all the way back to the Ravenclaw tower. Ravenclaw, in opposition to other houses, offered small individual rooms for each member. These were small and only included a wardrobe, bed, and desk, but they were enough. As Bella came to her room, she noted the name on the door.
Bella Black
She knew the magic of the castle. Nicknames could not appear on the doors, nor could shortened names. What was shown on the door was her official name. That meant that somehow, in this time stream, she was Bella Black instead of the feared Bellatrix Lestrange.
With her thoughts in pure chaos, Bella entered the room. All considerations froze as her eyes fell on the mirror next to her wardrobe.
The aged and calloused Bellatrix who had died as a wraith of her formed self was no more. Before her was Bella at fourteen. She had the strong aristocratic face the Black line was renowned for. Her black locks flowed in waves down her back, their silkiness apparent in their shine. Her skin was no longer greying and wrinkling from disabuse in Azkaban. It was back to its soft alabaster look.
While she still had some growing up to do, one could easily see the gorgeous figure Bellatrix once had. She was nearing the end of puberty in this body, so she was rather well developed, but there were still a few more years until she stopped. Beyond that, she was no longer emaciated.
But it was the eyes which drew Bella's attention. No longer sunken and haunted, these eyes were hers once more. Two violet orbs stared back from the reflective glass. These orbs shown with a bright light, not the anger of a life wasted, the depression of years spent tormented by dementors, nor the manic look of one hell bent on serving her master.
These were her eyes.
All of this led Bella to where she now stood. Her life had changed and she needed to understand it. She was sneaking her way into the library in order to peruse the collection of past Daily Prophets to see what she could learn. Hopefully they had something on Bella Black.
An hour later found Bella almost in tears as she returned to the tower. She had once been the proud eldest daughter of the pureblood elite. She married into another pure line and served for the betterment of the pureblood agenda. All of the had changed.
Bella Black, as opposed to Bellatrix Lestrange, was the youngest daughter of Cygnus Black. The eldest, Cassiopia Lestrange, was everything Bella had once been. Her 'elder' sisters, Narcissa and Andromeda were both well away from Hogwarts. In fact, Bella was the same age as her nephew Draco.
And her life was even more varied than it had been. She was born in the waning years of Cygnus' life, well after the death of Druella, to one Stenia Selwyn. The younger pureblood had apparently been in a bad place with her family and the scandal behind Bella's birth had led to a great number of complications for the Blacks and Selwyns. As such, Bella had not been highly welcomed to the family.
That said, she was still second in their year.
Second was a struggle for Bella. She had easily outclassed the rest of the group from her time at Hogwarts. It was a title often thrown around, but she was the brightest witch of her generation. Sure Evans and Granger had been classed as such over the following two decades, but it was something Bella had taken pride in.
And now she would have to compete with the mud…ok, muggleborn Granger.
She was really going to have to work on that. If she expected to be anything more than a somewhat bastard child of her father, she would need to join forces with Potter and this other mysterious soul mate. Insulting his friends would do very little to help her figure this out.
With her thoughts in chaos, Bella slowly and silently made her way back to the Ravenclaw tower.
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Harry had once more avoided the crowds at breakfast the next morning. He had snuck down to Black Lake just as students were allowed to leave the dorms. He really could do without this chaos again. But of course Hermione had already offered to stand by him. And that alone would give Harry the strength to fight his way through all of this.
Harry was shaken from his musings by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up into the chocolate eyes he had come to know so well. He saw fear and concern in those eyes. It warmed his heart to know she cared for him so deeply. And it was something Harry would never forget and, if he could help it, never betray. He had admitted it to himself the night before and reaffirmed it as she stood there offering him food and strength.
Harry Potter was in love with Hermione Granger.
As a look of caring passed, Hermione sat beside her Green eyed friend. Truth be told, she knew she loved him. But it did not matter, because she had to join her soul mates in order to move the world forward. And if soul mates were anything like stories portrayed them as, then her fighting them by trying to care for someone else wouldn't matter.
She loved Harry Potter, but more importantly, she needed him alive, even if he would never be hers.
"So, how are you?" Hermione's voice cut through as she sat beside him.
"Considering, I think I'm pretty good. Ron thinks I am as bad as Wormtail, so he won't be much help."
Hermione snorted at this. If only he knew what Ron became in the future, he would dump the bigot now. Harry, of course, knew he and Hermione knew the future but he found himself, try as he might, unable to mention that to his bushy haired friend now. Something he could not overcome drew him away and stopped him every time he tried to mention this to Hermione. He knew he was going to have to find a way to convince her he loved her and it was ok for her to do the same. He needed to do that to find this third mystical partner.
"It's ok, Harry. We can do this. We will come through it in one piece." She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. Harry simply sat there basking in the warmth. Both were beginning to relax from their…odd situations when they heard a voice neither wanted to hear.
"Umm, hi. Mind if I join you?"
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Bella had been wandering the grounds, trying to avoid people as she got her head on straight. Not that it really mattered in the long run, seeing as most people apparently avoided her. The purebloods seemed to see her as a stain on their honor if their comments were anything to go by and it seemed she was still rather bigoted herself, if the avoidance of the half bloods and muggleborns was anything to go by.
She had come across one odd young witch. Bella had gone down early to try and get in and out of the Great Hall before the rush. She had just started to load her plate when she felt someone else plop down beside her. While she was slightly annoyed, seeing as there was no one else at the table and this person sat directly beside her, she kept her focus on her plate.
"You seem to have a severe Wrackspurt infestation." Bella looked up into a shining pair of silver eyes. Being entirely unsure of how to react herself, she did the next best thing. She sat there gaping like a fish.
"Oh, don't worry. You are much older than you were even just yesterday before the feast."
Bella froze. If this girl knew that, could that mean…But Regulus told her the soul mates could not say anything to one another until they shared a kiss of pure love.
As if that was ever going to happen. Even if she could find a way for herself to fall for the wimpy little scrawny kid, she had done far too much to him, let alone his little muggleborn friend for Potter to ever trust her, let alone love her.
For some strange reason, that thought made her incredibly sad. As she felt tears trying to form in her eyes, she felt the young witches hand on her shoulder.
"Don't fret. Everything will work out Bella. Or Bellatrix if you prefer, but since that is not your name, I have no idea why you would want me to call you that. Not that it matters. Have faith in your soul mate. He is made of sterner stuff than you give him credit for. But know patience is magical." The blond had leaned in close to share all of this conspiratorially. As she leaned back, she spoke a little louder.
"I'm Luna, by the way. Now get out of here before people tease you for sitting with Loony Lovegood."
As Bella stood, she saw the sad look in Luna's eyes. Well, she was going to have to change that. Not to mention the girl seemed to know things she should not. It could come in handy or be a complete disaster. Regardless, she would need to keep a close eye on her. With those thoughts, Bella had departed the Great Hall, seeking the green-eyed seeker.
After a lap through parts of the castle, she made her way outside. It was there where she came across him seated beneath a tree by the lake. He was seated beside his muggleborn friend. When did that become her way of thinking of the, she considered to herself. It took several minutes of debating with herself before stepping into their line of sight and saying hi.
"Umm, hi. Mind if I join you?"
When Harry set eyes on Bellatrix, his first reaction was to draw his wand. He had been told things would change, but this was too much. The very woman who had tortured his precious Hermione, the one who had killed his godfather, she stood there quietly asking if she could sit with them as if nothing had happened. How dare she! But then he had to consider, this was not necessarily the same Bella as it had been before. This Bella, from the looks of her, had never tortured nor killed anyone.
Hermione's reaction was very similar, if a tad slower than Harry's. Her thoughts were on the idea that this was one of her soul mates, but she was shocked at the violent reaction from Harry. After a tense second, Harry lowered his wand with a sheepish grin.
"Sorry about that, I've been a bit on edge since last night." Harry quickly covered up. He indicated the ground beside them. "Please have a seat. What can I do for you, Miss…?"
"Black. Bella Black. But please call me Bella. And I just want you to know I know you did not put your name in the Goblet." Bella was doing her best to remember all she had later heard from Tom Riddle and Wormtail about that blasted tournament. Every detail might help. She knew the school had turned on Harry and he would need friends. It seemed the bushy haired girl would be staying, so Bella would play nice.
"And it is nice to meet you as well, miss?"
"Granger. Hermione Granger."
"I'm Harry Potter."
Bella noticed neither gave her the right to call them by their first names. Apparently she was hated here as well. Of course she had expected as much from Potter.
"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you both. I know I may not be much, but if you like, I would be honored to help you train."
It was Hermione who answered after a few minutes. The young brunette witch knew Bella was from the future. And one of her soul mates. This meant she could either be incredibly helpful, she was a brilliant if insane witch after all, or could derail everything from the start.
"I think we would be honored."
The three settled into an obviously uncomfortable discussion of "Getting to know one another" where the three soul mates sat, none knowing this was the triad the Three had created.
