December 17, 1984

"Just stay in here, sweetie, and don't come out no matter what, okay?"

Lily watched her four year old son nod and sit down on the floor, picking up his toys to amuse himself. Her eyes welled up with tears, staring at him in the doorway for several minutes. She couldn't believe that after all they'd fought for, all they'd sacrificed, this was the world that emerged on the other side.

Closing the door, she turned at the sound of the Floo activating, revealing the smiling face of the man she'd chosen to spend her life with, James Potter. Her ex-husband.

"Hey Lils, I'm glad you owled. Did you meet your Chosen?"

It was almost too much to take, the cheerful way he'd abandoned her. Abandoned Harry. "I chose you! It's not too late to come back to me, to us!"

The relaxed, blissful expression he wore morphed into confusion. "You'll understand soon. The moment that I shook hands with Narcissa, I knew. What we had was great, but it- Lily, we're talking about a soul bond! It's beyond anything you can imagine!"

"I'm not going to submit myself to some Death Eater son of a bitch! After everything we gave up to defeat them, how can you just accept this?"

"Thorfinn wasn't marked," James pointed out.

"No, only his brother, father, and two cousins. I'm not letting him near me or Harry!"

He coughed into his hand. "About Harry… I think we should talk about custody."

Lily's one remaining hand clenched. "Custody?"

"I think he should spend more time with us. He's going to have a step-brother that is the same age, and you know better than me how important siblings are-"

"Petunia hates me! You're not going to take my son away!" If she still had both arms, she'd have strangled him by now. Instead, she squeezed her wand in a white-knuckled grip.

"I'd never deny you the right to see him. But surely you can see that we can offer him a better life, a better-"

James tipped over in his seat, falling bonelessly to the floor after the green flash of Lily's Killing Curse struck him full-on. Breathing heavily, she stood over his cooling corpse and was surprised at how little remorse she felt. He wasn't the same person; not since the Ministry had announced that not only did soul bonds exist, but that spells had been developed to identify a witch or wizard's soulmate.

There was some sinister magic at play, she knew it. Her one encounter with Rowle since he'd been designated her Chosen had proven that to Lily, beyond any doubt. She could only thank Merlin that she'd worn a glove when she shook his hand; even through the fabric, she felt a strong compulsion, and was certain that she'd be no better than the mindless drone her husband had turned into had her skin met his.

If only she had someone to turn to, somewhere to turn to! But Sirius was gone, killed in the war, and Remus had left for the Continent, creatures like werewolves having no place in the Ministry's blissful utopia. Everyone else - her classmates, her friends, her comrades at arms, even Dumbledore - seemed eager and excited to embrace the changes that promised eternal peace. Britain was exhausted, bled white from a dozen years of civil war; there was no appetite for resistance.

She couldn't do it, wouldn't do it. One quick transfiguration and careful balance were all it took, and Lily Potter found her own peace. She only hoped, giving the chair a swift kick, that Harry could eventually forgive her.

And that, with the last image she'd ever see that of the man she loved, it would be her James waiting to greet her in the next life.

Several hours later, unable to ignore the grumbling in his stomach Harry Potter crept out of his room in the silent house, and was greeted by the sight of his mother's body, gently rocking back and forth, the transfigured noose around her neck keeping her dangling from the ceiling.

"Oi! Potter, you better have been practicing over the summer!"

"Relax, I haven't let you down yet, have I?"

Ron seemed to weigh that response, eventually giving a nod and slapping his teammate on the back. "Right. Well, our first practice is tomorrow, bright and early!"

"It's our first day back, we haven't even had a class yet!" Ron's fanaticism for quidditch was normally endearing, but since he got the captain's badge in Sixth Year, it was a bit over the top. "McGonagall's not going to like that."

"I don't know," Ron's little sister Ginny said, leaning forward past her roommates to interject her two Knuts into the conversation, "I think she likes having the Cup in her office every year."

Offering Ron his guarantee that he'd be in bed early and ready in the morning, everyone quieted down as the Headmaster stood to open the feast.

"Let me begin by offering my sincere congratulations to our newly Sorted students. Today marks the beginning of your training as wizards and witches in the most peaceful magical nation on Earth. To the many familiar faces, allow me to welcome you back, and wish you yet another fine year of stellar education." Dumbledore paused for a moment, his face seeming to age before them, looking worn and tired. "And I would be remiss in not saluting those who were Chosen over the summer. Let the power of their love serve as a constant reminder of that which banished the darkness from our lands forever." He raised his goblet. "To the Chosen! May their souls stay united forevermore!"

The entire student body raised their own drinks. "To the Chosen!"

And with that, the food appeared and the raucous sound of hundreds of students talking erupted. Harry spent the rest of the feast conversing with Dean, his closest friend in Gryffindor, about his dormmate's summer. Everyone by now knew better than to ask Harry about his.

"-besides, I finally got my selection letter!"

Harry perked up. "Really? Who was it?"

Dean's face turned dreamy. "Lisa Turpin. She's incredible!"

"Really?" At his friend's irritated glance, Harry quickly amended, "I mean, I just didn't realize that you knew her, that's all."

"I didn't, but I went and found her on the Express. All it took was a single touch, and I knew everything I needed!"

"Like what?" It was disturbing, to see the way his normally quiet friend was so emotional.

"She's just- it's like, well… Look, I can't explain it. Some things can't really be described, Harry, and a soul bond is one of them."

"Oh, okay."

"Have you not gotten your selection letter?"

Harry pushed his steak and kidney pie back and forth along his plate. "I did. I got notice a few weeks after the term ended."

"So what are you waiting for? I mean, I was in the muggle world all summer, why haven't you reached out to her?"

"How do you know I haven't?" Harry asked out of curiosity.

Dean waved his hand as though the question was silly. "You wouldn't be asking about Lisa and I if you had. So? You know that whoever it is, you're meant to be with. Why wouldn't you want to start your life together as soon as possible?"

"I guess I'm just not ready."

The muggleborn lowered his voice, looking around to make sure no one was listening. "There's no point in delaying the inevitable. I'd think if anyone would be eager for a fresh start, it'd be you."

"Yea," Harry said, glancing over his shoulder to the Slytherin table. "I guess you're right."

"Look at her! You can just tell she's like, so in love!"

Astoria nodded, already bored at being stuck listening to her yearmates gush with envy over the latest batch of Chosen sitting together at the feast. "Mm-hm."

"Did your mum cast the spell on you early? Do you know who's going to be selected for you?" Regina Mulciber asked. "I bet your soulmate will be someone amazing, like Draco Malfoy, or Arnold Bode!"

Merlin, when did everyone become so boring? "What's up with Parkinson?" she asked, more to change the topic than out of any real concern.

Her yearmates craned their necks, taking in the sight of a forlorn Pansy, head bowed and seated in front of an empty plate.

It was Flora Carrow that provided the answer. "Potter is her Chosen."

All the other girls winced and made properly sympathetic noises, but Astoria merely raised an eyebrow. 'Pansy and Harry? Why didn't he tell me?'

"Can you imagine how terrible that must be?"

"I don't know," Hestia answered with a thoughtful expression, "I mean, just because his mother-"

"Let's talk about something else," Astoria ordered, rather than asked.

Unfortunately, her desire for more interesting conversation would go unfulfilled, and in the end she begged off the continued gossip-fest, skipping dessert and heading out of the Great Hall early. Coincidentally - or not, given he had remarkably good timing in catching her by happenstance - Potter was making his own exit at the same time.

"Miss Greengrass, I trust your summer was pleasant?"

"More of the same."

"Perils of being the Minister's daughter, I suppose." They each stared straight ahead as they walked side by side.

"And how was Mother Shipton's? No doubt you're glad to be shot of that place."

She could see a flicker of something cross his face at her mention of the Ministry-funded orphanage, but her peripheral vision wasn't up to the task of identifying exactly what it was. "I don't know. It's been home, of sorts, for a long time."

"I guess I can't really imagine spending my whole life in London. So crowded, and noisy, and bright."

The turn to head down into the dungeons was fast approaching, and with it, their reason for walking together. "That's true. It's why I always visit the Astronomy Tower my first night back at the castle."

'Yes!' Astoria took the steps down to the dungeons two at a time, hurrying into the Slytherin dorms. She wanted to get changed out of her robes and make it out before her roommates returned.

Offering her sister a wave as she left the dormitories, she rolled her eyes at Daphne's dreamy expression. Something told Astoria that her sister wouldn't be competing with Granger for the top rank this term, not with the way she was glued to Nott's side.

Oh well. It wasn't her problem, and it's not like there'd be many Seventh Years that would even notice, given the way that the graduating class looked in the Great Hall. It was like this every year; the Chosen were basically lost to the world for the first few months while their bonds settled.

She passed a few other students in the corridors, giving nods in response to their greetings. When she'd started at Hogwarts, it was easy to get rather dazzled at the popularity that came with being the Minister's daughter. She was sure that Daphne must have gone through the same thing, but after so many years it was more of a nuisance to both Greengrasses than an ego boost.

'Not like with Harry' she thought, arriving at her destination to find him already there. "Hi."

"It's cloudy," he remarked in greeting, not sounding overly regretful of that fact.

"That's unfortunate," she replied in the same tone. Truthfully, she was surprised he even noticed the lack of visibility. For the last year he had hardly ever taken his eyes off of her during their frequent rendezvous, a fact that was both unnerving and strangely exhilarating all at once. "Are you okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

She toyed with a strand of her black hair. "I heard that you and Pansy, were, uh…" For some unknown reason she couldn't speak the words. It would make it too real to admit it out loud.

"Oh, that. Yea, I found out a few days after I got back to Mother Shipton's."

"So why haven't you initiated the bond? She looked pretty miserable during the feast."

Harry's gaze was unusually intense as he regarded her. "You think I should?"

Astoria didn't know what to make of that question, nor of the seriousness with which it was asked. Harry was always quiet at the start of term, but not like this. "I mean, there's not really any other option, is there? I don't think an unbonded student has graduated from Hogwarts in ages. Certainly not since I started school."

He 'hmm'-ed, then a brief smile cracked his somber visage, the whites of his teeth clearly visible in the shadows of the tower. "Anyway, I doubt Parkinson is all that eager to seal the bond with me. I can't imagine I'm what she envisioned her soulmate to be like."

"Don't say that!"

"Why not?" he challenged immediately. "You know as well as I do what they say about me, about my mother. Don't pretend otherwise."

"I- what happened doesn't have anything to do with you, though." He was right, and there wasn't any way to sugar-coat it. Lily Potter's murder of her ex-husband and subsequent suicide had become an omnipresent point of reference in the new order, a warning of the sort of violence and volatility that came from unbonded relationships. "I just think it's wrong that anyone would judge you because of something your mother did."

"You don't know anything about my mother, or what she did." His voice was even, but she'd known him long enough to recognize the fury contained in his words.

"Harry?" She wasn't sure how to react to this, to the foreign tension between them. They'd been meeting each other in secret since his Fifth Year. At some point, Harry Potter had become her best friend; the thought of that changing caused her stomach to twist into knots of anxiety.

He stood up straight from where he'd leaned against the wall, deep green eyes still locked onto her. "We should probably head back to our dorms."

Astoria didn't like that. "We've barely had a chance to talk, though!"

"We both knew this couldn't last. It's my Seventh Year." For the first time, he looked away. "It's like you said, there's not really any other option, is there?"

A surge of feelings ran through her when he threw her rhetoric back at her. A crazy, irrational desire, one that left her recoiling at the sheer insanity of her own thoughts, so strong that she hardly noticed that he'd left without another word, leaving her alone in the warm open air of the Astronomy Tower. For the first time, Astoria understood why the other students gave Harry such a wide berth, treated him like something diseased or contagious.

For Astoria Greengrass, standing alone in a magical castle, couldn't shake the absolute certainty that her mother's Ministry had made some mistake, that their selection for her best friend had been wholly and completely incorrect. Parkinson couldn't make him happy; they could never be-, Pansy couldn't be-, he didn't belong with her.

Staring up at the dark, cloudy sky, Astoria could finally comprehend what all her classmates seemed to intrinsically know. Harry Potter really was dangerous.

A/N: Mother Shipton was like.. the English version of Nostradamus. Predicted the Spanish Armada, and even the Internet (sort of).

I once lectured Salient_Causality (International Triwizard Tournament author) about how there was no way to make a soul-bond fic interesting. I've decided to prove myself wrong. This story is very, VERY AU.

Truthfully, I'm a little leery on it. I like the idea, but I question whether or not it will work out how I want it to. I guess we'll see. Either way, good test of a new pairing and a new genre. Hope you are interested!

Stay safe, healthy, and happy! ~Frickles