It was the last week of the summer holiday and Hermione was seated across from a sleepy Ronald Weasley at the Burrow. Piles of hot food were laid out in mismatched trays, and even half-asleep Ron was capable of loading his plate full. Hermione had scraped some jam onto her toast when Harry and Ginny walked down the stairs to the table hand in hand.

Ron's groan was muffled by the food he'd been shoveling into his mouth.

Hermione was about to ask but was saved the trouble by Fred and George.

"I thought you both agreed to end things before it got weird?"

"I thought it was because Harry realized Gin's got a nasty temper?"

The twins nodded to each other, "Both."

Ginny shoved Harry into a chair, then plopped down next to him, the red of her neck and ears giving away her embarrassment. "WE," She gestured to herself and Harry, "Decided not to give up on a good thing." She glowered at her brothers grabbing for the serving tongs.

Harry was wisely silent, nodding along while holding his plate as Ginny filled it. He was used to Ginny's back and forth with her brothers.

"But Ginny… Harry's just turned seventeen. It's just a waste of time and effort, I think."

Ron was right of course. Two years was a long time to keep going with a romance that was doomed to end. But judging by Ginny's expression, that was not something she wanted to hear. Ginny had been filling her plate with eggs and sausages when she stopped midway, frozen at her brother's words.

Harry jumped in, "Look Ron- guys! Ginny thinks, well I also think that- we both think that we are- you know… Soulmates."

Hermione smiled politely, not wanting to be the one who burst their bubble. Even though she normally was.

"And then what happens when Harry finds his soulmate, huh Gin? How are you gonna feel when he drops you like-"

"Ronald! Stop it!" Hermione hissed kicking him in the shins.

"Ow! 'Mione what was that for?"

Ginny was gripping the serving spoon tightly, her face a bit flushed in her anger. Hermione was half worried Ginny would hit him with it.

"Well, I think it's a wonderful thing to be so sure." Hermione said matter-of-factly, "When I first told my parents of the wizarding magic of soulmates, they were astounded of course, but ultimately they said they knew they were meant to be together. They didn't need magic to tell them so. And here I am, seventeen years later, Head Girl of Hogwarts-"

"Aww don't start again 'Mione!" Ron sighed hanging his head over the back of his chair.

Before she could chastise him, George jumped up and did a small bow.

"Yes, yes, everyone bow down to the Head Girl! This is as close to success as we'll get!"

"What about Percy? Wasn't he Head Boy-"

Fred quickly ruffled Harry's head his knuckles, "He'll never let us forget! Will he Georgie?"

"Ow ow. Getoffme!" Harry laughed as he tried to escape the brotherly affection.

"Apologize for reminding us of Perfect Prefect Percy Potter! Or you'll be bald before you and Ginny can say 'I Do'!" George demanded playfully.

Ginny flushed scarlet and Ron choked on his eggs laughing at the thought of a balding Harry, spewing his eggs across the table.

"EWW RON!" Hermione shrieked jumping up wiping her face furiously.

"My word!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed, as he and Molly entered the room. Molly was aghast at the display.

"What on earth- BOYS! Let Harry go now! Oh Ron! Cover your mouth!"

Hermione was pulling back the covers for the night, her small bed tucked into a nook in Ginny's tiny room, when the youngest Weasley entered, freshly showered.

"That was a good match today, Hermione."

"Oh, not you too! I know perfectly well I'm a terrible flier! Ron was trying to compliment me all day after I nearly crashed into the Burrow!"

The Weasley's were making the best of the last days off, and for the Quidditch obsessed trio- Ron, Harry, and Ginny- that meant going over and over new plays. Practicing throws and blocks. With some persuasion, Hermione was roped in as well. They didn't have an actual Bludger, so she spelled an ordinary ball to practice with, and eventually joined Ron on a two verse two match. With their final year at Hogwarts upon them, they wanted to be in top form for their last Quidditch season. Even though Ginny would be there another year, it still would be the last year they played together. They wanted Gryffindor to win, and so did Hermione.

Ginny laughed a bit remembering Hermione's frantic swipe against the roof, then more seriously, said, "He likes you, you know?"

Hermione stopped fluffing her pillow and sat on the edge of the small mattress.

"I know. I- I almost liked him too, but…"

"But?"

"What's the point Ginny? I mean, do you realize how hypocritical that is of Ron to expect me to like him now before he turns eighteen, but expect you to dump Harry because he's just turned eighteen?"

Ginny flopped onto her back, "Yeah, I know. I just- I don't know. I pictured you and me as sisters. You're the closest thing I have to a sister. I love you just as much as my brothers. I guess- I kinda just wanted us to stay connected after Hogwarts. I don't know."

Oh.

Ginny was scared. Her circle of friends would decrease dramatically after this year… Did Ginny think they'd stop being friends? That she'd stop coming by after graduation?

"Oh Ginny." Hermione walked over to the younger girl hugging her fiercely, "I am not going anywhere. You and I will always be sisters. I will write and visit as much as you want. I'm not leaving you behind okay?"

Ginny sniffled into her night shirt, "Thanks 'Mione."

Hermione sat next to Ginny, the topic on the tip of her tongue.

"I know what you're thinking Granger. I can see the furrow of your brow. Just ask me."

"Why didn't you end it like you said you would?" she blurted.

"I know! We talked about it. It was my idea even. But- Hermione. You should have seen his face. When I saw how hurt he was, I knew I had made a mistake even suggesting it. I can't break up with Harry just because he turned eighteen and the Soul Magic takes effect and we may not be soulmates. I can't break up with my boyfriend because… I love him."

Both girls sighed.

"I'm his soulmate. And he's mine. I just know it. Just like your parents knew it. I just have to wait until I turn eighteen, and then everyone will see it's true."

They parted then, each tucking into their beds, minds swirling with thoughts of soulmates and friends.

Hermione was awake listening to Ginny's breathing even out as she fell asleep. She wondered if it was really that easy. Ginny was so certain. Her conviction alone made Hermione want to believe it… She stared at the ceiling.

Be logical Hermione. This is just another part of being a witch.

She tried to focus only on the facts.

The first was that Soul Magic was unavoidable. It happened automatically in every witch and wizard, no matter their blood status, on their eighteenth birthday with no spell cast. A witch or wizard could be anywhere on earth and still the effects would occur. When Hermione woke up on her birthday last year, she had expected to feel different. She had expected to sense some kind of change within herself. But she hadn't.

The second fact of Soul Magic was that the witch or wizard would completely stop aging until they met their soulmate.

It's not like I could tell if I stopped aging anyway…

Statistically, about sixty-two percent of these magic folk met their soulmates within the first five years after they turned eighteen. Twenty percent within the first ten years, seventeen percent within twenty years, and lastly, about one percent of magical folk wait longer than twenty years to find their mates. Hermione knew she'd likely end up in the majority.

Third fact- and the most exciting for some- upon meeting your soulmate, the Soul Magic will then mark each person with matching symbols. Called 'Soulmarks', these symbols can be anything. They could be colorful or colorless, as simple as a blue triangle or as complex as a tattoo. The mark is always an exact mirror on both persons. The symbol would only appear where a person first 'met' their soulmate.

"Represented by a burning sensation as it is magically etched into the skin…" she whispered, repeating the words from the textbook on Soul Magic she memorized in her first year.

What's the point in thinking about it? I will do what I have always done. I will graduate, get a job in the Ministry, and work my way up the ranks… Then when it does happen, however it happens- I will be a financially stable adult. With a small house and a dog maybe…"

Hermione drifted into a comfy slumber, dreaming about a distant future.