Hey! It's been over four years since I've wrote anything! Can't quite believe it, however if any of my lovely followers from my 100 story read this, I would be forever greatful. I already have more chapters written up but just wanted to put some feelers out first.
This is will be a Draco/ Hermione story, however it will be a slow burn. This is based after the war. It is rated an M for strong language and sexual content.
Please if you can leave reviews Much love xo
Chapter 1.
Hermione held the letter tightly in her hand, leaning back on her chair within the warm kitchen of the Burrow, staring at the equally shocked faces sitting around her. She would have laughed at the contents of the letter, how ridiculous she had found it when she had read it the first time; however, after three more times reading the cursive letters, she no longer found the situation that funny anymore.
"This has to be a joke." Ron finally muttered, his face mere inches from the paper, his eyes still raking over it.
"Doesn't look like it is a joke." Harry mumbled, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. He glanced over to his right at Ginny, who sat dumbfounded.
"She cannot be bloody serious!" Ron grumbled, running a hand through his red hair, making it stick up in awkward angles. Ginny smirked at him from across the table.
"Which bit are you more annoyed about, Ron?" Ginny mused, "The fact that our houses are being mixed? Or the fact that they are going to be trying to set us up?"
Ron's face paled. At which part, Hermione wasn't sure.
"It doesn't say right out that they are setting us up, Gin" Harry spoke.
"No, but that's effectively what the letter is suggesting." She shot back, looking more pissed off by the second.
Hermione finally placed the letter down on the table and ran a hand over her face. She made eye contact with Harry sitting opposite her. He looked like he was about to be sick.
"Professor McGonagall would never try and set up her students. This is the ministry's doing. They are concerned about the magical world dying out after the war. By the looks of it, they mean to try and place a pureblood with a muggle born or a half blood." Hermione stated matter of fact.
"That doesn't explain why the houses are being mixed though!" Ron grumbled from next to her. She struggled not to roll her eyes at him. He was more concerned about the mixing of the houses than the impending realisation of marriage.
"Obviously, Ronald, it's so we can mix with other houses to make finding our other half easier." She snapped at him.
The four sat in silence for a long moment, staring at the parchment of paper sitting in front of them. Hermione could hardly believe what she had read. According to the ministry, Hogwarts would do a series of tests, which they failed to explain within the letter, to help young witches and wizards find their soulmate. They claimed that when their soulmate was found, the power would strengthen both of their magic. The first test was a simple spell to open their own magic to find its other half.
Which would happen on the first day back.
Which was in two days' time.
Hermione noticed Ginny nervously look at Harry. They must have been terrified that they would not be each other's soulmate. Hemione gave the couple sitting in front of them a small smile.
"I am very confident that you two have nothing to worry about." She spoke to Harry and Ginny. The couple looked at each other, Harry smiling at his girlfriend, as she clasped her small hand over his own. Hermione looked away, feeling like she was interrupting an intimate moment between them.
"Bloody hell. Can you not give each other sodding puppy dog eyes while I am sat mere metres away please?" Ron hissed.
Ginny stuck her tongue out at her brother, while Harry smirked at his best friend. Hermione rolled her eyes at the scene in front of her. However, the smile soon slipped from her face at the daunting realisation that in two days' time, her magic would be searching for her soulmate. Hermione was nineteen years old and the thought of finding the man that she was meant to spend the rest of her life with was terrifying, to put it rather bluntly.
"What if my soulmate is a Slytherin?" Ron blanched, looking more horrified by the second at the sheer thought of it. Hermione bit the inside of her cheek to contain her smirk. They had quickly realised after the war that they were much better off as friends. Hermione thought back fleetingly to the kiss they shared in the middle of the battle and tried not to shudder at the memory of it.
No, much better off as friends. Although, now that she had thought about it, she had the horrifying thought of Ron being her soulmate.
She might kill him.
Despite herself, Hermione laughed at her friend. He looked at her sharply from her side, his expression confused as she snickered.
"Oh sorry. I'm just thinking that maybe a Slytherin is the only witch that won't put up with your crap."
Ron's reply was to flip her off.
It was safe to say that Molly and Arthur were not happy about the contents of the letter. As it turned out, the tests were not just happening within Hogwarts; they were happening all around wizarding Britain. George arrived early in the morning to the Burrow, looking frazzled as he held the crumpled bit of paper in his hand, demanding to know what the hell was going on and why he had received a letter.
Arthur regrouped his remaining children, including Harry and Hermione, to explain that the ministry was not just aiming their soulmate proposal to the 7th and 8th years of Hogwarts, but also to all the unmarried witches and wizards under the age of thirty. George bristled once his father had explained to the group, looking like he was ready to hex anyone that came near him. Hermione could hardly blame him. After Fred had died, George kept himself occupied at the shop and only mingled within his family if he had to. She imagined that Fred had been his soulmate, magically speaking of course.
"This is fucking ridiculous!" George snapped, slamming his fist on the kitchen table, the crumpled-up bit of paper still within his hand.
"George!" Molly chastised, "I will not have that language in this house. No matter how angry you are!"
George glared at his mother before storming out the kitchen. Hermione heard the back door being slammed shut and seeing a flash of red hair before he disappeared into the garden of the Burrow.
"Well, that could have went a bit better." Ron muttered with a mouthful of toast in his mouth. Ginny swatted him across the head. Hermione heard Ron mumble a few creative words under this breath. Arthur raised his eyebrow at his youngest son. Luckily, Molly was fluttering around in the kitchen, glancing every so often at the fireplace, and didn't hear him.
Hermione was starting to feel a headache coming on. She pinched her nose hard to stem the flow of blood. They would be going back for their final year of Hogwarts tomorrow, and for the first time in a long time, Hermione was dreading going back to the beautiful castle. Her stomach did little flips at the thought of walking down the corridors and her magic pulling her towards someone, and she was clueless as to who it would be. It could be anyone.
That was the thought that scared her more than anything.
Hermione kept herself busy for most of the day helping Molly tidy up around the house. Finally, Molly ushered Hermione out of the living room, either due to her lingering around too much or that Molly just wanted to clean in peace, she wasn't sure, but she suddenly found herself out in the gardens.
The sky was beginning to darken as she walked towards the swamp at the end of the garden, noticing a flash of red hair. George sat on the ground, cross legged as he threw stones out towards the water. Hermione lingered a few metres behind him, not sure if she should grace him with her presence or not.
"Hermione, just sit down instead of standing behind me like a weirdo." George muttered, not taking his eyes of the water in front of him.
Hermione sat next to the older Weasley, watching him as he continued to pick up more little rocks to throw into the swamp. He passed her a rock, watching her silently as she took it from his hand. She looked back out over the water, her fingers rolling the rock within her hand.
"You're scared, aren't you?" George asked.
Hermione didn't answer straight away. After Fred had died, George and Hermione's friendship strengthened. They were both going through such severe losses that they eventually broke down to each other. George with Fred and Hermione with her parents. The thought of her parents still living happily away in Australia was enough to bring a lump to her throat. She couldn't reverse her magic. She had no idea if they would ever remember her again.
"I am terrified." She spoke, her breath barely above as whisper as she glanced at George over her shoulder. He was already looking at her, a sad smile pulling at his mouth.
"Just watch this space, " He spoke softly as he winked at Hermione, a spark of his old, cheeky self, shining through "This time next year, both our soulmates will be sitting on either side of us at this swamp, as we continue to through rocks into the water. However, I will be giving yours the best and most terrifying big brother speech I can possibly give to scare the shit out of him, while no doubt, you will be looking over at my soulmate, and mouthing to her how sorry you are that she is stuck with me for the rest of her life."
Despite herself, Hermione laughed at the older Weasley, who bumped his shoulder against hers.
"God help our soulmates." Hermione agreed.