Hello everyone, this is my submission for round twelve of Season 9 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. Thank you to my teammates: CupCakeyyy and NevilleGonnaGiveYouUp for betaing this and to LSUsweetie for helping me to brainstorm the idea. I do not own any rights to Harry Potter; they belong to J.K. Rowling.

Chaser 1: The last words your soulmate will ever say to you are printed on your arm.

Optional Prompts used:

3. (word) destined

5. (word) obvious

7. (emotion) startled

Word Count: 1500

Diagon Alley was quiet for a Saturday in August. There were a few couples, both young and old, strolling down the cobbled street hand in hand, window shopping, as well as the odd family hurrying from shop to shop in a last-minute rush to acquire school supplies for their children.

This month had been one of the warmest on record for the UK so Hermione Granger, while glad that the magical shopping area wasn't busy, was also relieved that today appeared to be rather cool. Today had been the best day for her to go shopping for Harry and Draco's house warming present, given that the rest of the week she had lesson prep to do, with the new school term only a week away. She'd thought long and hard as to what to get her best friend and his husband and had come to the conclusion that a photo album would be perfect for them. Flourish and Blotts would be the best place to go to for it.

As she strolled slowly along the alley in the direction of the bookshop which was situated just before Gringotts, she couldn't help but feel a guilty twinge of jealousy flood her at seeing happy couples together. Absentmindedly, she rubbed the soft wool of her right cardigan sleeve that covered the words that were magically printed on the inside of her arm.

She didn't need to look to know what they said: It was nice to see you again, Hermione. She'd always wondered since the words had appeared on her arm at the Welcome Feast in her first year at Hogwarts who her soulmate could be. The words themselves sounded to her like the last thing her soulmate (whoever that may be) would ever say to her.

The words printed on each witch or wizard's arm were different. She knew that for Harry and Draco the words had been part of an argument they had had in sixth year. For Ron and Pansy it had been the first thing they had said to each other.

Hermione figured that couldn't be the only person whose words were the final thing their soulmate would say to them. It sounded like a goodbye. Even so, to her it seemed almost foreboding in the sense that what if she never got to be with the soulmate she was destined for? While she knew that not all soulmates ended up together, she found something rather romantic about it, it was like something from a fairy-tale. She knew that there was a chance that should she ever meet her soulmate they might not get along and while that would be upsetting, she would at least have some peace in the knowledge of who they were.

As she passed Eeylops Owl Emporium, an itching sensation, like ants running across her skin, distracted her from her thoughts. Pulling the grey sleeve of her cardigan up, she noticed that the words printed on her skin in black ink were slightly raised and warm to the touch.

Was it a sign? Was her soulmate nearby?

She hadn't been looking where she was going, so deep in contemplating what this new development with her tattoo could mean that she didn't see the person coming her way until they collided.

Startled, she stumbled back, nearly falling, but a hand grabbed her arm just in time to steady her.

"I'm sorry, I…" Hermione trailed off, chestnut eyes widening in startled shock as she came face to face with someone she hadn't seen in nearly four years, not since school.

"Theo?"

Theodore Nott smiled, his blue eyes twinkling with happiness. "Hello, Hermione."

His deep yet gentle voice sent butterflies fluttering inside her as she realised that the feelings she had once had for him were still there even now, like a flame that could never be extinguished.

Their friendship had surprised the rest of the student population, especially Harry, Ron, and she supposed Draco. It had begun in their first year when they had been partnered together in Potions. While she knew Professor Snape would never admit to it, she did wonder whether him pairing the Houses up during his lessons was his own way to unite the Hogwarts' population despite all the hostility and separation among them. She was glad of it given that for her and Theo they had gotten along well. She had found that while, yes, Theo was a Slytherin and best friends with Draco, he wasn't stuck up, nor did he strongly believe in the blood purity views of his father and the other Pure-blood families.

She had treasured their study sessions in the library, and when it was warm sometimes on the grass overlooking the Black Lake. Theo had been one person that not only did she feel safe around but that made her laugh. As the years had passed, she'd developed feelings for him but she had never gotten the chance to tell him because things would always happen at the most inopportune moments that needed her attention.

She didn't know who had stepped forward first but found herself held in a warm hug, one she wished could last longer than it did when they both stepped back, breaking the embrace.

"It's so good to see you, Theo. How are you?"

"I'm really good, thank you. I've been offered a position as the head of a team of Unspeakables in Italy. I've just come from Gringotts, I had to finish tying up some matters there regarding the family estate before I leave. How are you?" he said, his eyes never leaving her. If she didn't know better, she would have said it was almost as though he was trying to imprint an image of her in his mind that he could keep.

It's him. Theo is my soulmate, he has to be, she thought. The fact that he was leaving, that this was probably the final time they would ever see each other being the obvious sign. But she couldn't know for sure, not yet, not when what was on her arm hadn't been said.

"I'm happy, I teach Transfiguration at Hogwarts. I only came here today to do a bit of gift shopping while I can, before the new term starts."

Theo nodded in understanding, though Hermione was sure that she saw the gleam of sadness in his blue eyes.

"I'd love to stay and talk longer but I have to go and catch the portkey at the Ministry. It was nice seeing you again, Hermione," Theo said, smiling at her one last time before he began walking away in the direction she had come.

Hermione stood still for a few seconds as the realisation of what he had said sunk in, the words on her arm burning warmer than before. Pulling her sleeve up again, once more she found that the words had turned an emerald green. It was him; Theo was her soulmate and he was about to leave for good.

"Wait, please Theo, don't go!" she shouted, hoping that he'd hear her, that he'd stop so that they could talk, find out where they stood in the matter of being soulmates.

Her heart hammered in her chest as she watched him stop in his tracks, only to turn and face her a moment later. His eyes were wide with the same startling realisation, while his mouth hung agape before he closed it. He strode back down the cobbled alley to her, an intensity in him that she remembered from when they studied at school, it was endearing.

"I've always wondered who my soulmate was. Those words… I had hoped that maybe it would be… and it is. It's you, Hermione."

Relief washed through her and she smiled at him, before worrying her lip between her teeth when she thought of the portkey that he had been going to, about his job.

"What about the portkey?" she asked, not wanting to hinder his career in anyway, even though she wanted him to stay so that they could talk and see where things might go between them.

Reaching out, he pushed a stray lock of her hair behind her ear gently before stroking her cheek tenderly as he replied, "I'll send my boss a Patronus, tell him things have changed. I want to see where things will go with us. I always thought about you, you know?"

"You mean…"

He nodded smiling and Hermione's heart skipped a beat, he had feelings for her too.

"I thought me going to Italy was what was meant to be, but I was wrong. I'm destined to stay here in England with you, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Now, if you'd like I could accompany you shopping and then we could get something to eat and talk?"

She leant into his touch for a moment, smiling happily. "I'd really like that, Theo," she replied, her hand fitting perfectly in his as they walked towards Flourish and Blotts together.

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I'll see you all soon,

S L Blake x