My friends, can you believe that this season is coming to an end! At least the main part of QL has one more round, there are still a couple finals rounds which we may or may not be involved in!

This round is round 12, and it's all about soulmates. We've been given a soulmates trope, and will have to write that as a story. As captain of the Arrows, I've been given the soulmates trope "your characters don't know they're soulmates until their first touch". I'm excited for this, because I'm taking a shot at my ultimate OTP, Dramione! Let's go!

Note: I'm changing the order of things a bit. I have no reason, it just seemed to make a bit more sense for me to have the slap be the penultimate event in a day with so much going on

Beta: Ikuni

WC: 951

Hermione had no idea what to do with what had just happened. The day had been one of the worst she'd ever had. First, she had missed a class due to falling asleep. This meant she missed an important lesson in Charms class, which Flitwick hinted would be on the upcoming exams.

Now she had to catch up on the Cheering Charms lesson, which was another thing on her plate. Later, with great provocation from Professor Trelawney, she stormed out of Divination class, with a Vow to never return. Divination was a waste of time, and now she could use the extra time to work on her other homework.

And now, this, which she had no idea how to describe. She, Harry, and Ron had gone to visit Hagrid after they'd gotten the terrible news of Buckbeak's pending execution. When Malfoy had made fun of Hagrid's grief over losing his beloved pet, Hermione hadn't been able to stand it any more. She had dashed over to where they were congregated and slapped him clear across the face.

And that was when everything had changed. The moment her hand had touched his face, something had stirred within her. Until this point, she'd only had the most superficial feelings towards Draco Malfoy. After all, he was pretty handsome, objectively speaking. On occasion, when she caught sight of him staring pensively at the shelves in the library instead of doing whatever work he had, she'd thought perhaps they could at least be friends. But then she remembered how he hated her very existence, simply because of her family.

But now… when her hand had landed, something had coursed through her, a sensation that left her unsure, confused, and many other things. The biggest among them, however, was a sense of… connection, and of belonging. But what did it mean?

I have to know.

As Hermione hurried to the library, she tried to keep her thoughts from going out of control. It was rather hard, though, as she kept remembering the sensations that had run through her at the moment she'd slapped Malfoy.

"Granger." Hermione was so lost in her thoughts, she nearly jumped a mile. Looking up, she saw Draco also approaching the library from another direction. "Should've known you'd be around here. What, is your personal collection lacking again?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. She couldn't tell if he had felt the same things she had. Something did seem different, but that could have been to any number of things. "I'm not even going to react to that comment. I wanted to research something about soulmates. Personal interest."

She noticed Draco stiffen in reaction to the comment. "So you felt it, to, then? Just my luck that a mu-" To Hermione's surprise, he actually stopped himself short as he began to say the derogatory slur.

"We need to figure out what's going on between us," Hermione spoke before the silence became too awkward. "It's obviously more than just a general sensation, there was something magical to it. Do you want to help me, or not?"

"No need," Draco responded. "I already did the research after dinner. Supposedly, the sensation we felt means that we're soulmates."

The delivery was casual, almost brutal. Draco's silence afterwards, however, seemed quite intentional, as though to give her the few seconds to understand what he implied.

"Soulmates? But I've never read…"

Draco pulled a small booklet from his robes and showed it to Hermione. "It's not in the Hogwarts library. This is from my family's personal library, a diary from an aunt a few generations back. She describes the same feelings we had, and explains that it is an indication of meeting your true love, your soulmate. According to her, this only happens upon the first time you touch. Until that point, the two involved could theoretically be bitter enemies."

"Like us?" Hermione tentatively asked, taking the book from Draco and examining it closely. It was quite old, leather bound, with embossed flowers on it. Draco slowly nodded. "But… we're so young! Isn't this only supposed to apply to adults?"

Draco shrugged. "It usually does, but sometimes it's been known to happen in the young. According to the book, the first sensations may be very fleeting, but will vary depending on the duration of connection."

"In short, if we were to touch for longer, there may be even stronger feelings that arise?"

"Indeed."

They were slightly awkward for a moment, before Hermione smirked and said, "Shall I slap you again, then?"

Draco cracked a smile before he said, "It was deserved at the time, but I don't think that will be necessary."

"You absolutely did deserve it!" A bit of Hermione's anger returned as she said, "All year you've been trying to get Buckbeak executed, and you were delighting in Hagrid's despair. Have you no heart?"

Draco closed his eyes in shame. "I have been a right arse, I know. It took your slap to get me to realize. But I wrote to my father, I'll have you know, and asked him to stop the execution if he can."

Hermione's eyes widened as she understood what he said. She hadn't been expecting such a full turnaround. "Mal...Draco, I… I don't know what to say."

Draco shrugged. "Well, don't thank me yet. Father could always ignore me. Wouldn't be the first time."

Without thinking, Hermione placed her hand on Draco's shoulder, in order to comfort him. Once again, she felt the same feelings as before, but a hundred times more intense, taking her breath away. As they continued, Hermione knew that there was no going back. She and Draco were connected, no matter what.

They were soulmates.