Hermione Granger did not learn about soulmates until her third year at Hogwarts. Of course, she had heard about them before, but she didn't think they were actually real, that wizards and witches had tangible proof. That was what some of her dormmates had told her, anyway, when after a long day in the library she had come back to her room and found an unfamiliar script written on the inside of her elbow. After reading the words she had thought it a prank. Mostly because she recognized them.
I hardly think a third year needs to be reading Defensive Ritual Magicks of the 17th Century.
She had just pulled the tome from the shelf when it slipped from her fingers. Luckily, it was caught before it hit the floor. Unluckily, it was caught by one of the four people in her house that she did her best to avoid. Remus Lupin. While he wasn't usually directly involved with the humiliation of others like his friends were, she knew he was the brains behind half of their schemes.
"I hardly think that's any of your business." She replied before snatching the book out of his hands. His features pulled back in surprise, but she returned to her secluded corner of the library before he could say anything else.
She was sceptical. While she was swayed into believing soulmates exist by the multiple sources each girl had stashed away in the bottom of their trunks, she wasn't convinced Remus Lupin was hers. It had to have been some kind of prank because of the way she had talked back to him.
After trying every removal spell she could think of, the words were still clear as day. She even resorted to muggle methods. She scrubbed with soap and a washcloth until her skin was red and raw. They still hadn't budged, so she covered it up, telling herself she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of thinking he had bested her.
She spent the rest of the week perfecting a glamour charm until she couldn't even make out a speck of the writing. It became a normal part of her routine; she tried to forget the words were even there.
o-o-o-o-o
That was until another set appeared along her inner calf.
A year later, she was walking down an empty corridor when she suddenly felt a tugging at her ankle. The next thing she knew, she was on the floor with her books and bag spread out around her.
"Merlin, I thought you were someone else." A voice said. She groaned as she realised, she was on the receiving end of some prank. She had tried her hardest to stay out of such nonsense since she started at Hogwarts. He jumped back at the sound, and his eyes went wide. She must have looked a right mess. She tried to push herself up, but as soon as she did, she felt a sticky sensation on her palms. She looked up at the boy she now recognised as Peter Pettigrew.
"A sticking spell." He stuttered.
"Remove it." She said through gritted teeth. When he didn't move, she got angrier. "Now!" It echoed through the still empty corridor. That got him moving. But as he pulled out his wand, he fumbled it. It dropped to the ground and rolled to her feet. He chased after it, falling to his knees. Once he grabbed it, he looked up to her, but his gaze was pulled elsewhere.
She crossed her legs, thinking he had gotten a look up her skirt. His eyes went wide, and his face turned deathly pale. He fell backwards, wand gripped tightly, and whispered a finite. Unstuck, she summoned her things and left as fast as possible.
It was hours later as she was getting ready for bed when she noticed the new set of words along her inner calf on her left leg.
Merlin, I thought you were someone else.
Could someone really have two soulmates? She thought it had to be a prank now. She hadn't done much of her own research, too focused on subjects she was actually interested in. She needed to figure out what was going on sooner or later.
o-o-o-o-o
But later never came. Soon enough the school year was over, and she was left with no resources. By the time September came back around, she was so busy with her new prefect role and revising for her O.W.L's that soulmate research fell to the wayside.
She spent most of the year thoroughly avoiding Remus and Peter. Until she knew more, she wasn't going to interact with them. Not that she interacted with them, anyway. She caught Peter looking her way sometimes, but he always turned away before she could examine him further.
She ignored most of their shenanigans, leaving them for the sixth and seventh year prefects to deal with. It worked out for her fine until about halfway through term when she started to stumble upon them more and more often. It was only after she had found them for the fifth time in a week (and it was only Wednesday) that she realized it was no coincidence she kept finding them.
"For fucks sake, you're really going to let us get away with that?" He asked like he couldn't really believe her. She was tired of all this.
"Are you really going to stop breaking rules just because I punish you?" He smirked and tried to answer, but she continued before he could. "You don't listen to any of the other prefects. What difference would it make if I interfered with your so-called 'jokes'?" He scoffed, but he was the one who wanted a confrontation. She had no problem giving him one. "Clearly, you're starved for attention, and this is the only way you know how to get it. Now that someone isn't falling for it you can't handle it." She hadn't realized she had so much to say but once the words started, she couldn't stop them. "Newsflash, nobody owes you anything. I certainly don't. So, continue to make your little jokes and play your stupid pranks and see how all that is going to help you out there."
His smirk had slowly transformed into a scowl over the course of her tirade. She turned away without giving him or the boys standing behind him a second glance.
It wasn't until two days later that she noticed. What she had hoped to be a relaxing night using the prefect's bathroom quickly turned out to be quite the opposite. There along her ribs on her left side just under her breast sat the words Sirius Black had yelled at her days before.
For fucks sake, you're really going to let us get away with that?
A curse word was now permanently marked on her body. No, not permanently. There was no way she had three soulmates. Especially those three. It basically confirmed it. They were playing some kind of prank. They had to be. It was absolutely ludicrous to believe Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin were her soulmates. Right?