Chapter 15: Soul Mating
Hermione moaned as she woke up the next morning. She had had too much to drink the night before trying to pretend she wasn't hurt by Oliver's actions. She remembered dancing with about every guy in the VIP lounge and wondered what her friends were thinking of her. She was usually so cool and collected and she went and acted like a tease to all those guys. She looked over to her doorway to see what had woken her and groaned as she saw Ginny there clutching a copy of the daily prophet and smirking at her.
"Rough night huh?" Ginny said as she sat down next to her best friend. "You almost had me convinced that you were fine with what happened until I saw you take your third shot. How's your head? I know you never drink."
Hermione just shut her eyes as the light hurt too much and Ginny's voice was like daggers into her mind. "Boys suck," was all she grunted out before smothering herself with her pillow. "So what damage did I do?" Her muffled voice asked.
"No real damage," Ginny told her. "There was a reporter there though that saw the whole exchange and took photos. But the boys all seemed to enjoy your overenthusiastic personality last night. You do remember dancing with half the room right?"
"Yes, I remember everything. All the alcohol did was loosen my inhibitions. I think I kissed a man named Snake before I left. He was really hot, looked exactly like my dream guy." Hermione mumbled again. "So how bad is the article, did they make me out to be a harlot again? Should I expect more hate mail?"
"Actually I don't think you need to worry. There is a nice picture of Wood snogging the bimbo so the whole world can see you had every reason to dump him. I'm the one that needs to watch for hate mail. It seems that the photographer took a photo that makes it look like Xavier and I are kissing or snuggling or something inappropriate and there's a nice article on how I'm being unfaithful to Harry." Ginny said with a sigh.
"What!" Hermione exclaimed making her head spin as she sat up quickly to grab the paper from her friend. There on the front page was an article on their group's activities at the club, complete with the two photos. The photo of Ginny and X was easy to see she was whispering in his ear and she knew it had to do with her and Oliver but the reporter made it seem like Ginny was going around behind Harry's back. "This is not good; just burn any letter you don't know who sends you. Mine only lasted a month or so before they had found better gossip." She hugged her friend tightly before jumping up and running to the toilet to empty her stomach.
Ginny giggled at her friend's misfortune. She found it interesting that the smartest witch to ever go to Hogwarts hadn't thought of asking for a hangover remedy yet. Ginny was actually scared of going downstairs to face her family. She knew they would ask her about her and Xavier and she didn't know what to say to them to make them believe she wasn't cheating on Harry. It was getting annoying! Ginny was disturbed from her musing by a knock at the door. She opened it to Snape who was bearing a gift of a hangover cure for Hermione. "She's in the bathroom; you can take it to her." She told him as she left to go get dressed for the day.
Hermione saw the black clad feet and legs from her position next to the toilet and just held out her hand for the potion. It was a testament to how well they had gotten to know each other over the summer that she knew he had something to make her feel better without ever speaking to him. She gulped down the nasty liquid that she had helped him brew a few weeks ago when he had needed it himself after a night out with some of the older male order members. "Thanks," she said with a small smile as her head cleared and her stomach calmed. "I don't think I'll drink so much next time."
"I read the paper this morning so I understand what inspired your sudden change of opinion where alcohol is involved." He told her gently; know the potion had not fully taken effect yet.
"Yeah, it was a damper on the fun for a while. But I can't say I'm surprised, I should never have gotten involved with another Quidditch player. I guess I didn't learn my lesson the first time." She smiled as he helped her off the floor and into one of the chairs in her room. "I did have a good time though, even with the breakup."
"Yes, I heard from Mr. Longbottom that you danced with every man in the VIP lounge, how magnanimous of you." He smirked at her. "Was there anyone in particular that made your night enjoyable or was it the endless array of dance partners?"
"Uh," she groaned while laying her head in her hands on the table. "I was having a good time dancing with all the boys but there was one guy that caught my attention. I think I may have given him the wrong impression of me. I was actually flirting with him and I think I actually kissed him before I left. He most likely thinks I'm one of those bimbos that throws myself at men."
"Who was it? I thought I heard you had the lounge to yourselves?" Snape said acting coy.
"He said he was friends with the club owner and was visiting from out of town. He called himself Snake actually," she said with a snort.
"How very Slytherin," Snape drawled with his silk over steel voice.
"Exactly! That's exactly what I said," she said with a yawn, half way back to sleep. "It's a shame all the best ones are in Slytherin. Oh well, I guess I have a soft spot for talk dark handsome Slytherin men." She was fast asleep by the end of the comment and Snape sighed and carried her to her bed. Ginny watched with wide eyes as their evil potions teacher tenderly tucked her friends under the covers and moved her bushy curls away from her face. He didn't even seem embarrassed when he saw her standing in the doorway; he just nodded at her and went on his way. Ginny decided she would never figure that man out.
Ginny cautiously made her way downstairs to the kitchen, not wanting to have to face the music. She smiled when she saw that Harry was waiting for her at the bottom of the steps. He kissed her good morning and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry you have to go through all this Gin. I really wish I could just tell everyone the truth, but you know I can't. I'll make sure your family doesn't give you a hard time. Come on, if we go in together they can't say anything too badly right?" He told her as they broke apart.
Everyone in the kitchen stopped taking when they saw Harry and Ginny enter hand-in-hand. They hadn't expected the two to be acting like nothing had happened. Remus had to kiss Tonks to hide his smile and her laugh. They would all find it amusing once they found out that the person they thought she was cheating on Harry with was Harry himself. "Good-morning Harry, Ginny," Remus said after he had schooled his face.
"Have you read the paper yet?" Ron asked trying to remain aloof. He couldn't act like nothing was up or they would suspect something and he couldn't act like he was upset since he knew there was nothing wrong. He hated having to act; he was really bad at it.
"Yes we both read it already." Harry said while telling Ginny to be calm in her mind. 'Let me handle this' he instructed her. "I think it's obvious that she was only telling Xavier about what went on with Hermione. I can't believe any of you would think that Ginny would cheat on me. I trust both her and Xavier. He wouldn't do that to me and I know that Gin wouldn't."
'They're going to want to know how you know X wouldn't' Ginny told him mentally. "How could any of you think that? I thought we had this conversation before!" Ginny said pretending to be upset at her family; in truth she had expected it. 'Alright, here come the accusations,' she told him.
"What do you expect us to think Ginny?" Fred asked as he sat next to his brother at the table. "First you instantly become friends with him, you always dance with him at the club, and he even slept in your room! How do you think that looks?"
"And now there is a photo of you whispering sweet nothings in his ear, in fact it looks like you are nibbling on his earlobe!" George added. "Tell us what to think then!"
"You can think whatever you like," Ginny said narrowing her eyes. "Harry trusts me and knows that I wouldn't be unfaithful, that is all that matters." She then stormed out of the kitchen and back up to her room. Her family would really think her lying if she took it calmly. She smiled when she saw Winky had already sent her breakfast up on a tray.
Once Ginny had left Harry glared at the Weasley men. "I don't want you to give Ginny a hard time about Xavier. I trust her and I trust him. I can't and won't explain to you why that is, but you will lay off her. Even if you see them snogging in a broom cupboard I don't care. She would never ever betray me and that is all you need to know."
"So you're telling me that even if she is snogging the git you don't care and think she is still being faithful to you?" George asked in shock.
"Yes," Harry said simply. "This discussion is over. Nothing else needs to be said about this."
"So you don't want us to tell you if we find out she's shagging him?" Fred asked in a challenging tone.
"Fred Weasley!" Molly shouted out, "Don't you dare talk about your sister and her virtue like that! She is only 16 years old, she knows better than to get that heavily involved with any boy. She wouldn't even think of that with Harry!"
"Sorry mum," Fred said still waiting for Harry's answer.
"Fine, the only thing I would ever consider would be if you have concrete proof that she has made love to him. I know she never will, so I am not worried." Harry said and grabbed his plate and headed to the drawing room.
"She would never cheat on him," Draco spoke up, surprising the family by defending their sister. "She loves Harry. X makes her laugh and they have a fun time together. I think it's great she has someone to hang out with when Harry can't come out with us. Besides, X needs someone reliable to hang out with. Look at all the girls throwing themselves at him. I for one don't want to see him give into temptation like Wood did."
"I never thought I'd say this, but Malfoy is right." Charlie told them, "Can you honestly tell me that you think our baby sister would cheat on the boy she's been in love with since she was 10?"
"It's been longer than that," Hermione said startling them from the doorway. "She has dreamt of him for as long as she can remember. She loved him without ever knowing who he was until she saw him at Platform 9 ¾ his first year."
"Good morning Missy, how is your head feeling?" Draco asked with a smirk.
"What do you mean, how is her head?" Molly asked narrowing her eyes. "You weren't drinking last night were you? I thought you were the responsible one."
"She wasn't drinking last night Molly; she just had a hard night since she found her boyfriend in the arms of another woman." Severus said, saving her as he entered the room. "I would have known if she was drunk when I went to get her for our research secession this morning since she overslept."
Hermione shot him a grateful look and the rest of the table was wondering why the evil potions master was covering for her. They knew they got along well in their research partnership but figured he would enjoy watching Mrs. Weasley take her to task for irresponsible and underage drinking. "Cone here dear," Molly said, apparently not convinced and looked her over and in her eyes trying to detect signs of a hangover. "Let's get you a nice big breakfast."
"Sure," Hermione said with a smile. "Could I have some chocolate chip pancakes? They always make me feel better. My mum makes them for me whenever I'm sad." Hermione knew she had convinced the Weasley matriarch, no one wanted pancakes or chocolate when they had a hangover, or any breakfast at all. She so loved hangover remedies, being in the wizarding world sure had its perks!
"How are you this morning?" Charlie asked concerned. "Do you want us to beat him up for you?" He asked motioning to the twins and him.
"No thanks Charlie, I still want to be friends with him. Besides, we wouldn't want to injure England's star keeper in the middle of the race for the world cup." Hermione said with a smile that they would do that for her.
Run jumped up and hugged her, "This is a day for celebration! We have finally turned Hermione into a Quidditch fan. She was worried about the state of the English team!" He grinned at her and did a little dance back to his place at the table while the rest of them laughed.
"Yeah Hermione, you do seem to be more keen on the sport, are you sure you're feeling alright?" Neville asked with a smile. She had often moaned to him when Harry or Ron were going on and on about Quidditch.
"I have decided that watching the matches is fun, but I refuse to discuss strategy or the strengths of players. I still think there are many many many more things that are better than it, but if it makes my friends happy then I will watch them play." She told them all with a smile.
"So I take it you still don't want to play it with us then?" George asked with a grin. Everyone knew how much she hated to fly.
"Harry? Are you in here?" Ginny asked into the Drawing room before going over to the secret door and entering his study. "Hey, I was hoping to find you in here," she told him as she curled up next to him on the sofa.
"I love you Gin, I'm so sorry that I made things harder for us." He told her as he kissed the top of her head. "I wish I could do something to make it easier. I hate being away from you and when I'm Xavier it's so hard to pretend I don't love you."
"Harry Potter, I don't care if the entire wizarding world thinks I'm banging every Quidditch player in the country. As long as you love me and trust me nothing else matters. You are the only person in the entire world whose opinion of me counts. I love you entirely, and I always will." She told him before he pulled her into one of the most intensely passionate kisses they had ever shared. It was as if their souls were touching and mixing. When they pulled apart it was as if the other one was still there with them.
Gin, you're glowing gold," Harry said pulling her up from the sofa with wide eyes. He then noticed he was also glowing gold and they rushed off to the kitchen to see what everyone else made of it.
Mrs. Weasley looked up from her morning tea as her daughter hurried through the door. She was shocked to see the golden glow around the two young kids. "How is this possible?" She asked looking to the other adults at the table for confirmation. "What did you two just do?"
"Nothing mum, I swear." Ginny told her. "We were just talking about this whole stupid situation with X and then we kissed and then we started glowing."
"What did you say right before the kiss?" Tonks asked with her eyes twinkling in a very Dumbledore way.
"Um," Ginny said starting to blush. "I just told him that nothing mattered as long as he loved me and that his opinion was the only one that mattered." She paused then looking at Harry for confirmation that he was ok with her telling them. "Then I told him that I loved him entirely and that I always would, and then we kissed."
"Did anything feel different with the kiss?" Hermione asked, finally figuring out what the glow was about and smiling at her friends.
"Yeah, it was amazing," Harry told them. "It almost felt like we were one person for a moment and then when I pulled away it was as if she was still with me, inside me even." He looked at Remus for an explanation only to see his parents in tears along with Mrs. Weasley and Hermione. He had no idea what it was about.
He looked around the table and saw that Charlie seemed in awe or shock and that the rest of the table seemed to be as clueless as he was until he saw that Snape and Draco were staring at him and actually smiling. Snape was smiling, at him no less! He looked at Draco with a plea for someone to tell them what was going on. "Soul Mating," Draco told him with another smile and then turned to pull Gabrielle into a tight embrace.
"Really?" Ginny asked them all, looking from one to the other. "But I... um... how? I mean I thought that happened at weddings?"
"No, not soul bonding, that is part of the marriage ritual. This is soul mating. When soul mates find each other and declare themselves to each other forever. The souls then mate or become one." Hermione explained as was her know-it-all habit.
"But we've been together for a while," Harry asked confused, "why now?"
"It's about intent," Severus spoke up since it seemed Remus and Molly were too tongue tied to speak. "You declared that the other person is the most important person or thing to you and the other person answered back with the same, with or without words. You opened your souls to each other and they found their match. It is a very rare occurrence. Most people never find their soul mate since they are rarely born in the same generation or part of the world."
"Will we keep glowing like this?" Harry asked, he was afraid that the death eaters would be able to use it as a weakness.
"Not exactly," Remus said finally joining the conversation once he got over his shock. "You will always see a faint glow around each other, but after a few hours it will fade and no one but the two of you will be able to see it or those that can see people's auras."
"I thought that two people had to be intimate with each other to for a soul mating," Charlie commented.
"No, that is the most common way for the bond to form since it is usually the only time the two people are that aware and open to the other one. But no, in fact physical contact isn't even needed." Hermione told them, making the rest of the boys breathe easier knowing that their baby sister's virtue was still in tact.
"Mum, are you ok?" Ginny asked letting go of Harry for the first time and moving over to hug her mother. Molly was still crying and looking at her daughter in a strange way.
"I knew you two were close," Molly started saying. "And I've heard you say you want to marry, but I guess I never thought it would be so soon. I still think of you as my baby girl and here you are, bonded at only 16."
Ginny hugged her tighter and cried with her mum. She didn't notice Harry clutch his heart and sink into a chair at the table. "What is it mate?" Ron asked his best friend.
"I can feel how much she loves you all, how much she hates to see your mum cry and how much she wants you all to be proud of her. It was just overwhelming at first. It's so strange to be able to completely feel her emotions." Harry answered.
"Does this mean that they are married or something like that?" Neville asked. Harry was glad he had asked as he was curious of the significance as well.
"No," Severus told them. "But they will never be able to marry anyone but each other. The marriage bonds would never take since their souls belong together. They either marry each other or never marry."
"At least we don't have to worry about Xavier and Ginny anymore. If she ever did anything, Harry would know instantly because of their bond and he would know if she has inappropriate feelings for him," Fred commented.
"I can honestly say that she has no inappropriate feelings for X." Harry told them. "So you guys aren't going to beat me up or anything for tying your sister down?"
"You've been like a brother to us Harry, now you are one. As long as you don't rush your physical relationship and you treat her right, we'll be happy for you two." Charlie told him.
"Thanks guys, and I promise I won't even put up a fight if I ever hurt her you can do your worst. I love her more than I thought was even possible," Harry stopped realizing he had no words to express how much he cared.
"Let's leave the family to talk things through," Severus said standing and helping a still crying Hermione from her chair. He led her, Gabrielle, Draco and Neville out of the kitchen. "Hermione, are you going to be alright to research for the rest of the day?"
"Yep, don't mind my tears. I'm just happy for them and sad that I'll never have that kind of love. It's so rare to meet your soul mate and fall in love with them. "Hermione said wiping her tears with his black handkerchief that he had handed her. She smiled at the double S monogram in the form of two snakes. He motioned that she should keep it in case she started crying again.
"Come on babe, I promised Longbottom that we would help him prune some of his herbs in the greenhouse." Draco said as the other three took off for the far side of the house and Severus and Hermione headed back to their research.