Quick note: I uploaded this yesterday and I don't realise the copy and paste function does weird things to the punctuation :(
Hope you enjoy! P.s. I don't own any other the characters or settings.
"Never in my entire career as Headmaster, have I seen something so horribly cruel." Dumbledore's quiet yet firm voice hushed the crowd of 6th years. For some reason the lack of yelling was even more disconcerting than the whole situation would have been if he had shouted at them.
"As some of you are aware, last week a student was significantly harmed by a curse issued by a fellow student." An anxious whisper rippled through the crowd as people spread rumours about what might have happened.
Hermione and Ron glanced at Harry who hung his head low in shame and embarrassment. Malfoy was a prick, but perhaps sectumsepra was a little too harsh, not to mention stupid! What kind of person would utter a spell without knowing what it could do?
"As a result, I have decided that all of you need to learn a lesson in empathy. To teach you this, you will have to feel the pain experienced by another person for the next month." Dumbledore paused to survey the reaction of the crowd.
Students whispered loudly, gossiping about how this would be possible. Pain? Would it be physical? Emotional? Who would inflict this pain? So many questions.
"You will not be bonded to just any random person, however. You will be bonded to your soulmate. The person who you love, or for some, will one day love." Upon hearing this, Hermione's eyes widened and she made a split second's worth of awkward eye contact with the headmaster.
Glancing away, she found herself in a similarly terrible position where she locked eyes with a particularly annoying Slytherin. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him, but inside she felt sorry for him. None of the students really knew what happened to him, but as she did, she could not help but pity him.
"Now I know that not all of you have a soulmate who attends Hogwarts, or even has magic, so rest assured that if they are not in this cohort, they will not receive the curse. However, for those of you who do have a soulmate here, you will both experience each other's pain. Perhaps feeling the pain of someone you love will bring about some more empathy." Again, he looked at Hermione who awkwardly turned away.
Turning to Professor McGonagall, he nodded. And before anyone could do anything, she muttered a spell and cast it upon all the 6th years.
"Ow!" a Hufflepuff girl yelled as she grabbed her side.
Hermione closed her eyes, scanning her body for any feelings of pain. She felt nothing new. Hopefully her soulmate was someone smart who knew how to keep himself safe. Of course, it wouldn't hurt if he was handsome too. [see what I did there? :D]