Title: Greyscale

Author: uflesh940, Chaser 2 of the Appleby Arrows

QFLC Season 9 Round 12

Prompt: Soulmate scenario: you can't see color until you meet your soulmate.

4. [setting] coffee shop
6. [character] Ron Weasley
10. [object] pen/quill

Description: Ron Weasley meets his soulmate for the first and last time.

Ron shook his head. "I'm just so nervous! What if I find my soulmate, and I don't like her? What if I never find my soulmate?"

Harry shook his head. "Don't worry, Ron, love always works out in the end."

"Easy for you to say," said Ron. "You've had things all settled with Ginny for years!"

"He was very lucky in that regard," said Ginny, with a chuckle.

Harry rolled his eyes, and gave Ginny a playful push. Ginny pushed turned back towards Harry, and suddenly, they were gazing deep into each other's eyes. They stared, and slowly began to lean into a kiss, when suddenly, they realized that an irritating clicking sound was dominating the ambient noise.

"Ron," said Ginny, "are you seriously fiddling around with that pen of yours again?"

Ron averted his eyes. "Sorry… it's just a bit of a habit at this point." He gave a couple final clicks, before ceasing.

"What an ugly pen," said Harry. "Where did you even find that thing?"

"Someone dropped it on the streets," said Ron.

"They were probably aiming for a dumpster," noted Ginny.

"I just like it," said Ron. "It's repetitive, but it's also rather calming, in a way. Just keep clicking, and the pen keeps making noises for you!"

Harry and Ginny both stared at Ron.

Ron blushed. "Listen, I've really got to get going! I'll leave you two to your own devices, yeah?"

Ginny and Harry both stepped out of their chairs to exchange goodbyes with Ron, as he stepped out of the coffee shop, but when Ron looked back, they were already kissing each other.

"Sir," said Hermione, "is there anything else I need to do before I get back to the cats?"

The boss in question, Albus Dumbledore, shook his head. "That should be all for today. I must say, you impress me a great deal. Most people who drop by here just want to play with the animals. Don't get me wrong, that's important too, but there's more to running an animal shelter than just playing with the animals."

Hermione beamed. "Thank you, sir!"

"Now, which cat would you like to hold today?" asked Dumbledore.

Hermione had already walked up to the cage.

"Ah, Crookshanks again?" asked Dumbledore.

"Exactly!" said Hermione, as she picked up the fuzzy orange ball of hatred.

"I do believe you're the only one of my employees that ever chooses Crookshanks. Most people find him too unsociable, moody, and, well, orange, to get along with," said Dumbledore.

"That's exactly why I choose Crookshanks!" said Hermione.

"Please elaborate, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore.

"No other people want to play with him," said Hermione, "but that's exactly why I do it! Ripper and Fluffy get petted all the time, by everyone! If I played with them, it wouldn't be nearly as helpful as it is when I play with Crookshanks. They already have people to take care of them, but Crookshanks has no one."

"That's very kind of you," remarked Dumbledore.

Hermione smiled. "Thank you!"

"I know this all seems like a game to you right now," said Hermione's father a few evenings later. "Your grades seriously impact your future. Your little animal kingdom does not. If you ever want to get into Hogwarts, you need to focus more on your academics. Maybe spend less time reading those fantasy books of yours at the library. Perhaps spend a bit more time on your studies. I would recommend just dropping your pet shelter activities entirely."

Hermione growled. "Dad, no! I already spend too little time there as it is. And I don't want to become an engineer, I want to become a veterinarian!"

"Do you know how much money vets make?" asked her father. "Every little girl and her grandmother wants to become a veterinarian. You can be a veterinarian if you like, but you'll regret not taking electrical engineering as you sleep under a bridge, using your student loan overdue sheets as a blanket!"

"Better than being like you!" sneered Hermione, as she stomped up the stairs.

"Young lady!" echoed the outraged cry of the Granger family patriarch.

Hermione flopped onto her bed, marveling at what a mess that day had been. Crookshanks had scratched her, and she got in another fight with her dad. Hermione smiled, thinking about visiting Crookshanks the next day after school.

Hermione then began putting her stuff together for another school day. Books, check. Folders, check. Binder, check. Pens - one of them missing. Specifically, the ugly one she bought the other day. Must've dropped it, or something. Shame, she liked that one. Hermione's thoughts returned to her pen, as she drifted off. Was it important, or something?

Ron was drinking coffee with his sister and his best friend again. He was fiddling with the pen again. Ginny let him keep doing it, as long as it 'wasn't making any more of those awful clicking noises'.

Hermione was walking to school, glancing both ways, before crossing the street. Suddenly, she noticed something in a nearby café. There was a trio of some sort grouped around a table, but one of them was fiddling around with a pen - her pen, to be exact.

Something began to shift in her vision. Colors! Was that boy her soulmate? People only awakened the ability to see colors after meeting their soulmate! She rushed forwards, heedless of the traffic, heart rushing in her chest. What could she say?

"Oy!" she shouted. "That's my pen!" and that was the last thing she said.

Ron was cut out of his usual pen-based trance after hearing an indistinct shout, followed by the squeal of a set of brakes and a fleshy crunch. The trio stood up in unison.

"What happened?" Harry asked one of the people that was crowding around the scene of an accident.

"Some girl got hit," explained an older blonde. The crowd chattered around them.

"Someone call an ambulance!"

"No use - she's already dead."

"So young! How terrible!"

Ron leaned in, wanting to see the body, mostly out of a morbid sense of curiosity. It wasn't a pretty sight. The girl's chest had caved in, her limbs were mangled, and blood was pouring out of a head injury.

And suddenly, Ron could see colors.