Okay, so for those that are wondering why I had made the choices I did in regards to the families that had an alliance with the Potters I shall explain.

First, the Longbottom's. As far as I'm concerned Neville is a hell of a lot better friend than Ron, and I will be shifting that way as the story goes (mostly because of Ron's Jealousy). This was my way of bringing the friendship into play quicker than canon. Second, the Bones'. Considering it's the pairing, I thought it best to include them, plain and simple. Third, the Diggory's. I just picked them because I knew Amos worked at the ministry, meaning another ally for Harry should he clash with Fudge (as I have planned). Fourth, the Davies. I wanted to have each of the Hogwarts houses represented, but I didn't want to bring Luna into the fold just yet. I went with the Davies because I wanted to spread the kids in the alliance out a bit, so they weren't all in the same year (and Roger Davies is one of the few guys we know from Ravenclaw that isn't in the same year as Harry, Neville, and Susan). Lastly, the Pucey family. Because I was already using Bones and Longbottom I thought it would be a bit too much to use the Greengrass and Davis families from Slytherin (considering it's a common thing in fanfics when there's an alliance). So I went with another person we don't know much about. Adrian Pucey is an older Slytherin (I don't think we know what year), and really all we know is that he was one of the few members of the Slytherin quidditch team that didn't cheat. So I figured I see what I could come up with for him and his family to flesh his character out a bit more than canon does.

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Having been raised in the Wizarding world and knowing that her magic would drive her to find the most compatible companion in terms of who she would fall in love with Susan had been confused. Unlike all of her friends she had never really felt any of the signs they had talked about when they found people their magic might approve of. Part of her worried that there was something wrong with her, while another part thought the world was pulling a cruel joke on her, keeping her separate from her possible lovers.

So when she heard the story her auntie had to tell her about a marriage contract and a soulmate bond, she was floored. When she finally recovered to ask why nothing had been done about it, Amelia was quick to answer.

"Your parents were killed on the night they had planned to the tell the family and their copy of the contract was destroyed. So I didn't know. As for the soulmate bond, it was being blocked. In his attempts to protect Harry from the dark magic that the Dark Lord had performed that night, Dumbledore bound Harry's magic to prevent it from being tainted. That binding almost destroyed your bond. In other words, until recently no one knew about the contract or the bond."

Amelia didn't feel comfortable explaining to Susan what she had meant by the 'dark magic' that Voldemort had performed, as horcruxes were horrible, nightmare inducing things. The red headed girl was still a bit upset about only just finding out, but she understood it was no ones fault.

"So what do we do now auntie?"

"Well the alliance has finally met in full, so the Pucey's are hosting a dinner party. I'm sure Jackson would be willing to allow you and Harry to have a private moment to reacquaint yourselves. As for what happens, well that's up to you and Mr. Potter."

The young red head was a bit surprised to hear that her aunt was going to leave things up to her in regards to the contract and her soulmate bond. But she did nod at the idea of having a private moment with Harry so they could properly introduce themselves. After all despite having History of Magic and Astronomy together they hadn't really interacted at school.

Roughly half an hour later she was walking out of the Floo behind her aunt, a neutral expression on her face. She didn't want to come off as being upset about things, or overly eager, as one thing she had noticed from a distances was that Harry tended to shy away from the people that treated him like he was special.

Of course she was so distracted that she missed the greeting from her host. Luckily it only amused the man, as he understood why she was so occupied.

"Harry asked if I would allow the two of you a moment alone, so I suggested he use the library. Take as much time as you need. There is still some time, though once the table is set I will send an elf for the two of you if you haven't rejoined us yet."

He spoke after making sure that he had Susan's attention. When she nodded at him he just gestured towards the door on his left. Susan didn't have to look far, finding Harry seated by one of the scenery paintings that the Pucey family had hanging as décor.

"Hello there."

Harry commented softly as he stood. He really had no plan for what he was about to do, but his gut was telling him to reach for her hand. So he put his hand out. For her part Susan had the same instinct to touch him, so she put her hand out as well. The moment their palms met there was a soft glow about them.

"There really was a bond between us. Our magic must have known that it was too weak and acted to restore it."

She mumbled to herself, not wanting to remove her hand from his. Harry didn't want to separate their hands either, but he knew it would be more comfortable to talk if they sat face to face. At least for now. So he gently tugged her forward, motioning with his free hand for her to sit. Their was a small table between their seats, so he sat as well allowing their hands to rest on the table.

"I have no idea what I'm doing, but I think it would be best if I didn't keep any secrets from you."

Harry commented, not really having a reason for why he wanted to tell her everything he could. Susan squeezed his hand comfortingly.

"It's our magic. Just because our bond has been restored doesn't mean that's it. Soulmate bonds grow with time. The more they start to fall for each other the stronger the bond. When the bond is created it glows silver. As they grow closer their magic reacts and mixes together. Because their magics merge, to a point at least, they gain special abilities. I don't know much about the abilities though. But anyway, our magic is trying to force the bond to grow to match what it should be at this point."

"I'm not sure I follow. Our magic is strengthening the bond, so we are compelled to be honest and not hid any secrets? How is that right?"

Harry commented a bit put off by the fact magic was preventing them from having secrets. Understanding that Harry was a bit scared, or perhaps frustrated by the seeming lack of choice in the matter Susan leaned forward to make him look her in the eye. Complete and open trust and honesty was what she had hoped to convey.

"No, it's not compelling us Harry. As soulmates we were always going to be completely open with each other. But the bond was weakened to the point we never felt it. Our magic is just fixing that, correcting things to be as they should have been from the start. Or more accurately, it's our magic making us realize that we can be open and honest with each other."

Harry still wasn't sure he understood, given how little he understood magic. But he was taking her words to mean magic was reminding him about the bond rather than forcing him to accept the bond. He could still choose not to speak, but his magic was basically saying 'hey, the option to talk is always there.' So he just nodded.

"Even without that being the case, if you're going to be involved with me, meaning hanging around me more, then I need to explain some things. Trouble always seems to find me and I'd rather you be forewarned than have something catch you by complete surprise."

Having heard a lot of the rumors surround Harry in the last two years of school, Susan could only nod as he mentioned trouble seeming to follow him. Not to mention the quidditch injuries that she'd seen him get. Of course the arm was more Lockheart's fault considering he vanished the bone rather than repaired it. But still. It was taken as an obvious fact at school that trouble and Harry went hand in hand, though she was one of the few that didn't think it was Harry's fault most of the time.

"Can I trust you not to tell anyone about any of this just yet? I mean I do want to explain the stuff I told your aunt and the other adults of the alliance, but really I think it better if I just give you my life story. It will help drive home the danger of being around me more than just the events that lead to discovering the information about our bond and marriage contract."

A small frown came to Susan's face as he asked her to keep what he would tell her to herself. If it was as bad as he was trying to prepare her for, then something needed to be done. She knew Harry was big on trust though, somehow instinctively understanding that if you lost Harry's loyalty you would never regain it. So she gave him a reluctant nod in response.

"I'll explain how I found this out later, because it ties in with some other things, but for now I'll start with the night I got this scar."

He started, pulling his bangs back to make sure she understood that his lightning bolt shaped scar was the one he was talking about. After all, he did have other scars (though he didn't really plan on showing her any of them).

"My parents didn't trust using the Fidelius Charm by itself. After all they had been warned about a prophecy that might have been about me being the one to defeat the Dark Lord. They prepared our home with an ancient protective ritual, only they set it up to be powered by their sacrifice. They would die and the ritual would protect me from the one that killed them. At least that was the plan."

Susan nodded but didn't say anything. If that really had been what happened then Harry wouldn't have gotten his famous scar.

"Voldemort had decided to do a ritual of his own, only his ritual was supposed to use my death as a catalyst. The power of the two rituals caused a backlash when he tried to kill me with the Killing Curse. The protection ritual was a success, but not completely. The magical build up destroyed Voldemort's body, did some severe structural damage to the house, and caused my scar."

"So he didn't give you the scar? It was the explosion of magic that did it?"

The redheaded girl didn't want to make him drag things out, as it was a depressing topic for her, so she could only imagine how upsetting it was for him. But she couldn't help her curiosity, nor the desire to make sure she had heard properly.

"Right. Everyone thought he gave me the scar because all magical scans of the scar showed traces of his magic. Which is both correct and false at the same time. Apparently the ritual he was trying to perform is extremely dark. Supposedly this ritual requires death as part of it, but the result is that the caster can tear a piece of their soul from their body and store it in an object. So long as the object is intact even if their body is destroyed they won't properly die."

A horrified gasp escaped the girl at that. She pieced together what he wasn't saying and had gone pale. That he had a piece of Voldemort's soul inside of him was absolutely terrifying. Especially with the context he had given her for the ritual that caused it. Harry patted her hand before giving it a squeeze.

"The soul fragment is gone now, but the way it was destroyed ties in with things that would require jumping ahead to explain.."

He told her trying to prevent the red head from panicking on him. It took a few minutes but Susan eventually calmed enough for him to continue.

"Dumbledore had figured out what Voldemort had done. Because he didn't know that my parents ritual protected me from being possessed by the soul fragment, he bound my magic, hoping it would keep me weak enough to be dealt with if the soul fragment ever gained control of my body."

Hearing that it was Albus Dumbledore that had interfered with their Soulmate bond was a bit frustrating. But she bit her tongue. The man had done what he thought was best with the information that he had on hand.

"Because he couldn't access my parents will since the only copy was in the Potter family vault, and because of the fact he was the one the prophecy was originally told to, Dumbledore wasn't sure who to trust. Not to mention the fame of surviving the Killing Curse could have caused me to be arrogant. So he placed me with my mum's muggle sister."

That explained why Harry didn't seem to have any knowledge of wizarding tradition or etiquette at school. But Susan refrained from saying anything, having noticed the shift in his voice at the mention of his aunt. She didn't realize it, but the girl had moved out of her seat to sit on the arm of Harry's chair. It wasn't quite being in close contact with him, but it was close enough to show she was being supportive.

"I don't really want to get into it, but suffice it to say my life with my aunt and her husband and son was hell. I can and would gladly say that the best day of my life so far has been the day that Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley to shop for my school supplies."

A million questions ran through her mind. Questions she dearly wanted to ask. Biting her tongue, the girl just barely prevent the torrent of questions. Instead she asked one.

"Harry, I've watched you from a distance, and heard the rumors at school. You don't trust easily. You don't want to talk about life before Hogwarts right now. That's fine. But could you promise me that you'll tell somebody about it? Even if it isn't me that you trust to talk to about what happened, I'd feel better knowing you got help with your thoughts and feelings about whatever ordeals you may have gone through."

There was a slight shift in the air around her, she could clearly feel Harry's magic stirring. But it quickly settled back down. Once more Susan bit her tongue. 'His magic responds to his emotions just as much as it responds to his will.' She realized. Harry let out a deep sigh.

"I won't lie to you. The idea of talking about my life with my aunt is still touchy for me. I can't promise that I'll be ready to speak, let alone willing to, any time soon. But I promise that I won't keep it bottled up for the rest of my life."

It was a good enough start for her.

"Okay. I can accept that. Now, back to telling me why you're such a trouble magnet."

She responded, grinning at him to show she was teasing. Harry couldn't help but appreciate her attempt to bring the mood back up.

"Last year. Honestly, there were times I wanted to just run away. Everyone looked at me like I was larger than life during the sorting. It was terrifying being the center of attention like that. I thought my dreams were being crushed. That I'd never fit in and be normal. I'd say Ron and Hermione both treated me like just another person, but I don't think Ron actually did. He hides it well, but I've seen the hints. He's jealous of my fame, and likely my money as well."

Since Harry knew his friend had flaws, she didn't feel as bad with her next question.

"How did you all even become friends anyway? I mean I remember those first few weeks of school. Ron was a right menace towards Hermione because of her study habits."

This time there was a hint of a smile on his face when he responded.

"Ron was the first person that wanted to be my friend, so from the moment we met on the train I latched onto our friendship. Of course it wasn't the best. But we became a lot closer after we made friends with Hermione. Remember that night when professor Quirrell came running into the Great Hall shouting about a troll?"

"Yeah. It was the Halloween Feast."

Harry's smile fell just a bit before he continued.

"Well, I noticed that Hermione wasn't at the feast. I remembered hearing Parvati and Lavender mentioning that Hermione was last seen in the bathroom crying her eyes out. I convinced Ron to follow me, and rather than returning to our dorms like Dumbledore said, we went looking for Hermione. I didn't want her getting hurt or worse because she didn't know about the troll."

Understanding lanced through her mind about how they had become the 'golden trio' as the school liked to call them. Professor Quirrell had said the troll was in the dungeon, but that didn't mean it had stayed in the dungeon while he ran to the great hall to inform the other professors.

"You had to save Hermione from the troll didn't you."

Harry nodded. Susan couldn't help but smile. It was actually rather sweet. The fact that he was so willing to help and protect others just meant that he had a big heart. A traitorous part of her mind was saying that because they were basically engaged thanks to a contract she could and should kiss him for being a good person. But she quashed it down, not wanting to derail the story. There was a bit of a blush to her face though Harry didn't notice.

"Because Ron came to rescue her, she didn't want to risk him getting in trouble for being the reason she wasn't at the feast to know about the troll, Hermione lied to the professors. Told them that she had gone looking for the troll, and that we tried to stop her. From that night on, we've been friends."

Susan let out a small laugh.

"The rumors about how you guys became friends weren't even close."

Harry just nodded. He checked the time on his watch and debated if he could talk about the other stories from first year before they would be informed about dinner. He didn't know that Jackson Pucey had planned for the two to take a while in reacquainting themselves. So even if it was almost time for dinner back at school, there was still more time yet before their dinner here.

Having saw him check the time, Susan knew what he was thinking about.

"Don't worry about giving me every detail. Heck you don't have to give me every story yet either. We might not have time right now, but there is still time in the future."

Harry nodded in understanding. She wanted to know, but accepted that the answers might have to wait. It would be better to get the major bullet points now.

"Right. Well I'll condense the rest of first year then. Things throughout the year lead us to realizing that Dumbledore was protecting something in the third floor corridor that was off limits. We had determined that it was Snape that was trying to steal the item, which was the Philosopher's stone, as we had learned. After battling our way through the traps, it came down to just me, as there wasn't enough potion for Hermione to join me and Ron had been knocked out. But we were wrong. I didn't confront Snape that night. It was Quirrell. Only it wasn't just him. Hidden under his turban was a second face sticking out of the back of his head. He was willingly allowing Voldemort to possess him."

The red headed girl went wide eyed at the mention of possession. The rumors about professor Quirrell were not even close to the truth. It was made worse by the fact that she believed Harry when he said it was Voldemort. After all, if the monster of a man was willing to tear his soul once, who said he wasn't willing to have done so multiple times already. It was still frightening to know he had possessed their professor as well.

"I survived the encounter, though in the battle the stone was destroyed, at least according to Dumbledore. That's also why I was in the hospital wing right before the leaving feast."

Susan frowned. She could feel her magic in the back of her mind pushing to get more details. But given the fact they still didn't know each other all that well, she didn't let it. Instead she diverted from their first year. 'I'll get the full story eventually.'

"I know the bullet points for this school year. Well I know things right up until that lest message about a skeleton laying in the chamber forever."

"Not quite. I think I've pieced together exactly what happened. Lucius Malfoy had something that belonged to Voldemort. An enchanted diary. For some reason he slipped it to Ginny when we were in the alley getting our school supplies. That diary had another fragment of Voldemort's soul in it."

Harry noticed the fear in her eyes as he mentioned that the diary had a soul fragment as well. He didn't let her panic however.

"It was able to possess Ginny yes, but it's been destroyed."

A sigh of relief escaped the young witch.

"That's good to know, but the fact that it could do something like that makes me feel sick."

"Yeah. Anyway it was the diary that had let out Slytherin's beast. It was draining Ginny's life to grow stronger and would have given Voldemort a new body had I not stepped in when Ron and I realized it was Ginny that had been 'taken' to the chamber."

Without realizing it, Harry pulled Susan from her seat on the armrest of his chair and into his lap so he could provide a bit more comfort. For her part Susan just leaned against him, accepting the comfort he was trying to convey. Part of her knew it would be needed if she wanted to hear the whole story without panicking.

"It was Hermione that gave us the last set of clues we needed to figure things out. Because no one had looked the monster in the eye, they were only petrified and not flat out killed."

Despite herself, Susan felt a shudder run through her body. There was only one magical creature that killed with just a look.

"Anyway, we figured out that the victim the last time the chamber had been opened was the ghost everyone calls 'Moaning Myrtle'. Ron and I dragged Lockheart along, despite the fact he was a coward about it. We had found the entrance and got so far in when the flop decided to take Ron's wand and try to obliviate us. Thankfully Ron's wand was broken so it didn't work. Unfortunately it caused a slight collapse of the tunnel, separating us."

"So you decided to go on alone?"

There was a bit of anger in her words, But Harry understood it was because she feared for his safety.

"If I didn't, I'm not sure either of us would be alive right now. Anyway, I entered the chamber and found Ginny comatose. The soul fragment in the diary had taken a somewhat physical form by this point. The fragment explained what was happening, though he did rant a bit as well. It's interesting to me that the rant was about the fact that despite being the leader of all those 'pure blood' Death Eaters, Voldemort, whose birth name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, was a half blooded bastard. I do mean that literally by the way."

The redheaded girl couldn't help but giggle at his addition of meaning it literally.

"So he confronted you. You defeated the fragment and then had to face the monster?"

"Not quite. He called for the basilisk using Paresltongue. I ran for my life despite having my eyes screwed shut. But then a new sound entered the chamber. Dumbledore has a phoenix for a familiar, and it came to my aid. It dropped the Sorting Hat into my hands before launching itself at the basilisk and gouging out it's eyes."

Susan's head titled as she spoke her thoughts out loud.

"I can understand gouging it's eyes out. That's a good way to help you survive. But why bring the hat?"

Harry had to pause as he had the stray thought that she looked rather cute with her head tilted that way while tapping her chin in thought. Shaking his own head to regain himself he answered her.

"The Sorting Hat gave me the Sword of Gryffindor. I used the sword to kill the basilisk."

The young witch truly believed his statement, though she felt her eyes begin to narrow as her magic told her there was information being left out. Important information for that matter.

"Harry. What aren't you telling me about your fight with the basilisk?"

The tone, and the way she turned her head to face him dead on caused Harry to wince. He really didn't know how to break this next bit of news to her.

"Well… Let's just say that if it weren't for Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, I wouldn't be sitting here with you right now."

The look she gave him said it all. In the deepest recesses of his mind, a part of Harry was laughing at the fact he thought it would work.

"Alright fine. Fawkes had to use his? Her? Whatever, Fawkes had to cry into a wound on my arm, because when I killed the basilisk by stabbing through the roof of it's mouth into it's brain one of the smaller fangs caught me."

Harry had closed his eyes as he spoke, not wanting to see her anger when she exploded on him for nearly getting killed. Instead he was stunned as he felt her arms snake around his sides before being pulled against her in a crushing grip. He didn't know it, but Susan's magic was screaming in her mind to never let him out of her sight.

Because of their bond (as with all soulmates), even as weakened as it was thanks to Dumbledore, Harry was the only one for her. Knowing that, she clung to him, thankful for the fact that despite all he'd gone through, Harry was still alive for her. Once she had calmed down a bit she pulled back slightly.

"You and I are going to have a nice long chat with my aunt, mister. I won't have my future husband dying because he constantly finds himself in danger and isn't prepared for it."

Harry just nodded numbly. The fact she didn't yell at him was a complete surprise. In fact it was only because of his anger towards Dumbledore while he explained the fight with the basilisk that McGonagall and Pomfrey didn't tear him a new one when he told them the story. After the headmaster had left that meeting they both tore into him about it. He had seen the disapproving looks in the eyes of the other members of the family alliance when he explained. Of course they didn't say anything because they understood he was the only one that could have acted, since getting into the Chamber of Secrets had required a Parselmouth and he was the only one in Britain.

"That still doesn't explain how you came to know about our soulmate bond, or the marriage contract. However, I feel the need to point this out as well. You said that trouble always seems to find you. From your stories so far I'd say you go looking for it. I can't really be mad at you for it though because you were trying to help others."

She commented after a moment of silence. It took a second for Harry to register that she was prodding him for more information. He couldn't help but pout a bit.

"Right. But honestly I don't really go looking for trouble."

"Harry, what do you call trying to protect the Philosophers stone?" She questioned before rolling her eyes.

"That was rhetorical so don't answer that. Besides we don't need to argue about it right now. Just get back to telling me about how you found out about our bond."

Harry just sighed before explaining.

"I pulled the fang out of my arm and stabbed the diary with it, which is how that soul fragment was destroyed, then I passed out. Because it was a near death experience and only being healed by Fawkes tears saved my life, I got to speak with my loved ones that had passed on."

Once more he found himself being wrapped up in a hug. This time it wasn't as bone crushing, though he felt it to be far more comforting. While the adults all looked sad and expressed their sympathies for being reminded that they were gone, it was only Susan that understood what the meeting meant to him. He could tell by the way she was wrapped about him, as if she were a protective blanket.

"They told me about the soul fragment in my scar and that it was destroyed by the basilisk venom before Fawkes healed me. They're the ones that told me about the ritual they had done to protect me by the way."

Susan just nodded at that. It was obvious how he found out about their soulmate bond.

"So they explained things to you and told you to go to Gringotts for the inheritance ceremony then? But without being the Head of house Potter how did you get into the vault for the marriage contract?"

"Yes they're the ones that said to take the inheritance ceremony. As to the second point, When I returned to consciousness I spoke with the Sorting Hat about the sword. The sword of Gryffindor is basically the Gryffindor family ring. Because of the fact I am a blood descendant, using it in battle meant that I had laid my claim on the sword. In order to claim it, I was magically emancipated and granted the title of Lord Gryffindor."

Susan was stunned by that reveal. When she recovered there was one question that burned in her mind.

"If you were emancipated then why take the inheritance ceremony? I mean the whole point to the ceremony is to learn what titles you can lay a claim on when you come of age."

But Harry shook his head. He had come up with another reason (aside from the fact that it would notify the goblins that he was emancipated) for going through with the ritual.

"Remember I was raised in the muggle world, and my magic was bound. They wanted me to take the inheritance ceremony to find out what family totems were in my magic."

"Okay, but why was that important? I mean aside from finding out if you had any family specific abilities, and what your magical affinities are there wouldn't really be a point to taking the ceremony."

"If I told you I had the Black family totem in my magic what would you say?"

Harry questioned quietly. He knew what the wizarding world thought of his god father. Susan's eyes widened, though Harry wasn't sure if she'd figured out the right reason behind his question.

"Sirius Black. They want something done about him. But he's already in Azkaban."

Harry held back a sigh at that. His new found friend didn't get the hint he was trying to give her.

"Sirius Black is my oath sworn god father, Susan. On top of that, because he was cursed he can't have children of his own. My parents gave him permission to blood adopt me."

"Oh god. You've got the Black family totem in your magic because of that adoption. They want you to use the fact that the totem is present in your magic to help Sirius in some way."

"Magic accepted me as the Heir Black. That means he is the Lord Black. Technically I don't have to do a thing aside from explain how I am the heir. But from what professor McGonagall tells me about our esteemed minster, yes I will have to do something more to help Sirius. It's why I mentioned the stuff in my parents will to the alliance."

Susan found herself moving her hand to take his, so she could squeeze it comfortingly. Though she couldn't help but smile at the air quotes she heard him put around the word esteemed when talking about the minister.

"We're going to have quite the summer dealing with this aren't we?"

Harry struggled to answer. He wanted to say that it would be him that would deal with the mess that he'd uncovered. But he couldn't. Just like at the start of the conversation, he could feel the drive to include Susan. He debated fighting against it, not wanting to drag her into the chaos that was his life. Not wanting to take away her choice because of the bond practically forcing them to grow closer. It was only for a second or two at most, but it flashed across his face so that the witch that was partially sitting in his lap noticed.

"Stupid noble git."

She muttered to herself, knowing he was fighting against the idea. It was a bit confusing to her though. He seemed willing to accept help from the adults, so why wouldn't he accept her aid?

Placing a hand on each of his cheeks Susan looked Harry dead in the eye.

"Listen here mister. You aren't alone anymore. I will be right there with you from now on. Get that through you thick skull."

Harry let out a sigh as his head tilted down.

"It's not that. I just. It's just… Part of me doesn't want to accept that the bond isn't forcing us to do anything. The desire to tell you everything, it's so strong that it feels unnatural to me. So I worry that maybe your desire to help and support me is the same. An unnaturally powerful feeling that isn't really your own."

"Harry. We met as babies. If things had worked out like they should have we would've grown up together and our bond would've been strong. Instead it was nearly destroyed and is far, far weaker than it should be. Our magic is working to fix that. Of course the feelings behind things in regards to each other will be strengthened. Does that make them false? No. Those feelings were always there, even if they weren't noticeable before. They've just been amplified so that we acknowledge them. We still have to put in the effort to keep the relationship steady and improving. Really the only difference between a regular couple and a pair of soulmates, is that as we grow closer our magic reacts and grants special abilities."

She didn't need him to voice it. The young witch could see the relief that flooded through him the moment he registered what she was saying. That his magic was over compensating for the bond until it was where it should be, highlighting the weak points so that he would understand what they would need to do in order to repair their soulmate bond. Yet there was still a point that she had to hammer home for him.

"Remember our magic reaches out and searches for the best possible companion. We marry for life. Marriage in the wizarding world is special. You will never hear of a married couple cheating. Or of someone having multiple spouses, unless it is because they were widowed. Once our choice of lover is made our magic does it's best to make sure the relationship stays stable and doesn't deteriorate. It provides a base level for everyone to work from when building and maintaining their relationships. That is the same for soulmates. We just have the added benefits thanks to our magic partially merging together rather than just intertwining like it would as part of the marriage ceremony."

Once she finished Susan let go of Harry, having realized that she still had a hold of his head. Then they sat there in silence. Susan because she had said her piece, and Harry because he was making sure he fully and completely accepted her words. Making sure there wasn't a part of him deep down that didn't believe. After all, despite his confusion on the matter, he felt her sincerity.

Eventually he let out a sigh.

"I needed that. I mean the sense talked into me like that."

She just chuckled.

"I'll be here to kick your arse any time you need it."

Harry cracked a smile as well, believing her words. Before he could respond however, there was a house elf in front of them.

"Master has sent me to inform you that dinner is served. If you would follow me."

Not really happy that their moment was interrupted, but knowing that it had been coming they both bit back their groans. Susan clambered up off of his lap so Harry could stand, but their hands never separated even as they followed the elf towards the dinning room.

XxXxXxXxX

It was quite the pleasant dinner party for all involved. As they were together in the Gryffindor dorms, Harry and Neville exchanged greetings and small talk for a bit. Susan and Cedric both apologized for the efforts of their house to ostracize him at school, both mentioning and backing each other up on the fact that they tried to tell the other Hufflepuffs that Harry wasn't the one at fault. Roger Davies gave a sincere apology about believing the rumors. Harry was the only one of the students that wasn't surprised when Adrian offered his explanation for his behavior.

"Slytherin has one rule. No matter our personal feelings, we must present a united front to the other students. Because we're looked on as 'the house of the dark', we have to stick up for each other. There were several discussions about the matter in the privacy of our common room, but thanks to Malfoy and his families money… Well you saw the results."

Harry just shook his head.

"I'm not surprised really. I know I can't blame all of Slytherin for the actions of one. After all, for the most part you guys left me alone. It was really only Draco and his goons that tried anything."

"Speaking of. I have no idea why he was sorted into Slytherin. He is so hot blooded, I suspect that the events of this summer may see him attempting something stupid the next time you meet."

Harry just smiled.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Knowing that the younger boy had a plan Adrian just nodded. After that the group of students as a whole made small talk about the how the school year had gone. When it was close to curfew Roger looked over towards Harry.

"What's the plan for interacting at school?"

"Well, I told Dumbledore to wait until I had spoken with the alliance, with today being the first time we've discussed matters, and the last Wizengamot meeting being three days ago, that means none of this goes public until next month. There's no real sense in drawing attention to things early, especially seeing as how the public is going to be told that the reason I behaved with such disregard to the traditions and etiquette being that I never learned them growing up. It's best if we allow them to think I didn't start learning until over the break."

"So act like strangers until the new term starts in September? That's easier said than done for you, Neville, and Susan."

Adrian pointed out.

"True. But Neville and I don't need to act that much. We interact yes, but ask anyone in Gryffindor, Ron and Hermione are the only two that classify as friends. Of course that is going to change, as I do want to get to know you all better, but really we can get together over the Summer for that. As for Susan, well we don't see each other much anyway. The only classes Gryffindor and Hufflepuff second years share are Astronomy and Herbology."

From the corner of the room they were in came the chime of a grandfather clock.

"Right well we'd best get a move on."

Roger commented with a sigh as he heard the sound. Rather than Flooing back to the school together, they were told to just Floo to the office of their Head of House. As he had to finish up some homework, Roger went first. Cedric followed him. Susan took a step towards the Floo to follow him before stopping. Shaking her head as she did so the girl spun around and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek before following her fellow Hufflepuff.

Harry went red in the face even as he brought a hand up slowly to stroke the cheek she'd kissed. Neville couldn't help but laugh and Adrian just smirked at him.

"Right well, I'll leave shaking him out of the stupor she just put him in to you Longbottom."

With that the Slytherin stepped into the fireplace and Flooed away. Deciding to be a pal and give him a moment, Neville silently counted to sixty before slapping Harry on the back with a grin.

"Alright lover-boy, we've gotta get back to school. Come on."

Yes this chapter is shorter than the others. I wanted it to to focus on the interaction between Harry and Susan, but I didn't want to drag things out.