QLFC, R12, Captain: You don't know who your soulmate is until you touch them.

Notes: AU, but canon compliant components for HBP. PS. I quite like Lavender and Parvati, but I am trying to capture their personalities from Hermione's 'no-nonsense' POV. Mentions of disease and pandemic in a non-realistic meaning.

WC. 1402


Love Pandemic

Hermione barely managed to suppress her scoff as the giggles and whispers from the breakfast table floated into her ears. Lavender and Parvati, the school's seasoned gossips, were talking about unconfirmed rumours again.

This time it was Justin Finch-Fletchey, who had apparently become another victim of this month's soulmate pandemic.

It was all anyone was talking about these days — it was contagious if what Lavender and Parvati said was true. Romances were popping up all over, and it couldn't possibly have been because everyone their age was developing hormones. No. It had to be some totally unrealistic things that — even in the wizarding world — could not be possible.

How daft was everyone to believe such nonsense? So what? Justin had apparently gotten himself a boyfriend with someone in seventh year. Just yesterday Dean Thomas had been seen snogging Seamus Finnigan. That didn't make it strange. Teenagers had been snogging each other in the closed-off corridors for decades. People were now only just starting to notice. That was all.

"Neville said he saw it happen before his eyes," Lavender said, loud enough for the whole Gryffindor table to hear her. "Justin was walking along to his next class, minding his own business, and the Ravenclaw seventh year — I don't know his name — wasn't watching where he was going. He knocked Justin to his feet, and when he offered a hand for Justin to get up they just… stopped."

Hermione rolled her eyes, doing her best to focus her attention on revising her essay that was due for Transfiguration in fifteen minutes.

"Stopped?" Parvati whispered. "You mean like… love at first sight?"

Oh, please.

"Yes!" Lavender squealed. "Exactly like that. It was like they were instantly in love, just from talking to one another. They walked off hand-in-hand after that, claiming that they were meant to be. They were… soulmates."

Parvati inhaled sharply. "Really?"

Lavender nodded solemnly.

"Can't say I fancied him much myself, but I guess that's another boy to tick off the list for us." Parvati sighed.

Unable to take anymore of the nonsense, Hermione set her quill down hard. It clattered along the table, rolling to a stop by a bowl of scrambled eggs.

"Have you ever," Hermione said through gritted teeth, "thought that maybe they hadn't ever seen each other before, then when they did, they realised they were attracted and that was that?"

For a moment, Lavender and Parvati stared at her, blinking. It was Parvati who spoke first.

"Exactly," she said. "Soulmates."

"No. Luck."

"You're an unbeliever, Hermione," Lavender accused. "You don't believe in soulmates?"

Hermione reached for her quill again and dropped her head, scratching out a whole sentence near the end of her essay. "No. It's a ridiculous notion. How can you find your soulmate by running into them?"

"You don't just run into them," Parvati huffed. "You just have to touch them. You know, brush against them, or something. That's how it happened for others. My sister, Padma, she found her soulmate by their elbows brushing."

"Right," Hermione said. "Of course she did. And tell me… how do I catch this disease?"

"It's not a…" Parvati nudged Lavender in the ribs, and the girl closed her mouth. "Well, when it happens to you," Lavender said instead, "You'll know it's true."

"Of course I will." Hermione picked up her essay and stuffed her quill into her bag. She scrambled to her feet, glaring at the two girls who seemed to have the inability to think logically. "Well, when it happens to me, I suppose I'll know when I meet my… soulmate. Until then, I must get to class and I suggest the two of you do, too."

She stalked away, knowing full well that both Lavender and Parvati would already have their heads together, gossiping about her. Or, maybe she would get lucky and someone else had already 'touched' their 'soulmate' and the news had already reached them. Both were magnets for such things.

She was halfway to Transfiguration when it occurred to her that she had not seen Ron and Harry all morning. She'd been too busy worrying about finishing her essay that she hadn't waited for them to crawl down from their room, rubbing their eyes from sleep.

It was unlike them to appear for breakfast, but also highly likely that they were trying to finish off the essay as well, after leaving it for the last minute.

She just rounded the corner when she spotted a crowd gathering out the front of the Charms classroom, blocking her path.

Frowning, she went toward it. Had someone set off one of Fred and George's products? They were nothing but a nuisance these days. She could set up her own shop with everything she'd confiscated in the past month alone.

"Hermione!"

Ron was in front of her, giving her a look halfway between amusement and surprise.

"Ron? What are you doing here?" Hermione questioned. "We don't have Charms now…"

"No. Harry and I were on our way to Transfiguration. We were doing last minute homework… you know us… and… well, you know that whole rumour of this soulmate pandemic thing going around?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Yes," she said dryly. "Heard of it."

"Well…" Ron laughed. "I think it's true."

Hermione opened her mouth to admonish him, but in that moment, the crowd parted and she was distracted. Because walking towards her was Harry. Holding hands with… Ginny.

"Harry?" Hermione said.

"I told you," Ron said, and he was more cheerful than she'd expect considering Harry was holding hands with Ron's sister. "I think it's true. Ginny was lining up for Charms and Harry merely brushed her to get past and then they both kind of just stopped… looked at each other… and snogged." He laughed again.

Hermione frowned. She watched Harry and Ginny for a moment, both wearing completely ridiculous smiles. She then looked back up at Ron, her expression sympathetic. "But… well, Ron… I think they've kind of liked each other for a while. Maybe they just —"

"You weren't there, Hermione," Ron said. "It was like they couldn't control it anymore!"

Hermione decided to take a different path. "And you're okay with it?" she said.

Ron shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe if I hadn't just witnessed it with my own eyes, it would be weird, but it's just… a disease, isn't it? It'll get better…" He side-eyed the happy couple. "Won't it?"

Hermione smirked. "I don't know. They say it's soulmates. Soulmates are for life."

Realisation dawned on Ron, and the smile quickly vanished.

"Oh, Ron," Hermione said. "It's untrue. There's no such thing as soulmates. It's just… Harry and Ginny. You'll have to get used to it." She reached out a hand and touched his arm in comfort. He'd been intentionally ignorant to the obvious feelings Harry and Ginny had for each other.

It happened instantly. Her fingertips had barely grazed him when he was suddenly illuminated in light. Ron, her friend, was… different.

She stepped back, shocked by the sudden warmth through her fingers and the strength of her feelings she'd done well to keep at bay until now.

If the look on Ron's face was anything to go by, he was experiencing exactly the same thing.

"I —" She had no idea what to say. She just stared. She'd touched Ron many times before. Just yesterday, their shoulders had brushed. But now…

"Merlin, it is contagious," Ron breathed. He seemed unable to take his eyes from her. In fact, he moved closer.

Hermione shook her head, lost for words. It couldn't be. It was just a silly rumour that had started, an excuse for teenage romance. But the evidence — the warmth seeping through her body, her pounding heart — was overwhelming.

She was a victim of this stupid disease that was taking down the whole school. And she… she liked it.

And she was happy that Ron was her soulmate. It could have ended much, much worse for her.

He smiled at her, and she smiled back. And then she stepped closer to him, drawing his mouth towards hers as if it was something he'd been wanting to do for a while now. Only this time, neither of them had any control to resist.

They were soulmates. She could feel it, could sense it with every part of her. They were meant to be together.

Forever.


This is the part of QLFC where we start to feel burnout lol. So this is when I start to put random stuff together because I've left it to the last minute.