"Today, you'll be working in groups of three." Slughorn clapped his hands jovially. "Your groups will be listed on the board. You'll be making an everlasting elixir. You can choose which potion to make into an everlasting elixir, but try to keep it simple."

With a wave of his wand, names appeared on the board. Ron scanned the list. Harry wasn't in his group, to his disappointment. He was with Draco and Blaise. Breath catching in his throat, he finally found his own name between Hermione and Pansy.

Oddly, Hermione's cheeks were slightly pink. Pansy, by contrast, had turned pale. Ron glanced at Harry, but Harry was in the supply cupboard. Instead, he saw Draco smirking and Blaise grinning like a maniac. They were both watching Pansy. Draco saw Ron looking and winked.

"Um, should we…?" Ron asked, gesturing to Pansy who was sitting at her table unmoving.

"Yes, we should." Hermione squared her shoulders and grabbed her things before marching over to Pansy.

Pansy looked up, startled, as Hermione slid into the seat beside her. Ron hesitated, watching the two women sit next to each other awkwardly. Normally, he would sit by Hermione… but he couldn't stop thinking about the way Pansy watched them.

Walking around the table, he sat next to Pansy. He tried to be natural about it, but he was fairly certain it came off as clumsy. Then again, clumsy was one of Ron's natural states.

Hermione shot him an odd look, but she didn't question it. Instead, she started rambling about which potion they should use for their everlasting elixir.

"Why not use the wolfsbane potion?" Pansy interrupted Hermione who was listing off reasons why they should use the pepperup potion.

Hermione and Ron stared at her. Pansy flushed, but held her ground and waited for an answer.

"Well… it would certainly be useful, but Slughorn said we should keep it simple. The wolfsbane potion is incredibly complex and the ingredients are expensive. It's not worth it to try messing with the recipe to make it everlasting," Hermione explained, her cheeks pink.

Pansy looked like she wanted to argue, but she bit her lip instead. She looked thoughtfully at their cauldron.

"Maybe we should stick with the pepperup potion for now?" Ron suggested. "We can always try other potions later."

"We?" Pansy looked up at him, frowning.

"Well, yeah. You're more than welcome to join us."

Looking taken aback, Pansy opened her mouth.

"He's right. I'd be glad to, um, make potions with you, Pansy," Hermione said quietly, cutting off what she was about to say.

"I'm going to go get the ingredients for the pepperup potion." Pansy stood up abruptly and climbed over the bench awkwardly.

"That didn't go well, did it?" Hermione asked, looking down at the table.

"I think it's going as well as can be expected." Ron shrugged. "She always seems distant with us… even though most of us eighth years are friends now."

"It seems like Harry and Draco kind of forced that. If they hadn't started liking each other, I doubt the rest of us would have mingled."

"Hermione, it's more than that. They have sanamora. That's more than like." Ron shook his head.

"Give me a break, Ronald. Soulmates don't exist. It's just a burst of power brought on by strong emotions." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"She's right." Pansy returned, her arms full of ingredients. "It's just a story we're told as kids to give us hope for finding love."

"Just because it's rare, it doesn't mean it isn't real. Look at Harry and Draco. Their sanamora should be more than enough proof," Ron pointed out.

"Strong emotions allow for wandless healing magic," Hermione repeated the same thing she had been saying for the past year.

"I refuse to believe in it. Soulmates imply that we don't have control of our fate… and I can't believe that," Pansy added flatly.

She refused to say anymore on the subject and Ron didn't want to push her.

As the women focused on the potion, Ron discreetly cut his finger under the table. He watched as the cut flashed with golden light. The cut was gone a second later.

Heart pounding, he looked at Pansy with wide eyes. It had happened twice now… both in her presence. That shouldn't be possible. He had never heard of someone having two soulmates before.

Ron looked up suddenly, feeling like someone was watching him. Blue eyes met gray. Draco smirked at him and turned back to his potion.

Notes:

If you liked this chapter, feel free to leave a comment! I love it when people say hi!