This story was written for the Hermione's Nook RarePair Soulmate Fest. I could choose my own pairing and had the pleasure of figuring out something for this prompt:

"Each genuine emotion your soulmate expresses to you adds colour to your world."

This is way more fluff than I usually write but it was also a lot of fun!

It's mostly unbetaed, so any mistakes that you find are mine and mine alone.

Enjoy! đź’š

"So it's true? The colour of the eyes is always love? That's so…cheesy and illogical."

"Why is it illogical?"

Hermione looked around her room distractedly, trying to find a good explanation. "Because…because…it just is! There are so many people with the same eye colour. I mean, it's just so…complicated and idiotic, isn't it? Everyone has a different colour for different emotions, too. How does that even work?"

Minerva McGonagall gave her niece a knowing smile. "First of all, every person has a different eye colour. No, don't interrupt. I know it sounds ridiculous, but you have to consider that it's not just the colour of your soulmate's eyes. In the case of that strongest of emotions - love - it's also the eyes itself. The unique eyes of that person, eyes that no-one else has.

"As for different colours; it works, because even in the connection between soulmates you still have your individualism. You have to always remember that you are still your own person. Yes, your soulmate completes your life, but they don't necessarily complete you as a person. Different colours just emphasize that fact. Everyone links a special colour to an emotion. Do you understand, lass?"

"Well, if you put it like that it's the most logical thing ever," Hermione sighed but couldn't hide the smile.

Minerva, who had been standing next to the door came closer to Hermione's desk and leaned against it.

"I'm surprised you didn't already know. I thought you found out everything there was to know about soulmates when you were old enough to read. Should I have a talk with my brother for not being thorough enough?" She teased her niece.

Hermione gave a very unladylike snort.

As soon as she knew how to, she had driven her parents - especially her father - nuts with all the questions she had about soulmates. "I'd love to see that. Dad is probably annoyed with me for asking all these questions about it, so I don't blame him. He and Mom are a special case, you know that."

"True," Minerva chuckled, "Still, I think a stern talking to once in a while from his big sister does him some good, wouldn't you agree?"

"Mom would thank you, no doubt," Hermione laughed.

"What brought this on? Are you still worried about not finding your soulmate? Or just nervous about finishing school at Hogwarts while already being off age?"

"No…Yes? Both? I don't know. I know everyone keeps telling me I'm going to find them eventually, but this waiting around and not knowing is…difficult; and I know I'm not the first transfer student to start this late, but it's still bizarre," she shrugged.

Minerva sniffed and Hermione bit her lip to stop the laugh.

Her aunt had been trying for years to get Hermione's parents back to Scotland, so her niece would come to Hogwarts. Robert and Joanne Granger had moved to Paris when Hermione had been six. Her mother had got a job as a dentist, together with one of her friends from uni. Hence, Hermione had been enrolled at Beauxbatons for the past six years.

After completing her sixth year, her father and mother had decided to return to Scotland because they both missed it and their families. Which meant Hermione would finish her education at Hogwarts.

She could've stayed at Beauxbatons, of course, but she too missed her aunt and uncle. The opportunity to spend more time with them was more enticing than her 'friends' from France. There had somehow never been any close friendships.

"I know it seems like a platitude, but you will find your soulmate, trust me," her aunt insisted.

"Yeah," Hermione mumbled drawing circles on her desk with a finger.

Part of her wanted to go to Hogwarts, because she had yet to find her soulmate, so she wasn't able to see colours, at all. In her book that meant, he or she wasn't at Beauxbatons. Maybe her soulmate was at Hogwarts?

The hope that her soulmate was going to be at Hogwarts was both drawing her in and frightening. She tried to not put too much stock into it but hope had a sneaky way of making you addicted.

She was also aware that her soulmate could just as well be older than her and already working or even younger and not yet ready for any kind of friendship or relationship.

Of course, it would probably be nice to have someone in her life to love her like that, but what did she really know about it? She hadn't dated anyone, she had never really been interested in it, even though there had been wizards who had asked her out. She'd always shut them down, puzzling the girls around her.

Hermione had never understood their reaction. It wasn't that out of the ordinary. It was an almost even split between people who would date until finding their soulmate and people who wouldn't. But her friends made it seem like she was missing out. That might hold a little truth, but she had a suspicion that most of them were just bored or feeling lonely and Hermione didn't believe in starting a relationship, of any kind, just because she was bored.

Hermione had never felt lonely like that, at least not to the point that she would go out with the boys that asked her. Her father was happy about that. He had never made a secret of his feelings towards a potential partner, which seemed ridiculous since he very well knew she would find one sooner or later in her soulmate.

Her parents' relationship was a little uncommon. Usually, two soulmates would find each other, having both been raised in the magical world and familiar with the stories and the actual magic of the soulmate bond. Her mother was a Muggle. It was indeed uncommon but not unheard of. There were a few couples with one magical and one non-magical partner, but they all had their own distinctions and characteristics according to her Dad. The main thing why this was slightly uncommon, was the fact that wizards and Muggles usually didn't mingle. It wasn't necessarily because of racism, although it was still an issue thanks to the older pureblood families. Even they respected the magic of soulmates, however.

Mixed unions were just rare because wizards didn't have many reasons to venture into the Muggle world.

These relationships came with a few new problems. Her mother had always been able to see colours. Muggles didn't have that "lock" on their ability to see colours.

Hermione herself had been able to see colours, when she was younger. It had stopped one day - the day her first accidental magic had happened. At first, she hadn't understood why her pencils all suddenly looked the same. Ever since then, Hermione wanted colours back. She wasn't sure what was worse. Never having known colours or having been able to see them but then lose them completely. She still drew in her sketchbook, but it wasn't the same. Of course, colourless drawings looked great and she had been getting better every day, but she missed all the colours.

It did not help that she felt like every little thought she had was guided by the need to get them back. If she were honest with herself, the main reason for wanting her soulmate was to be able to paint again; to enjoy the different shades.

Lori Russel, Hermione's best friend, had never shared her fierce need for colours.

Hermione and Lori had been friends from the moment they were born. Best friends, from cradle to grave. Lori's parents lived in the Scottish Highlands too, not even a fifteen-minute walk from the Granger house into the Muggle village. Joanne Granger had worked as a dentist in the village and met Mrs. Russell one day.

Both women were pregnant at the same time and not living that far apart, had become fast friends. Bringing their husbands into it, who had got along great as well, both couples had learned from each other and supported each other. Shouldering the burden of being new parents together.

Since Hermione's mother knew about her husband being a wizard from the start, she was able to remain calm when Lori had her first bout of accidental magic at the age of two. Although she hadn't seen it for herself before that, because Hermione hadn't shown any sign of magic until she was five, she could explain it to Mrs Russell with the help of Hermione's father.

Because Lori's parents were Muggles, their daughter was a special case; which had triggered the conversation, that had stuck with Hermione ever since. She and Lori had been dreaming about finding their soulmates most of their lives because they saw it in their parents. Hermione had been curious about the Muggle side of it and her father had heard them speculating while walking past the living room when she was ten.

Robert, being a McGonagall, knew the stories they passed down through the generations and did the same for his daughter and Lori. "It's magic. This thing that we have between us - your mother and me - is unique to us. It's in my magic. It's always been like this. However, there is a soulmate out there for everyone, not just magical people, Muggles too."

Hermione frowned. She could not wrap her head around the idea of something just being magical on one side, and yet how that also applied to non-magical people. It didn't make sense to her.

"But it has to come from somewhere for Mom, doesn't it? If you have that magical thing that prevents you from seeing colours and Mom doesn't…I just…I don't get it."

Robert looked at both girls who were staring at him with frowns on their faces thinking hard on it. He laughed. "Stop thinking so hard, your brains will get tangled."

"No, they won't!" Hermione said determinately, while Lori seemed slightly wary.

"Look at it this way," Robert started a different approach, "it's a lock and a key."

Before he could go on, Hermione snorted at the example. Lori laughed at her friend's reaction.

"Bear with me, ladies. Let's say you get a lock and a key on the day you are born, but the key doesn't fit inside the lock you have. They don't work together."

Hermione nodded already guessing where this was going.

"There is only one key that belongs in your lock and only one lock that your key belongs to. Your soulmate has the other two parts. When you meet you get to open a door to a world full of colours," Robert concluded.

"Where did the door come from and why two locks?"

"Hermione!" Robert admonished her playfully with a shake of his head.

"Sorry, Dad. Go on. How do Muggles fit in?"

Lori was giggling in the background, but did pay attention to what Hermione's dad was saying.

"They get a lock and a key that match from the start. They get to see the colours from the start and I know that this seems unfair, but they also don't ever know if the person they share their lives with is the right fit, you understand? Isn't it wonderful that we can be certain about our partner? Why do you think there are almost no divorces in the Wizarding World? People find each other."

"I think I get it. But what about Mom's lock and key? How did that help you see colours and what's the point of your lock and key if there's no counterpart?"

"This is where mixed magical relationships are different. Your Mom's lock and key fit into each other but also into my set. Seeing as she doesn't have her colours locked away mine didn't have to fit in hers, but they do, because they are the same."

"Now my brain is tangled," Lori murmured.

"Yeah," Hermione agreed, and thought of something else. "Why could I see colours when I was little?"

"Hm. What you girls have to realize is that there is no set rule to this. At least, not just one. Children born from mixed magical relationships are special. Hermione, you could probably see colours because your mother can too, and it took you a while to develop your magic, which is why you could see them until you were five and your first accidental magic happened. Then it was locked away, to be reopened when you find your soulmate."

Lori turned contemplative, "So what about me, Mr Granger?"

Robert turned to Lori and smiled brightly at her.

"I talked to your parents about this all the way back when you were first showing signs of magic. You are also very special, Lori. Your parents are both Muggles, which makes you a Muggleborn. But it also means, seeing as you have magic, that your parents are a perfect match. A seldom found couple in the non-magical world. And if such a couple does find each other, magic is born from their union. Some even say that this is where the soulmate magic and magic itself originated from centuries ago."

Hermione's mouth fell open.

"Wow," Lori whispered with wide eyes. "So why wasn't I ever able to see colours?"

Robert looked over Lori's shoulder at something and she turned around to see her parents and Joanne Granger standing in the door.

"You probably could, darling," Mrs Russell said while approaching the trio sprawled in the middle of the living room.

She sat down on one of the sofas and was joined by Joanne, while Mr Russell sat next to Lori on the floor.

"I could?" Lori asked, wide-eyed again.

"We are not sure," Mr Russell answered for his wife. "You showed magic very early on. We didn't notice you being able to see colours, but there is always the possibility that you could and it was locked away like Hermione's."

"Lass!"

Hermione flinched out of her daydream at the sharp voice of her aunt.

"Sorry, auntie. What did you say?"

Minerva sighed, "You're still worried about not finding your soulmate, no matter what I say, aren't you?"

Hermione nodded, still looking down.

"Have I ever told you about how I found your uncle Elph?"

Hermione shook her head and met Minerva's eyes. Her aunt had been married for all the time she had known her, but they had never talked about how her and uncle Elphinstone got together.

"I was in love with someone else during my school years and right after Hogwarts."

Hermione's eyes widened but she remained silent.

"His name was Dougal McGregor. He was a Muggle from the village Lori lives in now. We loved each other very much, but we weren't soulmates."

Her aunt pushed off the desk and conjured a chair next to Hermione, where she promptly sat down.

"I was in denial. I truly believed that he was my soulmate and I didn't want anyone to tell me otherwise. It didn't bother me that I wasn't able to see colours. I was sure it had something to do with the fact that Dougal was a Muggle. Of course, now I know better."

"When did you meet uncle Elph?"

"Quite soon after I've finished Hogwarts. I took a job in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and he was my superior at the time."

"Did you see colours?" Hermione asked curiously.

Her aunt smiled wistfully.

"I did. Immediately. Although, I didn't notice it right away. I had talked myself so far into believing that just loving Dougal was enough. It took me a while to notice the colours and when I did, I was convinced it was because of Dougal and not Elph."

Minerva paused again staring out the window.

"What happened next?" Hermione whispered.

Minerva didn't react for a moment before she cleared her throat and turned to Hermione.

"I had developed a great working relationship with Elph by that point, so every emotion he expressed to me, turned into colour without me realizing it was him doing it and not Dougal. Because it was such a gradual development between Elph and me, it hit me like a ton of bricks the day that I could see the colour of his eyes. His eyes for the first time. He, of course, had been aware we were soulmates all this time, but he also knew that I was in love with another man…"

"Because he couldn't see the colour of your eyes?" Hermione asked carefully.

"That and I had never made a secret out of my relationship to Dougal, although it was frowned upon back then."

They were both silent for a few moments. Hermione broke the quiet.

"What happened to Dougal?"

Minerva sighed, "I left him."

"You did? Well, of course, you did seeing as you are now married to uncle Elph, but why…sorry, I didn't mean to be rude," Hermione trailed off sheepishly.

"You're not," Minerva chuckled. Then turned sombre, "It's okay. Back then I had already begun to realize, that I wouldn't be truly happy with Dougal. I did love him dearly, but I also knew that I wouldn't be able to go far in life with him, so I broke his heart."

"…and your own," Hermione added sadly.

"Yes, I did. I also didn't run to Elph. He noticed something was wrong, of course, he did. All the colours he was able to see because of the emotions I felt. It took me another year to feel ready to approach Elph like that. I am still in awe of that man for putting up with me."

"He loves you and he's your soulmate. Of course, he waited for you."

"You're right, which also means that you know, your own soulmate is out there as well just waiting for you."

Hermione sighed, "I do know that, sort of. It's just hard to wait and hold out hope. I miss colours."

Minerva leaned forward and grasped Hermione's hand.

"I know it's harder for you, because you have an idea of what you're missing. Don't lose hope. It will be worth it."

Hermione gave her aunt a grateful smile.

She remembered how desperately she had pestered her father for details about how emotions and colours worked when you met your soulmate. Robert had been patient with her. Answering every question she had, usually with her mother present, because she didn't know much about it herself, having always been able to see colours.

"How does that work? Does the emotion have to be tied to that person?" Hermione had asked.

"Not necessarily. It just has to be expressed to them. They have to see it or feel it."

"What are the rules? How do I know which emotion is which colour?"

"There aren't any rules per se. It's more intuitive. Your magic is guiding you. You won't always know which emotion triggered the colour you're suddenly seeing. There might also be colours you will never be able to see. I know that's not something you want to hear, but you need to be prepared for that possibility."

"What about different shades? Is it always the entire colour spectrum for one emotion or is every shade a different emotion?"

Robert chuckled. "You're way too smart for your age, little one. Again, it's very intuitive. What I noticed for myself and by talking with other people is, that it's a mix of the intensity of the emotion presented and a mixture of emotions. There are so many different colours and so many different emotions, they tend to blend together sometimes. It can get difficult to keep track of all the little nuances."

"Are the colours the same for everyone?"

"No. Every person is different."

Hermione hadn't quite understood the meaning or the workings behind it until now.

"Are you feeling better now?" Minerva asked her.

Hermione smiled at her aunt, rose up and joined her on the other chair, hugging her close.

"I always do after talking with you. Thanks, auntie."

"Anytime, lass," Minerva squeezed her niece, then let go and looked at the open trunk on the bed. "Do you need help with packing?"

"No, I'm good. I'm almost done. Are you staying for dinner?"

"Of course, I am. Wouldn't want to miss the last family dinner before you go off to Hogwarts…finally," her aunt threw her a meaningful look.

"Of course." Hermione laughed.