The counter is inked onto her skin, at a solid 11,000 steps. She sighs. She's no closer than she was a day ago.

Hermione grits her teeth. She hates having an unsolved mystery on her hands, especially when it concerns her. She's the type of person who needs to know everything and be assured of her knowledge.

Some call her intellectual. The immature individuals call her a swot.

Those immature individuals, however, are working at Tesco while she works in a forensics lab, earning her rightful pay.

The morning light illuminates her face as she rolls out of bed. She blinks as the sun streams directly into her eyes. Once she walks out of the light, she's left seeing spots.

Her counter fluctuates as she moves around her house. When she walks into the kitchen, it climbs up five steps step. When she exits the building, she's at 10,988. When she gets into her car, she's at 10,979.


"Any closer?" Kingsley asks her as she sets foot into the lab. Kingsley is a big bloke, dark-skinned and tall, and the type of guy you wouldn't expect to be working in a forensics lab, but then again, Kingsley has surprised a lot of people.

And he's one of the only guys she knows who respects her and her intelligence.

"No." She shakes her head. "I'm still stuck at eleven thousand."

Actually, it's 10,638, but technicalities.

"Don't be disheartened," Kingsley tells her in that slow, deep voice of his. "You'll find your soulmate someday."

He tells her that every day, and every day she gains a little more hope, only to have it crushed later on with a look at her counter.


Hermione has to travel across the country to investigate a crime scene in Newcastle. A woman was mysteriously murdered, and no one knew why.

Hermione's anticipation grows as she drives. Not only is she eager to get her hands on this case, but her counter is decreasing. It's at 5,000 at the moment and plummeting rapidly.

It's at 3,756 when she stops in Leeds. She drives a little further on and takes another break. It's at 2,411. And then, she drives straight to Newcastle.

When she arrives at the scene of the crime, it's at 20.

(A/N: Ignore my math, it's absolutely terrible.)

She parks a little away from the crime scene and jogs to the house, her counter decreasing as her footsteps hit the concrete. Her heartbeat is increasing, and not because she's running.

There's a man jogging just ahead of her. She starts haphazardly running towards him — something tells her that he's the one.

"Hey!" she calls, practically sprinting. "Wait up!"

The man turns around, startled, and Hermione is greeted by the most beautiful face she's ever seen in her life. Sharp jaw, silver eyes, obsidian hair — he looks like a god.

"Hey," she says, "we might be soulmates."

Her counter hits zero at that moment and the stranger grins. "I think we are," he says. "I'm Sirius."

"Hermione."


511 words

Romance Awareness - a counter counting down the footsteps