A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters
This is for the QLFC
Position: Captain
Team: Puddlemere United
Prompt: soulmate/soulbond
word count: 1063
TW: Mentions of canon battle and war.
They were soulmates,
two sides of the same coin,
two parts of one soul it seemed,
together, they were everything.
The soft kisses in the middle of the night,
the warm hugs upon arriving home,
the shared glances across the Head Table.
She'd never thought those dreams, the soulmate dreams would lead to this,
never thought the shadowy figure in her soulmate dreams
would lead her down this path.
He had,
he'd changed her life in a way she'd never thought possible,
shown her a world she'd never considered,
one full of love,
full of hope,
a world after the war.
She had tried to figure out who he was,
there were hints here and there,
little glimpses at him, but never his face,
just shadows.
He saw the same of her in the middle of the night,
when the dreams dared enter his thoughts.
It was a dance,
a repetition of steps,
sleep,
dream,
discover new clues,
falling more and more in love,
over time,
over the course of years,
that's how long it took.
She'd been skeptical of it all,
soulmates couldn't exist.
It was all nonsense,
no one was destined for another.
Years denying it,
pretending she didn't have the dreams,
not caring what they were about,
not allowing herself to think about the clues,
to research the subject further.
Those years were her childhood,
where she had her two friends,
where she thought she might grow to love one of them,
might marry one of them.
Seventeen,
that's when it all hit her,
on the run with Harry and Ron,
the dreams never wavering,
the only constant in her life.
He was the only constant in her life,
the shadowy figure who held her in his arms,
who danced with her to music only they could hear.
She'd wake humming the melody,
longing for him to be there,
to hold her in the waking world.
She had missed out on so many clues,
so many little things,
but slowly,
slowly,
she started recording every detail of the dreams.
He was taller than her,
that barely ruled anyone she knew out.
There was a scent,
one she always thought she smelled upon waking.
It was fire,
smoke,
something else,
something that reminded her fresh leaves.
She couldn't put her finger on it exactly,
but she wrote it down none the less.
The battle was looming,
she could feel it in the air.
Would he be there?
Her soulmate?
Her other half?
She dared to hope he would be.
Did she know him?
She always paused, thinking about this question.
There was something familiar about him,
in the dreams she knew him,
felt like she knew his every movement,
every beat of his heart,
but did she know him in the waking?
The air was filled with smoke,
dust,
flashes of light,
of spells missing,
spells hitting,
their targets.
She wasn't even sure where to go,
what to do.
Her fingers curled around her stolen wand,
hoping that she'd survive this,
that she could get through this.
The ground covered with rubble.
Her nose caught the smell of smoke,
of fire,
of battle.
He was here.
She could feel it in her heart,
in some part of her that she couldn't even name.
He was here.
Dodging spells,
curses,
searching,
trying to force all the pieces she had together,
trying to make sense of the dreams,
knowing she was still missing things,
things she'd ignored in favor of disbelief,
in favor of claiming she could chose her own path.
The pieces clicked together,
a the little tidbits of information,
things she hadn't even realized she remembered about the dreams.
Her heart knew then,
slowly putting a face to everything,
a name.
Then the world froze.
At least, it froze for her.
Silence filled the air,
all the sounds of battle ignored by her ears.
He was standing there,
sword gleaming in his hand.
A knight like in the fairy tales she'd believed in as a child.
He brought it down, a silvery swish in the air,
the head rolled from the snake,
and the world rushed back to her,
her heart pounding louder as
her mind put the final pieces together,
as her heart realized the man before her,
the one who had just slain
Lord Voldemort's snake was her soulmate.
He stepped over the scaly body,
reaching out for her hand,
she gave it to him.
He pulled her into a tight hug.
It was over.
The battle,
the war,
it was all over.
They stood there a moment,
both shaking,
both surprised they'd managed to survive.
She laid her head against his chest,
letting him hold her as people started
surveying the damage,
started treating the wounded.
There was a warmth in his arms,
the same one from the dream,
the one she'd been longing to feel for
so long.
Their lips met for the first time,
the world exploding in heat,
love,
their soul bond finally recognized,
revealed to the world.
A lingering hand on his shoulder,
him smiling at her as they start to rebuild.
They're building more than just the school,
building a different kind of relationship,
something more than just the friendship they'd previously had.
Talking as they worked,
planning their futures.
Would they both go back?
She wanted to,
wanted to finish her schooling.
He would.
He needed to finish to fulfill his dream,
being the newest member of the faculty.
She hadn't thought about teaching,
about staying here,
but she wanted to help people,
and she knew that started with education,
with knowledge.
There were study sessions that led to kissing sessions.
Little pecks between classes,
shared chocolate frogs sneaked in pockets,
dances under the moonlight surrounded by the night blooming lilies.
He was everything he'd been in the dreams,
sweet,
sensitive,
and she knew that they were meant for each other,
despite wanting to deny the whole soulmate thing,
that's truly what they were.
Together they helped the younger students adjust,
helped the first years get started.
That winter when it snowed,
Neville pulled her outside,
waving the wand that had chosen him,
lifting them just enough into the air that their feet didn't touch the cold,
the frozen ground,
and they danced in the snow,
little white flakes swirling around them,
same as the first dream Hermione had ever taken seriously.