Romance Awareness Month - You remember your soulmate from your past lives and search for them
A flash of black hair, the sound of laughter.
Falling in love with the noble's daughter.
But what is love, if it cannot be?
What am I, if you are without me?
Septimus tossed and turned in his four poster bed. His seventeenth birthday was seven days past and since he had been plagued with half-dreams and restless memories that did not belong to him.
Giving up on slumber, he slipped on his robe and silently exited the dormitory, careful not to wake his roommates. In the Common Room, he lowered himself into the armchair by the fire, rubbing his forehead tiredly with the pads of three fingers. What did it mean? What were his dreams trying to tell him? He felt as though he were grasping at straws, and yet he could not shake the feeling that the visions were not to be dismissed lightly.
Always waiting, always watching
Heaven forbid he try something
A barrier of nations lay before them
War cutting of the rose of love's stem
Septimus was a man of means. His two older brothers had succumbed to witch trials and pestilence respectively, leaving the youngest son heir to their father's barony.
Oh the irony, Septimus thought idly as he leafed through another family tome. He could research his dreams at his leisure, now that his father had died of illness and old age. For the past few moons, he had tried to piece together his family history, to find out whether his memories belonged to his ancestors. His efforts had been fruitless, mostly due to lack of information, until now. Leaning close, he lit the page with his wand.
When a first daughter of a seventh son, or the seventh son of a first daughter reaches the age of maturity, they will receive a magical gift, though some may name it curse. Memories of their past lives will come to them, showing them their greatest desire. This has oft' led to great magical discoveries among scholars who have the knowledge of several lifetimes, or prowess in duelling as warriors' bodies remember the reflexes of past battles.
Most rare of all belongs to the greatest and purest of magics - love itself. It is said that those with the gift of love have a greater chance at finding their soulmates through the experience of their past selves, as their true love will always bear the same physical characteristics and personality traits as their predecessors.
Septimus leant back, his wand extinguishing itself as it dropped onto the pages. There was no doubt in his mind about what his own powers were referring to. His mother had been the first Shafiq girl in generations, and Septimus had always felt himself different - above the rest of his peers.
There was but one path open to him. He must find this soulmate of his, wherever she may be.
Once, the lovers were blessed by the stars
Free from constraints, free from bars
But such an union was thwarted by fate
For illness and death will make love wait
When Septimus was nineteen, he pieced the puzzle together. He had kept a dream diary for the past two years, noting everything of consequence and anything that seemed trivial. He had scoured the archives of every pureblood directory and failing that, persuaded the Founders to lend him the Hogwarts student archives.
He had not expected his soulmate to be a halfblood, but what a halfblood she was! Helena was a Ravenclaw, from strong and clever blood, with the wit and beauty to match. At first she seemed receptive to his advances, but then he had the misfortune to mention her family name and she shied away, refusing all further contact. Septimus had appealed to Rowena, to no avail. He had found his soulmate, but his soulmate did not want him.
For magic gives and magic takes
Where one heals, another breaks
And those that were gifted unique power
Would find it desert them in their greatest hour
Septimus kicked at the table in frustration. What had he done wrong? Why did he deserve to be tormented so? What was the use of one true love, if true love was one-sided? How could the fates be so cruel?
His eyes landed on the book he had discovered three years past. What if I was mistaken? What if there was a different reason for these visions? And failing that, what if there is a way to be rid of them?
Eagerly, he turned the pages, nearly ripping them in the process. His fingers traced the lines as he reread the pages that had given him so much hope. Noticing a list of poems after the explanations, he read them curiously. They were all of great warriors being defeated in battle, great sages being punished for thinking themselves immortal… and of star crossed lovers, doomed always to cross but never to meet.
The Baron was determined to break destiny
Forever in the pursuit of his Grey Lady
They were not parted, not by sea nor land
Until they both met their death at his hand