Normally, a shot of firewhisky would have lulled him into a deep, gentle sleep – but on this evening, alone in his little AirBnb studio apartment in a quaint seaside Muggle town, Harry was getting more fired up with every sip.

He took another swig as he started reading the second letter from the mysterious Cassia, Dated 1 February, 2020. Harry had already read it countless times before, but he felt the need to be methodical; to go through the letters once more in chronological order so that the details would be fresh in his mind for his meeting the next day.

"Dear Mr. Potter," it began, "I hope you've been well since my last letter. I know it must have raised several questions. Rest assured all will be answered in due time. Time, you see, tells everything, whether we're ready to listen or not…"

Harry's mind floated to Ginny and the children, away in the Weasley's crowded but cosy home. He wondered if Ginny was thinking of him – and if so, if she was more angry or concerned. He turned his attention back to the letter.

"No doubt you must be wondering about the spell I mentioned in my previous letter. The Muggles – those who are aware of their magic, that is – call this a Soul Contract. They believe it is a form of binding agreement that they choose to enter into, before they are born into their Muggle bodies…

It sounds like one of their fairy tales, I know. And they're not exactly right, though they've got the gist of it. The truth is that we all form such contracts, even us magical folk. We create them with everyone we love. We also form soul contracts with everyone we hate…

Some contracts are shorter, others are longer and more serious. Most are formed willingly and knowingly, though sometimes we do it unwittingly. For instance, Voldemort created a soul contract with you without really wanting to.

Before I go any further – and this is an important point to note – you may be gratified to know that just as these contracts can be formed, so can they be broken. But it requires skill to properly end them without encountering the usual negative consequences, which I will explain in due time.

For now, you need to understand the relevance of all of this with regards to the contract YOU have made. You see, the most important soul contract of all is the one you make with your romantic soulmate – the person you choose to energetically bind with at the deepest level, with whom you pledge to share a type of love, desire and passion unlike any other.

Now you might be wondering why I'm writing this to you, if you're already married to Ginny Weasley as the mother of your children.

Well, Ginny Weasley is not your soulmate."

Harry put down the letter, the last line jumping out of the page accusingly at him. He had never questioned his love for Ginny, nor hers for him. Their relationship had always felt pure and whole and he'd never felt any reason whatsoever to resent her in any way, not as his wife nor the mother of his children. In fact, up till that point, he'd been in blissful ignorance that there could be anything wrong in his marriage.

He took another big gulp of firewhisky and resumed reading.

"Indeed you have a soul contract with her, and it is an important one for the both of you. But your contract with her is nowhere near as intense as the one you will experience with your soulmate. Your real soulmate is someone else – someone completely different.

You have, in fact, already met him…if you quiet your mind, you will have a feeling for who he is. But don't rush it. It's not time yet.

You will understand more later. I will write again in a months' time. Hermione Granger-Weasley will be able to find out more about these soul contracts by then.

Cassie"

Harry stared at the letter. His head was beginning to throb, but he took another swig of the firewhisky anyway. There were so many things in that letter that frustrated him.

Ginny had laughed when she first read it, but over time – and with more letters from Cassia – her amusement had turned to hurt and confusion that festered and grew into anger towards the mysterious letter-writer. At times, it felt as if she resented him, too.

He didn't blame her. The letters had a similar effect on him, except his own frustration was directed solely at Cassia.

Every time he'd tried to ignore the letters, another one would be delivered as if by clockwork on the first day of the next month, filled with even more outrageous claims than the previous one. He'd tried telling Ginny to just burn and forget them. But the more Cassia wrote, the more suspicious Ginny became. There were just too many intimate details that no one outside their immediate circle should have been privy to.

The one detail that Ginny had become stuck on was the fact that Cassia repeatedly specified his soulmate as him. Meaning it was a man.

A man I've apparently met, Harry thought, frowning. Ginny had asked if he had any secret confessions to make regarding his sexuality – a question that had taken him by surprise. He'd answered honestly: Yes, he had loved many men in his lifetime, but never in a romantic way. And yes, there were men he found physically attractive…If he were being completely honest he had, on occasion, wondered what intimacy with another man would feel like. But wasn't that nothing more than a normal rite of passage, a passing curiosity that everyone must have thought about at least once in their lives?

Ginny had informed him that she had never once imagined what it must be like to be with a woman. Neither had Hermione, apparently. Ron had warned him against bringing up the topic - or anything related to their private bedroom activities - ever again.

And that was the end of that.

There was at least one thing that had been written in the letters that had proved to be true: Hermione had, in fact, gone searching for more information about soul contracts in Muggle books and archives. Apparently soul contracts had to do with the Muggle concept of reincarnation. According to Hermione, the short explanation was that Muggle souls made pacts that would enable them to experience and learn important lessons during each lifetime.

His headache deepened the more he thought about it.

Shaking his head, he reached into the folder for the third letter. Dated 1 March 2020, it was the briefest one from Cassie so far, but also the most poignant, because it felt like a warning for her future letters.

"Dear Mr. Potter,

I apologise for the brevity of this letter. I am spending a lot of time travelling between worlds, so I must write and send this quickly or it will not reach you on time. I can't be late, or you will not have enough time to understand what you have to do.

I have already explained that you have met your soulmate before.

Usually, when soulmates meet, they immediately recognise each other.

But your soulmate and yourself didn't recognise each other.

There is a reason for that. You had other priorities. You needed to defeat Voldemort and marry Ginny Weasley first.

You have not met your soulmate recently, but you will see them again by the end of this year.

This time, you will recognise each other immediately.

You will feel an instant connection when you meet – a draw you'll struggle to pull back from.

Your logical mind will tell you to ignore it, but something else inside you will fight hard to stay close to them.

My purpose is not to try and force you to be together. I am only here to facilitate your meeting so that you may finally recognise each other. The contract is far more powerful when you have the freedom to choose for yourself.

However, I am not above trying to influence your choices…

Cassie"

Not for the first time, Harry wondered if she was simply a dark wizard bent on getting revenge for Voldemort or whoever else had it out for him – he had, after all, made several enemies after the war.

She's influenced you enough for you to come all the way here, a little voice said in his head, and Harry sighed. Just then, his mobile beeped. It was a text from Ginny – he'd gotten a mobile for the both of them so that they could stay in touch while he was out and about in Muggle surroundings.

Are you settled in? The kids miss you. Mum and dad say hi. x

Harry quickly typed back. Just having a nightcap before bed. Miss you all. xx

As he hit send, another text came in from an unknown number: See you tomorrow evening, Mr. Potter. I'll be at the cafe down the road. Cassie.

Harry stared at his phone, his heart skipping a beat. It was true that he had come all the way to this quiet Muggle town to meet the mysterious letter-writer, but he still couldn't believe it was all actually real and happening. The text had sobered him up somewhat.

He typed a quick reply and hit send before reaching for the fourth letter.

See you at 7, Cassie.