Enter for the Quidditch League Competition - Round 3 - Caerphilly Catapults - Beater

Prompt: Ebisu 'God of Luck and Fishermen' [Japanese: Write about someone catching a lucky break.

Optional prompts used: 7. [dialogue] "How could you have possibly forgotten?"

Word count: 1,571

Warnings: Canon Divergence AU Soulmates


a little like fate

"Daddy, could you tell us how you and Mummy got together?" Aurora Nott asked her father, and he knew he would never be able to say no to her.

"Again? But don't you already know the story?" Theodore asked, amused at the fact his daughter wanted to know about her parents' love life.

"But Ivy and Riley never heard!" Aurora said, and for a small six-year-old, she resembled her mother a lot. "Can you tell them, please, Daddy?"

At least she was polite, even if she was demanding something from him. So much like her mother.

"Did you ask your mother if she wanted to tell you her version?" Theo asked, trying to hide his amusement.

"Ask me what?" Hermione chose that moment to enter the living room, holding Riley and Ivy's hand—the twins were almost three, and Theo couldn't stop smiling at the scene in front of him.

He knew he was a lucky man.

"Mummy, can you tell the story of how you and Daddy fall in love?" Aurora asked, running towards her mother and siblings.

"Didn't you hear this already, sweetie?" Hermione said, putting the twins in the playpen in front of the couch.

Theo never thought he would have his own kids someday, even less they would be using Muggle things, but here he was, and he couldn't be happier.

"Besides, I don't think I remember that story, sweetie," Hermione said and Theo looked at her with widened eyes.

"How could you have possibly forgotten? It was your bloody cat who got us together, and he had to travel time for this!" Theo said, looking incredible at Hermione.

"Don't curse in front of the kids, Theodore!" she replied, glaring at him.

"Sorry, dear," Theo said, ashamed, making the kids giggle. "I promise to not curse anymore, and to tell the G-Rated version until they're of age."

"Theodore!" Hermione yelled, but Theo was laughing alongside their kids.

"I'm kidding. I'll just tell them the story, promise." Theo quickly kissed Hermione, prompting his kids to make ick noises, to the amusement of their parents. "Why don't you go take a bath? I'll put these rugrats to bed."

"You're treading a very thin line," Hermione said, glaring at him, before smiling. "As long as you don't tell them anything they shouldn't know, I'm fine with it."

"Would never dream of doing something like that, dearest," Theo said, kissing Hermione's forehead. "Go on, I can handle our kids for a while."

Pushing Hermione gently away, Theo turned to see his kids staring at him, just waiting for him to start talking.

"Well…since Aurora was so polite in asking, I figure you two want to hear the story as well?" Theo asked, while he sat on the couch, looking at the kids nodding. "You remember Mummy's pet Crookshanks?"

"Mummy said he went away before we were born," Aurora pipped quickly, making Theo smile.

"Yes, sadly he had to leave us before he got to meet you all, and I know he would love to know you three." Theo smiled at the way the kids' eyes lit up at the idea; maybe he should get Hermione a new familiar for her birthday? Shaking his head to stay on track, Theo continued. "And it was because of Crookshanks that Mummy and I got together."

"How?" Ivy and Riley asked together, and Theo had to try not to smile too big over how cute he thought the act was. They were both brunettes like Hermione but had his blue eyes, eyes that were looking too intensely at him right now.

"Well, it all started during Mummy and I's sixth year at Hogwarts…"

.:.

It was a statement of how much Theo thought Granger was cute when he didn't argue too much about the fact her cat had travelled back in time. He still couldn't understand why and how, but the cat wouldn't leave him alone. Theo was going along with the motion.

Most of the time.

"Did you find anything?" Theo asked, when they were at the library. He could see that Hermione was getting a little frustrated over something, but if she never said anything, how could he help her? "Your cat is being a menace and I want to see if I can go back to my dorm yet or not."

"You're free to leave whenever you want," Hermione replied, without taking her eyes from the book she was reading from. "Don't let me stop you."

Theo sighed and tried not to snap at her. "I would do it, if it wasn't for you cat screaming bloody murder every time I try to leave you."

The cat in question was sitting in Theo's lap, licking his paws as if he didn't have a care in the world. And for what Theo knew, he didn't care about what was happening around him.

Hermione finally looked up from her book and looked at him. "There is a reason for it, I'm afraid."

Theo just stared at her, waiting for her to clarify what she meant; Hermione just pushed the book she was reading from in his direction. Pulling the book closer—an action that made Crookshanks move and he complained, loudly—Theo started reading.

'If a witch or wizard meets their soulmate but is not able to receive True Love's Kiss by their twenty-first birthday, their familiar is granted the ability to travel back in time to a specific moment that will allow its 'parents' to develop a romantic bond. Only when the clock strikes twelve on the third day of the familiar's arrival in the past will it be able to return to its original timeline. This gives the familiar seventy-two hours to play matchmaker, and if it fails, its lifespan in its original time is reduced drastically.'

"Wait. You can't be serious. Are you telling me—" Theo started, but Hermione interrupted him.

"It's clear that Crookshanks time travelled! He's older and this version seems attached to you in an unhealthy way, while the other one is sitting on my bed just being a cat!" Hermione ranted, and Theo felt himself getting hotter under his robes.

"Still, it seems like a stretch, don't you think?" Theo said, looking at the cat on his lap. "And he didn't seem that different to me. It's not like you mentioned much about it."

"How could you have possibly forgotten? It's basically all we have talked about ever since this started!" Hermione screeched and Theo fought hard not to kiss her passionately. It was too soon, right? Especially after what he just discovered.

"You know, if you really believe in what's written here, it means you're my soulmate, and I'm yours," Theo said, trying not to focus on her lips, with difficulty.

He never gave much thought about the idea of soulmates, even if he knew they existed. Theo just thought he was going to live his life and never find his other half, but it was like a stroke of good luck when Hermione showed him that book.

"How long do we have?" Theo asked, watching Hermione bite her lip and not looking in his eyes. "I know you care about your familiar, Hermione, so how long do we have?"

"Less than twenty-four hours," she whispered, making Theo curse under his breath. "Look, I know this isn't ideal and I'm not asking you anything but—"

Theo cut Hermione off, kissing her full on the lips. It was almost like the world around him stopped and all that mattered was Hermione's lips on his. Not even Crookshanks' claws in his thigh—he would curse the little evil cat later—because all that mattered was the feeling of kissing Hermione.

They only separated when they needed air, but Theo was glad Hermione was looking at him with a smile instead of a hex.

"I think this works, right?" Theo asked, before smirking at her.

Hermione rolled her eyes but she smiled at him. "I guess it works. But just to be certain, maybe we should kiss again?"

"I would never say no to kissing you," Theo said, before dropping his head and kissing her again, enjoying the second time even more.

.:.

"...and after that, Mummy couldn't let me go. We've been together ever since, and a few years later, you three were born." Theo looked at his children, who seemed to be hanging to his every word.

"Daddy just forgot to tell how he was the one who couldn't let me go," Hermione's voice made herself present, walking to the room. "Spreading lies, Theodore?"

"Never, darling Mia," Theo said, pulling her to sit next to him. "You know I love our story. It was out of the ordinary, and something I'll always cherish."

"I love you too," Hermione said, quickly kissing him before turning to the kids. "Time to go to bed."

"But Mummy," Aurora started to complain, but one look from Hermione made her reconsider. "Can we have another bedtime story, please?"

"Tomorrow. You already had one today," Hermione said, standing up and motioning to the kids to do the same.

"Don't worry, tomorrow I'll tell you the story of how Auntie Pansy convinced Uncle Harry to marry her. It involved embroidered sheets and—"

"Theodore!" Hermione glared at him, which made him smile in return.

He would never stop thanking Crookshanks for his part in making Hermione his. Theo would always count their first kiss as the most amazing lucky break for him.