Chapter Text
Hermione watched as Draco flicked on the neon open sign in the front window of the shop.
“Looks quiet out there.” Draco said, walking away from the window.
“Good, gives me time to finish this cinnamon roll.” Hermione said, her mouth full.
“And gives me time to relax.” Draco leaned against the counter.
“Relax? It’s like your second day working.”
“Fourth, actually, and Lily kept Harry and I up all night, crying, and crying. You’d think she would’ve lost her voice by now.”
“I still can’t believe Harry convinced you to name your daughter after his mum, you hate that sappy stuff.”
“I know, but I felt bad.” Draco groaned.
Hermione rolled her eyes. “What day did you say your mum and aunts are coming to visit?” She asked, changing the subject.
“Today, why?”
“Today?” Hermione sighed, exasperated.
“What’s wrong?” Draco asked, taken aback by the look on Hermione’s face.
“Nothing, nothing.” Hermione lied, closing the lid of her cinnamon roll box. “It’s just ... last time one of your family members met me, it didn’t go too well.”
“Oh, well, last time you met one of my family members, it was my father. Don’t let him ruin your opinion of my family. Trust me, they’re nothing like him. And they haven’t spoken to him in years , if that makes you feel better.”
Hermione hummed in response, not feeling too reassured. She vividly remembered the scowl on Lucius Malfoy’s face as she told him she was an artist. “He didn’t seem to be fond of the arts.” She said, awkwardly.
“Ah, but my aunts and mother aren’t like that. My mother plays the flute, and my Aunt Bella goes to museums all the time to look at the statues there. But, I don’t know if that’s because she admires the art, or merely just the bodies they were sculpted of...” Draco trailed off, “Oh! And my cousin Nymphad-, sorry, Tonks, plays the guitar. So, that’s not just one, not just two, but at least three people in my family who like the arts.”
“Okay. That makes me feel ... better, I suppose.”
“Oh, perfect! Here they come!” Draco turned towards the front window, where three women were walking up to the door.
“Here we go.” Hermione mumbled, standing up.
“It’ll be fine.”
Draco’s mother, Narcissa, walked in first, followed by Draco’s Aunt Andromeda, and, finally, his Aunt Bellatrix. As soon as the last woman walked in the door, Hermione was overcome with what felt like both a fever and heat stroke. Her legs were jelly as she tried to make her way back to her chair.
“‘Mione, are you okay?” Draco asked.
“Mmhm, just need some water, I’ll be back.” Hermione responded.
She stumbled her way to the back room and collapsed in a chair. She sipped water and breathed deeply as she tried to figure out what was wrong with her. She typed her symptoms into Google.
“Heart attack?” Hermione mumbled, “No, that can’t be it.”
And there, at the bottom of the Google results page, on a website called lovelifehacks.com was an article titled How to Tell if You Met Your Soulmate.
Soulmate? No. Draco’s Aunt Bella is not my soulmate. If she was, she would’ve felt it too, wouldn’t she? Hermione thought. She clicked on the next Google results page.
What to do once you met your soulmate.
Twenty things that mean that you met your soulmate.
Soulmate? Yes or no?
Is your favourite pop star actually your soulmate?
Symptoms of meeting your soulmate.
Hermione clicked on the last one.
Sweaty palms, shaky legs/hands, dizziness, fast heartbeat.
The further she read, the more confused she became. Even if she had met her soulmate, they surely hadn’t been in the store. It could’ve been someone walking by outside. Yes, that’s it.
She stood back up, feeling better, and walked back out to the front of the store.
“Hi.” Hermione said.
“Hello, are you alright?” Narcissa asked.
“Yes, thank you. I think I might’ve gotten food poisoning from ... the eggs I had for breakfast.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better. Draco was just showing us all your art, you’re very talented.” Narcissa smiled.
“Oh, thank you.”
“My aunts are just in the restroom.” Draco said.
“Everything alright?” Hermione asked, wondering if Bellatrix also felt sick.
“I think so, Aunt Bella asked where the restrooms were and Aunt Andy just followed. They should be back soon.”
As if on cue, Bellatrix and Andromeda returned from the restroom.
“Sorry to cut your visit short, Cissy, but I think I’m going to go home now.” Bellatrix said. Hermione noticed that the woman was gripping very tightly to her sister’s arm.
“Oh, It’s alright.” Narcissa said. “I’ll come with you. Bye Draco.” She kissed him on the cheek, “And nice meeting you Hermione.”
“You too.” Hermione smiled as she watched the three women leave the store.
“Well that was weird.” Draco said after the door swung shut.
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
“Draco?” Hermione asked, as her friend turned off the open sign.
“Yeah?”
“How did you know that Harry was your soulmate?”
“Well I felt like I was dying when I met him.” Draco laughed. “No but seriously, I got jelly legs and my heart was beating really fast.”
“Ah okay.” Hermione said before going quiet.
“Oh my god, did you finally meet your soulmate?”
“What do you mean finally, I’m not that old.”
“I know, but everybody else have met their soulmates. Pansy, Luna, Neville, even Ginny has met her soulmate.” Draco said. “I bet it was that blue-haired girl that walked in earlier today, I saw her looking at you.”
Hermione sat quietly for a moment, contemplating telling Draco the truth. “Yes, it was her.” She lied.
“Yay!” Draco squealed, throwing his phone down on the counter, “I’m going to start searching right now!” He yelled before disappearing into the back room. Hermione waited until the sounds of his typing echoed through the store, before springing up and grabbing his unlocked phone. She scrolled through his contacts until she found Bellatrix’s number. She put it in her phone, then turned Draco’s off and put it back in it’s place.
“Ugh, the internet here sucks.” Draco groaned, returning to the front. “I’m going to head out, so I can use some good internet to find the blue-haired girl that has captured your heart.”
“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye.”
As Draco left, Hermione stared down at the number in her phone. What would she even say?
A message popped up on Hermione’s screen, it was from Pansy.
Draco told me that somebody met her soulmate! Tell me all about her.
Hermione laughed, imagining the message in Pansy’s voice. She opened the phone app and called Pansy’s number.
“Hi!” Hermione said, cheerfully.
“Hey!” Pansy said. “So, about this soulmate, who is she? Draco said she’s some blue-haired girl.”
“Well ... no. She’s actually not the blue-haired girl that Draco thinks she is. She’s someone else.”
“You lied to Draco? Oh man, I’ve never heard that happen before. So, who is it actually?”
“Draco’s Aunt Bellatrix.” Hermione said, quietly.
“Bellatrix?” Pansy said, in disbelief, “Damn, Hermione, you got lucky. She’s hotter than the fires of hell.”
“Yeah?” Hermione laughed, “I didn’t get to see her for more than five seconds before I had to leave.”
“Ah. Classic ‘just met my soulmate’ feeling. Don’t worry, it won’t happen next time you see her.”
“I’m trying to figure out how I should tell her.” Hermione mumbled.
“Just call her and be like ‘Hey, we’re soulmates, wanna go on a date?’”
“Umm. I don’t know about that.”
“Do you have her number?”
“Yes.”
“Then tell her! I’m going to hang up now, you better call her!”
“Wait, Pansy!” Hermione was too late, Pansy had already hung up. She stared down at the phone.
And then, she clicked on Bellatrix’s number. The phone rang three times.
“Hello, It’s Hermione!”