Work Text:
Minerva McGonagall had always looked at her wrist and wondered. To this day, she had always been nostalgic when she remembered about the soulmate mark she had. When the bond had sealed, the marks had vanished.
Brushing the thought aside, she noticed the time.
7:00PM. 5th September.
The time to counsel the sixth year batch about soulmate marks.
And as the Great Hall started filling up, she looked at her wrist again and wondered.
Hermione Granger was talking with Fay Dunbar about house-elf slavery when they were walking into the Great Hall. All the sixth years of all houses were there, so she wondered what was going on.
She noticed Harry, who was waving at her. She excused herself from Fay for a moment and was about to walk upto him when Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.
She immediately stopped and started listening to what her Transfiguration Professor had to say.
“Good evening. I’m sure every one of you are wondering what you’ve been called here for. Today, we’ll be talking about the topic of soulmate marks. Does anyone here know what they are?”
Daphne Greengrass, a Slytherin Prefect responded with “They are physical manifestations of love magic, marks shaped like pictures or words that appear on a person’s wrist when they turn 17, which helps them find their soulmate.”
“You are quite correct Miss Greengrass. Five points to Slytherin.” Minerva replied before continuing, “As most of you are 16, and will be soon 17, we find the need to inform and remind you. Soulmates are fated. They die together. A red soulmate mark means you already know them. A blue mark means you’re yet to meet them. A soulmate mark vanishes when the bond seals, i.e when both realize who the other is. ”
To most people soulmate marks were information, especially the Muggleborns like Hermione and Muggle-Raised like Harry. The girls all started chattering and giggling while Ron said, “Oh, bloody fuck so we are supposed to be stuck to a person for eternity. Sounds cool.”
After Minerva dismissed them, almost all the sixth years went back to their common rooms.
Well, except Hermione.
Borrowing Harry’s invisibility cloack, that night, she spent all her the time in the library, studying. Well that was classic her, right? But instead of studying for her NEWTs she was learning about soulmate marks.
And while she read the book titled “Love Magic: Soulmates” book, she reached a paragraph which made her stumble on her train of thought for a good second.
“White soulmate marks are got by soulmates who completely fit with the other’s magic and aura. The only known two couples to receive them were Salazar Slytherin and Rowena Ravenclaw, and Merlin and King Arthur.” She read, breathlessly.
“Well, that’s interesting, isn’t it?? I wonder when the next white soulmate marks would turn up and who get it.”
She promptly fell asleep after thinking that, too tired after the events of the day.
Hermione was the oldest in her year.
And she hadn’t realized that, till on the 18th September most of the girls in their year started asking her questions about how it felt. She kept reminding them her birthday was on the 19th of September, not 18th but Parvati Patil told her the glimpses of soulmate marks appear on the day before.
Not much was there to see, as the mark was faded.
Her dormmates wouldn’t let her go to sleep.
At 12:00AM, the mark faded in.
It was white.
And it was a lightning bolt scar.
Her dormmates wished her a happy birthday. Parvati and Lavender squealed when they saw it. “You’re fated to be with the Boy-Who-Lived.”
Hermione didn’t know what to do.
How on earth was she supposed to tell her best friend that they were soulmates?
Hermione hadn’t been able to sleep, being restless all night. Lavender and Parvati had to keep comforting her, while Fay brewed a Calming Draught.
That soothed Hermione a bit, but she still was internally freaking out.
Morning, to her, took about a million hours to finally arrive in the world. She quickly dressed and did her morning routine. She and Parvati did their usual chore of waking Lavender up, and the four friends all arrived at the Great Hall for breakfast.
Most of the sixth-years started asking Hermione about her soulmate mark, to which Hermione refused to answer.
Lavender quickly spotted Harry and she nudged at Hermione to go talk to him. Hermione, tried to go to him but her feet felt wobbly.
She felt like she wasn’t being a true Gryffindor then.
It was almost midnight when Harry, not liking how Hermione seemed to be avoiding him, went to Hermione who was reading a book for her Charms assignment and almost sobbed.
“What did I do wrong, Hermione? Please tell me why you’re avoiding me. I promise I’ll try to fix it.”
Hermione upon hearing his voice and those words, looked up from her notes. She tried to speak but words wouldn’t come out. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go, said her inner self. You’re smart, you’re supposed to figure it out.
Hermione then took a calm breath and showed Harry her soulmate mark.
Harry’s immediate response was by kissing her.
And she kissed him back.
A golden glow surrounded them as they went in for another kiss.
The feeling of his lips on her was intoxicating.
It made her feel like she was living again.
After quite a lot of kisses, Hermione lost count- she said “I like you a lot. Romantic stylez. I’m afraid to ruin our friendship.”
Harry replied with, “I like you a lot too. Romantic stylez. And you can’t ruin the friendship when fate has literally bound us together.”
Hermione giggled and hugged Harry, all thoughts of the future gone from both their minds.
The next day, Hermione explained white marks to Harry and the rest of the sixth years.
Ron, when he realized what was happening, had patted Harry on the back and said “Proud of you for getting the girl, mate. I was tired of you slopping around.”
Ginny had been a tad bit upset at first, but she soon cheered up realizing that it wasn’t done to mope around someone who had a different soulmate.
The news that Harry and Hermione were soulmates, bonded by a white mark was soon all over the Daily Prophet and the Witch Weekly. The press couldn’t get enough of them, and Professor Sinistra had to put up wards for the week so that no one could enter Hogwarts.
When Harry received his soulmate mark, it was of a book, where the cover was H.J.P.
On their first year anniversary, Hermione’s patronus transformed. A stag and a doe could be seen running around and playing together in Professor Lupin’s Defence Against The Dark Arts Class.
After the war ended, Harry proposed to Hermione in a moonlit spot where they had their first date. He had looked at her, got down on one knee, took out Lily Potter’s engagement ring, and Hermione bundled him with kisses which he took as a yes.
Hermione realized Harry had nightmares. And she confronted him about it. The only response she got was, “I killed a man, I killed a man, I killed a man.”
Hermione gave him a Calming Draught and replied with, “Who you are is not what you did. It’s okay, we both know that life is a tough crowd.”
They both decided on mind healers for both of them, as well as the survivors of the Second Wizarding War.
Hermione Potter was sitting in her office. First Muggleborn Minister of Magic.
There came a knock on her door, and knowing her secretary (or her friend Fay) wouldn’t let anyone in unless it was important she opened it.
Harry Potter, Headmaster Of Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry, The-Man-Who-Conquered, but most importantly her husband came in.
“Hey, love.” He said, wrapping her around in a hug, knocking over some books in the process. Hermione had given quite a lot of her signature hugs, so he had started returning them.
“Hey, you.” She replied, casting a wandless spell to rearrange her books.
“So, I was at Hogwarts when I received an owl full of baby girl names from a Mrs Potter. Imagine my surprise.”
“Well, sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Which two did you like the most?”
“Marlene Lily and Minerva Luna are definitely my favourites.”
“Well, what would you think of your wife if she said she was pregnant with twin girls?”
“I’d say she’s my shooting star and the babies will be spoiled rotten,” Harry replied, kissing her on the mouth gently.
And then it hit her. Hermione was having two babies, with Harry, and she could not be more glad that it was him.
Unlike most people would expect, the Potters were not a big family. They had their twin girls, Marlene Lily and Minerva Luna, and one boy three years younger than them called James Sirius. Marlene Lily was named after Harry's mother and her best friend. Minerva Luna was named after Professor McGonagall and Luna Lovegood. James Sirius was named after Harry's father and godfather. It was one of the most simple yet powerful ways to honor people, some whom they never met.
Marlene Lily Potter and Minerva Luna Potter were polar opposites. While Marlene inherited her mother's bushy hair with her father's raven-colored hair, Minerva had extremely wild brown hair. Ron's best man speech had included "I pray for their kids, the hair they will inherit will be a sight to see."
Marlene was outgoing and sporty, while Minerva was studious and shy, but would hex anyone who disturbed her. They certainly lived upto their namesakes.
Marlene came out as lesbian in middle of third year, while Minerva came out as aroace in fifth year.
Their parents still thought of them as the stars that shine and that was all they needed.
Marlene’s soulmate was Rose Ophelia Weasley, the only daughter of Ron Weasley and Daphne Greengrass.
James Sirius was a prankster to the core, one again living upto his namesakes. Along with Frank Zac Lovegood-Longbottom (the second kid of Luna and Neville), Nova Amelia Zabini (the first kid of Susan Bones and Blaise Zabini) and Aurelia Narcissa Malfoy (only child born to Astoria Greengrass and Draco Malfoy), the third generation of Marauders rose.
James Sirius’s soulmate was Aurelia Narcissa. And their parents accepted it, deciding to end their school rivalry for the sake of their kids.
What was verbal spats and insults at each other every time they met, turned to family dinners on Sundays at the Weasleys.
And then it happened.
It was quite a dark night, Hermione Potter realized.
It wasn’t dark in the literal meaning, it was dark as if something was finally leaving. 159 years old and still growing up, it seems.
It had been two years since her husband had passed.
At his funeral, they celebrated his life instead of mourning it and she was eternally grateful for that.
They had spent 132 years together and that felt enough.
She felt ready. Ready for what, she didn’t know, but she was ready all the same.
And then came a knock at her bedroom door. Thinking it was probably one of her great-grand-kids, she opened it, only to find her husband there.
“This is it, I guess,” she whispered.
“It’s time for you to finally move on to the next great adventure, love. I’ll be waiting.”
Hermione nodded, and Alyson Christina Potter found her grand-mother lying on the bed next morning, looking as if she had peacefully departed.
Hermione Granger had been a lonely girl.
That was, until she met Harry Potter.
That was, until she realized they were fated to be.