-
"In so far as the mind sees things in their eternal aspect, it participates in eternity."
-
When Hermione woke up, she was still curled up in the chair with the soulmate book on her lap. She frowned slightly when she saw it, remembering why she was reading it in the first place but she just sighed and got up, making her way towards the kitchen.
She only just got a tea bag from the cupboard and started making a cup of tea when there was a distinguished 'pop' behind her. Hermione turned around only to be faced with a grinning Harry.
"Heya 'Mione!" he chirped. Hermione raised an eyebrow at the boy but Harry ignored her and carried on talking, "I'm taking Ginny on a date and I need your help."
She tried to suppress a groan, she really did. It just didn't turn out too well. Harry stared up at her, still grinning, waiting for her response.
"Isn't Ginny continuing 7th year at Hogwarts?"
"I got McGonagall's permission to take her out to Hogsmeade tomorrow night."
"Isn't that still against the rules?"
Harry threw his arms up into the air with an exasperated sigh, "I got rid of Voldemort, Hermione! These people owe me their lives, nevermind an evening with my girlfriend!"
Hermione smirked at him and shook her head but started to cave in anyway. She didn't know a lot about dates but as long as it made her best friend happy, she was willing to try.
"Alright, I'm in."
-
The rest of the day was spent with Hermione and Harry sitting on her couch in her living room, going through numerous cups of tea trying to think of the perfect night for Ginny.
"I just want her to let loose for the night and have fun for the first time since the war ended, you know?"
Hermione did know, she knew exactly how it felt. The hunger for happiness and positive memories, anything to outweigh the haunted thoughts.
"So what are the plans? A romantic dinner?" Hermione suggested, using wandless magic to stir her tea with a spoon.
"No, that's too cliché." said Harry.
"Dinner and a trip to a muggle movie theater?"
"Hogsmeade only."
Hermione frowned and the pair sat in silence for a few moments before her face lit up with an idea.
"Maybe take her to Hogsmeade, have some dinner and then use your brooms to fly to a secluded area and unwind or something?" she asked.
Harry sipped his tea and nodded, a faint knowing grin glowing on his skin.
After a few hours of talking, Harry had decided that he had to leave and prepare for the date which left Hermione with nothing to do.
She ended up deciding to carry on her research.
Little did she know, however, Draco was doing the exact same thing.
-
Draco woke up at ten am with a pounding headache.
He had a glorious hour of sleep until he woke up because of another nightmare at two am. He decided to brew himself a dreamless sleep potion but the only problem was that he would always get headaches whenever he did this.
But with his nightmares, it was usually worth it.
"Time to wake up, sleeping beauty!" sung Blaise, flouncing into the room and prodding Draco on his side.
He immediately sat up at the gesture and realized that Blaise somehow got past his lock charms.
Bellatrix taught him them during the war so he didn't know how someone as dim as Blaise would be able to break it. "How did you get in?" he slurred, still not fully awake.
"I may not be able to use alohomora but there are other counter-charms you know."
Draco sent Blaise a glare but just slid back down into his sheets, "Get out."
Blaise tsked and ripped Draco's duvet off of his body.
"No can do Dracey-Poo! I need to go to Malfoy manor to get some medicine books from your library."
"I think you mean the library which belongs to my poor excuse of a father."
The manor had been his home for years but it always brought back bad memories, especially ones from the drawing room. There were good memories too of course, but the bad ones always outweighed the good ones.
Yet then again, there were some books that Draco wouldn't mind bringing back home. One of which included a book that Narcissa used to occasionally read to Draco when he was younger.
If he could find it, that would help with figuring out what he could possibly do to change his fate.
Sighing, he eventually gave in to Blaise.
"Alright, but we're staying for no longer than ten minutes, you hear me Zabini?
-
Apparation made Draco feel sick and flooing wasn't his preferred way of travelling - it always messed his hair up. The fact that the manor's floo network was situated in his father's old study didn't exactly help either.
The study looked as if no one had been in it for years, which was partially the truth because Draco's parents abandoned Malfoy manor and fled to live in their French manor instead almost a year ago.
Narcissa told Draco that it was simply 'a holiday to get away from all that has happened' and he believed her at first, but after months had passed, he started losing hope that his beloved mother would return.
Lucius, however, didn't care about Draco who simply cut off all emotions linked to his father.
"Alright, do you need anything whilst we're here Draco?" asked Blaise.
Draco snapped back to reality whilst he processed the question and slowly nodded, "I need a book."
Blaise nodded at the blonde and they set off for the library together.
-
When they arrived, Blaise made his way straight to the 'M' for medical section. After the war, he had decided to become a healer and a rather talented one at that.
Draco went the opposite way to look for the book about soulmates. It had been in his family for decades and he had a distinct memory of Narcissa reading him a chapter before he went to bed.
He remembered the chapter she read him which was 'Chapter 4: bruised souls'. It also happened to be about exactly what Draco needed to know.
It mentioned that if you get hurt due to a reason not linked with happiness in anyway, your soulmate will suffer the same injuries - physically or emotionally.
It says that it starts happening when both souls are 16 years of age and the event that has left Draco puzzled ever since it happened was when Draco was 17 and Hermione Granger was 18.
-
spring, 1998
-
"Tell me you foolish girl!" cackled Bellatrix, who was currently on top of Hermione with a knife to her throat.
All she seemed to be able to was shake her head.
Bellatrix stood up and got her wand out, giving Hermione the cruelest smile Draco had ever seen.
"Tell me when you feel like talking then." and with that, Bellatrix cast the cruciatus curse at Hermione over and over again.
All Draco could hear were her screams and he wanted to help, but he couldn't. He was glued to his spot.
Suddenly, a searing pain shot through Draco's arm and when he looked down, he saw it. The word 'mudblood' was being carved into his skin even though nobody was touching him. He was a few metres away from his parents and his aunt was too busy torturing Hermione.
He looked down at Hermione and his aunt and that's when he saw it. Bellatrix was using the cruciatus curse to carve 'mudblood' into Hermione's skin.
But why was he getting affected when the spell was being cast at Hermione?
A numbing potion Draco had drunk earlier to deal with a headache made the pain bearable, but it was definitely there nevertheless.
Taking one last regretful glance at Hermione, he excused himself and ran as quickly as he could towards his library. It had to be there, he knew it was.
His mother read it to him occasionally when he was a young child, so why couldn't he remember anything now?
When he reached the library, he immediately went to the 'S' section.
"Come on where are you?" he murmured, barely aware he was talking to a shelf. Suddenly he stopped, remembering he had his wand.
Draco muttered a quick accio soulmate book and an old tattered book flew into his hands.
"Chapter four, chapter f- here it is." he said, skimming through the pages trying to find a specific piece of information. After a few moments had passed, he found what he was looking for.
On the pages it read "Chapter 4, bruised souls. If you get hurt due to a reason not linked with happiness in any way, your soulmate will suffer the same injuries - physically or emotionally. The amount of pain the initial receiver gets will determine how much it will effect the other soul. Injuries can range from minor bruises to any form of torture. These effects will take place after you and your soulmate pass the age of 16 and won't stop until either one of you die."
"Injuries can range from minor bruises to any form of torture..." Draco repeated.
All Draco could hear was the blood pounding in his ears the sound of the book being dropped on the hard oak floor. Time had slowed down and the realization was only just starting to hit him.
Hermione Granger was his soulmate.
And he sure as hell couldn't do anything about it.
-
a/n chapter 4, wowza
this chapter has a hella load of words so i hope you enjoyed lmao