A Soulmate's Love

Chapter 54 - You matter

Play the song above at the *

I spent the entire day with Rita and her assistant, and god were those some of the best hours of my life. Containing my overwhelming excitement was a feat as I didn't want to scare her off, and so, I listened to her speak of our future working together, keeping hold of myself.

I couldn't believe it.

Whenever George would ask me what I wanted to do with my life, I shared dreams I had, knowing that they could never be realized. Even in the Wizarding world, I was always meant to take ownership of Don's law company, and control the hedge fun and charity in my name. But now, I had something that I loved lined up for me. I could follow my passion for the rest of my life, and suddenly, dreaming became much more of a matter of time, rather than a matter of life.

The plan was for me to write on the ongoings of Hogwarts, and serve as a personal, inside look of the establishment parents are sending their children to, as well as documenting monumental events and expanding the Daily Prophet's influence on the Wizarding World. I could do that. And the second I graduate, I have a job working alongside Rita-motherfucking-Skeeter set, meaning that I won't have the stress of searching for a job, or the impending doom waiting for me at home.

After apparating back to her headquarters with a promising goodbye, Rita and her assistant left, leaving me to walk back to my common room as it was well into the night. I didn't even notice the time pass - I had spent all day in that office, and I adored every second of it.

The walk to myself gave me time to truly process everything that had been presented to me today, and it was only now that I realized that only a few hours had changed my entire life. All my childhood was spent with the knowledge of what my predestined future offered, and after a while, I had accepted it. Now, however, I had a passion that I could fight for, and the feeling was incredible.

That weight of not being able to lead a cohesive life with George had been heavy since I'd known I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, and I was now released from those restraints. I could talk freely of our future jobs without feeling the need to stay vague, and I could live how I wanted. Skeeter and Dumbledore had no idea just how badly I wanted and needed this. I could now establish a name for myself without it being thanks to him.

I had been offered the chance to prove to myself, the tabloids, my family, and most of all to the person who decided that I was useless, that I could take care of myself. I was independent of the invisible reins he had been holding over my head all these years. I entered my common room with such a feeling; one that was almost impossible to describe.

"Darling," George's voice made me look up to him, and I hadn't even noticed his previous presence in the secluded candlelit room. I stood still, watching him with a new perspective, one in which I was certain of our lives. It wouldn't be a wish forever; it was becoming my reality.

And then, it was as if it all came to the surface at once as I stared, speechless. He watched me with eyes brimming with questions, and I understood as my actions at the moment must appear completely odd to him, and I found myself thinking, 'if only he knew.'

If only he knew that it wasn't just about getting a job, but about being free. It wasn't just about following a passion; it was about finally being able to be proud of my accomplishments with the knowledge that my legacy and parent's fortune didn't hand it to me. My grades at Hogwarts, the friends and relationships I had formed, the way I learned to love for the very first time - it wasn't because of my money or hatred for them.

Without another moment spent gazing, I ran up to him and jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his torso and entwining my arms tightly around his neck. I held onto him. His warmth, his love, his everything was in my arms.