Friendship Set on Fire

Present Day

This fic was written for the Soulmate Fest hosted by the mods in the FB group, Hermione's Nook.
I hope you all enjoy this short and sweet fic as much as I did writing it~ 
Thank you to my lovely beta @ArielSakura ! 

Thank you for reading, reviewing, and spending your time with me!

P.S. If anyone would like a soundtrack to this story, visit this link:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3noOmz6puprMvf6hvxOupo

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Smoke, grass and parchment.
That's what Hogsmeade always smelled like to Hermione. Ron had always insisted that the alleyways smelt like sweets, but she was convinced he only smelled the sugar due to his constant state of hunger. She laughed lightly to herself as she realized his empty pit of a stomach was now Lavender's problem.

"Stop being bitter." she said lightly, chastising herself as she continued walking towards her destination.

It was not Ron's fault that Hermione was not his soulmate; just as it was not Lavender's fault that she was. Such was the choice of fate. She and Ron had both known going down this romantic road that they were not made for each other. This ache she was feeling was all due to their choices.

The choices they had both made during the war to survive the feeling of loneliness.
The choice to trick themselves that they were okay with being placed in danger. The choice to live a life without their soulmates. Those choices helped most days, as she could pretend that fate was wrong and Ron was who she was made for, that the comfort they sought in one another's arms - or beds - was right. Or at least she could, before Ron ran into Lavender on his first day out of Auror training.

Everything clicked, he told her as he sat on the barstool of her kitchen nook. In a way that it hadn't clicked during their years together at Hogwarts. He had always known of her but he had never taken the time to talk to her.

"'Mione. Damnit, she felt like coming home." he had said, his voice was full of anguish.

Not for her, or her feelings, but for the fact that the years of waiting could've been avoided if he hadn't avoided any and everything Hogwarts related after the war.

Lavender had gone back to their beloved school for her eighth year and Ron went straight into training. He had never wanted to step foot on that battlefield again.
However, even knowing that Lavender had gone back to Hogwarts, he did not wish he had made different choices that kept the Wizarding and Muggle worlds safe. Safe because of the sacrifices everyone had made but because of those choices... Well, Ron wasn't the only person who avoided the scene of multiple deaths. He still held anger towards all of that wasted time. Wasted death.
Hermione understood.

For all that it was worth, she was very proud of the man who had sat across from her at that time. She was certain he had used all of his Gryffindor strength to show up at her doorstep knowing that she was expecting pleasant conversation over a batch of pancakes and then possibly a mid-morning romp to start the day. Alas, there was no such happy ending at the end of that conversation, at least not for her.

Despite the sting in her chest - that came with knowing that once he stepped outside of her door she would be alone with the weight of having not yet met her perfect match, which would then weigh heavier on her soul; She still recognized they were having a pleasant conversation; and oh, how happy she was for her friend.

She still remembers the warmth of her magic as she acknowledged that she was back on the search for her soul mate. That she had been biding her time and now she had to discard the security that Ron had been for her. It was almost as if the fates were reminding her that she would be okay someday.

Reaching over the counter top she had grasped his hand, "You deserve this. I'm so grateful you found her." At the time, she had meant every word.

This was six months ago.