Friendship Set on Fire

Present Day

The crunch of the gravel underneath her boots brought her mind back to her current task, which was heading towards the boutique that had opened earlier this year. Hermione was certain that she would find a wedding present Lavender would love inside. In the muggle world, people would assume there was a back-handed reason for such a quick marriage. However, in the wizarding equivalent, when you could go actual centuries before meeting your soulmate, long engagements were frowned upon. Why wait?

Goddess knows she wouldn't. If it ever happened.

Centuries.

Literal Centuries.

According to the books she's read on the subject, 453 years was the longest amount of time it has taken for someone to find their mate. However, there had to have been longer amounts of time, logically thinking. There are so many people in the world and as proven with Andromeda Black, your soulmate did not necessarily have to be from the wizarding community.

Frankly, she shouldn't be so morose about the situation. She had only been nineteen for four years, making her current age twenty-three. Four years couldn't compare to the length of time in the stories of others, known or unknown. It was just that... they could be anywhere. That truth is what made the whole situation so nerve-racking for her.
Hermione didn't enjoy the unknown. She enjoyed clear facts so that she could understand and prepare for what was to come. Which is why, ever since she first found out about this little clause that came with inheriting your magic, she had dedicated her time to research.

She was attending her first week at Hogwarts when she found out exactly what was going on. She had noticed that something was out of the norm when she ventured through Hogsmeade Village gathering her school supplies. Which to be fair, everything was abnormal compared to her upbringing with being muggle. She was certain however, that no matter which world she was in it was still uncommon for teenagers to be shop owners or authors. Not everyone was young, as there were quite a few adults around however, there were enough young folk in a position of worth to take notice.

She really knew something suspicious was going on once she arrived at Hogwarts and her potions Professor was not only handsome, but also a teenager. At first she assumed he was the teachers assistant, but there was no mistaking his tone for anything less than authoritative. That classroom belonged to him.

Hermione didn't want to be rude and ask Professor Snape about his age directly so she did the next best thing, she asked Professor Mcgonnegal, who was not as elderly as she imagined she would have been for how smart she was, but she was also clearly not a youth.

Professor Mcgonnegal would've been happy to explain the phenomenon that was finding one's soulmate, but having already known about Hermione's eagerness to learn she instead showed her to the section in the library which held but a small selection of text for her to browse on the subject.

"It isn't much," the woman explained, "Most books on the subject have been written by prominent families and handed down to their heirs as they grew." she paused and the professors face grew distant. "What we have here are texts who did not have an heir to go to. Whether their authors passed on without children or someone simply hasn't found their other half. The previous owners kindly donated them to Hogwarts for young students who had curiosities such as yours."

Needless to say, Hermione checked out as many books that she could and devoured them in her room, hidden by the curtains around her bed.