Hermione liked to think of herself as a very logical person, and as such she could not grasp the silly concept of soulmates. Apparently, long ago, soulmates where more common, but with so many people existing in the world today it was incredibly rare to find your so called other half. The bushy haired woman did not like the notion of being "half" a person and as such pushed the idea to the very back of her head. Her parents weren't soulmates, yet they got along just fine, and Hermione was inclined to believe that people just simply put too much pressure on the whole "one true love" thing.

Of course she did believe in love, she loved her parents after all, but she'd never actually been in love with somebody before. Sure she's dated here and there over the years, but it never amounted to anything. So Hermione simply contented herself with the idea that maybe she wasn't built to love romantically, and happily cheered on her friends as they found love themselves. It was just as well that they did too, because if the brown-haired woman had to watch her two of her friends, Ginny and Harry, dance around each other for another year she might have very well pulled all her hair out in frustration. They were the only people she'd ever known to actually find their soulmate, even if they tended to avoid the subject for the better half of their relationship (though they had been dating other people at the time so the brunette supposed she could cut them some slack for that).

Hermione had known Harry for what seemed like her whole life, as they'd grown up in the same neighborhood and attended the same private school. It was at Hogwarts School for the Gifted that they truly became friends, along with another boy their age named Ron. It was a bit of a rocky start and Harry was definitely closer to the redheaded boy than her, but they made it work. For seven years the three of them practically stuck to each other like glue, they were each others found family. Though Hermione did suppose it was a bit funny that for how close the three of them are, she's only ever met Harry's family due to Ron living so far from them. As such Ginny is the only member of Ron's family she's ever met, but that was all going to change this weekend.

"What about this one?" The red haired woman wondered aloud as she twirled around in an overly ruffled dress.

"Well it is very nice, but I don't really think it's your style." Hermione replied honestly as she took in Ginny's appearance.

"Ugh!" She cried out in frustration, "This is taking forever, I might just elope and forget all about this dress nonsense!"

"Your mum wouldn't fancy that idea," Came the airy reply of Luna.

Luna Lovegood was Ginny's best friend and had known each other for about as long as Hermione had known Harry. The Lovegood's and the Weasley's apparently got on really well and were longtime family friends. Even the Potter's had known and befriended both families long before Hermione had heard or met any of them. Sometimes she felt left out, it seemed like the Granger family passed on their bad habits of sticking to studies rather than friends. Though she supposed she was being a little harsh in her assessment, as her parents had plenty of their own friends.

"I have one more to try on, and if it sucks then we're done for the day!" Ginny said resolutely with a slight pout and turned away to return to the fitting room.

"I have a good feeling about the next one." Luna told Hermione with a knowing smile on her face.

"Oh yeah?" Hermione didn't really know what to make of the spacey woman sometimes, but for all their differences, she really cherished having the blonde in her life.

"Mhm."

Before she could ask her friend to elaborate, Ginny came rushing out in front of them, "What do you think?"

"It's perfect." Luna confessed.

"You look stunning Gin, I think you've found it." Hermione said earnestly.

"I think so too, I think it's the one!" The redheaded woman seemed to be overflowing with excitement as she looked over her appearance in the mirror. It was a pretty lace off-the-shoulder number with feathers at an illusion neckline. The long dress clung to Ginny's curves in all the right places whilst still looking respectable for in front of her family, even with the low cut showing her back.

"Great!" Hermione chirped, "Can we go now?"

"I am getting a bit peckish myself," Luna chimed in.

"Alright I get it, I'll go tell the ladies up front and then we can be on our way."

The dress shopping seemed like ages ago now, though it had only been a little over five months since then. Thankfully Ginny didn't pick out anything horrendous for the bridesmaids (aka her and Luna) to wear, just a simple, sleeveless red satin asymmetrical dress. Technically it was considered burgundy by the stores standards, but really it was red. As Hermione tried on her dress to double check that it fit, she couldn't help but be nervous at the prospect of meeting so many new people soon. While both Harry and Ginny seemed to share a majority of friends that Hermione had interacted with in passing, the redhead had a rather large family. And as such, had to have a rather large ceremony because of it.

Unable to quell her nerves, she removed the dress and placed it neatly back on it's hanger, and decided to head out for some fresh air. At least she wouldn't be completely alone during the ceremony, after all, she had Ron. Though he did have a girlfriend now and perhaps she shouldn't stay by his side too long lest the other woman get the wrong idea? Breathing out a sigh, Hermione opted to head to the park with the hope it would ease her anxieties. She also knew Harry's parents, his godfather, and Luna. So there, that was four people she knew aside from the bride and the groom. Plus, she heard Neville would also be attending the wedding, and they'd always been friendly with each other at Hogwarts. Hermione closed her eyes and willed the rest of her troubles away, and though it was only for a second that was all it took for her to run right into somebody and be knocked right onto her bum.

"Oh I'm so sorry," She immediately apologized while trying to get a good look at the stunned man who also landed on the ground.

"It's alright," He replied in a dazed fashion and Hermione worried he hit his head, "I should've been watching where I was walking."

She thought she saw his gaze slip down to her chest and grew angry at the thought. How dare he! The anger didn't last long as the red light that seemed to be shining from his chest finally caught her attention and all the sudden she felt queasy. Too many thoughts were running through her head as she sent a panicked look down, and sure enough she was glowing red, just as she'd feared. Looking back up at the man, brown eyes met blue, and time seemed to still for just a moment.

"Me too," Hermione hastily replied as she forced herself to her feet, looking anywhere but at the man, "I must be on my way now, bye."

"Wait!" He called after her, but she was already running back to her flat, and he hadn't reacted in time to catch up to her.

There was one thing Hermione Granger knew, and that was that she was not ready for this. She still had the rest of university to get through, not to mention her life plan. She'd never planned for anyone else to come into the picture! She didn't even really believe she'd ever find her soulmate, what was she supposed to do now? The brunette was not prepared for any of this to happen, she was only 24! Harry and Ginny were already getting married, that's not what Hermione wanted! Without really thinking, the woman already dialed the redhead's number, and had the mobile pressed up to her ear.

"Hermione?" Ginny questioned, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah... yeah, no, of course, everything's fine!" Hermione shakily reassured.

The line was silent for a bit before her friend replied, "Really?"

"Yeah, I, uh, I just... wanted to know if there's any last minute wedding things you need?"

"No, everything's here and accounted for, are you sure you're alright Mione? It sounds like you're panicking, do you need me to put Harry on?"

"No!" Hermione cut in before she could really stop herself, "I mean, it's alright. I was running, well not running per say, more like a quick jog."

"You can tell me anything Mione, you don't have to worry when it comes to me, alright?" Just this once, it seemed like Ginny was actually the patient one.

"Alright," Hermione took a deep breath before continuing, "I met my soulmate."

"What?!" An excited shriek came from the device, "What did they look like? Where they attractive? What's their name?"

"He was.. nice looking? I suppose? I didn't really get that good a look. And I don't know, I sort of left before I could get it."

"Left? You left? Wait.. did you run away from your soulmate?!"

"No!... Okay yes, but I didn't know what else to do! I'm not ready to deal with this!"

"And after you gave Harry and I so much crap this past year! You're no better than us."

"I know." Hermione groaned, sliding the hand that was tugging at her hair down the side of her cheek in exasperation.

"Well, you did the right thing by calling me; cause I swear between you, Harry, and my brother you're all emotionally and socially inept."

"Hey!"

"You can't deny it after literally running from your soulmate Hermione Jean Granger! What if you never see him again?"

"Then I can continue with my original life plan as if nothing's happened!" She reasoned.

"Yeah right! You better hope he shows up in your life again, honestly. What am I gonna do with you?"

"I don't want a soulmate Gin..."

"I know Mione, but maybe it's for the best?" Ginny comforted, "Now you won't end up a crazy cat lady."

"Crookshanks is more than enough for me thank you."

"Hah, well as I was saying, this could be good for you. You could do with a little more unpredictability in your life."

"Maybe..."

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah, a little."

"Do you want to come over and get some takeaway? Have a girls night?"

"Would Harry be okay with it?"

"Of course! He'll have me for every other night for the rest of our life, I think he can spare one night without for you."

"Thanks Gin, I'll head on over then."

"Want Luna to join us?"

"Of course, she's the best at making people feel better."

"That she is, see you soon." And with that, Ginny hung up.

That night the three woman had a grand time with each other. Within the first hour Hermione was able to forget why she was there, by the fifth hour she wasn't even afraid to meet the rest of the Weasley clan anymore, and by the next morning she felt more relaxed than she ever had before. When Harry and Ron joined her for lunch the next day Hermione decided to spill the news, causing both her longtime best friends to choke on their coffee in shock, and the two men shared a look that suggested they knew more than they were letting on. Harry, however, quickly recovered and was immediately concerned for her well being, something Hermione was very grateful for. Even though he was to be married soon he still had room in his heart for her.

"You know," Harry spoke in a seemingly indifferent tone, "I've never known you to run from something before. You usually face things head on."

"Yeah, that's not like you." Ron easily agreed, taking a large bite out of his sandwich.

Their words had stuck with her all the way into the weekend, as she met up with Luna and Ginny at the latter's family home to get ready. Unfortunately she couldn't make it to the rehearsal dinner the night before, otherwise perhaps she would've been more prepared for the circumstances that would happen later that day. Or perhaps if Mrs. Weasley hadn't sent all the men of the house away before they arrived, maybe that would've prepared her better? Though now here they were, and Hermione had somehow missed all the signs of him the whole day. Not noticing the pictures of him in the halls, not noticing him as she walked with Luna down the isle, not even noticing him as she turned to face Ginny, her eyes never leaving her friend's face. Hermione was typically more observant than that, though with all the excitement that came with the ceremony, it shouldn't be too surprising that she wasn't focused on anything other than Ginny and Harry. Just wanting their day to go smoothly.

So now here she was, entirely caught off guard by his presence. Ginny had introduced the brunette to all her brothers (aside from Ron, of course) and her parents, and Hermione had to fight the urge to run away as she was introduced to Fred. The brown eyed woman politely shook all their hands and only lingered with Fred for a second longer than the rest. Everybody quickly went off on their own ways, but he seemed intent to stay by her side, though neither had said anything to the other yet.

Fred Weasley seemed to be a bit shorter than Ron was, and had a stockier build as well. Still taller than her of course. Though he had freckles littering his face just like the rest of his family, and his blue eyes seemed to have more green in them than Ron's did. Hermione was intent on ignoring the man though as she made her way around the room, greeting everyone she knew and catching up briefly with Mr. and Mrs. Potter. He seemed to be doing the rounds like her, but she kept feeling his gaze on her, and it was a little unnerving to say the least. This man was supposed to be her soulmate, and yet she had no idea what to say to him, so she mindlessly filled up her plate and sat down at an empty table. It didn't take him long to join her with his own plate of food and he took the seat next to her. The tension between them was thick and Hermione felt like she was suffocating in the awkwardness of it all, Ginny really was right about her being socially inept.

"You look lovely." Fred told her, finally breaking the silence, picking at his food, and not really looking at her.

"Thank you," She replied, sneaking a glance in his direction before blushing and looking away once more when he caught her, "You look nice as well."

"I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon." He spoke honestly, causing Hermione to finally look up and meet his gaze. Their eyes met and a smile found it's way onto Fred's face.

"Nor I you," They simply looked at each other while she worked up enough nerve to apologize, Harry's words ringing in her ears, "I'm sorry for running away that time."

"It's all good, was quite the shock."

"Yeah."

The silence between them was shorter this time as Fred asked, "Would you like to dance?"

"Yes, I'd like that very much." And she placed her hand in his in spite of all her previous reservations.

And they danced the night away, neither noticing the knowing looks from several friends and family members. Hermione might not have ever been in love before, but if he was willing to work past the awkwardness of the situation, than she would too. Her original life plan had needed some revisions anyway, so really, it all worked out in the end. Perhaps the whole concept of soulmates wasn't a silly as she'd originally thought.