Title: Harry Potter and the Marked Mate

Summary: In a world where Soulmate-Identifying Marks exist and signal when couples are Soul-Mates….

Harry Potter grew up knowing he had a Soul-Mate, thanks to the Soulmate-Identifying Mark on his right arm. He had many childhood friends, and while a few of them had Marks of their own, none of them matched his Mark. His own twin sister, Rose, had known her Soul-Mate - their own godbrother! - since they were babies! So why hadn't he met his?

That all changes when Hermione Granger and her parents visit Gringotts the first time they visit Diagon Alley.

Harry Potter will soon be meeting his Marked Mate...

Rating: M

Warnings: Soulmate Identifying Marks; Soul-Bond (Sort of); Betrothal Contracts; Lily Potter Lives; James Potter Lives; Sirius Doesn't Go To Azkaban; Twins-Who-Lived; Lords and Ladies, Ancient and Noble Houses; Graphic Underage Sexual Situations; Severe Character Bashing: Albus Dumbledore; Severus Snape; some Weasleys; and others...

Ships: Harry/Hermione, James/Lily, Sirius/Amelia, Rose Potter(OFC)/Eli Black(OMC); Neville Longbottom/Hannah Abbot; Susan Bones/Terry Boot; Padma Patil/Ivan Blishwick (OMC)

Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns the characters and the world of Harry Potter. I do not. I just like to play in her sandbox. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's Note: This story takes place in the same Universe as The Free Use Experience, except there is no Free Use Experience in this story. As in that story, James and Lily live, Harry and Rose are twins, the whole family survived the Halloween Incident in '81 in Godric's Hollow, Sirius didn't go to Azkaban, and he and Amelia married (Amelia is Sirius' age), around the same time as James and Lily, and have children. Except in this story, James and Lily, and Sirius and Amelia have a few more children than they do in FUE.

I changed computers recently, after my last one had some real problems. This one is taking a bit to get adjusted to. I started using Google Docs to write my stories, and upload my stories on. So if this story has any formatting issues, it is because of my new exploration into using Google Docs. This is also the first time I've used the Copy-And-Paste feature on this site.

So while I adjust to this, and continue on my WIP stories, here is another entry into a story I might start working on and posting in the future. It is a Soulmate-Identifying Mark story, and sort of Soul-Bond, but probably not as extreme as the Soul-Bond in my Bonds of Time Series.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1
Finally!

Saturday, September 22nd, 1990 - Potter Manor, Northampton - Late Afternoon

Lily Potter stepped into her husband's Study in Potter Manor, and found James Potter seated at his desk.

"Melina said you wanted to see me?" Lily asked, as she sat down in a chair on the closest side of the desk.

"I received a letter from our Gringotts Account Manager, Keeper Ragnok The Sixth a few minutes ago," James said. "Harry's Soul-Mate has finally been identified."

Lily smiled, feeling her eyes go misty. "Oh, James. After all this time. Harry's been waiting for years. Who is she? I assume it's a girl, right?"

Lily knew Soul-Mates between two males were possible, if rare. But their son, Harry, was the Heir of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. It would devastate not only James, but Harry himself, if he couldn't marry a girl in the future who would give him children. As Heir, that was not just his duty, but it was his dream.

"It's a girl," James said, smiling. "You're going to like her, I think. She's a Muggleborn, who just had her eleventh birthday a few days ago. She and her parents just visited Diagon Alley today. As you know, most Muggleborn are usually identified by the Ministry the first time they do accidental magic…"

"They're visited unknowingly by a Ministry worker," Lily said, "the Muggleborn's parents Compelled to take the child to a Muggle Hospital. They unknowingly meet a Healer there, where they are given Magical Inoculations. And if they have a Soul Mark, it is magically hidden from view, and any knowledge of it between the child and the parents Obliviated. For the Muggleborn's privacy, The Mark isn't even recorded in the Ministry or at Gringotts for Muggleborns like it is for magical-raised witches and wizards, until it is uncovered the first time they visit Gringotts."

"It has been this way for over a Century," James continued, "ever since the first Marked Muggleborn was killed by their Soul-Mate's blood-bigot father, who hated that his pureblood son shared a Mark with a Muggleborn. The son killed himself two weeks later, because he couldn't live without his Soul-Mate. Ever since then, Muggleborn - especially Marked Muggleborn - have been protected with a lot more severe laws."

"Mostly because their Soul-Mates might be purebloods or highborn half-bloods," Lily said, nodding. "So who is she?"

"Her name is Hermione Jean Granger," James said, "Just turned eleven on the 19th. Was met by Minerva McGonagall that very evening - she's still very dedicated to her role in introducing Muggleborns to our world, even during the school year, it appears. Oh, and by the way… yes… she's related to that Granger."

"Hector Dagworth-Granger?" Lily asked, her eyes wide. "Founder of the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers?"

"Related through Hector's Squib Grandson, who took the Dagworth out of his name, when he left magical society in self-exile," James said, nodding. "Hermione's the first magical in a few generations in the Noble House of Dagworth-Granger. Her father is just the latest first-born Squib in a few generations of first-born Granger Squibs, starting with Hector's Grandson."

"Alright," Lily said, "So what are we going to do?"

"Well, due to the fact that Hermione is the Marked Mate of our son," James said, "Keeper Ragnok now is the Account Manager for Hermione, as well as the Noble House of Dagworth-Granger. Hermione doesn't know of her Legacy yet, apparently, nor does she know about Marks and Soul-Mates. So I'm going to have Ragnok send a letter to the Grangers asking for a meeting, so he can inform her of her Legacy. You, Harry and I will visit Gringotts on the day of the arranged meeting, so we can meet the Grangers."

"Rose can spend the day with Eli and the Blacks on the day of the meeting," Lily said. "She keeps asking when she can spend time with her Marked Mate, even though she saw him last week."

"We have been waiting to officially pen a Contract between Rose and Eli," James said, "Even though they are fated to marry anyway. We've been waiting in order to not make Harry too jealous of his twin sister and her Marked Mate, who also just so happens to be his best friend. We'll speak with the Grangers about Betrothal Contracts, and if they agree, then we'll discuss a Contract with Sirius and Amelia."

Lily sniffled. "Our babies are growing up so quickly. In a year they'll be at Hogwarts, and now they both have their Soul-Mates."

"They'll always be our babies, Lily - and of course, there are our other babies, let's not forget about them," James said, then eyed Lily's six-month pregnant belly - she was due around Christmas, "Including the one growing inside you. Hopefully this one won't be our first Marked child since Harry and Rose."

Lord James and Lady Lily Potter were the proud parents of seven wonderful children with another one on the way. Harry and Rose, age 10, were their first pair of twins - and their only Marked children. Then there was Iris, who was 8 - Lily had been unknowingly pregnant with her the horrifying night the dark wizard, Voldemort, attacked them on Halloween of '81. Next there was Charlus - named after his grandfather - who was 6, and would turn 7 the following month. Then there was Ivy, who had just turned 5. Finally, there were the two youngest - and second pair of Potter Twins - two girls, Siri and Dorea, who were 3. Siri was named after their Uncle - and James' best friend - Sirius Black, while Dorea was named after their grandmother.

They had planned on Siri and Dorea being their last children, after Lily had given her husband what he had dreamed of - a Quidditch Team full of Children. Then Lily discovered she was pregnant a few months ago. Lily was now pregnant with their third son, and they were still debating names. Her due-date was projected between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

James had gotten magically 'snipped' at St. Mungo's the very same day Lily discovered she was pregnant. He had come home, after she had spent hours dealing with morning sickness and a houseful of children. Lily had told him he had gotten her knocked up again, then hexed him several times.

"Go to St. Mungo's and fix all that up!" Lily snarled, "And don't come back until you lose the ability to knock me up again! I gave you a Quidditch Team full of children, Potter! I didn't promise you a Reserve player! How can an only son of generations of only sons, give his wife eight children?"

Lily Potter loved her children. She just stopped liking being pregnant after being bedridden for the last month during her last pregnancy.

"We'll talk to Harry and Rose about this after dinner this evening," Lily said. "The rest of the children, even Iris, is too young for this. Especially since none of them are Marked. Iris still doesn't like how her favorite sister, Rose, hangs out with Eli more than she does with her."

"If I had to bet on which of our children turned out gay, it would be Iris," James said, with a smirk. "Not that her closeness to Rose has anything to do with that."

"Don't make me think about another future love-life of one of my children," Lily muttered. "I just discovered my baby boy's Marked Mate has been found."

"Thank Merlin for that," James chuckled. "When I realized our son's Marked Mate wasn't anybody whose Mark is registered with the Ministry and Gringotts, I thought our son had a foreign witch for a Marked Mate. Ambassador Delacour, the French Ambassador to the Ministry of Magic, has two daughters - they're Veela, like their mother. I was tempted to ask him if either of his daughters have Marks. His youngest is about Harry's age - she turns ten in December. The eldest is… twelve or thirteen. I was so tempted… they're beautiful girls, almost obscenely beautiful."

"Would you have wanted one of the Ambassador's daughters to be his Marked Mate?" Lily asked.

"Honestly? No," James said, shaking his head. "As I said, they're Veela. Which means…"

Lily recognized her husband's thoughts immediately. "They can only have daughters. They could have never given Harry, the future Lord of the House of Potter, an Heir, only Heiresses. Which could have only meant a Line-Continuation Contract for Harry's children, or it passes onto Charlus."

"One of the reasons I had resisted my temptations to ask Ambassador Delacour," James said, "Doesn't matter anyway now. We found his Marked Mate. She'll probably be able to give him lots of children, including an heir and a spare, just like you have with me."

"Why, because she's Muggleborn?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow; she snickered when he spluttered. "Relax, I was joking."

"Our dear future daughter-in-law is barely Muggleborn," James said, "Technically she's Squib-born. What she is, is the Heiress of a House long thought to be extinct. Her son is the future Lord of the Noble House of Dagworth-Granger. By the time Harry and Hermione's second-born son - the future Lord Dagworth-Granger - is born, his house might be Ancient and Most Noble. I'll have to convince Harry and Hermione to Betroth the future Lord Dagworth-Granger to one of the future daughters of the Children of the Great Alliance, just to make sure Hermione's Legacy remains safe and in good hands."

"For Merlin's sake, James Potter!" Lily exclaimed. "You're talking about the future Betrothal of two children who won't probably exist for… a decade at least!"

"Lily, my dearest," James said, "I'm a Lord, and our eldest son will not only be the next Lord of my House, but the father of two future Lords of major Houses. These are things I am supposed to do. Especially since I'm also the inherited leader of the Great Alliance my father created. If my father was still around, he'd agree with everything I am doing. Hell, he'd be the one doing this. Especially since Hermione's from a House thought extinct."

"You don't even know our son's Marked Mate yet, James," Lily said. "I think you shouldn't worry about any of this until we meet her and her family. Imagine what she and her parents will even think about something like this."

"Your parents reacted pretty well," James said, grinning.

"My parents were just happy my Marked Mate wasn't Severus Snape," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "They were afraid he had met me, and told me I was a witch for that reason alone. They were relieved when they realized he didn't have a Mark."

James snorted, and smiled. "I always told you I liked your parents right from the start."

Lily shook her head, amused. James had always been jealous about how Severus Snape had been Lily's first friend. Severus had fancied Lily, and was extremely jealous when he discovered Lily had a Marked Mate, and that it was James Potter. Lily had recognized how toxic her friendship with Severus had become, once she and James became close during their first year at Hogwarts, while getting to know their Marked Mate. Suffice it to say, her three year friendship with Severus had ended halfway through their first year, when Severus had attempted to curse James.

Severus had been given a stern lecture by Professors McGonagall and Slughorn about what would have happened to both James and Lily had Severus cursed Lily's Mate badly. He had been given a detention for the entire year, and was closely watched throughout his entire education at Hogwarts, with the stern warning that if he did anything again to James or Lily, he'd be expelled. Oddly, the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, decided to avoid the entire drama, even though he was usually closely involved with security toward Marked Mates. He had let McGonagall and Slughorn take over the entire thing.

Somehow, Severus had gotten through his seven years at Hogwarts without being expelled or even suspended. James theorized that Albus Dumbledore had something to do with it. Lily had finally agreed with those theories when they learned Albus had named Severus the new Potions Master at Hogwarts, replacing Horace Slughorn during the summer of '82.

"Yes, well, we don't know if Miss Granger's parents will be like mine," Lily said. "For example, they had three years before Professor McGonagall visited my house to get used to the idea of me being a witch. Hermione and her parents have known for -"

"Less than a week," James said, nodding.

"And now they're about to find out their only daughter has a Soul-Mate," Lily said, "that, at eleven years of age, she's meeting the boy she's going to marry."

"Most students at Hogwarts are usually eleven when they meet the one they're going to marry," James said.

"That's not my point," Lily said. "She's destined to marry Harry. Instead of going through all the motions like unmarked people, who date and have break-ups and all of that drama, their daughter really has no choice about who she'll marry. Hermione might be okay with that, simply because she and Harry were always meant to be together. You know how it is - nobody besides Harry will ever feel right to her when it comes to romantic feelings."

"You're right," James said, "There was absolutely nobody else I even felt anything for, aside from you."

"Same goes for me - Hermione and Harry will soon realize that too," Lily said, "But her parents? They won't understand, not at first. They know nothing about Marked Mates, they'll probably find it horrifying that Hermione's been Marked since - well, probably the day Harry was born. They'll discover all of this just days after they find out their daughter is a witch. That's… it's going to be tough. We may have some difficulties with Hermione's parents. Hermione and Harry will probably have it much easier than we will with her parents and it is them who are the ones directly involved with this."

"Harry will definitely take it much easier," James said. "He's been waiting for this since… since he asked us about his Mark, after we told Rose about her and Eli. He'll help Hermione get through this. More than we, and her parents, can."

"Just like you and I did," Lily said, smiling. "If they're anything like us, they'll be best friends almost immediately. First kiss before Christmas. And then there's..."

"Sex," James asked.

"You think they'll have sex earlier than we did?" Lily asked, "Around the same time? Later?"

Lily and James had made love for the first time on Christmas Eve of their fourth year. Due to their Bond as Soul-Mates strengthening after their first time together, they had an active sex life after that. Sex between Marked Mates, even at a young age, wasn't considered a taboo. In fact, the first time the Marked Mates engaged in sex, whilst at Hogwarts, and their Bonds strengthened to the next stage, they were usually placed in "Private Married Quarters". While they weren't technically married at that stage, their sex life usually became active after their first time. So it was considered only proper they were moved into Private Married Quarters. James and Lily had moved into these Quarters starting right after Christmas Break in their fourth year.

"Depends on how quickly their bond forms," James said, "If there's ever an incident where one of them saves the other's life…"

"The bond might bring them to that stage," Lily said, nodding. "Didn't happen between us, though. We just… felt it was the right time. I hope that is what happens between them too, and Rose and Eli as well."

"We haven't actually given either of the twins the Talk yet, have we?" James asked, "Bollocks. We're going to have to do that soon."

"As long as they understand we're not encouraging them to do anything," Lily said.

"Obviously," James said.

"It is a good thing Rose and Eli are facing the same thing as Harry and Hermione," Lily said, "Otherwise, there would be some jealousy there when it came to Harry and Hermione spending too much time with each other, instead of with Rose and Eli, and vice-versa."

"True," James said, nodding. "So… after dinner then?"

"Agreed," Lily said, "When are you going to write back to Keeper Ragnok?"

"As soon as we're finished here," James said, "There'll be a few letters going back and forth before it is finally decided when the meeting will take place. So we won't know tonight when the meeting will be. We'll just tell Harry it will be soon."

"Right," Lily said, nodding.

"Wonder what Hermione's Mark looks like," James said.

"A Lion, obviously," Lily said, chuckling. "Harry's is a lioness. They're probably either mated Animagi, or have matching Patronuses."

"Or both," James said. "Like ours."

"Or both," Lily agreed. "I was rather angry when the doe turned out to be my Animagus and my Patronus. I wanted to be a Tiger Animagus so badly."

"I remember," James laughed. "I still say the same thing I did back then. It was just more inarguable proof that we're Mates, and were always fated to be. Even if we didn't have Marks, I'd say the same thing."

"I know," Lily said, smiling. "Me too. I love you, my Mate… even if you knocked me up after I forbid you to."

"I love you too, Lily, my doe whose always proved she was more fierce than a tiger," James said, "And I'm still not apologizing for that. Because you won't accept it. For two reasons. One, it takes two to tango. And two, you'll take it back once this little one is in your arms in the hospital."

Lily sighed, knowing her husband was right. It was one of his more annoying qualities… to be able to win a good portion of their arguments.

"Well, I better find out whether the nanny-elves are still in charge or the kids have taken over the Manor," she said, with a laugh. "I'll see you for dinner, if not sooner."

"Aye, see you then, love," James said.

Lily smiled, stood up with some difficulty due to her belly, and walked around the desk. James stood up, placed a hand on Lily's belly, and kissed her. After a good half-a-minute, Lily backed away. She smiled, when James bent down, lifted her shirt up and kissed her belly. When James sat back down, Lily walked out of the office.

Gods, she loved that man. Marked Mate or not, there would never have been another man for her. She was quite sure of that.

Saturday, September 22nd, 1990 - Potter Manor, Northampton - Evening

Harry James Potter, Heir of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter, frowned as he stared at the Lioness Mark on his arm. He was half-focused on eating his meal, and wasn't even listening to his younger siblings as they babbled on to their parents about their 'adventures' they had gotten up to that day. In fact, it was like he was under water, while listening to them talking.

His mark had changed. He knew that for a fact. He thought he was seeing things earlier that afternoon. Harry glanced over at his sister's black panther Mark, which signified she was the Marked Mate of Elvendork 'Eli' Black. He realized something - her Mark had always been darker than his. That was, until earlier this afternoon...

"Dad?" Harry spoke up, suddenly.

James turned from Ivy, who he had been listening to. "Yes, Harry?"

"My Mark's gotten darker recently," Harry said, "I noticed it while I was swimming this afternoon."

The table got quiet after that. Rose looked shocked for a moment, before her expression turned to excitement, Iris looked thoughtful, and their other siblings looked a bit confused. Well, aside from the youngest two - the other set of twins - they just looked upset their mother wasn't paying attention to them now. Harry noticed his parents glance quickly at one another, obviously having a silent discussion, like they sometimes did. Harry wasn't sure if it was a parent thing or a Marked Mate thing.

James cleared his throat. "We'll discuss it after dinner, son."

"Alright," Harry said

And just like that, everything went back to how it had been before Harry had spoken up. Well, aside from Rose, who would glance at her twin, and smile, from time to time.

"What is it?" Harry whispered to his twin after the third time she did this in less than five minutes.

"I'm happy for you," Rose said, in a low voice as well.

"Er… what?" Harry asked.

"Until today, your Mark was faded more than mine was," Rose said, "Why? Mine's always been this way because Eli's always been close by."

Harry's mouth went dry. "You… you mean…?"

"You'll meet your Mate soon," Rose said, smiling, "Mum and Dad will likely talk to you about it after dinner. Might involve me in the meeting as well, since I'm Marked as well and know more about the subject than you do, since…"

"Since you've known your Mate since we were born," Harry muttered. "I know."

"Eli and I didn't know we were Mates until we were - what - six, seven?" Rose asked.

"Because we didn't know what our Marks meant until then," Harry said, "Until we were curious as to why our siblings didn't have one when we did."

"True," Rose said.

"Who do you think she is?" Harry asked.

"Could be a bloke," Rose teased; then sighed when Harry frowned. "Sorry, I know that's always been a titchy topic for you. She may be a foreign witch… or… she's Muggleborn, like Mum. Probably the latter. Which means she's joining us in Hogwarts next year. Recently she had her birthday - very recent, this month if she's going to be our classmate - and received her Hogwarts letter. She probably visited Gringotts recently as well.

"I don't know if she knows about her Mark - Mum told us about Marked Muggleborn, remember? Anyway, even if she doesn't know about it yet, Gringotts does. The Goblins saw through the Notice-Me-Not Charms - which cover a Muggleborn's Mark during their childhood. And they connected it to yours, through the Marked Mate Registry."

Rose - Harry had decided a long time ago - was infinitely smarter than he was. He considered himself an intelligent person, who was good at several subjects. But Rose was still much smarter than him. Well, except for dueling and Defense. It was his best subject, and he was better than Rose at that. She was a quick thinker, and really smart when it came to problem solving, tactical thinking and theorycraft. He knew she was likely right about her theory.

"I'll trust your judgement," Harry said, "We'll find out soon anyway."

Rose nodded, and smiled, then returned to her meal. Harry sighed and continued on his own meal, as he thought about what Rose had said. He wasn't sure how he felt about the idea of his Marked Mate being a Muggleborn. He had nothing against Muggleborn - his own mother was one, after all. Due to his mother having grown up in the Muggle society for the first several years of her life, his mother had been quite learned in the subject of the Muggle society. She had made sure her children grew up with 'a foot in both societies' as Lily Potter liked to call it. So, Harry knew a lot about how Muggles lived.

Hmm, he mused, That might, in fact, make it easier for me and this Muggleborn girl to get along. I'll know a lot about how the society she grew up and lived in. The society her parents live in. She'll know little about this society - even if she has read a few books about it before we meet - so I am sure she'll want to know all about the new society she's joining into. That would be a nice ice-breaker to begin our relationship with.

Most pureblood, and a good portion of half-blood, witches and wizards knew very little about Muggles and the Muggle society. This caused a lot of strife early on in friendships and relationships between Muggleborn and half-bloods/purebloods, whether they were Marked or not. Muggleborn, those who weren't Marked, usually only became good friends - or romantically involved - with other Muggleborn, or those Half-Bloods, who were well-learned of the Muggle society. Though Lily did tell her children that she probably would have fallen in love with James no matter whether or not they were Marked.

Thinking about all of this made Harry feel a little better. But even so, he still felt a little disconcerted about it. Back when he and Rose learned about their Marks, Harry had hoped his Marked Mate would be one of the friends he had grown up with, especially one of those in the group known as the Children of the Great Alliance. It turned out that nine of the Children of the Great Alliance were Marked. A little over half the number of Children in the group. Ironically… Harry was the odd one out.

Every single one of the Marked in the Children of the Great Alliance, aside from him, were Mated to one of the other Marked. Harry's twin sister, Rose, was Mated with his best friend, Elvendork "Eli" Black. Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbot were Mated. Terry Boot and Susan Bones were Mated. And Padma Patil was Mated to Ivan Blishwick.

Ivan, though only two months older than Padma and her twin sister, was one year ahead of his Mate at Hogwarts. He was currently in his first year at Hogwarts, simply because he was born in mid-August, right before the deadline for the '90-'91 First Year Class of students. Padma's birthday was in October, therefore she would begin as a First Year the following September.

Daphne Greengrass, another Child of the Great Alliance, had been quite upset when she heard Harry was Marked. She had hoped she might end up Betrothed and married to him one day. Harry had been quite shocked about that…

"I'm sorry, Daphne," seven year old Harry had said, "I had no idea you felt that way. I don't… er... "

"You don't feel anything for me that way," Daphne said, frowning, "I know. And you never will. It is rare for Marked Mates to be attracted to anyone else but their Mate."

"I'm sorry," Harry said, again; he was feeling very awkward.

"It is alright," Daphne said, "I'll find someone else. We're still friends, though, right?"

Harry had agreed with Daphne, and their friendship was still as solid after all this time. There was an understanding between the two friends, that they could still be friends, no matter how Daphne felt. She promised never to interfere in his relationship with his Marked Mate.

I'm going to have to write to Daphne first, before I write to my other friends, Harry decided, She needs to know I've found my Mate. Hopefully she won't be too displeased that it is a Muggleborn. Merlin, Harry, you don't even know who this girl is, and you're making decisions already. Wait until Mum and Dad tell you about her!

Dinner was soon followed by dessert, and when that was finished, James and Lily asked the third eldest Potter child, Iris, and Melina, the Head Potter House-Elf to escort the rest of the children to the nursery, while they talked to Harry and Rose.

"They're not in trouble are they?" Ivy, aged five, asked, with a cute little pout.

"No, sweetheart," Lily said, smiling. "We just need to talk to them about something. Go on, now, with your siblings and Melina."

Iris took Ivy's hand, and led her and Charlus out of the dining room. Melina, the House-Elf, held Siri and Dorea's hands and followed the others out.

"First off, I'm going to begin with this, before we say anything else," James said. "Harry, your Marked Mate has been found. It is a girl, her name is Hermione Granger, and she's a Muggleborn. She just turned eleven on the nineteenth of September."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, especially at the confirmation that his Marked Mate was a girl. He didn't have anything against men who were attracted to men, but he was happy to know he wasn't attracted to the same gender.

Hermione, Harry mused, What a beautiful name.

"I'm afraid we don't know too much about her yet," James continued. "This afternoon, I received post from our Account Manager, Keeper Ragnok The Sixth at Gringotts. Professor McGonagall visited the Grangers, the day of Hermione's birthday. The Grangers visited Diagon Alley earlier today, and went to Gringotts. While at Gringotts, the Goblins discovered Hermione had a Mark, but told neither her nor her parents about it yet. It was discovered that her Mark was a Lion."

"Mine is a Lioness," Harry said, looking at his Mark on his arm.

"Yes," James said. "Lion and Lioness. A Mated Pair. It is a confirmation that the two of you are Marked Mates."

"Do you remember what we told you about Marked Muggleborn?" Lily asked, "How their Marks are hidden, through enchantments cast upon them by Ministry representatives, after their first incident of accidental magic?"

Harry and Rose nodded.

"Gringotts doesn't tell Marked Muggleborn about their Marks," Lily said, "without consulting first with the Muggleborn's Marked Mate, and their family."

"Once Gringotts discovered who Hermione's Mate was," James said, "Keeper Ragnok took charge, and wrote to me. It turns out Hermione is a descendant of Hector Dagworth-Granger, the Founder of the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers, through his Squib Grandson. She is, in fact, the first magical descendant of the Noble House of Dagworth-Granger in several generations. So she is the Heiress of the House of Dagworth-Granger. As such, Keeper Ragnok has taken over the Account of that House."

"That's pretty cool," Harry said, smiling; he had heard of the Society of Potioneers before, of course, his great-grandfather had been a member of it, and had invented several Potions still used to this day.

"Hermione knows nothing of her Legacy yet, nor her Mark," James said. "So earlier tonight, before dinner, I sent a letter to Keeper Ragnok, and asked him to invite Hermione and her parents to a meeting, so Keeper Ragnok can explain Hermione's legacy to them. Following that, he'll tell them about her Mark. I suggested the meeting be held next Saturday. Between now and then, we'll figure out a way to properly and politely meet with the Grangers, so you and your Marked Mate can meet, and we can discuss what will happen in the future."

Harry cleared his throat, which suddenly felt constricted. "Sounds… sounds good to me. You don't know anything else about her yet. What does she look like? Her interests? Anything?"

"Nothing yet," James said, then snorted. "We don't even know her parents' names yet, son."

"Ah, well, okay," Harry said, "Well, I'm excited to meet her… finally. Um… can I tell my friends anything about this yet?"

James and Lily looked at each other.

"I tell you what," James said. "Keep it quiet - even from the Children of the Great Alliance; and Rose, even from Eli - until next Sunday. Next Sunday, we'll be having a gathering here with the Great Alliance, and the Children. I hope we can have that meeting with the Grangers on Saturday, so we can announce this news the following day."

"Alright," Harry nodded, "I think we can do that."

"Yeah," Rose said. "I can do that for my brother, my twin - even if it means keeping this from Eli for another week."

"We're doing it out of respect for Hermione," Lily said, "Imagine if the news got out before Hermione found out about it?"

Harry winced. "Yeah, that would be bad."

"It definitely wouldn't be a good way to start off your relationship with her," Rose agreed.

Harry blushed. Even though he knew she meant it in an innocent way, the word 'relationship' meant a lot of things to him now. Over the past couple of years, he had watched as the Marked Mates in the Children of the Great Alliance - especially Rose and Eli - began to connect more and hang out together. Only as friends for now, of course. But all the Marked pairs were exploring what was the very beginning stages.

A couple of days after the combined birthday party for Rose, Harry, Eli Black, and Neville Longbottom's tenth birthday - Neville's birthday was July 30th, Harry and Roses was July 31st, and Eli Black's was August 1st - Rose admitted to Harry that Eli had kissed her during the birthday party.

Harry had tried to contemplate that for hours. Rose, his twin sister had her first kiss with her Marked Mate, before Harry had even discovered who his Marked Mate was!

Now, Harry would be meeting his own Mate in a week, if everything worked out well. He hoped he and Hermione could explore their new relationship - get to know each other, and hang out - enough before they began their first year at Hogwarts.

"I don't know yet, Harry," Lily said, when Harry voiced the last part, "I am sure she's currently in what will be her final year of Muggle education before she goes to Hogwarts. So during the week, she'll be quite busy with that. I am sure we can arrange it so you and Hermione can visit each other during a couple weekends a month. We'll see if Hermione wants to learn some stuff about magic and the magical society, and what it means to be a witch, before she goes to Hogwarts. That would give her a good reason to visit Potter Manor for a few hours on weekends."

"I'll think about giving you and Hermione a couple of Communication Mirrors," James said, "like I use sometimes with Uncles Sirius and Remus. So the two of you can talk to each other during the week. Probably only at night though, since she'll still be in Muggle school."

"If anything, by next summer when Hermione finishes her school education," Lily said, "You'll be able to hang out more often. By then, you'll probably know her a lot better, even if it is just communicating via mirrors."

Harry nodded. "How was it… with the two of you? This is pretty similar to when you found out you were a Marked pair, wasn't it?"

"Your mother and I didn't meet until July - a couple months before we started Hogwarts," James said. "That was when we finally had a meeting arranged between my parents and I, and your mother and her parents. It was at Gringotts, like ours will probably be with the Grangers. It was pretty awkward at first. However, one of the most memorable things about that day is this: one of the last things I heard Lily's mother say to her father before they left was: 'he's leagues better than that Snape boy.'"

Lily rolled her eyes, and Harry and Rose chuckled. Their parents had told them about Severus Snape.

"That was probably the best thing they said about your father that day," Lily said, sighing. "They were still completely shocked about everything they heard. How I basically already had a boyfriend, who was decided by Fate and Destiny. How I had 'no choice' of who my future husband would be. They weren't happy that an eleven year old boy they had just met had just basically 'claimed' me. How he was going to be my future husband, without taking the proper steps beforehand.

"I told my parents James and I had plenty of time to take those proper steps. What was even better was this: I wasn't going to have to go on several dates with different boys. I wouldn't have to deal with boys who weren't right for me… or have shoddy brief relationships with bad break-ups. I had already found the one who was basically the right boy, man and future husband for me. We could still hang out, date, and go through all that relationship stuff. We would just have a much better journey through it all, then we would have, had we not been Marked Mates."

"And that was exactly what happened," James said, "Okay, perhaps we were a bit more courageous, more sure of ourselves, and more confident about where the whole journey was headed. Because of that, and our Bond as Mates, the relationship might have gone a little faster that it would have."

"Not too fast, James," Lily said, "Actually it was a pretty proper, realistic timeline, similar to how any successful couple begins and goes through their journey. We just had the advantage of knowing we were perfect for each other. Don't get me wrong. We had our arguments and bad days."

"Oh, definitely," James agreed, grinning slyly at his wife, "But we made up… we always made up. And most of the time, the fights were brief. Sometimes we argued, so we could make up. Because sometimes making up is pretty fun, even if you have to sacrifice a few bad arguments and bad days to get to do it."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't encourage that. Arguing is inevitable, but it also isn't fun. Especially between Mated pairs. We Marked Mates feel more upset, and our emotions run higher, when we fight with our Mate. Because we're destined to be with each other for the rest of our lives. Why do we fight, when we know how we feel about one another? Why do we sometimes make each other unhappy, when we're always happiest when we're with our Mate?

"That's the trials we face, and you will face with your Mates throughout the next few years. But suffer through those times, my sweethearts, because you come out stronger, and your relationship with your Mate comes out stronger. And those rough times will seem minimal and small and unimportant compared to everything else you feel and experience with your Meets."

"Anyway, where were we before your mother decided to rant," James said, grinning when his wife scoffed at him, "Before we got to Hogwarts, well, back then, we didn't have mirrors to communicate with. We were pen-pals, sending letters back and forth. Suitably efficient, in some ways, but it didn't bring forth the same emotions of talking to each other. It wasn't enough. At all."

"No, it was not," Lily agreed. "Fast forward to the first of September. Severus Snape, you know about him - I was still friends with him, though not for much longer. He tried to monopolize my time on the Hogwarts Express. That only worked for about two hours, before I couldn't resist finding my Mate. So I left Severus, took my carry-on bag and searched for your father. I found him with your Uncle Sirius and Aunt Amelia, who, as you know, were also Marked Mates."

"Your mother was pretty upset that I didn't look for her," James said, grinning. "But once she found me, I introduced her to Sirius and Amelia, who knew some stuff about her, cause I told them. Then she told me she wanted to talk to me. I grabbed my carry-on bag, and we found a private compartment that was empty, and spent most of the train ride talking and getting to know each other better than we had with the letters. I also impressed your mother with some cool magic - a Notice-Me-Not Charm - which successfully kept away Snape, as well as Sirius and Amelia.

"It was amazing… but I wouldn't wish either of you any of that. To have to wait so long for your first long, proper conversation with your Marked Mate, your soul-mate, the one you were meant for, to be on that train? Nope. I've succeeded with Rose, of course. But Harry… you and Hermione won't experience the same things your Mother and I did. You have several months to get to know Hermione before you begin your first year at Hogwarts. We'll make sure you know her, and are as close to her, as you should be in the early stages of your Bond, before September 1st arrives next year."

"Definitely," Lily said. "I wish, back then, I was as lucky as Hermione will be. It would have helped in those early days."

"Thanks," Harry said, "I'm sure she'll appreciate it, and I definitely do."

"You deserve this, son," James said, "It was difficult watching you these past few years, as you watched your sister, and your best friend, and your other Marked friends, meet their Marked Mates, and get to know them. All while wondering where your Mate was. I probably feel as good as you do right now, knowing that my eldest son is about to meet his Mate, and the future Lady Potter."

"Agreed," Lily said, "Anything we can do to help you and Hermione begin this journey… we'll try to do our best to help."

"Thanks, Mum, Dad, you're the best," Harry said.

"Of course we are," James said, grinning. "Rose? How do you feel about all this?"

"Relieved," Rose said. "When Harry said his Mark had gotten darker, I could have cried right here, during dinner. I was so happy for you, Harry. Because I knew what that meant. My twin brother, my best friend, will finally get to meet his Marked Mate. He'll get to feel the same way I feel. Eli will be thrilled, I can tell you that. He won't have to hear me complain about how unfair it is that my brother doesn't get to be with his Marked Mate. I… I can't wait to meet her, Harry. I bet she'll be wonderful. Obviously she'll be perfect for you. Can't wait to meet the witch who qualifies as 'the perfect girl' for my brother."

"Yes, well, unfortunately, you won't get to meet her when your brother does," Lily said. "We don't want to crowd Hermione and her parents. We figure the day of the meeting, you and the rest of your siblings can hang out with Eli and that lot over at Black Manor."

Rose pouted. "Fine… but I want to meet my future sister-in-law as soon as possible. If she doesn't come over here first, I want to meet her the first time you talk to her via mirror, Harry. I mean it."

"I'll try to arrange it, Rosie, I promise," Harry said. "I am sure she'll want to meet all my family, especially my twin sister. However, you better not monopolize my time with her!"

"I promise," Rose said, sweetly. "But I want to hear all about her when we come home after your meeting! You and I will sit down and you'll tell me about her."

"I can do that," Harry said, smiling.

"Alright then," James said, "I think we're done here. I am sure your mother wants to go find your littlest sisters, and relax due to her pregnancy with your youngest brother. So this discussion is over. I'll let you know what I hear about the upcoming meeting, and the final details, Harry."

"Alright," Harry said, "Thanks, Dad."

And with that, the eldest Potter children and their parents left the dining room, and went off to do their own thing for a while before they went to sleep.