MC4A; Hogwarts; QL

Stacked With: Hogwarts; QL; BAON; Specious Narrative; TTT; Shipping War
Individual Challenges: Short Jog; Lovely Triangle (Y); Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux (Y); Sett to Destroy; Gryffindor MC; Ravenclaw MC; Slytherin MC; Ethnic and Present; Neurodivergent (x2); Quiet Time (x2); Mastermind MC
Representations: Harry Potter; Triad; Soulmates; Assumed bond; Autistic Luna and Harry
Bonus Challenges: Found Family; Nontraditional
Tertiary Bonus Challenges: Ameliorate; Toad
Prompts: Soulmate AU (auction); Headache (365 words); Soulmates (Insane Prompts); Write about a character talking their way out of a situation (QL)
Team: Wigtown Wanderers
Position: Captain
Word count: 2,604
Beta: Aya Diefair

Harry screamed as he felt the splitting pain in his forehead and the burning anger flaring up inside of him. He knew what it was and from whom it came. The Dursleys had always told him that he didn't deserve a soulmate and he had believed them. Then, he felt the small flutterings of emotions that didn't belong to him in his mind and he had realised that no matter what the Dursleys had said, he did have a soulmate.

It just wasn't one he particularly wanted. The anger was now simmering in the background and Harry found it slightly easier to breathe. With a hand clasped to his forehead and over the lightning bolt shaped scar, Harry sat up and leaned against the wall next to his bed and sighed.

Lord fricking Voldemort was his soulmate. He had been so happy when he felt the small whispers of emotion. They told him that somewhere out there was a person who would be able to love a freak like him. But no, he had to be soulmates with the same man who killed his parents and was out to kill Harry too.

"I hate my life," he mumbled as he let his head hit the wall and stared up at the bland ceiling.

At least now the ceiling was further away from him than arm's reach. He had an actual room now, even if it was still filled with Dudley's broken things. He also had a soulmate, even if he was a racist, blood-supremacist intent on killing all those he deemed beneath him—including Harry.

He was still battling back the guilt of not being able to stop Cedric's death when the realisation of stronger emotions had hit him. Voldemort had been a shade before, a mere whisper barely holding onto life; that would explain why the emotions Harry had felt back then were so slight. Now, Voldemort was reborn and a solid presence in the wizarding world. There weren't any more whispers in Harry's head; there were shouts and screams that couldn't be drowned out.

He winced as a spike of anger surged through him. Anger, rage, and annoyance seemed to be Voldemort's primary emotions. There were sometimes blips of glee but those were rare and often drowned out by the more negative emotions. No matter how happy he had been before when he had realised he had a soulmate, Harry now wished it had never happened.

Finally, the emotions ebbed away and left Harry alone with a pounding headache. Groaning, Harry flopped sideways so he was lying horizontally on his bed instead of sitting up against the wall. This was not what he had imagined when Hagrid had told him he was a wizard. The magic and wonder of the wizarding world was tarnished now with Cedric's death on his hands and Voldemort as a soulmate.

Luna curled around Blaise in an abandoned classroom on the first night back at Hogwarts. The classroom hadn't been touched since they had been in here last apart from the house-elves coming in to clear away any dust that might have settled. The bright purple and blue cushions were still arranged to provide them a nest of sorts with cushioning charms, spare blankets and pillows providing the stuffing on which they sat.

They were exhausted from once more trying to push through the barrier that obscured their soulmate. It had been there for as long as they could remember, blocking emotions from leaking out. Ever since Luna and Blaise had found each other and realised they were echoing each other's emotions and both had a static-filled channel, they had been trying to understand the static.

"What if they need us?" Luna asked quietly.

It was the question that was almost constantly circulating through both of their minds. What if their soulmate needed them? What if they were in trouble and needed the support of their soulmates? Blaise sighed and pulled Luna closer to him. He didn't know what to do. There was nothing in any book about having access to your soulmate's emotions blocked for as long as theirs had been.

"We just have to keep trying, I guess," he said. "We'll find them. One day, we'll find them."

Harry couldn't take the stares from his classmates. It was out now. Everyone knew that he was Voldemort's soulmate. Why did he have to receive a burst of clear vision from Voldemort when he was in a room of multiple people? Why during an exam with Umbridge presiding over it? Why did he have to cry out Voldemort's name in angered frustration at the interruption to the exam?

And now the world knew that the Boy-Who-Lived was the soulmate of the Dark Lord Voldemort—the man he was supposed to save them all from. A man who was enjoying himself immensely while torturing Harry's godfather. Harry shook himself to get rid of the feeling of eyes on him and focused on Sirius. He had to save him.

Surely he would be afforded some sort of safety as Voldemort's soulmate? Although maybe not, Voldemort certainly didn't seem to care about them being soulmates. He might use it as a way to lure Harry in and then kill him. But on the other hand, did Harry have a choice? Sirius had been in Azkaban for twelve years, had broken out of it to avenge James and Lily by getting Pettigrew, had been trapped in his own family's home that he detested because he was still on the run. And now he was going to die because of Harry.

Harry clenched his hands into fists. No one else was going to die because of him. He would not have the blood of anyone else on his hands because he couldn't save them. He could have saved Cedric if he had just been a bit faster in the maze, or if he had not decided to share the victory with the other Hogwarts Champion. Sirius would not die like Cedric had, and Harry was going to make sure of it.

The Ministry of Magic was silent as Harry and his friends—who had refused to let him go alone no matter how much he tried to convince them—made their way to the corridor Harry had seen in his vision. His heart was trying to beat its way out of his chest as he got closer to where he knew Voldemort would be waiting.

This would be the first time they would see each other since Harry had figured out their connection. What would happen? He glanced back at his friends; what would they think when they saw him and Voldemort together? Would they hate him? Would they turn against him? Or worse, would they follow him into the Dark Lord's service if he had to follow Voldemort?

Finally, they reached the door that hid Sirius from view. Harry took a deep breath and then entered the room. There were the stacks of shelves with glowing orbs resting in neat rows he had seen. Without wasting another second, he dashed to the area he knew Sirius had been. He skidded to a stop when he saw it was empty. There was no sign of Sirius anywhere.

"Sirius!" he called out, checking the neighbouring rows.

As he returned to the original row, a label caught his eye. Dark Lord and Harry Potter. There was an orb in this room that had his name and Voldemort's on it. Was this a soulmate room? Why had Voldemort brought him here? Curiosity strong, Harry reached up and took down the glowing orb to examine it further. A figure stepped out from the shadows and Harry stepped back as he recognised the robes and mask of a Death Eater.

The Death Eater held out their hand and asked in a very familiar voice, "Why don't you hand over the prophecy to me, Mr. Potter?"

Prophecy? There was a prophecy about him and Voldemort? He clutched the orb close to his chest. "No, I won't."

"Really?" If he could see his face, Harry was sure that Mr. Malfoy would be raising an eyebrow. "And just how do you plan on stopping me from taking it?"

Mind racing, Harry settled on the only plan that would keep his friends safe. "Let me see Voldemort," he commanded, his voice sounding a lot stronger than he felt. "I'll give it to him directly."

"You would hand yourself over to the Dark Lord willingly?" Mr. Malfoy asked without expecting a reply. "Very well. I shall call him here."

Behind him, he heard the whispers of his friends as they tried to understand his reasoning. He didn't dare look back at them. Instead, he watched as Mr. Malfoy drew back his left sleeve and press his wand to the Dark Mark that rested there. Voldemort was coming. Oh god, what had he done? He had demanded Voldemort come to him with his friends still there for the wizard to hurt.

He took a step back until he was in line with Ron and Hermione. "You guys have to get out of here," he whispered.

"Are you mad?" Ron asked, barely keeping his voice down. "We're not leaving you to face You-Know-Who on your own, mate!"

"Ron's right. We're not leaving you, Harry."

Harry felt desperation claw at him. "You have to. I've got the whole soulmate thing to protect me. You guys have nothing, he'll use you against me. Please, I can't have you get hurt."

Behind him, Luna placed her hand on his shoulder. "We came to help you," she said, "not run away and leave you by yourself."

He wanted to protest more but it was too late. Mr. Malfoy swept towards him and started directing him out of the room, presumably to meet up with Voldemort. Harry went willingly, this was something he had to do. He didn't like being the soulmate of Voldemort, but if it was something he could use to his advantage, he was going to use it to the best of his ability.

He gulped when they entered the Atrium and saw the tall, snake-like visage of Lord Voldemort waiting for them. His soulmate. The person the Fates thought he belonged with. How could it be possible that Harry was bound to a man so determined to kill him and all of his friends?

Lord Voldemort gave a semblance of a smile and beckoned him forward. "Harry," he said softly, caressing the word as it left his lips. "I hear you have something for me."

Harry looked down at the shining orb as he stepped forward. He didn't know what was so special about it. It didn't seem to do anything but glow, although apparently it was a prophecy. Maybe Voldemort needed confirmation that Harry was his soulmate?

"Voldemort," he acknowledged.

"Come now, boy. Hand over the prophecy and I'll end your life quickly."

"You won't."

Voldemort cocked his head to the right slightly at those words. "Oh?"

"There's a legend that says if you kill your soulmate, the backlash will kill you too. You won't kill me unless you plan to die as well."

Voldemort laughed. "And what makes you think that you are my soulmate? I have no soulmate, boy."

From behind Harry, Mr. Malfoy spoke up. "The boy could be right, my Lord. Draco has told me of moments where Mr. Potter seems to be feeling your emotions."

"And you didn't think to mention this sooner, Lucius?" Voldemort's voice had turned into a threatening hiss.

"I thought he must be exaggerating."

Voldemort dismissed Mr. Malfoy's words with a sneer. "No matter. There are plenty of other people here that I can kill until you give in. So nice of you to provide your own cannon fodder, Potter."

"You won't hurt them either," Harry said, desperately trying to think of a reason he could give Voldemort to not harm his friends. "They're under my protection."

"You test my patience, child. I can order Lucius to kill you for me and the bond will not strike me down."

"Why don't you then?" Harry challenged. "Is it because he'll be doing it by your orders and you know the bond will retaliate? The Fates placed protection measures on the soul-bonds. You can't kill me or order anyone to do the same. My friends are protected by me from you. It's a stalemate, Voldemort."

He heard Ron snicker at his use of chess terminology and heard Luna gasp. What she had seen or realised he didn't know, and he couldn't divert any of his attention to figuring it out now. There was too much riding on this; he had to save his friends. Determination and love coursed through his being as he stared at Voldemort, daring the other wizard to try and find a way out of the situation Harry had somehow successfully gotten them in.

"Break the orb then," Voldemort said dismissively. "If you will not hand it over, I will not have you walk out of here with it in your possession."

Harry shrugged and smashed the orb down on the ground just as green fire flared in one of the many fireplaces lining the Atrium walls. As a misty figure rose up out of the shattered glass, the room was filled with shouts and spell fire that drowned out whatever the figure was saying. Dumbledore approached swiftly with water from the fountain surrounding him as Voldemort let out a scream of anger and attacked the older wizard with fire.

Surprisingly, Harry felt only a shadow of the anger Voldemort was so visibly feeling. Arms wrapped around him from behind and he relaxed into the rightness of the feeling. The anger from Voldemort faded into nothing as the much more positive emotion of love poured into him.

"I have you now," he heard Luna say as she held him tighter. "You are not alone anymore, you are ours. You do not belong to him and you never have."

Blaise stared down at the sleeping face of Harry Potter, barely able to believe that they had managed to reach their soulmate at last. Luna was tracing figures with her finger on Harry's arm and looking just as stunned as him.

"Do you know how?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "You-Know-Who must have created a connection with the killing curse that overpowered the soul-bond. I only realised when I felt his love and determination at the Ministry. I knew it couldn't be you because you were safe here, and I could see through the static enough to know it was him."

Blaise sighed, leaning down and touching his forehead to Harry's. The famous scar was fading now, barely visible unless in the right light. "All these years, you were so close to us and we never knew."

"We know now," Luna said comfortingly.

He nodded and moved to curl more comfortably around Harry. They were in the nest that had always seemed too big before but was now the perfect size. Luna smiled at him and he smiled tiredly back. It had been a shock when Luna had burst into the Slytherin Common Room and dragged him out to their classroom but he was grateful that she had.

With his soulmates close, Blaise let his eyes drift shut and his mind wander into the land of dreams. No longer was a part of his mind buzzing angrily with static as it tried to connect. He could feel the warmth and contentedness from both connections. There was nothing more he could have wished for in that moment.