I.

Why oh why was he still in this blasted class?

Harry groaned when Professor Trelawney turned her beady eyes in his direction. He felt Ron fidgeting next to him as the elderly witch floated on her skirts and approached their small table.

"Mr. Potter," she said in her wispy whisper. "Please allow me to demonstrate to the class how to read one's palm with you as our volunteer."

He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes for this wasn't volunteering at all. "Er, sure," he acquiesced.

"Now, everyone, I am going to read Mr. Potter's palm for love," Professor Trelawney said. There was a small giggle around the room as Harry gave an exasperated look towards Ron. "Mr. Potter, please stand and hold out your palm. The dominant one, dear."

He stood and held out his right hand, palm up. The professor grabbed his wrist with her long fingers and brought it close to her face to scrutinize the lines on his skin. Immediately, she gasped.

"Oh, my word!" She yelled. The class silenced and Harry swore he was never going to let Ron decide their classes again. The idiot convinced him to take this class while Hermione laughed at them all the way to Arithmancy. He wondered just how Professor Trelawney was going to predict his death once again but her next few words caught him by surprise. "Dear boy... you have a soulmate!"

"A soulmate?!" Pavarti shrieked from her place near the front of the class. "But that's so rare! Not everyone has a soulmate!"

"That's correct, Ms. Patil!" Professor Trelawney said. Her grip on Harry's wrist got tighter as she traced the line extending all the way across his palm. "Remarkable," she whispered. Her beady eyes were suddenly on his. "We have to know more! Mr. Potter, please drink your tea."

"I'm sorry?" He asked, confused.

"Drink your tea, boy! We have to read your cup!" She grabbed the small teacup from the table and gave it to him.

He sent Ron a silent plea for help as he brought the teacup to his lips. He cringed at the bitter taste but forced the liquid down his throat. Once done, he wearily handed the empty cup to the professor. He could see the small tea leaves stuck to the bottom.

As if handling a precious artefact, Professor Trelawney cradled the teacup with both hands. She adjusted her glasses and held the porcelain closer to her face. She stared at it for a few moments before a smile curved on her lips.

"It's a sun," she breathed in awe. "Does anyone know the meaning of the sun?"

Nobody answered her. She held Harry's gaze with her own and, in a chilling whisper, she explained.

"Your soulmate is the sun in your life, my boy. She's brilliantly smart and brightens up your day. She's as fiery as the burning orb and as steadfast and enduring. She is powerful in her own right, but she gives you strength. You can never be too far from her for you are stuck in her orbit. She is like home... like the light in the darkness."

Harry looked at her, transfixed by her words.

"Do you know who that could be, Mr. Potter?"

He didn't answer her and Professor Trelawney walked away with a hum and continued on with the lecture. Harry sat silently back down but his mind and heart were racing.

There was only one person who matched the description.

One name his heart yearned for the moment she said "soulmate".

He knew, without a doubt, who was the sun of his life.

It was Hermione.

II.

"Hermione!"

Her name echoed on the stone as Harry ran towards her. She stood at the end of the hallway with her head turned back and a smile on her face. She was illuminated in the afternoon sunlight drifting through the high windows and the breath caught in his throat.

Light in the darkness.

"Hello," she greeted with a grin as he caught up to her. "How was class? I was just heading to the library to do some light reading."

"The class was okay," he said and fell into step next to her. The hallways were empty for most of the students were enjoying the beautiful autumn day outside. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something."

She turned her head to face him, her steps slowing. "Oh? What is it, Harry?"

"Well… something happened in Divination," he started but was interrupted with a very unladylike snort from his best friend.

"How did she say you were going to die this time? Fall from a broom? Poison? Drowning?"

He cracked a grin. "No, no. She didn't predict my death," Harry said. "Trelawney said that I have a soulmate."

That stopped Hermione short. She swivelled on her spot and looked at him with wide eyes. "A soulmate?" She asked in disbelief.

He nodded his head. "Yes, a soulmate. Apparently it's a rare thing to have, but lucky me, I guess… since I have one."

"Surely you don't believe that rubbish!" She replied, aghast. "That's so silly and… and barbaric. The idea that you're destined to be with someone, that you don't control your own fate… well that's… that's horrible. What if you fall in love with someone who isn't your soulmate? What if someone falls in love with you but you don't have a chance for a future since you were already predestined to be with someone else? That's utterly heartbreaking, Harry! It's like you don't even have a choice."

She ended her tirade in a horrified whisper.

"If I were to choose… I would choose her, even if I didn't know she was my soulmate."

That honest proclamation almost brought tears to her eyes.

"Oh," she said heavily. "You… you already know who she is? Divination isn't known to be such a precise subject, Harry."

He nodded. "Yes, I do."

"How?"

"Trelawney described her," he explained softly. "She said… my soulmate is like the sun in my life. Bright and fiery. Steadfast and enduring. I know exactly who she is."

"Well, then," Hermione said, voice husky. She blinked her eyes rapidly and tried to look at anywhere but him. "That's… that's good, Harry. I'm happy for you. Are you… are you going to tell her?"

"I already am."

He said it in a whisper but Hermione heard him clearly. Her head jerked to look at him and she saw that he had a wide smile on his face. His eyes were shining bright as they looked deeply into hers.

"It's you, Hermione."

With a sob, she launched herself into his arms.

She is like home.

Fin.

Author's Notes: Just a light-hearted fluffy drabble inspired by the HMS Harmony Discord server's "Wacky Wednesday AU" theme of Soulmates.