It was just a normal day when I started seeing them. The threads, I mean. Cris-crossing everywhere. Phasing through people.

They went through walls.

They went through people.

They connected people to something.

What that something was, I couldn't tell you then.

I asked other people if they could see them, too.

"Hey, Pansy." I said to her, a red thread connected to her hand.

"Sup, Draco." She greeted me with a lighthearted smirk.

"Can you see all the-" I didn't really know how to describe them. "red threads everywhere?" I asked her.

"Are you okay, Draco?" She walked up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You didn't have any firewhisky last night, did you?" She smiled and playfully elbowed me in the ribs.

"Uh... yeah. That must be it. Never mind, carry on." I replied with a fake smile, but I guess it was real enough to convince her.

"You sure?" She gave me a questioning look.

"Yeah. It's nothing." I reply to her, eager to not look insane. It's taken me months to stop getting that look from people, and I'm not about to get it started again.

"Okay... see you, then." The brown haired girl sauntered off, making a path through the younger students before her. The red thread connecting to her to something unknown retracted while she walked, showing that she was going in the direction of the other connection.

Curious, I followed her through the crowd.

It was difficult to keep track of JUST Pansy's thread, considering all the other threads blocking my view.

I always stayed a few yards behind her, in case she turned around and asked why I was following her. I didn't want to look like a creep.

After walking for another five or so minutes, I heard a voice call out to her.

"Pansy!" The familiar voice of a fellow eighth year Slytherin calls.

"Hey Blaise!" She replies enthusiastically to him, walking over to greet him in an uncharacteristically happy way.

Her red thread gets shorter and shorter, before disappearing all together from view when they join in a brief hug.

I turn away as they begin talking, not wanting to interrupt.

But what had I viewed?

What could the thread mean?

I pondered it as I walked to the library.

I mean, it could've been signifying best friends... but they looked to be more than that by then.

My thoughts lulled as I walked into the gigantic library of Hogwarts, the fantastical books and gravity-defying shelves housing all the knowledge we would ever need in our Wizarding schooling.

My eyes sought an answer from the red twine spread amongst the people studying here.

Two Hufflepuffs sharing a book had their threads connected.

Two Ravenclaws snogging in the corner had their threads connected.

Could these threads be signaling-

"Soul mates?" I whispered under my breath, looking around some more.

At another table across the room, I saw Granger and Weasel sitting across from each other, reading books. Potter was nowhere to be seen. But something that was to be seen, was the bright, blazing red thread connected to Weasel and Granger, spanning the short distance across the table.

Ron looked over at Hermione, and the thread blazed brighter as he smiled. I looked away, not wanting to be shown the courtship between a blood traitor and a mud blood.

I sneered and looked down at my hands, seeing that, I too

had

a

red

thread.

My heart started pounding wildly as I raced out of the library, following the shortening twine while pushing my hand worriedly through my bleach blonde hair.

Who could it be?

Thoughts and guesses raced through my head as I ran through empty corridors, most of the school being in the great hall (which seemed to be where I was headed) for dinner.

By the time I reached the Great Hall, I was winded but energized. I couldn't tell if it was excitement, nerves, or dread causing the butterflies in my stomach when I opened the doors to the hall, revealing the chattering hall filled with bodies and twine that only I could see.

My eyes scanned the room for anyone... I don't know... glowing, or with... big, golden arrows pointing at them. I didn't exactly know what to expect.

I followed the line of bright red that I knew to be mine through the hall, over to the Gryffindor table.

My heart dropped into my stomach.

Gryffindor?

My soulmate, was a Gryffindor?

My heart pounded wildly in fear as I scanned the scarlet table, looking with concern at the occupants.

It went past Weaslette, Longbottom, and Thomas... to-

My eyes widened, and I felt like I was going to throw up.

It just... couldn't be.

"Potter..." I whispered, amazed and scared.

How could POTTER be my soulmate? There must have been some mistake.

But there wasn't. There he was, Potter. With his messy black hair, emerald eyes, pale skin, and scar.

The Boy Who Lived.

My arch nemesis.

My (old) master's nemesis.

Altogether savior of the Wizarding world.

and yet, he had a damn red thread connecting his wand hand with mine.

He was meant to be with me. Blonde hair. Grey eyes. Snarky, sneaky, and an all around Slytherin.

Hater of half-bloods.

Hater of mud-bloods.

Death eater.

Former servant of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

And yet, I didn't feel hatred, or disgust. I just felt sadness.

I felt sadness because deep down, I always knew that we were meant for each other. Because deep down, I knew that he felt it too.

And I decided for both of us, that it was time to show it.

I thruster my chin up to hide my anxiety, and crossed the hall the the Gryffindor table, the hall silencing as I walked. I could feel the back of my neck heating up from all the eyes following my progress, but I willed myself not to display it.

A Malfoy never shows fear.

"Potter, I need to talk to you." I said, trying not to sound snarky or sarcastic.

The black-haired boy turned around, green eyes blazing with energy, face cut up from his previous Quidditch match. My breath caught in my throat from the look he was giving me.

The thread burned a golden red as he gave his reply.

"Sure."

I smiled softly as he got up from the bench and followed me out, with whispers from the other tables I tried to ignore.

Upon exiting the room, I realized that... well... God, I really hadn't thought this out.

I stuttered under his questioning gaze.

"Uhh... uhm..." I coughed.

"Come on, what is it?" He asked me, with a gentleness I'd never heard directed at me before. He took a step toward me.

"Uh..." I cleared my throat. "Yeah... okay. Listen, Potter." I sucked in a deep breath, gathering my thoughts . He raised one eyebrow in a way that should NOT have been as sexy as it was. "I... I know you can't see them, but there are these strings. Red strings, connected to everyone, and I think... well, I'm pretty sure... they connect soulmates. And... well..." He just stared at me, arms crossed, leaning against the wall.

I threw my hands up in frustration.

"UGH! Potter! Why do you have to make this so DIFFICULT!" I yelled, before taking a deep breath.

"Look, Draco. Just say it. There's no use in prolonging the pain." Harry said, urging me to go on.

"..." I didn't say anything.

"Draco, come on."

"HARRYYOUANDIARESOULMATES!" The words just poured out in what I'm sure was just an incoherent blob of sound.

"What?" Harry asked. I tried to regroup myself.

"H-Harry... you and I are... soulmates." I said, closing my eyes, and breathing slowly, not wanting to see his reaction.

"Ssssethhhahhsalaahh" He hissed in Parseltongue. Not exactly the reaction I was expecting.

"Um. What was that? You were speaking snake." I say to him, and his eyes widen.

"S-sorry. That happens when I'm nervous." He blushed.

"I make you nervous, huh?" I smirked, and he rolled his eyes.

"Only when you tell me that we're soul mates. It's just a lot to wrap my head around." He exclaimed.

"Yeah..." I agreed. We just stood there, eyeing each other for a few seconds, before Harry let out a breath.

"This is stupid." Is all he said, before smashing his lips into mine.

My eyes widened to about the size of dinner plates as his mouth worked at my own, before I finally came to my senses and started kissing back. I pulled away from the bruising kiss to say just a few words.

"So... fate was right about something?" I asked him. He smiled wide, before going back for another kiss.

"For the first time ever." He said.

Harry Potter.

Savior of the Wizarding World.

The Boy Who Lived Twice.

The Golden Boy.

The Chosen One.

Whatever you called him, the red threads of fate connected me to him, and that was the only good thing fate has ever done for me.