Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Merlin… “ said a voice to no one in particular, then, “I’ll pay you a Galleon to punch me in the face. “

Etta shot up and looked towards the girl who had spoken in shock as her left shoulder burned, right where her soulmate mark was.

As a heiress to the house of Potter, Violetta ‘Etta’ Potter had always known she wouldn’t have a sweet soulmate mark, but still it was rather surprising to awake her 11th birthday and see ‘I’ll pay you a Galleon to punch me in the face’ etched upon her shoulder.

No Potter has had a relatively ‘normal’ soulmate mark. Her father’s soulmate mark was so lewd that her Uncle Padfoot had made fun of him for it for years— even after her father had met Barty Crouch Jr. (now Potter), his soulmate. She had never met her grandparents; they died a couple of years before she was born, but from what her father told her, Grandpa Charlus’s soulmate mark was even worse. Compared to them, her soulmate’s first words to her could be considered normal.

Etta had always wondered just who was insane enough to ask someone from The Honorable and Most Ancient House of Potter to punch them in the face. Surely they knew that that went against Potter morals? And now she had her answer.

Miss Rosalie Weasley, who was currently staring at Etta in amusement and listlessness, was her soulmate. After five years of pondering her soulmate mark and having her dad, Barty, make fun of it, she now knew who’d said it. Contemplating her response, Etta watched Rosalie. Her expression had slowly morphed into confusion and then embarrassment as Etta continued to just stare at her silently.

Not wanting their first meeting to have negative emotions associated with it, Etta said the first thing that came to mind. “I would, but I fear Professor Riddle will finally croak out of rage if I disrupt his class one more time. “

Rosalie gasped and clutched the left side of her waist, presumingly where her soulmate mark was. “You—! You’re my— “ Rosalie choked out, at a loss for words.

“—Soulmate. “ Etta finished for her.

It wasn’t the most romantic of places, Defence Against the Dark Arts would probably rank lowest for ‘best place to meet your soulmate’, but Etta wasn’t complaining. She should’ve known a Gryffindor would’ve been the one to say her soulmate mark— it’d just been six long years of coincidentally never sharing a single class with Rosalie that had prevented this meeting from happening sooner. Maybe if Etta hadn’t sorted Ravenclaw like her dad, Barty, she might’ve dormed with Rosalie and found this out her first year.

Rosalie gawked at her for a couple more seconds before realising that was rude. She settled for opening and closing her mouth before finally deciding on what to say. “You’re the entire reason I took Professor Riddle’s Defence Against the Dark Arts N.E.W.T. class! Five years of just asking the most absurd things of others in this class, just to never have anyone say it. Merlin! This is— “ She went silent once more, just staring at Etta, gobsmacked.

Etta chucked, rejoiced at having finally met her soulmate. Before she could say anything else, the bell rang, signifying the start of lunch. Etta and Rosalie quickly packed their stuff into their book bags and headed out the door. Rosalie beamed towards Etta before sticking out her hand, “Ro. “

“Etta, “ she took Ro’s hand. She couldn’t wait to tell her dads that she had met her soulmate.