Drafting A Marriage
A/N: Don't own, well, anything related to Harry Potter. That's JKR's creation, not mine. Since she wouldn't touch this story idea if her life depended on it, I suppose I have to claim that ... unless someone else has seen or created such an abomination. Then I will gladly give credit to them ...
Chapter 1
Kingsley squirmed uncomfortably in his chair, feeling like a firstie caught out of bounds. The cause of his squirming was one Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts, as she glared down at the man with a most loathsome look. He couldn't shake this feeling despite the fact that Kingsley was the Minister of Magic and arguably the most powerful man in the British Wizarding World; okay, second most powerful man behind Harry Potter. But he was up there nonetheless.
Deciding to appeal to McGonagall's pragmatic nature, Kingsley pleaded, "Minerva, please tell me you see a different path we can take? My conscious is telling me this is wrong, but reality tells me it must be done. Help me find a better solution."
This did the trick, as the once-stern features slowly morphed into pity, then concentration. "Let me see those numbers again," Minerva asked, reaching her hand across the desk. She was holding out a small glimmer of hope that there might be an error and this situation would just go away.
After pouring through the figures, charts, and scenarios with Kingsley for a good hour, both parties felt the cold weight of reality settle over them. After another hour spent discussing ideas that were - at best - half-baked, the Headmistress sat back and rubbed her face. She looked over to the Minister of Magic, who looked equally weary and said, "Sometimes it feels like this group of students seem destined to carry all of our burdens."
"Harry?" Hermione called out softly.
She quickly scanned the immediate area and noticed a patch of grass that looked a little … flatter … than everywhere else. Slowly she approached the spot and reached out her hand gingerly until she felt the smooth fabric of the invisibility cloak. Rather than pull the cloak away, she kept her hand open and trailed around its shape, guiding her to an unoccupied spot beside him. Sitting down in the grass, she gazed at the two headstones in front of her – James and Lily Potter's headstones.
"How did you know I was here?" came the quiet voice seemingly from the ether to her right.
Hermione shrugged lightly. "I knew you wanted to get away from everyone and honestly the choices are somewhat limited. It's the Burrow, Grimmauld Place, Godric's Hollow … that's about all that came to mind."
A few moments of comfortable silence passed before the disembodied voice returned. "Did you find your parents?"
Hermione's brow crinkled and she began to absently chew on her lip. "Yes," she started slowly. "They're okay. Not very happy with me, but safe at least. I don't know if they'll come back to England though …"
"Do you have someplace to stay?" Harry interrupted.
"At the Burrow. Ron and Ginny are starting to come around after Fred's death, so it's a bit better there." Hermione nervously glanced over at the spot where Harry sat. "I'm sure Ginny would love to see you, Harry."
The blank spot beside her took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I know. I just don't know if I'm ready for that."
Hermione nodded sympathetically and patted what she figured was his back. "When you're ready, just stop on by." Despite sounding like a farewell, Hermione remained seated on the grass. "Harry?" she started again in a quiet voice.
"Hmm?"
"Have you thought about returning to Hogwarts? Professor McGonagall stopped by the Burrow this morning and said we're all welcome to come back. You could complete your education and we could try and have a normal year for a change."
Harry snorted softly before replying, "Nothing is ever normal at Hogwarts."
Hermione couldn't help but chuckle and release a small smile at that, before returning to idly plucking the grass blades in front of her.
The silence was broken when Harry sighed, saying, "But, it still feels more like home than any place I've been."
This time Hermione couldn't help but break into a huge smile and attempted to hug the man sitting next to her.
Breaking her reverie, she heard Harry's muffled voice. "Hermione? You're smothering me with your … uh …"
Hermione squeaked and jumped back away from her friend, blushing deeply.
"So Harry's going back to Hogwarts?" Ginny repeated, her eyes looking considerably brighter than they had in months.
"For the hundredth time, yes!" exclaimed Hermione, rolling her eyes. "Professor McGonagall even wanted him to be Head Boy, but he refused. He didn't want special treatment and figured that since he wasn't a Prefect he wasn't deserving."
"Typical," muttered Ginny. "He's too noble for his own good sometimes."
"Or too self-conscious," whispered Hermione. Shaking her head, she continued, "Since no one took NEWTs last year, I'm guessing there will be several people from our class who will return." At this point she looked over to Ron expectantly.
"Fine, I'll go," Ron groused. "Between you and Mum, it will be about the only place I will get some relief from the constant badgering."
"And all the food you can eat," Ginny reminded him.
Ron's gaze took on a misty look and his face rearranged itself into a placid, half smile.
The Welcoming Feast felt different than in years past. Gone was the dark cloud of impending doom that seemed to hang over the proceedings every year, but it had been replaced by sadness as many remembered the last time they had gathered in this very spot.
Also different were the students themselves. Despite essentially comprising two classes, the 7th year student body was the smallest due to the attrition brought about by the war. Most of the muggle-born and half-blood students went into hiding or were killed, while many of those who were at least neutral to Lord Voldemort's cause decided to be tutored or transferred to Durmstrang. In Slytherin, only Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass, and Tracey Davis remained. The only students who openly supported Voldemort and were not either in prison or dead were Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. Both chose tutoring rather than returning to Hogwarts.
After the sorting ceremony and feast, Minerva McGonagall stepped up to the platform and cleared her throat. "Welcome to Hogwarts! It gives me great joy that we are once again able to come together as a school family, especially after the trials we faced last year. While we may be small in number, we are strong in spirit." Several students, and the Headmistress herself, put on a forced smile at these words.
"For those of you who are new or have short memories, the forbidden forest is out of bounds unless accompanied by a professor. There is a list of banned items on Mr. Filch's office door, as well as a condensed list in the official school manual." Secretly Minerva was proud with how she crafted this scheme, essentially providing a 'real' list of banned items rather than relying on the all-encompassing list Filch created every year.
"Please join me in welcoming our Head Boy and Head Girl this year, Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger." Deafening applause filled the hall; even the Slytherins joined in with polite applause of their own. After Harry turned her down, Minerva could think of no other candidate more fitting than Neville after his leadership at the school in the face of Snape and the Carrows.
"Now get some rest as tomorrow will be a busy day. Please follow your prefects to the common rooms. All except the Head Boy and Head Girl, who I need to meet with to discuss some administrative items. Good evening, everyone!"
With these final words, the Great Hall became a chaotic world filled with students darting in all directions and loud chatter echoing off the stone floor and walls. Hermione and Neville exchanged quizzical looks before attempting to navigate their way toward the staff table. The Headmistress hadn't said anything about a meeting, but they figured it just slipped her mind in light of all the other preparations for the day.
"Good evening, Hermione. Neville."
The two students swirled around at the sound of the deep baritone voice behind them after they entered the Headmistress' office.
"Minister Shacklebolt, you shouldn't do that!" Minerva admonished after seeing the two students shakily re-pocket their wands.
Having the decency to look abashed, Kingsley nodded in agreement before slipping into one of the chairs arranged in a front of the fireplace. Minerva joined him in the informal seating arrangement to try and lighten the mood as much as possible.
"So …" Neville began, his eyes flicking back and forth between the Minister and Headmistress. "What did you want to discuss?"
Minerva stared at Kingsley, silently communicating that this was his discussion. The Minister looked down resignedly before turning to the students, the grim expression still etched on his face. "We have a problem. As you probably noticed this evening, nearly an entire generation has been wiped out due to the wars with Voldemort and his followers. In order to maintain our culture, we need to encourage families to form."
As he paused, an even more pained look crossed his face and he looked over to Minerva. Seeing that she wasn't going to jump into this mess, he was forced to continue. "In order to … assure … families form, we're pondering instituting a marriage law."
"What?!?" Hermione shrieked.
Sighing heavily, the Minister once again pleaded with Minerva to enter the argument. Recognizing it was unavoidable, she summoned the papers off her desk that showed the charts, graphs, and scenarios she and the Minister had discussed this summer. "Hermione, I know this will probably sway you more than a simple discussion could. Why don't you review these along with a rough draft of the law Kingsley is proposing and we'll meet again in a week?"
Still shocked, Hermione could only nod dumbly.
"Even though I trust you two implicitly, I still must warn you that this is highly sensitive information. Do not discuss with anyone else and do not let anyone else see what you have."
Neville's shocked haze cleared first and he managed to croak out, "Yes Headmistress," in reply.
