Hi, this is my first ever fanfiction, so i understand if not everybody loves it. This first chapter is slow to start up, but i promise the story will pick up in the next chapter if you bear with it! also, i know that there have been a few stories like this one, but in a couple of chapters my story will take a different turn then the other ones, i promise! Also, this is kind of a short chapter, but they will get longer, i just needed to get the story going first. Everything is pretty much the same as the books, only real difference is that Fred didn't die. Thanks for giving my story a chance! Please, review even if you don't like it, i'd love any feedback!
And of course, i don't own anything that you recognize, that all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling. however anything that you don't recognize is my own.
Kingsley Shacklebolt was pacing back and forth in his cramped little office. As the new Minister of Magic, not two weeks after the Battle of Hogwarts, he was already facing the tremendous job of reviving the wizarding community. Not only was the Ministry left in pieces, but the community was in chaos, with duels breaking out between the most uncommon people. The two sides of the war simply didn't want to combine, they didn't want to forget their tragic past. Previous death eaters found the most miniscule laws to keep them out of jail, and the public was furious.
"Uh, um, Minister? I hate to interrupt you, but, um, your presence is requested for the umm, for the meeting, for ahh-" The trembling secretary quietly announced, before Shacklebolt interrupted him.
"Oh, yes right thank you." The Minister wasn't one for meaningless chatter, but just the opposite. He liked things done right, and things done fast.
Without another word, the trembling man darted out of the office, with the Minister not far behind as he rushed threw the barren halls of the building before he came before a large room. In the center of the room stood a gigantic, oval oak table. Filling out the table were different Heads of Departments, as well as a few people that bought their way into this meeting, such as Lucius Malfoy.
"Thank you everybody for coming, I'm sure we all know why we're here." The collective murmurs of "yes" confirmed the Minister's assumption. "We need to find a way to quell the violence that's been happening. This morning a pure blood wizard was attacked at his house- now he's going to be fine, but things will only get worse. Does anybody have any ideas?"
As the Minister looked around the room, everybody tensed up. There had been a rumor floating around that the ministry would be enforcing arranged marriages between certain people. The hope would be that the couples would act as ambassadors, and rifts between the different blood status' would die off. Nobody wanted to offer this idea, but they all realized that it might work.
"If I may be so bold as to say, but I've heard we would be forcing marriages between figures on the Light side, and figures on the Dark." The man's voice had hinted of distaste with this idea, but he wasn't about to say anything against it.
"We've been speculating as to whether or not we could actually do this, but we would need to have no objections in order to do so." Kingsley stopped talking, and looked pointedly around the table, as if to dare someone to speak out against him. "So lets take a vote, all in favor of said idea, raise you hand." Slowly, hands started to pop up, one by one. Soon, the only person without a raised hand was Malfoy. However, after a few long seconds, even he rose his pale, thin hand. "Okay then, now we need to figure out a way to implement this idea…"
The meeting droned on, and after dragging up a few ancient laws, the Ministry of Magic was ready to annouce the Marriage Law.
One Week Later
It was just three weeks after the Battle of Hogwarts, and yet the change in the Golden Trio was amazing. Here at the Burrow, at a little party the Weasley family was throwing, the three of them were changed souls. They began laughing again, they began to enjoy themselves again.
"Alright everyone back off! Let me at least put it down first!" Mrs. Weasley gently floated the steaming hot food to the table, while playfully scolding her seven red-headed children, her one black haired child, (or that's how she viewed him), and even one bushy-haired child, who might not have been her natural daughter, but was well on her way to becoming her daughter in law (if only Ron would get the courage to ask her.)
"Sorry Mum, but I'm starving." Fred laughed as he grabbed a bread roll as it floated by him. All the others followed suit, and soon enough the meal had started before it even reached the table. As everyone piled their plates full of food (well Ron was trying to but his food kept mysteriously disappearing), Harry gently pulled Ginny out of sight.
"Wonda whar they whent?" Ron tried to ask threw a mouthful of food. Nobody seemed to know, but they all heard the joyful scream of Ginny that bounced off the walls. Not one of the seven remaining kids moved to see what was going on, it would have been a wasted effort. A beaming Ginny skipped back over, screaming at the top of her lungs.
"I'M GETTING MARRIED!" She yelled, and it didn't take a second before the congratulations were yelled back just as loud, and just as happily. The party took a drunken turn, because as Fred and George put it, you can't celebrate without something to celebrate with, and they revealed a horde of firewhiskey.
The next morning, or more accurately afternoon, the children-soon-to-be-adults stumbled out of their beds and made their way downstairs for breakfast, and a hangover potion. What they were not expecting, however, were four beady looking, jet black owls that sat in the window.
"I wonder what the Ministry wants?" Harry thought aloud, just as Mr. Weasley came threw the door.
"There you are! I was worried sick, where were you?" Mrs. Weasley shouted at her depressed looking husband, who had come home last night after everyone was asleep, and left before anyone was up.
"Sorry dear," he walked over and gently kissed her cheek, " but their has been quite a bit of things going on with the Ministry, and your not going to like it at all. He sneakily looked over at Hermione, and his youngest son who stood next to her. "I wanted to get here before the letters arrived, but I see I'm a little late." He motioned to the black owls.
As Mrs. Weasley took the letters, she passed them to Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron. "What are they?" She asked, fearing what they might say.
"It's a long story, and I'm sure we can fight it, but, well I'm not supposed to say anything, but we need to go to the Ministry right now."
The four with the letters barely got to glance over the contents, stating just that they were needed at the Ministry, before Mr. Weasley rushed them over to the fireplace. They each took turns flooing over, before making their way to the Department of Mysteries. Their, looking just as frazzled as the Weasley gain, were random people, all in the same grade level as Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Among them, Blaise Zabbiny, Pansy Parkinson, and the hated Draco Malfoy. Before anyone could begin to wonder what was going on, Hermione was called into a room with a huge, oak, oval table; surrounded by random officials.
"Hermione, dear, its so great to see you." Kingsley Shacklebolt greeted, though he didn't sound pleased at all. Hermione couldn't help but wonder what dreadful news he was most certainly going to tell her.
"Same to you, congratulations on becoming Minister by the way." Hermione responded, though her voice cracked a little.
"Oh, thank you. Please, come have a seat." He motioned towards the one empty seat on the edge of the table. As she sat, he asked her a simple question. "Are you familiar with the Marriage Law?"
"What?" That was not what she had expected at all, but she knew of the law he was talking of. Somewhere in the mid 1700s or so the Ministry had created a law that forced certain people to be conjoined in marriage, it was normally used with pureblood families. But why was he bringing this up? That law hadn't been used in hundreds of years, she wasn't even sure it was still considered a law. "Uh, I mean I am familiar with it. I'm just a little confused as to why your questioning me about it?"
"I figured you would know something about it. You must have noticed the state of society right now, the prejudices that have been acting up?" He paused a moment, and waited for her to nod her head in confirmation before he continued. "Well things are getting out of order, and this is where this law comes in." He couldn't be suggesting what she thought he was, that would be ridiculous! " And as the Minister, it is my job to correct these problems. The Ministry as a whole have all agreed, we are reinstating this Marriage Law. We feel-" "What! That's completely mental, but, wait, how does this involve me?" She asked, almost afraid of the answer. It was then she caught sight of Lucius Malfoy, sitting a few seats over from her. He had this amused smirk on his face, that somehow also managed to look hateful.
"I was getting there." The Minister scowled, he didn't like being interrupted by anyone. "We believe that by betrothing certain couples, the public might be able to see them as role models, per say, and might settle down a bit. In the joining of two separate people, who were on separate sides of this war, we hope that the public will see this as a way to get over this tragedy, and it might settle a few disputes." As he droned on, Hermione was once again thinking how this involved her. "We are hoping you will comply with our decision to have yourself, and Draco Malfoy, to be married."
Dead silence misted over long table. Hermione couldn't even breath, she felt like someone was playing a cruel, mean joke on her. "No."
"No?" The Minister mimicked, fearing how she was going to react.
"No. There is no way I'll be marrying, him. I mean, I dating someone, doesn't that account for anything?" She practically shouted. She saw the dread that laced Kingsley's face, but she also saw the absolute certainty he felt in this decision.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, and I know how hard this will be for you, but this is final. This is the law, and even you have to abide it. The Ministry is, of course, willing to try to offer you our gratitude for what you'll be doing. We are prepared to offer you a job after you finish next year at Hogwarts in Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."
"You think that by bribing me I'll just willingly consent to this! There is no way, no way I'm doing this!" Even as she was screaming this, she knew what was going to be happening. There would be no way to fight this, if they made it a law, then she could do nothing. And she had always dreamed of working for the department of- no, she wouldn't let them do this!
"I'm sorry but there is nothing you can do. You will be receiving a letter in the mail from the Ministry that outlines the specific details of this arrangement, and Mr. Malfoy will be contacting you shortly. Until then, I would recommend that you and Mr. Weasley try to understand this law, and abide by it, and the two of you should part on good terms." Before she could even mutter a response, she found herself hustled out of the room, the last thing she saw of them was the condescending sneer of Lucius Malfoy.
As she reemerged into the waiting room, she felt everyone's eyes snap to her. They had all heard the muffled shouts that came from the meeting, but nobody was able to make out anything coherent. They all looked at her wide-eyed, waiting for some explanation. But they received nothing, as she just numbly walked to the fireplace, and flooed to her parents house. She did, however, glance back and see the chiseled, pale face, framed in ice-blond hair, of her new fiancé.