Dear Readers:
Greetings! This is my first fan fiction, although I have been writing original creative narratives since before I can remember. I was always a little skeptical of the world of fan fiction, but as I have explored this site, I became so intrigued by the material I found here that I felt compelled to try my own hand at it.
The stories that intrigued me the most were those pertaining to the marriage law. I found the idea of arranged marriage within the world of Harry Potter to be stellar, but the stories (while often well written) were a bit redundant in theme. I have not read the actual guidelines of the original challenge, (I had trouble finding them), but since I wanted to create something a bit anti-cliché, I probably would have tossed them out anyway.
I hope you enjoy this, and I promise to update regularly…at least until second semester finals. Reviews are more than welcome!
Littlekat1010
Dear Ms. Weasley,
On July 10th, 2009, the Wizengamot unanimously passed the Marriage Law. This law affects every witch from the age of 17 to 35, and every wizard from the age of 17 to 50. According to Ministry records, you became of age on June 27th, 2009. This is a notification that you are within the bounds of this law. Further information will follow.
Best Wishes,
Department of Marriage
The Ministry of Magic
One glance at her friends sitting at the table next to her told Ginny Weasley that they were as confused as she was. Hermione was the first to speak.
"Mr. Weasley, what is this talking about?" All eyes in the room turned to stare at a very serious looking Mr. Weasley. He cleared his throat nervously.
"This will not be easy for any of you to hear, but there are some things you need to understand. First of all, I can tell you for a fact that the Wizengamot was not unanimous on this issue. However, as has been the case since the fall of You-Know-Who, the Ministry is doing its best to present a united front. They want to avoid conflict, particularly with this law."
There was an awkward silence, then Sirius cleared his throat. He too held a letter in his hand. "That doesn't explain a whole lot, Arthur."
Arthur Weasley grimaced and continued. "The marriage is addresses the post-war issue of, well, death."
"Huh?" This came from Ron, but he was voicing what everyone was thinking.
"In the war, Ronald, we lost many of the younger generation. This is the generation that would soon have been married, would have had children, and would have grown the magical community. As it is, our numbers have severely decreased as many of our own are dead or in Azkaban. Many of the older generation lost spouses, and are unlikely to remarry on their own. The Ministry has found a way to…rectify the situation."
Ginny could feel her stomach tighten. He could not possibly mean that. It was too strange, too barbaric.
"They have decided to arrange marriages in order to …repopulate the magical community."
There was a collective gasp as realization of what Arthur had said hit the roomful of people. Hermione dropped her head in her hands, and Harry and Ron simply stared in shock. Sirius looked furiously angry.
"Oh gods" thought Ginny. "I'm barely 17"
"Will we—do—do have any choice in the…pairings?" Harry's voice shook noticeably, and Ginny knew he was thinking of Luna, his girlfriend since the end of the war.
Arthur shook his head. "The Ministry did specify that they would try to take into account existing relationships, and of course, engaged or married couples are exempt. But I doubt everyone will be lucky enough to be paired with the person they're dating. Once you are assigned a spouse, there can be no changes. They want to avoid the chaos that would occur if everyone were allowed to switch spouses."
A heavy silence fell over the room. It was Sirius that broke it. "How long do we have?"
Arthur sighed. "You should be getting your pairings, and a full copy of the law within the week. You have a full week from the day you receive you letter to make the marriage legal." He shook his head numbly. "I'm sorry, kids. I know this is the last thing you want. To be honest, I think it's a huge mistake on the Wizengamot's part. A community full of loveless marriages…that cannot be a good thing."
"Two weeks." Everyone looked at Ginny. It was the first time she had spoken since they received the letters. "I'm barely 17 years old, and I will be married in less than two weeks. And who the hell am I going to be paired with?
Sorry it was so short...my first chapters often are.
