Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize. Anything in the Harry Potter universe that you recognize belongs to JK Rowling. I'm just playing with her characters.

Author's Note: I am writing this story in response to a prompt I found on LiveJournal by kerravonsen. I believe the prompt was called Yenta Livery Company With a Twist of Marriage Law. Pretty long title, but you get the idea. It's a prompt from a number of years ago but I just found it so I'm working with it.

Also, I don't have a beta reader because I am just writing this as I go along. I don't have anything prewritten yet to be able to send. If you see any mistakes in the story, let me know and I will go ahead and try and fix those for you. This story will be slightly AU [as most sshg stories are].

Chapter 1 – All The Time In The World

September 1996

The sun was setting low in the sky when the Fat Lady's portrait moved, allowing a handful of students into the Gryffindor common room. "There you are, Hermione," breathed the single redhead that walked in. "We've been looking everywhere. What are you doing? Dinner starts in ten minutes."

Looking up from the parchment she was writing on, Hermione Granger shook her head at her boyfriend. Even after so many years in his acquaintance she still couldn't understand how he stayed so excited at the prospect of food. At least Harry had a bit of an excuse, his aunt and uncle often refusing him food when he was home for the summers. "I need to finish this tonight. Everyone has to when they turn seventeen. Unfortunately I just happen to be the oldest in our year so I'm the first one that has to do it."

As a half-blood wizard with no magical upbringing, Harry had no idea what Hermione was talking about, but Ron knew. Sitting beside the girl he had finally begun to look at as a girl, he read over her shoulder the questions she was answering. "If you had to choose an animal that best describes your personality, which would you choose? Did Luna write the questionnaire? What kind of question is that?" A loud laugh left the redhead's throat, unable to be held in. "How are they supposed to decide who you're matched up with when they're asking stupid questions like those?"

"Ron! I'm trying to take this seriously. Please just go to dinner. I'll be down as soon as I'm done. I've only got a few questions left." Her face flushed with annoyance as her eyebrows furrowed, her attitude sending her boyfriend and their best friend skittering back out of the portrait hole and down to the Great Hall. Honestly she didn't mind him looking at the questionnaire, but she didn't want him to see the answers she was filling out. She didn't want to have to explain her way of thinking to him when she didn't have to.

She'd already read ahead and knew that the last few questions bordered on embarrassingly intimate. Questions about what she was looking for domestically, questions about what she had already experienced sexually, and what she would be looking for in the future. But as embarrassing as it would have been for Ron to read her answers to those questions, it was the question about children that worried her the most. Ronald Weasley was his mother's child, no matter how much he may wish to deny it, and he would want as many children as possible. Hermione on the other hand, wasn't even sure if she wanted any; let alone a horde of them.

Trying not to blush or look over her shoulder like she was hiding something as she filled in the last answers, she quickly rolled up the parchment and cleaned up her area before hurrying down to the Great Hall for dinner, the rolled up questionnaire under her arm so she could drop it off with Headmaster Dumbledore.

For a couple hundred years the Ministry of Magic had been giving out tests to every prospective marriage to deem the couple's compatibility. The tests helped to determine the chances of producing magical children versus squibs. If the chances of squibs were too high, the Ministry would forbid the marriage. For the most part, though, every prospect was fairly average and they were left alone.

After realizing how many students were getting married right out of Hogwarts, the Board of Governors had elected to purchase a contract with a well-known matchmaking company knowing that it would save the Ministry time and their students' money in the long run. The school had been using the same services for the last hundred or so years and they weren't going to be changing that any time soon, which was why every student was made to answer the questions when they turned seventeen.

Pushing her way through the large doors, Hermione walked up to the head table where the Headmaster sat with the majority of the professors enjoying their evening meal. "Miss Granger you had a couple of days to fill out the answers. There was no hurry." The old man's eyes twinkled as he looked on at the student before him. He'd been a Gryffindor himself and was just as studious as she was so he understood the fact that she wanted to finish quickly. Especially when one had so many other papers to be working on, but he was also well aware that this questionnaire could determine the rest of her life and she needed to take her time on it so there were no mistakes.

"I understand, Professor Dumbledore, but I answered everything honestly."

She didn't wait for his answer before moving away. The room was filled to the brim with students of all ages chatting with their friends, laughing as they told tales of their days or groaning as they remembered they had detention after they ate. Letting her eyes drift over to the Gryffindor table as she made her way over, she smiled as she noticed Ginny ignoring Harry and Harry surreptitiously looking over at the youngest Weasley child while maintaining his conversation with her older brother. She didn't have to ask why Ginny was ignoring the young man. She knew that despite Ginny's relationship with Dean, the younger girl still had feelings for the Boy Who Lived.

Pushing her way between the two teens who couldn't seem to find a way to be together despite both of their feelings, Hermione grinned as everyone greeted her. At least she was done with the questionnaire. Now she wouldn't have to worry about it until she chose to get married – something that if she had her way wouldn't happen for at least a few years yet. She had all intentions of being completely settled into a career before she decided to settle down and get married or start a family. She had all the time in the world, after all.

Author's Note 2: Yes, the chapter is short but it was just a bit of history. More of a prologue. The chapters after this will be longer, don't worry.