Chapter 1: Gone

This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't what she planned. All those years of thinking her wedding would be one of love, of thinking she could chose her husband, of waiting for the right guy. Gone. All her dreams and wishes of her love life-gone. All gone, as soon as she opened the owl post that morning.

"MINISTRY OF MAGIC DECLARES NEW MARRIAGE LAW"

As of 8:00 PM last night, a new Marriage Law deemed"The Repopulation of the Greater Wizarding World" was put into effect. The Ministry has decided to take the weakened magical community's population problem into their hands. Their guidelines are as follows:

-Any Muggle-Born witch or wizard over the age of 19 will be affected by this law.

-All Muggle-Born witches and wizards are required to marry the Pureblood witch or wizard the Ministry chooses for them within one year of today's date. The marriage must produce a child within 2 years of the wedding date.

-If any witch or wizard refuses to marry those chosen for them, the person in question will have their wand broken and be sent to Azkaban.

-Cheating will not be allowed, and will have the same punishments as those who refuse the marriage.

-Leaving the country is prohibited, and if attempted, the witch or wizard will be sent straight to Azkaban.

Hermione looked in the envelope that came along with her other mail, and saw the small piece of parchment resting within. That small piece of parchment held the two words that would change her life forever. The thought alone made her shudder and get light-headed. Hermione sat down and stared at it for what felt like hours, but was only a few minutes.

Deciding she couldn't even attempt to open it without support, she made a cup of coffee and waited for the arrival of her best friend, and one-third of the Golden Trio, Harry Potter. It was only half past seven in the morning, but surely Harry would show up at her flat within the hour.

This gave her a chance to really think about what this meant. Hermione hoped her fiancé would be someone she knew from Hogwarts. Merlin, if she had to marry Malfoy, she would go insane. Azkaban was a welcoming thought compared to a life with the ferret. She could always go to the States and live life as Muggle. That certainly wouldn't work, though, if what the Prophet said was true. Thinking about it for another 10 minutes or so, Hermione had just decided she would have no way out of a love-less marriage, when she heard the floo come to life.

"Harry!" She said as she got up from her chair and rushed to greet him.

"Hermione? Where are you?" Harry called through the flat.

Harry jogged around the corner, and Hermione had to stop herself from laughing out loud.

Harry had obviously just gotten out of bed, with his hair even messier than usually, his glasses askew, and his pajama pants with snitches flitting about still on. It seemed he hadn't fully woken up yet, as he accidentally knocked over a flower vase sitting on the table.

She did laugh, though, when he barreled into her and grabbed her in a bear hug. It was the only thing she could do to not cry over the ridiculousness of the whole situation. Her laughs, however, soon turned to sobs as Harry stroked the top of her bushy head. The weight of it all had finally hit her, and Hermione didn't know what to do. For once in her know-it-all life, Hermione Granger hadn't a clue what to do.

"Oh, Harry. I'm so nervous about who it could be. I don't want a Death Eater husband." Hermione choked out as her body visibly racked with sobs.

"You haven't opened the letter yet?" Harry asked, shocked her curious nature hadn't lead her to open it. When she slowly shook her head, he let them slide to the floor, and sat them in a more comfortable position. He whispered reassuring and encouraging words into her ear as she held on to him for dear life and let out all her emotions.

When her sobs quieted into small, soft sniffles, Harry put his arm around her shoulder and leaned them against her hallway wall.

"Mrs. Weasley's in a right fit. She cooked up enough food to feed a small army, and then have leftovers for the month. She's been busying herself all morning since she read the Prophet, waiting for her children to come over. The Burrow's never smelled better!" Harry tried to encourage.

Hermione snorted out a laugh at that. Not surprised at the matriarch's antics, she stood up and reached down to help Harry up. Walking into her kitchen, she poured him a cup of coffee. He gratefully grabbed it and nodded his thanks. When she opened the curtains for the room, Hermione saw the gloomy day outside that did nothing to help her mood.

"I suppose we should go to the Burrow now, yeah?" Harry nodded, "I'll go take a shower and get dressed. You can turn on the telly or catch up on your sleep on the couch while I'm gone." Hermione said as she walked down the hallway to her bathroom.

After a refreshing shower and drying her hair with her wand, Hermione changed into a green jumper and dark jeans. Pulling on her trainers and putting her hair up in a bun, secured by her wand, she went back out to find Harry passed out on the couch, his long forgotten coffee mug on the table. She gently shook him awake, and they walked over to her fireplace. Hermione reached into the pot on the mantle and threw the floo powder into the fire. They stepped in as the roaring green flames engulfed them.

"The Burrow!" They shouted together, unmistakably, and left the comfort of her flat, off to what she could only imagine as insanity.