Hermione awoke to the sounds of shouting from what she could only assume was the kitchen downstairs. At least, that's what her inner directional senses told her. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. Looking across the room, she saw her best friend, Ginny, doing the same thing.

"What's going on?"

Ginny shrugged tiredly, "In this house? Merlin only knows."

Hermione got out of bed and pushed herself into a new set of clothes for the day, but not without some effort. It may only be a half an hour before she and Ginny were set to rise, but apparently that half an hour makes all the difference.

Ginny groaned and began to follow Hermione's movements. Before long, both were dressed for another day of attempting in vain to clean Grimmauld Place. It was after the war, but for the members of the Order who hadn't been killed, it was still a very real organization.

Twenty-two year old Hermione walked down the stairs, knowing Ginny would soon follow, wondering what in heaven's name could cause such a ruckus. Had Voldemort found a way to return? Was there another mass Azkaban breakout? Had Trelawney made another terrible prophecy?

She knew the kitchen was going to be chaos before she arrived, but what she didn't expect was an all out verbal war. Molly was screaming in rage at Kingsley, the new Minister for Magic, Arthur was attempting to restore order along with Remus while it was futile, Sirius was in a shouting match with Ron and Harry, the Weasley brothers were a mess, and everyone else looked on helplessly.

"What's going on here?"

Miraculously, all talking ceased. Everyone looked at Hermione with fearful eyes. It shocked her and she repeated her question.

Minerva was the first to recover from her hesitation, "There has been a new development with the post-war laws with the Ministry. It seems they've found a loophole and have taken every measure to put a certain law into place without letting anyone, especially our new Minister, know what was happening."

"What sort of law?" Ginny asked, joining Hermione's side.

Harry looked at his ex-girlfriend in sympathy, "A marriage law."

Both girls were confused and it clearly showed on their faces because he motioned for them to sit and read two newspapers that had been tossed their direction. Hermione found herself afraid to read what was coming, knowing that if they were this upset about it, it couldn't be good. The Daily Prophet in front of her looked as if it was taunting her to read it, and she couldn't help but comply.

The Wizengamot has come to a decision that a marriage law is essential in the survival of the wizarding race, and also a fantastic opportunity to conduct a final experiment on the effects of blood status on magic ability. Details of the law can be found on page 09.

Hermione quickly opened the newspaper and rushed to the section it was talking about. What she found made her stomach turn.

These are the rules of the law. Anyone who is found to break this law will be sentenced to time served in Azkaban decided upon in a hearing. Anyone found attempting to flee the country in order to prevent themselves from having to abide by this law will be sentenced to five years minimum in Azkaban. If you wish to leave the country, you must go through the Department of International Wizarding Affairs.

The rules of the law are as follows :

All witches ages 18 - 33 must marry. No exceptions.

Each couple will be expected to conceive a child within the next three years. If a witch is found to be incapable of bearing a child, she will be paired with a wizard who is also incapable and who meets the following requirements, despite any previous relationship. If a suitable partner cannot be found, that person may be banned from ever marrying.

Werewolves and veela are NOT exempt from this law. They must abide by the same rules as "normal" witches and wizards.

Sexual intercourse will not be closely monitored, but it is required that within the first year of marriage, a couple must at least copulate their union once. A spell will be placed upon each couple at their marriage ceremony to ensure this.

Partners will be assigned if one is not chosen a week from today. They will be assigned via letter by owl.

The pairings must be as follows :

Pure-blooded witches may only pair themselves with other pure-bloods and half-bloods, but the half-blood and them must have proof of a previously existing relationship. The two pure-bloods must bring a family tree with them for verification of blood status.

Half-blooded witches may only pair themselves with other half-bloods, muggleborns, and purebloods, with proof of pre-existing relationships.

Muggleborns may only pair with other muggleborns and half-bloods. No exceptions.

As a word of advice from the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic, Claire Standish, use this coming week wisely. The pairings you will receive by owl are final and cannot be changed except in special circumstance.

Hermione looked up with tears in her chocolate eyes, "Why is this newspaper dated a week ago?"

She already knew the answer.

In case you haven't figured it out from the description, yes this story will contain RemusxHermione and SiriusxGinny. Hell, this story is written ABOUT the two of them. ;) I hope you will enjoy this story as much as I do and please leave a review telling me what you think. I know it's a short first chapter, but that's a lot of information for under 1,000 words.