DM's POV

The Manor was never the same after war, deafening silence bellowed across the hollow hallway and it was the first time that he realized how dark the place had been. For the past twenty seven years, he enjoyed the gleaming emeralds and alluring darkness that spread across his room. As he heard the chirps at the window, he found his home rather empty. Something was missing, what could it be?

The obvious answer was his parents. Worn out by fear over the past few years, his mother could not living in the same house any longer. At first, she attempted to abandon the undesirable memories, but every object in the household triggered her so badly that she had to move out. The countryside estate in France healed the mental health better than anyone could imagine. Even though he had sent a post asking her to come back, she refused.

His father spent two years in Azkaban, which was already a lot more optimistic than he had expected. Killing countless Muggles and famous for being a Dark Lord's loyal follower were two crimes that could earn him a Dementor's kiss. Apparently, the Wizengamot's forgiveness granted him a second life. Soon after he got out the cell, he moved to the estate without a doubt.

But the young Malfoy was sure this was not what he cared, something else was missing in his life, something that he could not live without.

Finally, he decided that it would be best to leave it until he could figure it out. Work was his top priority, after all. It was indeed a surprise that he could work in the Auror's Department, when Potter was the head Auror. Despite being his rival since Hogwarts, he was quickly forgiven by this Gryffindor. Draco expected harsh requests and treatment from him, it turned out better than he thought. Potter treated him just like any other colleagues and his job was never too burdensome. It was the red haired boy that gave him some troubles for the first few months, soon he accepted Draco and they got along well, for the first time. If he had to complain about Weasley, it would his less intelligent mind and blunt attitude.

Though the wizarding world was restored, Aurors' work had never ended, years ago, their main targets were the Dark Lord and his followers, other dark witches and wizards were considered unimportant and therefore allowed to run wild. Now, the cases were finally treated and Aurors had to work like before again.

The new minister, Shawn Wilkins, succeeded the position last year. Kingsley Shacklebolt wanted something less burdening and thus became a worker at Muggle Liason Office. Draco smirked a little when he heard a news, he was the only Pureblood in the office.

He had his own quaint room at Auror Office, when he was not occupied by any cases, he would lay back and enjoy the carefree morning alone, reading Daily Prophet and drinking coffee. Daily Prophet changed a lot since another person took up Rita Skeeter's position. It was a relief to him as Skeeter nearly put him in headline every day, much like a fanatic stalker. She would report his work so deeply that he almost could not catch any dark wizards. The readers, of course, were intrigued and the Auror Office was often bombarded by fan letters, which made him frustrated and Potter suspected him for leaking information.

An owl tapped on the window glass and Draco opened the window, allowing it to drop down the newspaper on his desk. The headline captured him and he could not help sitting straight.

"Marriage Law Implementation," he read.

Yesterday, the Wizengamot passed the marriage law proposed by the Minister. The Minister explained that replenishment of wizarding population needed to take place as the recent Census showed a drastic decrease in population after the war. All unwed witches and wizards aged between 21 and 45 were required to participate in the scheme and much to Draco's surprise was that, pregnancy had to take place within the first two years of marriage. St. Mungos even invented fertility potions to support the Ministry. An owl would be sent soon to ensure that every eligible witch and wizard had no excuses to be exempted from the law.

"Using children as the binding of marriage," muttered Draco. "Well done, Wilkins, trying to get me love some ladies and consummate the marriage."

An owl flew into the office and dropped a parchment.

"How efficient!" he scoffed and he began reading.

Dear Mr. Draco Malfoy,

We are pleased to inform that you are an eligible wizard in the Marriage Scheme under the newly implemented Marriage Law. Please sign below to confirm your knowledge towards our policy and come to Department of Marriage no later than this Thursday.

Yours sincerely,

Lyudmila Amoreva

Head of the Department of Marriage

"Pleased...sincerely," he scoffed as he signed at the bottom of the parchment and let the owl took it.

A knock rang at the door and one of the Aurors, Quentin Marves came in and said,

"Mr. Potter would like to tell you that we will be have a new colleague and a welcoming party will be held this. afternoon, at three thirty."

"Is it a girl?" asked Draco.

"I know what you're thinking," said Marves and he grinned. "Marriage Law speeds things up, does it not?"

"Shut up, Marves, you can't be this cheeky if Aimee didn't accept your stupid proposal last year."

"Stupid but effective," he replied. "Don't worry, you are Draco Malfoy, who would not want to marry you?"

"Men," joked Malfoy.

"Come on, honestly if I were a girl and still single, I would immediately jump into your embrace."

"Yeah, 'if'," said Draco.

"This is not the Malfoy I know. I know you had quite a number of phrenetic Slytherin girls surrounding you back in those days, you should be able to find one that suits you most."

His mind ran through the Slytherin girls. Parkinson was the first one he could think of, but she would be the very last woman he would marry, her bossy and possessive altitude were not his cup of tea. Davies was too indifferent. Bulstrode was definitely not what he wanted, the only good thing about her was her blood purity. Greengrass sisters were acceptable but they were too similar to his mother, too meek and too reticent, he would someone bright, assertive and independent, someone that could relieve him from boredom and relish him with excitement.

"He didn't mention whether it is a boy or girl, guess you will have to wait until this afternoon," said Marves. "That's all I can say and please be excused."

Marves shut the door and left Draco in contemplation. Perhaps, he should drop by Department of Marriage during lunch hours.

Soon as the clock struck twelve, he rushed out of his office and grabbed a quick lunch before going to Department of Marriage. Much to his satisfaction, no other visitors were there, he did not want to let others know that his relationship status. It was unusual for a Malfoy to be single, with the agreeable appearance and undeniable wealth, it was almost certain that finding a partner would be easier than finding a job.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Malfoy, how can I help you?" asked a brunette female worker.

"Marriage Law," he curtly replied.

The worker took out a form and started filling in information.

"Date of Birth?"

"5 June, 1980."

"Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked.

"No."

"Do you have any compatible girlfriend in your mind?"

"No," he replied, feeling awkward.

"If so, we will have to pair you up," she said. "Please answer the questions with honestly since the compatibility will partially based on your answers. Your superior will also give us more information about you."

He nodded.

"What disposition of partners would you want?"

"Someone of high intelligence, around my age, understanding, not pushy, courageous, assertive and a bit adventurous."

"Preferably working in the Ministry?"

"Yes, best if she works in the same department."

"Do you have any hobbies?"

"Er...reading and making potions."

"Do you wish your partner to be of the same house as yours during your education years?"

"Any house is fine."

Any girls would be better than Parkinson and Bulstrode, he thought. Of course, Slytherin would be the ideal choice but the quality...

"Anything else?"

"No."

"We will inform you of the pairing result in six months. We will only do pairing once and if you are not satisfied by the result, you will have to find another partner on your own within a month. Remaining single is not quite an option unless you are willing to pay 40% single tax."

He left the department as soon as possible and hurried back to his office. Soon it was three thirty and he could hear cheers behind the door. Perhaps he should go out and have a look, he thought. The moment he came out of his office, he immediately regretted.

"Everyone, this is our new colleague, Hermione Granger, she will work with us starting on today. I hope everyone can get along well and lend a helping hand if possible."

Granger, what a surprise.

Draco forced a smile on his face and Granger in return, gave him a big smile that almost seemed like a smirk.

"Hermione, you will sit here, next to Melanie," said Potter. "I really wish to have you in my team but my team is currently full. You will be under Malfoy and just ask if you have any questions."

She nodded and Draco could almost sense her despise.

The party ended after two hours and Potter called them to his office. Draco hoped it would not be a lecture telling him to treat her well. After war, he was forced to cast aside his sense of superiority and learn to accept Muggleborns, Purebloods were no longer considered as "aristocracy".

He knocked on the door and got inside with Granger, Weasley was also present. As they took their seats, Potter placed a thick file in front of them. Granger grabbed the file and read,

"Adrian Phelps..."

"Sounds familiar," commented Draco. "One of those Muggle-jinxing wizards, I think."

"He is the personal assistant of the Georgia Prince, Nikoloz Amiran Temur Gruzhinsky, husband of Tania Shafiq."

"Shafiq," exclaimed Draco. "I know them, my father used to tell me about them."

"Sacred Twenty-Eight," pointed out Granger, slightly disgusted by his proud grin. "The only thing that can stimulate your brain."

"Shut up."

"Alright, you two stop talking and listen to me," said Potter and continued as soon as the office returned to silence. "Adrian Phelps, personal assistant of the prince, has claimed innocence and law bidding. However, recent activities show that he travels to different places of Britain at an abnormal frequency."

"Perhaps he has business," said Weasley.

"What business?" asked Granger.

"Dunno, trading perhaps."

"Trading what?"

"How would I know? Probably some private trading between the royal family and buyers or sellers. It's normal that to have tradings!"

"Didn't you read Georgian Seer?" asked Granger, annoyed. "The prince is preparing for coronation ceremony, he would not have time for trade."

"How would I know? I don't read Georgian!"

"It's a weekly English magazine!"

"Just shut up!" said Draco. "You two sound like squawking ravens!"

The office fell into an awkward silence, and Potter said,

"Hermione is right, the Prince is busy for coronation and it is unreasonable that his personal assistant could go out of the country almost twice a week," explained Potter. "We received a post from the personal assistant of Shariq, Tali. She believes that something is wrong with him and wants us to help tracking him down."

"I don't do tracking," said Draco. "Casey is obviously better in this job."

"Actually, I think you will do better," said Potter. "With the help of Hermione."

"With her-"

"-mione, you didn't hear it wrong."

"Come on, she is a newbie, I can't handle a case well while. taking care of a baby?"

"I am not that inexperienced!" yelled Granger. "I work in Wizengamot for a couple of years, for your information. I am very capable of handling different situations."

"I will need someone to come along if that is the case."

"Seriously?" said Ron. "You need a third person to help you out when you already have Hermione?"

"My other three teammates are occupied by David Huggins. I need an extra pair of hand to ensure success!"

"Don't consider borrowing people from our teams, Harry is busy with Cassandra Wallaby and mine is on that crazy old hag who stole thirty Nimbus 2020 and fifty Cleansweep Fifteen last month at Broomstix."

Draco licked his dry lips. Apparently he had no choice but to do this on his own.

"Fine, I will study this case this week."

"Let Hermione share your workload, she needs some warm up," suggested Potter.

A knock rang at the door and Marves came in.

"Wallaby has stolen Madame Primpernelle's beautifying potions again," he said. "For Merlin's sake, she still looks worse than Umbridge even when she has taken a couple of beautifying potions."

"She has already improved her looks," said Weasley. "The first time I saw her, I could not sleep for days."

Melanie came in, panting. Her face had turned paler than Draco's and she appeared almost out of breath.

"Madame Marjorie is attacking our office in five minutes."

The whole office was alarmed and Hermione was puzzled by their faces.

"Ron, give Malfoy the files and call Delia to my office," instructed Potter quickly. "And distribute the muffs too."

Ron levitated a box from the ground and sent it to Draco's office. Granger followed Draco to his. office and sat down. Just as she examine the files, Draco hurriedly cast Silence Charm at the door and use Strengthening Charm on the windows.

"What are you doing?" asked Granger.

"Wear them," orders Draco, throwing a pair of earmuffs to her.

"I don't see why I need them."

"Fine, don't regret."

Draco wore the earmuffs and began reading. Not for long, a screech pierced through the whole office and Granger quickly covered her ears.

"What's that?" she asked. "Banshees?"

"Even worse than Banshees," replied Draco, frowning as the screech penetrated the earmuffs. "I warned you."

She could not stand the screech and opened the door, only finding a large plump lady standing in the middle of the office, singing. But the voice was not enjoyable, the glass of water on the desk was shaking madly and everyone was covering their ears, hiding under the table and cringing. Only Potter and Weasley were standing tough.

"Who's that?" asked Granger.

"Madame Marjorie, one of our clients, a dark wizard broke into her house and stole her bottle of Felix Felicis two years ago. Since then, she came once a while to check on our investigation."

"The thief would have used her potion already!"

"She claimed that the bottle was a gift from her fans."

"Mr. Potter, how is my little song?" asked Madam Marjorie.

"It's nice-"

She began singing again, and Granger could feel her brain splitting into half.

Finally, it came to the last long note and Madame Marjorie left the office, with Potter and Weasley promising that they would try their best to find her bottle.

"Merlin, and I thought the Fat Lady is already my limits," commented Ron.

"I'd rather hear the Fat Lady sing twelve hours straight than her singing one minute," said Potter darkly, picking up the crooked quills on the floor.


Happy Birthday, Malfoy! (If you happen to see this on June 4, it's June 5 for me, come back a few hours later, you are a bit too early for the party.)

Yes, this is a Marriage Law. I know this whole Marriage Law thing is somehow too tiring (that's why I leave my ironic touch there...) I am going to make fun (out) of it.

And I write the chapters from alternate third point of views, this time.

Another notes for other readers who read my last fanfiction, I am terribly sorry, my computer broke down soon as I finished my public exam, I lost everything, and I could not remember much. I have to give up completing it. Let's just leave it open-ended...

I somehow find that I don't leave author notes like what others do. I am not going to leave a note of "I do not own Harry Potter"/"I do not derive profit from writing" or whatever. I agreed the terms of conditions before publications, I am supposed to comply with the rules set by . Plus, I don't live in the US/UK.

Do not kill me for using puns, I can't help it, I am just a puny writer.

This is not my usual writing genre, I rarely indulge myself in comedy works, so if you are unable to find something to laugh at...

Go find some other things to laugh at.

This is an alternate universe, so do not complain that Ron and Hermione are not couples and why Draco is an Auror.

If you have come across some works similar to mine, or you are the owners of those works...

Congratulations, we can be friends.

If you see my work on other platforms (I don't think this will happen), I hope you can trace back to here, at .

Please drop a word if you happen to live in Georgia (not the one in the US, but you can still talk to me if you come from the Georgia in America). გამარჯობა, ამხანაგი!

The usual practice of all writers: Please review, favourite and follow and I will see you all in the next chapter.