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A little something I have been working on. I have a few chapters written out already, so here is a tease. Let me know what you think?

I own nothing. P

CHAPTER ONE

Marriage.

To many, that word conjures up warm images of laughter, of love, and bright promises of the future. To many, that word was something to celebrate over, fuss over, and be all around proud of. But then again, to many, marriage wasn't something being forced upon them by one seemingly senile old man with a increasingly annoying twinkle in his eyes.

Hermione Granger had recently had the 'pleasure' of being chosen for an arranged marriage at the wonderful age of 17.

How did she feel about this little matter?

It was very safe to say that, at present, Hermione Granger was not a very happy person.

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It was three weeks into her seventh year at Hogwarts when her life went from being understandably chaotic to unbelievably horrid.

For one thing, the war was over. And while that brought with it relief beyond any measure, it also brought a slew of problems no one thought to consider during the course of the war. One of these issues was brought along by the murder of the minister of magic during the final battles. After the war, only one person seemed fit to rule over the ministry and it was none other then Albus Dumbledore. At the time, it had seemed like a great idea and everyone had been in favor. I mean, who better to over see all the wizarding world? The only other foreseeable option, Harry Potter (who had thankfully survived the showdown), had no desire for the position which left it wide open. All in all, everyone was rather pleased with the decision.

But oh how wrong we were.

As it turns out, Albus Dumbledore was indeed, in her personal opinion, one of the most sinister people Hermione had ever met. Sure, he was good. No one doubted that. But he was a manipulator and it became rather evident after he made his first very public decree that wasn't up for discussion.

There had been quite a problem after the war with pure bloods and muggle born showing a lot of aggression towards each other, ignoring the 'small' fact on which side of the war they actually had fought on. As can be imagined, several violent incidents and the death of two pure bloods by the hands of muggle born lead to realization by the ministry that something would have to be done, and soon.

Any normal person, as far as Hermione was concerned, would have come up with a rational solution to a pressing issue. Any normal person, she thought, would have carefully considered all outcomes of said solution and made sure it was truly best for the general public.

But when Albus Dumbledore announced the he would be personally arranging marriages between all of age muggle born and pure bloods, it was rather plain to the wizarding world that Albus Dumbledore... had finally lost his marbles.

Needless to say, at present, Hermione Granger was not a very happy person.

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AU: so, who could she be promised to? Take a wild guess.

reviews please?