Hermione Granger stood on the street in Godric's Hollow, the snow landing gently on her hair. It was strange being there. She hadn't been since her journey with Harry. She breathed deeply as she read the address at the bottom of her letter. She couldn't believe she was even going along with this. How could the minister of magic force something like this? How could no one fight back? She knew the answers to the questions. People didn't fight back because they were tired. Tired of fighting. It had been years of fighting. Of a war that had left many people without a family. Thousands of wizards had been lost, possibly more. She was certain the ministry would never find all the missing wizards. But nonetheless, to force a marriage on the young. To force them to have children was just wrong. There was nothing she liked about this arrangement. And worst of all was she didn't even have a name of the man she was going to marry. Just an address. How insulting. She reread the letter she held.

Ms. Hermione Granger,

As you should be aware, due to the recent number of casualties, the ministry of magic has decreed that all wizards and witches must be married by the first of June. You are receiving this letter because our records state that you have not responded to our previous letter asking to register with a potential husband. Due to this, it is our duty to assign you a mate. Should you fail to cooperate, your wand will taken and your memories erased. You will be sent back to the muggle world with no memory of magic or the magical community. It will be forbidden for your friends to contact you. You will spend your remaining years only among muggles. Should you wish to comply, you will find your future mate at the address on the bottom of this letter This will be your new home. Should you choose to comply with the arrangements made for you, you will both be expected at the ministry on the 16th of January for your registration. Should your arranged mate fail to comply you will be expected to report this on the 16th of January.

Thank you

She was seething as she read it again. She couldn't believe this. It had barely been a year since the war ended and they were already back to creating ridiculous laws. She was glad she chose to go home to her mother and father after the war and not gone to work for them. She only wished she had stayed in better contact with the boys. She had barely spoken to Ron or Harry since she left. She would imagine that Harry and Ginny registered themselves. Bill and Fleur, already married, had nothing to worry about. She did wonder who the rest of them paired with. Were they in the same position as she was? So here she was, the 15th of January, ready to meet her future husband. She only hoped that he wasn't someone awful. Hopefully he was someone she could at least talk to. Maybe even learn to like. She cursed under her breath at her mother for talking her into this. She thought her mother would have been outraged, not logical. Her mother understood how much she loved magic. And her friends. She had never intended to stay away from the boys so long. Perhaps if she hadn't she could have at least married Ron. He may not have been her first choice as a husband, but he was her friend. And though they decided not to pursue a relationship after their initial kiss, she could have learned to love him, she was sure. She hoped at least he got to choose. She hoped he was happy with his future wife. She took the key given to her out of her pocket. Exhaling deeply again, she unlocked the front door and stepped into the small home. Looking around, she didn't see anyone. She stepped into the living room, already furnished and decorated. It was certainly cute. Perhaps if he didn't show up, she could live here alone. That would be nice. She froze when she heard footsteps above her. He was here. She felt her heartbeat quicken as she stepped toward the stairs, mentally preparing herself for the worst. As she reached the top of the stairs, she saw a light on in one of the rooms. She slowly moved forward toward the room. Opening the door, she was surprised to see a flash of red hair. When he turned around, her eyes grew wide. Of all people, it had to be one of them?

"Hermione?" He looked like he saw a ghost. He hadn't seen the girl in almost a year. "Are you-?" he stopped, not even able to finish his sentence. Of all people to be paired with, he was paired with Hermione Granger? He had assumed she would never come back after the law was announced. He thought he'd never see her again.

She nodded slowly as he made his way toward her. She couldn't believe she was going to marry one of the Weasley twins. "Fred?" she asked, wondering which one he was. She waited for him to nod before saying anything else.

A smile grew on his face as he came closer, eventually pulling her into a hug. "I can't believe you're here," he whispered into her hair. When he pulled away, he looked her up and down. "I thought we'd never see you again. Everyone is going to be so happy to see you again."

"You're going to be my husband?" her shock hadn't quite worn off. Fred Weasley was going to be her husband.

"Looks like it," his smile faded. "Stupid ministry. What a backwards rule. At least Gin and Harry weren't torn apart," he sighed.

"What about Ron? And the rest of the family?"

"Come downstairs and we'll have some tea. I'll tell you about everything. And then we can let everyone know you're here," he walked out the door and headed down the stairs to the kitchen. She followed, sitting at the small table. She thanked him as he set a cup down in front of her. She sipped it, letting it warm her all over. She hadn't even realized how cold she was. "So I guess you want the whole story of everyone," he gave her a small smile when she nodded. "Well, Gin and Harry registered as soon as they got their letter. Naturally, they were both happy. They're planning the wedding. Still haven't got a date though. Charlie married his girlfriend in Romania. Some girl named Gwen. Percy registered with a girl named Audrey. They were pretty happy about that. Getting married in two weeks. George and Angelina were paired. She got to their house a week ago. I think they were both a little disappointed but they were happy enough. At least they were friends. And Ron got paired with Luna, of all people. He finally went to meet her about 3 days ago. He says it's not so bad, even if she's a little bit of a nutter," he smiled. "And I have to say, I'm a bit relieved to see you. I was getting worried."

"So what do your mum and dad think?"

"Their appalled, to be honest. They tried to protest for the three of us that wanted to refuse. Thought maybe they could start a petition or something. Dad says muggles use them to get laws and things overturned. But imagine trying to get a bunch of wizards signing their name to something they don't understand. Needless to say, it didn't work. She's happy for everyone else though. She says at least she knows she'll have grandchildren soon. She just hated the whole pairing thing. I think she was worried Georgie and I would run off to be muggles," he laughed. "We talked it over. But we decided it would be worse to be without everyone than to be forced to live with someone we didn't love."

"You two thought about leaving?" she looked at him surprised. Of all the family, she knew the twins loved magic probably more than everyone else. After all, their products depended on it.

"Yeah, for a bit. But of course, there was no guarantee that we'd even know each other after our memories were wiped. Plus we couldn't do that to the family," he shrugged. "I never thought I'd end up paired with you. I was afraid I'd be with some awful Slytherin girl or something."

"Well, I guess I have to admit it could be worse," she nodded. "I still don't like this. I still don't know if I can go through with this. Marrying someone I don't love just doesn't seem like a life I want," she looked down at her cup.

"It's not as though I'd have proposed to you either," he replied, slightly hurt. "But the fact is that if it's between marrying you or going to live with the muggles, I'd much rather be with you." He thought she'd have been happier to see him. At least she knew him. At least she'd be with the people who were like her family still. At least she wasn't forced to marry Draco Malfoy. He had always thought of himself as a catch. But here she was acting like she'd rather leave everything than be with him.

"I'm sorry, Fred. I didn't mean it as anything personal. It's just that-" she stopped, trying to find the right words. "Well, I always imagined marrying someone for love. And having children with them. And that it'd be my choice. Not some barbaric arrangement."

"If you don't want this, you don't have to go through with it. But I promise if you do, I'll do my best to not drive you insane," he smiled slightly.

"This is the way it has to be, I suppose. I'll just have to accept it. I can't leave everyone forever. I've missed all of you the last year. I wish I would have stay in contact a bit better. But after I got that letter 3 months ago, I was so angry. It took me till now to even make this decision. But I've made it. So I guess you have a fiance, Fred Weasley."