Disclaimer: The World of Hogwarts, Characters, and most everything otherwise belongs to JKR. I own nothing, aside from the characters I have made up myself. Oh how I wish these characters were mine….

Author's Note: Thank you to my WONDERFUL beta Katy for making everything flow ten times better, plus helping me with my atrocious spelling! This is an AU story. The story is set in the trio's seventh year. The final battle had taken place during their sixth year, and Voldemort was defeated. Dumbledore, and most all of the other main characters, lived through it. All will be explained, but that is the basis that you should know. Enjoy! :)

Chapter One: A New Law

I was hoping I would be exempt from the law. I'd sacrificed so much for the war… how could they ask more from me? What right did they have? I knew I was being unrealistic and selfish but damn it, this was ridiculous. How could they expect us to accept this as a reality with no problem? How could I allow the ministry to choose the person I'd spend the rest of my life with out of a hat? What if they matched me with someone I didn't know? Or worse, someone I hated!

I knew it was only a matter of time before the ministry would send me my match. When Dumbledore canceled classes and called us all back to the Great Hall after dinner, I'd known it was time. A swarm of owls flew into the great hall, sending down letters left and right. I wondered how they all dodged each other so well until Ron's owl plunged into a bowl of soup, sending it's contents flying across the table.

A letter was dropped perfectly center onto my plate. Unlike the others around me who tore open their letters and looked immediately for their "chosen one's" name, I took my time. Maybe a little too much time. For a few moments, I couldn't get my hands to work. All I could do was stare at the letter in front of me addressed to 'Miss Hermione Granger.' Finally I worked up enough curiosity and courage and open the letter. As I slowly cut through the envelope I noticed my hands were shaking uncontrollably. I tried my best to steady them, and continued to open the letter. I pulled out the parchment, and started from the top.

Dear Miss Hermione Granger,

We are delighted to inform you that you are eligible for our new Marriage Law. As you are aware, anyone between the ages of sixteen and fifty will be assigned a life partner. This is due to the extreme loss of witches and wizards after the Final Battle, as well as the amount of Squibs that have been produced in the past several years. You have been assigned to Mr. Fred Weasley, son of Arthur and Molly Weasley. Your wedding date is set exactly 2 weeks from now, March 14th. You both shall meet for a consultation with the Ministry on March 7th. If you refuse to take part in this marriage, you will be stripped of your magic and immediately sent to Azkaban. Thank you for your time and cooperation.

Sincerely,

The Ministry of Magic

I hadn't realized I was holding my breath until I let out a huge gasp of air. My head was spinning, but perhaps that was the lack of blood and oxygen flowing to my brain. I couldn't think, or speak, or move. I just sat there, letter in hand, trying to breathe.

Then I heard the shrieks all around me and realization hit, hard. I looked around the Hall at my classmates. Some were glad- by chance they'd been matched with their current love or perhaps their crush. For most, people were paired with those they didn't know nor had the intention of ever getting to. There were tears and hysterics echoing throughout the hall.

"Silence!" Dumbledore shouted, his wand to his throat. The crowd hushed immediately. Even those who were sobbing uncontrollably pulled themselves together enough to be quiet. I looked back up at Dumbledore. He looked distraught. He'd fought so hard against this… I knew he looked at all of us as his own children- all of this must be eating him up inside. Damn the ministry.

"I wish for you all to remain calm. I have no idea how long this ridiculous law will be in action for and I do not wish to give you false hope. As I have been told, your partners have been picked for you specifically. The ministry refuses to grant any changes of any sort." The moans and groans continued throughout the hall. The sobs resumed around me and many students fled the Great Hall in hysterics. I wish I could have left, but I have found it impossible to move, or even do anything.

"Please," Dumbledore held out his hands, begging for us to pay attention to him. "I know this is a hard time, and extremely inconvenient for all of you who are students, but it is also something we must live through. We have been through so much already, so I hope this will not affect Hogwarts in any way. There will be no excuses for missing class or deadlines because of this law. Everything will function as normally as possible. Until further notice, that is all I have." How could he not think that this would affect the students? Our lives had just been thrown upside down. Gryffindors were being paired with Slytherins, couples were being torn apart because of this law and he expected us to act as though nothing was wrong. There would be fighting in every hallway, people crying in every direction. There was no way this was going to work.

Most everyone had excused themselves from dinner. The majority went to go find their new match or cry in their dorms. I had never felt so sick in my life.

Ginny, Harry, Ron, and I were still sitting at the Gryffindor table. Even Ron found it impossible to eat.

Even Harry had been subjected to the marriage law, but the fates had been on his side and he'd been paired with Ginny. They'd been dating since before the final battle. I had to admit I was jealous of them. I could see how hard they were trying to contain their excitement of being paired together as they sat with Ron and I trying to comfort us. I'm not sure how comforting it is when your best friends are smiling at each other hand in hand, but at least they weren't snogging flat out in front of us like some of the other couples left in the Great Hall.

"Pavarti?" Ron's voice startled me from my thoughts and I turned to face him. He looked horrible. "I hardly know Pavarti. I don't want to MARRY her." I rolled my eyes- he knew Pavarti plenty. "I hate the way she's always twirling something- her hair, a quill, earrings… My God! I can't stand it!"

"Quit getting yourself all worked up mate." Harry laughed. "You and Pavarti get along fine."

Ron shrugged and I could see the panic in his eyes. He'd only looked this scared around spiders. "Maybe we won't now. Maybe we'll fight all the time. What if she annoys me to death? Can that happen? I hear that can happen…" He started mumbling off into his own fantasy. He had begun to work himself into a panic, it was almost comical. Almost.

"Who did you get Hermione?" Ginny asked as Harry tried to calm Ron down. I'd hoped to tell her in private, but Ron's panic attack would distract him and Harry for now. Unfortunately, as she asked this question Ron and Harry were immediately silent.

"Uh, well…" I stuttered. I really didn't want to tell them, especially not Ron. I bit my lip and tried to muster up enough courage to say his name out loud. Seeing it on paper was one thing… but admitting it out loud made it real. Harry looked as though he was about to coax it out of me with the same assurances he'd been feeding Ron, but I cut him off.

"It's Fred." I mumbled. Maybe they wouldn't hear me over the commotion.

"Fred?" Ron asked slowly. I imagined his brain going through all of the possible Fred's we knew. Leave it to Ron to ignore the obvious.

Ginny's eyes had widened at my admission and I knew that she wasn't in denial like her brother. "As in FRED WEASLEY?" She gasped. I nodded my head slowly, unable to look any of my friends in the eye.

"What!" Ron shouted. He ripped the letter from my hands, practically giving me a paper cut. His eyes scanned the letter and he shook his head as he re-read it.

I shrugged, "I don't think they can really mess that up," I told him.

His cheeks grew crimson and his hands shook in anger. "But you and Fred are NOTHING alike." Ron blurted. "He likes pranks and he's fun. You like books and you're…"

"Don't finish that sentence," I warned him. He backed off slightly, and went back to re-reading my letter. He could keep reading until he went cross eyed- the name wouldn't change. "This can't be right."

"I can't believe this." Ginny said, snatching it away from her brother so she and Harry could look it over. "How weird. I would've thought out of all my brothers they would pick Ron." She said pointing over to her brother. His face grew redder and I felt my own heat up.

I ripped the letter out of their hands. "Yeah, well, it's not. It says Fred. I really don't even know what to say." I looked back down at the name in disbelief, just as my friends had done previously.

"Well, I still can't believe I got Pavarti," Ron muttered, looking back down at his own letter.

I sighed in somewhat of a relief that he had refocused his attention back on himself. I wasn't sure whether to defend my pick, or to be completely against it. I had no intention of ever being with Fred in any romantic sort of way. It was even a stretch to call us friends. I had no idea how I was going to act, and I certainly had no idea how to go about finding out.

"Let's take a walk…." Ginny whispered to me as she grabbed my arm. Had she not been tugging at me so harshly, I probably wouldn't have been able to move, however Ginny was strong enough to pull me out of my seat. I eventually got my feet to stabilize on the ground, and we slowly made our way out of the Great Hall. We stopped a little way down the corridor and I took a minute to take a few deep breaths.

"What are you thinking?" She asked me.

I shrugged, "I don't know what to think. I mean, I never thought in a million years this would ever happen. I've never been around Fred for long periods of time. I do know that I find his pranks absolutely insufferable, and Ron's correct in saying that I'm not exactly the life of the party. I just don't see how this could ever work."

"Sounds to me like you aren't too happy about it," She said smirking at me. Thank you for pointing out the obvious Ginny.

I rolled my eyes, "Well, how am I supposed to act?" I exclaimed. "Happy? Should I jump for joy?"

"No." Ginny moved away from me slightly and I felt a pang of regret for blowing up at her. "It's weird to think about, that's for sure."

"Thanks for the support Gin," I muttered. We continued walking in silence, neither of us knowing what to say. To be honest I don't think we'd be able to hear each other anyway. Throughout the halls we passed students hysterical crying, couples snogging in every corner and crevice, and gossip advancing its way across the school. It was terrible to see, but I couldn't think over the noise. And if I couldn't think over the noise, I couldn't wallow in my self pity about Fred.

Ginny sighed heavily. She leaned towards me and shook her head. "This is ridiculous. If they're going to cry like that, they should at least go to their dorms where they won't disturb anyone." She said this as we passed a sixth year in the fetal position on the hallway floor.

"Have a little Sympathy Gin," I replied. "We didn't all get matched with our boyfriends." I looked down at my feet. Breaking down sounded really good to me right now, but I forced myself to hold it together. Someone had to stay strong. Someone had to show the others that we could get through this, just like we'd gotten through all of the other problems we'd faced. People couldn't see Hermione Granger weak and vulnerable, then it would be official, Hogwarts would have gone to hell. The school was ALREADY in complete chaos.

She looked at me apologetically, "Who would you have wanted Hermione?"

"No one," I said immediately, scoffing at her ridiculous question. I was sixteen. How was I supposed to know who I'd want for my match?

"If you had to pick someone," She said, eyeing me. "Who would it be?"

I thought for a moment. The only one who really popped into my mind was Ron. There had always been something between us. Still, the more I thought about it, the more I knew how terrible it would be. I couldn't imagine being Ron's…. wife. Then again, I couldn't imagine being anyone's wife.

"I suppose Ron," I replied, "But that's a stretch."

She nodded, understanding, "Well at least you weren't already dating someone, and then forced to marry someone else. How tragic would that be?" She asked me.

My heart sank a little, thinking of all the students, "The Ministry has gone to complete hell." I blurted out. "Honestly, what are they thinking? This will never work; it's just going to blow up in their face, just like so many other laws have."

She nodded her agreement and we continued on our walk. However, each step we took became bleaker. I couldn't stand all the tears, and it only seemed to be getting worse as we came closer to the dorms.

"Ugh." I muttered, grasping my head with my hands. "I'm not even the one crying and I have a headache."

Ginny looked as if she was about to say something, but she was cut off by Professor Lupin and Professor McGonagall storming down the hall. Seeing as we were the only two students noticeably normal at the moment, they stopped us.

"This is absolutely terrible," I heard McGonagall shout to Lupin as they approached us.

"Hermione! Ginny!" Professor Lupin smiled at us. I could see the relief in his eyes that we were two less students for him to worry about.

"Hello professors," I said kindly in return.

"Can you believe this?" Lupin exclaimed, pointing to the madness surrounding us. "It's impossible to control. There are way too many of them."

"I know what you mean," Ginny cut in, "There's no way we are going to be getting any sleep tonight with all of the crying and fighting."

"It's simply-" McGonagall started but then averted her eyes to a scene behind us. There was a couple that seemed to be going through a "break up" due to the new marriage law, and they weren't taking it well. The two were sharing a passionate kiss in the middle of the hall.

"Will you stop this nonsense," McGonagall yelled, storming over to the couple and pulling them apart. She needed assistance from Lupin just to keep them away from each other.

"I'll always love you!" The girl wailed- tears were streaming down her face. Even her 'ex' looked broken up about it. Although I fought the urge to roll my eyes at their dramatics, a piece of me was saddened. I'd never believed much in puppy love, but I couldn't believe the ministry would do this. It was obvious they had some sort of connection with each other and to be ripped apart from that person because of a law was just cruel.

Ginny and I fled the sight as fast as possible. It was starting to cause a scene and students who weren't already wrapped up in their own problems were making everyone else's worse. I couldn't believe the amount of gossip already spreading.

When we finally arrived in the common room I wanted to turn right back around and leave. It was absolutely flooded with the same thing we saw throughout the school, only in a smaller area. The noise level was something you wouldn't even hear at a heavy metal concert.

By sheer luck, we ran into Ron and Harry in the common room. Half of Gryffindor was making their way in and out of the dormitories. There was literally no room to breathe. People were standing back to back, is if they were waiting in line for a major store opening. I knew Hogwarts was huge, and I knew that our house held many students but except for meals we'd never all been in the same place at the same time. The numbers were astronomical. I didn't even want to calculate it.

"Let's go." Harry said. Ron stood behind them, both carried duffle bags.

"Where?" Ginny shouted over the noise but it sounded like a whisper.

"We're going to the Twin's shop for the evening." Harry replied. "All four of us." I felt my heart sink to my stomach. I wasn't ready for this. I bit my lip and hoped that I hadn't given my feelings away to the others.

Ginny immediately nodded, no questions asked. She ran upstairs so fast I didn't even know what hit me. It was amazing how quickly she made her way through the crowd and up to our dorm.

Harry turned his attention to me and I knew he'd seen through my act. I sighed and let down the walls around my emotions. I couldn't face Fred, not yet anyway. I needed more time. "I'm sorry Hermione- we were in such a rush to get out of here we didn't even think…"

"We can't go anywhere else." Ron cut him off and if I hadn't been in the middle of my own mini breakdown I probably would have glared at him. "Have to be back for classes tomorrow, so mum's is out of the question."

"We aren't even allowed off campus at this hour!" I said, looking down at my watch. It was nearly one in the morning… we'd been going through this chaos for hours now!

"Dumbledore's letting sixth and seventh years leave for the night if they choose." Harry explained gently. "But, as Ron mentioned, we have to be back by the morning."

I nodded. I wished there was some other way. I didn't have the money to rent a place for the evening but I knew I certainly couldn't stay here. I had planned on finishing homework tonight, but I'd known I wouldn't be able to focus on the material as soon as we'd sat down in the Great Hall. I doubted I'd even be able to get sleep.

"I-I don't know what to do." I stammered. I followed Harry's gaze to the stairs. Ginny was running down with two small bags in a hurry to get away from the mobs. She came up to me and though we both knew how I felt about going to the Twin's loft she smiled encouragingly.

"I packed you a bag. Let's go," She directed to the boys.

"I don't think I can go Gin. It's too soon," I mumbled. Surprisingly enough, she heard me.

"We're not leaving you here Hermione. Now stop moping, we're getting you out of here before you completely lose it." Ginny glared at me and I sighed. I stared down at the floor, willing my feet to move or my mouth to speak, but nothing happened.

"Hermione." I looked up to see Ginny glaring at me. The boys were at the door and I knew she'd sent them ahead. I could hear the warning tone and for a moment I wondered if this was how Ron and Harry felt every time I lectured them? "Face your fears head on. Don't lock yourself in your dorm and pretend like hiding out here is going to solve anything. Look at this place!" She shouted, pointing to the nonsense happening around us. A small grin appeared on her face and she bumped her shoulder with mine. "If we left you here, I would fear for your life! We'd come back and you'd be as bad as the rest of them!"

I smiled slightly, but it felt weird on my face. Had I seriously forgotten how to smile? That's what it felt like.

"Alright," I muttered defeated. Ginny was right and I knew it, but I couldn't help the sickness in my stomach that was growing worse and worse. I needed to do this. I had to stay strong, to accept the match I'd been given and show the others we'd get through this. "Let's go." Ginny's smile widened and she grabbed my arm, leading me through the crowd towards Harry and Ron.

It was going to be a long night.

Author's Note: I hope you liked the first chapter! If you've read anything else I've written, you'll know I'm pretty into the hole Hermione/Fred thing. I can't help it. J Anyway, review if you like!