The Marriage Ritual
Hermione and Rabastan were refused a marriage licence on the basis that Rabastan was still betrothed to another witch. The witch in question had not been seen since the first war, and was presumed dead by the majority of the wizarding world. Many of them thought that Rabastan had killed her himself to get out of marrying her.
There was no proof of their accusations, and Rabastan denied his involvement fervently. Every time officials asked him about it, he insisted that he did not mind marrying her and that she was perfectly fine the last time he saw her. He also insinuated that she was looking forward to marrying him even though he was a Death Eater.
It was because of this that Hermione Granger had cooped herself up in the Ministry library trying to find a way around the ruling. After many hours of work, she emerged with a triumphant smile on her face.
She had found an ancient ritual that used to occur when a wizarding couple wanted to be married on an equinox, a solstice, or Hallowe'en. They would travel to an ancient magical site and marry through sex: the ultimate union of a man and woman. The only other specification was that it had to occur during the 'witching' hour. A marriage certificate would automatically appear once the ritual was complete, which they would have to sign the next day.
Hermione went home to her lover and relayed what she had found.
"The other research suggested that Stonehenge was the most ancient and magical place to do it. What do you think?" she finished breathlessly.
"I want you to be my wife, and if all I need to do is sleep with you . . . well, I don't foresee any problems." he replied before kissing her forehead.
"Hallowe'en is only a week away, and let's hope that there aren't any Muggles around." Hermione said blushing at the thought of people seeing her having sex.
Rabastan chuckled. "If they are, then they'll get a sight."
The week passed slowly and Hermione was getting impatient as the time neared. She worried about what would happen if the ritual didn't work. Then there would be no way that she and Rabastan could marry. Rabastan, however, was very calm and reassured his lover that everything would be fine.
The night of 30 October rolled around and Hermione felt more nervous than ever. Thoughts of the ritual going wrong had calmed, and now thoughts of being caught by Muggles and being arrested by the police plagued her.
"Are you ready love?" Rabastan called up the stairs.
"Yes, I'll be down in a minute!" Hermione answered. She glanced at the clock as it changed to 11:59—one minute to midnight.
She got up and walked downstairs, joining Rabastan before Apparating to Stonehenge. When the two of them got there, the whole place was deserted. They walked towards the centre of the circle where the magic would be strongest. Each removed their clothes and held onto one other for warmth.
Rabastan laid Hermione down on top of his clothes and made love to her. They whispered sweet nothings into each other's ears and continually repeated 'I love you.'
The next day when they entered the Ministry, many officials were running around in a frenzy. Harry was there to meet them, in all the chaos, demanding answers on how they had evaded the ruling.
"It was simple, Harry," Hermione said with a delighted smirk. "I went to the library and found an ancient marriage ritual that doesn't need Ministry approval."