Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews!
I'm glad you guys have liked the idea for this story and I shall happily continue if you guys continue to be so supportive :)
Anyway, my chapters are definitely getting longer as my stories go on…I hope that's a good thing.
Chapter 2-
I calmly placed the file back into the envelope without as much as a second glance.
My mind was already set. There was absolutely no way on earth I was ever going to marry Draco Malfoy, let alone have children with him.
I needed to research everything and anything I could about marriage laws, if there was one thing that I learnt throughout my time at Hogwarts it was that every law has to have some sort of catch- a loop hole.
And I was going to do everything in my power to find this one.
As I stood from the edge of the lake I heard an obscene curse come from deep in the woods. On instinct I reached for my wand- after fighting in a war at the tender age of sixteen, those kind of noises never quite leave you.
I stood stock still and waited for the person to emerge. When I saw the familiar mess of red hair storm out from between the trees, I remembered that it was Fred who had ventured into the woods to read his letter and find out who the future Mrs. Fred Weasley would be.
Judging by the cuss worthy of a sailor and the storming pace at which he was walking, Fred's partner was just as bad as mine.
He barged past me without even noticing I was there. I was shocked to say the least; I had never seen Fred that angry in all of the years I had known him. Obviously I had seen him get angry at teachers like the loathsome Umbridge and on occasion at his mother if she took away any of the Twins' joke products but even then the anger had been calmed by a few choice words from George or a good revenge prank or two- never had he looked so enraged.
Deciding I couldn't let him charge into the house like that, I picked up my pace and began to jog behind him.
'Fred!' I called, 'Wait, who did you get?'
I knew it would probably add fuel to the fire but I needed to know who had got him so riled up in the first place.
'No one of any importance Hermione!' he called back bitterly, not even bothering to look back.
Trying to think of a way to coax him into answering, I decided that being bequeathed to Draco couldn't possibly be any worse than whoever Fred was due to marry so if I told him of my fate maybe he would see he wasn't the only one in this Godric forsaken situation.
'If it makes you feel any better, I'm supposed to marry Draco,'
I watched as he stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to face me with a look of pure disbelief spread across his usually cheery face.
'Malfoy? Huh, looks like I'm not the only one expected to marry a slimy Slytherin after all,' his voice had dropped the maliciousness it possessed only moments ago but a coldness was still hanging on to the end of his sentence.
I jogged up to where he was currently waiting and we began to walk back up to the Burrow side by side.
'So who's the lucky future Mrs. Fred Weasley?' I asked once we'd fallen in a comfortable silence.
Fred paused for a second before sighing, 'Your new fiancée's ex-girlfriend,'
I gasped, 'You don't mean?' I asked hoping it wasn't true.
He looked solemnly at me before nodding his head, 'Sadly yes Granger, I do,'
With no more comforting words springing to mind, we both fell back into a pensive silence as we walked the remaining distance to the Burrow.
'Right,' Mrs. Weasley began as the family started to regroup in the living room.
Looking around with a gut wrenching feeling, I noticed everyone seemed, well, happy.
With the exception of Fred and I, smiles seemed etched onto the faces of all of my friends. This only made me feel worse although my determination to find this loop hole was becoming stronger by the minute.
'Lets go around and see who you're future husbands or wives are going to be and how many children each of you will have to have,' Molly started again.
That had come as news to me. When I had read that part of the letter I had just assumed everybody must have two children, I didn't think it would vary depending on the couple.
Bill, being the eldest, was the first to tell us his arrangement.
'I will be marrying Fleur Delacour and we are expected to have two children,' as soon as the words left Bill's mouth smiles appeared on all faces around the room. Bill and Fleur had been dating for nearly three years; an engagement was bound to be on the cards soon anyway.
Next was Charlie who was meant to marry a girl named Grace who he had apparently gone to school with, they were to have 4 children and this was supposedly a good thing as Charlie remembered her as 'hot'. Men.
Percy, who was quite clearly ecstatic with his partner, told us he would be marrying Penelope Clearwater and he was having three children with her.
Ron stood up next. My heart beat picked up as he began to speak. Even though there had never been any romantic feelings shared between Ron and I, I was still nervous to see who he would be marrying. We were best friends, it was only natural I wanted him to be with someone he liked.
'I will be marrying Luna Lovegood and I will be having 5 kids,'
I waited to gauge his reaction and he seemed happy. Luna was sweet and somehow I could see them making a quirky little couple.
I gave Ron a great big smile as George spoke up,
'I shall be joining Miss Katie Bell in the ceremony of holy matrimony and the lucky lady will be having 2 of my crazy kids,' George's declaration made smiles appear on all faces but one. Fred seemed to pale at the perfect match his twin had been given.
A few giggles were exchanged at George's match as we all knew he had had a thing for Katie ever since his fourth year- they were still very close friends so this was perfect for him.
As Ginny was sitting next to George, she went next. As she stood from the sofa I noticed a large grin on Harry's face and I could see where this was going. As happy as I was for the couple, noting how everybody had seemed to get the matches they wanted was making it harder to swallow that I'd have to spend hours trying to find a way out of this.
'I will be marrying Harry and we are going to have 3 children,' Ginny smiled warmly as Harry took her hand.
'That's wonderful dear!' Molly exclaimed as she spoke for the first time.
After the congratulations had been given to Harry and Ginny- a couple everyone was pleased to see together at last- I realised only two people hadn't told their news. Fred and myself.
Everyone turned to Fred and I saw him debating with himself about what he should do next. He paled slightly when George prompted him.
'Come on Freddie, I know whoever it is probably won't want to marry you but I'm sure they will get over it,' George was only joking with his twin but when he noticed the dejected look on Fred's face it was too late.
Fred stood and practically ran from the house. Among the shocked gasps and exclamations Molly could be heard telling him to come back, he ignored her- something that almost classed as a death sentence.
I knew what Fred was feeling. Caged, slightly hopeless and well, jealous.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous that everyone seemed to get their perfect match whilst I was stuck with Malfoy.
I shrugged the thought from my mind. I was not marrying Draco. I was going to find a way, any way, out of this.
And before I knew it, I was on my feet chasing Fred out of the door.
'Fred!' I shouted as I tried to catch up with him.
He flinched when he heard his name and as soon as he saw it was me, he stopped running.
I slowed down from my crazed sprint and settled next to him as I tried to regain my breath. Merlin the boy could run.
'I just don't get it Hermione! How does everyone get their girlfriend or life long crush and I get a Slytherin bitch who is more snobbish and slimy than anyone I know? It's not fair,' his voice at the end of the sentence cracked and I couldn't stop my heart from hurting. He sounded so defeated, something that was so totally out of character for Fred that I suddenly felt it was my duty to fix it.
'I know it's not fair but I refuse to think I will be marrying Malfoy and you don't need to marry Pansy Parkinson either,' my nose automatically scrunched up when I said her name, something I must just do out of habit.
Fred seemed to perk up when I said that. We had already run the length of the Weasley's Garden and were now just wandering through the trees around the lake. Surprisingly, no one else had come to look for us yet.
If I had seen say, Harry run after Fred, my confusion would have gone through the roof. It's not like Fred and I aren't friends it's just I can't remember a time, apart from earlier, where we had spoken just us two together. Surely me running after him would cause some kind of curiosity or confusion?
I was shaken from my thoughts as Fred asked, 'And why don't I need to marry Pansy?'
Remembering how upset and angry he had seemed earlier, I just couldn't stop the next words from tumbling from my mouth.
'I haven't found it yet but every law has some sort of chink in its armour, an exception, a loop hole. All I need to do now is to find it and we shouldn't have to marry Slytherins,'
Mischief began to sparkle in Fred's eyes as he simply stated, 'We,'
Confused, I raised an eyebrow, 'We?'
'You said all you need to do know is find the catch, we will do it together. I mean we're both in the same boat of absolutely loathing our fiancées and surely two sets of eyes will be better than one if we're looking for the exception,'
I smiled my first real smile since this morning as I agreed to Fred's idea. Having a renowned prankster helping will be perfect if we have to do anything sneaky- I haven't been known as the most devious girl in the world after all.
Fred seemed to have got his fighting spirit back after I had told him of the unknown loop hole. So much so his next idea probably should have seen crazy but we were desperate.
'Let's go to Diagon Alley, they're bound to have a book or two on magical laws,'
I stopped walking at looked at him, 'What, now? I'm in my pyjamas!'
He laughed as I flapped my arms up and down my body indicating my lovely purple and blue pyjama bottoms and hoodie.
'I can fix that,' and before I could complain or question Fred had pulled out his wand from the waist band of his boxers and changed my clothes into a pair of skinny jeans and a nice knitted jumper, perfect for spring.
He then turned his wand on himself and his clothes changed into a pair of grey sweatpants and a dark blue t-shirt. The t-shirt clung to his stomach and I couldn't stop my eyes from travelling around his chest. He was incredibly toned from what I could see.
'See something you like Granger?' he smirked as I felt the bush creep onto my cheeks.
He placed his wand back so it was balanced between his stomach and boxers. I couldn't help myself from cringing a little at where he kept his wand.
Obviously, my discomfort was detectable.
'What? I can't carry it around in my hand everywhere and I'd look a little odd with a hand bag so my boxers are the next best place,' I laughed and shrugged it off with a causal 'just don't ever make me hold it,' which caused a laugh from the red head.
'Shall we get going then Granger? We have a lot of reading to do if we don't want to end up married to our green slithery friends,'
I nodded my head and grabbed Fred's offered arm. I felt the pull behind my navel that signalled we had apperated.
Then next thing I knew we were standing on the cobbled street of Diagon Alley.
Fred pulled my arm into Flourish and Blotts and I nearly laughed. Never did I ever think Fred Weasley would be pulling me into a bookshop.
'Won't people realize we're not at the Burrow?' I queried more to myself than to Fred as we walked down some of the hundreds of isle that made up my favourite shop.
He simply shrugged before replying, 'I should hope they do otherwise I have a family of buffoons,'
We stopped when we reached the section on Magical Laws and Contracts. There was a small table at the end of the row with a lamp and book stand perched on top. Perfect was the first thought that came to mind.
Fred seemed just as determined as me when it came to finding a way out of this stupid Marriage Law. As I selected large tomes from the shelves, Fred began reading with abandon.
I had found nearly a hundred books regarding anything from Marriage Laws to The Ministry itself in the first hour of searching and Fred had probably read enough on Magical Law to become a lawyer himself.
As the morning rolled on we began to lose hope.
It wasn't until we had been searching for nearly three hours when we finally found exactly what we had been looking for.
'Hermione! Hermione, come look at this!'
I stepped down from the ladder I had been using to scale the higher shelves and ran down to the table where Fred had been scanning all of the books.
The thick red tome was called MARRIAGES THROUGH THE AGES; WHEN TIMES CHANGED and was all about the old marriage laws. The second to last chapter however was about what would happen with future marriage laws and how they can be changed.
The specific passage Fred was pointing to was large and I began to read, a giant grin on my expectant face.
As my eyes scanned the page, I began to absorb the information.
'When the latest marriage law was created in the Wizarding World after the Battle of Gary the Gruesome several exceptions were made to ensure that couples of magical blood who were already in a relationship were allowed to marry. Instead of marrying the witch or wizard that had been chosen by the Ministry of Magic, if said couples could prove they were in a real relationship by passing a test all about their partner they were granted the permission to marry their chosen witch or wizard.
However after many witches and wizards decided to fake relationships, the Ministry added another precaution to the procedure of deciding who could testify against their Ministry chosen partner. If a witch or wizard wanted to change their fiancée they would not only have to pass the marriage test but they would need to supply ten people who were ready to prove the authenticity of the new relationship. Many who had been questioned said the Wizards who worked in the Department of Magical Marriages and Adoptions were very precise with their questioning, it was not an easy feet tricking the questioners.
A sub law was then created after the first marriage law was passed and it states that if any Marriage Law is to be passed by the Ministry of Magic, couples where both people are of magical ability are allowed to change their fiancée if they can pass a Marriage Law Test with a 75% match rate. The couples must also prove their relationships sincerity with ten other people of magical decent to give evidence if questioned.
The sub law was passed by Minister Radulfius Waggtail in 1713. It is still in the GREAT BOOK OF MAGICAL LAWS under section 389, page 206, line 24.'
I finished reading the passage and sighed. Why Fred had chosen this to show me I had no idea. Sure it was a loop hole but we couldn't do it, I didn't have a significant other and as far as I knew neither did Fred.
'Fred, that's great but we can't use it to get out of the Marriage Law,' I uttered as I began to look through another book.
He looked completely baffled as I turned down his idea. I had no idea why he thought we could use that sub law to change anything.
'Of course we can! Why couldn't we?' he exclaimed as I sighed and put the tome down.
'Well I'm sure it will come as no surprise but I don't have a boyfriend who I can marry instead, so it looks like we will have to keep looking,' my eyes dropped back to the books in front of me as I heard Fred laugh.
'For such a smart witch, you're really missing my point here,'
I raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to continue. I had no idea where he was going with this ancient sub law but if he wasn't going to stop bringing it up I may as well listen.
'You don't need a boyfriend, you can marry me,'
I almost choked on the air as I turned to look at his beaming face. I must have had a look of pure horror and amusement on my face at that moment, I'm sure it wasn't my finest moment.
'You can't honestly be serious?!' I snorted when he stood up so he was completely facing me. I had never noticed his height before now, but with his gangly figure looming over me I noticed how much height he had on me.
'What's so wrong with the idea? It's perfect if you ask me! You hate Malfoy; I hate Pansy and seeing as there is no one else to marry if we pretend we're a couple and pass this test then we can marry each other instead. Come Hermione, you know it's our best shot,' he pleaded as he put a large hand on my shoulder.
I was stunned. If Fred and I pretended to be a couple we would have to learn everything about each other, we'd have to convince our families that we were 'oh so in love' and we'd have to convince the Ministry too.
'There's no way its going to work, how are people going to believe we're together, I mean come Fred, its not like we're best friends or anything!' I was flapping my hands around now, just trying to get across how absurd this idea was.
'Think about it Hermione. We think of a back story to our relationship- some crap about keeping it on the down low- we hold hands in public, we hug, we learn all we can about the other and we pass the test. If we're good we can fool our families into believing it too. Come on 'Mione what other choice do we have?'
I was starting to loose my resolve. Fred's pleading eyes and comforting hand on my shoulder weren't helping my decision at all.
We had been searching for hours. This was the best we had come up with. If we pretended to be a couple I wouldn't have to marry Draco Malfoy. If we pretended to go out Fred wouldn't have to marry Pansy Parkinson. It was a win win situation for all of us.
With the deadline of September 1st in mind, I decided Fred was right. This really was our only option.
'Do you really think we could pull it off?' I whispered as doubt started to cross my mind for what was to no doubt be the first of many times.
Fred smiled supportively, 'Of course we can, the Ministry won't be hard to fool if we learn everything about each other and we have three months to do that so the test should be a piece of cake, trust me Hermione,'
And somehow I felt myself doing just that.
'Well, are you going to ask me then?' I asked after I took a deep breath to calm my over active mind.
Fred looked confused as he shook his head slightly, 'Ask you what?'
'To marry you of course! Just because this is a fake relationship doesn't mean you can skip out asking me, I'm only going to get one shot at this if our plan works- it needs to be right,' I smirked as realisation started to take over Fred's features.
'Blimey Hermione, we've only been going out what, 30 seconds and you're already ordering me around,' he gave an easy laugh which sounded so natural. It comforted me somewhat; I was starting to feel that even with my doubts this may just work.
'So come on, don't keep a girl waiting Weasley,' I teased back. It was so easy to fall into a conversation with Fred and I found the jokes just kept flowing as we both got our head around the situation.
Finally realising he would have to ask me properly, Fred bent down onto one knee.
He grasped my hand and I couldn't help the nervous chuckle that escaped my lips. It may have been fake but hey, I'm allowed my moment.
'Will you Hermione Jean Granger, do me the greatest pleasure of marrying me?'
I laughed before replying with a high, 'Why of course,'
'Excellent,' was the reply I received before Fred stood up and engulfed me in a warm hug.
Merlin, we really were doing this weren't we.
:)
I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, PLEASE KEEP REVIEWING!
The reviews I received on the first chapter really made me smile, I love to know what you guys think :)
Oh and I promise we can start to get into the good stuff now that they have decided to go ahead with the sub law Marriage Test.
Mayhem awaits.
Love, SophieSolemnlySwears
