"Auntie 'Mione!" Victoire and Teddy cried as they raced towards her. Hermione laughed and dropped to her knees just in time to accept the double hug. She nearly fell back but just managed to keep balance.
"Oh, I missed the two of you." She pulled back and smiled at the two happy children. "Are you being good?" Victoire nodded proudly and Teddy smirked. Hermione stuck her finger under his nose. "You're spending far too much time with your godfather."
Teddy pushed her hand away. "Nooo…" He crossed his arms and his hair turned black and unruly like a Potter, his eyes bright emerald green.
She narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "I've got my eyes on you, mister." She tickled his side and he squealed and ran for safety. Hermione laughed and picked Victoire up before heading to the massive table set up in the backyard of the reconstructed Burrow. "And how have you been, sweetie?" Hermione asked Victoire in French.
"Good. I missed you."
"I missed you too."
"Are you coming back to Friday dinners?"
Hermione kissed the little blonde's head. "I'll try my absolute best, okay?" She nodded.
"'ermione!" Fleur called in delight when the curly-haired witch reached the table. "Oh, it's been so long." She kissed each of Hermione's cheeks before taking Victoire from her arms and depositing her back on the ground. Victoire clung to her pregnant mother's skirt.
"I know, I'm so sorry," Hermione responded in her flawless French. She'd always been adept at it, since her family had taken many summers in France. Once Fleur found out, she made it her mission to perfect Hermione's French. The two almost always conversed in it. "You look absolutely lovely. You're glowing."
"Oh, stop. I'm massive and pregnant."
"And still beautiful," Bill interjected as he came up beside them. He pressed a kiss to Fleur's cheek. He could understand French after years married to Fleur, but he couldn't speak it. "'lo, Hermione."
"Hey, Bill. Good to see you."
"And you. Starting up Friday night dinners again?"
"I'm going to try," she repeated, knowing it was a fact she'll probably need to repeat many times.
"That's great, mum'll be happy. She's inside cooking with Padma."
"I'll go say hi." Hermione slipped away and headed into the Burrow through the backdoor that led into the kitchen. The wonderful smells of a Weasley feast were in the air. Hermione took in a deep breath and smiled. She missed Friday night dinners. She made a mental note to make a real effort not to miss any more of them.
In the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley was bussing about, ordering Padma to cut vegetables and stir sauces. Padma glanced over and her eyes widened when she saw Hermione. "Hermione!"
Mrs. Weasley's head shot up like a dog. "What?" She spun around. "Oh! Hermione, dear!" Mrs. Weasley rushed forward and pulled Hermione into a tight hug that the younger witch accepted gratefully. Mrs. Weasley, no matter how overbearing she could be, always made her feel loved and accepted in her home. "I didn't know you were coming tonight."
"It was a surprise," Hermione said as she pulled back. Over Mrs. Weasley's shoulder, she saw Padma mouth "save me." Hermione turned her attention back to the Weasley matriarch. "I hope you don't mind."
Mrs. Weasley cupped Hermione's face lovingly. "Oh, rubbish, dear. You know you're always welcome in my home."
A little voice squealed and laughed and Hermione turned to see little Hugo, only a year old, sitting on the floor near the kitchen table and playing with his teddy. His blue eyes stuck out in stark contrast to his tanned skin and dark curls. He smiled at Hermione and raised his hands. "Oh, hello, baby." She went over and bent down to scoop the baby into her arms. He smiled and giggled as he stuffed the teddy's ear into his mouth. "You've gotten so big." She kissed his head tenderly before smiling at Padma. "And so has your mum."
"Oi," Padma retorted with a hand on her ample hip. She had filled out after having Hugo and developed curves around her hips and chest area that she hadn't had much of before. Though her stomach had gone back to its usual flatness after the pregnancy, it had blown up again now that she was pregnant once more.
"I can't believe you're expecting again." Hermione laughed and hugged her friend. "Congratulations?"
Padma scowled for a moment before nodding and smiling. "I'm happy. Ron's happy. We're all happy." A pot banged loudly behind her. "Most of us are happy," Padma whispered.
Hermione bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. "Let's go outside." Hermione hiked Hugo up higher on her hip and headed towards the back door. "Mrs. Weasley? I'm going to steal Padma for a bit, I haven't seen her in too long."
"Alright, dear. Be sure to say to Ron, he'll want to see you. You know he will."
Padma's eyes widened and she left the house. Hermione sent the matriarch a tense smile and nodded. "I will." No matter how many children Ron had, Hermione was sure Molly would still try and get him to marry her. She didn't know why Padma and Ron hadn't gotten married yet as it was. They certainly loved each other.
Hermione exited the house with Hugo on her hip and sat down at the table with Padma. "Sorry," Hermione apologized not unkindly.
Padma waved her hand. "I'm used to it. I know she likes me, she just wishes we'd gotten married first. It's the 21st century, whatever. It's not like Ron hadn't had sex before me." She gave Hermione a significant look.
Hermione blushed madly. "Sorry?"
Padma laughed loudly. "Don't be!" She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Are you kidding me? Hugo thanks Santa at Christmas and I thank Hermione Granger. My god, you taught that boy well."
Hermione tried to feel embarrassed. Eventually, she nodded and shrugged. "It was a fun project while it lasted." Padma snorted out a laugh at that. "So how are you feeling?"
"Good. Annoyed, a bit. We wanted to wait. But…" She shrugged. "How's work?"
"Alright. Just finished a massive project. It had me buried for weeks. I'm very happy it's over with. Stupid minister. I don't like this new bloke."
Padma shook her head. "Minister Shaklebolt never should have stepped down. I don't know why he did. Racksworth is just some sort of patsy politician. Minister Shaklebolt was actually getting things done! It's ridiculous." Hermione nodded in agreement. It had been sad news when Kingsley stepped down from the Ministry. His wife had grown ill and no one had been surprised when he eventually resigned his position. It didn't mean anyone was overly happy about it. "They've got some massive thing in the works right now, as well."
Hermione's brows rose at that. "Oh? What have you heard?"
The Indian witch shrugged. "Not much. I work in the Ministry but I'm not exactly high up. Something big though, I think. They've had all hands on deck for a few months now." Hermione didn't like the sound of that. What on earth had they had her doing for this project?
"Well, look what the cat dragged in." Both witches turned and smiled when they saw the rest of the family heading towards them from the quidditch pitch including Harry and Angelina Johnson. Ron shook his head. "Who invited this one anyways?"
"Your mother, obviously." Hermione retorted with a smirk. "I'm her favourite child."
George laughed loudly at that. "Don't joke, Granger," he scolded as he came up behind her. "Hitting a little too close to home, there."
Hermione leaned back and looked up at him as she smiled widely. "Hello!"
George's answering smile down was massive and warm. "Hello," he greeted before stealing Hugo from her lap. The baby squealed with delight.
Hermione went around and finished off her greetings to everyone just in time. Everyone helped Mrs. Weasley bring the food from the kitchen to the table. The noise level grew as the children were placed and things moved about to make room. They were still in the process of figuring out where the potato mash had gone when an owl came.
"Is that the Prophet?" Percy questioned from one end of the table.
Mr. Weasley picked up the paper, nodding in confusion.
Ginny looked around at her family as she asked, "But they never do an evening addition, right?" Everyone nodded and shrugged.
"Well?" Mrs. Weasley asked from halfway down the table with Teddy and Victoire. "What does it say?"
Mr. Weasley unrolled the paper and looked at the headline. His eyes slowly widened. "It's… The Ministry has proclaimed a deficiency in numbers."
"What?"
"They're saying that the population of Magical Britain has gotten too low." His eyes scanned the article quickly. "They're instituting a Marriage Law."
Charlie looked down at the peas and frowned. "I bet that's gonna be about as much fun as it sounds."
Mr. Weasley scratched his head and continued reading. "They've assembled a list of witches and wizards that have one week to get married."
"What!?"
"One week!?"
"Alright!" Mrs. Weasley hollered over the protests. "Alright! Settle down, let's just hear what's going on before we start yelling." She turned back to Mr. Weasley. "Go on, Arthur, dear."
"Oh, uhm… It's alphabetical." Mr. Weasley flipped open to a page in the newspaper and his eyes scanned the names. "George Weasley and Angelina Johnson. Ronald Weasley and Padma Patil."
No one spoke.
George shrugged. "Well, I mean. We're engaged anyways. A week's a bit soon but we were planning on it." Angelina didn't look happy but she shrugged.
Mrs. Weasley looked to Ron and Padma, standing shocked on the other side of the table with Hugo between them. "Do you think it's because of the baby?"
Ron blushed madly and scratched his head, much like his father just had. Padma glared at him when he opened his mouth. "Don't you dare."
He eyed his pregnant wife before turning back to everyone. "Padma and I are engaged."
Mrs. Weasley gasped and place a her hand to her heart. "What? Since when?"
Ron shrugged. "Since before Hugo was born. We registered with the Ministry but when we found out about the baby we put it off." He glanced at Padma's pregnant belly. "And then it happened again."
Harry covered his mouth but he couldn't contain his snickering. Ron punched his arm. "Quit it, mate."
"But then what about Harry and Ginny?" Percy interjected.
Mr. Weasley instantly began looking for Harry and Ginny's names on the list. Harry's face paled and he looked down at the table where he stood. Mr. Weasley shook his head. "They're not here."
"Well, why not?"
"Harry didn't register," Ginny whispered.
Mrs. Weasley's head whipped around. "What?"
"Harry didn't register," Ginny repeated more loudly. She spun around on her almost-fiancé, eyes ablaze with fury. "You still didn't register?"
"Gin…"
"Don't "Gin" me, Harry Potter. You were supposed to register the engagement. We've been engaged for eight weeks!"
"Ginerva," Mr. Weasley snapped, "enough of that. We don't even know what's going on. Let's all just remain calm. Shall we?" He turned back to the paper. "All the couples must be married within the week. Dates and times have been assigned for each couple. If there is a conflict or reason why the couple does not wish to be bound, they can only fight the match until the wedding hour. There is information for that here." He turned to the next page and took a deep breath. "All other citizens of Magical Britain must come together to help repopulate the dying race."
Hermione snorted. They weren't exactly pandas. They were doing fine.
"Couples on this list have been placed together by expert Arithmancers based on magical power, magical attraction, and personality." Hermione's eyes widened and her heart stopped. On no, she thought. She didn't… Had she? Had she made the matches? She turned and looked across the table to Harry who was staring at her with wide eyes. He didn't know much about her recent project, but he knew it involved matching things. Hermione shook her head, trying to say without words that no, she didn't know. She didn't know.
Harry looked back to Mr. Weasley as he continued paraphrasing from the paper. "The ones with the highest compatibility have been given the shortest engagement periods. Couples that need longer to get to know one another will be given it to better ensure lasting matches."
"This is absolute bullshit," Ginny protested.
"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley scolded.
"No, mum! They can't do this! Like we're toys or something? We have lives!"
"There's more," Mr. Weasley interjected quietly. Mrs. Weasley shot her daughter a fierce look before turning back to her husband and telling him to continue. "All couples, both on the first or second lists will be expected to have children by a certain time."
"What time?" Hermione asked suddenly.
Charlie gave her a slightly horrified look. "Does it matter?"
"Of course it does. This is the most ridiculous law I've ever heard of. It won't last. It'll be turned over in half a second." She shrugged, unconcerned. "If the time period for having children is great enough, we might not have to have any."
George nodded. "She's got a point."
Angelina smiled broadly and came up behind Hermione's seat. She hugged the younger witch around her shoulders. "Of course she does, she's Hermione. She's brilliant." Hermione smiled at Angelina in thanks.
"They are giving you five years after the date of the wedding to produce one magical child."
Hermione nodded. "That's fine. I don't think this thing will even last a year. Especially if they're matching old pureblood families with muggleborns. The Malfoys alone will have a fit."
Ginny laughed and sighed. "Oh, I'm starting to feel a lot better."
Mrs. Weasley had a pained look on her face. She was not so easily put at ease. "Find the children's names, Arthur."
Mr. Weasley nodded and then abruptly paused mid-nod. "The first match is Harry Potter and Hermione Granger."
Silence.
"Oh my god." Hermione blinked. Oh, she had said that. She looked across the table to Harry and Ginny. Neither spoke. Neither so much as moved. Hermione turned to Mr. Weasley. "When's the wedding?"
Mr. Weasley swallowed uneasily. "A month from now."
"Oh my god," she whispered. Angelina's arms tightened their hold. Hermione shook her head. She turned to look at Harry and Ginny again. Ginny was crying, silently. Her eyes had pooled over with the tears, though she made no indication that she noticed. The redhead very suddenly turned and fled. Harry finally looked up. His eyes met Hermione's and she couldn't speak. She mouthed, "I'm sorry," and then he was gone.
"Gin! Ginny!" he shouted after her. They disappeared into the house.
Hermione's head fell against the table. "Oh my god."
:::
Hermione had eaten pretty much nothing but ice-cream, chips, and mac and cheese since Friday. She refused to go to work when Monday finally rolled around. It was a Wednesday. Head Unspeakable Spratt had yet to come knocking but she knew it was inevitable.
She dipped her spoon back into the Ben and Jerry's as she stared at the headline of today's Prophet. It was pretty much the same as yesterday and the day before. Pictures of people getting married. Happy and not so happy couples alike. Mostly they were happy. All the couples getting married in the first week were already engaged. None had much to complain about besides timing and venues and a rushed party. Most were still making the most of it.
Which was good. Those people deserved to be happy. It was the articles inside the prophet that was making her depressed.
Harry Potter and Hermione Granger: Finally!
Harry and Future Hermione Potter: As it Should Be
Hermione and Harry Potter: Everyone's Ideal Couple
It went on and on and on. The pages were filled with photos from when they were in school, Hogsmeade weekends, the Tri-Wizard Tournament, after the Battle of Hogwarts, their final year in school. There was a picture of them walking together down Diagon Alley that Hermione was almost positive had only been taken last week. It was a bloody nightmare.
Hermione wanted to crawl into a pit and die.
She'd read over the paper with the list of couples over and over again. Their numbers had popped into her head as she did. She searched the names and the matches, trying to find some sort of proof that she messed it up and none of these couples would work.
But it was no use. She had done a brilliant job. All the names, all the ones she recognized, were undeniably suited for one another. Even Ginny and — surprisingly — Blaise Zabini. It all worked. It all fit in some weird, twisted sort of way. It wasn't fair.
Hermione sat on her couch and glared at the copy of the Prophet with her and Harry's names splayed across the inner cover in big, bold print. She glared at the newspaper as if it were those two parchments of paper. The perfect match.
Those bastards.
The floo activated and Luna jumped out, quite literally. Hermione looked up, eyes wide. It took a moment for her to register that the bright, smiling witch before her was in fact, Luna Lovegood, who she hadn't seen in a month. Hermione jumped to her feet.
"Luna!"
"Hello!"
Hermione desperately tried to fix her hair as she came around the coffee table. "How are you?" She gave the younger witch a big hug. "You look fantastic."
"Thank you!" She glanced at Hermione. "You look dreadful."
"I feel dreadful."
"Well, that's not good." She looked around the apartment and her lips fell into a little frown. "How about you go take a shower and I clean this place but a bit? Then we can go out for dinner!"
"Oh, I don't know, Luna. I'm not exactly…"
Luna raised her eyebrows. "I went by your work first. Unspeakable Spratt says if I don't get your arse back in gear he's going to send Unspeakable Wallace to do it." Hermione's nose wrinkled. Luna nodded. "I haven't met Unspeakable Wallace, but I take it you don't like him?"
Hermione groaned. "Fine."
"Great!" Luna quickly shooed Hermione to the bedroom before setting about cleaning the apartment.
:::
"You should wear this one," Luna decided as she held up a beautiful red cocktail dress.
Hermione raised her eyebrows where she sat at her vanity table. "You don't think that's a bit fancy?" She eyed Luna's dress. It was an odd mesh of colours and beads but everything Luna wore was a bit odd. Her stockings were striped and didn't match but her hair had been left down in long curls with a pretty flower crown placed on her head. Hermione almost wanted to say that Luna was dressed up for something. "Where are we going?"
"A very nice restaurant." She paused then shrugged. "Or so I'm told." Luna held the dress up again. "Harry always says you look pretty in red, I say you go with this one."
Hermione grimaced. She hadn't spoken to Harry since Friday, or Ginny, or anyone else really. She'd spoken to her cat. That was about it. "Sure, Luna. I'll wear that one." Hermione slipped into the fitted red dress. She'd bought it for a boyfriend ages ago who she'd actually ended up dumping before she got the chance to wear it. Hermione pulled on her sheer black stockings and black high heels as well. They worked well with the elegant off the shoulder dress and sweetheart neckline.
Luna handed her a gold necklace and the matching gold earrings. Hermione fitted them on and grabbed her black pashmina.
"How do I look?"
"Perfect!"
"Are you going to tell me why we're dressed up now?"
Luna's answering smile was far more devious than Hermione liked. Devious and Luna was never a good mix. "For dinner, which we're going to be late for so we'll apparate." She took Hermione's hand and suddenly the two were gone.
Hermione stumbled on the pavement. She shook her head as she tried to orient herself. They were in Diagon Alley in front of a beautiful restaurant. Luna stood on her tiptoes and waved her arm at someone. Hermione turned to see who she was waving at and her heart nearly stopped. It was Harry.
He was heading towards them at a brisk pace, his hair tousled from the wind. He was wearing a sleek three-piece suit and a black tie. Hermione absently noted that it was one of the suits she'd picked out with him a year ago. Harry caught sight of Luna and smiled and nodded. He sped up his pace. His eyes slid to the left and he spotted Hermione. She had to give him credit, he didn't even stumble. He also didn't smile.
"Harry!"
"Hey, angel." Luna pressed herself into Harry's chest and he hugged her tightly. "You look beautiful," he said after pressing a kiss to her forehead.
She leaned back and smiled brightly. "Thank you. Come on, Rolf will be waiting."
"Rolf?" Harry questioned, but Luna was already through the door. Harry glanced at Hermione. They didn't say anything as they followed Luna into the restaurant.
Luna was winding through the seats to a table for four in the centre. A tall, pale man with dark hair and bright eyes stood up from the table. Luna went up to his side and took his hand. Her smile as she looked up at him could only be described as loving. Hermione's brows rose. She glanced sidelong at Harry who was clearly trying not to scowl.
"Rolf, this is Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Harry, Hermione, this is my husband Rolf."
Harry choked on his saliva. "I'm - I'm sorry, what?"
Hermione looked back and forth between the odd couple. He was tall, so incredibly tall and lanky as well. He had a sweet and kind disposition about him, if it was any consolation for the oddness of the situation. "Didn't you just get back from Norway?"
Luna nodded. "That's where we met."
Rolf raised a hand and wiggled his fingers in a friendly wave. "Hello!" He held his hand out and Hermione promptly shook it. He winced when Harry shook his hand and Hermione could only guess how strong Harry's grip had been. She knew just how overprotective he was of Luna.
"Good to meet you," Harry responded, though it sounded more threatening than kind. They each took their seats, Luna and Rolf on one side and Harry and Hermione on the other. Harry gestured between the two of them as he put his table napkin on his thigh. "So how'd this happen?"
"Well, we met in Norway, as Luna said." Luna nodded in agreement as she smiled lovingly at him. "We're both naturalists and we were looking for creatures so we decided to team up."
Luna turned her smile to Harry and Hermione. "It was a lot of fun. We found lots of new creatures. We almost packed up and headed off to another country but decided to come home after the engagement."
"Engagement?" Hermione questioned politely.
Rolf nodded. "We got engaged. We planned to get married after we told everyone, but then the law was passed." He and Luna shrugged. "Well, we simply got married." They smiled at each other.
Hermione's eyes widened. "Wow… that's… congratulations." Despite her misgivings, she couldn't help but smile at the look on Luna's face. "I'm very happy for the both of you," she added warmly.
Harry still hadn't said anything. Hermione touched his leg under the table to get him to speak. He moved his leg away. "We both are," Harry added with one of his easy, charming smiles. Hermione looked down at her plate and tried to hide how upset she was at his rebuff. Harry had never rebuffed her like that before. He had problems with a lot of people touching him and she knew he wasn't big on physical contact. But he had openly told her she was the only person who he never minded touching him. Clearly, things had changed.
Hermione threw a fake smile across her face and looked up. "So, tell us about Norway and all these wonderful creatures you discovered."
It turned out, Rolf was related to Newt Scamander. His grandson, in fact. Rolf told amazing stories about Newt and his adventures, as well as some of his own as he travelled the world. He was very well travelled. He and Luna were already making plans for their next trip.
Dinner was pleasant, mostly due to the fact that Harry and Hermione were not required to talk to one another. And they didn't. At all. It was actually quite the feat, considering they were practically on a double date. But Harry and Hermione were nothing if not master avoiders of the important. They navigated the dinner conversation like pros, constantly keeping it on the newly wedded couple and away from themselves.
"Thank you," Luna whispered as she hugged Hermione close outside the restaurant at the end of the night.
Hermione smiled and squeezed her affectionately. "I'm so happy for you."
Luna turned her head so no one else could hear and whispered, "Now make sure you talk to him. You two need to sort this out."
Hermione sighed. She nodded.
Luna pulled back and smiled widely. She turned to Harry to give her goodbyes as Rolf came up and offered Hermione a hug. "Be good to her," she instructed him. "She's very special to us."
Rolf smiled. "Yeah, I got that from the numerous subtle threats Harry's given me throughout the night."
Hermione nodded. "Yes, and if you're a very good boy, you might be able to get that down to one threat a dinner by Christmas."
Rolf raised his eyebrows. "Of this year?"
Hermione laughed. "You're funny, Rolf. You're very funny."
Luna and Rolf waved their goodbyes before they turned and disapparated away.
Hermione and Harry stood where they were for a long moment, neither say a word. Harry turned to leave. "Harry, wait." He paused. He didn't turn around. "We need to talk."
After a moment, Harry turned and raised his eyebrows. "So talk."
Hermione looked around. "Not here." She took his hand and apparated them to a designated apparition point in muggle London. She guided him to a nearby park and they sat down at one of the benches. Harry raised his eyebrows at her. "Sorry, I just don't want to give the press any more ammunition."
"Well, you probably should have thought of that before all this happened," he snapped.
"What? You think this is my idea?"
"You made the matches."
"I didn't know I was making the matches!" She grabbed Harry's hand and squeezed it desperately. "I swear to you Harry, I had no idea. I've been asked by departments in the Ministry to do work like that before. Hell, I've asked trainees to do work like that before. With potions, and spells, and creatures, and wand wood types. My god, the list goes on. Harry, I'm telling you, I had no idea."
"But you should have!" he exploded. "You're Hermione! You're supposed to see this before it happens."
Hermione's jaw dropped. "That's not fair. You can't hold me accountable for something just because you don't like it. This isn't my fault and you know it." She stared at him as her eyes misted over.
Harry's jaw clenched. "Can't you at least fight it? You messed up the Arithmancy and got all the matches buggered. You need to fix this."
"Fix what?"
He shot her an annoyed look. "The ending to Die Hard, what the fuck do you think, Hermione? This! All of it. You put these matches together but clearly they're wrong."
Hermione slowly shook her head. "Harry… they're not wrong."
"Yes, they are. Because - because I'm engaged to Ginny. And I… I chose her. I didn't choose you."
She grimaced. "I know. Harry, I know. I'm so sorry. But I can't change this. I've looked at the matches and they're right. They work." She shrugged helplessly. "If there was something I could do, I would. But there isn't… we just… We have to wait it out."
Harry looked at her, finally, properly looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"I'm still pretty sure this law will get overturned. Right now, it's just people getting married who were already engaged. But soon… starting with us, it's going to be a lot of people who don't want to be together. And there is going to be a lot of backlash."
"You think we won't even have to get married?" he asked, hopefully.
She shook her head. "I don't know. I doubt that, though. We're less than a month away and this will take a little bit longer than that. We should go with it, just… do what we're told for now. We don't know what sort of consequences there are for not following the rules and as the first couple — and quite famous — they'll certainly make an example out of us if we step out of line."
Harry's brow furrowed. "So, you just want to do what they say? Go along with it? Get married?" He gestured aggressively, nearly getting worked up all over again.
"It won't be forever," she placated. "And then when this is all over, you can go marry Ginny and be happy." She took his hand again. "It'll be like none of this ever happened."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
