"Mr. Potter." She almost shrieked his name, "Thank you for volunteering to lead the dancing portion of this evening."
"I'm terribly sorry Madam." Harry said through gritted teeth, "I don't dance so I won't be volunteering to lead, thank you anyway."
"I must insist." She began.
Kingsley took the opportunity to interrupt, "Madam we are not ready for the dancing portion yet."
"But…" she tried.
"I'll take it from here." He shooed her back to her seat, "Any questions?"
Nearly every person in the room had a question. It obviously overwhelmed the man for a moment.
"Mr. Finch-Fletchy." Kingsley nodded at one table in the front.
"What if one of us doesn't like the other or we both don't like each other?" he asked, "Have we any recourse at all?"
"We picked the person we feel matched you most so you must learn to like them." Umbridge stood from her chair.
"I think this is a valid point." Kingsley ignored the woman, "I would suggest that if you spend this evening getting to know one another and you find yourselves not fitting let me know. I think some shuffling could be allowed. I don't think that is unreasonable."
"NO!" Umbridge stalked forward, "We fit them together using a very careful method and they cannot change."
"I believe we will discuss this during their visiting time." Kingsley glared her back to her seat, "Next question?" The number of hands were noticeably lower, "Ms. Granger."
"Do you really think it fair to place a muggle born with someone who is known to hate muggleborns." She asked, "Are you not afraid that the muggleborn will be abused? Why not put them with a halfblood."
"No one wants your opinion." Umbridge spat.
"I do." another woman near her stood, "I didn't think about the possibility of abuse when I voted for this."
"She is the smartest witch of her age, no one will be able to abuse her." Umbridge tried.
"I'm not the smartest witch." Lavender stood across from a large man Harry remembered seeing in Slytherin robes, "He's huge, what if he does something. What uuuum…"
"Recourse." Justin offered.
"Right what recourse would I have if I were afraid of him." She sat back.
The boy leaned forward and whispered to her as the people on the platform began to argue. Harry saw her grin and whisper back. Both nodded and then turned back to the commotion.
Harry raised his hand and Kinsley called on him over the arguing women, "Do any of you that voted to put Pansy and I together know anything about us?"
"Potter!" Umbridge turned on him.
"She was the first person who vocalized the wish to give me to Voldemort during the Battle at Hogwarts." He ignored her, "What would keep her from…"
A spot of light broke out in the middle of the dance floor stopping Harry from continuing. After a few moments it began to take a shape. Soon they could all see a man standing over a crystal. When the man looked up everyone gasped. It was an older version of Harry and he had far more scars than he had at the current moment. But it was undoubtedly him.
"Can anyone hear me?" He spoke loudly and you could hear banging in the back ground, "Merlin I hope this is getting out. I'm aiming this for near my eighteenth birthday, I hope I'm catching one of our ministry approved date nights." The bitterness in his voice was unmistakable, "You can't force them to marry each other. It has caused the end of the world. You must stop what you're doing."
More crashing could be heard and Harry looked back and shot a spell at the door.
"A few of the darker people wanted to get rid of their spouses once the ministry cancelled the law." He looked strained, "The decided to make a virus that would kill them since you wouldn't allow divorces. Unfortunately it didn't go as planned." The door began to show signs of breaking, "They didn't die and it didn't stop with them. The Virus can only be caught by a witch or wizard. They become zombies and then they bite muggles and they also became zombies."
Another spell at the door seemed to give it some strength but the image wavered dangerously.
"There are only a few of us left." He gasped and nearly crumbled, "That was the ward going."
"Don't stop recording, we've got to get this message out." It was unmistakably Draco's voice and his face as he came to help steady Harry, "They've got to believe you and stop Umbridge's insanity."
"Right." Harry got his feet back, "Like he said, stop the madness. Don't force these marriages or you'll doom us all."
"LIES." Umbridge yelled, "They are faking…"
"You must stop this farce. She is only trying to destroy the light side and you'll see it in a decade or so." Harry told them, "I just hope you listen…"
The door behind him gave way and they could all see zombies stumbling in. Harry turned on the spot and began to fire spells. Draco joined him as did several people they didn't recognize, but it didn't seem to do any good.
"Merlin we're dead." Draco stood beside Harry again, "If she weren't already a zombie I'd kill Parkinson for this."
"She couldn't wait to be rid of me." Harry kept throwing out spells, "I wanted to be rid of her too. She learned the hard way I'm immune to this kind of thing. Don't know why we're different and didn't catch it."
"I'd like to say it was my pureblood." Draco smirked, "But too many of them are in the ahhhhhh."
"Draco!" Harry flung the zombie away, "Are you immune to the bite?"
"Guess we'll find out." Draco coughed and the image blinked away.
"LIES."Umbridge screamed then pointed a finger at the two young men, "Arrest them for lying."
"You can't arrest someone for lying or you would have been behind bars a long time ago." The woman who had been arguing with Umbridge pulled her wand, "Stupify."
Umbridge fell to the ground and the room cheered. The woman who had stunned her gave a small smile and bow at the cheering crowd. It took several minutes before the crowd calmed.
"You know." Harry stood as the room calmed, "A quick question or two under veritaserum would clarify what her intentions were."
"We can't just dose everyone with veritaserum at any time." Kingsley frowned, "We need a valid reason."
"How about torturing students?" Harry asked, "Or using veritaserum on underaged students without parental permission. Maybe her muggleborn registration act or any of the other laws she has sponsored."
"Can you prove any of it?" Kingsley asked.
"I still have the scar from the blood quills she used in the multiple detentions she gave me for saying Voldemort had returned." Harry held up his hand, "She tried to give me veritaserum during another detention. I was fifteen."
"Let me see the scar." Kingsley left the podium and Harry met him half way.
"She used it on everyone." Draco offered, "She forced Professor Snape to provide the potion when she was acting as Headmistress."
"I remember that." Blaise stood, "I saw him hand it over unwillingly. She never questioned any of the Slytherins with it."
"I was questioned too." Padma Patil offered.
"Many of us had to use blood quills in detention." Ron stood, "I didn't have enough to get a scar like Harry's but I still had to do it."
"Me too." Hermione and the rest of the DA stood along with a few others.
"Is that enough?" Harry asked.
"I believe it is." Kingsley nodded at an auror who went and levitated the woman off to a cell, "After her trial we will revisit this law."
"All her laws." Harry suggested.
"I suppose you're correct." Kingsley nodded.
The next day nearly all of those who were tangled in the marriage law were in the court to hear Umbridge's trial. Harry actually went a step beyond most and provided a list of questions that may help convict her. He included the dementors that were sent after him before his fifth year.
Her trial, while full of questions, was mercifully short. Only five hours to convict the woman of more than twenty crimes including missuse of dementors, torture and lying on the stand. The woman who had stunned her was quite happy about that last one. In a quick meeting that followed the trial the Wizengamot cancelled the marriage law and offered apologies to all involved. The party that followed was one for the record books. They were all at the Three Broomsticks celebrating even the Slytherins joined in, well most of them.
"Lav what did you and your Slytherin talk about during the questions?" Seamus asked.
"He just wanted to make sure I didn't really think that badly of him." She snickered, "I told him of course not that I was just making a point for them to think about."
"Well that's nice." Seamus grinned, "So do you feel like going on a date with me?"
"Actually, I have a date with him first. If things don't work out I'll let you know." She smirked.
Harry laughed at her before he was pulled away by Draco and Hermione, "What?"
"We need to figure out how we did that and do it." Draco told him.
"What?" Harry had no idea what he was talking about.
"The zombie apocalypse." Hermione told him, "We need to recreate it and make it look like it happened. We'll need an aging potion for you and Draco. Two people will have to be transfigured so they're unknown and we'll need zombies."
"I don't remember what I said." Harry looked thoughtful.
"I've got it." Hermione handed over a paper with the words, "Do you think we can get everyone to participate?"
"Yes no problem." Draco grinned, "At least everyone whose here. I think I know the spell we used. I didn't think of it before because it can only go back days not years. You need someone powerful enough to kick start the crystal we'll need."
"Harry can supply the power." Hermione nodded I think that was what he was doing when it started, "It wavered that one time he sent the spell."
"We'll need to practice a couple times." Harry said thoughtfully, "Where can we do this?"
"We can do it in the Hogshead." Hermione grinned, "Abe will kick everyone out for us."
"I need to get a large crystal." Draco looked thoughtful.
"Like this?" Luna pulled one out of her pocket.
"Yes, how did you know to bring it?" Draco took the crystal with a look of awe.
"The nargles told me it might be useful." She sauntered off.
"She's lo…" Draco began.
"No she isn't'." Harry stopped him, "I think she may be a seer. I think nargles and wrackspurts are her way of dealing with seeing things she can't do anything about."
"I guess." Draco shrugged.
"Anyone up for a bit of fun?" Harry called to the room, "You have to be able to keep it a secret."
Harry's normal group was the first to join followed by a few DA member and a couple more Slytherins since Draco was already part of it. They followed Hermione out the door and across town to the Hogshead. It was empty except for Aberforth.
"Can we use your bar for a bit?" Harry asked.
"Are you going to make noise?" he asked gruffly.
"Yes." Harry nodded, "Quite a lot."
"I'm headed to get some supplies." He grumbled, "Don't break anything you can't fix, clean the place when you leave and lock up."
"Thanks." Harry grinned as he turned back to the group, "Ok everyone let's begin shall we."
Draco drew lines to show the visual field the crystal would have. Then Hermione began to transform the room while Harry and Draco practiced their lines. Everyone else began transfiguring zombies out of the each other.
"Aging potion." Ron returned, he'd volunteered to get it from the apocothary, "I do wonder why they would keep aging potion on hand. How many people want to get older?
"I can be used on things other than people." Draco snickered, "Some cheeses and wines are better aged, why wait when you can age them with a potion."
"That doesn't sound appetizing." Ron paled.
"Hermione what at you doing?" Harry gained their attention.
"I don't want to have zombies waiting outside where anyone could see them." She huffed, "I'm putting up a fake wall. Zombies on that side will make the crashing and booming noises and then crash thought his door instead of Abe's."
"Oh, that actually makes sense." Harry admitted, "Remember to leave two people unzombiefied so they can help with battling you all."
"We're all zombies." One of the others said.
"Only Ron and Hermione are left." Draco grinned, "Makeup time."
"I've got to do the directing." Hermione argued.
"You're only seen in the last few seconds." Harry scoffed, "You can direct the rest."
"Fine than we're doing a full dress rehearsal except for Harry and Draco being aged." She huffed, "I'll send red sparks when you need to make noise, yellow sparks when you splinter the door and green sparks to break in. Remember zombies stumble with your arms out."
Everyone got in place and Hermione sent up the red sparks. Harry gave it a few seconds then began his lines. During his lines Hermione transfigured Ron and he began to do hers after the yellow sparks went up. She was ready in time for the green sparks.
"Excellent everyone, ok aging potion you two and give Harry some scars." Hermione directed.
"I don't remember what scars he had." Ron bit his lip.
"Don't worry so much about that." Hermione told him, "Just do it and it will be right."
"Huh?" he asked.
"You did it last time and it will be the same because you're doing it now." She tried.
"And that means?" he questioned.
"You are doing it for the first time now." Harry explained, "What we will remember is what you are doing now because that is what we will have seen yesterday."
"If you say so." Ron gave him several scars.
"Everyone in place." Hermione ordered, "Harry start charging the crystal now."
Draco tapped his leg under the table when the crystal had enough power. Harry slowly looked up at the crystal.
"Can anyone hear me?" He spoke loudly.
