Author's Notes:

To everyone who reviewed the first chapter, thank you very much! I was thrilled to have such a response to my story, and I hope I do not disappoint you with this second chapter. The story is about three quarters written right now, so you can expect regular updates for a while... until I reach the as-yet-unwritten portion of the story. I know where the story is headed, I'm just a bit fuzzy on how I want to get there.

Also, this story has not been beta read! Anyone who can point out errors and help make this a better story will be doing me a great favor.

Regarding the question about Mrs Weasley in Chapter 1: If she had issues with her oldest son rushing into a marriage with a woman he had been dating for almost 2 years at the time of their wedding, I think she would be a bit against her youngest son rushing into a marriage - no matter the circumstances.

She likes Hermione, yes, but you also have to remember that Mrs Weasley hasn't had much of a chance to see Ron and Hermione together in a romantic sense. Ron was all over Lavender Brown until the very end of sixth year. There were hints of a romance during the summer, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione were being very secretive at that point. Not to mention the fact that Mrs Weasley's mind was occupied with planning a wedding, the problems with Voldemort and the Order, as well as trying to convince Ron to go back to school. Ron did ask Hermione to dance at the wedding, yes, but we can assume that Mrs Weasley was a bit too preoccupied to notice this. She didn't see him again until the Battle of Hogwarts. Then Fred died, the entire wizarding world was turned on its head, and Hermione left for Australia to restore her parents' memories.

So to Mrs. Weasley, Hermione is one of Ron's best friends. Perhaps she knows that Hermione likes Ron, or that Ron likes Hermione, but I think she'd be more inclined to think of it as puppy love at this point. She has no way of knowing how deeply their feelings run.

OK, enough explanation. On with the story. :-)

Ministry Matchmaker

Chapter 2

Ron did not know where the Department of Family Affairs was, so he was forced to wait until his father and Percy came into the Atrium. Mr. Weasley grabbed hold of Ron's wrist.

"Just a minute - they'll never take you seriously if we don't transfigure these pyjamas into robes."

"It will take some time for Mum to get used to her little boy being a husband," Percy idly commented as they waited for Mr. Weasley to finish.

"Personally," said Mr. Weasley, "I would be more concerned with how Hermione is going to take the news."

Ron knew they were both right, and he really didn't like the idea of rushing in here without at least letting Hermione know what was going on - but considering the circumstances, he thought she just might forgive him. Eventually. His mother, he could handle. After all - he would presumably be moving out after the wedding. Ron's stomach gave a funny lurch. The wedding... he wasn't sure he was ready for this.

"Come on," Mr. Weasley said. "That's you done. We've got to hurry."

The three wizards practically ran through the Ministry, pausing only to register their wands and to get on the lift.

"Are you two coming with me?" Ron asked nervously.

"Of course," said Percy. "Do you think we'd leave you alone in a corridor with so many Death Eaters? We have to make sure you are able to register your petition."

Ron smiled briefly and awkwardly at his brother, hoping that his gratitude was plain on his face. It was still strange for him to see his estranged brother back with the family.

When at last they had reached the proper department, Ron came to a skidding halt. He saw the line right away. There were at least twenty wizards lined up outside the door - and he expected that there were a fair few inside as well. Ron was instantly glad he had come. They were a dodgy lot, all of them. Not a single one that he would trust within spellcasting distance of Hermione.

He could see Kingsley Shaklebolt, the Minister of Magic, guarding the entrance to the door. He caught Ron's eye and nodded slightly, and Ron knew that they had made it in time.

As it turned out, Ron was not the last in line. Three more wizards had lined up before Kingsley walked to the end of the line and declared in a booming voice, "The queue for Miss Hermione Granger ends here. That's forty wizards - more than enough for Miss Granger to make a fair selection." He took out his wand and flicked it slightly. A rope barrier formed after the last man in line, preventing anyone else from lining up. "Anyone who is in line at the present moment will get their chance to file a petition.

The line moved slowly, and several times Ron saw one of the other men looking at him with malicious intent. But Ron wasn't afraid. He had his wand - and he had faced down worse. It was for Hermione, after all.


Hermione was having a lovely time in Australia. Her parents had forgiven her for the charm she had put on them - knowing that she had done so for their own good - and they had been spending a brilliant holiday together. They were planning to come home in a few more days, which would be lovely in and of itself. She was quite ready to come home to a Voldemort-free Britain. She was worried, however, about how the reconstruction efforts were going. She hoped that everyone was doing well, and that the rogue Death Eaters had been apprehended. Just to keep tabs on everything, she had been frequenting a local wizard's pub to hear the news. The barkeeper had given her the same response every night - 'just more on the reconstruction efforts', but tonight the answer had changed.

"I'm afraid there is some news," the barkeeper frowned. "It's the saddest thing, really. Wish the Brits could get it in their heads that muggleborns are just as good as purebloods..."

Hermione's eyes widened. "What happened?"

He shoved the Australian version of the Daily Prophet at her - which was far less biased, she had observed. Splashed across the front page was the headline:

British Ministry of Magic Enacts Blatantly Prejudiced Marriage Laws

Hermione hastily read the article, gasping in horror. But the worst part was at the very end:

Sources inside the Ministry have revealed that this morning a group of dark wizards, formerly known as Death Eaters, was attempting to petition for the hand of Harry Potter's longtime girlfriend and muggleborn witch, Hermione Granger. At least forty wizards placed their names down for her hand. Miss Granger will be expected to choose a husband from the list of wizards in the next thirteen days. As Harry Potter does not qualify under the law, and can therefore not marry her himself, Miss Granger will presumably be forced into a marriage against her will. Minister Shacklebolt has refused to comment on this matter.

Hermione laid down the article, trembling all over.

"They cannot do this!" Hermione left the paper on the table and rushed out of the pub. She ran back to her parents' apartment, slamming the door behind her.

"Hermione!" her mother cried. "Whatever is the matter?"

"Mum, Dad, I have to go home. Now."


Hermione arrived at the Burrow around 8 in the morning. She was tired from the time change, but her determination to know just what was going on kept her wide awake. She knocked on the door and waited for Mrs. Weasley to let her in.

"Hermione! What are you doing here? We didn't expect you back until the end of the week."

"I heard about the Marriage Initiative," was all she said. Mrs. Weasley enveloped her in a motherly hug.

"Poor thing. Come inside and have some breakfast. I'll go wake Ron up."

But Hermione didn't want to see Ron. If she was going to be married off to some random dark wizard, she just wasn't sure if she could bear looking at him. Mrs. Weasley was already up the stairs, though, so Hermione set her trunk down in the entrance and went into the kitchen. Moments later, a pyjama-clad Ron came racing down the stairs.

"Hermione!" he said, stopping on the last step. A blush flooded his cheeks. "How... how are you?"

She had missed him so much... With a cry, she ran at him, flung her arms around him and began to sob into his shoulder. He responded by holding her tight to him and patting her back.

"I take it you heard?" he said bleakly. She nodded. Ron didn't try to say anything more to her. He simply held her until she was through crying.

"Is it true? Were there really Death Eaters petitioning to marry me? Surely there's something I can do to get out of it!" Her head was still buried in his shoulder, and her voice sounded watery.

"I'm afraid Arthur hasn't been able to find a loophole yet, though he has been looking tirelessly ever since the Initiative was passed," Mrs. Weasley said from the top of the stairs. Hermione and Ron moved aside so that she could come down.

"How could Kingsley let something like this happen," Hermione moaned. Mrs. Weasley patted her shoulder as she passed them.

"He's in a difficult position, Hermione, you have to understand that. He was furious when he saw the Initiative had passed. But he's only Minister; he doesn't have absolute power. And he can't change the entire Ministry overnight. After all, the Ministry has been run by the old blood families since long before You Know Who was around. Believe me, he's working overtime to get this horrid law revoked - but there's not much chance of it happening anytime in the next few days." With a shake of her head, she grabbed her wand and headed for the back door.

"But he knows me... couldn't he have done something to help me?"

"He did," said Ron. Hermione lifted up her head and stared at him. "That is... well, it was the best plan they could come up with on such short notice."

"What plan?" she asked, sounding much calmer than she felt.

"Er..." Ron looked to his mother for help, but Mrs. Weasley was already outside, puttering around in the garden. "Well, you get to choose, you know."

"And a great lot of good that will do me if they're all Death Eaters."

"They're not all Death Eaters."

Hermione was quiet for a moment. "So that's the plan? They got someone from the Order to put their name on the list..."

"Well, yeah, sort of -"

"You know, that really doesn't make me feel much better," Hermione snapped. "I'm still going to be forced into a marriage I didn't want to be in. Just because it's someone good doesn't mean I want to be married to them."

"Yeah, but you heard my mum - they're still trying to get it rescinded. This was a - a temporary measure so that we could ensure that if you had to marry someone, it wouldn't be a Death Eater."

Hermione couldn't believe that Ron was so calm about this. Did he really not care if she married a man she didn't love? Was he not jealous? After all, they had kissed... but then again, she had been the one to initiate that. But surely she hadn't misread the way he had responded.

Never mind. Even if he didn't care who she married, Hermione certainly did. She was determined to do whatever it took to prevent winding up in a sham of a marriage.

"There's got to be a loophole," she said, the wheels already turning in her mind. "I'm going to head to the library to research Wizarding Law. Surely there are provisions against this sort of thing!"

"If anyone can figure a way out of this, I'm sure it's you, Hermione."

Tired as she was, Hermione was determined to find a solution - even if she had to spend the next thirteen days holed up in the library. But before she left...

"Ron?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you tell me... who was it, who put his name down for me? It... it wasn't Kingsley, was it?"

"No... er... not Kingsley. He's half-blood, anyways."

"Then..." she almost didn't want to ask this, "Was it one of your brothers?"

Ron shrugged. "That's what Mum suggested. She said it should be Percy or George - or even Harry."

"Harry!" Hermione looked thoroughly disgusted. She noticed a very smug grin making its way onto Ron's face.

"Don't much like the idea of marrying Harry, do you?"

"That would be like... you marrying Ginny or something. Ergh!" She wrinkled up her nose in disgust, and then sighed heavily. She sounded resigned when she replied, "Besides, Harry hasn't sat his NEWTs yet, has he? At least Percy and George have jobs. Although Harry does have a load of galleons at Gringotts - not that the goblins ever want to see us there again..."

The grin on Ron's face had vanished.

"Oh, Ron..." Hermione sighed. "I'm not saying I want to marry Percy or George. But I have to be practical. If I can't find a loophole in time, I'm going to have to-"

"It's not Percy or George who did it," he interrupted, speaking very fast. "It was me."

Hermione stared up at him in disbelief. "You...?"

"And I have some things to say to you about that, so give me a chance before you go railing at me." He needn't have worried. Hermione's mind had just hit a stone wall - she couldn't have formed a cohesive sentence if she had wanted to. "I've been thinking through things, and I know that you'll want to get your NEWTs. So I'm going to get a job to pay your way. Maybe I'll help George out at the shop. He needs the help after - well, he needs the help. I've never been brilliant, so there's really no loss if I don't sit the test. I'll make a good salary at the joke shop. We'll probably never be rich, but..." He ran his hand through his hair. "Look, I know this is not the way you wanted things to happen. I don't like it much either. I would have liked to take things slowly, date properly -" saying this, his ears began to burn "- and all the other normal things. Propose to you like a normal wizard. But I wasn't going to sit back and watch you married off to some random bloke, regardless of whether he's a Death Eater or my brother. Not after everything we've been through to get this far."

Hermione could feel the heat stealing up her cheeks, but she had to admit that it felt good to hear Ron say these things about her. She'd been waiting so long.

"Don't worry, Hermione," Ron said, pulling her into an awkward but still tender hug. "Things will turn out all right. Besides, with you on the job, it's likely we'll never have to worry about it after all. You'll spend ten minutes at the library and find twelve different ways to change the law."

Hermione smiled. "You're right. There's no use getting all upset yet. There's bound to be something we can do. I'll head out to the library right now - there's no use waiting around."

"You'd better eat breakfast first," said a voice from behind Ron. Harry, hair tousled and still pyjama-clad, was smiling at the two of them. "Mrs Weasley will have words with Ron if the three of us leave here on an empty stomach."

Hermione felt a sense of calm envelop her. There were troubles ahead, but she did not have to face them alone. No matter what happened, she could count on Ron and Harry to be there for here. And for now, that was enough. She sat down at the kitchen table, helped herself to some eggs, and decided that - at least for the next hour - she would completely forget about the Marriage Initiative.


Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to tell me what you thought!