Formally Betrothed
In the minutes following Harry's recitation of Ministerial Decree 7391 the Weasley household burst into a general melee. The twins were shouting loudly. Both, Molly and Victoire had burst into tears (although Victoire's were likely a reaction to the noise). Ron had accidently flung his arm into a vat of syrup, spilling it over the table. Arthur and Bill started energetically questioning each other over how much forewarning they had regarding the Act. Ginny had fully settled into Harry's lap and the two were holding onto each other.
Only Hermione sat in stillness and quiet. The gears in her brain were moving at a flurry however. Thoughts of civil rights, autonomy, power and the like collided in her mind.
"Surely this Act isn't tenable," She figured. "There is absolutely no way the Ministry of Magic could have such pervasive power over such a deeply personal choice." This rationalization served to keep her calm in the midst of the overall chaos occurring in the Weasley dining room. The rest of the table, however, was far from calm.
"They can't do this to Harry and me!" Ginny growled, her eyes afire.
"And Charlie's engaged," Mrs. Weasley gasped.
"Ang and I have been dating since Hogwarts," Fred stood up angrily, his face matching his flaming red hair. "If the ministry thinks they can break us up, they have a whole other problem coming to them." Hermione was slightly taken aback to see the generally cheerful twin display such a temper. It was understandable, she figured, he and Angelina were exceptionally close and had gone through a lot together. During Fred's battle induced coma, Angelina had not taken the "family members only" policy at St. Mungo's sitting down and eventually the staff thought better to just overlook her presence at Fred's bed side. From that point on, she was a constant presence in his room until he awoke and, then, instrumental in his speedy recovery. While Fred often hid his softer side with his jokes and pranks, anyone could tell after spending any time with him and Angelina that the two were deeply in love.
"Percy can be a prat, but I would hate to see his relationship with Penny destroyed," George added generously.
"There's more." Harry stated, finally entangling himself from Ginny's grasp. "There's also letters addressed to each of us. Well, the single ones, that is. I'm guessing it has our ministry approved match in it." He gulped and started passing the smaller envelopes around the table. Hermione carefully studied hers. Miss Hermione Jean Granger was written across the front in a somber, black calligraphy. It was sealed with the blood red official emblem of the Ministry of Magic.
Ten pale faces met each other. Hermione, Harry and the younger Weasleys were all tenderly holding their letters, knowing that the contents would change the remainders of their lives. None of the company looked particularly eager to be the first to discover their assigned spouse-to-be.
"How do you propose…"
"Youngest to oldest," Mrs. Weasley determined. "We're all going to have to find out eventually."
"Ginny, the honours," Mr. Weasley gestured to his youngest, inviting her to delve into her unknown future.
Ginny slowly inserted her want into the fold of her envelope. Before she could rip it open however, she was interrupted by the loud pop of apparating. Angelina Johnson suddenly appeared in the Weasley dining room. Circling the table, she found her way into Fred's arms. Her energetic whooping, hollering, and fist-pumping wouldn't have been out of place at a Quidditch World Cup celebration. Fred looked momentarily taken aback, but he quickly found his ground. He scoped his girlfriend up in a big bear hug.
"Well, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that means Fred drew Ang." George's grin overshadowed his face. Hermione felt a tinge of appreciation towards him: George looked unqualifiedly overjoyed for his best friend and twin, even in the face of his own uncertainty.
Angelina surfaced from her the embrace, a sheepish look on her face.
"Sorry gang, I didn't even think that you wouldn't have gotten to your letters yet. I literally took off the millisecond I found out I was paired with Fred." She apologized while rubbing the shoulder of her newly established fiancé. "Although maybe you should check your letter, just to make sure the Ministry didn't royally screw up…well, more than they completely and royally screwed up in even coming up with such a ridiculously stupid law in the first place…" Her voice trailed off while Fred deftly opened his envelope.
"Ya we did!" He triumphantly threw the letter down on the table. "Probably best we don't show that to the grandchildren." He grinned, gently kissing Angelina on the corner of her mouth.
Hermione felt her fists relax; she hadn't even realized that they were clasped. If the Ministry had saw fit to pair an established couple like Fred and Angelina surely they would honour other relationships. This comforted somewhat and she felt more confident the Ministry would pair her with Ron. They had been dating for over a year after all.
This thought, however, was cut short by another interruption; a green flash from the adjacent sitting room followed by Percy and Penny emerging through the doorway hand in hand. Evidently the two had travelled by Floo powder from Penny's place.
"Ahh…good morning, how are you two," Mrs. Weasley said, clearly not expecting her middle son and his girlfriend to show up in at the family breakfast table.
"Lovely," Percy responded, nodding to those gathered. He continued in his manner of fact pattern of speech, "I see that you have each received your telegrams from the ministry. Not an overly popular choice, this one Kingsley has made, I must say. Nevertheless, certain lengths have to be resorted to, in this continued fight against those who have unfortunately decided to side with the dark magic," he sniffed pompously.
"What are you talking about Perce?" George questioned.
"Well, surely you're all wondering why the Ministry has implemented such a law. There's those, I'm afraid, who see marriage as a way of furthering the pureblood lines of those who supported You-Know-Who. Of course, the Ministry was well ahead of that lot and created this scheme as a way to nip such behaviour in the proverbial bud. It has some less than desired ramifications for certain people, of course. Not that I mind, Penny and I were going to get married eventually. Only speeds up the process." He smiled at the curly headed blonde by his side with a tenderness Hermione had never before seen from Percy.
"Honestly!" Ginny cried, standing up forcefully. "I can't take waiting anymore!" In a swift and angry motion the fired up red-head tore open her envelope. A sharp intake of her breath followed before Ginny dissolved into a mess of laughter and tears. She flung herself into Harry's lap and started kissing him aggressively, completely oblivious to the rest of the gathering and to Harry's bewilderment.
"Ginny, Ginny Ginny," Harry murmured, awaking to what had happened.
The pair exchanged a ferocious kiss. Awkward glances were shared around the table, but even Mrs. Weasley didn't look prepared to step in to deprive the couple from their rather intimate moment. The sense of relief within the room was palpable. For a brief moment there was an expression of levity on the faces around the table; Hermione was sure that a similar look radiated from her own eyes. They were all deeply invested in seeing Harry achieve happiness; he had encountered enough strife in his childhood and early teens.
"Not a surprise, that," Percy pontificated. "Of course Minister Shacklebolt is going to tend to Harry's best interest. Very important for the Ministry to remain on the good side of our Boy Hero here. Wouldn't be surprised, in fact, if they look to appease all those who fought for the Order.."
"Shut it Perce," Fred chided good-naturedly. "Let them have their moment."
"Well, Ron." Mrs. Weasley addressed her youngest son. "I suppose you're the next youngest…if we're following that pattern still. I think it's your turn, dear."
A deep blush emerged on Ron's throat and moved up to his cheeks and ears. He gingerly picked up his envelop, clearly not fully prepared to discover his future bride-to-be. Hermione couldn't determine why he was so nervous. They had just witnessed three established couples receive the blessing of the Ministry; perhaps Percy was right and her relationship with Ron would be granted the same deference. Hermione realized that she and Ron weren't prepared for marriage, but she had no doubt that was the eventual direction in which the couple was headed. Buoyed by these thoughts, Hermione watched with a degree of serenity while her boyfriend of the past year opened his letter.
"Blimey," Ron gasped in a tone Hermione failed to interpret. Her boyfriend's blush had grown in such size that it actually met his hairline. "Lavender Brown."
Hermione gasped and she felt a fire alight in the pit of stomach. She slapped her hands to her face and then ran them haphazardly through her bushy hair. Feelings of anger, injustice, and betrayal ran through her. Her thoughts began to swirl at their quickest velocity. "Surely, this is a mistake; perhaps the Ministry sent Ron the wrong card; maybe Ron's just joshing with us all." This last idea caused her to look to her boyfriend expectedly, hoping that he'd pat her on the back while congratulating himself for his humorous deception. However, Ron's demeanor indicated no such prank. Instead, Ron was reclined in his chair, a stunned look on his face. There was something to the look Hermione didn't like. It wasn't quite glee but it was light years away from her own fury.
It was just too much. Far too much.
"This is rubbish. Abso-bloodly-lutely rubbish!" Hermione exploded uncharacteristically. All those gathered spun to gape at the red-faced brunette, clearly startled by her outburst. Such blatant displays of emotion were entirely unexpected from the normally steadfast bookworm. Hermione hastily grabbed her envelope and ripped it open with both hands. She found the letter within it. There, written in a neat and dire penmanship was her life-sentence.
"Dear Miss Hermione Jean Granger. The Department of Interpersonal Witch and Wizard Relations of the Ministry of Magic is pleased to announce that you are, of this date 19 June 1998, formally betrothed to George Fabian Weasley."
Wordless, Hermione dropped the letter and stumbled to the dining room door. Picking up her pace she found her way to the Weasley's front door ran into the morning's sunlight. Wasting no time, she apparated into nothingness.
Herrmione rematerialized in a Muggle section of London several blocks from her café. Many in the Wizarding community would have felt an uncomfortable displacement from spending the better part of a day in a Muggle village. Hermione, however, appreciated returning to the recognizable roots of her childhood. Also, she wanted to be away from those affected by the Ministry's new law; she found comfort in being outside of the Ministry's purview. In the hours before her work shift, she silently drifted through the low-key Muggle community. In a state of semi-consciousness, she meandered through a used-book shop, mindlessly running her fingers along the familiar bindings of the books. She wasted time in a local curry for lunch, quietly sitting in the corner of the restaurant, pouring over a Muggle newspaper. She found her way to a park where she watched happy looking Muggle couples guiding their children around the play-area. When she finally made to her café, Hermione realized that her rage had subsided a significant time ago; it was replaced, instead, with a dream-like fog. She was still profoundly confused; confused as to how the Ministry could get away with such tyranny and, more importantly, confused as to why Ron hadn't even reacted to the news he and Hermione hadn't been paired. Hermione realized that their impending breakup had essentially been ordained by the powers that be, something she didn't not like one bit.
"Hey Hermione," Lydia, Hermione's co-worker greeted her as she entered the shop. "You ok? Don't look yourself," the punkish girl raised an eyebrow at Hermione's disheveled hair and Ginny's faded Weird Sister's T-shirt which she was wearing.
"Oh…" Hermione hesitated, struggling to find a way to summarize the morning's events in a way a Muggle Uni student could understand. "I had a row with my boyfriend. I think we might be done." Her voice faltered and Hermione worried that she might burst into tears in the middle of the shop.
Lydia's face broke into sympathy as she ran her hands through her spiky blonde hair.
"Sweetie, spend most of your shift in the back. I can hold down the fort out here." She volunteered, smiling gently at Hermione. Hermione nodded gratefully. Consequently, her shift moved by quickly and without excitement. Afterwards, Hermione found her way back to the Burrow and was able to make it to the room she shared with Ginny without crossing paths with any of the household. She collapsed onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow. The girl who had stood up to death eaters and had destroyed a portion of Voldemort's soul had been truly overwhelmed by the events of the day.