Lucius Malfoy was walking towards the Ministry's DMLE, he would PRETEND that those incompetent commoners told him who she was. Who was the idiotic cursebreaker witch working in checking the Manor's artifacts who had so carelessly and foolishly activated one of the BE seals that his family decades ago sometimes used to sign betrothals with other pureblood families.

He had just divorced from Cissy, Narcissa and himself still loved each other, but after the war and after he got finally released from Azkaban four years after the war, things between them had changed. They did not feel comfortable anymore as a couple, the war had broken something in all of their family, and among its victims, there had been his and Narcissa's marriage. So they had divorced a few months ago and while they were still close friends and still cared about each other, both still living at the Manor although in separate rooms, they were not together anymore.

As Lucius was having these thoughts, he entered the DMLE, once inside, he heard shouting from an office near the entrance - "Do NOT dare you tell me to calm down Harry Potter! Just don't you fucking DARE! If I do not do this I will be bound for possibly the rest of my life to one of the most awful excuses of a human being among wizards! - Lucius froze, stopping his steps, could it really be… her? Could fate be so ironic? He carefully positioned himself near the office door, trying to look as if he was waiting someone, and kept listening - " Hermione please, just listen, I totally get that this is an awful and terribly unfortunate accident, but are you really so sure the only solution is to.. " - "I am absolutely sure! If I don't do this, the enhancement will force me to go to him eventually and surrender to this stupid betrothal! This is the only way, the only thing, beside killing the arsehole, that I can do to be free!".

Lucius was thinking perplexed, what was Granger talking about?There was no way to block a magical betrothal, they were made specifically to be unbreakable, well as Granger was saying, you could kill one of the betrothed, but beside death, nothing could end the contract. An odd mix of hope and disappointment to the possibility she might succeed in breaking the enhancement came over him. Lucius had been irritated, really irritated, when he had felt the bond activating, he had just divorced and now would be forced to remarry immediately to some idiotic unknown ministry witch, but now that he knew her identity, part of him was disappointed the betrothal would be maybe broken. She was undeniably a very talented witch, a war heroine, a fighter, an ambitious person who had been fastly advancing in her career at the Ministry despite her young age, many said she would one day be Minister of magic. Yes, marrying Hermione Granger could bring him prestige, power and an outstanding partner to spend his remaining life with.

Beside, she was the woman who four years ago had been tortured in his house by his deranged sister in law. He still felt shame thinking about it. He may have considered her a mudblood at the time, but he still had not liked such brutality towards a girl in his house. Now that after four years passed at Azkaban, he had also abandoned his prejudices regarding muggleborns, his shame in thinking about what he had allowed to happen in his own house had grown stronger. Making happy the woman who had been tortured in his house and making her life as content as possible would have with no doubt relieved him of much of the guilt he still felt about her. However, he thought, those were moot points, if she had managed to find a way to break the enhancement, there was no way in hell she was going to marry him, this was fairly evident just by her "colorful" depictions of his personality shouted from the office.

If the enhancement was broken he decided he would not pursue her and forget this whole affair. However, for the moment, he kept listening - " So that's it Hermione? After all you did, all the work you have done to get into the Ministry, after all those years studying relentlessly you will just give everything up? What about your goals, your plans regarding the rights of all magical people, humans and non-humans alike? What about your plan of one day becoming Minister of Magic, of changing Wizarding Britain for the better? Are you really going to give up all this and go live in the muggle world? Are you really sure there is no other way beside sealing your magic to end this crazy betrothal?" - " Yes Harry, I already told you many times, it is really the only way. I am sorry, you know I am horrified too that I will have to leave all this, all my plans, all the work I did, but freedom is more important than power or ambition, even if that ambition would be beneficial to help others. We'll see each other again, I will keep seeing you and Ron and Luna and Neville, you will be able to visit me anyway, even though I will not be able to see you in the Ministry or in Diagon Alley or in most Wizarding places. You will always be my friends."

Lucius was stunned and totally horrified, how could he have not thought about that?! This was bad, very very bad! If she sealed her magic, a thing that only thinking it made him feel ill, not only her, but also himself, through the bond, would be with his magic sealed! What was worse, it would have worked! He knew it! She had thought a solution both simple and effective, even though quite drastic, yes the bond would not be really broken, it would be simply frozen, suspended, his effects nullified by the sealing of the magical channel it used. Lucius felt a terror almost comparable to that he had felt sometimes with the Dark Lord in his house, he would be without his magic! He, Lucius Malfoy, heir of a noble and prestigious line of Wizards, would have to pass the rest of his years without his magic! NO, he had to stop her, he could not be without his magic, he couldn't allow it!

He rushed inside the office and with a commanding tone said - "Granger! So it was you the woman who foolishly broke the betrothal seal, I came at the DMLE to see who was my betrothed and I must say I am not... displeased to see it is you. However, MY dear, while it is understandable you may find this occurrence of marrying me… unsettling, I can't believe you find it so unpleasant that you are ready to give up all of your goals, all of your identity as a witch, your MAGIC, to avoid being bound to me. I really hope it is not the case, it would be disappointing to see such a talented young witch with a seemingly promising future, to renounce all of it just out of stubborness and unwillingness to even consider a certain marriage. I have to say it is quite imperative that you drastically rethink your quite erroneous views about my person. I assure you, dear betrothed of mine, that while I may not be the most… pleasant person, I am certainly not the demon you seem to believe me to be. I have many good qualities you may find appealing, if only you opened your mind enough to try them. - "

Hermione Granger was not shocked, no, she wasn't even angry, she was horrified that the racist snobbish lowlife had found her like this, discovering that she was his betrothed and what she intended to do about it BEFORE she sealed her magic. He could try to kidnap her and lock her up until she surrendered to the bond. No, she had to calm down, she was with Harry, he wouldn't try something like that here, it was two against one and he would have to escape the Departement unnoticed. Yes, that had to be why he was trying to convince her in such an oddly nice, although very patronizing and irritating, way. Why would he want so badly to marry her tough? She was a mudblood in his eyes wasn't she? Then she thought of herself, she was a war heroine, a prestigious, famous and esteemed witch, probably in the sick elitist mind this made up for her mudblood status. He probably saw her as a good tool to regain some standing in Wizarding society. A tool to use and throw away when it had served its purpose.

Yeah, that had to be! Yes, that was an addition to the reasons for which she would NEVER marry him! Looking at him with disgust, she spoke - " How dare you come here and speak to me like this! Don't pretend to know me in anyway arsehole, you never knew me and I assure you that you NEVER, never will. I hate to renounce all my life here, not that i think you really care of course, but I will let you know that I would renounce it a thousand times over if that meant being free from you. So now I suggest you to leave and never look for me again. You almost killed Ginny, your deranged sister in law killed my friend, Dobby, who you mistreated horribly when you shamelessly kept him as a slave. You were a death eater for Merlin's fucking sake! I KNOW you still are, you bribed yourself the way out of Azkaban by cooperating with the Ministry, but I don't believe you have changed. So give up this farce, leave and don't look for me ever again!" -

Lucius was shocked, shocked and also...hurt. This was going to be extremely difficult. He did not know she hated him so much. It hurt to hear her speak such hateful words regarding him. He could not totally blame her, he HAD been the ruthless bigot she now still believed him to be, however he was not like that anymore. The problem was that it would be very hard to convince his betrothed about it.

He also really could not allow himself to give up, so he decided to try another tactic - "My dear WIFE to be, I won't try right now to make you see how wrong your arrogant assumptions about me are. However, if you seal your magic, because of the bond MINE will be sealed too! I won't ever be able to use it again! I, Lucius Malfoy, will be forced to live the rest of my days like a squib! Isn't your do-gooder conscience appalled by what you are allowing your stubbornness to cause to another person?" - Hermione made a shocked face, then grinned, laughed loudly and with a cheerful tone said - "REALLY? is it true? You, Lucius snobbish Malfoy will be without magic for the rest of your life!? This is truly wonderful! Probably the only good thing come out of this whole affair! Thanks for having told me this, it really helped my mood. Ah, don't EVER call me "dear", or "mine" again anyway, or before I seal my magic I will cast a spell shutting your racist mouth for a very, VERY long time arsehole. I am NOT yours and I never will. Now if you excuse me, I have to go home to prepare the sealing ritual, so by by, I look forward to not seeing you again." -

After saying this Hermione ran away, leaving Lucius dumbfounded and almost desperate looking. After a few days, he knew she had, indeed, done the sealing ritual. He could not use magic anymore! Damn that stubborn witch! He heard she had settled in a vulgar, mo-no-lo-cal apartament in muggle London. He loathed the thought of his wife to be living in such a poor, commoner environment. He had bought a large house near her apartment without her knowing, tomorrow he would transfer there and in the evening would make a visit to his foolish future wife. He would not give up, ever, with her. He couldn't, without his magic he could as well kill himself, he would have slowly gone crazy. Oh yes, he would convince his stubborn wife to be with him, even if it took him weeks or months. Even if tomorrow he would have to use low commoner muggle transport to get to his newly bought house in the Muggle world.