Disclaimer: Harry Potter and the MCEU do not belong to me.
A/N: Written for MMF Bingo 2018. This fills in the G4 square. Thanks to the mods for running this event!
Pairing: Stephen Strange/Hermione Granger
Rating: T
Beta Launch
He crumpled the thick letter in his hand, the red sealing wax crumbling to the floor. As he strode into the expansive study, he threw the balled up parchment into the fireplace. The blaze ate away at the broad "M" printed boldly at the top, above the words "Department of Happy Hearth and Homes."
Stephen Strange was livid.
The audacity of the British Ministry of Magic—! To enact a marriage law, of all things, was ridiculous. To add him to their list of eligible bachelors was insane.
He's not even British!
All the same, he had been surprised this morning when a tawny owl knocked on a window at the London Sanctum. They rarely received communications with the Wizarding world, so the arrival of an official owl was unusual.
Even more remarkable was that the letter was addressed to him. For all intents and purposes, Stephen Strange was a guest, staying on for the past two months while its Master was on a spiritual sabbatical.
And to be summoned to the Ministry to meet his Match…well. He flung his cape over his shoulders. "I'll tell them where they can shove their marriage law," he muttered as he poised his hands in front of him.
In a blink, a gateway sparked open. In the next breath, he stepped through to a narrow hallway inside the Ministry. Just ahead was a frosted glass door with the letters DHH freshly painted. He nudged the door open and stumbled back a step as a voice erupted from the room.
"—bloody hell were you thinking? A bloody marriage law? Honestly!"
Stephen pushed the door open. Inside the cozy office was a woman—quite an attractive one, as well, even with her face contorted with rage. Her curly hair frizzed around her head, giving her a most menacing look, which is probably why the other men in the room looked positively frightened.
"Fix this." She threw a parchment on the desk—one that looked similar to what Stephen received. Three sets of eyes widened as she glared at them in turn. "Fix this, or I swear to Merlin, I'll make Voldemort look like Mary Poppins, you—"
"Dr. Strange!" An imposing man—well, imposing had he not been cowering in the corner—greeted him with obvious relief.
"Minister Kingsley." Stephen nodded. "I wish I could say it's a pleasure to see you again, but..." His eyes slid to the brunette, who huffed and crossed her arms. "If this is a bad time—"
"No, no!" Kingsley ushered him into the room. "We were just in the middle of—erm—discussing—"
"Oh, don't mince words, Kings," the woman snapped. Her eyes focused on Stephen. "Are you here to protest this blasted marriage law, too?"
Despite the gravity of the situation, a smile tugged on his lips. "As a matter of fact, I am."
She nodded once. "Good." She waved her arm at the others in the room. "Help me, will you? These men need help getting their heads out of their arses."
Stephen's eyebrows inched up his forehead as he recognized the other occupants. Apparently, aside from the Minister of Magic, this brazen woman was also yelling at the formidable Harry Potter and his intimidating Auror partner Ron Weasley.
Harry gave him a tired smile. "Hullo."
Stephen glanced at him quizzically. "You're in charge of this?"
Harry's face turned fire engine red. "Well, it's in a beta launch right now. We only sent a few notifications out today to see how people would react. And, well..." He glanced briefly at the woman at the corner of his eye.
"It's a bloody stupid idea, Harry Potter." Her brown eyes narrowed. Harry Potter shrunk further down his seat.
"All right! It was a dumb idea." Harry looked to the two other men in the room, who nodded vigorously. "It's just...with our generation having such a hard time finding partners and all that—"
"Oh!" She planted her fists on her hips. "Oh, you think I have a 'hard time' finding someone? Think it's difficult for me to find a date, do you?" Her bright gaze trained on Stephen once again. "You,"—she pointed a finger at him—"Have dinner with me tonight."
Partly flabbergasted—and partly just intrigued by such a forward woman—Stephen said, "All right."
"Good." She marched to him, sticking her hand out. "I'm Hermione, by the way. Hemione Granger."
"Stephen Strange." He took her small hand and received a firm shake back.
"I know." Hermione strode out the door, yelling over her shoulder. "I'll owl you with my information this afternoon."
After she left, the men stared silently at each other.
"Well." Stephen cleared his throat. "I guess my work here is done." He opened a gateway back to the London Sanctum and left.
Three men trudged out of the small office. Ron waved his wand over the sign at the door and erased the letters "DHH."
With a sigh, Kingsley turned to them. "Success?" he asked wryly.
Harry gave him a sheepish smile. "Thanks for going along with this, Kings."
"Yeah," Ron said. "This is the last time we'll play matchmaker for Hermione. At least, not without writing a will!"
A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated!
