Chapter 4: The Prospect
When the date of the next Ministry party came around, the four members of Grimmauld Place were in a bit of a funk. True to Sirius' prediction, it seemed like the pervading mood of the household was depressed and mopey.
With almost a month gone of their six-month window and no discernable progress in finding spouses, it was hard not to be depressed. Especially since the Prophet had taken to listing all the couples who had successfully paired off under the mandates of the law and filed for marriage licenses with the Ministry.
That was making Hermione nervous. The wizarding world was not exactly limitless. And as she watched the available pool of wizards dwindle as names appeared in the Prophet, she couldn't help but feel the curl of anxiety in her stomach. What would happen to her if no one was left for her to marry?
The passing of time and the news of the engagements had different effects on her roommates. Ron seemed to grow more angry and irritable as the days passed (and though he didn't say it, Hermione knew it was directed at her). Remus grew more resigned, clearly believing he would never find anyone to marry. Sirius was hard to read. He seemed almost normal while around her, but he wasn't going out like he used to. Which seemed counter-productive to Hermione. Shouldn't he go out just as much to try to find someone? She wasn't sure what was going on with him.
They had decided to go to the party again, since they were having no luck on their own. Meeting again in the foyer of Grimmauld, they apparated to the Ministry, and Hermione immediately noticed there were less people milling about. It was still crowded, but not to the extreme as two weeks ago. Her anxiety over running out of options started to curl around again in her stomach.
The group immediately moved to split up, but Hermione grabbed Sirius' arm before he could escape, "How are you feeling tonight?" She asked him, wondering whether he was going to follow her around again.
He smirked at her, "Feeling fine. I'm over my nerves. I'll leave you alone tonight, don't worry."
"I'm not worried. I just wanted to make sure you're ok," Hermione said, studying his face. Why was he so much harder for her to read than Ron or Remus?
"I appreciate your concern. I'll be fine. Go, mingle. We'll all meet up later, yeah?" He said. She nodded, and he walked away.
Suddenly feeling very awkward, she stood in place for several minutes, fidgeting and looking around the room. Then, shaking herself, she moved farther into the room, stopping by the drinks table for some liquid courage.
While she was debating whether to try to seek out someone to talk to, she saw someone approach her out of the corner of her eye. Turning to look, she saw a man coming to stop before her. He was tall and actually quite handsome, but he was seventy if he was a day. At least.
He smiled at her, showing off dimples and perfect teeth. She smiled back, somewhat nonplussed.
"Hello there," he said.
"Hello," Hermione said slowly. Surely this man knew the law only required men up to sixty to marry? Why was he here?
"How are you enjoying your evening?" He continued.
Hermione stared somewhat stupidly at him. "Uhh, it's fine," she finally managed. "I... Umm..." She stumbled with what to say.
"I know what you're thinking. But I assure you, there is nothing in the law stating that you can't get married if you're outside of the age range. Just that it's not required. So, I thought I may take a chance on finding a lucky lady to marry" he said, leering and winking at her.
Suddenly feeling quite dirty, like she should wash her hands, even though he hadn't touched her, she said backing away, "Oh! Well, I, umm..."
Suddenly her back met something, and she spun to find herself facing a man. Before she had a chance to think, she grabbed the man's arm, crying out, "There you are!" And dragged him away. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure she was out of sight from the older man before stopping.
She let go of the stranger's arm as if it had burned her, looking up at him. His blue eyes were dancing with mirth, his lips turned up in a genuine smile. He was probably a few years older than her, with chocolate brown hair that curled around the nape of his neck. Hermione blushed, suddenly feeling stupid for her actions.
"I'm sorry!" She said quickly, "There was this older man, and he was making me uncomfortable. I just wanted to get away from him."
The man's smile grew, and then he said, "Well then, I'm happy to be of service. I'm John." He held his hand out to her.
"Hermione," she said, taking his hand, "It's nice to meet you. And thanks, for the save."
"Anytime," he said, winking. And far from the uneasy feeling the other man had given her with the same gesture, she felt herself giggle. Giggle!
"Well, umm..." Hermione faltered awkwardly, not sure what to do.
"Do you want to have a drink with me?" John asked, obviously sensing her unease. She nodded and let him escort her to the drinks table.
After getting them both a drink, they found an empty table to sit at. Hermione felt incredibly uncomfortable and spent far more time than necessary settling into her chair. When she finally stilled, she looked up to see John watching her curiously. "Sorry," she mumbled, feeling foolish.
"No need to apologize about being nervous," he said, handing her the drink. "There is nothing about this law that makes the situation easy. But there isn't any reason not to try to make a real connection, even if we don't have much time."
Hermione nodded, "Umm, yeah, I agree. But... I don't know. I guess it seems unreasonable to think anything real could come out of all this."
"Oh, I don't know," he said, leaning casually back in his chair, look completely at ease. "There is no right and wrong when it comes to falling in love. Some people do it at first sight, some people are together for a lifetime and not really feel it."
"Do you really believe in love at first sight?" Hermione questioned.
He shrugged, "Why not? It would certainly make this law easier to bear."
"I suppose that's true," she said, "But I can't imagine it happening to me." No matter what she had told her friends when the law passed, her hope that she may find someone to fall in love with was quickly dwindling.
"That's awfully cynical," John said. She shrugged, and he looked almost annoyed. Then he looked over her shoulder and waved at someone. "I'm sorry, but I have to go meet my friend. I'm glad I got to spend some time with you this evening, Hermione. Perhaps I'll see you at the next party." He smiled again, look of annoyance gone. He reached for the hand she had on the table and brought it to his lips, kissing her knuckles. She felt herself blushing again, then he was gone, disappearing into the crowd.
Hermione was embarrassed by the obvious brush off. She finally had gained the attention of an attractive, age appropriate man who seemed nice enough, and she had chased him away with her depressing self-consciousness! She groaned to herself and decided to stay at her table alone until she was supposed to meet her friends to go home. She'd probably do less damage that way.
As soon as the four settled in at the table of Grimmauld, Ron burst out, "I met someone!"
Hermione couldn't help but smile at the obvious excitement in his voice. "That's great, Ron!" She said.
He nodded. "Her name is Emily. She was standing with some friends, one of which I happened to know because she works at the shop next to Wheezes, so I went over to say hello. We got introduced, and I don't know, something just seemed to click! We spent the rest of the evening getting to know each other."
"She's muggleborn, I assume?" Sirius questioned.
"Yes, thankfully!" Ron said. "I felt stupid about it, but that was the first thing I asked. She was good about it though and told me later she was happy I had clarified at the beginning so neither of us wasted our time. We made plans to meet for dinner this week to spend some more time together. Make sure there really is something there, ya know?"
His happiness was evident, and Hermione was glad that at least one of them was making progress. Ron asked, "What about you lot? Any luck?"
Remus shook his head. Sirius shrugged, "There were women, but no one I would consider marrying."
When they all looked to Hermione, she said, "There was someone who seemed interested. But I think I scared him away."
"How'd you do that?" Ron asked.
She shrugged with one shoulder, "I was... unenthusiastic during our conversation. He was not impressed. He made some lame excuse and disappeared. I didn't see him again."
"Well, I'm happy for you Ron," Remus said, "At least one of us is having some good luck."
Ron nodded, "Thanks. Let's just hope we still hit it off next time we meet."
Hermione hoped so too, for Ron's sake. He deserved to find someone to make him happy.