I am posting this early because I am sick and don't know if I will remember tomorrow. Most of it was written last week then I got stuck, hopefully the chapter still flows well. I am still looking for a beta. Insert standard disclaimer here. Love you all.
Making Decisions
The walk back to the castle was castle and the two split almost as soon as they entered. Hermione was certain that Ginny would know she didn't want to face the other girls and so went directly to the library to retrieve her. Her hunch proved correct and after a few minutes they were silently circling the empty Quidditch pitch together.
"How did the talk with the parents go? Any blood flying?" Ginny sick of the quiet and overcome with curiosity started a conversation.
"Not really. I couldn't be vicious since Blaise was there. I did get some answers but it hasn't helped me much. I still don't know what to do." Hermione answered.
"If you got some answers can you tell me what is going on? I might be able to help."
"Blaises father wanted to go to a muggle university but since he hadn't gone to a muggle senior school there was no chance he would be accepted and he would be unable to understand most of the work if he had been accepted. My Great Aunt Sarah was a witch who knew Professor Dumbledore well and she suggested that my dad who had just finished school with fantastic marks, tutor Blaise's dad so he could do the tests and be able to go to University. They became friends. Aunt Sarah kept suggesting they join the family through their future kids. Dad got drunk and listened to her and Blaises dad got drunk and listened to him. A betrothal contract got written up with remarkable clarity and almost good sense considering the mental state of the writers and Blaise and I were unfortunate enough to fulfill the requirements."
"What were the requirements?" Ginny asked.
"In terms of who is engaged, the children just had to be of opposite sex and born within five years of each other. In terms of the conditions of the contract, the children can not be told directly or indirectly by the parents. So he couldn't tell me himself and he couldn't direct my mother, friends or a random person walking down the street to tell me."
"Harsh, why did they write that in?"
"They wanted me to have the chance to fall in love. Of course if they had done what they said they were planning and raised Blaise and I together we could have fallen in love anyway."
"Blaise comes from an old family Hermione. His grandparents would have insisted on an arranged marriage for him. As long as his father could swear he had arranged a marriage they could do nothing but if they wrote one up first he would be stuck. Are there any other conditions?"
"I don't have to marry Blaise. Both children must enter matrimony of their own free will."
"Very unusual but infinitely better then most arranged marriages. It's just unfortunate that this law came in."
"If I do choose Blaise I am obliged to begin actively trying to have a child within the next three years."
"That seems a bit hypocritical considering that both sets of parents waited over 15 years before trying to conceive. They must really want grandchildren before they're gone."
"How am I meant to get a job when I am trying to have a small child? Even if I get the job I would need to leave within two years in order to care for it."
"You shouldn't call a child 'It' Hermione. It will make you resent the babe even more. Anything else?"
"In order to divorce Blaise we would need to attend marriage counseling or have failed to produce the child."
"That is again better then most arranged marriages. Actually divorce is almost unheard of in the wizarding world. If you divorce anyone in the wizarding world you have a social stigma for the rest of your life. A lot of wizards will refuse to marry you because it is assumed that the woman is at fault. Any children from the marriage go to the father as it presumed that he can better provide for them. That is generally true because the guy keeps most, in some cases all, of the assets."
"Blaise was encouraging me to think short term and to get a divorce after the law is appealed. I can't believe he was setting me up for that."
"Realistically you are likely to need a divorce Hermione. You have four weeks to find a man and convince him to marry you pretty much immediately despite your still being at school. You do not know anyone other then Victor, my brothers and the kids at school. You're not really attracted to any of them so the chances of you being happy with any of them for the years that the law is in place are low. The chances of you being happy with them for the rest of your life are even lower. Blaise is right, plan for the next few years and be ready to divorce. Your friends will be there for you and you know better then to listen to what everyone else says."
"Talk still hurts Ginny. Sticks and stones may break bones but words destroy the soul."
"I'm sorry Hermione but you're facing a lot of harsh talk anyway. Most of the girls are in shock about the law but you will make them face reality. We're sheltered at Hogwarts because the 'Prophet' puts a positive spin on things but when you get married the girls will see themselves after school. They will realise that they may not get out of it and since they can't attack the ministry they will attack you. Most of us also know witches who have finished school and are subject to the law like you. For this school you represent the law and you will bear the brunt of their reactions to it."
"Who ever I marry will face it too. They may turn against me too; they may resent all the talk they face because they decided to help me. This is impossible Ginny; I'm going to be miserable and make any one who is nice enough to help me miserable to."
"I wish I could help Hermione, but I don't know what will happen. All I can suggest is that you do what makes you happy, but again, I don't know what will make you happy. I do know that Harry and Ron will not make you happy, so I wouldn't advise you put them on your list."
Ginny looked pensively at Hermione. While Hermione would likely never see the point of Quidditch she normally relaxed when she flew. It had been over an hour and Hermione was tenser then when she started.
"We should get back to the dorms then you should have a relaxing bath. Would you like to come to my room in an hour or so and talk or would you rather be left alone? The girls in my room will leave us alone if you want to discuss candidates."
"I think alone will be a better idea. As you said, and it's obviously not your fault, you don't really know how I feel. Blaise and I are meeting to plan our strategy for telling Professor Dumbledore whatever I decide tomorrow after breakfast so I pretty much have to decide tonight. I'll see you tomorrow morning?"
"Yeah. You should really consider Blaise. You may not know him well but that could actually be a good thing. It means he is very decent for a Slytherin and at least on par with the rest of the guys. Being a Slytherin he is already disliked, however unfairly, by most of the students so it won't be a change if they do turn against you both. And he is being rather supportive of you when he could flat out say no; he gave up most of the weekend for you and the other girls. They sought him out, you know, ignored their male friends, their fiancés if they are in this school, and came to Blaise for comfort. He may not be the one for you, but he does seem like a life saver to me."
"I just don't know Gin, but you might be right. He gave me a way to sort this all out when my head was still in shambles. This is the first crisis I've had when I just stopped thinking and lost control, it's not a good feeling."
"I think you have decided, you just need to work it out on paper in order to admit it to yourself."
"I believe I will work it out on paper first but for now a hot bath is calling my name."
Hermione angled her broom downward and put on a rush of speed. She let herself forget everything for a moment and just felt the wind slide across her face. She now had a plan of action and talking to Ginny had convinced her that it would work. Things would be difficult for a while but she had at least one true friend and it seemed she may have made another.
Blaise lay on his bed again, his curtains and canopy charmed to show a relaxing myriad of moving colors. Normally he would be reading the reports that Cassandra had sent him but the first one he had read had been about the new law and that had put thoughts of Hermione in his head that he couldn't get rid of.
He knew he couldn't marry Hermione, it would be too dangerous. His father allowed him his freedom and never questioned where he got off to in the holidays; Hermione would wonder where her husband was. Hermione was perceptive, she would notice that he often wrote in his little book and if she ever got curious and opened it, she would wonder why the only things in it were dates and times. She would wonder how it seemed that he was writing sentences but all that was written was dates. She could look over his should and read what he had written or catch the exact moment that the writing glowed and were compressed into those dates. That would be enough for her to work out how to decode it.
Even worse she could find all the little objects Cassandra had enchanted so they could communicate. She could catch him with Cassandra and blow her cover, or draw unwanted attention to Blaise himself. Blaise had worked hard to remain anonymous at Hogwarts. He was a name that you could put a face to but didn't really know. The scandal of two students marrying while still at school, a school they were attending together, was very newsworthy. The students would be watching and whispering to each other. The pure bloods would be calling him a blood traitor and most would stop confiding in him. The others would be nervous, believing the organization was accepting the law. At the very least it would lower the networks morale.
All the same he couldn't stop considering it. If Cassandra hadn't been born a squib she would be subject to the law and she wouldn't have a choice about who she married. Just as Hermione didn't really have a choice, Blaise had little doubt that she would choose him simply because she didn't have a better option. Cassandra would say he was arrogant, but Blaise knew it was true. It was his job to decipher 'the golden trio' so he knew a lot about Hermione. There was no one at this school who she would be able to stand for a prolonged period of time and few who would understand that it wasn't a true marriage. She would choose him; he just had to decide if he would say yes or no.
The bath had done Hermione good; she had relaxed and calmed her mind to the point where she could look at everything objectively. She had fused the edges of her curtains together and put a silencing charm on them. No one could enter, she couldn't hear anyone and they couldn't hear her. She took out a notebook, pens and her laptop and worked through the lists.
As Blaise suggested she focused on two separate lists. Obviously one was a list of the eligible men, the other was a list of qualities that her husband needed to have. Once that was done she started to compare the men to the qualities, one quality at a time, adding a mark to whoever had it. Whoever had the most points at the end was the person she would ask, if they said no she would ask the runner up.
The winner didn't surprise Hermione, she suspected Blaise would win and knew Ginny had worked it out as well. The runner up did surprise her, she had never thought of any of the Weasley boys as husband material and she knew that Ron would be greatly upset if she asked George to marry her. She struck Fred off as third prospect before if George refused her Fred would as well, which left Seamus as her last chance. If all three refused her Hermione was adamant about taking her ministry and pledging herself to God. If nuns could marry God then why couldn't she?
With the first problem gone, her decision made, Hermione moved onto her next; how could she approach her prospective husband and propose? She would need a ring, she would need to find a quiet spot and she would need to do it before lunch. After ignoring Harry and Ron for most of the day, the boys would be trying to stick with her for all of tomorrow so she would need someone to help distract them. The ring was mostly symbolic; perhaps another symbol would be acceptable. What would be an appropriate symbol was troubling her so Hermione decided to take Ginny up on her offer to help, Ginny would be the perfect distraction for tomorrow anyway.
"Hey Ginny, are you still up for that talk?" Hermione whispered. It had gotten rather late and the other girls were almost asleep.
"Always Hermione, climb in." Ginny pushed back some of her blanket to invite the older girl under. Once Hermione had the blanket over her lap Ginny closed the curtain and cast a silencing spell.
"What have you decided and what do you need help with?" Ginny asked.
Hermione laughed. "You know me so well though I bet you're still going to be shocked. I narrowed it down to three candidates, if the first refuses I ask the second. If he refuses I ask the third. If the third refusing I am going to take my vows to God. Some Muggle nuns are legally married to God, wedding rings and everything."
"I don't see the Ministry agreeing with you there, but go on, who are your candidates?" Ginny probed.
"First is Blaise. Mostly he seemed alright with it."
"Blaise is obvious, I'm not shocked."
"Second is George." Hermione waited for the reaction. She wasn't disappointed.
"My brother George?" Ginny yelled.
"Do we both know any other Georges. I am certainly not going to marry a muggle; I would need to leave school for certain. Not to mention that most of the muggles I know are still in school themselves and if they ever actually believed I was serious they would want to wait until after we both finished school and would not agree to marry if I was already asking for a divorce."
"You are serious about asking my brother to marry you?" Ginny yelled, "Ron would hit the roof and my mother would start to hate you, especially if you planned your divorce before your wedding. Not to mention the fact that you would have to leave school anyway, it may have escaped your notice but George does not attend, nor live near, Hogwarts."
Hermione shook her head, glad that Ginny had thought to place the silencing charm.
"Ginny, George is adventurous and loves a good prank. He would understand that the marriage is a font and won't press for more. He dislikes Fudge as much as you and I do and I think he would love to help someone get around the fine print of the law. While I would hate to upset your mother, I need to protect myself before I can help protect others. Ron will hit the roof if I marry anyone except him, and possibly Harry. Neither of them made it into the top ten, I can't ask them. And I did think about living arrangements. I am certain that I can convince Professor Dumbledore to let me floo to George for the weekend."
"Well you were right about shocking me and your reasoning is sound, if a little twisted and demented. Who's your third choice? I hope not Fred." Ginny asked.
"If one refused, the other would refuse or offer themselves. There would be no point in asking. Third choice is Seamus; he is a lot like the twins but toned down and not as into pranks. Neville was fourth but he might take the marriage a bit too seriously and if he didn't his grandmother would. Anyone else would take it too seriously or push to make it physical, I couldn't handle that." Hermione had gotten lost the enthusiasm she had gained by telling Ginny about George. Ginny noticed.
"It won't matter because Blaise will accept, he may even take the matter out of your hands and propose himself." She said decidedly.
"About that Ginny, I need you to distract the guys so I can talk to Blaise in the morning."
"Not a problem, if you can stay away from the pitch I can keep them occupied for at least five hours."
"I also need some ideas, in case Blaise doesn't propose himself. I need something like a ring to give him and show I care. Even if this is as sham Blaise, or whoever accepts me, is doing me a great favor, I should give him something to thank him."
Hermione was absolutely stuck on what would be an appropriate substitute for a fake engagement ring. Luckily Ginny had some ideas.
"Well guys usually go for the flowers, jewelry and chocolate. Since you are doing the guys part by proposing, perhaps you should continue the trend by presenting a stereotypically male present. George and Seamus would get a kick out it; I don't know Blaise enough to guess his reaction." Ginny suggested.
"Neither do I really, it's odd that he still got the most points when I don't really know anything about him." Hermione agreed.
"It is either totally flattering for him or totally embarrassing for the rest of the guys." Ginny laughed.
"I would say embarrassing but it probably isn't true. Blaise is just one of a kind." Hermione laughed as well, after a few minutes they both calmed down.
"Anything else I can help you with?" Ginny asked with a few giggles.
"You could suggest a quiet place for Blaise and I to talk. I try not to go into the forest during the morning, too easy to get caught." Hermione asked.
"You were impossible to find yesterday morning, can't you just bring him wherever you were then?" Ginny suggested.
"That place is my last resort, if won't tell you or the boys where it is, why would I bring some one else there?" Hermione asked.
"I can't picture Blaise turning you down. He is going to be a big part of your life, the fact that you are brining him to your most secret place is going to be a bigger symbol then a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates." Ginny pointed out.
"How will he know it is my secret place?" Hermione asked.
"You tell him." Ginny said, her tone clearly showed Hermione what she thought of the question.
"I just go up to him and say; 'Hi Blaise, let's go up to my private retreat which I have never shown or described to any one in this entire world so I can propose to you and let this sham of a marriage have a romantic start.' That should go down well."
"Well I was thinking of just sliding it in the conversation but your way will work as well."
"I'm not so great at subtlety, I can hide the truth with the best of them and if I need to I can outright lie but I can't really slide something into the conversation so it seems natural." Hermione said.
"Hermione, I have known you for six years, I know how you handle conversations. If you simply don't think about it, it will come out naturally. Just wait in the Great Hall until breakfast is over and everyone leaves, Blaise will probably do the same. When the coast is clear go meet him, ask him to come with you and lead him to your secret place. It is obviously in an isolated area so Blaise will ask where you are going or where he is. Tell him that this is where you go to think and he will get the idea." Ginny explained.
Hermione thought about it, she could do that.
"Thanks Ginny, you really helped."
"I am happy to be of service. You should get to breakfast late so you have a reason to be there when it is almost empty. I'll tell everyone that you want to sleep in and are likely to be in hiding for most of the morning. The shock of finding out the government can completely ruin the lives of so many young witches has pushed you into hiding. You simply are not coping with the news Hermione, let alone coping well." Ginny said teasingly.
"Thanks again Ginny. I am sure I will be more noticeable on Monday. At least the Ministry had the decency to spring the news on a Saturday morning."
"Women around the Kingdom are in the same situation as you and a few women sit in the Wizengamot. They may not have been enough to outvote the law but they would try to limit the damage by giving a couple of days to absorb the information." Ginny explained.
"Their efforts, though small, are appreciated. Night Ginny." Hermione said.
"Good night Hermione. See you in the afternoon." Ginny replied.
Hermione slid out of the blankets and went to her bed. Tomorrow was going to be a harrowing day.
At the same time that Hermione was getting into her bed, Blaise was creeping towards the greenhouses. He knew at this time no one would catch him but Cassandra needed to practice her observation skills. He was ten feet away when Cassandra's whisper reached him.
"Good Morning Blaise."
"No code names tonight Cass?"
"How you manage to fool everyone in this castle when you have absolutely no respect for secrecy will always astound me Blaise. It seems that no one in the castle is aware of your upcoming nuptials but our Gryffindor agents noticed that Hermione Granger was M:I:A (Missing In Action) so I am betting my giant cookie on her. I would say congratulations but I think you are absolutely insane for going through with this. A member of the Golden Trio, Blaise, your animosity will be shot to hell if you go through with this."
"It's a betrothal Cassie, how many arranged marriages do you know of that gives you a choice?"
"Yours, you said probably and you are always strictly honest. If you had no choice you would of said you were getting married in a month. Now what the hell are you thinking? How can you be considering this?" Cassandra was yelling as loud as she could and still be whispering.
"For a seraph you say the word hell a lot. Let's go up to the castle and make sure you stay warm." Blaise replied comfortingly.
"Blaise, talk, now!" Cassandra whispered.
"I have the details I found out here. I'll let you read them now if you come along up to the castle." Blaise offered.
"I am not a child Blaise, I am your 2nd in command and you can not patronize me."
Blaise sighed. "I am tired and worried about you. Can we just go to the castle and get warm. I will explain everything, you can help me decide what to do and we can work out how to do what we decide. Now do you want to read about the contract now or do you want to catch me up on our network?"
"Tell your mum what you found out and ask her to send you a copy of the entire contract. You can send me the main points tomorrow. I'll tell you more details about what our little ones have been doing for the past few months." Cassandra decided.
"Hermione and I have to tell Dumbledore our decision tomorrow at lunch so I told Hermione I would meet her after breakfast."
"You should have said an hour or so after breakfast, you should get at least five hours sleep when you can. Come on, let's get this meeting over with."
"Breakfast finishes at ten on a Sunday; I should get five and a half hours. I'm just tired because of the ramifications this law will have on our agents." Blaise argued.
"Come on Blaise, you were the one that wanted that wanted to go in the castle." Cassandra tugged his arm.
Three hours later Cassandra emerged from the castle. She took something from her pocket and disappeared.