Chapter 10

The Muggle-born Registration Act

Draco slowly slid his hand off of Hermione's mouth as he whispered in her ear, "Calm down, Granger! Don't call any attention to us. Something's definitely not right here and until we figure out what that is, it's better if we try to stay as inconspicuous as possible, okay? Try to walk to the Gryffindor table without drawing much attention to yourself."

Hermione nodded, her heart thumping painfully against her chest. Draco was right, there is something strange going on around them. It's not every day that you get to see your dead teacher walking around in the flesh, after all. Ghosts are a common occurrence, but previously dead teachers resurrected back to life? Not even Dumbledore could do that!

"I don't think we can join our House tables. We'd be calling attention to ourselves if we walk in now. Especially you, he'd surely notice you," Hermione quietly said.

"You're right. Okay, let's just stay here and listen to what the new Minister has to say. I have a feeling it wouldn't be to our liking, but let's listen just the same. It might give us a clue as to what's going on," Draco said. Hermione noted that he didn't say the word father.

They nodded to each other and turned back to the podium where the Minister (Lucius) was greeting the school teachers (no one seemed happy to return his greeting), and the students (some were not even looking at him).

"Look, they segregated the tables according to Houses again," Draco pointed to the House Tables. Hermione scanned the room and indeed the students were sitting according to Houses, no mixed tables there.

With the greetings done, the Minister was now getting down to the reason for his appearance at Hogwarts. The students were now more attentive than before, some were even leaning on the tables, necks craned to hear every word from the new Minister for Magic.

"As we all know, the Ministry of Magic is now under a new administration. And as the new Minister, I have been privileged with the task of reviewing the state of our people. The Council has therefore decided on implementing some new laws that will aid us in providing a better life for all Wizardkind," the Minister paused to glance at his audience. Seeing as he still had their full attention, he continued.

"Hence, it is with great pleasure that I announce the first of these new laws that will be effected immediately. As of today, all Mud- (coughs) Muggleborns are required to submit to the Muggle-born Registration. All Muggle-born wizards and witches are expected to present themselves to the Ministry of Magic within three days from receipt of notice."

A loud gasp slipped from Hermione's lips. Draco's hand reached for hers, squeezing it reassuringly.

The once quiet room erupted into a cacophony of grumbles, curses, even catcalls after that mind-blowing announcement. It only stopped when the Head Master stepped forward and gave the students his darkest scowl. Yet the air was now heavy with unspoken hostility.

The Minister nodded his thanks to the Head Master then turned back to the students.

"Half-bloods will also be required to fill-out this form," he lifts a long piece of parchment and waves it in the air, "to be returned to the Head Master no later than Monday morning. You may contact your parents if you need to clarify some of the questions. The forms will be given to you by the Heads of your Houses once you return to your dormitories."

The grumbling started to pick up and Snape had to clear his throat rather noisily for it to die down. The Minister smirked and continued, the parchment now floating towards the teachers' table.

"It's nothing to worry about, you would just have to provide details about the Muggle or Muggle-born parent or grandparent. This is in line with the Minister's aim to catalogue the bloodline of each witch and wizard. It's a progressive move that has been deemed necessary by the Council."

"This is discrimination, that's what it is!" someone from the Gryffindor table shouted.

"Harrassment by the Ministry!" was heard from the Ravenclaw table.

"That's totally mental!" from the Hufflepuff table.

The crowd broke into another series of grumbling and cursing, words like 'barbaric', 'unfair', 'brutal', 'primitive', 'cruel', and 'crazy' were hollered by the students. A lot of them were now on their feet, waving their fists at the Minister, yelling their protests. Only those seated at the Slytherin table were not participating, most of them sporting self-satisfied smirks on their faces while the others wore bland, neutral expressions. It was common knowledge that Muggle-borns were never, ever sorted into the Slytherin House, so they were not very much affected by the new Ministry decree.

"QUIET!" the Head Master bellowed. " Fifty points from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. And if you don't stop with your childish antics, you will all receive detention!"

The room quieted down after that with the students contending themselves with throwing malevolent glances at the Minister and the Head Master every now and then.

"Thank you, Head Master," Lucius said giving Snape a short bow, his eyes glittering maliciously. Turning back to the students, he lifted a brow and smirked. Draco felt his chest tighten, he knew that look. His father wasn't finished yet, and he was preparing to drop another bomb.

"All Muggle-born students will be required to present themselves to the Ministry for registration at the start of next week. And just to show you how supportive we are of all Muggle-borns (sneers), we will send a train to pick you up on Sunday morning. You will all be lodged temporarily in one of the Ministry-owned houses while awaiting registration on Monday."

Draco noted that his father did not mention when the Muggle-borns would be returned to Hogwarts and that did not bode well. He glanced at Hermione, his mind whirring a thousand times faster than normal. He had to find a way to prevent her from registering. Somehow, he felt that there was more to this Muggle-born registration than his father was letting on. And it made his blood curdle.

"As some of you will be graduating in a few months, I feel it imperative to let you know of the second law that had just been passed recently. The Ministry is well aware that most wizards and witches marry at a young age, usually as soon as they step out of this illustrious school and have found jobs in the Ministry or elsewhere. The Ministry has also noted the dwindling numbers of purebloods and so to ensure the preservation of the existing bloodlines, a new marriage law has been passed."

The low murmurings were getting louder and had now taken on the sound akin to what a hundred bees buzzing around a honeypot made. The animosity in the atmosphere was also getting heavier by the minute. Lucius' smirk had started to turn into a fiendish grin, and Draco just knew what was coming next. Unconsciously, his hand tightened its grip on Hermione's, his brow furrowing and breaking into a cold sweat.

"Our new marriage law is as follows," his father paused and scanned the room, a devilish twinkle in his eye, "Marriage between a Mud- (coughs again) Muggle-born witch or wizard and a Pureblood witch or wizard is from now on strictly prohibited. A Half-blood witch or wizard may be permitted to marry a pureblood wizard or witch provided that he or she is a third-generation half-blood and that he or she can prove having at least two pureblooded ancestors in the bloodline. Existing marriages between a Muggle and a witch or wizard will be reviewed and appraised of its merit."

What came next was sheer pandemonium. Sixth and seventh years from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and even a few from Slytherin, jumped to their feet as if in unison and started screaming obscenities at the Minister while those in the lower years looked on with stunned expressions frozen on their ashen faces. Plates and goblets started flying toward the podium. Some students even had to be personally restrained from rushing the Minister himself. Snape's bellows were ignored and the other teachers were forced to perform stunning spells on students with a more violent bend.

Hermione's eyes wandered over to the Gryffindor table hoping to see a glimpse of Harry. If the first law had made him mad, this second one would turn him livid. He was, after all, a first generation half-blood and this law would make things between him and Ginny, a pure-blood, quite difficult. She craned her neck and saw Ron and Neville holding on to a thrashing Seamus, his face a dark purplish red, the veins on his neck angrily standing out. Seamus' father was a muggle and his mom was a witch. Their marriage would be pried into by the Ministry. Dean, a half-blood with a Muggle mother, was also being restrained by Ginny (although her face was also almost as red as her hair), while Parvati, another half-blood with a Muggle father, was crying into her hands, being comforted by Lavander (she gasped at that) who had her arms around her, crying as well. But no matter where she looked, she couldn't find her best friend. There just was no Harry anywhere! Before she could turn to the front podium (if he was truly livid, no one could've stopped him from assaulting the Minister!), her hand was tugged rather forcefully from behind.

"Let's go, Hermione! There's nothing we can do here," Draco shouted over the din.

"I can't find Harry!"

"We'll look for him later. We need to figure out what we should do next! Come on!"

Hermione cast a last glance at the chaos behind her before giving in to Draco's tugging.

"We have to go back to the Room of Requirement. That's the safest place we can be," Draco was saying.

"Why don't we just go to our dorm?", she asked, breathless from the fast pace that Draco had imposed on her.

"I'm not sure if it would still be where it is or, even if it's there, if it's still ours," Draco replied, just as breathless as she, but he did not slow down even one bit until they had reached the corridor where the Room of Requirement was. After a few deep breaths, he took both of her hands and looked into Hermione's eyes. Although he was aware that Hermione knew how to work out the Room of Requirement, if they were going to do this at the same time, they must have only one thought in mind, otherwise, it would not appear.

"We have to be thinking of the same thing for this to work. Think of the room that was here earlier, think 'Draco's room in the manor', okay?"

"Okay," Hermione nodded.

They passed the blank stone wall three times, thinking of 'Draco's room in the manor' and after the third pass, a dark oaken door with a brass knob appeared. Draco wasted no time in letting themselves in. Once they were inside, they both ran to the settee and collapsed against its soft seat.

"What just happened, Draco? Why is Snape alive? I even saw Lavander Brown! She's also alive! What is going on?" Hermione cried, panic seeping into her voice.

"I don't know, Hermione. I'm as baffled as you are," Draco said, leaning against the back of the settee, his fingers pinching at the bridge of his nose.

First, it was Theo acting like a lunatic. Now, not only did Snape come back to life, but his father had also turned up like nothing had happened. And as the new Minister for Magic as well! How did that happen? When did that happen?

"And your father! I thought he was in hiding? How did he become the Minister of Magic all of a sudden?"

"I DON'T KNOW, OKAY?" Draco yelled as he jumped to his feet and furiously paced before Hermione.

"Well, don't scream at me! I was just asking a question!"

"And they were stupid questions! How would I know what's happening? Did you think that I have a magic mirror or a crystal ball in my pocket?"

Why was she asking him these questions anyway? Couldn't she tell that he was as much in the dark as she was? Did she think that he was privy to what was happening? Why didn't she try figuring it out herself? She's the smartest witch of their age, why couldn't she start using her brain instead of barking up at him? A soft sob made him halt his frantic pacing.

He silently cursed himself when he realized that he'd just blown up at Hermione again. Taking a few calming breaths, he turned back to her and mentally kicked himself upon seeing her eyes glistening with unshed tears. He walked back to the settee and sat beside her. Draping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her close and planted a soft kiss on the top of her head. His heart almost broke in two when he felt her tremble against him.

"Don't cry, Hermione. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I didn't mean to. I'm just so….confused," he murmured against her strawberry-scented locks. Her arm went around his waist as she snuggled closer to him.

"I'm scared, Draco. I don't understand what's happening," she sobbed.

"I am too, sweetling. But we'll figure something out," he twisted a little and tilted her face up to his, "we always do, don't we?"

She gave him a small smile, but the fear in her eyes was still there. Draco leaned in and kissed her slowly, savoring her sweetness.

"Together, remember? We can do anything when we're together," he whispered against her lips. Hermione smiled more brightly this time, her eyes crinkling at the sides.

"As long as we're together," she whispered back.

He pulled her closer and hugged her tight because he didn't want her to see the fear that was now gripping at his insides like a coiling snake. What in Merlin's name did just happen out there in Great Hall? Why are supposedly dead people walking around in the flesh? It would've been quite normal if they'd seen them in their ghostly states, Hogwarts, after all, has its own resident ghosts, but for them to be walking and talking in their corporeal selves! Now, that's mental!

And what about these new laws?

Another horrifying tendril wrapped around his guts as he thought of what could happen to Hermione. He could smuggle her out and hide her, but how and where? She's the most famous Muggle-born in Hogwarts, everyone knows her. Of course, he could disguise her but again, how? Polyjuice potion could very well do the trick, they both knew how to brew it. But the potion needed to mature for a month before it could be of any use and they had only until Saturday to come up with something that could help her on Sunday morning. He must not let her go to the Ministry, so many bells were clanging their warning inside his head. There's also something that has been nagging at him since he'd set foot in the Great Hall, he just couldn't put a finger on it yet.

Draco pulled away from Hermione as a plan started to form in his mind. He would not tell her about it yet. Not until he was sure that it would work. But first, they needed to find Potter. Much as he hated to admit it, he needed to know if Potter was okay.

"Hermione, we need to go back to our dormitories tonight."

"But you said…"

"No, not to the Prefects' dormitory, to our House dormitories. Go to Gryffindor tower and find Potter. We need to make sure that he is alright. But try to act normal, don't ask too many questions. Just observe the people in your dormitory. I'll go to our dorms in the dungeon and do the same. Then, let's meet up here again tomorrow, if possible, before breakfast."

"Okay. But if you find out something really, really important, send me a note so we can meet up as soon as possible," Hermione said, taking both of his hands as she looked intently into his eyes.

Draco nodded and pulled her back into his arms. He could feel the cold fingers of doubt and terror grasping at the recesses of his mind. He stubbornly pushed them away and hugged Hermione tighter.

We will figure something out. We have to or I don't know what would happen to us.