Dinner in the Great Hall was a somber affair this year, the usual lively conversation replaced with the clink of glasses and forks against plates.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, every student stilling as he stood and faced them. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. It is my pleasure to introduce you to our newest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Mr. Sirius Black."
Sirius stood to an uproar, students whispering furtively. From the Slytherin table came a muttered 'My father will hear about this'.
"SILENCE!," boomed Dumbledore, glaring out at his students beneath his crescent-shaped glasses. "I expect you all to treat Professor Black with the utmost respect."
Sirius sat with a nod, smiling in the direction of the Gryffindor table where his godson sat with a wide grin.
"The Ministry has some news they would like me to share with you all." The older wizard cleared his throat, pulling a scroll from his robes and placing it on the podium before him. "All muggle-born witches and wizards between 17 and 40 will need to marry a wizard of pureblood or halfblood heritage within one week and produce a child within two years of their union. The Ministry has assigned matches to each eligible party. If one refuses to comply they will face Azkaban."
'Dumbledore held up one wizened finger, as if to stop the outrage before it began. Letters rained down from the star-strewn ceiling, landing neatly in the laps of the unlucky wizards that awaited them. "I will leave you to open those in your dormitories. I am sure many of you will be surprised by your pairings. Dismissed."
Clutching her letter, Josephine Silverberry dashed to the Room of Requirement, letter held tightly to her scarlet and gold robes. She hoped her friends would have the same idea. This was outrageous! How dare the Ministry interfere in their lives like that? Especially while they were still at school.
Voldemort had infiltrated the Ministry over the summer, and this stupid law was no doubt his idea. She waited until the iron-wrought door appeared in the previously blank castle wall and stepped inside to a sitting room full of plush armchairs. One by one, the members of her tightly knit group trodded in. Astrid Flower chose a Fuschia armchair, plopping into it with a quiet thump. Astrid was only sixteen and therefore exempt from the Marriage Law but loyal to her companions, she risked being caught out of bed anyway. Hermione and Rosemary traipsed in together both with unopened letters, Ron and Harry following closely behind.
"Well, are you lot going to open those or do I have to do it for you?" Astrid asked, tucking a bobby pin into her bun.
"Shut up Astrid. What if we have to marry Malfoy or something?" Rosemary muttered, fiddling with the thick envelope on her lap.
"Let's open them together. That seems like the most sensible thing to do," Hermione said, smiling weakly at her friends.
The girls nodded in agreement.
Hermione took a deep breath. "Okay, on the count of three. One, two, three."
"Oh fuck." Rosemary swore, tossing her letter across the room.
"I, um. Harry you're not going to believe this." Josie quietly slid him the carefully folded piece of parchment. She hid her smile in her robes, secretly pleased with her future husband. Not that she'd let anyone else know that, of course.
"Who'd you get Hera?" Astrid asked, reaching a gentle hand to touch Hermione's shoulder.
"Ron. Not too bad, even if he's got the emotional range of a teaspoon." She said, giggling.
Ron blushed, fiddling with his wand. "Blimey, 'Mione. I mean, I'm sorry this is happening but I'm glad it's with you."
"Harry? Who'd Josephine get?" Astrid peered curiously over at Harry, who sat in silence with Josephine's letter crumpled in his fist.
"Sirius. Bloody Sirius," He muttered, refusing to do anything but glare at the floor. "I mean, he's the only family I got and now she's fucking him?"
"Harry!" Hermione said. "You can't talk about her like that! It's not like it's her choice!"
"At least none of you are marrying the bat of the dungeons," Rosemary said.
"You're bloody joking," Ron whispered, blue eyes widening.
Hermione picked up Rosemary's letter from the floor, sighing as she read. "No, she's right. It says right here: Severus Snape. You all should really stop calling him a bat. He is a teacher you know."
"Yeah, I'm the only one allowed to call him that anymore. Seeing as he's my husband and all." Rosemary smirked. Snape wasn't the worst professor she could've gotten married off too. Flitwick was just as single. However, he hated her just as much as any of his pupils, especially as she was frequently found with the golden trio.
"How is it that two of you are engaged to professors? That's got to be some kind of joke." Astrid snorted. She thanked Merlin that she didn't have to marry anyone just yet. Hopefully, the law would be abolished by the time she reached seventeen.
"I don't know. I can do some research on how these are decided. I mean, it can't be legal." Hermione said, already planning her next trip to the library.
"No, 'Mione. Wizard Marriages are for life. It's old magic. There's nothing that can break that kind of bond. Unless one of you dies," Ron said. He was ashamed, but he wasn't sure if his embarrassment had to do with his glee at being able to marry his childhood crush or that his other friends were doomed to be in loveless marriages. Maybe they could murder Snape.
"What are you going to do Harry?" Hermione asked. She couldn't imagine who they would pair with the chosen one if it wasn't one of them. Voldemort certainly didn't have anything to gain from another Potter walking around.
"Dunno. I guess I'll wait and see who was unlucky enough to get paired with me." Harry sighed. He wanted to scream about Josephine being married off to Sirius, but he thought better of it. It wasn't her fault. That didn't mean he had to like it though. He hadn't thought about who he might have to marry. Ginny would be nice. He'd have to beat Dean Thomas to it though.
"Listen, we'll figure this all out tomorrow. We've got to get to bed or else Snape will give us all detention." Hermione said.
"S'alright. Rosemary could get us out of it." Harry said.
Rosemary swatted him on her way out the door, rushing back to Ravenclaw common room. She wanted to avoid Snape for as long as possible. She had no doubt that he'd still give her detention even after they were married.
The rest of the gang parted ways, casting quiet disillusionment charms as they went.