One Month Later:

Hermione smiled to herself and leaned back looking at the potion sitting on her desk. The pink color swirling around looking more like a dance than a liquid and she let out a small laugh. When there was a knock on the office door, she quickly put the potion in her desk drawer and closed it. Carly, her secretary, walked in with a frown as she set down the newest files sent over from Hogwarts and then quickly, she left the office. So, whatever was in those files, Hermione pulled closer to her, wasn't good news in the least. She opened it and pulled out the sealed letter inside, it was from Remus, she was happy he wrote to her instead of making her read through everything with the hope of good news. That's what she loved about him, he didn't let her suffer, it was like taking off a muggle band-aid...he did it quickly.

Hermione-

This is not the best news. I have to say that about 10% of the student body has now been taken out of the school...the student numbers are falling, the schools funding is falling rather dramatically, and I don't know what else to say, Hermione other than I'm sorry. This is all my fault, if I'd just knew my place, a place that obviously isn't behind the Headmasters desk and stayed there then none of this would be happening. I won't say I'm going to resign because I know that you've got a plan in that big brain of yours or I'm sure you already have a plan just please...save me!

-Remus.

Hermione sat with her middle finger and her index finger tapping against her bottom lip in a distracted manner. Her eyes glanced over the letter again and then the paperwork that he'd sent over which told her the very same thing he did but in greater detail. She sighed and shook her head in irritation, so this was how the wizarding world was going to try to stop her from making changes, how they will go about getting her out of office. Surging forward, Hermione grabbed a parchment of paper and wrote something on it, sending it out to the newspaper, so that it would make an appearance that evening.

"Minister" Carly greeted with a small smile "How's it going?"

"Oh Carly" Hermione said with a small smile "The wizarding world wants to fight with me" She giggled a little "Merlin knows that I love a good battle"

"And your marriage?" Carly asked, Hermione had spent a disturbing amount of time with the secretary, so a friendship had formed "How is Cyrus?"

"He's good" Hermione smiled "He's got friends, friends that stand up for him and Aibhlinn is growing like a weed, Severus has been teaching her how to read and write so she'll be ahead of all her peers, which he is aiming for" Hermione laughed a little, shaking her head at her husbands antics, she looked at a file that was off to the side a little "How's your courtship going, Carly?"

"Oh" She shook her head, face turning red and her tight curls bouncing merrily around her round face "It is amazing, scary, romantic and just..." She seemed at a loss for words "Amazing"

"And the gentleman?" Hermione smiled "Who did you choose?"

"I had six offers" She informed "Including the boy I'd had a crush on for the last three years of my time at Durmstrang" Hermione's brows furrowed because the law didn't reach those students and Carly rushed to explain "I went to Durmstrang because my father moved around a lot because of work, they were rarely near Hogwarts so that's where I went...I came back to England as soon as I graduated, which made me eligible for the law...I didn't realize that he'd also moved here"

"Why didn't you choose him?" Hermione asked.

"I went on some dates with him" She admitted "But I found that he was selfish, interested only in sex, didn't really want a wife but a servant and sex-slave" Carly laughed and shook her head "There wasn't a second date...then I met Robert" Her face turned red again "He's from America, was visiting London and fell in love with our Wizarding world, he loved it so much he filed for citizenship and once he was okayed he was dragged in by the law"

"How did he feel about that?" Hermione wondered.

"He said that when he received my file, along with the others, he was nervous because he'd never intended to get married" Carly answered "He said that when he saw my age, nineteen, he almost didn't continue because he's twenty years older than me but then he looked at my picture" Carly bit her lip and the look that passed over her face made Hermione think she was about to hear something that maybe she shouldn't "He said that when he saw my picture his heart stopped for a second, his stomach felt like there were hippogryphs flying and stampeding in there and he felt nervous for a whole different reason"

"That's amazing" Hermione answered with a grin "How long have you been talking and what phase are you in now?"

"He's courting me" She answered "But we've been talking about marriage already, I think we're ready" She looked at the minister "What about you, you seemed flushed when I came in earlier...is everything okay?"

"I'm pregnant" Hermione said in a rush, laughing a little "Severus and I've been trying since he woke up, months now, and I thought that maybe I was unable to have another child but now...I'm...pregnant, I am so, so happy"

"That is so great!" Carly squealed "Oh, I am so going to throw you a baby shower!"

~~~/ /~~~

It was Saturday when the news had finally, fully made its way around the whole school and then there were surprising results. Hermione had sent out word to the newspapers that due to students leaving Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic was now offering financial help to those families that would like their children to go there but otherwise cannot afford it. Hermione thought that she was going to have to wait for people to show any interest, maybe she'd get a letter in a week, a few letters by the end of the month and she probably wouldn't have the 10% of students back until the next fall term and she was okay with that. What she hadn't expected was the steady stream of letters that came in on the next day from families that didn't care if Remus was headmaster. Letters that begged to be considered, letters from parents of fourth year students, of sixth year students and parents of kids that wouldn't be able to start until next September. It was hard for Hermione to stay in her office the whole day that Friday and work on the marriage law, not that she knew what the hell she was going to do anyway, all she wanted to do was run back to Hogwarts, tell Remus that her plan was working, and they'd be okay and then maybe tell Severus about the pregnancy. But she'd stayed in her office until almost four, then she let Carly go early and closed the whole office down for the weekend and made her way back. By Saturday, the news made its way through the school and while some students didn't care other students were angry that 'poor' students were going to be taking their friends place at the school and in the dorms.

"Remus" Hermione said, she and Severus had joined Remus and Tonks in their private chambers for lunch "Do we have room for all these students?"

"Yes" He answered with a sigh "But Hermione, this isn't how it works. I need to give them tests to make sure that they can keep up with the other students and then there's the if they can adapt to a school when they've only ever known homeschooling"

"You're right" Hermione said "On Monday I will contact all the students and have you set up tests to figure out their abilities and then you and Severus can administer the tests at some point at the Ministry"

"Why the bloody hell do I have to?" Severus muttered into the sandwich he'd been holding in front of his mouth.

"Because" Hermione told him with a sweet smile "If you want any say in the name of this baby, you'll do this" Remus smiled and shook his head while Tonks's mouth dropped open and she started to do a little bouncing motion on the couch that was slowly becoming more and more pronounced "If it's a boy I will give him the first name of Harry and the middle name Sirius"

"Not bloody likely naming my son after those two..." Severus's head snapped up and he looked at her, his mouth dropping open while her smile widened "You're pregnant?!"

"Took you long enough to catch on" She answered, while Tonks finally bounced off her side of the couch with a squeal and hugged the younger woman "Are you happy?" He still hadn't said anything since he put two and two together.

"Beyond words, it appears" Severus said with a true smile on his face "My dear, I don't think I could be happier...I have a beautiful wife, a lovely daughter and a son who is disgustingly Gryffindor but is a good kid and we're going to have another, I am the most blessed man in the world"

"I love you" Hermione breathed "I love you so much"

"Hermione" He said as if in afterthought "Do you remember the Truth Cards that Molly Weasley made that helped us, her own marriage and the Potters?"

"I do" She answered.

"I've talked her into making more and I was thinking that you could use them at the ministry for other Marriage Law couples" Severus told her "Just something I've been thinking about"

Hermione watched him, for the next hour, with a lump in her throat. This was what her mother always told her that marriage was supposed to be, helping one another, she helped him with his grading and talking about sensitive subjects with female Slytherins and he helped her by reminding her of something completely brilliant that she'd forgotten about. She knew that others may be horrified to know that Severus Snape was helping her run the wizarding world, and Hermione wasn't even sure if he knew that he did, but she was also unsure if she would be able to really run the wizarding world without him and his counsel.

"Severus" Hermione said "Tell Molly to send me a deck of the cards and I will give them to a couple as a trial run"

"I will" He smiled "I love you"

"I love you too" She answered.

A/N: Sorry it took so long. Leave a review.