This story was written for the Tag(line), You're It! Competition. My tagline is "Love actually is all around" from Love Actually. Thank you to Astrangefan for being an awesome beta! All mistakes are my own.
There should have been a warning, something that let the Department of Mysteries know a prophecy was coming to fruition. But the British Wizarding World was too busy celebrating the defeat of Tom Riddle. Too busy rebuilding their society to pay attention to the warning that rang out. Morgan le Fay had cast a spell years ago to prevent society from becoming too small and they were at that point. To get back to where the British Wizarding World was not at risk of dying out, contraceptives would fail and couples with the highest chance of producing magical children would be drawn together.
It started simply enough. Established couples found themselves expecting without trying. For those not bound by marital bonds, there was an itch. An itch to find someone and settle down. But not just anyone, but the perfect person for them. Couples that had dated for years broke up as they found they no longer got along.
Hermione's entire class was required to attend Hogwarts again as a special Eighth Year. A special dorm was set up for them with a door that led outside so they could come and go as they pleased, they just had to attend classes and not disrupt life too much for those who were still on the normal route through school. And it should have been obvious here too with the new pairings. The first to find love was Seamus Finnigan and Millicent Bulstrode. They were seen snogging in the Eighth Year common room the second week of classes. And the pairings continued to happen, sometimes with other Eighth Years, sometimes with students within a year or two, and sometimes with people they met outside of school. There were a few surprise matches as well. Harry Potter, who broke up with Ginny Weasley just before the school year started, was seen and heard behind a suit of armor with Pansy Parkinson. Ron Weasley was seen with Susan Abbott by the lake. And while all these new couples were pairing up, two questioned what was happening to everyone.
Hermione and Draco both saw these new couples and both stayed far away from everyone. Well, they each hid in separate areas of the library doing their homework and researching what could be causing this. And each day, even though they didn't realize it, they moved closer to one another. It started with not knowing the other was in the library. Within a few weeks, they were sitting in the same area in the back. Then one day, Draco sat down at the same table Hermione was at.
"Granger, can I talk to you for a moment?" Draco asked.
"Sure. But before you begin, have you seen the law books about the founding of Hogwarts? It may have a clue as to what is going on," Hermione stated.
"I have it. I thought the same thing. Do you want to go over notes together to see what you've found and what I've found and see if we can work together to find the answer?"
"Maybe. But we aren't friends. Why would you want to work with me?"
"That's why I wanted to talk to you," Draco hesitated. "I'm sorry. For everything. The name-calling, the fighting, for thinking you were beneath me. I've never seen anyone make it out alive or with their mind still intact after Bellatrix got to them and here you are. Yes, a few new scars but stronger than before. And I admire you for that strength."
"I wouldn't say I was stronger. I still have nightmares and get very little sleep. My room is silenced every night so no one hears me scream," Hermione admitted.
"Mine too. The horrors I saw in what was supposed to my home were unbearable. I have no plans to ever go back there."
"But that's your home. Why would you want to give it up?"
"It stopped being my home when that thing moved into the family wing and took over the place. I may burn it down," Draco offered.
"But what about all the history there? I heard from Padma that Malfoy Manor has one of the greatest libraries in the world. Why would you want to burn that?" Hermione exclaimed loudly.
"Shh, or you'll get us kicked out. Maybe I can find a way to keep the library. Build a room with a kitchen and bathroom off the library and have that be the main part of the house," Draco offered.
"That sounds like a nice plan. Maybe there is something there too that could help with our research. Have you found anything yet?"
And so Draco and Hermione started to work together to try to figure out what was going on. Days turned into weeks and during that time, Hermione saw how much she had in common with Draco. He was smart, witty, and snarky when times called for it. He knew when to be studious and when there was time to goof off. What neither of them realized was this was drawing them together like many of the other couples.
After two months of searching through the Hogwarts Library, Draco and Hermione decided to expand their search. Together, they decided to spend Saturday at the Malfoy Library to see what they could find. If nothing was found, they would go to the Black Library on Sunday.
After breakfast that Saturday, Draco and Hermione met in the Eighth Year Common Room to walk down to Hogsmeade together. From there, they apparated to Malfoy Manor, landing in the Library.
"Are you sure it's okay for us to be here?" Hermione asked as she went to the shelves to run her fingers over the spines as she gazed at the stacks on both floors.
"Yes, it's fine. I actually own the Manor now that Lucius is in Azkaban for life and my mother moved to France. Hence why I plan to burn the Manor. I haven't been here since I was released from the holding cell in the ministry, so please excuse the dirt," Draco said with a smirk.
Hermione chuckled. Together they set out to go through as many of the older volumes related to history that they could find. Around lunch, a house-elf popped in with lunch.
"Draco, have you abandoned these elves?" Hermione cried out.
"No. I freed them all. Dippy was my personal elf and refused to be freed. He has a bed in my room at school, which he hates, and still tries to serve me. I respect his loyalty but it's a cycle we as a society need to break."
Hermione reached over and hugged Draco. A spark was felt by both of them, although they both chose to ignore what it could mean.
After lunch, they got back to their reading. It was sometime after dinner that Hermione found a clue to what they were looking for.
"Draco, I think I found something. Did Morgan le Fay ever leave any prophecies?" Hermione asked.
"Not a prophecy. But there is a rumor that she cast a spell over all of Britain. Give me a moment," Draco said as he got up to get a different book.
"Here it is. According to this law book from 726, Morgan le Fay cast a spell in 619, just before her death. This spell would ensure the Wizarding population would never fall below two thousand people. If the population got close to this number, unbound people of age will start to fall in love with perfect matches that will ensure they have magical children. Couples that are already bound by marriage will find themselves having children easier and contraceptives won't be effective," Draco read.
"What about unbound couples? Are they at risk of falling pregnant too?"
"It looks like it. I wonder if any of our friends are already expecting?" Draco wondered out loud.
"So, what does this mean for us? Why haven't we found the best person for either of us?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe because we've been spending so much time together we haven't had a chance to find that person," Draco speculated.
"Maybe. Does your book say how you know you've found your most compatible?"
"Not completely. The book says there is a pull to want to be with each other. And some just give in sooner than others to a romantic relationship."
"Like Harry and Parkinson?"
"Yuck. I had almost forgotten about that encounter. You had to bring it back up," Draco said, smiling.
Hermione chuckled. "Does this spell have a name?"
"Ironically enough, it does. Le Fay called it Love Actually Is All Around."
"Well, that wasn't subtle at all."
"Agreed. Why don't we call it a night and we can report this to the ministry in the morning?" Draco offered.
Hermione agreed but stated that she was too tired to apparate back to Hogsmeade. Draco took Hermione's hand, feeling the jolt once again, and led her up to the guest wing where he had taken refuge during Riddle's stay.
Draco left her outside one of the rooms and turned to go to his. Hermione reached out and grabbed his arm pulling him back. He looked at her for a brief minute before gently taking her face in his hands and pressing the gentlest of kisses on her lips. This wasn't enough for Hermione and she pulled him closer to deepen the kiss. His hands began to roam her back and hips as hers went for the buttons on his shirt.
Draco broke the kiss, panting. "Are you sure, Hermione? You know the risks after what we just read."
"I'm sure. Maybe us studying and researching together was us getting past our past. You have to admit we're quite compatible together."
This was enough for Draco as he shrugged out of his shirt and went back to snogging Hermione. Clothing was dropped along the way to the bed. There was a desperate need to be together. Once they made it to the bed, Draco lifted Hermione and laid her out in the middle of the bed.
"Last chance, Hermione. We can stop now and I'll go to my bed. We can wait."
"Draco, if you don't shag me now, I'll tie you up and have my way with you without your consent."
"Kinky, Granger. Maybe I'd like that. But for our first time, I say we continue as we are."
Draco went back to kissing Hermione but moved away from her lips and kissed down her body paying special attention to her breasts and her core. Hermione cried out with her first orgasm of the night. Draco came up to look deep into Hermione's eyes, making sure she was sure before he entered her. Hermione cried out with the intrusion but slowly felt the pleasure that was there to have. They came together and slowly fell asleep.
Hermione woke the next morning to a finger slowly bringing her pleasure. She opened her eyes and saw Draco between her legs, just about to take a nip at her while his fingers worked her to her precipice. Draco took her once again in the bed before they moved to the shower and enjoyed each other again. It was after lunch by the time they made it to the Ministry and spoke with Minister Shacklebolt. The next day the Daily Prophet ran a front-page story about the spell and its implications.
Draco and Hermione found they were expecting two months later and they couldn't have been happier about where their life was going. With the help of curse breakers, they were able to save the manor's library and rebuild a small house for them to live in once they finished school, with Dippy tagging along, excited to take care of a new Malfoy.