Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and plotlines belong to JK Rowling.

This story is in the process of a rewrite, so please be patient! I'm trying to update as often as I can.

Chapter 1

"You must know. Surely you must know, it was all for are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my aunt last night and it has taught me to hope as I had scarcely allowed myself before." Mr. Darcy said bewitchingly from the television screen in Miss Hermione Granger's London flat.

"What a load of rubbish," Harry Potter scoffed at the charming man from his seat on the sofa.

"Shut up, Harry, this is the best part!" Hermione threw a handful of popcorn in her best friend's direction before shoving another handful into her mouth.

"...you have bewitched me body and soul and I love...I love...I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on…"

Harry snorted."Oh, please, real blokes don't talk all flowery, with the fancy words and all that. If we like a girl, we just tell her, or we don't."

"Well maybe if the members of your gender articulated their feelings as eloquently as Mr. Darcy, they would be presented with the opportunity to get laid more often," Hermione retorted, grabbing the remote and switching off the television.

"Eh, probably. But, that's not really my problem, now is it?" Harry smirked, leaning back in his chair. His wife of five years, Luna Potter nee Lovegood, was currently six months pregnant with their third child.

Hermione rolled her eyes and got off the couch, placing her bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in front of her. "Well we can't all be fortunate enough to find our soulmate at 11, now can we?"

"Who knows, Mione? You may have met him already and just don't know yet. You could easily end up with Seamus or Dean. They're still single, so I've heard."

Hermione shuddered. "I could end up with Seamus and have to move house every two weeks because he's found something to destroy, or I could be with Dean and have Ginny's sloppy seconds, so to speak. I'd prefer my friends to not be as physically acquainted with my significant others as myself, thanks.." She stood and carried their dishes to her small kitchen, Harry following. "And you know I'm not focusing on dating right now."

"Who said anything about dating? With how stressed you've been lately, you just need a good shag."

"Harry, I'm surprised at you! The nerve, speaking to a lady like that!"

"Lady, my arse. And it's been what, eight months, since you and Ron split? And I haven't heard you talk about anyone or going on any dates."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, turning her back to him to fetch a fresh drink from the kitchen. "It hasn't been eight months! It's been...nine months and ten days."

"Not that you're counting or anything."

She huffed, getting a wine bottle out of the refrigerator and uncorking it. "Just because Ron ran off with some bimbo slut from the Daily Prophet, and just because I haven't shagged anyone since we broke up, doesn't mean I haven't had meaningful, deeply personal connections with men. Great dates! With romantic men who just dote on me!"

"Oh, you have, have you?"

"Maybe I have."

"Gay men don't count, Hermione."

Hermione took a sip from her wine, ignoring him. "What does it matter if I have shagged someone or not? I'm doing very well for myself, Harry. I've just been promoted at work, I'm making decent money, I'm healthy. I do not need a man to make me satisfied with my life. I'm twenty-six years old, and I'm a smart, attractive, independent woman! Plus, I don't need a man in order to get myself off, Harry," she smirked at him. "I have a vibrator."

"And that is my cue to leave," Harry kissed his friend on the forehead. "Have a good night, love. See you tomorrow night at mine, yeah?"

"Sure. Goodnight, Harry. Give Luna a kiss for me."

"Will do. Night, Mione." And with that, Harry Potter left the building.

Hermione poured herself another glass of wine and padded into the bathroom to set up a nice, relaxing hot bath. A wave of her wand caused her lights to dim, hot, coconut and vanilla scented bubbles and water to fill her clawfoot tub, and floating candles to light themselves as a wave of smooth jazz floated through the bathroom. She settled into the warm bubbly water and sighed.

Was Harry right? Did she just need to get laid by a real live red-blooded male? She had always thought herself to be perfectly fine without a regular sex partner, but she had to admit that she was feeling more tightly wound and stressed these days. If she was perfectly honest with herself, the sex had gone from their relationship months before she had discovered Ron with that slutty tabloid writer Astoria Greengrass in their shower. It had been quite a while for her, and she could definitely feel it. Her trusty little vibrating rabbit just wasn't quite cutting it for her anymore.

She drained the bath and dressed in a silky robe she had gotten from a boutique lingerie shop on a work trip to the US, originally as a surprise gift for Ron along with a barely-there lacey bra and thong set that never got to see the sun. Or the floor, as she had imagined when she purchased them. She played with the edge for a moment. She had gotten several things on that trip, actually, that were currently tucked away in her lingerie chest, tags still on, never worn. Maybe, just maybe, she would eventually find someone to wear them for.

She slipped into bed naked and reached for her trusty vibrator, her mind buzzing with thoughts and memories of the stupid redhead arsehole who broke her heart, and a mystery man with strong, rippling muscles and a penchant for dirty talk.

The next morning, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was simply buzzing with gossip. It was a normal occurrence, for some reason the titters and murmurs surrounding Hermione as her heels clicked down the hallway sounded much more insistent and concerned this morning. As soon as she opened the door to her office in the Investigation department for Magical Law Enforcement, her secretary shoved a copy of the Daily Prophet into her hands.

"Have you heard?" Hermione's secretary whispered to her as she arrived, looking a bit panicked.

"Amanda, you know I don't read this worthless drivel anymore," Hermione said, moving to hand it back. "Are you all right? You look a bit pale."

The young blonde's dropped immediately to her hands, which were nervously fiddling with the watch on her left wrist, "I think you'll want to read it today, Miss Granger."

Hermione sighed and nodded, tucking the paper under her arm. "I haven't even had my coffee yet and already with the drama," she muttered. "Are there any messages for me?"

Amanda nodded and reached for a stack of small paper slips, handing them to her. "Yes, Miss Granger. Minister Shacklebolt also sent his assistant this morning to ask if you had time to do a quick Floo call before you get too busy, I told him I wasn't sure, but would ask you. And your new account file is on your desk, as well as your coffee and a bagel."

"Thank you, Amanda. I'll call Kingsley back." Hermione nodded to the girl and stepped into her office, closing the door behind her.

She threw the newspaper into a chair haphazardly and thumbed through the account file on her desk. Hermione had been working as a solicitor in the magical community since she had graduated from Wizarding University with degrees in Wizarding Law, Diplomacy & Wizarding Relations, and Wizarding Communications. She had apprenticed under several of the prominent legal offices in the British and French Ministries focusing on prosecution, contract, and human rights law before opening her own practice, mainly taking on projects that interested her regardless of the subject.

She technically could have worked from home if she chose to do so, but the Ministry had offered her an office suite in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for her practice in exchange for consultation on a few cases here and there. So far, Hermione had only been asked to consult on three cases in her year in the office. She had recently been appointed the official Ministry liaison for several corporations, and was the driving force behind several amendment proposals to laws regarding rights of Magical Creatures and muggleborns, as well as pressing the importance of practical life skills classes such as basic law and tax preparation, career exploration, and sex education in Wizarding schools such as Hogwarts and Beauxbatons.

The account file in her hands mainly focused on a merger that was happening between a Ministry-subsidized apothecary and an outside corporation called Pax Pharmaceuticals, which was fairly straightforward on her end. She just had to read through the merger contracts to ensure that the terms were fair and beneficial to both parties, as well as schedule a meeting with Pax's representatives and the director of the Ministry's Public Health's office. It was a case that her professors in school had joked about often, minimal work for maximum billable hours. She chuckled to herself as she reached for her coffee and picked up the morning paper from the chair that Amanda had been so desperate for her to read. She froze as she glanced over the headline.

WIZENGAMOT TO PASS MARRIAGE LAW, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY