Amortentia
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I hope people are still reading these. Please bear with me through the exposition. I'm hoping it will be worth it. If not, it is for my creative outlet and pure love of HGSS
Summary: "Amortentia of all things. What a silly potion to save the world." Marriage Law Fic with some twists. Amortentia is utilized to help wizards and witches find their most desirable partner. HGSS, EWE
It was a rare situation that caused Hermione Granger AKA brightest witch of her age to become truly flustered, and this was one of them. How had her innocent work to improve wizarding society's opinions on muggle borns turned into a Ministry marriage law project? Even she could not follow the winding paths that had led her here, but nevertheless she was dedicated to the program. While working as an independent contractor for the Muggle liaison office at the Ministry, Hermione was pulled into several important meetings that changed the course of her history.
"Can these numbers possibly be correct?"
"I'm afraid so, Margaret."
"But these predictions would indicate - "
"Yes, I'm afraid that the predictions indicate that magical progeny would decline into extinction by the year 2080. And though that seems far off, in the study of mankind it is unheard of for such an accelerated reduction."
"Well, we must check the arithmancy! There's no way in Hades this would be accurate!"
"In fact it is. The entire Department of Mysteries and the Arithmancy Academy in New Zealand have run the numbers over and over again. If we do not take serious action in the next decade, magic will be much less than a minority in human kind."
Hermione still shivered at the realization she had as she sat in that cold metal seat in the back of the conference room. She had been one of the Arithmancers from the Ministry to fact check the results from New Zealand. At the time, she believed it to be a thought experiment and not an actual crisis. Since then, she had joined the Ministry full-time and led one of a few teams that launched various projects to combat the issue. Her first program with her team was to create and facilitate a dating site for muggles with latent magical ancestry in the hopes that they would bear more muggle-born offspring. The research was grueling, but the prospects were turning out quite nicely.
However, a month ago the Ministry pressed upon the teams that their small projects were helpful, but not enough. The problem required drastic action that would result in litigation for the wizarding community as a whole. The war had wiped out an awful number of witches and wizards, especially those of child-bearing age. Little did she know as a teenager that the war had also spread to France, Bulgaria, New Zealand, Australia, and other parts of Europe and some parts of Asia. Voldemort had many devious and dangerous allies, and his attack on Hogwarts coincided with similar attacks in many nations. Needless to say, the magical population was struggling. The Ministry announced to the special projects teams that there would be a Marriage Law put into effect in one month's time. If it went well, the European countries and those Down Under were on standby to implement a similar regime.
There had been precedents to the Marriage Law in wizarding history. The most recent taking place after the Napoleonic Wars in Europe in 1648. The French and English magical population suffered so greatly in that war that the Marriage Law was instituted and firmly enforced.
Hermione feared the repercussions of such a task in modern society. She knew they couldn't escape it, so she made it her goal to add concessions around the law to make it as benevolent and fortuitous as possible. Their teams met until 11pm every night that week trying to come up with solutions. It wasn't until she was safely back in her flat, taking a relaxing bubble bath that the idea came to her. Hermione had lit her new candle for the bath, given to her by Professor McGonagall that Christmas. As she laid back against the porcelain of the tub and breathed in the honeysuckle scent, she felt a pitter patter of contentment and elation in her heart. The feeling was like the moment before you fall in love….
The brightest witch of her age bolted from her bath, threw on a bathrobe, and began writing her ideas on the closest piece of paper she could find (which happened to be a Chinese take-out menu).
A month later, here she was on the verge of a full breakdown of nerves as they began trials for the Marriage Law pairings tomorrow. Would people be happy with their results? Would the idea work? She refused to think of the consequences if it didn't.
Severus Snape was not a man to be trifled with, but the Ministry had owled him incessantly until he agreed to participate in the upcoming project. Not that he cared for their relentless badgering, but a secret missive from Hogwarts Headmistress Minerva informed him that the Minister himself (Kingsley Shacklebolt) insisted he alone would suffice to create the necessary potions for the top secret project. Of course, like Hogwarts, top secret in the Ministry was hardly ever secret for long. A week after he was recruited, it was announced to the society at large that there was to be a Marriage Law instated by the Ministry but not required only highly encouraged to the UK's magical citizens of proper age and availability. Within the week, signing up for the pairings became the acceptable and admirable thing to do for any single witch or wizard of age. Those who skirted the signups were scorned by strangers and relatives alike. The precarious population predictions were made common knowledge, and it was up to the community to do their part.
In his basement laboratory, the former potions master for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry prepared materials for the final stages of the potion to be completed upon arrival to the Ministry in the morning. Severus believed he was "doing his part" by creating the necessary potions for the highly anticipated pairing trials.
Amortentia of all things. What a silly potion to save the world.
Once explained to him by the founder of the project, even Severus had to admit that the idea had merit. Not that he would ever admit it aloud. If only the program's founder weren't an insufferable know-it-all.
"You see, Professor, the law is called the Marriage Law but the true intention is to stimulate the procreation of more magical children. If the suitors are not paired with people they find desirable and vice versa, then there is little chance the old-fashioned law will work in this modern age." Hermione Granger rambled on while her tea cooled to an undrinkable room temperature.
"So you wish to use Amortentia as an aphrodisiac after the poor dimwits are forced together for life? Cheery." Severus replied with only a slight sneer of derision.
"Not at all!" Hermione widened her eyes. "We merely wish to use a particularly potent brand of Amortentia to catalog the scents that represent a person's true desires. Our teams will compare those results with other basic compatibility tests in order to find each person a pairing that yields the best results for them as individuals and as a couple."
"I fail to see why you would need me in this venture. Surely the Ministry has potioneers on hand who could handle such a task." Truth be told, he was intrigued at the unique nature of the idea, but he masked it with a posture of indifference. Amortentia was a mostly useless potion, but it required specialized techniques and there was certainly room for experimentation. Hermione Granger sat before him utterly undeterred by his impassivity. As usual, she was far too passionate about her ideals to consider any obstacles in her path.
"Actually…" She flustered for just a moment. He smirked at her feminine bashfulness.
"I insisted to the Minister that it had to be you. This project is of the utmost importance to me and to our world. You're the only one I trust to do it properly."
That wiped the smirk off his face.
"And you would trust me so implicitly why?" He said with his custom blend of contempt and disbelief.
"Who wouldn't trust the man who brewed his own salvation?"
"Ah yes, my anti-venom for Nagini's bite. This is what you are referring to I suppose." He really lucked out with just the right dosage at the time.
"It is of legendary proportion, Professor. No one has ever endured such a lethal attack by a dark serpent." She spoke with genuine admiration and respect. He was taken aback by her sincerity. Luckily, she continued on without his remark.
"The Amortentia potion would need to be slightly altered for authorized personnel to detect each person's desire and love scents through a gentle Legilimency. And it would need to be particularly potent for accuracy." She looked across the small cafe table at him with eager anticipation. Her attempt at taking a sip of tea to calm her nerves was thwarted by its awful temperature, and a brief look of distaste crossed her features. She sighed and looked at him once more.
"Please, sir. I -we need you."
Her genuine and open expression proved to be far more persuasive than the posters around the corner saying: "Do your part. Open your heart!"
"Very well, Miss Granger. When do we begin?"
"It's Hermione, please. And ss soon as possible."