Hello All~ I am an avid Dramione Fanfic reader and decided its about time I put some ideas down to writing. This is the first fic I've ever wrote so it may be a bit rough around the edges being un-beta'd. Be gentle in your judgements and enjoy the story, thanks!
Chapter 1
She had known it was only a matter of time. She had just hoped that perhaps it would be a bit longer until the Ministry decided to drop such a bomb on those who had just recently gotten over a war. Hermione stared down at the pages of the prophet which had inevitably become wrinkled due to her shocked grip on it.
"MINISTRY DECLARES EMERGENCY MARRIAGE LAW DUE TO IMMENSE DECLINE IN WIZARDING POPULATION"
The headline screamed up at her, taunting her really. This new 'law' the wizarding government had cocked up included what was apparently a list of reasons behind such a breach of privacy and freedom of choice. Mainly that the amount of magical folk was in a sharp decline after the war had torn through much of the population, and it was only a temporary enactment until birth rates had gone back up. Supposedly those who were eligible had been matched with someone who was deemed the best suitable. Mainly, purebloods with muggle borns. She snickered at the thought of these old wizarding families having to forcibly 'sully' their lines with someone who had been deemed lesser.
She set the paper down onto the coffee table in front of her and sat up to stretch. The sitting area of her bedroom was historical for sure, with some modern touches here and there along with magical touches as well. Her cream colored loveseat creaked a bit from old age as she rose, seeing as most of the furniture was more than a century old, she wasn't surprised by the awful noise. She went to her window and looked through the lattice and out onto the expanse of her homestead nearest to the small hamlet of Pluckley. It had been raining all day and showed no sign of stopping, rather typical. She sighed to herself, thinking about how fitting the weather was. Suddenly, the fireplace nearest her four poster flashed a bright green, sending a soot covered Ginny Weasley onto the bench at the end of her bed.
"Can you believe this shit!?" She screeched, holding what she assumed to be the prophet.
"Surprisingly yes, unfortunately. And thanks for asking if you could come through." Hermione replied half heartedly, still half facing her window with her arms crossed.
Ginny waved her off without glancing at her, still glaring angrily at the paper's bold headline. "I can't believe theyre making us do this. This is a massive violation of human rights forcing people to marry a stranger just so that they can pop out babies!" She cried, throwing the offending article into the fireplace.
"What do you mean 'us'? You and Harry are happily married, and those already married are not considered eligible for the law!" She harrumphed, plopping herself down on the ottoman nearest to Ginny.
"It's the principle! I still have a lot of family and friends who will be affected by this garbage so I can be angry on their behalf too you know." She replied sheepishly.
"I suppose that's fair. I'm dreading when they finally send out the letters with the matches. It all seems so medieval. Arranged marriages not by your family but by the government just seems… odd." Hermione muttered to herself, staring into the fireplace sadly. A knock at her door jilted her from her thoughts.
"Miss Hermione, your parents request your attendance downstairs for dinner." Senica, her families' maid, sounded from behind the door.
"I'll be down shortly, thankyou." She replied curtly. "Sorry Gin, I can't skip another dinner, i've been hiding away in the library too many nights in a row. I'll have to talk to you about this later" She sat up hurriedly, throwing a cardigan over her blue t-shirt and leggings. She watched Ginny leave with a wave, and made her way out the door and into the long corridor.
She pulled her hair into a lopsided bun and stuck her wand through the center as was the norm for her, while carefully making her way down the steps and into the foyer. She made a left and was greeted by her mother and father smiling at her from the head of their long oak dining table.
"Thank you for finally sparing your parents some company darling." Her mother chuckled, raising her wine glass a bit in welcome.
"Sorry mum, it's been a hectic week trying to turn in these last few chapters to my editor before the end of the month. You know me." She shrugged, walking slowly to sit opposite her mother at the end of the table.
"Nonsense dear, we just want to make sure you're eating properly. All that time in the library needs to be fueled by something other than coffee and the occasional bag of crisps." Her father chirped, cutting into his steak. She began to poke at her asparagus when a tapping drew her attention to the window outside. A large tawny owl was perched with an envelope hanging from its beak. This was definitely not one of her friends owls, that she knew for sure. She blanched, standing up shakily to open the pane. The bird hooted loudly after she took the envelope, clearly asking for a treat. After tossing him a piece of her steak and watching it fly off into the gloomy sky, she sat back down and looked at the large M seal glittering back at her.
"What is it dear? Is that about the new law put in place?" Her mother asked, a look of worry etched across her face.
"I'm not sure, but it's clearly from the Ministry." Hermione practically whispered, slowly tearing the envelope and bringing out the yellowed parchment.
To Miss Hermione J Granger,
We have successfully calculated a most suitable match for marriage. Please see here that by next year at this time you must be wedded to them and furthermore must consummate the marriage within 6 months after. Congratulations and thank you for your continued service to the Wizarding world.
Your match to wed: Draco L. Malf…"
Hermione visibly paled. She threw the parchment onto the table as if it burned her and ran out of the dining room and back into her bedroom faster than she thought possible. She heard her parents calling for her but couldn't care enough to actually listen. She threw a handful of floo powder into her fireplace and called out for the Burrow. She felt the swirling of the floo wisk her away while her thoughts spiraled along with it.