CHAPTER 2

'What!' Hermione gasped. 'Are you- have u gone crazy?'

'Ms. Granger I'd like to remind you that if you are fond of your job it would be wise to remain prudent,' Fudge said, warningly. 'I said you will marry Draco Malfoy.'

'But- but- I can't!'

'And why not, may I know?'

'Well, first of all, he would never agree with it,' Hermione snapped, annoyed at Fudge's presumptions behavior.

Fudge chuckled softly increasing Hermione's ire.

'I'm glad that has been taken care of,' he smirked, 'You see, Albus and I chose the list of women we would be engaging so that they were all Muggle Borns. Tomorrow morning I am passing a law tha states that all pureblood men above 18 years of age have- and I repeat have to get married to a muggle born witch so as not to cause affliction during the grave times with You Know Who. Full references to the law have been made and will be published in the Daily Prophet tomorrow.'

'But- but-,' Hermione whimpered, despertaly. 'What if I – choose not to!'

'Well, in that case I will simply take away your job. I'm laying the offer before you with chilling clarity, Ms. Granger take it or leave it.'

Hermione sighed.

'Oh well, I suppose I take it,' she said, in a low voice. 'yes, I'll take it. But-.'

'Oh, good,' Fudge said, looking pleased. 'Then I will explain the whole procedure to you. The law will come into act tomorrow and mention a deadline of three month. Your wedding will be held in one month. And do not worry about Draco- he will be persuaded.'

'I wasn't worrying about his fat ass,' Hermione mumbled.

'What was that, Ms. Granger?'

'Nothing, nothing.'

'Good. Well, once you are married to him, you will of course have to be very close to him. The only time you will be leaving him is when he comes to work. You will eat with him, go out with him, and of course- sleep with him.'

'WHAT!' Hermione screeched.

'Silence, Ms. Granger. Allow me to continue. If he ever complains about this closeness, then you may point out that you two are lawfully wedded and that you don't want his attentions to stray to any other woman. Do you understand?"

Hermione nodded mutely, knowing it would be useless to disagree.

'Good. Now, Draco must not- I repeat, NOT have any suspicion that you are spying on him, lest he report to You Know Who. You must be very careful. I will be giving you a ring which will help you mentally communicate with me at any time. All of our chosen woman will have one.'

He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a thin silver ring with a small diamond on it. It was a beautiful ring, but at the minute, Hermione wasn't in the mood to admire it's beauty.

'You see the diamond? Well, all you have to do is lightly press it and it will automatically form a communication between my mind and the wearers mine. The ring must always be on your finger. A little demonstration- exit my office and activate the ring.'

Hermione got up and left the office, pressing her liops together to avoid screaming at Fudge. Once she shut the door, she leant against the wall and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Then she slipped the ring onto her finger, and lightly pressed the diamond.

Almost at once she felt her mind connect with Fudge's. Not in a way that enabled him to read her thoughts and her to read his, but as if there was a connection running through them, capable of being used to communicate at any possible time.

'Good evening ms. Granger,' Fudge's voice said silently in her brain.

She pondered how to reply. All at once she got it- she had to think an answer to Fudge.

'Hello minister,' she responded mentally.

'Ah, I see you have understood how to communicate. All right, now walk back to your office and act as if nothing has happened. Please remember that Death eater recruits are in the ministry also.'

'I understand, minister.'

'Good. Walk back to your office, collect your things and leave. In the mean time I am going to give you other instructions. Your parenst will be told of your decision- do not worry about that. After you are married to Draco, you will meet wth me every day in my office when you come to work in the morning, and report to me the events of the previos day. Do you understand?'

'yes, minister.'

'Good. Collect your things and tell Honey to send Draco Malfoy to me. I must confront him. To disable this connection, just press the diamond in you ring again. Immediately our connection will be dislinked.

Anxious to get Fudge out of her mind, Hermione pressed the link and then walked back to her office.

'I can't believe it,' Hermione murmured to herself as she stacked her papers up and tucked them under her arm. She exited her office and used the elevator the exit the Ministry. 'In a month I have to marry Draco Malfoy.'

The thought struck her as impractical and fictional. She sighed as she walked down the pavement.

'probably a nice hot bath would do me good,' she thought to herself, hailing a cab that would take her home. After quickly giving the dirver instructions to her place, she leant back and tried to push the thought of her marriage away from her mind.

'Hey, Mione,' Lisa said, as Hermione walked into the two-bedroom flat that they shared. She sighed and put her bag on the couch.

'How was work?'

'Terrible, if you must know,' Hermione said, smoothening her hot brow with her cool hands and collapsing on the sofa.

'Why, what happened?' Lisa asked, raising her eyebrows.

'Oh, nothing much. I just drank coffee, made up some more drawings, had a chat with the minister, and decided to marry Draco Malfoy,' Hermione said, sarcastically.

Lisa grinned mischievously.

'That guy is a major hottie. He plays for the England Quidditch team, you know. He was my client for a while.'

'Nasty,' Hermione remarked. Lisa made a face.

'Yeah, he was a pain in the ass. No offence or anything. When did he propose?'

'He didn't,' Hermione said, wearily, and proceeded to explain the whole of Fudge's absurd plan. When she was done, Lisa's mouth was hanging open.

'A forced marriage!' she gasped. 'But that's not fair!'

'Tell me about it,' Hermione snapped.

'But- but they, can't, Mione! It's probably illegal! Apply to court!'

'I can't,' Hermione sighed, 'because Fudge heads the Wizengamot, and he was the one who told me that I had a choice between Malfoy and my job. What sort of choice is that?' she groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She was getting a headache.

'Well, the wedding is in one month's time,' Lisa reasoned, 'there's time enough to find some way to stop it. Why don't you have a nice long soak in the tub and then hit the sheets.'

Hermione yawned.

'Yes, I think I'll do just that.'