sniffle Thanks to my reviewers, love all you guys! As for it being rushed, you'll see why shortly. This is a fairly short chapter again, because I've started school now with 6 lovely Honors courses. So expect some time between updates. Till then...

Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own it. Drat.

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"Well, I...I don't actually feel the same as he does, and I didn't want to break his heart, alright?"

"I don't know, Gin. I mean, it was all so sudden. He's had me wrapped around his little finger for years and he knows it." Hermione and Ginny Weasley were sitting on Ginny's bed, talking about her recent engagement to Harry. She knew that it was a touchy subject with Ginny, but she was the only one that Hermione thought that she could trust. Ron, she knew, would be hurt and confused, and knowing him, may not even talk to her for a while. She didn't want to hurt him more than was necessary.

"Listen. You and Harry, you've been friends for a long time. Everyone thought that eventually you two would get together. It was just a matter of time."

"That's...that's not the whole story," Hermione said nervously.

"Then what is? Look, if you're worried about me telling people, you know I won't." Hermione sighed. She wasn't sure that she should tell Ginny. Although, once Ron got his letter, it would all make sense.

"Okay. I went to see Harry yesterday. I figured maybe we could get lunch or something, but when I got there he looked so upset. I asked him what was wrong and he invited me in and showed me a letter from Scrimgeour."

"What did the letter say?" Ginny said impatiently.

"I was getting there! It said that Harry's parents, before they died, betrothed him to Pansy Parkinson, and," Hermione broke off. "Oh, shut up laughing! It's not funny!" Ginny had broken into peals of hysterical laughter.

"Sorry," she gasped, "but could you imagine the two of them together?" Hermione cracked a smile.

"That's what I first thought. Then he asked for my help." Ginny stopped laughing and looked seriously at her.

"Go on, then," she said, suddenly enraptured by Hermione's story.

"Well, we went to Diagon Alley and did some research, you know, at that Wizarding library there." Ginny nodded and motioned for her to continue. "Well, according to the encyclopedia, there was a law at the time of Harry's birth that said that, due to the uncertainty of the time," Ginny nodded, "that all Wizarding parents had to bertothe their children." Ginny laughed.

"You must be over the moon!"

"You have no idea," Hermione said, relieved. "Anyway, there is only one loophole that we could find. As long as the witch or wizard is of age, as Harry is, he could get around the law by marrying somebody for one year. Mind you, there's a fine, but as long as soon as the vows are said, the betrothal is null and void as long as the marriage lasts for at least one year."

"Ah," said Ginny, "so here's the dilemma, I take it?" Hermione nodded.

"Well, I'm not sure that I'll be able to make a whole year. I mean, pretending like this is going to be hard. We decided that everyone," Ginny cleared her throat, "everyone except for you of course, needs to think that we're in love, that we wanted to get married, and that we've been dating."

"But if it's legal, why the facade? I mean, would it really matter if everyone knew?" Hermione thought.

"It wouldn't matter, but it would complicate things. I'm sure that Ron will try to find a way to break us up as it is. If he knew..."

"But if he knew that you're only helping Harry out, then that might make him feel better, don't you think? I mean, he loves you too, you know," Hermione laughed.

"Well, he hasn't been exactly subtle about it."

"And you're sure you want to get married at seventeen? Isn't that a bit young?" Hermione bit her lip.

"I'm not sure of anything right now."

"He loves you, you know," she said, slowly. Hermione was aghast. He loved her? She hadn't noticed, but now that she thought about it, the signs were right in front of her nose. She forced her voice to be calm.

"Listen, Gin, I'm sorry for coming to you like this. I know it's a touchy subject for you, but I can't really trust anyone else." Ginny dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

"I gave up on Harry a couple of years ago," she said. Hermione knew this wasn't true.

"Maybe I should talk to him. I mean, now that I think about it, I don't even know if I want to get married. I had planned to go to college, and Harry to auror training. This might mess everything up for him," she said slowly. Ginny's eyes twinkled.

"So are you sure that you don't even had a tiny crush on him?" Hermione blushed.

"Well...okay. I admit it. I had always, ever since I met him, imagined marrying him. You know, the "dashing" hero," Ginny snorted, "Well, alright, so he's not so dashing. But to a twelve year old mind, he most certainly is. I guess the reason I said yes so quickly is that I had dreamed of this, even back then. And now that I get to plan my wedding, it's like a dream come true. The only problem is that I'm not sure that my parents will be too happy with me." She hadn't wanted to admit this, even to herself. How was she going to tell her parents? Was she going to let them find out by an invitation in the mail? Or was she going to tell them now, before the wedding, convince them that this was what she really wanted? She decided on the latter. It would be better for all involved, but, as always, she'd have to keep up the backstory. They would surely ask why she hadn't mentioned he was her boyfriend before, but she and Harry had already figured that out. Ginny was smiling at her.

"So, do I get to help plan the wedding of the century?" Hermione placed her hands on her hips.

"Virginia Weasley, I wouldn't have it any other way. Actually I was wondering if you wanted to be my maid of honor." Ginny squealed and threw her arms around Hermione's neck.

"I would be delighted!"

--

A few hours later, Hermione was on her way home, driving along her street. She was nervous. How would her parents take the news? Abruptly, she reached for her cell phone and dialed her home number.

"Hello?" came her mother's voice from the other end.

"Hi, Mum," Hermione replied.

"Oh, hi, honey. Where are you?"

"I'm on my way home. Listen, is Dad home?"

"Yes," her mother said slowly.

"I need to talk to you both. It's pretty serious," Hermione said nervously.

"Hermione, are you in trouble?"

"I'll tell you when I get in, Mum. I'm pulling in the drive now."

"Okay, dear, see you then." Hermione hung up the phone. She pulled her keys out of the ignition, then walked into the house. Her mother met her at the door.

"Mum, why don't you get Dad into the living room? I'll be there in a minute. I just have to get a cup of tea." Her mother nodded slowly, then walked away, presumably to get Hermione's dad. Hermione herself walked into the kitchen and set a pot of water on to boil, then put a bag of her favorite tea in a mug on the counter. She waited for the water to boil, stretching her neck and mulling over what she would say. It wouldn't be easy to convince them, but it was definately worth a shot. The worst that could happen, she supposed, was that her parents would completely disown her. She was, after all, of age in the Wizarding world. The teapot whistled, startling her. She brewed her tea and walked into the living room. Her parents were sitting on the couch, watching her anxiously. She sat opposite them, then slowly blew on her tea and took a drink.

"Honey?" her mother said, nervously. They both looked nervous. Probably by her nervous demeanor, she thought. She took a deep breath.

"Before I tell you what's going on, I just want to remind you of something. As far as the Wizarding world is concerned, I am of age, so something like this is my decision and mine alone." Her parents motioned her on. "The other thing is that this is what I want, with my whole heart," she choked.

"Hermione, what is it? You're making us nervous," her father said. Hermione took another deep breath, then began to speak.

"I'm engaged." Her parents reacted much as she had thought they would.

"What?" her mother said softly.

"Just who is this boy?" Her father seemed a tad angry.

"My boyfriend, Harry. You remember him, right?"

"I never knew you were dating," her mother said.

"I didn't think you'd understand about him."

"How long? How long have you dated him?" her father asked.

"About a year and a half." She extended the year that she and Harry had come up with. She made a mental note to tell him later. Her parents relaxed a bit.

"Are you sure that you want to get married so young? What about college, and that job you wanted?"

"See, that's just the thing. Harry is going into Auror training right now, so he'll be done by the time we're married. That means that I can still go into training for my job," she said calmly.