Yaxley/Hermione
^^^^^^Right here is where my Yaxley boy is different. See the note in parentheses.
(Since the Death Eaters have such a vague history in the books and online sources, I sometimes write them as their regular selves but sometimes I write them with children as the books never mention children for them.)
Corbin Yaxley, every bit as dangerous as his father, godfather Dolohov and his best friend Thorfinn Rowle! After the Battle, eligible death eaters are paired with a half blood or muggleborn witch for 'rehabilitation' and to rebuild the population. MARRIAGE LAW! Guess who gets paired with our resident brightest witch of her age. He might give in but he'll give in kicking and screaming the whole time! Enemies to lovers.
A/N: My first time trying the enemies to lovers trope. There will be, hopefully, humor, maybe some slapstick comedy and fluff. Angst, plenty of angst! Language warning! My boys always have potty mouths! If you don't like profanity, well, I'm not sure you'll like any of my stuff. It's the very reason I always rated my stories M until a reviewer let me know that the M rating was likely why my stories weren't as popular as 'they could be'.
She was his, damn it! They weren't going to get her back! All he had to do was reach the Dark Lord's side with her and she would be his reward!
After the Battle of Hogwarts
The guards of Azkaban walked down the hall between the cells. They stopped outside one cell in particular. He was doing it again. The man was bloody obsessed with her. For her sake, the guards hoped he never made it outside these gloomy walls. They shook their heads and went on about their business. The prisoners all around him listened quietly as he continued speaking. By now, they had practically every word he said memorized. They all shivered as the hall grew cold. The Dementors were coming. They all knew this was his way of coping with them. SHE was his way of coping with them.
Hermione Granger was sitting on the couch at Grimmauld Place. She was holding a copy of Hogwarts: A History. It had updated itself to reflect the recent events. It was strange to be sitting here reading about herself. Now she knew how Harry had felt his first year, reading about himself in textbooks. It was very unnerving. It wasn't as bad as actually going out and getting swarmed by the crowds though. Never had she actually wanted nothing more than to stay hidden away. Every time they ventured into Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, it seemed like everyone wanted to hug them, shake their hand or simply gush over them excitedly. It hadn't only been her, Harry and Ron but that fact seemed to get buried at the bottom of the heap.
Ron was sitting beside her with his arm over her shoulders. She didn't really feel comfortable like this but she didn't want to hurt his feelings. They had been dating for the last couple of months after the battle. She knew it was a mistake as soon as they had their first date. She couldn't quite bring herself to tell him that she wanted to break up. Yes, that kiss had been exhilarating but it hadn't rocked her world as much as it obviously rocked his world. She knew she wasn't in love with him. He only thought he was in love with her. She kept hoping that he would reignite his interest in Lavender Brown. She knew Lavender was still head over heels in love with him. Maybe she needed to give the two of them a little push. She made a note to herself to start including Lavender into the weekly meals at Grimmauld Place. Ron couldn't ignore her if she was right there, right?
Harry and Luna were on the other couch facing them. They could both tell she was uncomfortable, even if Ron was oblivious. They had been seeing each other since fifth year and had formally begun dating after the battle. Everyone had been caught off guard. They had thought it was Harry and Ginny. They were wrong. Ginny had especially been caught off guard. What she had taken for a budding romance was in fact a deepening of the brotherly bond Harry had felt ever since Mrs. Weasley first welcomed him to the family. At first Harry was scared that they would reject him for loving Luna instead of Ginny. Molly had soon put THAT idea right out of his head. "You are family, Harry Potter. It doesn't matter if you're a son or son in law! You've been my son ever since we met you. You have a Weasley sweater, don't you? As long as you have that, you are a member of the Weasley family!"
Hogwarts was close to being rebuilt. She and Luna were going back for their last year. It would be Luna's official seventh year. For Hermione, it would be her eighth year. She and Harry were trying to figure out how soon she actually wanted to get her parents back. She was seriously considering just leaving them in Australia for the time being. Just until she finished her schooling. Then they would go get them or just give them back their memories and visit them in Australia. That was the most likely scenario because she had a bad feeling that they would not be happy about what she'd done to them. Even though it had been done for their own protection, she didn't think they'd see it that way.
Harry and Ron were going on into Auror training. They had been offered the spots right there in the main hall as soon as the battle was declared officially over. By all rights, they still had another year of school to go. However, when you're the boy who lived and you've just defeated Voldemort, you get exceptions made for you. They would miss having Hermione right there with them. They promised they'd visit her and Luna as often as they could. Hermione knew between schoolwork and their Auror training, these visits would likely be few and far between.
Kingsley Shacklebolt had been named the new Minister of Magic. Everyone had agreed that he was the best person for the job. He proved it as he organized crews for cleaning up and beginning the rebuilding of Hogwarts. Then he got teams organized for helping families recover their dead and wounded. He personally took charge of making sure the captured death eaters were either returned to Azkaban or taken to the Ministry to await their trials. There had been surprises there. There were a few Quidditch players and at least two Aurors.
There had been many grumbles as the Death Eater trials commenced. Kingsley wanted to make sure the captured fighters got a fair trial. He was even going to review the returned prisoners files to make sure their trials had been fairly executed. He wanted no hasty decisions to come back and bite him in the ass. If the death eater deserved Azkaban, they would get Azkaban. If they didn't, he wanted to make sure they were properly paroled and put on probation. He could already see that there were a few who wouldn't be going to Azkaban.
There were a lot more captured Death Eaters this time around. The last time, Voldemort hadn't been such a maniac and they were able to lie their way out of Azkaban. This time, he had been batshit crazy and had flung his followers here, there and everywhere in an attempt to kill capture and kill Harry Potter. It dint help that many of these new followers had been forced by their fathers into taking the Dark Mark. Now they were about to reap the consequences of their fathers' sins.
Many of them were the last son of their family. The Wizengamot wasn't happy about that many pureblood sons being locked up. Especially if the boys were from Sacred Twenty Eight families. They argued that they should be able to at least leave an heir in an effort to continue their family lines. Kingsley debated with them that the boys had been given plenty of opportunity to meet and marry a witch. None had taken it. Except for the older wizards, Corban Yaxley and Lucius Malfoy in particular, there wasn't one wizard in the group who were married or leaving a child behind. In both these cases, the boys were following their dads right into Azkaban. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Luna, as well as some more students and staff, had a list of names. People they knew who had been forced to take the Mark. They fully intended to speak at their trials.
There had been ominous mumblings about population drops, low birth rates and a higher than usual amount of Squib births. These facts coupled with the fact of so many pureblood boys locked away with no heirs to follow them had the ministry deeply worried. If this kept up, pretty soon there would be little to no witches or wizards left. Something had to give. To Kingsley's complete and utter shock, his board of advisors pulled out a plan they had almost been forced to enact during the last war with Voldemort seventeen years ago.
It was a marriage law. In an effort to bring their world back from the brink of disaster, the purebloods were going to be forced to allow both Muggleborns and half-bloods into their precious family trees. Kingsley thought long and hard about this. He made them view the problem from every possible angle to make sure there was no other way. Once this law became public, there would be no turning back. The only thing he could do was to stipulate the length of time a marriage HAD to be maintained and how many children HAD to be born before the couple could break the bond of matrimony. He knew the old families would be kicking up the worst fuss about the whole situation. It was why he knew he had to be the first one to voluntarily give up his prized single status. Once again, Kingsley Shacklebolt was going to prove why he was the best man for the job.
Harry and Hermione were worried. They'd been reading strange articles in the Daily Prophet. In all of these stories, hints and rumors, they kept hearing some dreaded words pop up, marriage law. Rita Skeeter was doing her usual sickly sweet poison pen articles and scaring the people out of their wits. It had gotten so bad that they were hearing tales of some pureblood families preparing to pull up roots and leave the country to avoid the law. Molly and Arthur, their usual source of information, were being surprisingly close mouthed on the matter. If THEY weren't talking about it, it had to be serious.
They heard the front door ring and cringed as Mrs. Black's portrait began screaming at the intruder. After being abruptly silenced, the Trio were startled when the minister himself walked in. He came over to greet them.
"Harry. Nice to see you again." he shook hands with the boy who lived.
Ron was next. "Ron. Looking forward to seeing you and Harry at the training center."
Lastly, he came to the one who was the reason he was there. "Hermione, dear. I have to speak with you. We can talk here. This actually will involve all of you to some extent." he sat down in an armchair facing both couches. "I wanted to talk to the three of you before I made the announcement. Luna, dear, you're a pureblood, right?" Luna nodded. "Good to know. Ron, you're also a pureblood. Because Harry is already dating Luna, this shouldn't affect him. But it will affect you and Hermione." he dropped his forehead into his hand and sighed.
Tomorrow there will be an announcement in the paper. There is going to be a new law." he met eyes with all of them, stopping at Hermione. "A marriage law. All pureblood males have to marry either a half-blood or Muggleborn witch. The same goes for all pureblood witches. Once the witches are all matched, if there are still males without a match, only then can they claim a pureblood bride. If there are any witches left to match with, that is. Vice versa with the witches."
"That will be no problem. I'll marry Hermione." Ron told him. Hermione closed her eyes quickly and barely flinched away from him. If he hadn't been watching her so closely, Kingsley would have missed that very slight telltale flinch.
"Actually, Ron, that won't be possible. Miss Granger has already been claimed." Hermione jerked and stared at him in shock. He smiled at her reassuringly. "Once I realized there was no way possible to avoid this law, I personally took charge of helping make the matches. I'm sorry to say but the main participants of this law aren't aware of it yet. They're all still in Azkaban." Hermione's eyes widened in horror.
"You-you're going to pair me with an Azkaban inmate?!" she practically screamed. He led up his hands. "Why? Who is it? You can't do this! Why me?"
"Hermione, dear. I'm sorry. But this boy already basically claimed you before the law was even mentioned. He needs you. I've spoken to the guards of Azkaban. As soon as they heard the rumors, they were very quick to send a delegation to me concerning this inmate. You know the Dementors were reinstated at the prison, completely against my wishes. All of the inmates who will be affected by the law are on the same floor. This boy and his friends ARE who will be affected. He has a coping mechanism against the Dementors. It's you, dear. This boy uses his memories of you to hold them at bay." he looked at her hopefully.
Hermione breathed deeply in an effort to control the fear coursing through her veins. "Please, for Merlin's sake, tell me it's NOT Malfoy!" Before they could help themselves, Harry and Ron both snorted with suppressed laughter. She glared at both of them angrily. Kingsley smiled in relief. It sounded like she might be willing to give the boy a chance.
"No. It's definitely not Malfoy! I'm not sure if you even know this boy in person. But he definitely seems to know you or all about you anyway." he hedged around giving her the name.
"Quit beating around the bush, Kingsley. Please, just tell me who he is. That way I can have my hysterics before I ever meet him." she shakily requested.
"You've been matched with Corbin Yaxley." he told her. Harry and Ron both shouted.
"No! Are you crazy! He tried to kill her at the battle! Several times! You can't make her marry Corban Yaxley!" they yelled in unison. Kingsley shook his head.
"Boys! Boys! Calm down! Now! Listen to me! Not Corban! He's the Sr. Her match is Corbin! The son! Although, I can see how you would get them mixed up. Their names are almost identical. Not to mention he's the vey spitting image of his father. Corban is grey haired. The son has a nickname, Cory. That's how we distinguished between them at the DMLE." Kingsley told them. Hermione had covered her mouth and was silently crying. Luna switched couches and shoved Ron away to hold her.
Hermione was about to seriously go into hysterics. 'Oh, she knew him all right!' There was no forgetting the massive blond boy she'd fought at the battle. He, along with his equally massive friends Rowle and Mulciber, had caught her by herself in the hall. While the two of them ran interference for him, he'd slowly been herding her toward the Great Hall, taunting her with the threat of being his 'reward' after the Dark Lord's victory!