A/N: This is for the rps prompt 'the building blocks'. It's also for the 'More than a name' chaleenge for the character Rodolphus, the pairing Rodolphus/Hermione/Rabastan in the Cruel and Unusual Pairing challenge, and the threesome/moresome pairing in the Every kind of pairing challenge.
Hermione sat across the table from the men that would soon become her husbands.
"What did you want to talk about?" Rodolphus asked.
"I know that our situation isn't ideal, but I thought we could make it a bit easier by getting to know each other a little more," Hermione replied nervously.
"Why would you think that would help? We pretty much know everything we need to," Rabastan asked, frowning.
"Then what is my favourite branch of magic? Or what's my favourite food?" Hermione replied with questions of her own.
She knew that she would most likely be met with resistance to her request, but she had hoped that they would have realised that she was doing it to make things easier for all of them.
This damn law has a lot to answer for, she thought.
"I don't know, and honestly, I don't care," Rabastan replied nonchalantly.
"Perhaps not, but surely it would look better if you did? Even just a little?"
"Why should we pretend that we're interested in you, when it's clear to everyone that we're not? Why lie?" Rabastan said, starting to lose his temper with her.
"It has nothing to do with lying! It has to do common decency. We may hate each other but we still have to get married and have children. I'm trying to make this easier for all of us, but obviously I made a big mistake trying to do that," Hermione replied angrily.
She stood up, gathered her stuff and continued on, "I dissected every sentence of that law to try and find a way out, not just for me, but for everyone, and it was ironclad. If I had a choice of staying in wizarding Britain and marrying you, or moving to the other side of the world I know exactly which one I would have chosen."
As soon as she arrived home, Hermione sat on the couch and burst into tears. She knew deep down that they would react like that, and didn't understand why she was reacting so strongly to it. She hoped beyond anything that the marriage law was repealed before she ever had to step foot down the aisle.