AN / Hey everyone! Thanks for reading :)
As of now, I don't really know what will happen in this Fanfiction. I want to explore the Wizengamot and how its Members could have debated over the passing of a Marriage Law and how the Trio would have reacted to it. Hermione will be on the front row of the Opposition. After Canon happened she went back to Hogwarts for her seventh year. After that, she started to work at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, but transferred to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement a year after. Has she learned enough to keep the law from passing? If the law passes will she marry Ron? I'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments! /
"What is this, a sick joke?", Hermione exploded. Her co-worker Jocelyn took a step back and put her mug on the kitchenette's countertop. "No, I heard it from the Ministers secretary himself. He sounded quite serious." "Everything he says sounds serious! It's Percy Weasley!" Jocelyn raised her brows at her. She didn't have to say anything. Obviously, Percy would never make up any stories. Especially not this one.
"How... When... What?!" Hermione pulled out her hair tie and twisted it around her wrist to have something to do for her fingers. She needed to calm down. One question after the other and they can be answered and this whole case can be solved.
"I don't get why you are so upset, sweety. You are as good as engaged, you said so yourself. Now you just have to hurry up..." "HURRY UP?!" Hermione lost it. She didn't care who heard them now in their office's kitchen. Or on their floor. Or in the whole department of Magical Law Enforcement. How isn't the whole Ministry talking about this monstrosity of a Law?
"HURRY UP and wed my boyfriend, because WHAT? The Ministry said so? When did the Ministry become a Dictatorship that tells free people who to marry? WHO TO LOVE? OR HOW MANY FUCKING KIDS TO HAVE?" "Shhh, Hermione. This is insider knowledge. We'll get in trouble if..." "IF WE DISCUSS WHAT LAWS ARE BEING PASSED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS?" "Yes, sweetheart. Calm down..." "HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM?! IS IT BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT AFFECTED? YOUR KIDS ARE! DON'T YOU CARE...?" "STOP!"
And Hermione stopped. In that moment Jocelyn looked nothing like her mentor, the motherly figure she usually was to Hermione. She looked at her like she would look at the perpetrators in Wizengamot. Always winning her cases with her look of pure authority and determination. "Stop.", she said once more, calmly. Her gaze grew softer and she grabbed Hermione's arms and squeezed them affectionately. "Of course I care." She looked Hermione deep in the eyes to make her point obvious. "Of course I want my children, and everyone's children really, to have a say in how they lead their lives. Choosing their partner is a big part of that." She let Hermione's arms go. "However,..." "How can there be a but in that statement?", Hermione interrupted. How could Jocelyn not immediately see what she saw? How everyone's freedom was being threatened? She wanted to shake her by her arms to let her see reason. She was the one person to know right from wrong when she got only a glimpse of it! But now? "How can't you see how wrong this is?", Hermione said, pleading.
Jocelyn closed her eyes and when she spoke she gazed at her intensely. "Wizard population was dwindling before we lost a huge amount of people in 2 wars. Squibs. The Fade. The statue of Secrecy. Muggleborn parents refusing to let their children learn about magic because of superstitions." "But..." "No, hear me out." Jocelyn paused. She seemed to think about how to phrase it. "What will, or would - at this point we don't even know if the law will pass or even get presented to Wizengamot, after all - But if the law gets passed, it would be horrific for everyone subjected to it. Maybe it would work out for most in the end, but that wouldn't matter for in the beginning everyone would be scared. Some would have to make choices they never wanted to make, some would make bad choices. Some will suffer." "Most will suffer!" "Some will suffer." Jocelyn took a breath. "Take a look at the ministry. Most offices are run by 1 or 2 people who work a full day and work just piles up on their desks. Two of three rooms in the Ministry remain unused. Hogwarts could house 10 times the students they teach at this moment and it's not because homeschooling has become a huge trend. Crafters alley is growing smaller each year. Guilds are being disbanded. Great Britain has but one wizard left that is able to make a wand." Hermione pressed her lips together defiantly. "With every wizard, we loose knowledge and craftsmanship. I haven't gotten into research yet, but I see how people could conclude that society is at risk. That the wizard community cannot function properly when it gets too small. That maybe there are tough choices to be made for society at large. That individuals have to suffer temporarily for the wellbeing of everyone else and society as a whole."
Now Jocelyn gave Hermione a chance to speak up but she was out of words. Tears came to her eyes and she swallowed them back down. "Well,", she laughed bitterly, "so much for me hoping I would already have done everything for the Greater Good".
She turned on her heels and fled her office. She had to get out of there before she said something she would later regret.