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Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:
Insane Prompt List: 721. (plot point) A proposal at an inappropriate time.
Christmas Eve Boxes: Hot Chocolate Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate (AU) Wedding Planner
Snow Globe Making: Ominoculars (word) observe
Advent Calendar: Trope Door #1 Marriage Law
Nativity Play: The Shepherds (situation) Hearing a rumor
Naughty or Nice: Nice List (theme) New Beginning
Fill a Stocking: For Pansy Postage Stamps (word) expectation
Write a Letter to Santa: Yo, Saint Nick! (pairing) Dudley/Pansy
Snowball Fight: Dudley (word) understanding
Big Dinner Bash: Sprouts (dialogue) "One way or another, this needs to be dealt with today."
Pop Figures: Heimdall (trait) observant
Sticker Club: Mushu - Write about someone trying to prove themselves.
Hogwarts Talent Show: Creating a dress out of duct tape (Trope) Marriage Law
Showtime: Sticky Situation (word) defiant
Elizabeth's Empire: (emotion) insecure
Liza's Love: Metagaming - Write about someone knowing something they shouldn't.
Bex's Basement: Chinese Puzzle Maze - Write about someone solving a puzzle
Angel's Archives: A Night Before Christmas - Character A wanting something different and doing something to achieve it.
Scamander's Case: (color) brown
The Forecast Says: 6th Snow Bossy
Days of the Year: Play God Day - Write about someone who is controlling.
Black History Month: Mildred Loving - Write about a relationship that is forbidden.
National Weddings Month: (word) proposal
Penguin Awareness: Northern Rockhopper Penguin (emotion) bewildered
Crystals and Gemstones: Nephrite Jade (emotion) confident
Tarot Reading: Queen of Pentacles reversed - Write about someone overwhelmed by work.
International Wizarding School Competition:
Practice Round 4 Holiday Upon Holiday: Drumstrang Los Posadas Write about a character doing of to - or in the middle of - a search for something that is essential for them. Mandatory Prompt (plot point) running out of time Additional prompt (word) reputation
Monthly Challenges for all:
Firework Factory: Easy (Cracky Wacky Shipping) 1,697 words
Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges:
Potions Class Challenge: Amortentia - Write about a relationship that isn't based on love.
Warning for Marriage Law trope, Wedding Planner!AU, and a slight bit out of character due to the trope and AU used in this story. The word count for this story is 1,697 words. I hope you all enjoy the first chapter of The Marriage Law Loophole.
"One way or another, this needs to be dealt with today," Pansy said, trying to sound as calm as she could. She smiled at the dark-haired man sitting across the table from her. Dudley Dursley was supposed to be one of the best Wedding Planners in the business. Even though he was Muggle, Pansy one hundred percent wanted the best for her wedding. Not that she particularly wanted to marry Blaise Zabini or for that fact did Blaise want to marry her. But when the law says you have to do something and your family was a known Dark Lord supporter family you did what you were told.
"Miss Parkinson?" Dudley said, sounding like he was on a schedule or something. Didn't he know the bride was always right no matter what?
"I'll be with you in a minute," she said, not bothering to cover the end of the phone that she had bought so she could communicate with the Muggle wedding planner. "No. Not you." She shouted into the phone. "If you can't get me the flowers that I want for this wedding, I'll have to go and see about getting another florist."
The florist started to explain the way things worked to Pansy but she was so over it. Pressing the button that cut off the speech from the other end of the line, Pansy turned to Dudley. To be honest, she hadn't actually looked at the man that would be helping her plan her wedding until now.
He wasn't exactly the way that she would have expected Harry Potter's muggle cousin to be. She'd heard that Dudley was a horrible human being. That he beat people up and stuffed them into toilets. This man was well mannered and hadn't made one threatening motion towards her since she had stepped into the building.
While the Dudley she'd heard rumors about was described as an ugly troll type being. This man wasn't ugly at all. In fact, if Pansy were being honest with herself and able to choose her own partner in life, he would be her type. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and muscular. He had a sort of bad boy look to him that must have made him very popular with the ladies in his younger years. His blue eyes were a crystalline color that Pansy was slightly jealous of. His dark hair was fell neatly into place…
"Shall we get started, Miss Parkinson?" Dudley Dursley asked, his voice sending shivers down Pansy's spine. "Or are we waiting for the groom to show up?"
"If we were waiting for the groom to show up, we'd be waiting here all day," Pansy said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "We have a limited amount of days that we are working with and everything has to be perfect. Absolutely perfect!"
Dudley stared at the petite dark-haired woman in front of him. He'd been shocked when she'd walked into his office out of the blue. He didn't receive a lot of walk-ins. Not in this neighborhood anyway. But, she seemed like she had a story to tell a very interesting story too. Plus there was that familiar aura of magic about her.
"Don't worry," he told her, keeping his tone professional and smart. "I've handled a few cases like yours before. Time is of the essence."
"It's not like that," she said, dark eyes going wide as thought about what he could be implying about her. "It's…"
"I meant that I've dealt with a lot of wizarding couples coming in because of that silly law," Dudley told her to put her mind at ease. "Don't know what my cousin is going to do. They want marriages that will produce children and that's not the sort he's after if you know what I mean?"
"So, exactly like my husband to be," Pansy said in such a matter of fact voice that it surprised Dudley very much. "I was pretty much told that I was only going to be a Zabini in name, you know?"
"That sounds horrible," Dudley said, reaching across the table and squeezing her hand gently. "A lady such as yourself should have someone who cares about her."
"Exactly. But laws are laws. So here we are. Me marrying a closeted gay man and you have to help me plan the whole thing. What do you say, will you do it? Will you help me plan my wedding?"
Dudley nodding. Wanting to get to know more about this young woman. Wanting to speak to her more. Wanting to hear her speak more. Just wanting to keep her in his office.
"Can I see this law?" Dudley asked, seeing a shocked look cross Pansy's face. "That is if it's alright? That way I might be able to help both yourself and your groom out more properly."
Pansy seemed very confused and looked from her purse to Dudley to her purse to Dudley and then back again. Dudley didn't like seeing this poor young woman so unsure of herself. She didn't seem like someone who was very unsure of herself often. She seemed like she was usually very confident in herself. But this whole ordeal seemed to have taken that confidence away from her. He wanted to give that back to her in some manner of speaking.
"Maybe if two of us look at it we can find a loophole in this law and you won't end up unhappy?" Dudley suggested. He knew it was very unprofessional of him. But he couldn't stand to see someone so unhappy about their wedding day. "It would also be a big help to my cousin Harry as well."
"Yeah," she said, digging into her purse without a second thought. "I guess."
She found whatever it was she was looking for, which turned out to be a thick parchment paper. She handed the paper over to him.
"Here you go," she said.
He looked at the parchment and began to read.
Dear Miss Parkinson,
We at the Ministry of Magic are happy to announce our newest law following the devastating war against Lord Voldemort. We understand that a lot of our fellow witches and wizards have lost family and friends in this war. The new law will ensure that the magical world can continue unabated.
Thus, we have initiated the Marriage Law Pact of 1998. Which states that you have until the end of the year to marry your chosen partner. You then have a year in which to start a family in order to continue on our magical heritage.
"Are you serious?" Dudley mumbled, not believing what he was reading. He knew his parents were terrible to Harry and people like him but these Ministry wizards were much worse. Or at least they seemed much worse.
"Keep reading," Pansy murmured, rolling her pretty brown eyes.
Based on our assessment of you and your personality, we have found that you are a good match for Blaise Zabini. We hope that you and Blaise will be happy in your new life together.
Deepest regards
Hermione Granger
Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic
There was something in small print at the bottom of the letter. Dudley squinted and looked at the parchment harder. He could barely make out the words that were written but he was sure of one thing. This was what they were looking for.
Pansy watched as Dudley squinted at the bottom of the letter that would seal her fate. To forever be unhappy with Blaise Zabini.
"What is it?" she asked, walking around the desk and leaning over his shoulder to see what it was.
"There's some writing at the bottom there," Dudley mumbled, fiddling in the desktop drawer for something. "I can just barely make it out. Trust a wizard to use fine print like that." He must have remembered who he was talking to because he quickly followed up with an apology.
"What's that?" Pansy asked, seeing the object he was holding to the paper.
"It's a magnifying glass," he said, looking into the glass and smiling as the words came into focus. "It makes the words on the paper bigger. See?" He moved to one side so she could see properly too.
Only members of the wizarding world who are seventeen years of age and older will be participating in this law. Unless stated otherwise by the Ministry of Magic and approved by the Minister of Magic himself Kingsley Shacklebolt. Those who are already married or engaged to be married previously to the law going into effect will be exempt from having to take part in the law.
"There's your loophole," Dudley said, looking at Pansy out of the corner of her eye. "If you want to take it?"
"But I'm not married or engaged to be married," Pansy said, her hopes of not having to actually marry Blaise going up in smoke. "In order for me to use this loophole, I would have to find and marry someone before the end of the year."
"That does seem like a problem," Dudley murmured. "I mean, who wouldn't automatically agree to marry a nice looking girl like yourself?"
Pansy's eyes widened as the idea hit her. Her parents were going to be pissed at her for this but this was her life. She was at least going to make this choice for herself. She smiled as she looked up at Dudley.
"Are you married, Dudley?" she asked, trying to keep the sound of hope out of her voice.
"Um...I think that seeing as I'm supposed to be your wedding planner this is very inappropriate," Dudley said, trying to avoid looking at her. "But I can suggest someone very nice…."
Pansy huffed and looked at him. "But I don't want someone nice," she said, trying to keep the petulant tone out of her voice. "If I take this loophole I want to take it with you or no one else. Do you understand?"
Dudley stammered in agreement with her. He must not be used to women who saw what they wanted and took it. Pansy knew one thing, he had certainly better get used to it.
I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of The Marriage Law Loophole as much as I enjoyed writing it.