AN - Thanks for your review, Sakura Lisel. I think it mentioned in chapter 1 that to refuse would result in a person being stripped of their magic, obliviated and forced out into the muggle world. I might not have made that very clear, but that is the case.
Please enjoy chapter 2.
PS: Please be warned that this chapter eludes to some rude things.
Harry arrived back at the Burrow, furious. He had managed to get a moment with Kingsley but all he was told was that the Sorting hat was a magical device which had knowledge of the past, the present and the future. There would be no swapping, there would be no changing, there would be no special considerations. Hermione and Ron were over.
Harry and Ginny were grateful to have been matched together. So happy in fact that that very morning, Harry had travelled to a muggle jeweller and purchased a ring which he presented to Ginny before lunch. The ring was quite beautiful and Ginny was all in a daze upon now officially being engaged to her life long crush and love of her life.
Hermione, having sat alone reading in the living room of the burrow, was approached by George after Molly made them all sandwiches.
"Can I have a word?" George asked, sitting on the coffee table in front of her.
"Sure" she answered, as she marked her page in the book and sat it down beside her.
"I know what this all means for you and for Ron and I'm sorry" he said.
"You've got nothing to be sorry about. You didn't ask for this" Hermione said.
"Well, you have to wonder, if I wasn't around, would they have matched you with Ron after all?" he asked.
"I haven't actually wondered that George. You can't be responsible for this, purely because you exist" she said.
"I'm not going to make a decent husband, Hermione" he said. "I'm ruined. I'm not even whole anymore" he said, staring off into some far away place.
"You're grieving George. You lost a significant part of who you are, but you're not ruined" she said, reaching out to place her hand on his.
"Thanks for saying that Hermione, but when have you ever known George Weasley to do anything? When has anyone ever spoken about George Weasley? Its always been Fr… F…. Well, its never just been me, has it?" he said, not even able to say the name of his twin.
Hermione did something that she felt was completely reasonable, she leant forward and pulled him into a hug.
"You will come out the other side of the George. You'll be different, but you'll be someone" she said with her chin on his shoulder.
They stayed like that for seconds until a voice broke it up.
"Not wasting any time, I see?" Ron said, his face red with anger.
"Ron, we were just talking" Hermione said, pulling away from George and standing up.
"No, by all means… you two are engaged now. Best make a start early" he said.
"Ron, you git… I was here to apologise. No one wanted this. No one wants to be matched with the surviving half of the Weasley twins" George said.
"Well, you got her. Make the most of it" Ron said before storming off.
"He never just walks somewhere, does he?" George asked.
~~OvO~~
Dinner that night was an awkward affair. Harry and Ginny were over the moon about their engagement and Ginny couldn't stop oogling her engagement ring. There was talk of a garden wedding as soon as they could pull one together.
Hermione had hesitated at the edge of the dining room before taking a seat, not knowing where to sit. She had sat beside Ron all summer and now that it was over and she was technically engaged to George, she had no idea where to sit.
"For heavens sake Hermione, just sit" Molly said when she saw the girl's hesitation. Hermione sat beside Ginny at the end of the table.
"So, the ministry has declared that there will be an engagement ball for everyone to officially meet their partner and for the ministry to determine who has run off and who is in agreeance with this, ridiculous law" Molly said, heaping potatoes onto her husband's plate.
"I'm not going" Ron said angrily.
"The hell you aren't. If I have to go you are coming" Harry said.
"I'd rather be stripped of my magic and obliviated" Ron said.
"You don't mean that" Arthur said.
"Dad, I dated Lavender. She's not easy to get on with. Me and Hermione had something, now I have to sit by and watch her marry my brother? I won't" he said.
Hermione remained silent while the Weasleys debated the pros and cons of whether or not it would be better to be obliviated and stripped of all magic or marry someone you didn't choose. Hermione didn't want either, but she knew she belonged in this world. She would never willingly give up her magic. It was the one thing that made her who she was.
Once she was finished with her meal, Hermione stood and placed her plate in the sink to be washed with magic. She turned to the Weasleys and cleared her throat.
"Thank you for your hospitality Molly, but I think it's time I went home" she said sadly.
"Don't be daft my dear, this your home as much as any place" Molly said
"Thank you, but I think it's for the best. My parents, they signed it over to me anyway and I really should stay there. I will see you all on Friday at the Ball. George, I'll owl you with the colour of my dress so you can match your tie" she said, without looking any of them in the eye, before heading up the stairs to Ginny's small bedroom on the third floor.
She packed her things as quickly as she could, which didn't take long, as it was all neatly organised in her trunk anyway. She shrunk it down and put into her beaded bag and left the room. The Weasleys were all still at the table when she returned a few minutes later.
"I'll leave the wards in place, I think its better that way" she said. "You can owl me" she told Harry as she made her way to the doors.
"Hermione, please don't go" Ginny said.
"And stay for what Ginny? To be looked at as though I'm the reason for Ron's broken heart? To be the one to try and put George's back together? To be the centre of something that I never asked for? I'll be in touch about Friday" she said, pulling the back door open and stepping out into the night.
She half expected someone to follow her. She half wanted them to. She didn't want to be alone, but she couldn't stand being around these people for a minute longer. When she reached the gate of the burrow, she took one look back at the house that teetered on odd angles and turned on the spot, thinking of the living room of her childhood home.
~~OvO~~
For the next 5 days, Hermione ignored all owls and didn't get out of bed for more than a cup of tea and something small to eat. She cried all the time and begged the universe to take her away. It was the closest that she had ever come to considering ending her own life or wishing for it, but she couldn't possibly consider it. After the lengths she had gone to over the last few years to keep her life going, to take it all away and have it be for nothing would be completely insane. But wasn't she insane? She had no idea.
The dreams became worse, the further into depression Hermione sank. She no longer simply relived the horrors of Malfoy Manor at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange, but they began to morph into other things. She would dream that Bellatrix was in her house, standing over her bed. She would wake up screaming and sweating and hope to Godric that it wasn't real. She'd grip her wand tight and cast protego spells all around herself in fear that there might be a chance that it was real. It took hours for her to fall back to sleep after one of those dreams.
By Friday morning, she knew she needed to get up and find a dress for the ball that was to occur that night. She had no choice but to attend or else be stripped of her magic.
She got out of bed, dressed in jeans and a shirt and made her way to London to search for a suitable dress. She didn't spend long in the shops. Opting for the first dress she tried on that fit her. It was a simple but elegant black slip dress and fit her well, despite the fact that she had appeared to have lost weight over the last few days of not eating properly.
Hmm, she thought, Molly would be upset after feeding her so thoroughly due to losing so much weight during the war. She had finally gotten back up to a healthy size and now her hip bones jutted out again.
She stopped by a salon and got her hair, nails and make-up done, something she wished she had taken the time to learn from the girls in Gryffindor tower when she was busy on homework and horcruxes. No doubt Lavender will look stunning with a simple wave of her wand.
Was that jealousy? Probably. She shook off the thought. Ron was no longer Hermione's. No longer hers to claim. There was no chance of a relationship with him. It made Hermione's eyes well with tears while she got her nails done by women who barely spoke English. She preferred it that way. No small talk.
She thought about going to Diagon Alley earlier that morning, but figured there would probably be reporters there and she didn't want to make the cover of the daily prophet seeking out assistance for hair and make up charms. There were many benefits to the muggle way of life, she realised. Perhaps it might be worth it to give it all up? She thought about the things she enjoyed about being a witch and quickly dismissed the idea as absurd.
At 5:30pm, she looked in the mirror in her parents' room at the woman standing before her. She didn't look much like herself, which she found odd. Her hair was tame and cascaded down her shoulders and back in soft waves. The front was gently pinned back, which showed off her perfectly made up face.
"This isn't me… well… I suppose I am no longer me, am I?" she asked herself in the mirror. There were many things about Hermione Granger that were no longer Hermione. She scoffed at herself, realising now she was talking to herself and reasoning with herself. Crazy. Absolutely sodding crazy.
She collected the matching bag which she had placed the undetectable extension charm on and headed for the ministry via the floo. Her wand was tucked into a pocket that she had charmed into the side seam of her dress. All shed have to do would be to reach to her side, underneath her arm and retrieve it from the small pouch that was discreetly hidden inside the dress.
When she exited the floo at the ministry, they were collecting wands.
"All that effort charming a wand pocket into this dress for nothing?" she asked the ministry official.
"Apologies, Miss Granger. They're afraid of the backlash" the woman said.
"So they should be. This is ridiculous" Hermione exclaimed, before checking in her wand and turning to head towards the ballroom.
She hesitated outside the grand doors, which she could hear commotion behind. Music and talking. A bit of laughter. Wow, people must not be taking it as badly as she thought.
She collected a drink from the cart that was positioned outside the door, a lovely and quite necessary tough, before pushing open the door to enter the room.
It was quite elegantly set up. There were chandeliers hung from the ceiling and tables with white tablecloths and long stemmed champagne glasses. If she didn't know any better, she would swear the ministry was going to marry them tonight.
"Hermione!" came the voice of her best friend. Ginny rushed over with Harry tailing behind her.
"Good Godric woman, where on earth did you find that dress?" Ginny asked.
"Oh just something I picked up at a muggle store this morning" Hermione shrugged as she sipped her drink. It was pink and bubbly, and it tasted good going down so Hermione finished it off and too another from an elf walking around with 20 or so on a tray. "Elves? Forced marriages? What next? Women can't vote?" Hermione asked.
"We've been worried about you" Harry said, looking Hermione in the eyes.
"I've been fine. Just catching up on revision before going back to school" she lied.
"We're have seats at a table down the front. The three of us and our matches and some ministry officials" Harry said, gesturing to a table at the front of the room where she could vaguely make out Ron's read hair.
"I think I might find some people to say hello to first" she said.
"I know what you're doing. You can't avoid him forever" Ginny said.
"Which him?" Hermione asked.
"Well, both of them really" Ginny replied.
"I just… It is hard for me Gin. You got your perfect match. You're fine. You'll both get married and live happily ever after. I have to marry someone I don't love in that way, have children with him and sit across the dinner table at Christmases from the person I do love but can't have, while he has children with someone else" Hermione said. There. She finally did it. Said what was on her mind. Was she jealous of Ginny and Harry? Probably. It simply wasn't fair.
She turned and walked away, hoping to find someone she knew. There were actually loads of faces she recognised, but none she felt compelled to talk to.
As she made her way to the table, she bumped into a woman who she only saw from behind. As the woman turned around, Hermione almost fell over when she recognised her.
"Hermione, you look lovely" came the husky voice of Lavender Brown.
"Thank you… Lavender… You, uh… You changed your hair" was all Hermione could say to the woman who, last time she saw her, was being mauled by a ware wolf. In fact, you wouldn't really know that she was technically declared dead only a few months ago, as her scars were mostly faded. What was left was her natural beauty and her sweet smile.
"Oh indeed, I did. Its rather short now, but I think I like it. It sits better just above my shoulders. Plus… I spent so long in St Mungos, it was easier to manage this way" Lavender said.
"I think it suits you" Hermione said.
"Look Hermione… I know you and Ron had something going on and the last thing I wanted to do was get in the way of that. Merlin, I was still in hospital when I got my letter, but I need you to know…" she began.
"Lavender, its no big deal. We didn't ask for this. None of us did. Its best we don't even give it another thought" Hermione said offering a smile she dragged up from the depths of her psyche before walking away to find her place at the table near the front.
She arrived at her table to see Ron and George sitting side by side, her own name tag beside George with Ginny's place to her right.
"Wow, as if this isn't going to be awkward" she said, breaking the ice and placing her coat on the back of her chair.
"Wow, Hermione, you look…" Ron said.
"Ravishing" George said.
"Wow. And the awkwardness begins" she said, finishing her drink.
"We're going to have to just make the most of this I think" Ron said, clearly more level-headed than he was several days ago.
"Make the most of it? You've got to be kidding me. I'm sorry George, you're great and I'm sure we'll get on just fine, but the ministry had no idea what it was doing when it matched anyone. Have you seen half the people here?" she said, looking around the room at some of the insane matches that were appearing. "I mean, Lavender looks incredible for a girl who was, for all intents and purposes, dead. But you've been there, done that. Who's to say it will last the second time?" Hermione said.
"Actually, I went to see her" Ron said, his ears turning red. "She seems different, sort of grown up I guess. We had a long chat" he said.
Hermione's heart just about shattered into a million pieces at that. She was sure the look on her face completely gave her away but she forced yet another fake smile on her face and plucked another pink drink from a nearby elf and held it up to the man who had asked her, not even a week ago, to marry him.
"Well then, to you and Lavender" Hermione said, as a worried looking Ron picked up his own glass and gently dinged hers with his.
"What's this about Lavender?" asked the very person they were taking about, as she took her seat beside Ron.
"I was just making a toast to you and Ron. I'm certain you two will be amazing together" Hermione said.
"Well, how about you Hermione, and George? Quite the shock but I can see why you were both matched" Lavender said.
"You can?" Hermione asked, never having been able to see it for herself.
"Absolutely. You're both fiercely loyal and brave beyond comprehension. You…" she began.
"You just described the characteristics of any Gryffindor. That could be any of us" Hermione said.
"I was coming to it" she said, narrowing her eyes at the other woman. "You have both suffered incredibly over the last 6 months. You're both so focused and dedicated to your future and I've never known anyone as smart as the two of you. You're both so closed off with others and both of you walk around with this hard exterior, I think only the two of you can break through. It takes someone who is similar to you to truly understand you… With Georges business and inventions and your smarts Hermione, I'm surprised that nobody else expected it, if I'm honest" Lavender said.
Hermione was lost for words. She hadn't considered that her and George may actually be a match. She was so focused on not having been matched with Ron and focused on having to face him for years to come knowing that they could have had it all.
"How did you get so…" Hermione began.
"Wise? Smart? Grown up? I died. I was mauled by a fucking werewolf and left for dead. Everyone thought I was dead and trust me, I wanted to be. But there was something in me, something telling me that we were going to win. So I fought. And I fought everyday since. I guess that kind of thing changes a person. Ron saved my life Hermione. He killed that… He killed that thing… and saved me. If I could give him you, I would, in a heartbeat. But we were matched for a reason and I for one want to see what that reason was. I owe him my life" she said, looking to Ron with admiration in her eyes as she finished talking.
Before Hermione had time to come up with something to say, a gong rang out all around the ballroom and Kingsley Shacklebolt called for everyone to take their seats. They were soon joined by Harry and Ginny as well as some people she hadn't met from the ministry.
"I thank you all for taking the time in your busy schedules to attend this event. I hope that it can be a night of celebration of things to come rather than a night fuelled by anger and frustration. I'd like to start out by saying that, not only did I, as minister, have no say in the implementation of this law, but there was not one single person that holds responsibility for this. There is in fact more at play here than a group of people making a decision to affect your young lives, and it is hoped that by the end of tonight, you will ore deeply understand why this was implemented in this way and why the matching process was as it is" Kinglsley went on.
Hermione tried desperately to hold on to his every word, but the more he spoke, the more she felt as though he was passing the blame onto everyone but himself and those of the Wizengamot.
"I would like to present you all with some information that I hope you will all find highly useful. Centuries ago, our world was threatened with a similar set of circumstances and similar laws were put into place then. However, the way in which those laws were implemented were barbaric. Girls as young as 13 were being pulled from school, stripped from their families and enslaved to families who could not conceive a child naturally. Women were treated like cattle, inseminated, raped or worse, and held in prisons in order to rebuild the population. This law, and the facets of this law remain a threat to our society today because if the population should decrease further, it will come into effect automatically, and the rights we have worked so hard for, as magical human beings, will no longer be available to anybody" Kinglsey paused, giving the people in the audience the opportunity to be outraged.
"Surely this law, which was written into existence can be just as easily unwritten?" Hermione asked.
"Good question Miss Granger. There is no easy explanation as to why the law can not be removed. It was created using ancient binding magic in order to protect the wizarding population. So far, we have been unsuccessful in revoking it" he said, drawing, yet again, gasps and chocked outrage from the crowd.
"Why the hat then?" came a voice from the back.
"Good question Mr Goyle. The hat is the only magical object which has knowledge of the past, understanding of the present, and information about the future. When it was placed on your heads at the age of eleven, it created a bond between itself and your mind, causing it to be the only thing in the world to truly understand the workings of your own mind, even if you don't understand it yourself. Trust in this and you will all be pleasantly surprised. I can assure you" he said.
"What were some of the elements upon which we were matched?" Hermione asked, desperate for information.
"Well, for one, there was general reproductive health which is, as you know, the main reason for this law, closely followed by hopes, dreams, personality testing, aptitude and intelligence, fears, experiences, weaknesses and potential for growth" he responded.
"And why did it not take into account, people who were already together?" Ron asked, jumping in where Hermione was about to.
"The hat determines those who have the capabilities to outlast the most difficult of relationship problems. What may have felt like the love of someone's life, may in fact have been seen by the sorting hat to have only been a whirlwind summer romance, not set to survive the traumas of life. Look, I'm not highly privy to a lot of the things that matched you with your person. I look around this room and I see many unexpected pairs, but I see some who i feel just make sense…" he looked at Hermione when he said this. "If you all give it some time, I can assure you, the foundations of friendship will be the strongest place from which to build a life long partnership" he said. "Now, let us eat" he finished, stretching his arms out wide, signalling the plates of food to appear.
"I wonder if there are House Elves below here like there are at Hogwarts? Ron asked, eyeing his plate with wonder.
Hermione remained quiet.
"Are you ok?" George asked her quietly.
"I am. I'm so sorry George, you absolutely don't deserve to put up with someone like me who lacks the capacity to even talk to you" she said.
"What do you mean? You've been completely engaging" he said with a wicked grin. Hermione noticed that for the first time, it touched his eyes.
"Did you have an idea about who you wanted to be matched with?" she asked him.
"I was hoping they'd forget me, to be honest. I haven't been great company lately in case you haven't noticed" he said, stabbing a potato on his plate.
"I noticed, George. You more than anyone deserved a great match" she said sadly.
"Why are you saying it like ours is horrific?" he asked.
"Because I'm not who you wanted. I was besotted with your younger brother until recently" she said.
"Until? So that means you're free game then?" he asked.
"You know what I mean George" she said.
"Well, how about we make a deal then?" he asked, taking two glasses of pink bubbles from a nearby elf and passing one to Hermione.
"Sure. What's the deal?" she asked.
"How about we start off as friends. Do whatever it is they want us to do. Get married if we have to. Hell, even make incredibly frizzy red haired babies, but whatever we do, we be honest with each other and remember, we're friends before anything" he said.
Hermione thought about this for a moment. Babies? That would mean having to have sex with George. He wasn't unattractive. In fact, if anything, he was better looking than Ron. But she wondered how she would manage to bring herself to do that with him. It felt like a very far off place which was a low maybe on her to do list.
She held her glass up and clinked it with Georges, "Ok, that's a deal" she said.
Hermione ate and drank and quickly found herself feeling more at ease. While the feeling of grief in regards to her relationship with Ron would take a very long time to dissipate, she couldn't help but feel like perhaps Kingsley was right. She was so different to Ron. They had a great friendship, with which they experimented with a romantic relationship and while they were in it, it felt right, however, Hermione knew there were some issues. Ron was never going to be on her level, intellectually. He was so hot headed and jealous of every little thing. He was quick to judge and she could never forget the way he so easily abandoned her and Harry during the war months. It took a lot for him to built that bridge and the structure of it was barely stable.
She watched Ron's interactions with Lavender throughout the night and smiled to herself, knowing that they were a perfect match. Gone was the crazy intense snogging sessions they had in 6th year, instead, replaced by conversations, getting to know each other and slight flirting. She felt the pang of jealousy, which she drowned out with more pink bubbles.
After the meal was finished, Kinglsey got up to make a final announcement.
"Ladies and gentlemen, witches and wizards. I would now like to make a few announcements. As you would all be aware, Hogwarts was delayed this year. It will reopen on the first of October and those of you who have requested to return as adults for 7th year, as well as those who are required to for legal purposes, can choose to take the Hogwarts Express or simply apparate to the gates and walk in at any time throughout the day, but no later than 5pm for roll call purposes. Anyone wishing to rescind their enrolment must do so via owl post no later than Monday. It must be addressed to Headmaster McGonagall. Alternatively, you can apparate to the gates of the school and request a face to face meeting to discuss your options. This much be done before the beginning of the term" he said.
"Weddings must all be held by the end of the year. No questions. This leaves you with two months to get things in order. May I suggest attending the group event that the ministry is offering to make it official and conclude with a reception at the place of your choosing with your friends and family? The details of the event will be advised in writing by the end of the month. If you are choosing to attend Hogwarts and your spouse isn't, you will be granted afternoon and weekend passes to visit and they will be granted entry into the grounds, pending approval from the headmaster. It is expected that you try your best to consummate your marriage and begin preparations to have a child within 18 months. If there are no signs of this at that point, you will be given a full health assessment ad face questions as to the nature of your marriage. However, the sorting hat understands that you were all matched based on genetic, health and reproductive compatibility. It not expected that there will be any issues" he continued. The subject of choice has come up quite a lot, with many of you advising that children were not an idea that you were willing to entertain till much later in life. I say to you this; You are the answer to the continuation of our community. You will be granted significant benefits once your children are born and child care options will be available for those of you who feel as though you would like to continue with your career. There will be no judgement. There will be ongoing support and care for those of you who participate in this law appropriately… Now please, if you will, a band has been procured for the remainder of the night and will remain till early hours of the morning for your entertainment. Please enjoy and take this as an opportunity to get to know your spouse" he finished, but before he left the stage, he waved his wand over the crowd and the ring finger of everyone's left hand was adorned with an engagement ring of varying sizes, styles and colours. "The ministry's gift to you. A sign that the hat does indeed know what truly lies in you hearts and minds" he said before leaving the stage.
Hermione looked down at her hand as she joined in the clapping. Her ring was stunning, absolutely beautiful. The hat appeared to know just what she wanted. She looked around to the other women in the crowd who were gushing at their left hands. Lavender was squealing with delight at her own personally crafted piece of jewellery.
As Hermione and the rest of her table stood, the large round tables were replaced with smaller, taller tables which sat 6 or so. Chairs were re positioned around the room sporadically, seemingly in pairs. The elves with the drinks came out in droves and the pink bubbly drinks were replaced with harder liquor such as firewhisky. Hermione took two drinks from a nearby elf and handed one to George, clinking glasses with him.
"To the future" she said.
"To adventures at Hogwarts" he replied.
"Are you going to use me to get access to the castle so you can get up to no good?" she asked, feeling certain that that was exactly what he was intending on doing.
"Hermione, my pranking days are over. I just want to visit occasionally, make sure my clients are happy and see my wife" he said, smiling in her direction.
"Speaking of which, Kinglsey mentioned a group wedding event. How do you feel about that?" she asked.
"Well, I'm not opposed to it. But of course, if you would prefer…" he began.
"No, I think we should do it" she said, cutting him off.
"Ron…" George called to his younger brother, who raised his chin in answer. "You having a wedding or you doing the ministry thing?" George asked.
Ron looked to Lavender and spoke quiet words which Hermione could not hear.
"Ministry. Then have a do at the Burrow" Ron said.
"Sounds like a plan to me" George said.
"So there will be the 8 of us. You and me, Ron, Lavender, Ginny and Harry and Percy and Penelope" Hermione said.
"Sounds like absolutely nothing can go wrong" George said with a wink. Hermione sensed some of George's old self was leaking out of him just a tad. She liked it. She enjoyed seeing him happy. It made her happy.
What she didn't expect to make her happy, was when, several drinks later, George asked her to dance, whisking her away to the dancefloor and helping, for just a moment, to make her forget about all the horrible things that had weaselled their way back into her life.
The night wore on in a blue of firewhisky and bubbly pink drinks in long stemmed glasses. Hermione felt free for the first time in forever and as she danced and looked over to the man who danced alongside her, her heart mended just a little and inside it she felt the beginnings of something new. Hope, perhaps.
AN: I am quite aware that Hermione experiences huge turnaround in her emotions in this chapter. Its not a mistake, its not overlooking anything. Its on purpose. Yep. In one night, someone can go from severely depressed to having happy feelings of hope. Also remember, Hermione is now drunk. Please let me know if you think its too crazy and i'll drag it out a little. I didn't want this fic to be too long so i'm giving these teenagers teenage hormones and no sense of self control and limited inhibitions, which is what the ministry is counting on.