Hey guys! I just realized that the first chapter wasn't particularly enticing, so here's chapter two. I've got chapters 1-8 written so far, with a bunch more in line. So here's something to make the story a bit more interesting to begin with! Read, review, and enjoy!
Hermione woke up to sunshine streaming in between the scarlet hangings on her bed. She blinked a few times, rubbing her eyes. As she sat up, she saw that Ginny was waking up as well.
"Morning," she mumbled, swinging her legs over the side of her bed. "Can I use the bathroom?"
"Sure," Ginny said, yawning.
Hermione shuffled sleepily into the bathroom, plucking her bag of toiletries from her trunk as she went. She stepped into the shower, enjoying the hot water. After spending a few extra minutes enjoying the feeling, she stepped out and wrapped herself in a towel, moving to the mirror and beginning to brush through her wet hair. Once she had finished brushing it, she dried it with a flick of her wand.
Magic was so convenient, she thought. Before she'd learned that spell, she would have had to spend an hour with a hair dryer, and even then it would just end up bushy. Now her hair was manageable, falling around her shoulders in neat curls. She studied her reflection before turning to her pile of clothes and getting dressed.
Once she was properly put together, she exited the bathroom and returned to the bedroom. Ginny dragged herself to the bathroom while Hermione set to unpacking. The nice thing about having fewer people in the dormitory was that instead of just having a bed and a nightstand, each of them got a wardrobe. Hermione hung up her clothes neatly in the wardrobe, folding her other pajamas and setting them on the shelf in the wardrobe along with her bag of toiletries.
"Damn that owl!" Ginny shouted from the bathroom.
"What's wrong?" Hermione called.
Ginny exited the bathroom, wearing only her shirt and skirt and holding a frayed tie. "Pigwidgeon! Ron's stupid owl keeps trying to take pieces of cloth from around the house to put in his nest, and I forgot he ruined my tie! Do you have an extra?"
"You don't?" Hermione asked with surprise.
"No, I got Charlie's old tie," Ginny grumbled.
"Well here," Hermione said. She took off her tie and pointed her wand at it. "Geminio." The tie duplicated itself, and she handed the duplicate to Ginny.
"Thanks," Ginny said gratefully, tugging it around her neck and tightening it properly.
Once the two had finished dressing, they headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Professor McGonagall was waiting at the door of the Great Hall, passing out pieces of parchment containing each student's schedule.
"Miss Granger. Miss Weasley." Professor McGonagall handed them each a piece of parchment. "Your schedule will magically adjust itself each week. You'll notice that today is left open. This is because Professor Dumbledore has a very important announcement to make to all students who are seventeen, or will be seventeen within the next year."
Ginny and Hermione looked at each other in confusion as they went inside.
"What do you think that's gonna be about?" Ginny asked.
Hermione shrugged. "Maybe it'll be a post-war thing? I don't know."
The two sat down at the Gryffindor table and loaded their plates with fruit, eggs, sausage, toast, and oatmeal.
"I bet Ron is jealous," Ginny said smugly as they tucked in. "He loves the house elves' cooking."
"I'm sure he is," Hermione said. "It's his own fault, though. I tried to get him to come back. I tried to get Harry to come back too."
"They're dumb boys," Ginny said, eating a spoonful of oatmeal. "They make poor decisions. It's ingrained in their DNA."
The two chatted and compared schedules, and were delighted to find that they'd been put in all the same classes.
After breakfast, the seventh years all loitered behind as all the other students shuffled off to prepare for their first classes.
"Good morning," said Dumbledore, standing behind his podium. "I hope you all had a restful night and are eager to get to your classes. I will try to keep this brief. As of yesterday, the Ministry has passed a new law. They are calling it the Repopulation Law. As you all know, the Wizarding population is severely decimated in the wake of the war. The Ministry has determined that in order to replenish this population, more intense measures must be taken. They have decreed that all witches and wizards between the ages of seventeen and forty must be married within the next year, and must have at least two children within five years of being married."
There was an uproar among the students, and Dumbledore raised his hands. "SILENCE!" The students fell silent, and he spoke again. "Several members of the Wizengamot, myself included, were opposed to this, but we were outnumbered for the good of the many. If you will see Professor McGonagall on the way out, she will give each of you some paperwork that contains material explaining the new law. And there is one other matter… In order to prevent unnecessary problems and difficulties with these marriages, the Ministry will be putting you into paired couples, and each pair – rather, the pairs consisting of students who currently attend Hogwarts – will be relocated into individual living quarters, which you will share with your partner. Noncompliance with this law will result in imprisonment. The paperwork Professor McGonagall will give you will contain the results of the Ministry's decision as to who your partner will be. You have the day to adjust to this, so I recommend going to your dormitories to pack and study the materials you are given. You are dismissed."
"They can't do this to us!" Ginny cried. "This is so unfair!"
She and Hermione rushed to Professor McGonagall, and were the first ones to get there. Professor McGonagall's eyes were sad as she handed them their envelopes.
Ginny was handed her results first and stepped aside with her back to the wall to open the envelope. In her haste to learn her fate, she tore the envelope open so violently that she dropped everything. She frantically flipped through the papers until she found the page containing her results. Her eyes widened and then shut.
"What?" Hermione cried. "Who is it?"
Ginny clutched her paper to her chest and slid down to the floor.
"Ginny, who is it?" Hermione cried fearfully.
"It's Harry," she whispered. "They paired me with Harry."
Hermione's eyes widened. "What?! Show me!"
Ginny handed her paper to Hermione, who scanned over it quickly. "Merlin, Ginny, you scared me!"
"Sorry," Ginny whispered. "Who did you get?"
Hermione opened her envelope and sifted through her papers. "It doesn't say… Just a minute."
She walked over to Professor McGonagall once the line had died down. "Professor? I think there's been some mistake… I don't have a results paper in my envelope."
Professor McGonagall put a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "I know. Your arrangement is a bit…unique. Please come with me."
Ginny looked at Hermione with alarm as she turned to go with Professor McGonagall. "Hermione?"
Hermione gave Ginny a mirthless smile. "I'll be okay." She turned to follow Professor McGonagall, praying that she was right.