Hermione shifted nervously as the thirty ministry members stood. Some were smiling, but most showed no emotion and her stare did not waver from the one man she thought would be the one to stir the cauldron the wrong way. It only took one.
Lucius cleared his throat and sat up a bit straighter, grabbing her hand that was closest to him to provide some comfort. Severus did the same with her other hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
This was their one shot
"By a show of hands, raise your hand high if you approve of this marriage request." The main speaker asked. He was hoping that he had made the right choice and selected the most open minded in the ministry. He would approve it himself if he were allowed to make the decision.
Hands arose from the ministry members and in the public audience. Hermione glanced around and smiled when she noticed Picket, sitting with a teary eyed woman and another man. They had their hands up as well and Hermione's heart soared. Even the man who she suspected to be the one to say 'nay' had his hand raised. She felt relieved.
"All those who would say Nay, please raise your hand now." The main speaker announced.
Hermione glanced around and noticed a few from the public with their hands up, but they didn't matter as long as everyone in the ministry – and then she gasped as she noticed the single dainty hand from a woman in the ministry box. Her heart fell to the ground.
The main speaker looked irritated. The woman with her hand raised was one of the ones he felt was the most open minded.
"Mrs. Getty, are you disagreeing with this union?" He asked in a voice that was mixed with anger and disbelief.
The small woman nodded and stood, "Yes, I disagree."
"One what grounds!" Lucius yelled, unable to control his sudden outburst. This was a load of bloody bull shit.
Mrs. Getty looked annoyed, "Because such a union goes against every moral I hold. And children, if they were bone into this union, what would you say to them? They deserve to have a normal life, not one spending explaining why Mummy had two husbands every time they turn a corner."
"What does it matter to you?" the woman sitting next to Picket yelled. She looked angry and hurt, "Who gives you the right, any of you, to choose how we live our lives."
Picket tried to pull her back down but she shook him off, "No Roger, enough is enough. I am so sick of hiding our relationship. I am so sick of not being able to hold hands with you and Sam in public, I am so sick of feeling that what we have is wrong because of a few people who just don't get it.
So answer me! What does it matter to you? You are not in our bedrooms and you will not be the one raising our children, so what gives you the right?" She laughed hollowly, "All of you who are disagreeing are nothing but… self righteous bigots! No one controls your life, tells you who you can and can't marry. People don't shun you and consider you a whore, or your men lacking… You are allowed to do all of those things that we cannot and I am so sick of this whole thing. I am sick of living in such a closed minded society that I cannot even have the children I want to have because we cannot afford to be blacklisted once word got out." She sobbed finally, looking at everyone around who was watching her, and more weakly, she spoke again, "We have feelings just like you. We love like every other person. We are unconventional and we are few, but when everyone else has turned their back on us, we have each other. We deserve to be happy and for you or anyone else to say that how we love is wrong, well, it's even more wrong of you to feel you have the right to make such decisions about a person's life, people that you don't even know."
Getty looked angry, "Because it is just not right!" she screamed, coldly ignoring the emotional womans words, "I will not go against what I believe to make others happy."
The gabble banged down a few times, hard.
"Enough!" the main speaker yelled.
The room grew silent once again with the only noise being Pickets woman crying.
The main speaker sighed, "I am terribly sorry, Ms. Granger, Misters Snape and Malfoy, but my hands are tied and as loath as I am to say this, I cannot approve your marriage as the ministry vote was not unanimous."
Hermione hung her head, crying silently. They didn't need marriage to be together right? It was just a piece of paper… they could all just change their last names.
"If I may, I believe I have valuable information." A voice said loudly from the back.
They all turned their heads to the familiar voice of Dumbledore.
"May I approach, speaker?"
The man gave the okay. Albus Dumbledore was highly respected, not some nut off the street… and he was curious.
As Dumbledore approached, he pulled out the glass orb and placed it in the speakers hand.
"What is this, Albus?"
Dumbledore smiled, "It is a prophecy for Ms. Granger, Mr. Snape, and Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore amplified his voice so that all could hear him, "In section 6.7456, law states that individuals involved with a prophecy, cannot be interfered with. The prophecy clearly states that this union is meant to change the lives of many, therefore, if they wish to marry to fulfill the prophecy, not a single person alive has the right to deny them." He said, saying the last part to Getty.
Hermione, Lucius and Severus all looked to the headmaster, Why had this not been told to them before?
"Ms. Granger, come, do the honors." The speaker stated, holding the orb out to her.
She stood and walked quickly to the man and extended her hand to receive the prophecy.
"Now, place both hands on it, Ms. Granger." The speaker said happily.
She nodded and held the orb tightly as the strange voice started to speak.
Severus and Lucius listened carefully.
'One of white, one of black, one of grey. The union of three will bring forth a new day. With evil defeated and bloodlines depleted, together they show us the way.
Hermione looked at Severus and Lucius as they both looked right back at her. It made perfect sense.
The speaker cleared his throat, "In light of the newest evidence, I hereby approve the marriage request of Ms. Granger, Mr. Snape, and Mr. Malfoy."