Once again, I wanted to apologize for how long this chapter took, and I wanted to let everyone know that from now on I will try to update at least once a week. I really hope I did a decent job with this chapter, I was pretty nervous about doing something from Lucius's POV, because in my opinion he's a very complex chapter. Also please know, that he has not completely changed, nor will he within the first few chapter, he's made progress and he's not so much of a prick but he is still Lucius Malfoy, so I hope no one gets turned off by the way I potray him.

Finally I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed,

FiOnAFiO: Thanks for the review, hopefully I won't let you down with the next few chapters

Kohana Moon: Thank you for pointing that out, I'm uploading the edited version of chapter one, and I fixed the whole purebloods must marry either a half-blood or a muggleborns thing. :

Jessi: Hope you like Lucius's reaction, I didn't want to make it too over the top, because Lucius doesn't strike me as the type to make a big scene or completely blow his casket (at least not more than once in the same day )

Lilo: Thank you for your reviews and for encouraging me so much, I really do appreciate it 3

ShakespeareActressVampire, midnight shadow of darkness, Queensofdemons68, Krozz, and Beta Mimosa: thank you for your reviews, and I hope you like this chapter, all of you made me smile with your reviews

DZAuthorAKADZMom: Thank you so much for your reviews, and I'm thinking I might use the retreat idea. IT sounds like a good way to help the couples bond, and I'm definitely planning for Hermione to have some serious trauma brought up as a result of her current situation. Also, I'm intending for both of them to have come beauty & beast aspects, if that makes sense?

Once again, thank you everyone for reviewing, it means a lot to me

Also, I'm looking for a beta, if anyone is interested I would really appreciate it

~Chapter Start~

Lucius stood in front of the large bay window in his study, staring out at the beautiful gardens below, slowly sipping from the tumbler of fire-whiskey in his hands. He had grown to hate how perfect they were, it made him feel like fate was laughing at him, surrounding him by perfection but robbing him of everything he held dear. His wife had been killed by the very man he had sworn his allegiance too and because Voldemort killed his wife, he lost his son as well, though he still breaths, he loathed him with a passion he hadn't known the boy possessed.

With a huge sigh, Lucius turned to stare at the pure white piece of parchment discarded innocently on his hand-carved mahogany desk. With that one letter, the ministry had landed the final blow on his ego; he was being forced to remarry a woman, only six months and two days after his wife had been murdered in front of him. Though, thanks to the few insiders he still had in the ministry, he had found out about this abysmal law two weeks ago, but for some reason he had managed to convince himself that it would never pass. Look where that got him, a few weeks of ignorance, and now he the evidence of his mistake was staring him in the face. Now he simply stood, waiting to find out who those blubbering fools had paired him with.

Then, with rage he didn't even know he possessed, he found himself throwing the tumbler, still half full of fire-whiskey at the wall besides him. It shattered in a shower of glass and liquid, which for some reason filled Lucius with extreme satisfaction. Next thing he knew, he had knocked over or smashed every last thing on his desk, destroyed all three bookshelves on the wall to his left, and scattered papers all over the room. With a deep sigh, Lucius attempted to calm his erratic breathing, pulling his new wand from its holster; he began and finished the repairs with just a few swishes of his wand.

Finally, he managed to regain his breath, and with one last sigh, he walked around his desk so he could sit down in his black leather desk chair. Dropping into his seat, he leaned his head back, closing his eyes, and resolving to stay exactly where he was until the next owl arrived. He just couldn't wait to find out the name of the wench the Wizengamot had placed him with.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Lucius jolted out of the light sleep he had slipped into, and with a twitch of his wand opened the window to allow the owl in. Without any prodding, the owl swooped in and landed in front of him, offering the leg which bore an off-white letter. Lucius, never one to delay his suffering, reached up and pulled the letter off the owls leg, and ripping it open so he could pull out the letters within.

Dear Lucius Malfoy,

This letter contains the formal details of the Marriage law which will be put into effect immediately. Please read through each details of this law thoroughly because failure to comply with any of the following terms will result in the immediate stripping of memory, magic and expulsion from the wizarding world. The terms of Wizarding Law 20356 are as follows;

Section One: All witches and wizards are required to marry within a month, and they must be married by a member of the Ministry elected by the Ministry. Witches and Wizards will be married in the same way they have been for centuries, without any deviations, and as it has been for centuries, divorce is impossible. The Ministry's decision is final and anyone who tries to rebel against our decision will face the consequences without pity or care for title, powers or history.

Section two: To ensure fertility, every witch and wizard will be tested vigorously to ensure that they are fertile, before the wedding takes place. Should both the witch and wizard be proven fertile, they will have exactly 24 hours after the wedding to consummate the marriage. The ministry employ who dictates the wedding, will also place a spell on each witch and wizard to ensure that they go through the consummation process.

Section three: At anytime during the marriage a witch or wizard is found to be using any means contraceptives, whether muggle or magical, they will be sent to Azkaban for a minimum of six months. In order to ensure that this part of the law is followed, check-ups will be scheduled monthly, all witches and wizards will be tested to make sure that they comply. Though after the first child is born, these visits will cease, unless a witch or wizard has been accused of disobeying this law.

Section four: By the time of the marriage, all witches and wizards are expected to be living permanently with their spouses in a residence chosen during the month allotted them (whether it is purchased or chosen between their residencies). Spouses will be required to sleep in the same bed, be warned that a ministry employ can stop by unannounced at anytime to ensure that this is being done. Two warnings will be issued, if it is found that a witch or wizard is refusing to comply and if a third warning is issued, a minimum of six-months in Azkaban will be awarded. There is only one exception to this, if a witch becomes pregnant, she is allowed to sleep in her own bed, but only if she is uncomfortable sharing a bed with her spouse.

The ministry asks that all witches and wizards with whom this law applies, please follow the afore mentioned conditions because as the Ministry cares for each and every wizard under its rule. They would regret having to carry out any of the punishment mentioned above, though make no mistake, ANY failure to comply with this law will result in the harshest punishments, because the ministry believes in leading by example. Sincerely,

The ministry of Magic

P.S. The ministry wishes to congratulate all witches and wizards on their up and coming marriage.

Lucius could hardly believe his eyes, who do these bastards take me for? A fool? They are just lucky that I refuse to go back to Azkaban because I'm almost tempted to go hex them to hell despite my experiences there.

Then he grabbed the other letter, unfolding it quickly, tensing despite his best attempts to pretend that he wasn't anxious about who he was paired with.

Dear Mr. Lucius Malfoy,

We hope this letter finds you in good health, and we wish you the best of luck with your new wife/husband Hermione J. Granger.

Sincerely,

The Ministy

Lucius Malfoy was never one to be without words, but to say he was speechless was an understatement. Those bloody gits had paired him with the Hermione Granger, one third of the blasted Golden trio, muggleborn that his son and he had verbally abused at every opportunity, and who had been tortured in his home. How did they decide they would be a good match? He could only imagine what the girl was thinking, she was probably about to kill herself...after all who would want to be married to him? He was a monster in their eyes, and he wasn't even going to try to say that he didn't deserve the title. He had done absolutely everything in his power to make their lives hell, and if he recalled correctly he had battled them in their fifth year in the department of mysteries.

He had no real problem with that fact that the girl was a muggle-born, while he still believed that muggles themselves were lesser-beings, he could no longer deny that muggleborns possessed magic and deserved a place in the wizarding world. He himself couldn't really say when his opinions changed, but it's hard to go through a war won by the side who represents the opposition to everything you believe in, and not at least think about how that could be possible if he was truly right. Also, he had witnessed many of his fellow purebloods in action, and he was loath to admit it, but they were just the same as the average wizard except for the fact that they had names attached to them.

Though, he wasn't a completely changed man, he had changed a little, for many reasons, but one of them was how superior the Granger girl, and Lilly Evans had been compared to many of the purebloods he had fought alongside. It had always boggled his mind that the Granger girl could so effortlessly beat his son and every other pureblood in the school at everything, but he had been in denial, simply chalking it up to luck. He knew better then that now, but how on earth could he persuade her to believe him?

He had one month to marry and move in with the girl, also during that short time he was somehow supposed to convince her that he wasn't quite the monster he had been before. What did that Wizengamot take him for? He wasn't a bloody miracle worker. Then on top of that he had a year to produce an heir with a girl who hated him, which only reminded him he was expected to consummate their marriage only twenty four hours after they'd said I do. It was utterly impossible, they were going to turn him into a monster, he had done his best to avoid rape when he was a death eater and now it seemed his own government was going to turn him in to a rapist only six months after he'd given up his death eater persona.

After some time, he couldn't be exactly sure how long, except for the fact that sun had long since set, he pulled himself together, reached for a piece of parchment and a quill. He was going to compose a letter to the granger girl, and ask her to meet him for lunch tomorrow, why delay the inevitable, they at least needed to attempt to try and make the best out of this situation. He absolutely refused to let those bloody gits ruin his life, if they couldn't learn to love each other, they could at least try to get along.

He dipped his quill into his ink pot, and with a sigh began to write-

Dear Ms. Granger,

he paused, trying to think of exactly what in Merlin's name he was going to write to her, after much thought he continued-

I know that you probably believe the worst of me, with no reason to believe otherwise, but I'm hoping you will meet me for lunch tomorrow at noon. So that we might have the opportunity to talk about our current situation, please respond as quickly as you can.

Sincerely,

Lucius A. Malfoy.

Feeling about as satisfied as he thought possible, Lucius summoned his personal house elf, "Inkie" he called.

"Master called" The high pitched voice of the small house elf squeaked out, "What can I do for master?"

"Inkie, I need you to take this letter to the owlery and ensure that it gets to Ms. Hermione Granger, it is a matter of great importance"

Inkie's overly large elf ears perked up, and she rushed forwards to take the letter, the small pink towel she was wearing fluttering violently with her sudden movement, "Inkie will go right away Master Malfoy, she will not let you down"

Barely containing a small smirk at the elf's exuberance, he handed her the letter, "Thank you Inkie"

"Yous very welcome sir" Inkie called before he apparated out of the room, the letter clutched tightly in her small hand.

Lucius didn't have to wait long, before one of his favorite owls, Aster, swooped in through the window he's left open, and deposited a small envelope on his desk. He opened it with care, pulling out a crisp piece of folded parchment, which smelled faintly of cinnamon and fresh apples.

Mr. Malfoy,

Noon is fine, I'll meet you in front of Flourish and Blotts at noon, we can decide where to have lunch then.

Sincerely,

Hermione granger

Well she had agreed to meet him, that was a start he supposed, but tomorrow will reveal how good of a start it truly was.