Hi guys. So here is chapter 2. I don't own anything.
Chapter 2
"Can I get you anything else, Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione asked as she handed her a cup of tea.
After Mrs. Weasley had fainted, Mr. Weasley had levitated his wife to the couch while the children quickly started clearing off the table, so that she could rest when she came around. She soon sat straight up and wondered if she had been dreaming when she read the letter. When Mr. Weasley had assured her that it was real, she had burst into tears.
Now they sat around the living room, starring at one another, wondering what was going to happen next.
"We should get to the shop," George announced, not wanting to spend one more minute in the house then he had to.
"Yes, I'm sure we'll be quite busy today," Fred agreed, standing up.
"Boys," Mrs. Weasley called quietly, wiping her blood shot eyes. "Could you buy the things that are on that list? I don't think I can go today. Not after thing," she started crying, softly this time.
Harry and Hermione stood up, digging in their pockets to give the twins money for their needs.
"Your money's no good," Fred insisted, not taking the coins that harry was trying to hand him.
"I've got it, Mione," George assured the brown haired girl.
"Let me give you just a little," she insisted.
"No, I'll get it," George said as he walked out the back door and apparated away. Hermione turned to Fred, trying to give him a few coins.
Fred grinned for the first time since the owls dropped the letters off. "No way. He would kill me! But," he said quietly, leaning close to her. "If you must do something, you could buy us a present," he teased.
Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes. Leave it to Fred to tease at a time like this, she thought as she walked back into the living room, where Ginny was trying to comfort their mother.
"Arthur, is this even legal?" Mrs. Weasley wondered, looking over at her husband.
"If they passed the lay, then it is, love," he answered, looking down at Fred's letter.
"Can't you got talk to someone at the Ministry? See if out good name could change all of this?" Molly pleaded.
"Of course, darling," Arthur agreed, kissing her forehead before grabbing his coat and hat. Before he walked out, he turned to Charlie.
"Watch out for her," he mouthed, nodding toward his wife. Charlie nodded and sat on the other side of his mother.
It was quiet for a few moments, all of them in their own thoughts.
Hermione picked up the letter and read if for the tenth time.
From the office of the Ministry of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.
To whom it may concern,
As you all know, there were many deaths in our world during the recent war. It has come to my attention that there are less wizards in the world now then there have ever been. Therefore, my advisers and I have passed a lay that, we hope, will help increase our population substantially. Attached is a copy of the law and all it in tales. I must add, that if you do not comply with this new lay, you will be permanently exiled from the wizarding world, never to return.
I know this will not be a popular lay, but it must be done to insure the growth and future of the magical world.
Sincerely,
Cornelius Fudge
Minister of Magic.
"This is really absurd," Hermione stated after reading the letter again.
"I agree, but what else can we do?" Harry asked, sitting in an arm chair near the fireplace.
"I don't know," was all Hermione could reply as she looked over her copy of the law.
By August of next year all wizards and witches, ages 17 to 35, must be engaged to be married. By December of the same year, all wizards and witches, ages 17 to 35, must be married. All couples must try to conceive a child in the following year. If, for medical reasons ONLY, you are not able to conceive, you will not be exiled from the wizarding world and will have the opportunity to adopt from any wizarding orphanage.
All men, ages 17 to 35, may potetion up to five witches. If all five except your purposal, the one who was potetioned first will be your fiancee. Deadline for potetions to be sent is March of next year.
All ladies, ages 17 to 35, have complete say in who they marry, unless they do not receive a petition before March of next year. If this occurs, all wizards and witches who have not been engaged, will be placed in an arranged marriage.
APPROVED BY: Cornelius Fudge.
"I wish Dumbledore was still around," Ron mumbled.
"Maybe Professor McGonagall can do something," Ginny suggested.
"I'll owl her," Hermione decided, starting to stand to go get parchment when an owl flew through the room and dropped an envelope in Mrs. Weasley's lap.
"I wonder who this could be from," Mrs. Weasley sniffiled. She quietly opened her letter and read it quickly.
"Whose it from, Mum," Ginny asked as their mother placed the letter on the coffee table in front of her.
"Minerva," she answered, sighing. She looked around the room, at the curious faces and stood. "Go ahead and read it, if you like."
"Do you need help, Mum?" Charlie asked, standing too.
"Sit down, child. I'm going to go fix more tea for everyone," she replied as she walked into the kitchen.
"Read it out loud, please," Charlie said taking his seat back on the couch. Ron and Harry moved closer so they could hear what it said.
"You read it Hermione. You're better at things like that," Ginny insisted, handing her Friend the letter.
"Alright," Hermione agreed, clearing her throat.
"Dearest Molly," Hermione read.
By now I'm sure that all of your children, along with Hermione and Harry have received the law from the ministry. I know that you are very upset, as was I, but there is nothing that can change Cornelius' mind. I've been trying to for a week now and if anything, he's become much more pig headed about the whole thing.
All we can do now is try and help these children that we love so dearly. We need to teach these boys the art of romance and help our girls to make the right decision. If you need anything, please send an owl and I'll be there.
Sincerely,
Minerva
"The art of romance?" Ron asked, smirking, trying not to laugh. "Why would we need to learn romance? I mean the girls need to get married too. Its not like they have a choice."
"Ronald Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley barked as she came in the living room, levitating a tray of tea and chocolate chip cookies. "I'll have you know that you will learn to be romantic, if it's the last thing I do."
"But why? They have to," Ron protested, but was cut off by his mother.
"Be married too, yes. But wouldn't it be better if you were in love with the girl? If you actually had some feelings for her, Ronald?"
"I guess," he mumbled.
Mrs. Weasley sighed as she passed around the tea.
"I'm sorry for the way I reacted earlier," she started, looking around the room. "Its just, its going to be quite odd; all of my children getting married in the next year or so. I'm quite surprised you didn't make a bigger deal of it."
"I think we are all still in a state of shock," Charlie answered, Hermione nodding in agreement.
"I'm sure you are," Mrs. Weasley replied patting her son's led. She looked over at Harry who wasn't sitting in his normal seat next to Ginny. "Are you alright, Harry?"
"What?" he wondered, startled. "Oh yes. I'm fine, thank you," he replied, blushing.
Hermione smirked, pretty sure that she knew where 'the-boy-who-lived' had been for the past few moments. I don't think he'll be sending more then one petition out, she thought smiling, as she walked her cup into the sink. Hermione looked out the kitchen window, her wind wondering.
She had no clue what she was going to do. She had worked as hard for the past 7 years, even risking her own life to make the wizarding world a safer place for everyone. Hermione loved everything about magic and she loved everything about this world. But she didn't want an arranged marriage and she was almost sure that she would not be receiving any petition. She sighed as she watched one of the gnomes chasing a squirrel around the back yard.
"A knut for your thoughts," Ginny's voice startled Hermione. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."
"No, I'm alright," Hermione assured her friend, taking the cup from her hands. She turned back toward the sink and began scrubbing the dishes that were in the sink.
"You know, you are of age to use magic for that sort of thing," Ginny teased the brown haired girl.
"Oh, I know," she replied. "Busy hands just keeps my mind from wondering," Hermione admitted.
"What are your thoughts on this 'law'?" Ginny wondered, drying the dishes and putting them away.
"I don't know. I guess I understand a little bit on why they passed the law, but couldn't they have gone about it a different way? They could have given us two or even three years to find someone," she paused scrubbing away at a cup. "What about the poor girls who don't receive a petition? Their only option is an arranged marriage or banishment? That doesn't seem fair," Hermione add quietly, turning away from Ginny to try and hid the blush that was creeping slowly up her cheeks.
"You don't think you're going to recieve any potetions,do you?" Ginny exclaimed, causing Hermione to drop and break the glass that was in her hand.
"Shh!" Hermione demanded, looking into the living room to make sure no one heard. She then pulled out her wand and cleaned up the broken cup and cleaned the remaining dishes.
"Mum's giving them their first lesson on 'romance', so they won't be paying any attention," Ginny informed her."Hermione Jean Granger! I can't believe that you would think for one minute that no one would petition you," she scolded one of her best friends.
"Why would they?" Hermione quietly asked, in a rare moment of self loathing. "I'm muggle born, for one thing. I can be a big know it all, for another. And thirdly, I'm not that pretty," she looked down at her hand self concisely, hating feeling this way.
Ginny shook her head and laughed, startling Hermione. "For being the brightest witch of our age, you really can be thick headed, sometimes," she teased, receiving a small smile for her efforts."Seriously, though, Mione. Guys would be crazy not to petition you. For one, you may be muggle born, but no one worth half a brain would care. Especially after all you did in the war. Most people don't see you as a big know it all, not any more. They see you as a brilliant witch. And Mione, you are very pretty. Viktor Krum could have asked anyone to the Yule Ball and he chose you, for Merlin's sake," Ginny exclaimed, laughing.
"I guess I'm just being self concise," Hermione replied, smiling.
"We all can be like that," the red head replied. "I know of one petition you'll be getting."
Hermione grabbed one of the clean glasses and walked over to the ice box for some pumpkin juice. "Who?" she asked, taking a drink.
"Ronald," Ginny answered slyly, an evil grin on her lips.
Pumpkin juice spewed all over Ginny as Hermione chocked. Ginny laughed, pulling her wand out to clean up the mess.
"You alright, Hermione?" Mr. Weasley asked concerned as he walked through the back door.
"Fine, Mr. Weasley. Thank you," she replied, glaring at the smirking she devil.
"Alright, then," he said as he walked into the living room.
"You know full well that Ron and I dated for barely a week when we realized we would be a horrible match. We are more like brother and sister now, Ginevra," Hermione whispered angrily.
"Oh, I know," she replied as she sat next to her mother.
"You know what?" Charlie wondered as he took in the smirk on his sisters face and the scowl on Hermione's.
"Well," Ginny started.
"It was nothing," Hermione assured him, then quickly turned to Mr. Weasley. "What did you find out at the Ministry, sir?"
Arthur looked at the girls strangely, not understanding them in the least, then shock his head. I probably never will, he thought before answering the question. "There's nothing really that can be done. Fudge thought he was being quite nice, allowing a year to be engaged. He actually said, 'A year is more then enough time to fall in love, Arthur. Just you wait and see. By the end of next year, all your boys will be quite happy,'" he mimicked the Minister of Magic, shaking his head.
"The gule of that man," Molly fumed, standing to gather the remaining cups. "Well, we can't do anything about it. Let's not sit and mope all day."
"Your mother's right. Boy's, why don't you come help me work on the car for a bit?" Mr. Weasley suggested.
Later that evening, they all sat to have an enormous dinner. Mrs. Weasley had put all of her aggresion at the Ministry to good use, fixing everones favorite dish.
The day had been a pleasant one, even with the way the morning had started. Ginny and Hermione had read and talked about boys, even talking just a moment about weddings. Althought Hermione was not at all happy about being forced to marry, she couldn't help but think about the wedding itself. She was, after all, a girl.
George and Fred had come home right before dinner, arms full of the packages they had purchased for the younger members of the family and for Harry and Hermione.
"Are you sure you won't take any money for that?" Hermione asked George, who was sitting next to her. She was surrounded by Weasley boys this evening, with Charlie on the other side and Fred across from her.
"Yes, I'm sure," George assured her, passing the rolls. "It wasn't even that much."
"Well, thank you," she responded, smiling.
Mrs. Weasley, was watching the interaction between Hermione and her sons and grinned broadly. Charlie was telling her a fascinating story about his adventures in Romania, while George and Fred keep finding a joke here or there to add to the conversation. She kicked her husbands foot gently, trying to get his attention. He looked at her, knowing not to voice anything as this was the way that they had communicated for years with a table full of kids. Molly nodded toward where Hermione and the boys sat. Mr. Weasley grinned and nodded his understanding.
"So Hermione," Mrs. Weasley started in a voice that terrified the older boys. She was quickly interrupted by two gorgeous owls, swooping into the opened window.
"Oh my," Mrs. Weasley gasped as the owls delivered a rolled up parchment with emerald green ribbon, one to Ginny and one to Hermione.
"You have GOT to be kidding me," Charlie exclaimed, throwing his napkin on the table.
"We only just got the letter today," George agreed, as white as Nearly Headless Nick.
"Someones getting a head start," Fred observed, taking a big bite of mashed potato's.
"Shut it!" George and Charlie spat at Fred, sounding more like twins then they ever had.
"Well, whose it from?" Harry wondered quietly, looking at the rolled up parchment that was in his girlfriends hand.
Hermione and Ginny looked at one another and nodded, silently deciding they would open it at the same time. Everyone could tell that it was from the same wizard.
Hermione gasped as Ginny began laughing hysterically.
"Well?" Ron demanded, watching Hermione look as if she was going to faint.
"Whose it from?" Mr. Weasley asked his hysterical daughter.
Ginny grabbed her napkin and wiped her eyes trying to get a grip. Then she answered,"Draco Freakin Malfoy."
So, what did you think? Please,please, please review. If you know my writing, this is the quickest I have EVER updated. I want to say I'm so sorry for chapter one and all of its typos and spelling errors. I uploaded the wrong one. Oops. :) Anywho, thanks for all of the alerts and everything. I hope to get a review from you today. :) Happy Reading.