A Law That Completely Changes History
Chapter One: A New Law: Engagement Is Necessary

Bramblepaw

Today had been my very first day at Hogwarts, not counting the train ride and the Sorting. Unfortunately, that meant that something rather annoying had to happen: the Engagement Ceremony, which usually took place among the Houses rather than the school. This year, however, was a little different: every ten years, a school wide Engagement Ceremony was to be held and so the un-engaged boys could choose an un-engaged girl from any House they wanted. So that it wasn't completely unfair, the girls had one and only one chance to refuse, a first year couldn't be engaged to anyone more than five years older than them, thank the stars.

You see, around twenty years ago, a law was passed by some stupid pureblood, saying that every witch and wizard of every blood status attending Hogwarts must be engaged by the time they were seventeen. Because of that, the Engagement Ceremony was started. Thankfully, the law stated that a boy could not choose his sister or a girl who was closely related to him. In fact, anyone closer than sixth cousins could not be engaged to eachother to prevent inbreeding.

There was even a hierarchy to the ceremony, or so I had been told by my Clanmates: seventh year boys got first pick because they were the oldest and had waited the longest, plus were running out of time, then sixth, then fifth, then fourth, then third, and finally, second years were only allowed to choose once the other, older boys had chosen.

My older half brother Hawkfrost would be going through the ceremony this year. He wasn't far from the top of the hierarchy, being a fifth year this year, which according to him was what he was waiting for. As second from the top of the hierarchy, he was almost certain to have his choice of whoever it was he wanted as his future mate. His twin sister Mothwing, my older half sister, had already been engaged to the Slytherin Quiddich Captain, Markus Flint. It was rare that a female Clan member was engaged to a non-Clan member. It was slightly more common the other way around, but not really by a very large margin at all.

As Mother once put it "It takes a special kind of non-Clan person to love a Clan member. But if you find someone like that, never let them go, because they're worth holding onto, and worth any and all trouble that might come from being with them."

So here I was, standing in a line next to my twin sister Tawnypaw, waiting for the Ceremony to start, hoping beyond hope that if I had to be chosen this year, it wouldn't be by a total jackass.

Trumpets blared. A song I knew well began to play, and automatically, I began to mock conduct to the tune. The boys entered, seventh years in front, followed by the other years down to the second years. First year boys weren't allowed to participate, for some strange reason.

The song ended and the boys faced us. I picked out a few people I knew. There were the Weasley boys: the twins, Fred and George, who confused people just by existing. There was Percy, who was smart and liked to stick to the rules. The youngest Weasley boy, Ronald, wasn't taking part this year because he was only a first year. His sister, the only Weasley girl for several generations, would come next year and have to take place in this dumb ceremony like all girls.

By the time I had cleared my thoughts, the seventh years were already done. I knew I hadn't been chosen, for one, because I was six years younger than they were, and for another, I had trained myself to respond to my name because I did have a tendency to get lost in my thoughts.

Ignoring the boys who were currently walking up and down the rows, I instead focused on my older half brother Hawkfrost, my own bramble green eyes making contact with his icy blue ones. I still found it ironic that we were both named, in some way, for our eyes.

"So," I began once he opened his telepathic link to me. "Got someone you have your eye on?"

All blood siblings in the Clans could speak mind to mind. "Actually yes. Finally, there are a couple of first year girls with a brain. I was thinking of choosing Hermione Granger. I actually got to talk to her last night— before you ask, kit, I bumped into her on the way out of the Great Hall and we got talking— and she's actually fairly nice, and pretty smart, too. For a Gryffindor."

Hawkfrost could have been in Slytherin, like me, but instead decided to go into Ravenclaw, for reasons beyond me. With Tawnypaw in Gryffindor and Mothwing in Hufflepuff, that made one of Tigerstar's children in every house. Tigerstar was hailed as a great leader because he left the Nari Clan and took over the Kage Clan when their previous leader and deputy both died. I never knew him, because he left the Nari Clan when I was barely born.

I refrained from rolling my eyes. "Aniki, would it kill you to admit that Gryffindors are perhaps not all as foolhardy as you would lead everyone to believe?"

"Yes." He said simply, before his name was called. In classic Hawkfrost fashion, he swept up and down the row, making a show of not having decided, before stopping in front of Hermione Granger, who even on this second evening people were calling the Raven in the Lion's Den.

"How much do you wanna bet he's got this all planned out, down to the last tiny little detail someone else might have overlooked?" Tawnypaw's dry voice echoed in my mid.

I refrained from snorting as he pulled a ring out of his pocket, proving he did have this planned. "Sorry nee-chan, that's a sucker's bet. And I'm no sucker."

"Hermione Granger, first year member of Gryffindor," Hawkfrost began formally, cutting off any reply my twin may have given. "I stand before you in the hopes of becoming your fiancé. I was drawn to your intellect and your willingness to let your words speak louder than your actions, as well as your ability to look past House rivalries. And so I ask you now, Hermione Granger, member of Gryffindor, will you become my fiancé, and quite possibly my future wife?"

Plenty of engagements didn't last once the engaged students graduated for a whole host of reasons, some complicated, some simple, and some purely ridiculous.

Hermione looked Hawkfrost in the eyes, her warm brown gaze meeting his cool blue one and holding it steadily before she answered "I will." And then my brother slid the ring onto her finger before retaking his place in line, his new fiancé standing beside him.

A few more Clan members went, followed by a few so called 'pureblood' boys.

Finally, it was Percy's turn. My mind flashed to the first time we met, during an incident involving a rabid manticore a few years ago when I was just barely out of my kit days.

Once, twice, three times, he walked up and down the row. He nearly stopped at a girl he seemed to have the hots for, Penelope Clearwater, but then seemed to think better of it. Finally, he stopped for real. In front of me. I was more than a little surprised. Okay, so we knew eachother— big deal. I mostly knew him because Mother's house was just on the edge of Nari Clan territory, and bordered the hill he and his brothers liked to use for various purposes.

"Bramblepaw of the Nari Clan, member of Slytherin, I stand before you now in the hopes of becoming your fiancé. I was drawn to the strength of both body and mind you posses, to your willingness to improvise when things go wrong, and your determination to never give up no matter how grave the situation seems." He began, making me blush. "And so I ask you now: will you, Bramblepaw of the Nari Clan, member of Slytherin, become my fiancé?"

Although I hadn't expected this, I met his gaze and held it until he looked away. And then, I uttered the words that would change my life forever and for the better. "I will."