******** ******** Chapter 2 ******** ********

Harry and his friends were sitting in the Gryffindor common-room writing their Transfiguration essays when three unfamiliar owls tapped at the window. Hermione let them in out of the late September winds and took the letter with her name on it. There was one for each of them and they all carried a Ministry seal.

"Bloody hell…" Ron said as he read his copy of the letter. "Bloody Hell… Bloody HELL!"

"This is outrageous! I can't believe the ministry would pull this kind of stunt!" Hermione glared at the paper she held.

Harry read each line carefully a second time to fully understand the ministry's new law.

Dear Mr. H. J. Potter,

We, at the Ministry, thank you profusely for your abundantly prolific services during the war.

The purpose of this letter is to inform you of a new law which has just been passed in response to the extremely low number of births this year. The Marriage decree has been in place for only a few short hours and will enable a re-population of the wizarding world. All single men and women aged 16 and above must marry during the month of October and procreate within thirty days of marriage. Only mixed blood marriages are allowed. Those with 'pure-blood' must allow half-blood and muggle-born matches unless already under a betrothal contract. Same-sex marriages will be permitted, but it must be decided as to which spouse will take the dominant or submissive positions.

As the Savior of our world, it has been decided that you will be given the privilege of first look at the list of eligible candidates that meet the criteria for your choice of spouse. Please fill out the form at the bottom of the page and we will send you a list of available young men or women to choose from. If you have someone you'd like to request, they will be informed and given a week to respond. If we receive no response or an affirmative response, it will be deemed an acceptance and you will be married sometime in October. If the requested person rejects the offer, you will be given an extra week to make your choice.

All marriages will be given one week from the date of the ceremony to be consummated. The Ministry will be verifying this with spells. One of each pair must become pregnant within thirty days of the ceremony.

Hoping you are well,
Mafalda Hopkirk
Ministry of Magic, Department of Marriage and Families

He could hardly believe the words on the page.

"Well, it'll be alright for us, Ron." Hermione comforted her boyfriend. "Our war-status as Harry's closest friends and seconds allows us to say what we want when it comes to our spouses. We'll get to stay together… especially because we already comply with their demands. You're a pure-blood but I'm not."

"Oh, that's right! Well, I'm glad that's done with!" Ron grinned at her.

"Harry? What does yours say?" Hermione asked.

"I-I can have anyone I want…" He whispered in shock. He'd long since told them of his preference for a male partner, so this conversation would be easy. "I just have to choose whether I want to be Dominant or submissive in my marriage and then they'll send me a list to pick from."

"Wow, mate; that makes things way easier. So which is it?" Ron asked.

"None of your business, Ron!" Harry laughed. "I think that's a little personal, don't you?"

"Well, I just wanted to help…Even though you're not with Ginny, you are still family, you know." Ron said blushing.

He hadn't always felt that way, though. When Harry had broken the news to the Weasleys, Ron had been very annoyed with him for 'leading Ginny on' and 'lying to them for so long'. Once Harry explained that he hadn't always felt that way and that he had indeed loved Ginny while they were together, Ron had calmed down and asked him what had changed. Harry was only too happy to explain further that he'd seen a foreign wizard at the award ceremony that'd been the focus of his most recent fantasies. He didn't mention that he still thought about one particular blond boy and wished he could do more to make him safe and keep him happy.

The two boys grinned at each other before turning to Hermione. "So what's the plan?"

"It says here that we have to fill out the bottom section and send it back right away." She glanced at the table where the three owls still sat. "I guess that's why the owls aren't leaving."

Harry smirked and Accio-ed some parchment. He had an idea of who he wanted, but that person might not be gay or on the list he was about to choose. He'd just have to hope.

Ron frowned at him. "What's the parchment for? They've given us room to reply."

"Think about it, you tosser…We've been ordered – by law – to get married before Halloween. We should write our families about this, Ron. If we don't, your mum will send another Howler." Harry said shaking his head at his friend. "After you get yours, she'll send one to me or Hermione for not telling you to tell her so if we write to her first then she has no need of the howler and we don't get humiliated in the Great Hall at breakfast."

Understanding dawned on the dimwitted redhead and he blushingly admitted that Harry'd had a good idea.

Just then, the fire snapped and hissed before turning green and allowing a head to peek in.

"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter? Oh, Ms. Granger, too! Did you three get letters from the ministry?" Headmistress McGonagall asked.

"Yes, Headmistress; just now," Hermione answered.

"Well, you and Mr. Weasley should fill out the reply section and then come to my office for a talk…but Harry; I'd like to speak to you before you reply, so bring the letter and owl." She said before cutting off the connection. "The password is 'Dumbledore'."

"Wow… ok, that's weird, but here goes…" Harry exchanged looks with his friends as he held up his arm for an owl to perch on. "Write to your mum and I guess I'll see you in a bit."

Hi everyone!

As you can see, I've decided to give you another chapter. After this I will only be updating on Wednesday nights, but seeing as you've only seen the Malfoy perspective - I decided to show you our heroes' reaction as well.

To my reviewers - Thank you so much for reviewing! I love seeing what you guys think! BTW - If you ask a question but aren't logged in, I can't answer you properly so it'll be public and in an Author's Note...unless it would spoil the story to answer it.

Lori