CHAPTER THREE
Summary: With the War finally won and a rapid decline in the wizarding population, drastic measures are taken in a bid to save Wizarding Britain with the introduction of a new Marriage Law. Under the law, Hermione is forced to marry at eighteen or face being exiled from the Wizarding World. She must learn to deal with her past and look forward to her future with rising Quidditch Star, Oliver Wood. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: All original characters and canon events belong to J.K. Rowling. Non-canon events and characters are my own. I am not making any profit from posting this fanfic. Characters are likely to be OOC.
Updated: 16/01/19
Page count: 8
Weasley's Wizard Wheezes – Monday 22nd June, 1998
It was two months after the Final Battle and the Wizarding World had been repaired. People were getting on with their lives and were less fearful in public, understandably they were still a little jittery and cautious, but they left their homes and ventured into public freely and with the knowledge that they were no longer in danger as they once had been.
Diagon Alley was alive again with bustling shoppers and excited children running around. The most popular shop was, of course, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, after it reopened a few days after Fred had gotten out of St. Mungo's. They opened the shop at nine in the morning with a line of customers waiting outside the door and they didn't lock up until seven at night, Monday to Friday when the last stragglers were ushered out. And on Saturday they closed at five in the evening and they had a well deserved day off on Sunday.
And despite her protests, Hermione had moved into the flat with the twins the day after they suggested it. She'd walked into her bedroom at The Burrow to see it empty of her things. She'd immediately floo'd over to the twins' shop and found the twins sitting on the couch looking at her innocently. And before she knew what'd happened, she'd been disarmed of her wand and she was pushed into a bedroom that had boxes with all her things in, waiting to be unpacked. The twins locked her in the room with the only chance of being let out if she unpacked and moved in with them.
The family had been shocked with the announcement, but after a few weeks they agreed that it was best for everyone. Charlie had moved back to Romania and Percy moved back into his flat in London, leaving The Burrow empty, much to Mrs. Weasley's displeasure. But the twins, Hermione, Percy, Bill and his wife, Fleur –who'd discovered she was pregnant- attended dinner at The Burrow every Sunday night without fail and Charlie would floo over occasionally whenever he had the chance. They'd all been surprised by the bond that had formed between Hermione and the twins in such little time, but they'd quickly gotten over it.
Hermione had been living with the twins for the last six weeks and they got along rather well. She took care of the twins and they took care of her. She couldn't believe how close she'd gotten to them, and she hated to admit it, but she was closer to the twins after six weeks than she was to Harry and Ron after seven years. They were her big brothers and best friends, and they certainly treated her better than Harry and Ron ever had.
Hermione wouldn't set foot outside the shop unless she'd glamoured herself in some way –changing her nose, her hair colour, straitening her hair– or unless she was with the twins. They would help her avoid the press and cameras and act as body guards. At one point George had taken the camera from the photographer's hands and threw it to the floor, before sending an Incendio at it and glaring at the man. She was grateful she had them.
They had a routine. Hermione would wake first, usually around seven o'clock and she would shower and dress, and then head to the kitchen where she made breakfast. She made tea for herself and George, coffee for Fred and then they would both have a glass of orange juice with whatever Hermione had made for breakfast that day, and she made sure to make something different everyday so they wouldn't get bored of eating the same foods.
When she'd finished making breakfast, she would wake the twins around seven-thirty and they would stumble into the kitchen shirtless, with messy hair, stretching and yawning. Hermione had blushed bright red for the first week, earning her teasing and smirks, but she'd quickly gotten over it and it bother her anymore. The twins would kiss her on the cheek or forehead in greeting and thanks for breakfast, and sit down at the table where the conversation flowed naturally.
After breakfast the twins would leave to get showered and dressed for the day and she would tackle the dishes and clean the table, before heading down to the shop floor, putting on the hideous magenta robes that were monogrammed with her name – and secretly she'd come to love them- and she would set about doing what needed to be done before the opening of the shop.
The twins would come down and greet her with a big smile, before opening the shop, letting in Verity and Lee and the customers. Hermione and the twins would help the customers, work the counter, check inventory or be in the back making products. Verity would help customers and work at the counter and Lee would help customers and focus on the mail orders. Lee was at first surprised to learn about Hermione's new found friendship with the twins, not to mention that she was living with them and working at the shop, too. But after a week of seeing their interactions, he understood it; she was a lot like the twins and it scared him. Actually it terrified him; the twins' pranks before had been brilliant, but with Hermione, their pranks were downright frighteningly ingenious.
The twins were grateful to have Hermione working at the shop; they had someone who knew the shop just as well as they did, since she'd put a part of herself into when fixing it up with her magic, leaving behind her magical signature on the building. With her at the shop, it meant the staff weren't stretched too thin or stressed, and she was able to make the products which helped to kept their shelves stocked. She'd even managed reworked some of the twins' recipes so they could cut production time for some of their products in half, and they still had the same results, some even better. It meant they could make double the amount of product of what they usually would in a single day.
When lunch time rolled around, Hermione would head upstairs to the flat and make lunch for everyone and they would take it in shifts to have their lunch breaks before returning to work. Lee and Verity would leave the shop at five o'clock since it wasn't as busy and Hermione and the twins could easily handle the shop floor. When they locked up two hours later, they hung up their robes and headed up to the flat.
Hermione would set to work making dinner and the twins would either help where they could -but not often since they couldn't cook to save their lives and they were actually dangerous in the kitchen- and they would set the table. The trio would eat together, laughing and chatting before the twins cleaned up the kitchen and dishes.
They spent their evenings sat in the living room reading, laughing and joking, brain storming ideas for new products, –which had surprised the twins at first with some of Hermione's ingenious ideas- they would play muggle games Hermione had bought from a trip to Muggle London and it always ended in threats, tears, arguments and laughter.
When the hour grew late, they would change and head to their own rooms to sleep for the night, but the twins would wake to Hermione's nightmares before rushing to her bedside. They would climb in bed with her, comfort her and stay with her until she fell back asleep. After three weeks they'd finally broken her down and she told them about everything; every detail of her life at school, every detail of being on the run and every detail of her capture and torture at Malfoy Manor.
When she'd finally told them, the twins were furious to say the least. It was a good job Bellatrix was dead and not in Azkaban otherwise they would've found a way to break in and kill her themselves, or so they said. It was lucky Harry and Ron had left the country when they had, otherwise they would've likely ended up in hospital from the injuries the twins were planning on giving them the next time they saw them.
When Hermione finally fell back to sleep, they would stay with her for a little while, making sure she was deep in her sleep before they left her and headed back to their own rooms, until Hermione woke them for breakfast. That was their routine and it had been for the last six weeks.
But that morning was a little different.
When Hermione woke the boys, they stumbled into the kitchen shirtless, yawning and stretching, kissing her forehead or cheek and mumbling their good mornings, and as soon as Hermione had put their tea and coffee in front of them and they took a sip, they were wide awake and it always made her chuckle at the way they looked at their food with loving expressions. She'd never met someone who loved food as much as The Weasley Twins.
That morning Hermione had made banana pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. No matter what she made for breakfast, she always had a side plate of bacon ready as the twins swore up and down they couldn't live without it.
They chatted as usually until and the mail arrived and Hermione flicked her wand at the window to let the owl in. She gave it a treat and she handed the boys their mail before turning her attention to The Daily Prophet.
Hermione dropped her fork on the table with a clatter and the twins looked up at her worried, seeing her paling face and wide eyes.
"What's up, Mia?" George asked, using the shortened version of her name that the twins often called her.
She didn't answer, just stared at the newspaper gripped tightly in her hands.
"Mia, you're scaring us," Fred said with a worried frown.
"Due to the rapid decline in the population of magic folk, as of a week ago today, the Ministry has put into effect a Marriage Law in which all witches and wizards aged between seventeen and forty five -that are not in school or married- are set to marry the match given to them by the Ministry. For those who are already engaged and registered with the Ministry, you are exempt from this law. Failure to comply with the rules and regulations of the law will result in your wand being snapped and being exiled from the Wizarding World or life imprisonment in Azkaban. Eligible witches and wizards should receive the letters regarding the rules and regulations as well as their matches sometime today," she read out loud.
The twins stared at her in surprise before George reached over the table, took the newspaper from her frozen form and he and Fred put their heads together, reading the article for themselves.
"Bloody hell!" The twins cursed, with George throwing the newspaper on the table.
"Mia?" Fred questioned worried.
"How can they do this?" She whispered staring at a spot on the wall over his head. "Haven't we been through enough?" She asked, but there was nothing they could say to her. "This isn't good. What if I get matched with a former Death Eater or sympathiser?" She asked with a frightened look flickering across her face, and that's when it hit them.
She was in potential danger, she was right; she could be matched with a former Death Eater or sympathiser, with someone that wished her harm and there would be nothing they could do to protect her. She was in the spot light, she had that burden to bear, and because of it, that made her the number one target for revenge. Even now she still received at least thirty letters a day from the Ministry, The Daily Prophet, businesses, and she received death threats, too.
"I'm sure everything will be fine, Mia," George spoke softly. She looked at him incredulously and he chuckled at her.
"I don't think we should bother opening the shop today, at least until after we get our letters," Fred said, gaining a nod of agreement from his twin.
"I'll owl Verity and Lee," George spoke, before they both stood from the table and left Hermione alone in the kitchen, as she let out a sigh of exhaustion.
She was so tired. She'd just finished fighting a war and when she finally had the chance to live the life she wanted, it had been taken from her as she was being forced to marry a complete stranger. Or worse, a Death Eater.
She was brought out of her thoughts when a Ministry owl flew in through the open window, dropped three letters on the table and left without so much as a hoot. She eyed the letters in dislike before she picked them up.
"FRED! George!" She called, and they walked out of their rooms and back into the kitchen, now being dressed.
Their eyes fell to the letters in her hand and nervous looks crossed their faces, before they shared a look and nodded.
"Let's go to The Burrow. I'm sure everyone will be waiting for us," George suggested.
~000~000~000~
The Burrow
The trio stepped out of the floo and into the living room of The Burrow, before they made their way into the kitchen, each holding their own letter. They were right, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Fleur and Percy were all crowded around the kitchen table, with three empty seats left for them.
"Oh, my dear children," Mrs. Weasley spoke worriedly, rushing forward and hugging the twins before ushering them into seats and then she turned to Hermione. "How are you, Dear?" She asked, hugging her tightly and Hermione melted into the hug, seeing as Mrs. Weasley was her mother in everything but blood.
She missed her parents terribly and she still hadn't told anyone but the twins about their deaths, but she was glad she had Mrs. Weasley. She pulled away and Mrs. Weasley took her face in her hands, her eyes searching her features for something, Hermione didn't know what.
"I could be matched with a former Death Eater or sympathiser who wants to kill me, I couldn't be better," she joked. The twins snorted and the others frowned; they hadn't thought of that possibility.
"I'm sorry I couldn't warn you all sooner. It's been under wraps since the end of the war. I, myself, only found out ten minutes before the press release," Mr. Weasley said apologetically but they just they waved it off; it wasn't his fault and they didn't blame him.
Hermione sat down in-between the twins and Mrs, Weasley sat next to her husband. The law only applied to Percy, Hermione and the twins, since Bill was married and Charlie lived in Romania.
Four letters sat on the table in front of them and everyone just stared at them, until Percy sighed and picked up his letter.
"I'll go first," he offered. He opened his letter and his eyes scanned over the writing before he moved another piece of parchment out from behind the first and he read out the name. "Audrey Wells,"
"Who's that?" Bill asked confused.
"I think she works for the Ministry," Percy replied and he put his letter down and shrugged her shoulders. "I'll owl her later,"
The room fell silent, everyone looking to Hermione and the twins. Fred and George sighed, picked up their letters, looked to each other and then nodded, before ripping their letters open and reading them at the same time. They were watched silently as their eyes moved over the parchment and then they put their letters down on the table, confused expressions on their faces.
"Well, don't keep us waiting," Mrs. Weasley said anxiously.
"I've been excused from the law," Fred said puzzled.
Mrs. Weasley sighed in relief. "Does it say why?"
"Just that I've suffered severe injuries during the war and they don't want to pressure me," he said shrugging.
"But you're perfectly healthy," Bill said with a cocked head.
"I know, I was discharged the same day I woke from the coma, there's nothing wrong with me," he muttered.
"Well, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth," Hermione smiled, feeling relieved for her best friend and big brother.
"George?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"I've been excused, too" he said, looking at everyone baffled.
"What? Why?" Mrs. Weasley asked surprised.
"Pretty much the same as Fred, I've suffered injuries and I almost lost my twin brother."
"Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley encouraged softly, likely already knowing that Hermione wouldn't have the same fortune as her twin sons.
Hermione picked the letter up with shaking hands and opened it, removing the parchment from the envelope and her eyes scanned the words in front of her slowly.
Miss. Hermione Jean Granger,
Under the recently passed Marriage Law, we have been informed that you are not returning to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry come 1st September, 1998. As a result you are eligible for marriage.
This law has been passed due to the rapid decline in the wizarding population and the fallout from the war. Purebloods are not permitted to marry someone of their own status, unless engaged and registered with the Ministry before this law was passed. Through this, we hope to put a stop to blood supremacy and prejudice within our community.
Through a series of complex charms and spells we have found you a match, who we believe you will have a long and happy marriage with. The identity of your match can be found on the parchment attached to this missive.
Once you have learned the identity of your match there are a series of rules and regulations which you must both abide by. If any of these are found to be broken, it will result in time in Azkaban or having your wand snapped and you will be exiled from the Wizarding World.
You must abide by the following:
a) You and your partner must be married in three month's time by the date you receive your matches.
b) You and your partner must share housing accommodations.
c) You have twenty-four hours to consummate the marriage after the wedding ceremony.
d) The marriage must be consummated once a week until a healer confirms pregnancy or face time in Azkaban.
e) You must be pregnant within one year of marriage or you face time in Azkaban, unless you have been deemed infertile by a healer and it can be proven.
f) Any form of contraceptives, both magical and muggle, are forbidden. The use of contraceptives will result in time faced in Azkaban.
g) If either you or your partner are found to be infertile, you can choose to be excused from the law and stay with your partner or you will be given another match.
h) A Ministry Official will have regular checkups with you and your partner to assess and monitor how your marriage is fairing.
i) Partners cannot and will not be re-matched unless either proves to be infertile.
Please make wedding arrangements at the Ministry in the Family Affairs Department, as soon as possible.
They were all staring at her worriedly; she hadn't taken a single breath since opening her letter.
"Mia?" Fred said softly, but she didn't respond. He reached over and took the letter from her hand and he read it aloud for everyone to hear.
"They can't do that!" Mrs. Weasley raged.
"I'm afraid they can, Molly," Mr. Weasley said sadly.
"They're blackmailing her. Get married or get thrown in Azkaban. Have sex or get thrown in Azkaban. Get pregnant or get thrown in Azkaban!" George fumed. "Why are they doing this to her? Why hasn't she been excused from the law? She's been through more than everyone in this room combined!" George's hand slammed against the table in anger and it forced Hermione out of frozen state. She startled, grabbed her wand and pointed it in his face. Everyone's eyes widened.
"Sorry, Mia," he muttered, taking her wand from her hand and placing it on the table, before putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to lean against him.
"I can't believe zey are making people do this," Fleur spoke, leaning against her husband with her hands resting over her flat stomach.
"Apparently not everyone. Only those who aren't in school, already engaged or exempt," George sighed.
"Why are you not excused? You should be," Fred said angrily.
"They're going to use me as their poster child. I'm the most famous Muggleborn in our community and a War Heroine. Of course they're going to make me do this. I was left with this burden and I have no choice if I want to stay in this world. They're going to put me on a pedestal and parade me in front of the world, use me as an example of why this law shouldn't be fought, and if I'm supporting it, then others should too," she said quietly, forcing back the tears that were threatening to spill. "I just hope I'm not paired with someone who wants to kill me."
"Who'd you get?" Fred asked her and she shrugged in reply, having not seen the name of her match.
Fred looked at the second piece of parchment and his eyebrow rose at the name written on it.
"Who is it?" George asked, noticing his expression. "It's not someone who'll hurt her, is it? Please tell me it's not," he said anxiously.
"No, it's just not someone I would expect," Fred replied to his twin.
"Fred, don't keep us waiting," Bill said, rolling his eyes.
"Oliver Wood,"