CHAPTER FOUR

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: 15

The Burrow – Monday 22nd June, 1998

George, Percy and Bill all had questioning looks on their faces.

"Seriously?" George asked and Fred showed him the parchment so he could see for himself.

"Wasn't he the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain?" Hermione asked, sounding confused and with a slight frown on her face.

"Yeah, he was four years ahead of you. He's a Quidditch nut, but a decent guy. He'll treat you right," Fred assured her.

"He better," George muttered.

"He's actually the Captain of Puddlemere now. They've managed to get the Quidditch league up and running before Quidditch season. The first match of the season is in July."

"Well, I imagine this isn't going to be easy on him. He's marrying someone four years younger than him, he has the pressure of being Captain and getting the team ready for Quidditch season, and now he has to marry someone like me, too," Hermione said.

"Hey! What's that suppose to mean?" Fred asked with a frown.

She shrugged. "Well I'm not exactly someone a Quidditch star will want to marry, am I?"

"Again, what's that suppose to mean?" George repeated with an identical frown to match his twin's.

The others smiled as they watched the trio interact; they were like their own little family, like siblings. The dynamics were going to change now that the marriage law had been put into effect. Hermione would be married and would have move out of the flat in three months time. They may have only been living together for six weeks, but it felt like years to them. And they weren't ready for her to leave, it was too soon. The only comfort the twins could take was that Oliver was a good person and Hermione would still be working at the shop, so they'd still see her every day.

"Well, you know, look at me," she said, gesturing to herself with her hand and looking down at herself. "I'm average at best," she said and the twins scoffed.

"You're beautiful, you just don't see it," Fred replied.

"You have to say that; I make your food," she muttered and they chuckled at her, shaking their heads.

"What about that guy that comes in the shop three times a week and flirts with you whilst you are at the counter?" George asked.

"He's ten," she replied and they started laughing loudly. Fred, George and Hermione looked at the others in surprise, only just remembering they were there, too.

~000~000~000~

Wood Apartment

Oliver Wood wasn't a complicated man. His life revolved around Quidditch and he didn't like distractions, particularly during Quidditch season. He would visit his parents at least once a week and write to them a couple of times a week. When he went out drinking, he would meet a girl and go back to her place and then he would sneak out when she fell asleep, he never stayed and he never brought anyone back to his apartment. He never considered settling down and marrying someone, especially not under a law. And definitely not until after his Quidditch career was over.

Quidditch was now back underway with the teams sorting themselves out and the league back in the equation. He was now Captain and had less than a month to get his sorry team into shape before their first match of the season.

The last thing he needed was being forced into a marriage. He was twenty-two years old and getting married. He knew he was going to get teased mercilessly by his team mates, since they were all older than he was and they were either engaged or married before the law was put into effect, meaning they were all exempt and he was the only one affected by it. But being Captain had its advantages.

He sighed and lifted the other piece of parchment that had the name of his future wife to be written on it. He hoped to Merlin it wasn't his number one fan, he'd met her and she was bat-shit crazy; she was the reason he'd moved and never disclosed his address to anyone but his parents, even his own teammates didn't know where he lived.

"Hermione Granger," he read aloud in surprise.

He didn't know her personally, but he knew of her. Hell, everyone knew who she was. She was The Golden Girl of the Wizarding World, especially since the disappearance of Harry Potter and Ron and Ginny Weasley, everything had been left on her shoulders and he didn't envy the poor witch. From what he could remember of her from school, she was the Princess of Gryffindor. A bossy know-it-all, that saved the team in a game of torrential rain. Whenever he saw her around the castle –which wasn't often– she always had her nose stuck in a book, usually the same book, too

"Well, this should be interesting," he said to himself.

He stood up, grabbed his broom and floo'd to his parents' manor to tell them the news before he headed to the stadium for practice.

~000~000~000~

Tuesday 23rd June, 1998

Oliver decided he should meet his future wife as soon as possible and get the awkwardness over with. He didn't know where she worked, he didn't know where she lived and he didn't know where she was, so he did the next best thing...He floo'd The Burrow. He knew she was close to The Weasleys, so that was his best chance of finding her.

He didn't exactly know the address so he just hoped for the best.

"Hello," he called out cautiously.

He saw Mrs. Weasley round the corner and he sighed in relief; he'd gotten the right house.

"Oliver?" The older woman said in surprise and she knelt down in front of the floo.

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley," he said politely and with a small smile.

"What can I do for you?" She asked kindly.

"A was wondering if a could please speak tae Hermione Granger,"

"I'm afraid she hasn't lived here for a while, Dear. If you wish to speak with her, you should visit Fred and George at their shop." He raised an eyebrow. "I know, we didn't understand it either at first, but we realised it made perfect sense," she chuckled.

"Thank ye, Mrs. Weasley," he said, before ending the call and flooing to Diagon Alley.

~000~000~000~

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

Oliver walked into the bustling and crowded shop and he took in his surroundings amused, he wouldn't expect anything less from The Weasley Twins. He chuckled as things flew through the air, as fireworks were going off left, right and centre, and as a canon was fired, sending the canon ball from one side of the shop to the other. He had to squeeze past people as he made his way towards the counter where he spotted Lee Jordan. It was so crowded people didn't have room to recognise him, which he was grateful for.

"Hey, Oliver," he greeted with a smile.

"Lee," he replied, shaking his hand.

"So, what brings you here? Looking to prank the team, Mr. Captain," He asked, saluting him and Oliver snorted.

"Maybe later, is Hermione Granger here?"

"Hermione? Why?" Lee asked suspiciously, his eyes carefully watching Oliver's face, but he was saved from answering when George waltzed up to him.

"Oliver," he grinned and they shook hands.

"A was told a could find Hermione Granger here," Oliver said and watching for a reaction, but George continued smiling.

"Then you've come to the right place," he said, motioning with his hand that he should follow him. "Lee, can you and Verity watch the floor a little while?"

"Yeah, we got it," Lee replied and he walked away to help a customer.

George began walking behind the counter and Oliver followed him behind a velvet curtain and up some stairs. He took out his wand and waved it in a pattern before the door clicked and George pocketed his wand and opened the door.

He walked through the living room and towards a door that was left ajar, whilst Oliver was surprised at how normal the living room looked. It was white and pale green, with a white couch and arm chair, a wooden coffee table in the middle of them, light laminate flooring, a white bookshelf against a wall and a fireplace against another. The kitchen and living room were separated by a counter and breakfast bar and there were four doors along another wall, which George led them to the last one.

He peaked his head in the door and opened it completely and Oliver's eyes widened at the sight that met him. There on the bed was Hermione Granger, asleep in a pair of pink shorts and a Weasley Quidditch jersey. But what made his eyes widen wasn't that she was asleep or what she was wearing, it was that she was snuggled up to a shirtless Fred Weasley, who was alternating between running his hand through her hair and tracing patterns on her arm.

"How's she doing?" George asked Fred quietly.

The twin walked into the room and sat down on the bed on the other side of a slumbering Hermione, who was facing away from him. All he could see was the back of Hermione's head and her hair seemed to have frizzed up during the night, so it resembled her earlier years at Hogwarts and George chuckled, shaking his head at the sight. Oliver stayed stood in the door way still in shock at what he was seeing.

"She's settled down, hasn't made a sound or moved since. She'll probably wake soon," Fred said quietly with a fond look on his face as he looked down at the little witch cuddled up to him. "Wood," Fred smiled in greeting, tipping his head slightly.

Oliver blinked, cleared his throat and then spoke. "Should a be worried aboot ye snuggling with me future wife whilst she's sleeping an' draped over yer shirtless chest?" He asked, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrow cocked.

Fred and George both smirked and they looked at him amused. "Jealous?" They asked together.

"Should a be?"

The twins didn't reply, but their smirks stayed firmly in place. George stood from the bed and Fred carefully removed himself from the hold Hermione had on him, and he covered her with the blanket tenderly. Oliver raised an eyebrow again but didn't say anything. Fred motioned for Oliver to follow him and he closed the door behind them and he walked into the kitchen where George was making tea for Hermione, knowing she wouldn't be asleep for much longer.

They sat down at the table and Fred and George stared at Oliver in silence.

"So, ye twa an; Granger..." Oliver said, breaking the silence. "Never saw tha' one coming."

"She's a lot like us believe it or not, she was just fighting the war long before we were," George shrugged.

"Ye seem close,"

Fred raised an eyebrow at him. 'He wasn't jealous, was he?' Fred thought.

"Closer than she was with Harry an' Ron."

The twins scowled at hearing their names and Oliver noticed, his curiosity being peaked by their reactions.

"We are close, she's our little sister. She takes care of us and we take care of her," George said simply. "She can't leave here without being attacked by the press or members of the public. We either go with her or she glamours herself in some way."

"So hoo did ye become close? Hoo long has she lived with ye?" He asked curiously.

"She took care of me and Fred when he was in the hospital. She stayed every night so I could get some sleep and she took care of him during the night, she brought me food and clean clothing every day without fail. We talked, leaning more about each other and we grew close. The night she finally convinced me to leave the hospital and get some actual sleep Fred woke from his coma."

"It was a shock to see Mia curled up in a chair by my bed, that was for sure," Fred chuckled. "When she left to give us some privacy, George told me everything and later that day we discovered that Hermione had repaired the flat, entire shop and she'd restocked our kitchen and the entire storage room within two weeks," he said, shaking his head with a smile.

"She said something about us deserving her kindness because we'd been through a lot and she wanted us to get on with our lives without any interruptions. We always thought she disapproved of our pranking and jokes because she was so hard on us in school, but it turns out she's proud of us, thinks were geniuses, actually, and the world needs us to show them how to laugh again," George said smiling. "She purposely fought with us so we'd go away and create something better. She pushed s to be better because she thought we were capable of much more than pranking first years. It's partially thanks to her that we opened the shop in the first place."

"She's a bloody genius, too; she's the only person we've met that's been able to understand our recipes and make the products in the back room with us. We've tried to hire extra staff in the past, but no one could comprehend the complex recipes and our methods. She's even managed to alter our recipes so we can cut our production time in half, and with better results, too." Fred said proudly. "Half of the new products we're preparing to launch were her idea; she created them without any input for us," he grinned.

"Tha' doesn't sound like the Hermione Granger a know af," Oliver said sceptically.

"You don't know the real Hermione Granger like we do," George shrugged. "Anyway, she moved in with us the day after Fred was discharged from St. Mungo's. She had to move; everyone knew where she was and she wanted privacy. Only our family, Lee and now you know she's here, so she's safe."

"Why isnae she stayin' with her parents?" Oliver wasn't blind to the way they shifted uncomfortably in their seats and they looked to each other sadly.

"She just isn't and if you want to know why, you'll have to ask her yourself. Just wait a while before you do," Fred warned. "Anyway, she gets a lot of letters. She doesn't get as many as she did six weeks ago, but she still gets a good forty or so a day."

"What letters?" He asked, being surprised by the amount.

"Letters from the Ministry, and The Daily Prophet wanting exclusives and interviews about the war and Harry and Ron. Some are job offers, some endorsement offers, some are from members of the public and she gets death threats, too."

"Speaking af Harry an' Ron, why isnae she stayin' with them instead af ye?"

The look of anger that crossed their faces took him by surprise.

"Harry, Ron and Ginny left the country the night of the Final Battle. They left her behind without so much as a goodbye. They left her a note, that's it. Harry said he was grateful to have her as a friend because she never once abandoned him, but he abandoned her and left her with the burden off the aftermath. She can't go anywhere without being mobbed because of them. They also left our family a letter, they left after Fred was rushed to hospital. They don't even know he's alive, but it seems they don't care. They haven't sent a single owl asking after anyone or to let us know they're safe," George glowered.

Oliver sat back in his chair. 'No wonder no one knew where she was,' he thought.

Oliver cleared his throat in the silence of the room. "Why is Granger still asleep, a wouldn't have pegged her as the sleeping in type?"

"She's not, she's usually up and ready and already made breakfast before we wake. But she had a bad night last night, she's usually in the shop by now, but we wanted to let her sleep," George explained.

"A don't blame her, this marriage law thing's bullshit," Oliver grumbled, tiredly rubbing his hand over his face and then moving to run it through his hair.

"That was part of it..." George looked at Fred. "He needs to know..."

"Yeah, but she'll be mad..." Fred muttered.

"And she cooks our food..."

"But he needs to know..." Fred sighed.

"So he's prepared, right," George nodded.

Oliver looked at the both of them confused; he hated it when they did that.

"Will someone please decode tha' fer mae?" He asked, slightly annoyed.

The twins sighed and sat up straight in their seats, leaning forward so their arms were resting on the table.

"Hermione's been through a lot. We won't tell you everything as it's her life and it's her place to do so if and when she wants to. But she's been though a lot the last seven years and she's sacrificed so much that she deserves to be happy. Hermione has problems with her weight...Now don't look at us like that," George warned after noticing Oliver's expression.

"She isn't anorexic or anything...It's just that when she was on the run during the war, they ran out of food and in order to keep Harry and Ron fed, Hermione gave her portion of food," Fred said. Oliver's eyebrows rose at the news. "She's lost over three stone in weight. At first she could only eat two meals a day as she felt ill with her body not being used to so much food. She was lucky if she ate once every couple of days whilst on the run. But now she's eating three meals a day, but only in small portions; they still make her feel ill, but they're building and we're working on it. She's put on some weight, but not as much as she should've because of other factors that are stopping her."

"Such as?" He asked. 'It couldn't get worse, could it?' He thought.

"They were captured and Hermione was...Was..." George swallowed and then sighed, closing his eyes and visibly collecting himself.

"Was?"

"She was tortured," Fred spoke up for his twin who was clenching his fists, remembering the night she'd finally divulged her secrets.

He was wrong, it could get worse. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"She was tortured for hours, both magical and muggle means, and a few people attempted to rape her, toom" he said gritting his teeth and Oliver felt his stomach turn and he looked towards the door where the sleeping witch was located. "But she never told them anything," he spoke, pride filling his tone.

"The torture she endured left some side effects, one of them is slowing down her ability to put weight back on. She doesn't look bad; she just doesn't look like the Hermione we saw at Bill's wedding. When she first moved in, her ribs were almost sticking out. But she's getting better, healthier," George told him.

"She has nightmares every night; she wakes up screaming, crying and flailing around. Every night we calm her down and we stay with her for a little while until she falls asleep, then we leave and she wakes us up in the morning for breakfast. When you arrived she'd been up most of the night worrying about the law, worrying about you," Fred said, smiling slightly.

"Mae? Why would she worry aboot mae? She doesn't even know mae," he asked confused.

"That's who she is. She takes care of others before she does herself. She doesn't think she's suitable to be a Quidditch wife," George chuckled with a shake of his head. "She doesn't believe she's beautiful enough to be a Quidditch wife. She doesn't want your teammates to tease you because of her and she doesn't want to embarrass you. She doesn't care what people think of her, but she's worried that you'll resent her for being forced to marry her, she's worried that you'll resent your teammates for taunting you because you have to marry her."

"You haven't seen her though; she's changed a lot since your last year," Fred smirked.

At that point they heard the shower running and they looked towards the bathroom.

"She's up," George chirped, and he stood from his chair to continue making Hermione a cup of tea and some toast for breakfast.

"There's something else you should know," Fred said.

"And that is?"

"She's very self conscious about her body. She's gained a fair few scars over the years, and even we haven't seen them all yet because she hides them from us. But if you ever catch a glimpse of them, don't stare at her," Fred answered. Oliver nodded slowly, his mind wondering what her scars may look like and how she'd gotten them.

"Oh, and by the way..." George said, turning around to look at Oliver. "You better take care of her, even if she doesn't want you to. She's been taking care of people for the past seven years and now it's her turn to be taken care of. You had better treat her right because she's special and you'll never meet another person like Hermione again. And if you ever hurt her...Well, we're very creative and you've seen some of our products...We'll gladly create one just for you," he finished his warning with a terrifying glare and Oliver shifted in his seat and laughed nervously, while Fred smirked and nodded in agreement with his brother.

"Is that before or after Hermione's through with him?" Fred asked amused and George laughed.

"I know; I still can't believe she slipped a Hair-loss Potion into Malfoy's dinner in her fifth year," George laughed.

"She did what?" Oliver asked surprised. They ignored him and continued laughing.

"Or when she cursed Edgecombe for ratting on us to Umbridge," Fred laughed.

"She did what?" He repeated, but he was ignored again.

"Or when she set a heard of hippogriffs loose in the castle," George said and by this point they were in hysterics.

"She did what?" His voice rose slightly and they bent over themselves, laughing.

It took them a few moments to calm down and wipe the tears of laughter that had leaked from their eyes.

"But we'll still help her," Fred picked up from his brother's threat. "She's very important to us."

Oliver shook his head slightly, pushing away his thoughts. "A promise a won't hurt her," he said honestly and they nodded.

And he did mean it; he wasn't sure if he should be impressed or scared of Hermione. But even if the twins hadn't of threatened him, he would've treated Hermione right because that's the way he was raised, and should he ever do anything to disrespect Hermione, he'd have his mother to deal with first, and she was frightening when she wanted to be. It wasn't often Oliver misbehaved as a child for that reason.

"Ye really care fer her, don't ye?" He questioned, surprised.

"Yes, we do, she's our little sister," George replied, buttering Hermione's toast when he heard the shower shut off.

"And we're not afraid to admit that we see her as more of a sister than we do Ginny. We learned more about Hermione in a day than we did about Ginny in seventeen years. She knows more about us than our brothers do and she understands us, just as we understand her. She was here when Ginny left and she stayed even though she had no reason to," Fred said.

Hermione's bedroom door opened, pulling their attention, and she hopped out of the room, trying to put on a shoe and struggling in her hurry towards the kitchen.

"I can't believe I'm late! Hermione Granger's never later. Merlin, I haven't even made you breakfast," she fumed.

The twins chuckled at her and Oliver watched her amused as she lost her balance, slipped and fell over with a little squeak, landing on the floor with a 'thud.' Fred and George burst out laughing and Oliver chuckled when she quickly got up off the floor and went back to her shoe that she still hadn't gotten on her foot.

"I'm okay. I'm alright," she informed, her eyes looking down at her shoe, so she hadn't noticed Oliver sat at the table. "Why did you let me sleep so late?" She scolded the twins and they smiled. "It was my turn to open the shop. I can't believe I over slept. I can't believe I didn't make you breakfast. I'm putting a Silencing Charm on my room from now on; I'm not going to interrupt your sleep anymore."

"You're not late; it's not even ten o'clock yet," Fred shrugged. "And there's no point, we'll just remove the charm afterwards."

"Then I'll take a Dreamless Sleep Potion," she shot back.

"Over my dead body," Fred said seriously, his amusement gone instantly. "It's addictive and it won't help you; it'll just get worse when you don't take the potion."

"You look great today," George complimented, effectively changing the subject and preventing an argument. Hermione snorted.

"Here we go," Fred muttered. Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"You're beautiful. There's that guy that comes in every Wednesday and Friday and flirts with you."

"He's seven and has a missing front tooth," she said. Fred laughed and Oliver chuckled. "That's the kind of people I attract. Toothless seven year olds, shameless ten year olds and handsy twelve year olds who don't understand the threat of one of my hexes," she grumbled and Fred laughed louder.

"I know, I think the Bat Bogey Hex you did on Charlie last week is the best," George spoke through his laughter.

"He was being a prat and he deserved it," Hermione argued.

She stood up after finishing with her shoe and her eyes widened when she noticed Oliver Wood sat at the kitchen table, his eyes on her and watching her in amusement.

"Oliver?" She spluttered surprised.

"Granger," he replied, nodding his head in greeting and barely keeping his amusement from his voice.

His eyes swept her frame, cataloguing her appearance. He had to admit that the twins hadn't been lying; she had changed a lot since his last year at school, or at least, what he remembered of her appearance had.

She was average height, five-foot-six, with tanned skin, a small button nose with a few barely visible freckles on the bridge of her nose. She had large, chocolate brown eyes and a head of wild mahogany curls that fell to the middle of her back. She was wearing a pair of white converse, black high waisted shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt that said, 'Caution! I'm not afraid of a little pranking'. The twins were right; she was beautiful. She was naturally beautiful as she wasn't wearing any makeup, unlike his teammates' partners that seemed to cake it on.

"What...What..."

"What am a doin' here?" He said knowingly and she nodded dumbly. He chuckled at her.

Fred and George smirked. Fred stood from his chair and walked over to Hermione; he pushed her towards the table and into a seat and George put her tea in front of her along with the toast he'd made.

"We'll be down on the shop floor if you need anything," Fred said, and he walked into his bedroom to ready for the day.

"Just come down when you're ready," George spoke and he kissed her on the forehead and walked to the door.

"It's Tuesday," she told George but still looking at Oliver in shock. "Thieving Terrance will be in before lunch," she said.

"I'll keep an eye out!" He called as he ran down the stairs.

Fred walked out of his bedroom dressed, took a piece of her toast, a sip from her tea mug and then he kissed her on her temple and followed after his twin.

"Confused Courtney should be in before eleven," she said.

"I'm on it!" He yelled, running down the stairs and leaving them alone in the silent room.

She watched Oliver carefully, her eyes taking in his appearance as she hadn't seen him since she was fourteen. Even sitting down she knew he was tall, she'd say around six-foot-two. He had light brown hair that fell into his eyes and she could see he was muscular through his form fitting practice robes. His skin looked tanned and had large, brown puppy dog eyes and his charming Scottish accent; she could easily see why he was one of the Wizarding Britain's most eligible bachelors. He was almost as famous as she was and it was going to be a nightmare when the press got wind of their forced and upcoming nuptials.

Hermione cleared her throat and summoned her Gryffindor courage.

"You haven't told me why you're here," she said, getting up from the table and grabbing a glass from the cupboard and pouring herself some orange juice. She offered him a glass, before placing one on the table in front of him when he nodded.

"A thought we should talk since we're gettin' married," he said and she paled at hearing him saying it out loud.

"I guess we are," she muttered, pushing her hair out of her face, but it just fell back in place and she huffed in annoyance. "I'm sorry,"

"Fer?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"For being stuck with me," she sighed.

"It's not yer fault" he said shrugging his shoulders and lifting the glass of orange juice from the table to take a sip of the cold beverage.

"I know, but still, I'm sorry. I know I'm not the most...Aesthetically pleasing..."

He didn't understand how she thought so little of herself. Couldn't she see she was beautiful? She wasn't the most beautiful girl he'd seen, sure, but she was naturally beautiful. Before he could protest she continued speaking.

"I guess it came as quite the shock when you found out I was your match. I should apologise for that again. Your life must already be hectic with your profession, –congratulations on making Captain, by the way– but having me as your match is only going to make things worse, I'm afraid. The Ministry are going to put our marriage on a pedestal, they're going to use us as an example," she said with a sigh and running a hand through her hair. "I just wish they would leave me alone." She sounded exhausted and he felt for the little witch. "I can't even leave the building without the twins accompanying me or changing my appearance in some way, otherwise I get mobbed and everyone just surrounds me and I can't escape."

"A'm sure a can deal with it an' it should die down after a while. It'll no longer be news an' they'll move on tae the next topic. Besides, we're not the only people under this law. Who are Fred an' George marrying?" He asked curiously.

"They're not; they were excused from the law. I guess the Ministry isn't completely desperate yet and I suspect they may be a little afraid of Fred and George. If they were matched with someone they hated, they would send Canary Creams and Puking Pastels in the mail," she said shrugging. "Of course, they're furious that I'm being forced to marry given everything I've sacrificed over the years." She told him and she sat back in her chair. "Although they're glad I'm paired with you."

"They are?" His surprise was evident.

She nodded. "They know you; they know you enough to know you won't hurt me. Everyone worried that I would be paired with a former Death Eater or someone who wanted revenge; I'm the number one target. Fred and George have probably told you that I've been receiving death threats."

He nodded. "They may have mentioned it. Have ye informed the Ministry?"

"No," she shook her head. "The aurors are too busy rounding up the fugitive Death Eaters. It's nothing serious by any means. Besides, anyone who comes near me that wishes to harm me will end up staring at the business end of my wand." He chuckled at her. "You should prepare yourself though," she said. He looked at her confused so she explained further. "When people find out that we're paired together, you'll likely receive threats. You're a Pureblood, right?" He nodded in response. "And I'm a Muggleborn, some won't be happy about that," she said.

"A'll keep an eye oot,"

"See that you do," she said, and she picked up a piece of toast and began nibbling on it and she lifted her wrist and checked her watch.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "Fine, a regular customer's due in soon. Leo, he won't talk to anyone but me and he gets nervous around crowds."

"Do ye know all yer customers names?"

"Just the regulars and trouble makers," she shrugged.

"Confused Courtney?" He questioned, remembering the name from earlier.

"She comes in every Tuesday and asks about the same products every time. Thieving Terrance comes in every Tuesday and Friday and tries to steal products from the shelves and displays. I can't wait for the new school year," she said and he chuckled.

"If ye attended Hogwarts ye would be exempt from the law. So why aren't ye goin' back tae school? A thought academics were important tae ye."

"I'll tell you another time; it's a long story. Don't you have to go to training?"

He looked at the clock on the wall in the kitchen and cursed. It was after ten o'clock; he was late for training as he hadn't expected to stay so long.

"Aye, a guess a do."

She stood up and took his glass for him and put it in the sink, before putting her plate and glass in the sink along with her mug. She'd only had a couple of bites of toast, but he didn't say anything, remembering what the twins had told him about her weight.

She led him to the door and grabbed her robes, putting them on over her clothes and walking down the stairs as she did so. The twins walked over to them when they noticed them walking out from behind the velvet curtain and they said their goodbye to Oliver, before Hermione walked him to the door, seeing Leo enter moments after.

He ran straight to her and Oliver chuckled as the little boy hugged her around the waist. Hermione laughed and looked down at him. Leo was nine years old; he had mousy blonde hair, green eyes and had a small smattering of freckles on his pale cheeks. He was wearing blue jeans, white trainers and a blue and white striped short sleeved t-shirt. Oliver watched the two curiously.

"Hey, Leo," she greeted with a smile and ruffled his hair.

"Hey, Hermione," he said grinning.

"So, what do you want to look at today?"

"Everything," he said excitedly and she laughed at him.

'She'll be a good mother some day,' Oliver thought. 'Whoa, where in the name of Merlin did that come from? I only just met the girl for Godric's sake!' He thought alarmed.

"Alright, but give me a moment, I have to say goodbye to my friend, okay?"

Leo nodded and looked up to Oliver, quickly recognising him for who he was and he hid behind Hermione and she raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"A better go, a'll owl ye later?" Oliver asked. She nodded and then he left out the door, exiting the building and disappearing from her sight.

"You know Oliver Wood?" Leo asked amazed.

"Oh, she more than knows him," Fred said, walking over to them and kneeling down in front of Leo. He shifted behind Hermione slightly. "Can you keep a secret?" Fred whispered and Leo nodded shyly. "She's marrying him," he whispered and Leo's eyes widened and he looked up at Hermione who nodded. "But you can't tell anyone, okay?"

"Okay," he whispered back and Fred winked at him, before he stood and left to help another customer.

"Can you get me his autograph?" Leo asked Hermione.

"I can do you one better, I can introduce you to him," she said. His face lit up.

~000~000~000~

Puddlemere United Stadium

Oliver stepped out of the floo and quickly walked past the reception area, down the stands and into the coach's box.

"Wood! You're late!" Coach Burton yelled.

Coach Ted Burton had been Puddlemere's coach for the last eight years, and he was strict but fair. Except when Quidditch season neared and then he was a downright pain in the arse. He was five-foot-eleven, had short black-greying hair, brown eyes, was tanned and in his mid forties.

"Sorry, Coach," Oliver said. "A was jus' meetin' me Ministry match," he explained, and at his words, the entire team turned their attention to him.

"Who is it?" Bishop asked. Kenny Bishop was a starting chaser. He was five-foot-ten, with dark brown hair that curled at the tips, brown eyes and pale skin.

"Yeah, what's her name?" Fisher spoke. Bobby Fisher was the reserve seeker. He was five-foot-ten, had black hair, blue eyes and he was tanned.

"Is she pretty?" Martin said. Ryan Martin was a reserve chaser. He was six-foot-one, with dark brown eyes, short black hair and dark skin.

"Do we know her?" McGee questioned. Michael McGee was a reserve chaser. He was five-foot-eleven, with cropped blonde hair, green eyes, freckles and he was tanned.

"When do we get to meet her?" Briggs asked excitedly. Carter Briggs was a reserve beater. He was six-foot-one, with cropped brown hair, brown eyes and copper skin.

"How old is she?" West spoke. Jonathon West was a reserve chaser. He was five-foot-ten, with red hair, brown eyes and pale skin.

"A'm not telling ye her name, ye won't meet her until she feels comfortable around mae, since this whole situation between us is awkward," he said with a glare.

Pallie scoffed. "You're Oliver Wood, of course she feels comfortable around you. I haven't yet seen a witch that hasn't thrown herself at you" he said. Jack Pallie was a starting chaser. The highest scoring chaser in the league and he was five-foot-eleven, had short dark brown hair, grey eyes and he was tanned.

"She's not like other girls," he said honestly, because she wasn't and even he knew that. She was The Hermione Granger.

"So, you know her then?" Thompson asked. Grady Thompson was the starting seeker. He was six-foot, with shaggy brown hair, blue eyes and he was tanned.

"A know af her reputation. She was four years below mae in school."

"What do you mean by reputation?" Wilks asked carefully, not wanting to insinuate anything given that she was four years younger than him, meaning she was still a teenager. Tony Wilks was a starting beater. He was six-foot-three, had red hair, green eyes, he was tanned and had a slight Irish accent that had faded over the years.

"Academic," he said simply.

"So you've got yourself a bookworm? A smart one?" Malloy said smirking. Ben Malloy was a starting chaser. He was six-foot-two, had blonde shoulder length, shaggy hair, blue eyes, he was tanned and vain as hell. Not to mention, a massive pain in the arse.

'More like The Brightest Witch of the Age,' he thought smugly.

"Come on, tell us. Who's the future Mrs. Wood?" Kelsy whined. Grantly Kelsy was five-foot-ten, he had blonde hair, green eyes and he was tanned and had an American accent.

"Naw, a'm not telling ye."

"So what's she like?" Fox asked intrigued. Peter Fox was the reserve keeper. He was six-foot-one, had black hair, brown eyes, freckles and pale skin.

He shrugged. "Only officially met her half an hour ago. Now, can we get back tae practice an' not discussing me forced marriage?"

"Bookworm...Smart...Don't want to talk about her..." Kings listed off amused. Austin Kings was a starting beater. He was six-foot-three, had curly black hair, brown eyes and was tanned. "She's not very pretty, is she?" Oliver ignored him. "Ha, I knew it; looks like you're going to suffer, Mate," he laughed. "And to think you have to have children with her!"

Little did they know, Oliver was very smug in that moment and he couldn't wait for Hermione to meet the team. Their caked in makeup and fake wives and girlfriends didn't hold a candle to Hermione's natural beauty and intelligence. He couldn't wait to rub it in their faces.