I hope you all enjoy the fic. I am not an English speaker, so please be patient with me. If you wish to help me, please send me a message. I will be grateful for your help.

HarryPGinnyW4eva: I hope that I keep surprising you hehe

Chapter 11: Fan mail

The Daily Prophet's headquarters was abuzz with energy after the Ministry of Magic's shocking announcement. The marriage law had been whispered about for weeks, but no one had expected such a drastic measure.

The headline caught the attention of every witch and wizard in the wizarding world. The magical community was in shock as they read about the new marriage law enacted by the Ministry of Magic. The law was designed to compel every witch and wizard to marry and have children, in order to help repopulate the wizarding world after the devastation caused by Voldemort.

The newsroom was filled with the sound of quills scratching on parchments as journalists scrambled to keep up with the unfolding story. At the center of it all, the Editor-in-Chief, Rita Skeeter, looked over the draft of the front page article, her Quick-Quotes Quill poised in anticipation.

The Ministry had provided a list beforehand of every witch and wizard who would be affected by the marriage law, including former Death Eaters and war heroes alike - a decision that had been met with both outrage and support from the wizarding community. However, what sent shockwaves through the entire building was that two names, in particular, stood out: Severus Snape and Hermione Granger.

How could someone like Hermione Granger be matched with a former Death Eater like him? This debate sparked heated disagreements among readers of The Daily Prophet. As soon as the news broke, owls flooded The Daily Prophet's offices with responses ranging from uncertainty to disgust. There were intense arguments among Hermione's friends and acquaintances alike.

"Is she blind or something? How could she even consider marrying someone like Snape when there are so many other potential candidates!?"

"Isn't he too old for her!? Come on, he must be forty or something! She might be in her twenties!"

"Wait a minute... Isn't marriage a magical bond with your significant other? How are you supposed to find love with a death eater!? Do they even have a soul to bond with in the first place!?"

"This law is complete nonsense to justify the ending of Azkaban as a prison! Binding everyone together as a way of "saving the wizarding world again"!"

"Severus Snape might be a war hero, but what proves that he will not betray us again like he did with Voldemort and work with someone else to destroy us again?"

"Hermione Granger deserves better than having babies with a man who was never loved on either side of the war he fought in."

"Have you seen his appearance? He might be an Inferius for all I know."

As if responding to a silent call to action, the Daily of the Prophet staff worked tirelessly to keep up with the incoming flood of letters and stories. Rita Skeeter tapped her quill against her chin in thought, then scribbled down another sensational headline, ensuring her readers remained captivated and wanting more.

"When Despair Gets to Your Head: The Story of Severus Snape and Hermione Granger's Marriage"

It seemed that every person in the world had an opinion on the marriage of Severus Snape and Hermione Granger.

XXX

Severus seemed irritated as he packed the last of his belongings. The tension in the room was palpable, and Hermione tried her best to support him while carefully packing the last beaker into her box. Suddenly, Severus's trusted owl appeared with a copy of the Daily Prophet clutched in its talons. He snatched it without a word of thanks and immediately noticed their names on the front page. The headline read "New Marriage Law: Snape and Granger Married!" Clearly, it was another one of Rita Skeeter's infamous articles.

His blood boiled as he read through the article, which mentioned the newly-finally passed marriage law that required all single witches and wizards above a certain age to find a partner and have children, with no divorces allowed. To make matters worse, Skeeter had filled the article with hate mail and lies about Severus and Hermione.

Unable to contain his fury, Severus threw down the newspaper, causing Hermione to jump in surprise. "That woman! She's always meddling in matters that don't concern her!" he growled.

Hermione walked closer and bent down to pick up the discarded newspaper and read it carefully.

"So... now it's more than just names listed on their pages. Now it has clauses, dos and don'ts. How did you know that we could not divorce before the law dictated it, Professor?"

"We are witches and wizards, Granger. Of course, we could get married in a church like any other Muggle, but our world does not work that way. Our words of love are like a soul contract that binds us to one another. Our love vows are words that are magically engraved in our souls until the end of our lives."

"But that seems so... definitive. The divorce exists in our world right? What if the soul you are trying to bind to is not the right one?"

Snape composed an expression as if he were hurt, and Hermione wondered if he was thinking of the love he had felt for Lily Evans and trying to mentally answer the question she had asked him.

"Sometimes the love is so strong that it can even create powerful magic, like the one that looms over Potter, thanks to the sacrifice of his mother," Snape simply said, averting her gaze.

"But that doesn't answer my question, Professor," Hermione insisted. "There must be something like a Muggle divorce. You can't be bound to someone forever!"

"I have told you that if someone tries to break the bond, it is practically impossible. It could kill both parties involved."

"But that's only if it's meant to be! If the destiny knot breaks, as you said, are you supposed to live in eternal suffering just because the magic decides so?"

"It's a ritual that has been practiced for centuries, Miss Granger, so I cannot tell you if something like a "divorce" exists now. Before you and I were even born, love was an important matter that families took very seriously, knowing that they were destined for each other. Then, the Amortentia was invented to achieve such connection, but as you know, it failed miserably. You could feel love, but the product of it would only be an empty shell of what it should have been."

"So... weren't people like Lucius Malfoy and Narcisa just together because of being purebloods?"

"Of course, Purebloods would marry each other. But they were usually a perfect match for multiple reasons, Granger."

"But Narcisa lied, saving Harry!"

Snape clicked his tongue tediously. "We seem to be soulmates, but it doesn't mean that we think the same about everything and everyone, Granger."

"How did you notice that we were soulmates, Professor? Did you simply read my name and feel some sort of spell going directly through your heart or something?" Hermione joked, but Snape did not seem amused by it.

"At first, I thought the article was a joke; the Daily Prophet is well-known for its reputation, but also for publishing almost anything without verifying the source. I read the article multiple times and noticed my name was written right next to yours and Potter's. It surprised me that the article had low traction and few responses of people joking about how ridiculous it sounded. The list included remnants of Death Eaters and, for some reason, I was on the list too, though even Potter had seen my memories and cleared my name of any wrongdoing. And as I told you before, of all the names listed in the newspaper, you had more similarities with me than anyone else."

"But if you feel like you just did what Albus asked you to do, why don't you simply ask Harry to vouch for you again at the Ministry of Magic?"

"I did many horrendous things, Granger, to follow Albus' orders. That also counts."

Hermione sighed and lifted the newspaper again, re-reading the amount of questions and hate mail they were receiving; her heart suddenly ached.

"What about the baby we are supposed to have, Professor?"