Prologue

She could burn something. Like honestly, truly burn something to the ground just by looking at it. She wouldn't even need her wand.

She glanced down at the envelope gripped in her trembling hands and had to swallow back the breakfast that threatened to make a reappearance.

The room around her was silent and tense— the others just as angry and nervous as she.

"M—may—," a throat cleared and tried again. "Maybe we should open these somewhere else. I doubt any of us are bound to have a reasonable reaction and don't need to be on display for it."

"Agreed. We can't go to mine though," another voice piped in. "Mum will have a worse reaction than any of us and I don't really need that right now."

The small group mumbled their agreements. Feet shuffled and chairs groaned as everyone rose and made their way to the exit. Footsteps faded away only to pause and turn back. She was still staring into her lap when a pair of scuffed up sneakers stopped in front of her.

She still didn't look up, partially afraid if she made eye contact with anyone they would decease on the spot, but mostly because she wasn't ready to face anyone. The owner of the sneakers must have sensed her mood and in the end offered her a hand. She slid her fingers against the palm and closed her eyes.

Would she ever be able to hold this hand again? Would it still bring her comfort in times of need? Or it would it be another hand she'd be required to…?

She couldn't think about that now.

She gripped the hand and stood, blindly following it down the dark Ministry hallways, passing nosy employees who couldn't keep from whispering as they passed. She barely registered how far they had walked until she was pulled into green flames and shot out into a dingy living room.

The hand holding hers slipped from her grip and pushed her shoulder softly into a nearby armchair. She leaned back and rubbed the envelope on her leg, pressing out the creases her tightened fist had made.

"This is complete and utter bullshit!" a female voice shouted.

"You don't even know who—"

"I don't care who I get," the female voice interrupted. "This whole situation is bullshit!"

Multiple voices echoed in agreement.

Fabric rustled near her ear as someone leaned close to her. She breathed in the comforting scent of the outdoors— grass and fresh air. Would another scent be able to bring her this much warmth?

"Are you alright?" The voice whispered.

She nodded. "I'm just— I'm just so angry."

The voices in the room died down at her quiet answer.

"But you don't even know—"

"I don't care," she snapped. "We gave so much to these bastards and they force this upon us?!" Her trance had passed and now she was ready to fight.

No not fight, kill. The Ministry, the Minister himself, hell even the bloody Order, she didn't care as long as someone paid.

Fuck burning something, I'll take them all on and become the Minister myself.

She lifted her head and faced the room in front of her. The occupants all had various expressions on their faces— nervous, scared, somber, and just straight up blank. The redhead next to her turned and gripped her hand again.

"It'll be okay, Hermione. We'll figure this out."

She ripped her hand back into herself. As comforting as that hand was she didn't need to be coddled right now. She jumped from her seat and threw the letter on the cushion she had just evacuated.

"It's not going to be okay, Ronald. We gave up our childhood, our innocence to help them and now we have to give up our choice on who to marry and become… become…"

"Breeding whores?" The female voice offered.

"Exactly."

"That's a little harsh."

She whipped her head to the other boy. "Harsh? Harry, they're marrying us off to build up the wizarding population. You don't think their decisions are harsh?"

"Look, Hermione, it's not ideal, but it's not the end of the world. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll pair us all up," Harry had the nerve to shrug and look hopeful. Pitiful.

Ron nodded from beside her, "Yeah, they wouldn't want to split up the Golden Trio would they?"

Double pitiful.

She really was the smartest one in this room wasn't she?

"If you think they care about 'The Golden Trio' more than some political agenda, then you're mad." She glanced about the room at the somewhat optimistic faces around her. "All of you."

They all traded worried looks.

"Kingsley wouldn't do that just to make a point."

She sent a glare to the man on her right.

The usual soothing hand reached out again, but this time to yank her back into her seat, all pretense of comfort gone.

"Let's just open these up and see. I'm sure nothing bad will happen."

She rolled her eyes, but picked the envelope back up anyway.

Silence blanketed the room once again, everyone staring at the missive in their hands. No one wanted to be the first to see which witch or wizard they would be required to marry.

They had won the war, but with a price. Too many, far too many witches and wizards lost their lives fighting. The wizarding population was at the lowest it had been since the Black Plague had swept through England in the 1300's. Even magic folk weren't immune to it. The Ministry's brilliant solution? A marriage law.

It was sick to even think of it. What business did the Ministry have to tell people who to marry, how many kids to have and when? Just because they couldn't end a war seventeen years sooner, the younger generation had to suffer.

Hermione hadn't even planned on getting married for another five to ten years and maybe even consider children for another five years after that. This ruined all of her life and career plans.

No matter what name was written on her letter, her life was changed. She could have Jesus himself and she would still be in an uproar. It was intrusive, cruel and manipulative.

Didn't they fight for freedom against a man who was trying to rule and command the wizarding world without their choice? Isn't that the same thing the Ministry is doing now? Wasn't the Minister the same as him, but just with a fancy title and fancier office?

This was the opposite of what she fought for.

No matter the name, she would be storming back into the Minister's office to fight for what was right, just like she always had.

"I'll start I guess," George said firmly, tearing open one end of his letter. Everyone held their breath as he unfolded the sheet and skimmed the paper. A slow smile spread across his face.

"Luna." A few around him breathed in relief. "I've gotten Luna."

"That's promising. I'll go next then I guess." Neville slowly slid his thumb under the flap, breaking the seal. His face pinched in confusion as he read over his match. "Hannah Abbott. Was she in our year?"

Hermione nodded. "She was. Hufflepuff I think."

Neville grinned. "Hufflepuff. That's good, right? Means she'll be nice, right?"

"If anything it'll mean she's nothing but loyal," Ron supplied.

"Right. Good."

Ginny turned to Harry beside her. "Shall we do it together then?"

The two opened theirs quickly and counted to three before opening their own letters. Ginny released a giant sigh of relief as Harry blinked at the page.

"Oh thank Merlin," Ginny breathed. She turned to her boyfriend and embraced him.

Harry beamed as he hugged her back. "We got each other," he addressed the room.

The corner of Hermione's lip twitched. Harry and Ginny truly did deserve each other. It would've been a disservice to the wizarding world if the two weren't paired up.

A small bubble of hope started to blossom low in her belly. She refused to let it grow any further though. Just because Ginny and Harry were paired didn't mean her and Ron would get that lucky.

Ron reached over and squeezed her hand again. She looked up and gave him a small smile. Maybe everything would be okay.

Her and Ron hadn't been dating for long. She told him she didn't want to jump into a relationship straight away, so soon after the war. They had scars that needed mending and trauma that needed dealt with. It would be unfair to them both to start a relationship too soon to only have it die just as quickly. Now a year and a half after the final battle were they together. It had only been three months, but so far they hadn't completely mucked it up. Sure they still fought, but who didn't? Besides, that's what they did, it was who they were.

She didn't totally see herself marrying Ron at first, but now with the pressure on them like it was, she couldn't not see them getting married. Ron was her best friend. She was comfortable with him. She loved him. Of course they could get married.

Maybe he was right. Maybe Kingsley wouldn't break up the Golden Trio.

Ron took a deep breath and ripped his envelope open like an animal, somehow not ripping the letter in the process. The smile died off his face the more he read. Once the light left his eyes, he lowered the letter to face the room.

"La— Lavender. I got Lavender."

Ginny barked out a laugh across the room that made all eyes turn toward her. "Sorry. That was uncalled for." She kept her mouth shut, but Hermione could tell she was trying her hardest not to continue laughing. She directed her eyes toward the floor, but they still glittered with mirth.

Ron turned to face her again. "I'm so sorry, Hermione."

In her observation of Ginny, she didn't register what that truly meant. Her and Ron weren't paired. He would be marrying Lavender Brown and she was matched with someone else. Her gut was right. She wouldn't have that hand to hold any longer.

Deciding to rip off the proverbial plaster, Hermione tore the flap of the envelope and wrenched out the paper within. Her eyes skimmed over the words holding the expected information of the marriage process and timelines and such. Once her eyes stopped on the name she was assigned to, her heart stopped. She read it again four times to make sure she read it correctly. Then she moved her thumb over the name to be sure it wasn't fake. After several moments of quiet, a giggle bubbled up her throat. Before she could stop it, it escaped and startled everyone in the room. Her giggles turned into guffaws, full belly laughs that had her gasping for air and then dark, murderous laughter.

Anger burned in her belly as she launched from her seat and threw the parchment into Ron's lap, pointing at the offending paper and snarling, "I fucking told you." Then she turned and stomped out of the room.

She had just passed over the threshold when she heard Ginny ask her brother who Hermione had gotten as a partner.

Ron threw the paper to the ground and made a dangerous noise in the back of his throat before he spit out the name that seemed to drift down the hall to her, "Draco Malfoy."

She was not giving up. No matter how many times Kingsley told her he can't change the law to appease her. When she brought up the fact that many witches and wizards were disappointed, he asked her to give him a full list. Even though his comment had been sarcastic and rude, she intended on doing just that.

Her friends were given shocking results in their assigned partners, but many of them were actually content with who they were given. All except her and Ron.

The night before had been a long tear filled night claiming they would find a way out of this situation. Ron continued to say that Hermione would find a way out, as if she were the only one capable of solving their problems. Maybe that should've been a sign to her that Ron wasn't willing to go to the ends of the Earth with her to solve their problems together, but Hermione was willing to overlook that if it meant she was able to bring down this ridiculous law.

Ron had been confident when she left in the morning. He had even made her a fresh cuppa,—even if it was poorly made— and kissed her goodbye with a glimmer of hope in his eye.

He had much more optimism than she. She thought the war would have hardened him as it had her, but maybe because the war was over, he thought everything would always find a way to work itself out in the end. Hermione, now a converted pessimist, knew better.

Lives were lost, memories were tainted, children stripped of their innocence, but still some acted as if the war never happened and they were able to go about their normal lives.

Maybe because they weren't muggleborn like she was.

Voldemort had been defeated, the Death Eaters who were caught had been imprisoned or killed and yet she still got the occasional stink eye of those she passed in the streets. There were some businesses owned by purebloods who had no desire to change their ways that looked down on her when she entered their shops or refused her business for some reason or another. Some leopards never changed their spots and that much was obvious.

She never forgot and clearly the Ministry didn't either if they were trying to force others to change their ways by enacting this ludicrous law; pairing up muggleborns with purebloods to force them to interact and create a new line of halfblooded children. It was disgusting and conniving, and she refused to take part in it.

Which she told the Minister every ten minutes since she entered his office two hours ago.

"Hermione," Kingsley sighed for what seemed to be the fifth time in the last twenty minutes. "I promise you, we at the Ministry have done copious amounts of tests to ensure that these pairings were compatible."

"Tests? What tests? How would you be able to test all of us without our knowledge?" She shrieked.

Kingsley ran his hand down his face in frustration. "Each wand is categorized in Ministry records. When you purchased your wand at 11 years old, your wand was put in a record and you signed it with your magical signature. So we had records of each wand and magical signature, something that can be used to learn whose magic aligns with whose. It's all very interesting information. I can get in touch with the Unspeakable who created the concept, I'm sure you'd enjoy learning about it."

As enticing as that offer was, Hermione was too appalled by the invasion of privacy to give in.

"So you just… took confidential information to use against us to better the Ministry?"

Kingsley glared at her and set his hands in front of him on his desk. "This information isn't being used against you. It's used to better your life and the wizarding world as a whole. We lost so many during the two wars we suffered through, and this law is going to help bring our population back up." Hermione glowered at him, but kept quiet when he raised his hand to speak. "It's being considered by many other countries around the world as they have suffered as well by Death Eaters in their areas, so we are excited to make positive progress on this."

She blinked at him. "You mean to say that other countries are alright with forcing their people to pop out offspring at the government's demand?" Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing.

The Minister cleared his throat. "It isn't at our command, Hermione. The Ministry has granted what we deem to be a fair amount of time before a couple must procreate. If a couple would like to create a child before that year is up, it is entirely up to them."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You think a year is enough time to get use to the idea of marrying a stranger, or in my case, an enemy, and start a family in a year?! Forgive me, Minister, but I think you are too optimistic in this thinking."

There was no way in hell she would ever be comfortable with Malfoy, let alone comfortable enough to have children with him. And they wanted her to do that in 12 months?! What the Ministry was asking of her was completely absurd.

The tired frustration on Kingsley's face flickered, a clear sign that he was getting fed up with her resistance. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before smoothing his agreeable Minister mask back on.

"I think you will find a year is plenty of time, Miss Granger. Plus if I remember correctly, your match is quite high compared to others we have paired up." He began shuffling through a stack of papers on the corner of the desk. A few toppled to the floor, but he paid them no mind as he dug through the paperwork. It was a few inches from the bottom of the stack that he found what he was looking for. "Ah, yes, here we are," he said as he skimmed through the sheet. "It seems as though you and Mr. Malfoy were 96% compatible."

Hermione choked on her breath and let out a rather loud disbelieving scoff. "That's impossible. Malfoy and I have as much in common as a troll and a Grindylow!" It was ridiculous to assume that she and Malfoy could ever get along. They couldn't ever be in a room together before biting each other's heads off.

"They're both bloody stubborn I'll give you that," Kingsley muttered under his breath.

This meeting was not at all going how she thought it would.

"Let's just address what this is really about, Minister. The Ministry wants to show that we are all a united front and thought bounding the Golden Girl with the Young Wayward Death Eater was a sure way to bring both sides together. Nothing says community like star-crossed lovers. And it also doesn't hurt that we would be breaking pureblood tradition and having our own miscreants, am I right?

The amenable look in his eyes darkened as he leaned forward and narrowed his eyes, all semblance of patience gone. "And what would the people think if the 'Golden Girl' refused to stand by the new and improved Ministry? They may also disagree and our population will continue to drop. What do you think they'll do with the current Ministry? What do you think would happen to her friends and family?"

Hermione flinched as if she'd been slapped. "Is that a threat, Minister?"

Gone was the dark anger in his eyes as he leaned back and plastered on the fakest smile Hermione had ever seen. "I would never even consider threatening one of the heroes of our world. But I would suggest she tread lightly. Now, if you don't mind, I have a meeting in ten minutes." He shooed her away as he waved his wand to collect the fallen papers from the floor.

The walk home was a blur as Hermione went over their conversation in her head. Kingsley had always been friendly and a strong leader in her mind. Now, she was afraid he let the power get to his head.

He wasn't wrong in his threat per say; the wizarding population have been looking to her, Harry and Ron since the war ended to decide how they should move on from the pain and devastation. They joined the trio when they returned to Hogwarts to repair the castle. They donated to the causes they started to help those who lost family members. They had even started to wear some muggle attire to look more like them. The people of the wizarding community were malleable to the thoughts of their saviors. They had no choice but to give in and partake in this law.

She was the only one truly effected by it. Harry and Ginny got to stay together, Ron would be with Lavender; who he had dated during school so they were somewhat compatible, George was with Luna; which somewhat made sense. She was the one stuck with someone none of them got along with. At least there was a clause in the law that allowed those who didn't get along to divorce after five years, or two children, whichever came first. Hermione could make do with that. She only had to endure Malfoy for a short while and then she would be free.

It was with this small encouragement she brought with her when she arrived home to an expectant redheaded man and watching his face crumble when she told him she had had no luck. That they were stuck.