authorsnote: a new wip you say? a wip with a big ole trope I'm gunna try and turn on its head? a wip with my bbys, fluff, angst and slowburn? sign me up!

hem, hem. so yes, I have been agonising over this for ages and it is finally ready! I am so excited to bring this to you. I have seen many an awesome marriage law story, but never one like this! and so here we go, I do sincerely hope you enjoy, and if you do, consider dropping a comment and following for updates!

songrecs: betty - taylor swift


The thud of the Daily Prophet on the well worn but clean table of the Burrow had them all reaching for it, every hand shot forwards to scoop it up, long awaited news finally here.

She wasn't surprised that Harry got it first, damn Seeker reflexes. But she was thankful he was sat next to her, and quicky unfolded it, holding it wide so she could read. She didn't look up but could hear Ron, Ginny and both the twins hurrying around to read over their shoulders.

She finished the article before anyone else, her eyes darting back and forth. She read it twice by the time she knew everyone else had digested it, and yet silence followed.

For about thirty seconds, and then outrage ensued.

"They can't do this"

"This is immoral!"

"We fought a war and they expect us to sacrifice again?"

"No one will accept this"

"I'm leaving the country, maybe I can bunk with Charlie in Romania"

They had all known something was coming, they had all feared what had been passed by the emergency powers of the Ministry (as the Wizengmont was still suspended and being slowly rebuilt), they had all worried when Kingsley had been unable to tell them anything, when the Ministry kept the secret to their chest until today, until the words, glossy and bold were splashed across The Daily Prophet.

MINISTRY ANNOUNCES SHOCK MARRIAGE LAW

As the voices continued to shout outrage across the Burrow, she scooped up the paper again, reading through again and again, Percy the only one doing the same over her shoulder, everyone else was too caught up in their outrage and fury.

In a shocking announcement last night, the Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebot, told the wizarding world of the passing of a top-secret law, written into legislature last night - writes Daily Prophet correspondent Rita Skeeter.

The new law, 'Act 730, Matrimonial Requirements' is a marriage law in all but name. This shocking law was kept top secret, and the Minister employed his rarely used power of 'emergency law-making' to pass the law without the (currently suspended) Wizengmonts approval - if passed to the floor of the Wizengmont it no doubt would have been defeated.

The law is in essence a forced marriage law, pairing all couples between the age of 18-40 into marriage. But this is not where this shocking law ends unfortunately. No, no, there is more witches and wizards. Not only will the younger generation of our society be forced into marriage, but they will also be forced to birth the next generation of the wizarding race - much earlier than most would have hoped!

The new law states all witches and wizards between the ages of 18-40 will be married off within a month of the laws passing, and then will be expected to produce children. Four children are the minimum requirements and are expected to be birthed within ten years of the laws passing. Witches and wizards in the age requirement already married are exempt - providing they already have four children, if they do not, they fall under the new childbearing laws as well. Wizards and witches who prefer their own sex will still be married and are instead expected to adopt a minimum of two children from the newly named Regina Malfoy Post-War Home for Orphans

Many are shocked by this law, but many others are not. After the recent wizarding war of just a year ago, the wizarding population of Great Britain is in great decline, and we risk extinction if birth numbers are not upped. This as the Minister said last night, 'Is the most painless way to ensure the wizarding population of Great Britain does not come to an end', and '(This law) has been thoroughly thought out, as have pairings, Seer's, Felix Felicis and various coupling spells have been employed to match couples as best as possible, and the clauses surrounding the law ensure safety for everyone involved. We wish we did not have to do this, but the Ministry felt it had no choice'

Such clauses include: protection from any harm via the spouse or their family/friends, fertility testing and fertility boosting to ensure swift pregnancies, and promises that once the couples have met the requirements of the law they will not be expected to birth more than four children. Here at the Daily Prophet, we question the ethics of this law, but understand the need for a population boost, and understand the Ministry must have thought out all measures before arriving here.

With the wizarding population in such decline, not only do we risk extinction but the wizarding world itself is suffering. Unemployment is at an all-time low, but there are more positions than can be filled - institutions such as the Ministry itself and St Mungo's are struggling without the injection of new witches and wizards, and though this law is not a quick fix, a boom in birth rates is seen as essential for our services going forward.

All eligible witches and wizards are to be sent letters tomorrow morning at 10am and will be visited by ministry officials later that afternoon. We wish all new couples a happy marriage and thank you in your part for keeping the wizarding population strong going forward! We understand the sacrifices involved, as wizards and witches marry for life, there is no muggle barbarism as divorce here, and your sacrifice is much appreciated!

Big questions of course are arising about who the new pairings will be? The Ministry states those already married, engaged or in a committed relationship for more than one year will automatically be paired together, but what about our bachelors and bachelorettes out there? Many are wondering who they will snag!

Who will be paired with the illustrious Boy Who Lived? Or the Weasley of the Golden Trio? Who will the dubbed 'golden girl' Hermione Granger end up with? What about the richest young wizard in Britain and redeemed Death Eater Draco Malfoy? Who will sweep up the international quidditch star and youngest Weasley? We imagine many young witches and wizards are waiting for the 10am letters up and down the country hoping for a good match! Good luck to all of you!

Her eyes flickered to the clock – 9:45am, only 15 minutes to go.

She didn't know what to feel, in fact she felt a little numb, this was a lot to process, and how was she supposed to do that?

She turned away from the paper then, turned and found Harry had moved, stood by the window, looking contemplative, she ignored everyone else in favour of seeking him out, her hand curling through his arm, her head coming to rest on his shoulder for a moment, instantly she felt herself relax.

Harry … they were closer than they'd ever been, perhaps closer with each other than they were anyone else now, after the horcrux hunt, after the weeks alone. They were both a touch different too, he more pensive as he was now, she a touch less cynical. Different, but the same in so many ways.

She knew they both felt universal outrage for this new law.

It had been rushed through, shoved into law before anyone could stop it. As Rita had said the Wizengmont would have thrown it out immediately, as she wished they could have.

Not that the new Wizengmont was anything to be hopeful for.

'A progressive alliance of pureblood and halfblood houses', she'd snorted at that press release – progressive? It basically consisted of the Sacred 28, Harry and a few other well-known half-bloods. No muggleborns invited, no lawmakers, the old families still held all the power, and with Lucius under house arrest Draco as the Malfoy Heir would take the family seat. She knew Zabini had taken his Mother's seat, Theo his Father's, so basically all her childhood bullies now held the power of law-making.

Wonderful.

At least Harry would be there, and she knew he'd fight for all of those that couldn't, though it did have a distinct feeling of the deck already being stacked against them.

'Doesn't mean we won't fight' He'd promised when he'd got his invite, the only one out of them. It had been late in Ron's room, she refusing to sleep anywhere without the two of them. Ron had been snoring and she'd curled up next to Harry for reassurance.

Fight, they had to keep fighting, even though she knew they were all exhausted by it.

And here they had to fight some more, but what could they fight against?

It had been made clear in the legal text of the new law (as explained on the second page of the article) that anyone attempting to flee or resisting this new law would be stripped of their wand and expected to join the muggle world; harsh measures in truth that ensured not a single witch or wizard would attempt to get away from this new law. No one wanted to join the muggle world, to give up their magic, hell she loved her muggle side but even she would not turn her back on the wizarding world, none would.

This was the reality, the future, her future, Harry's future, and everyone else's.

Hermione felt a little sick, who could possibly be paired to her? She filtered through many in her head – Ron? Better off as friends. Any other Weasley? Like family to her. Dean, Seamus, Michael, Neville? Still like schoolboys, friends, nothing more. Viktor? Engaged, happy, not forced into it. Malfoy, Zabini, Nott? She thinks she'd take the muggle exile over them.

A small sigh left her lips, as she kept her head in place at Harry's shoulder, seeking his comfort, as she had when he'd spun her in his arms by the fire, when they'd sat for hours not talking, just being in the shivering tent together.

She glanced at the table then, all the Weasley's, sat around, heads in their hands, apart from them a touch apart, of course she and Harry were still family to them, but less so after break-ups with Ron and Ginny. Then at the clock, 9:50am – 10 minutes to go.

"Who do you think you'll get?" She whispered, as she often did now with Harry. They communicated sometimes without anyone else, just them two, in a whisper, hushed and just for each other, something they'd gotten used to whilst on the run.

He just looked at her, before turning back to the window then, the tension in his arms undeniable, "I don't know" He paused then, "I'm more worried for you"

"Me?" She asked, moving her head back to look at him, her best friend, her … Harry.

"You know how backwards the wizarding world is" He looked annoyed then, and she managed a smile, he'd be a firestorm on that Wizengmont, even with the deck stacked against them, "I don't want you to get hurt"

"I won't" She offered, never able to feel worried with her best friend so close, but he didn't look reassured.

"I'll make sure of it" He promised, and she rolled her eyes in good nature, to which his serious expression melted to a smile, a smile that made her feel warm, as Harry's smile always did.

His gaze flickered then, and she turned to look behind them, back to the clock she realised.

9:55am, just 5 minutes and they would know their fate. She felt a little sick and debated thumping her head and burying her face into her hands like her friends were doing, but instead she just held onto Harry, and when Ron stepped onto her other side, she offered him a smile.

A sick feeling was rising up in her, as she began to process what this all meant, but she still felt that numbness, the adrenaline rush keeping panic at bay, she knew that would come when the letters did.

"How did they do the pairings again?" Charlie asked this time, he looked slightly ill, hating to be away from his dragons, and she offered him a weak smile as Ginny answered.

"Divination, Felix Felicis and a lot of the old compatibility spells" Ginny grunted.

"So, codswallop then?" Hermione near sneered, and even Mrs. Weasley looked sad then, and she actually believed divination, this had to be bad if Mrs. Weasley was doubting Seers.

"The compatibility spells and Felicis have some merit" Mr. Weasley tried to offer, and "And even Divination if performed by True Seers'

Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes, she only knew one True Seer, who has only just returned home, having somehow tracked down the muggle cure to measles in the Peruvian desert. Hermione wondered who Luna would end up with – hopefully someone nice.

She saw Harry considering, of course he believed in it, now they knew there were real prophecies. She did a touch more, but not enough to have any hope in them.

She glanced up at the cloak again – 9:56am, four more minutes, four more minutes until she would know who she would be bound to forever. She felt a little sick.

She glanced up around the room, everyone had fallen silent, 9:57am, all looking slightly green around the gills, none of them wanted this, it seemed so incredibly unfair, and yet what choice did they have? 9:58am. None.

That was the answer, they had no choice.

9:59am. She looked across at Ron, who was looking at the floor now, and Harry who moved his hand to take hers, to give it a squeeze in reassurance, the only one who could.

10am.

The rush of wind, of Mrs. Weasley hurrying forward and past them to open the window, for a crowd of owls to hop through, all jostling forward, jockeying to be chosen first.

No one said anything, the silence crackling in the air as they all stepped forward, there was a little hustle and bustle as they reached for an owl each, finding their own names. Her owl sat in on Harry's right, Ron to his left, she untied hers with shaking fingers, they all did, forcing themselves to wait, sit back down and hold them in their hands.

10:02am.

She looked across at Ron and Harry who'd sat opposite, Ron, who she could never imagine marrying, and Harry, who was now studying the scroll in hand. She looked at George, Fred, Charlie, all good friends but never anything more.

Her hands shook as she turned back to the letter in her hands, she knew she needed to open it, rip the seal off and resign herself to whoever it would be, she didn't want to, she wished she could live in denial, but she'd worked too hard to be part of the wizarding world to force herself into muggle exile.

No, that was exactly what they'd fought against, and it was that buzzing around her mind that forced her to rip open the letter, unravel the scroll and look down at her fate. She vaguely heard others doing the same, perhaps emboldened by her courage or following her lead.

But as her eyes scanned the letter, read it once, twice, three times, she didn't feel so brave, she didn't know what she felt, she didn't notice the wave of utter relief that consumed her, her emotions too high strung to recognise any of them.

10:05am.

Dear Miss Hermione Granger, Marriage Candidate,

Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials!

We are pleased to inform you that the marriages office of the MOM has found you your perfect match! We thank you for your cooperation and consideration in complying with the new law, you will be key to ensuring the survival of the wizarding world and so thank you for doing your part!

Now, without further ado, read below to see your match! Be reassured that a number of measures have been used to determine your best match, and we hope the two of you will have a blissful future together!

Best of luck with your wedding, and again we thank you for your sacrifice, Wizarding Britain does too!

Kind Regards,

Glinda Rawlings

Miss Hermione Granger, your match is:

Mr. Harry Potter

10:05am.

Only 5 minutes, 5 minutes and her life had changed forever. She didn't know what to feel, what to think, as she lifted her gaze to her best friend, and found him already looking at her, looking no doubt as taken aback as she did.

Only he didn't, he just had that same look; contemplation, perhaps resignation, and something else she couldn't quite understand.

What to think? She didn't know, but as Harry reached for her hand again she felt reassured, in the way only Harry could make her.

Miss Hermione Granger, your match is:

Mr. Harry Potter

They'd figure it out. Together.

Wouldn't they?


sooo thoughts?

I loved writing this, and hot damn are we going to be in it! this story is firm harry/hermione but will have many twists and turns, a plot or two and as always lots of agonising angst!

I do hope you enjoyed, do review and let me know what you thought, do you want more? tell me!

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