authorsnotes: long-over-due-update-I-know-I'm-sry-but-pls-enjoy

breathes

sooo, here we go! do enjoy this update, do review, fav/follow all that jazz!

songrecs: no tears left to cry - ariana grande (tho I listened to the miley cyrus cover whilst writing, so so good)

They stayed that way for a while, curled up together, in silence, seeking comfort, trying to ignore the outside world, the rush of everything around them, and the inevitable situation they'd have to face.

The Ministry had made clear the consequences for trying to dodge this law, had threatened the absolute worse: wand snapped and exile or Azkaban for those who refused. No one would dare.

She had the closest link to the muggle world of most of her peers, as eroded as it was, and even she knew she could not exist their again, not as a witch, not now she knew what lay beyond, what she'd be giving up and leaving behind.

And so, this was her fate. Part of her had nearly accepted it, with Harry's reassurance, with their closeness, the peace they had achieved together post-war. Almost accepted, not fully of course - how could she? She wouldn't accept it even if she were in a committed relationship and it didn't catch her. It was awful either way. But there had been an almost acceptance. Almost.

Not anymore.

Almost acceptance was gone, tossed aside thanks to Kingsley. She didn't blame him, not really; she understood why he couldn't fight it, well to a degree, it was the institution she blamed. The old guard and the scaremongering; no, she didn't believe a word of the supposed extinction of the Wizarding race, this was likely just a method to control, it was their fault, trying to exert themselves over a broken but defiant wizarding population.

She'd check, tomorrow or the day after, check the data on births and deaths, population numbers and marriage, see just what the data said to have them implement this barbarism. Were they really on the cusp of extinction? Or was this the Ministry's way of regaining control?

But no, any chance of acceptance was gone, now she'd been told that though everyone else had their best match, she and Harry had been put together for publicities sake. It almost made her feel sick, that in a bad situation, they had it the worst.

Were Harry and her the best match? Kingsley had said they were still compatible, but that didn't feel like enough. The one bit of comfort in all of this, the one positive was supposed to be that everyone ended up with their best chance at happiness, the most compatible person for them, and yet they hadn't. They'd been paired up to be trotted out by the Ministry, though she knew neither of them would accept that.

"We can't let the Ministry use us" she said out loud, the first thing in over an hour, to confirm it, to make sure Harry was on the same page. She knew he was of course, but she felt the need to hear it.

"Never" Was all she needed, and she nodded, letting her eyes close, head still resting on her best friends … her match's shoulder. The Ministry had sought to use them, and they would never let them, but again she felt a touch sick, that they had wanted to, parade them around, the good, compliant little pairing.

Harry was damn right; never.

"What do we do?" She asked, as for once she didn't have any answers, not a one. Earlier they'd come close to living with this, to being okay to weather it, of course they'd never accept it, but things had felt easier; now that was gone.

Before Harry could answer her, the fire roared, and she quickly sat up; had Kingsley returned? Would it be another Ministry official demanding compliance? Grimly she scowled and reached for her wand, standing to her feet, Harry quickly following her lead.

She'd have them drag her to Azkaban before she'd be their PR picture. She'd rot in prison before she smiled and waved and accepted.

Thankfully, it was just Ron.

She felt a moment of relief before her nerves spiked again, and one glance at Harry, told her he wasn't the same, he didn't look nervous, just relieved, especially as Ron stepped forward and greeted them with a nod.

How would Ron take it? That was where her nerves came from. Yes, they were the trio, always the three of them, close as friends could be, but when Ron had left … something had changed, a crush firmly crushed on her part, and then with Harry… it had never been romantic, but it had been something more, something more peaceful, easier, and any thought of romance with Ron had been chased away.

Of course, they had given it a go post-battle, but it had barely been a few kisses before both of them had realised there was no spark there. For Hermione it had been extinguished when he'd left, and when she'd asked Ron, he'd said kissing her just didn't feel like he thought it would.

She would have been heartbroken did she not feel the same.

She had never thought to end up with Harry though, and apparently even magical law intervention hadn't without further help. How would Ron see it? She couldn't stand the thought of losing him again, as a friend this time though.

Part of her knew he'd support them, his loyalty unwavering since he had returned, but how would he fit in the dynamic? Would it be awkward, uncomfortable? Harry had never told her of what Ron had faced when he'd killed the horcrux, but his awkwardness and Ron's intensity towards her for the moments after had told her what she needed to know. Ron would support them yes, but would he accept it?

"Where did you two go?" Ron asked with a shake of his head, taking a seat opposite, and Hermione sat down as Harry did; she supposed they were about to find out.

"Slipped out" Harry offered, waving his wand, three butterbeers coming to the table, Hermione lifted hers immediately, only wishing for something stronger. As if reading her mind Harry also summoned a bottle of Firewhisky and three glasses; both the boys nodded when she went to pour them out, pouring three healthy measures. "It was too loud, too much"

"And you couldn't take me with you?" Ron said with a roll of his eyes, but he nodded, taking a sip of his drink, Harry downed his in one, and Hermione took a large gulp, the burning actually helping her.

"Mums flapping" Ron said, seemingly oblivious to Harry pouring himself and her more, still nursing his, whereas Harry was on his second glass, and she almost finished her first. Perhaps booze would help, something had to. "Thinks a bunch of the pairings are wrong" He scoffed then, "Shocked you and Gin didn't end up together Harry" He laughed then, "And you and me Mione"

Her eyes widened then, and Ron's too, catching on it seemed, especially as Harry downed his second drink. "What's wrong?"

"Ron" Hermione began, but she didn't know what to say, how to say it. Would this ruin things? She couldn't stand the thought.

"They paired me and Hermione" Harry spat out, always more likely to say it how it was, he and Ron often shared a lack of tact, but in this instance she was thankful. "Ministry just visited" He shook his head then and poured Ron more without asking.

Ron downed his drink then, paused, looked at the table, and then nodded.

"Makes sense"

She was sure her eyebrows flew into her hairline then, and as she looked at Harry, he looked shocked too. She felt a weird feeling in her tummy; nerves? She wasn't sure, but she just spluttered as Ron poured them all measures out then, she and Harry too shocked to do so.

"I mean, the Ministry probably want to hold you two up" Ron said with a shake of his head, a little anger entering his tone, but not for the reason she would have thought, "Right? Parade you around, act like it's all okay" Again he sounded annoyed, "I hope you told them to stuff it"

She wasn't sure when the tears had come to her eyes, but they did, and then she was running around the table, throwing her arms around Ron's neck. Somehow, he'd said exactly the right thing, and as she looked across at Harry he was laughing, looking more relaxed than she'd figured anyone could be in this situation. Sometimes Ron did just know the right thing to say.

"What did I say?" He asked, confused, but patted her arm, and she only laughed, out of relief, or something else she wasn't sure.

10 minutes later they were seated on the sofas in the front room, a second bottle of Firewhisky cracked open, Kreacher had delivered platters of sandwiches and cake and they were all drinking or eating, trying to process, somehow a touch more at ease.

She knew both she and Harry were relieved at how Ron had taken the news, not having him on their side would have been a nightmare. The trio remained together, as it was meant to be.

'The Golden Trio' As the press had lauded them following the battle. It had made her roll her eyes at the time, now it made her smile.

Though she wondered if they'd keep that moniker, now that she and Harry had refused to be their mascot.

"Who are you paired with?" Harry asked then, to Ron, they'd broken their news, time for him to break his.

Ron sighed, gulping down his sandwich and then a healthy gulp of Firewhisky. "Lavender"

Hermione's eyes widened, and she went to speak but Ron shook his head.

"We were good together for a little bit" Ron said with a nod, "We've spoken a few times since the war, I wrote to check she was okay and stuff" He reached for a bit of cake, "I think we could make it work, now…" He didn't elaborate and Hermione knew why.

Before, when he'd been dating Lavender, he'd been hung up on her, and she him, and so she nodded, no more needed to be said. She did smile a touch that he'd kept in touch with Lavender; checked in on her, she wouldn't have expected that.

"What about everyone else?" Hermione asked, hating the awkwardness just as she had before, it didn't feel right with them, not at all.

"Well, this is why Mum's flapping" Ron said, apparently thankful to get past the awkwardness. "Fred and George ended up with Padma and Parvati" Ron paused then, "Might be the other way around though" He shook his head.

"Well, that feels deliberate" Hermione said, brow furrowing – was the Ministry stepping in on more pairings? She didn't know if that made her feel better or worse.

"Why?" Harry asked then, eyebrow raised, evidently thinking along the same lines as her.

"Well, two sets of twins matched together? More likely to have twins" Hermione said, scowling a touch – if the plan was to repopulate it made sense.

And yet, Hermione found herself weirdly hoping that wasn't the case, because if it was…

Well, if the Ministry data wasn't as bad as they said, if they were exaggerating it or stretching it to force this law through, to use it to force everyone to do as they wished, to exert control, she could protest it to her last breath. They could march and riot and refuse, especially if someone released the information (and if she found it, she would), but what if the Ministry was telling the truth? What if they were on the brink of extinction?

Didn't they then have to follow this? Didn't they have to make sure their kind didn't die out? And yet they had sacrificed so much, again and again with the war. How was it fair for them to ask this of them?

And worse, they hadn't asked, they'd demanded, threatened, written it into law.

She felt her blood run a little cold then; just how bad was the data? Could the Ministry be really worried? Could they be doing this from a genuine place of concern?

Fuck.

They needed to know.

"But that's not why she's freaked. Charlie ended up with Pansy Parkinson, poor him, though he's tough" Ron said with a shrug, and coming back to the conversation she saw Harry nod. Charlie didn't take any bullshit, if anyone could handle Pansy, it was Charlie.

"Then it was Percy and Theo Nott" Ron screwed his nose up then, "Again not great but Percy seemed to take it okay"

"Theo wasn't in the war, was he?" Harry asked then and Hermione shook her head, she remembered he'd left, and not just Hogwarts, but from what she'd heard the country. Neutral, better than against them, just.

"That's good" Harry said and both her and Ron nodded. If they could all come out of this not with people who'd stood on the other side of the battle, that would be ideal.

Ideal but unrealistic. She just hoped for the former.

"But it's Ginny Mum's worried about" Ron said with a shake of his head. Perhaps it was more likely to be unrealistic then.

Hermione glanced at Harry though, could see him tense, and she felt something in her chest sink and tried to scold herself for being silly.

Harry and Ginny had broken up, Harry had broken up with her, and yet perhaps Harry was still hung up on her? It would be natural even, for him to still feel something. Still, the pang in her chest hurt a little. Sure, she didn't expect they'd have an easy go of it, but this could only make it worse.

How much was stacked against them? And how much could they overcome? She had thought as friends anything, but as whatever they were now? She had no idea. Already it felt like too much.

This law, the fact they'd been paired together for press opportunities not happiness, his worries, her insecurities, past relationships. What could they weather? And how much?

"She got paired with Zabini" Ron said with a wrinkle of his nose. Zabini too had absconded abroad rather than fight, but he'd been a believer she was sure, had called Ginny a Blood Traitor once, her a Mudblood.

A shiver ran over her and she just managed a smile as Harry took her hand across the chairs and squeezed it and Ron gave her a sad smile.

That word had never and would never stop bothering her. She had dealt with it at school, laughed it off, gotten the best grades, walked around head held high, refusing to be brought down. She'd sneered back at Malfoy, ignored Pansy Parkinson, and acted like she didn't care.

Only she had, for every second she had. She'd cried into her pillow, hidden each wince, gritted her teeth and tried to block it out. Mudblood. But it had always gotten to her, every time, every single damn time.

And now Ginny was stuck with someone who thought that, who had sneered that at her and Blood Traitor at Ginny. It was awful, utterly awful.

Thank god none of them had ended up with Malfoy, that was a silver lining at least.

And yet, in a sense they all had. Malfoy, Zabini, racists and bigots, Theo and Pansy, maybe they didn't fight but had still been culpable for not fighting for what was right; they'd all rule the new Wizengmont, the place that would make the laws going forward.

Mudblood.

Would that word ever stop being used? Not with the people like them in charge.

"Hey" Harry spoke then, winding his fingers through hers, "You're better than all of them" She managed a nod, but still felt that urge to cry, as she did every time she heard that word, she only managed to ignore it through practice.

"Where is Ginny?" Hermione asked then, biting down on her lip, almost tasting blood, to focus, to bite back tears, "Is she okay?"

"Locked in her room" Ron said with a sigh, "She wouldn't answer, so I came looking for you two"

Hermione nodded then, and felt that sinking feeling again as Harry downed his drink, looking angry. She too felt angry, and hated herself for being worried, for having stupid insecurities about Harry and Ginny. It wasn't like she was his new girlfriend, she had no right to feel insecure.

She still did though.

"We need to see the data" She said then, standing up, only swaying a touch, she was tipsy not drunk, the edge needing to be taken off of her emotions, being sober right now was not what she needed. "We need to see if they're telling the truth"

"The truth of what?" Ron asked, but he stood up, as had Harry, both of them following her lead.

This was what they did, they trusted each other, wholly and completely, more than anyone else, and she was so glad, so, so glad she would have cried were she not so focused, that, that hadn't changed.

Not yet at least.

And she wouldn't let it, just as she'd hold onto Harry's friendship, the piece of her soul that belonged to him and vice versa, just as she'd hold onto that with her life, the trust she had with him and Ron she would too. Always.

"We need to see if there really is a population crisis" Hermione said. Sure, she remembered the Prophet, reporting on the lack of births, the many, many vacancies at St Mungos, the Ministry and more. She remembered the months of worrying about people not settling down now, wanting to live life to the fullest following the war, but then how much truth could they take from that?

"We know the Ministry has leaned on the Prophet before" Harry said, thinking along the same lines as her, as they so often did, and she nodded; exactly.

"We need to see the truth" Hermione said, "The data should be readily available at the Ministry archives" She said, rolling her neck, knocking back the rest of her drink then before making for the door, "And we need to see it now"

No protest, no question, instead Harry and Ron just nodded, all of them putting on coats, grabbing wands and bags, making their way to the front step.

She stood in the middle, slipped one hand into Harry's and one into Ron's and with a nod from both of them, a smile from Ron, and a squeeze of her hand from Harry … her Harry now, as strange as that sounded.

They apparated, and she wasn't sure what answers she hoped to find as they landed.

sooo thoughts?

we got some pairings revealed! but there will be more to come, who are you hoping end up together...?

also I've had A LOT of reviews outraged, 'the population would never accept a marriage law!', 'the trio would never roll down and take this law!' 'this is an outrage!' - yeah I know, trust me, you'll see ;D

anywho, do let me know what you thought, do leave a review I love to read em'! I promise to be speedier in updating.

speak soon