authorsnote: here we are

this was a fun little chapter to write and I wanted to get something out in 2023!

enjoy, do let me know watcha thought

songrecs: you're on your own kid - taylor swift

There had been just a few times in Hermione's life she had wished she was not a witch.

The first time someone had sneered 'mudblood' at her after she knew what it meant, watching her friends die in battle, seeing Harry almost taken away, wiping her parents' memories, and never getting them back. Each time she'd wished to just be a muggle, to be ignorant, to not know of the magical world.

Ignorance is bliss…

Rare instances, for being a witch was who she was meant to be, who she wanted to be, it was only a handful of times in her short life she had wished for something different.

And as she had seen Ginny's face as she had ran, she had felt a flash of longing for the muggle world again, for no barbaric marriage law, for no fascist Ministry, she wished just once, just for a second to be part of something easier, the muggle world; flawed and with its issues, but where she'd be free … to an extent at least.

And then Harry found her.

Harry found her and she crumpled.

She crumpled and let out everything she'd been trying to hold in, even as tears had come, even as she'd wanted to curse Kinglsey out of the door, even as she'd clutched Harry's hand so tightly her knuckles had gone white, here it was where she truly let herself fall.

Hermione didn't consider herself an emotional person, one of the few people to ever see her cry was Harry.

What a horrifying moniker to give him.

It was awful, Harry was her best friend, as close as two people could be, but not in a romantic sense; how could they make that transition?

And with Ginny, her best girlfriend in tears about it …

Her own continued.

Harry didn't offer any false words, empty promises; they both knew how awful it was, they both knew what they were facing; marriage, kids before they wanted them, a marriage they were both nervous about, and a Ministry desperate to keep their old ways.

She had hoped the War would change things, evidently, she had been a fool to think so.

They stayed that way for who knows how long, Hermione just clinging to Harry, her best friend, her intended, and her head had never felt so jumbled, never so messed up.

What were they supposed to do?

"Hey"

A voice broke them out of their position, and Ron stood at the door looking a touch bashful; she was just thankful things between them had ended amicably, nothing more than a flash in a pan they both understood, and now he was still here, here for them.

The trio continued.

"Hey" Harry spoke as Hermione sat up, wiped her nose and her eyes. This was messing everything up, the dynamics of their friend group, of their family, this wasn't how it was supposed to be!

And yet, they'd all seen the Ministry files, they'd seen why this was happening.

How could they fight that?

How could they begin to fight what they now knew?

"Dads gone after Ginny, I think dinners off" Ron said with a sigh, came and sat down next to Hermione, "But Lavenders here, if you want to re-meet her?"

"God Ron" Said Lavender spoke from the door, stepping in with a smile, she looked good, though Hermione couldn't help but glance at the scar marks peeking out from her jumper; courtesy of Fenir Greyback, and yet Lavender wore no scarf to cover them, didn't try to hide them and Hermione smiled at that; that was just like Lavender, confident no matter what, and she was happy for her, "Re-meet? Hermione and I shared a dorm for 6 years"

"Hey Lavender" Hermione managed, not up for much else, not with tears still blinked back, and the thought of Ginny running from the room still in her head, "You look good"

"You too" She said with a smile, "Not right now, but normally" It was clearly teasing, and so like Lavender that Hermione managed a smile, she knew Lavender would be good for Ron, especially now she'd matured a bit, she'd put up with him well, make him laugh and indulge his Quidditch talk, it was a good match.

But then, the Ministry had said they'd gone for compatibility, except for her and Harry; the PR match.

And again, that cold dread crept up her spine, that her and Harry would fail, fall apart, they weren't the ideal match, and with everything else against them, her nagging, Harry's stubbornness, their bond that had never been romantic but now had to be, their closeness that would have to change and maybe erode … how could they do it?

Could they?

"Ginny will come around" Lavender said kindly, squeezing in next to Ron on the bed, resting her head on his shoulder, Ron's hand going to her knee, yes, a good match, oddly Hermione didn't feel jealous; she had no idea who her ideal match would have been, couldn't think of a single person she'd want to be with.

She turned to glance at Harry then, who was giving her a somewhat intense look, though it only lasted a second before he smiled, though it was strained, she managed one back.

"Will she?" She asked, turning back to Ron and Lavender, who looked comfortable, at ease; the way she and Harry had once been; a week ago she'd have had her head on his shoulder, leaning into him, now she wanted to, but had no idea how to handle it.

What was to become of them? Was it her own awkwardness? Harry's? She had no idea, she wanted to scream.

"She will" Lavender said again, and sounded so sure Hermione almost believed her, "She just needs to process, she did get one of the worst ends of the stick"

"Yeah" Ron said, cheeks a bit red from annoyance, "A Slytherin"

"Mmm" Lavender said with a nod, "At least we all know each other"

Hermione nodded, so did Harry beside her, and she reached for his hand, even though that was the problem; she and Harry knew each other too well. Platonic soulmates she'd jokingly called them once but had realised as soon as she had said it, that she meant it, how did they go from that to married couple?

Why did it sound so hard?

"Are you going to the protest later?" Lavender asked then, and Hermione turned to her, eyebrow raised.

"Protest?" Harry asked, and she near laughed, took his hand properly then, this was Harry, she had to remember that, he was more than her match, they were more than that; hard as it was to see that.

"Yeah, Seamus told me about it" Lavender continued, "Bunch of people organising to crash the Ministry meeting later, they're doing a Wizengmont evening session and people want to storm it, demand they repeal the law"

"It won't work" Hermione said immediately, she had seen the figures, as much as she hated this law, she knew there was no way the Ministry would repeal it, not with what was on the line.

And yet, it felt so wrong for the generation who'd shouldered so much, to carry yet another burden.

"No" Lavender said with a shrug, "But they're hoping to get some of the more invasive stuff repealed"

"Invasive? What do you mean?" Harry asked with a wrinkle of his nose, and Hermione felt that cold dread return to the back of her neck, invasive? With the Ministry it wasn't hard to guess.

Her knuckles turned white.

"Did the Ministry not tell you?" Ron asked, eyebrows raising, ears turning red, "They plan to monitor everyone, make sure they're actually trying for children and stuff"

"What?" Harry asked, and his tone was so disgusted she almost recoiled, he was right to have that disgust, and Hermione felt something in her stomach roll; this was worse than she thought. "They can't do that"

"They can" Hermione whispered, ever cynical, especially with the wizarding world as backwards as it was, "You know they can; but why didn't Kingsley mention it to us?"

"Don't want their poster couple balking?" Ron asked with a wince.

"Ahh that makes sense" Lavender said with a nod, as though something obvious had become clear.

"What makes sense?" Hermione asked, perhaps a touch too curtly, thankfully they were all running on high emotions, and understood not to be offended.

"They'll want to parade you two around" Lavender nodded with a sad smile, though then she smirked and there was a glint in her eye, "I hope you told them to go fuck themselves"

And at that Hermione laughed, and laughed, Harry too, and then Ron and Lavender as well, laughed and laughed, even as Mrs Weasley came to find them, curled up on their sides on Ginny's bed, laughing and laughing.

They were fucked.

Utterly and truly fucked.

But they weren't going down without a fight.

Apparently, neither were most of their school year, and then some.

It was 8 that night, dinner at the Burrow had been a tense, quick affair, Ginny had fled to Luna's and refused to return, Fred and George were meeting Padma and Pavarti's parents, and Hermione hadn't let go of Harry's hand.

They had eaten quickly, thanked Mr and Mrs Weasley (the latter's eyes filled with tears for them), and then moved on.

To here.

They stood outside the doors of the Wizengamot, Harry's hand still clutched in hers, sure, she was confused and worried about what their relationship would be, but he was still Harry, still her best friend, the person she needed, and at the moment her anchor.

Her anchor that was keeping her from screaming, or cursing everything in sight, or both.

She could see most people she knew, people the year above and below, some older people, she stood with Harry, Ron and Lavender, the rest of the Weasleys (bar Ginny), behind them. She spied Luna further along with Ginny, who was hiding behind her hair.

She could see Malfoy, and his little Slytherin gang, though they looked as furious as the rest of them. She could see other school friends, Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors, Slytherins and Ravenclaws, and those who'd left before them, some who'd just graduated.

So many people ready to protest the fascist Ministry.

For a moment she felt hope.

Stupid.

The doors remained closed as 8 came, and then ten past, then quarter past.

"They've gone through another entrance!" Someone shouted, as evidently the doors would remain closed to all of them.

So much for a protest.

And yet, some people were clearly more fired up than others.

The first curse bounced off the door, the second ricocheted, and Hermione's eyes widened. Another curse went astray, and she quickly jabbed her own wand to her neck, "Sonorus"

"Stop!" She yelled across the crowd, and the curses ceased.

She didn't let go of Harry's hand.

"The door has more protective charms than Hogwarts" She insisted, "We're not getting in that way"

"I'll take us in!" Someone else called, holding up a Ministry pass, "Side entrance!"

"Wai…" Hermione began, and yet someone knocked into her, her charm cancelled, and then people were surging forward, and she gripped onto Harry for dear life.

She was onboard with the protest, and yet protesting at the Wizengamot was allowed, a legal precedent had been set when in 1765 wand makers had stormed in, in protest of restricting access to foreign ingredients, and again in 1895 at the trial of Carthagus Barrony, who had been found guilty of murdering his own sister (who had shown up at said protest, a clear miscarriage of justice and plot by a political rival), there was a precedent.

There was not one for flooding into the Ministry and demanding access.

She had researched this; because of course she had.

And yet, the tidal wave of people carried her, and she shook Harry.

"This is trouble" She said, she had broken plenty of laws in her own time, and yet she was worried this would get ugly, and fast; she knew the Ministry wouldn't repeal the law, not with the stats they'd seen, so what would this lead to?

"How many laws have we broken?" Harry asked, a teasing hint to his voice, and yet he was a tense as her, "And this is for a good reason"

"They'll never repeal it" She said, hated stating it, like she was on their side, when she obviously wasn't.

"No, but we can't let them have it in full" Harry said, pulling her into an alcove then, "Its wrong"

"I know" She said, having read the letter Ron and Lavender had been given (they hadn't), around the monitoring of conception, the laws around it, she'd felt sick and barely touched her food. "You're right"

"Come on then" He said, no need to held out his hand; she'd never let go.

And with a hesitant smile, a nervous one, and an encouraging one from Harry, they joined the yelling crowd, and into the Ministry they went.

ofc our bbys won't go down without a fight!

lets see how the ministry will react to civil disobedience (spoiler alert: not good)

next chapter coming soon!