A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters
Word Count:815
Hermione tilted her head, the perplexed look on her face not changing. She was sitting in her and Severus' work room, just outside Severus' lab.
"This makes no sense," she muttered, reaching over and grabbing another sheet of parchment. She heard the door slide open and raised her head to see her husband enter from the lab.
"You inverted your runes on the last line," Severus commented, peering over at Hermione's work. She could smell the spearmint and eucalyptus on his robes. He must have been working on brewing a coughing potion. She knew they would be in high demand with cold and flu season starting soon. She could already feel the weather changing.
"Oh! I did," she exclaimed, rewriting the equation correctly. "Still doesn't make any more sense. I mean, the whole point of the marriage law is to increase the devastated magical population. But according to my numbers, it's not going to make a significant difference, even if every since couple has a child, there's nothing here to promise the child will be magical. The ministry is not counting squibs in their numbers either," she frowned. She had started investigating the marriage law the minute she and Severus had found themselves matched. She hadn't found a loophole and instead had come to care about Severus in a way she'd never thought possible. They had soon encountered their own problems with the marriage law.
"Not to mention, not every couple will be able to produce a child in the allotted time either. Some people can't have children..." she whispered. Severus reached out and instinctively wiped the tears building in the corners of her eyes. She reached up and took his hand in hers. He curled his fingers around her hand, holding it tightly.
"That is true. You and I are most likely never going to be able to create an offspring of our own. I can imagine the face of the ministry worker realizing that the most brilliant witch and one of the most renown potioneers won't be passing on their superior genetics," Severus drolled. Hermione bit back a laugh. Severus smirked.
"That would be something to watch," she admitted. "Their numbers still don't make sense," she muttered, returning to her original point. Severus peered down at the parchment. He only understood about a third of it. He'd never been good at athrimancy or ancient runes.
"It's the ministry, Hermione. Most of what they do doesn't make sense for several reasons. First, who knows how corrupt the ministry still is. Second, you're not working for them. I know you can work circles around the arthimancers they employ, and third, it's the ministry, enough said."
"You do make some excellent points, Severus. Should I write them and let then know their numbers are completely off, the marriage law won't work how they think it will, or should I do nothing?" she asked, looking up at him. He'd been in the lab most of the day. Hermione had only sat down to work on her equations about an hour ago when she'd had an epiphany about something.
"I'd recommend doing nothing. What's the worse that could happen?" Severus asked, kissing her forehead.
"We could get thrown in jail for not complying with the law?" Hermione asked, looking down at the sheets of parchment again. They both knew the price if they couldn't have a child, or couldn't prove it was impossible for them to have a child. Not that it stopped them from trying over and over to no avail.
"We have complied, again and again, my love. The fact we are unable to conceive is not our fault. It lies with You-Know-Who, Dolohov, and the idiots at the ministry who spent so much time with their heads in the sand we had to put our own lives on the line. It's their fault, let them have their miscalculations, let them watch their plan fail... besides, if all else fails, Lucius does know a few ways to procure a newborn," Severus whispered.
"Legally?" Hermione asked, trying not to laugh. Lucius did have a way of getting anything and everything Severus asked. She had a feeling it was part of the reason the Malfoy patriarch wasn't rotting in a cell in Azkaban. Well, that and he did still have a fair amount of power behind his name.
"Wouldn't know, never asked," he replied. Hermione shook her head, shoving the stack of parchment into the rubbish bin and setting the whole thing on fire.
"That is a last resort and we both know it, now, how about we go 'comply' with the ministry's orders. I just bought a set of silk sheets and have been waiting to try them out all day," she commented causing Severus to smile.
"I'd hate to disappoint you," he purred in her ear, as they slipped from their workroom and towards their bedroom.