authorsnote: ooh boy this story is a ride! I hope you enjoy joining it!
I love writing harry/hermione so much, and the response to this story has been awesome, so thank you! pls do keep reviewing/favouriting and following, it is hugely appreciated! I'm loving the enthusiasm for it all!
as always I do hope you enjoy!
songrecs: video games - lana del ray
It was awkward and that was the worst.
Harry and her didn't do awkward, they weren't awkward, not them, not ever. She said what she thought with little regard for hurt feelings, he barrelled forwards and insisted, sometimes with less tact than Ron. She was bull-headed, always believing she was right (and in truth she often was), always ready with an opinion. Harry was hot to his temper (though less so since the battle), reckless (that hadn't left him at all), and far too determined sometimes.
They'd wept on one another's shoulders, they'd spoken without words, they'd screamed at one another, they'd laughed and giggled and cheered together, and it had always been communication, it had always been a way of collaborating. They'd laughed and danced and cried together, they had always been able to talk, to communicate.
It had never been this. This horrible still quiet in the living room of Grimmauld Place. It had never been this horrible tense air, this awkwardness, the uncomfortable breeze flowing over them. It had never been Hermione chewing her bottom lip unsure what to say and Harry looking intense but silent, neither speaking a word, both wanting to, but unsure how.
She hated this law all the more and felt a horrible striking fear in her gut. This was what she was afraid of, this was what terrified her. The idea that this could ruin what she and Harry had? Smash up their friendship and leave it in the dust? Rip up their unbreakable bond? It made her want to vomit or scream or cry, or all three.
But then a flicker of outrage stemmed in her; nothing could break her and Harry's bond - how could she think that? They were too close to be ripped apart.
She opened her mouth to say so, to say anything, as Harry was silent still, looking at the far wall, not nearly as calm as some would mistake him to be. Of course, she'd be the one to break the silence, Harry probably expected it! But before she could a crack in the air had her jump out of her skin.
She was swept behind something in a second, and she had her wand out, as Harry did, being the one doing the sweeping, moving his body in front of hers, the thing she was swept behind, immediately. His reflexes were always faster than hers.
But unnecessary, as Kreacher had simply popped in, head tilted to the side to see his Master home early, hence the interruption.
Hermione gave Harry a little shove for his overzealous protection of her, annoyed he'd as always put himself on the front line, though that was just Harry, it always would be. Alongside the annoyance she did feel a hint of fondness and only offered him a playful glare as he caught himself before turning back to Kreacher, managing a small smile at her irritation.
Perhaps Kreacher had broken the tension, as Harry turned to the House Elf, slipping his hand into hers, and she felt herself and him relax.
"Does Master Potter and Miss Hermione want breakfast?" The little elf asked, always happy to serve the man who had honoured Regulus Black's death, hence the gleaming state of the house, and his servitude she still hated.
She had once asked Kreacher if he'd liked clothes, and he sobbed and sobbed, promised to do better before angrily shouting at her that he'd serve Master Harry and her whether she liked it or not. That had put paid to that notion for the moment.
Only for the moment, she still had her S.P.E.W badge sewn into her denim jacket and a determination for the cause.
"Sure Kreacher" Harry said, neither of them having eaten, too tense during breakfast. It was the first time in a while they'd skipped a meal, those months of awful hunger on the run ensuring they ate promptly on time at every meal and scraped their plates at the end.
She'd never felt less hungry in her life.
Still, she followed the little elf and Harry to the dining room, gleaming now, a fresh Daily Prophet on the countertop, her eyes swept over the headline again, 'MINISTRY ANNOUNCES SHOCK MARRIAGE LAW' made her stomach roll, and she stayed her twitching fingers, part of her wanted to read it again, to dissect it, before mailing the Ministry, demanding the full copy of the law, but instead she just sat down, that horrible sick feeling in her stomach only increasing.
What were they supposed to do here?
She hadn't anticipated this. She had thought they'd be sat around the table at the Burrow, commiserating over their pairings. She'd assumed she'd be paired with Ron, as incompatible as they turned out to be, Harry the same with Ginny, probably the best options, to keep them away from people like Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson, but this? Her and Harry sat silent opposite one another, awkward, uncomfortable, facing down one another as matches. No, this wasn't what she'd thought would happen.
What had Rita Skeeter said?
'(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'
Even with all of that she hadn't seen this outcome, not that she put any stock in most of them. Perhaps that was why she hadn't seen this coming.
Rare for her, she usually figured out the outcome before it happened, this put her on the back foot, which she did not like, not at all.
Harry cleared his throat, and she knew he felt as at a loss as she did, as Kreacher served them both heaping breakfasts, pumpkin juice, and mugs of tea before bustling off no doubt to clean, leaving the two of them alone.
Silence stretched across the room.
Normally they'd be eating, chatting about day-to-day events, Ron next to them cracking jokes. Harry and Ron would be discussing some quidditch manoeuvre she'd never heard of and she'd have her nose in a book, but not this time. This just felt wrong.
"Well, this is uncomfortable" Harry said out loud, and of course he was the first to speak, always the bravest. A snort left her lips, and she managed a smile, Harry always knowing what to say with a grin on his face. She felt a laugh starting in her throat and did nothing to stop it.
She laughed, laughed, and laughed at the unpredict ableness of it all, and she saw Harry laughing too, both of them having no idea what to say or do, what could they? And so, they laughed, as they'd done so little over the last year, and things felt just a touch lighter, just a touch.
Until five minutes later, with an owl swopping in, the conversation no further along, their laughter drying up and the reality and awkwardness settling back in. It had been good to laugh, just for a minute, but she felt the crawl of the situation over her skin again and the laughter was soon gone.
The owl offered some respite, or so she'd thought so, as it dropped just one letter, and it unfurled and began speaking without prompt.
Dear Mr Harry Potter and Miss Hermione Granger,
Again, congratulations and thanks to you both!
As stated previously a Ministry official will be visiting your designated place of residence (Grimmauld Place) today at precisely 11:30am to discuss your participation and the particulars of this law.
Please ensure you are present, and we look forward to seeing you both!
Kind Regards,
Glinda Rawlings
Her voice was far too shrill and happy for such awful noise, and Hermione found herself scrunching her nose up in annoyance, Harry had a look of distaste on his face too, and she let out a sigh, as the letter crumpled onto the table, the words gleaming now, a reminder.
This was happening.
"Earlier" She mumbled then, and at Harry's raised eyebrow, she spoke, "They said initially they'd visit in the afternoon, we must be the first slot"
She noted Harry's eyebrows knit together then, the conspiracy theorist in him coming out, as it did with her. Both of them had reasons.
The Ministry had been barely trustworthy before, and though Kingsley as Minster was a great outcome, it had only been months since the final battle, and with the trials finished up, and several crap outcomes (Lucius Malfoy house arrest being a notable example), and this new pathetic excuse for a 'progressive' Wizengmont, neither of them had much reason to trust the Ministry.
Maybe they'd won a victory getting Kingsley declared Minister, but they had hardly changed an institution. Both of them hoped to, Harry intended to take his seat, even though he'd prefer Quidditch, she knew he felt a responsibility, to never allow another Voldemort or Umbridge again, and though she'd never be invited to such hallowed halls she had several offers from different Ministry departments and intended to start change there.
Still, the Ministry was age old, ingrained in the awful prejudices of the Wizarding World before them, pureblood supremacy, sexism, to name a few. They couldn't be trusted, not really. They needed to be on alert.
The passing of this law was only further evidence how willing the Ministry was to disregard their rights, to cast them aside the second things got tough.
She glanced at the letter again, 'Congratulations and thanks' Yeah right.
"I guess we have to talk about this" Harry spoke first, jolting her away from her conspiracies about the Ministry, and onto the slightly more pressing matter, and so she nodded, but offered nothing further, rare for her not to elaborate, but what was she supposed to say?
'Harry I'm relieved it's not someone awful, but also never considered you in this way. You're my best friend and perhaps soulmate, but now we need to get married, and I'm furious at the law, and have no idea if we're compatible, and also what will Ron and Ginny say, and I hope I won't annoy you too much?'
Yes, not a good conversation to have.
But those thoughts rattled around her head, threatening to take over, to have her panicking, until she felt a familiar comfort of Harry's hand in hers, breaking her out of said panic, as he often did.
She looked across at him, and then stood up, making her way around the table, breakfast ignored, and they both sat side by side, his arm sliding around her shoulders, her head finding his shoulder, such a natural position for them, as they'd spent many nights like this, Horcrux on the table, keeping watch, eating whatever food they'd stolen, keeping in the warmth.
They never thought they'd have fought for their freedom only for it to end up like this. Again she felt outrage at the Ministry.
"Maybe we should just say what we're thinking" Harry said, though she noticed an edge to his tone she couldn't quite identify. Instead, she bit her lip, say what she was thinking? That sounded terrifying.
"I'll go first" Harry said then, his Gryffindor bravery second to none, "I… I feel relieved"
A sigh left her, one of relief then, and she felt the tension drain from her shoulders, to know he felt something the same as her! It was some of a weight off, and her head whipped around, her gaze meeting his.
"Oh goodness me too" She managed a smile, and she noted Harry nod his head, relax a touch too, "I was so worried it would be someone like Malfoy"
"Oh, wow so I just about outstrip Malfoy?" Harry teased, and she gave him a good-natured shove, a roll of her eyes, that felt natural, teasing and banter, even the fact they sat this close felt normal, it was only what the Ministry was forcing on them that wasn't.
"Your turn" Harry nudged her, and she nodded, bravery for bravery.
"I'm mad" The look he gave her said he wasn't letting her off that easy, they were all mad, and she rolled her eyes again before giving a nod to concede, and spoke again, "And worried, about what the Weasley's will say" There, that was honest.
Harry nodded then, "They can't blame us, but they won't like it" She shook her head, "Ron will stand by us" She nodded again, that wasn't in doubt, not ever again, "Ginny will be unhappy"
"You did break up with her" She said, biting down on her lip, Ginny was her best friend, but she knew regardless of the law if she'd had to pick between Ginny and Harry, well … it was no contest. Really, she'd already chosen, Ginny and Harry had broken up a month ago and though she was still close with Ginny, she did live with Harry.
"Whereas you and Ron just fizzled out" Harry said then, gripping her shoulder a touch as she nodded. Fizzled indeed, thankfully it had been harmless, but she knew Ron would still struggle with this, her, and Harry, just as they were.
"Your turn" She nudged back, this seemed to be working, they needed to talk, and this was getting it out in the open.
"I don't want to drive you mad" He said, a self-deprecating smile coming to his features, but she could tell it really worried him, "With my Quidditch talk, recklessness" He paused then, looking a touch uncomfortable, there was that edge, "I don't want to make you go insane"
"I feel the same" She said quickly, wanting to offer reassurance. If there was one thing that hurt her more than anything else was seeing Harry unhappy. She simply couldn't stand it. She knew she often put Harry's happiness over her own even, he was the one person she'd move mountains just to make smile, and so she spoke quickly, not standing to see him out on the ledge alone.
Harry would never be alone, not whilst she still breathed.
"I'm worried I'll annoy you to death" She cracked a smile, but like Harry that fear was very real, "And it will ruin our friendship"
"Nothing can" Harry said with such certainty she snuggled closer into him, and her hand slipped into his, and they gripped one another hard, like they had whilst in the tent, a lifeline to one another, as they had been, time and time again.
"Nothing" She said back, and she meant it, or god, she wanted to mean it, though that anxiety nagged at the back of her mind, refusing to go away. Sometimes she'd damn her own mind, brilliant or not.
"We have to fight it" She said then and Harry's immediate nod was a reassurance. She'd never been in doubt, if one fought so did the other, and they were both on the same page with this. She didn't care what it said in the paper, or the fact they were almost resigning themselves by discussing it as though it would happen. It didn't matter, they'd still fight it, they had to.
She knew the Ministry was coming from the right place (or was it?), and even if it was, she still couldn't be passive and just accept this. They couldn't, they had to fight, for their basic rights, they had to, even if it came to nothing.
Like a rabbit in a trap that would still rip it's fur to escape it, it was futile, but it did it all the same. That was them.
Rabbits in a trap.
"We'll deal with this" Harry said, "We'll fight, we have to" A nod from her then, "But…" He didn't elaborate on that, but continued on, "I'd rather it be you than most other people" The honesty in his voice was undeniable, and as she pulled herself closer into him, into Harry, her best friend, always, she realised she felt the same.
"Me too" She said, squeezed his hand, tucked herself closer to him and then neither of them moved, not for a while.
Until the sound of a knock came loud and clear, they glanced at the large wall clock: 11:20.
The Ministry, early, that was never good.
She glanced at Harry and he gave her a nod, his expression fierce and no doubt mirroring hers as Kreacher answered the door and they stood to their feet, ready to fight, ready to fight for one another, as they always would.
sooooo thoughts?
gurrrrrl it's all about to kick off!
now I had a lot of ppl worried harry/hermione would just be like 'okay lol guess we get married tomorrow!' no, no, no, don't get me wrong this is a marriage law story, but not without a fightback from our heroes and an untrustworthy ministry ofc!
I do hope you enjoyed, do lemme know. also had a few further questions about pov, it is majority hermione, with harry 2nd most common (though not 50/50, more like 70/30), and some others splashed in now and then.
as always do follow/fav and leave a review! ty
speak soon