Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own the HP Saga. Rowling does.

Author's Note: Well, here I am with my twist at the now-fairly typical harem fanfic. However, this is slightly different since this is set after the war with Voldermort and all the Death Eaters dead and gone. A lot of guys even from Hogwarts (except a few) got killed in the battle including Ron. This is still canon-compliant though, except that Harry doesn't become an Auror and you can ditch the Epilogue too. So without further ado, I present you the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Next Generation. That's a real cheesy title though but the only thing I could think of, so optional titles would be really appreciated in reviews.

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Development

"They want WHAT?"

Hermione Granger winced as Harry's shocked voice cracked out across the room like a wet whip across a man's bare back. It wasn't the most pleasant experience to say the least, but she supposed it was better than a string of curses she had expected. Her best and now only friend in the world, Harry Potter, had become very prone to swearing and cursing when angered ever since the war was over.

This was largely due to the pressure and stress all the interviews and speeches he had to give after slaying the Dark Lord thus winning the Second Wizarding War. The war continued to put strain on poor Harry though, for many men – both young and old – had died in the Wizarding War, but mainly at Hogwarts. This left a very broken population comprising mostly of women.

All the leading men were dead – Dumledore, Alberforth (Dumledore's brother), Fudge, Kingsley, and a vast number of others. Both Sirius and now Remus Lupin were gone much to Harry's dismay but at least Tonks survived. It seemed like the Chosen One would never get a break or a chance to relax for he now had to deal with the repercussions – marriage contracts. The worst thing about it now was that Harry could not refuse them, literally.

"I don't think I heard that right," Harry said through clenched teeth causing Hermione to sigh. "Explain that to me again."

Taking a deep breath, Hermione briefly scanned the scroll she was holding that was basically similar to many of the other contracts and summed it up careful not to miss out anything important.

"As in accordance to the old laws set during the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria," Hermione said, trying to ignore Harry's scowl. "This rather obscure but firm law states that unless a marriage contract is refuted by either parties – mainly, of course, the groom – then the contract is both valid and legal after thirty days of inaction..."

The scroll went on to explain how that was possible in some thirty pages of rubbish in such complex language that it would make even a most prominent lawyer bulk.

"Hold on a second!" Harry said, raising his hands for silence. Hermione arched an eyebrow expectantly. "You mean to say that if I don't say anything about the contract for thirty days then the other party comes to believe I have accepted it? How does that make any sense?"

Hermione chuckled inwardly at Harry's confusion. If it were any other bloke, he would be jumping up and down for joy and squealing like a crazed fan-girl due to receiving so many marriage contracts. But not Harry.

He just wanted time to relax and get his mind right after being bogged down by all the awards and medals he had to receive after killing Voldermort. He had discovered the Potter Manor though in the process, another thing Dumledore failed to tell his 'Golden Boy', and was able to reclaim it.

They now sat in his vast study which was joined by his private library that would put even the library of Alexandria to shame. Hermione had been lost in it for days until the Potter Butler brought this matter to her attention. She had finally coaxed Harry out of his room with a kiss of all things, as he had taken to being locked up in there to avoid the press.

She was only able to convince him it was her by a kiss. How she didn't know as they never kissed before but it did feel rather nice, far more so than kissing Ron during the Battle for Hogwarts. She had mixed feelings about that but Harry was loyal as always and didn't try to get her into bed. He simply fell into a trance-like state much to her amusement as she would have thought he had gotten sick and tired of snogging due to breaking up with Ginny.

Now the poor bloke had to deal with the marriage contracts that she had just shown him while guiding him to the study-come-library. So you can imagine his shock and horror to discover that he was now officially married to a number of young women (and one or two slightly older ones, mind!). Oddly enough, the majority of them were from Hogwarts and even their classmates.

She was lucky enough to even find out about this before Harry did because otherwise there would be dreadful consequences. Harry was prone to lashing out in anger now, being alone or swamped with press most of the time so she had taken to visiting Potter Manor – located somewhere in Devon, England – more and more often. She seemed to be the only one that Harry trusted as Ronald Weasley had died in the Battle for Hogwarts.

Her throat constricted at that thought since she had come to believe she fancied him, when there was finally hope of them actually being a couple. Still, she knew that first loves didn't always work out and she sometimes wondered what she ever saw in Ron. He deserted Harry more often than not but stayed true in the end so she supposed that was what mattered the most.

He had, after all, destroyed two of the Dark Lord's Horcuxes so if that didn't say anything she didn't know what did! Well, she had helped to destroy the second one but that didn't really matter. Ron was gone now and he was in the past. Hermione was in the present and had to focus on the now and, of course, the future – Harry's future. If it weren't for her, Harry might have launched a war on all the witches who had signed the marriage contracts.

But they had only been signed out of sheer desperation to avoid being married off to by their mothers to creepy old men who were too old to fight or to Muggles whom they would have to hide their magic from. So they had appealed to Harry by signing Marriage Contracts to him with magic inc. Hermione had no idea how they got his signature but they did and that's what made the contracts valid. So here she was, struggling to deal with a very temperamental wizard.

"Earth to Hermione!" Harry said exasperatedly, waving a hand in front of her face. "You're drooling, you know."

"I am not drooling!" Hermione snapped, licking her lips without realising it to catch a drop of drool that had somehow slipped out.

Had she been drooling?

The Grangers did not drool, especially not over best friends! Harry was a no-no and she could not be swooning over him. But as she gazed down at him, she realised that he was kneeling before her and staring at her with an almost awed expression. Hermione's heart skipped a beat.

Was Harry turned on by her licking her lips? That was absurd! She was just a snobby, arrogant, know-it-all bookworm with bushy hair and ugly buck teeth. That was the mantra she told herself all the time but it didn't seem to faze Harry. If he could kiss her just like that then maybe she wasn't too bad.

Wait...

Why was Harry kneeling in front of her now wearing a concerned and worried expression on his face? He did look cute when worried but he was peering up at her a little too close for comfort. Suddenly, she flinched upon realising that he had long-since taken her hands in his and was reaching his face up to hers his eyes timid almost and questioning as if asking for approval.

For some reason that was quite beyond her, Hermione felt herself give a brisk, jerk-like nod as Harry brought his lips to hers. Time seemed to slow as Harry gently climbed into her lap and pushed her gently backwards, gathering her into his embrace. Whatever had changed him shocked her as she could not quite imagine what motivated him to snog an ugly bookworm like her.

But he did and she felt like she had died and gone to heaven. Sadly, Harry untangled himself from her and peered down at her with glazed eyes and a slightly red face.

"Uh, I, um," He stammered, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I'm s-sorry, Hermione. I don't know what came over me. It's just that you looked so good there, sitting deep in thought that I couldn't resist."

Hermione's eyes bulged at Harry's words.

"What?" She asked incredulously. "How can you think that of me? We're best friends Harry. This will make things so awkward between us."

"Well, they say that the best friends make the perfect marriage," Harry quipped nervously, sweat beading his forehead. "I'm sorry for pushing it but it's just after last night..."

His voice trailed off and Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"After last night?" She demanded.

There had been no 'last night' since she had only kissed him the first time this morning after being alerted to the marriage contracts. Harry had been locked up in his room for the entire day and night, much to her worry and concern for his well-being. What on earth was he talking about by 'last night.' As if confirming her suspicions, Harry swallowed hard and squirmed uneasily resulting in surprisingly pleasant sensations within her since he was still sitting on her lap.

"Well, I, ah," Harry began.

"Just tell me, Harry," Hermione said gently, taking his hands in hers and caressing them softly.

Harry gulped and nodded.

"Okay," He said. "Look, you'll probably think I'm a pervert but ever since Ron and I saw you at the Yule Ball I have been having, uh, these dreams. Yeah, I've been having dreams of you and me...snogging...Weird, right? But then last night after all those stupid press meetings I thought I would burst from all the hype, I just collapsed on my bed and slept. Then I had a dream. It was quite nice actually, forgive me for saying so but it was of you and me again. Except...well...You see, we were doing more than snogging..."

Once again, Harry's voice trailed off sheepishly and he paused awkwardly as if asking for her permission to continue. Hermione could hardly believe what she was hearing! Had Harry had a wet dream of her?

"Go on," She managed, her voice suddenly cracked and husky.

Harry took a deep breath and said in a tight voice. "We were shagging, you and me, naked."

He gulped again and closed his eyes as if bracing himself for Hermione's wrath. Hermione on the other hand was more proud than angry. She had never thought of Harry to have a wet dream of her especially after his fling with Ginny.

"But what about you and Ginny," Hermione asked gently. "Surely you, um, shagged. Why would you ever think of me in that way?"

Harry sighed and opened his eyes warily. "I only ever started dating Ginny to put those images of you out of my mind since they started getting more and more intense. Well, my perverted mind did. I only dreamed of shagging you last night when I thought I would surely snap and maybe I did." (Here Hermione's heart threatened to shatter in a thousand pieces but she forced herself to stay calm since Harry was continuing) "But if so, I'd rather be crazy than sane since it was the most bloody brilliant experience that ever happened to me."

For once, Hermione didn't reprimand him for his language but silenced him with a kiss – and a passionate one at that! When they finally pulled apart for breath, they were panting.

"So what happens now?" Harry asked quietly, looking at his hands.

Hermione didn't even need to think of an answer.

"Now we begin dating and you will court me," The bushy-haired witch stated without second thought. "There's no point in denying that we both fancy each other, me included. I fancied you ever since you rescued me from that troll. But don't even think that this will get you out of all those Marriage Contracts."

"Please pretty please with a cherry on the top?" Harry asked, giving Hermione the innocent, puppy-dog look.

For a moment, Hermione almost caved and her heart went out to Harry. They had just gotten together and she wanted to spend time with him. But the contracts were signed by magic binding those witches to Harry and since thirty days had passed he had to honour them or else all the witches would die. That was not something she would want on either of their consciences – not when she could stop it.

"Sorry, love," Hermione said softly, cradling Harry's cheek in her palm and enjoying how it felt in her hand. "But you have to accept them or you'll have their blood on your hands, magic you know."

If looks could kill, Hermione would be dead by now but she washed his anger away with another kiss leaning into him this time rather than the other way around. So caught up were they, that it took several embarrassed-sounding coughs from the Butler to alert them of his presence. Blushing furiously, they bolted apart – Harry jumping off Hermione with a startled yelped. The Butler chuckled in slight amusement at his Lord's fright but quickly sobered up and Hermione felt a sinking feeling of dread at this unexpected intrusion. There could only be one thing responsible...

"Forgive me Lord Potter," The Butler said formally but sounding genuinely apologetic, giving a short bow. "But the ladies who signed the Marriage Contracts have come. I told them that my Lord was busy but they insisted so I had them wait in the parlour for whenever you deem fit to see them. What should I tell them, my Lord?"

Harry had quickly straightened out his clothes and whipped his face clean. His hair refused to be tamed so he left that since it was a trademark genuine of all Potters anyways, especially him. Hermione, at his side, was quickly doing the same albeit her eyes were filled with a touch of jealousy on her part.

"Send them in," Harry said with a sigh. "I'd rather get this over with sooner than later."

"As my Lord commands," The Butler said, bowing again.

Turning swiftly, he strode out of the room leaving a very despondent Harry and Hermione standing next to each other.

"Don't worry, love," Hermione whispered comfortingly to Harry linking her arm with his. "We'll get through this together."

"I hope so," Harry whispered back, feeling an odd combination of dread, excitement, and anger all at once.

Whatever would happen, he knew that he would never remain the same ever again.

To Be Continued...

A/N: So there you have it! I realise that this is a very typical genre but I'll try not to rush into it like most fanfics do. This will focus mainly on my favourite pairing – Harry and Hermione – as well as a few of my other preferences. Ginny will be there too for canon-lovers but not near as close as Harry is to Hermione. So, what did you think of it? Leave a review and let me know so that I can make this better yet!