The Author's Explanation, Motives, and the Law Itself

I have been asked to write marriage law fics many times. And it's always a pureblood/non-pureblood pairing. Hermione and a Weasley, Harry and Ginny. While I've certainly written Hermione/George fics I did that long before I boarded the Harmony ship. And while I've read a good chunk of marriage law fics (and even like a few), I must confess this- I find marriage law fics to be absurd at their core. Every single one I've read paints the Ministry of Magic, a bastion of incompetence and corruption in the books, as this suddenly knowledgeable organization which pairs people together with very happy results. And while everyone is annoyed by this law everyone is happy or becomes very happy with the matches given by the Ministry.

…I can't write that. I just can't. Now then, I have decided to go with this story. It's a Harmony fic. It's a marriage law fic. It's a fic in which Ron hopefully is redeemed as a character. I don't know if it will be a happily ever after. With an unfinished story I can't guarantee that there will be a happy ending. What I can promise is that it should be interesting and have character growth.

It's also worth pointing out that I believe this marriage law is rational given the parameters I'm giving the fic, which are listed below. I also wanted the law to be in a standalone chapter so that if readers need to go back to take a look at it you can :-)

The Time? Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts

Voldemort? Dead. At the end of Harry's fourth year Voldemort was finally banished for good.

Horcruxes? Don't exist. Harry was never one and Voldemort lived after that fateful Halloween by leeching magic from his followers through their Dark Marks. His death made them all squibs as they had pledged their magic to him.

Canon blood status? Mostly. I have one OC I'm putting into the story (not right away) but other than that character blood statuses are canon according to Harry Potter wiki. Many characters are listed as Pureblood or Half-Blood for blood status as it's unknown which of the two they are; I've then made the decision based on my vision for the story which category they fall into.

THE LAW:

By Decree of the Minister of Magic, Cornelius M. Fudge, the Marriage Law of 1675 has been re-enacted. The details are as follows-

*Each single pureblood between the ages of 15 and 65 must marry within the next three months from the date this law is enacted (28 October)

*These marriages are binding and may not be terminated.

* Purebloods can only be matched to other Purebloods.

*Both partners must agree to the marriage however if one month from the day this law is enacted someone is single they will be matched by the Ministry of Magic.

*The marriage must be consummated within five days or it will be declared invalid.

*Upon getting married all wizards and witches under the age of seventeen will be deemed to be of legal age.

*Wizards/Witches under the age of 20 will have until the age of 20 before it becomes mandatory that they have children. Wizards/Witches over the age of twenty must have a child within a year. If wizards/witches under 20 want children before they are twenty that is encouraged.

*Failure to abide by these rules will carry a 9 year sentence in Azkaban followed by the loss of the witch/wizard's magic. They will be a squib.

Signed,

Cornelius M. Fudge

Minister of Magic