Author's Note: I don't own HP or anything related to it!

I know that the marriage law thing has been SO used but I thought this would be really interesting. I had a different take on the marriage law I suppose. I hope you guys like it. R&R. Thanks!

Harry couldn't fathom why he had been summoned to Shacklebolt's office this early on a Tuesday morning. Or really, any morning to be honest. The war was finally over, just barely over but over nonetheless. They were all relatively safe minus the few rogue deatheaters yet to have been caught. The final battle was less than two weeks ago and Harry was exhausted with the grief that consumed him. While he was relieved, the pain of losing so many beloved friends was a lot to bear. Not to mention the Weasley's were in immense pain over the loss of Fred and it was heartbreaking for him to watch. He couldn't figure out why Shacklebolt would find it appropriate to pull him away from loved ones in such a time as this when so many were still grieving. He knew it must be an extremely important issue. He sat in the lobby of Kingsley's office trying to figure what could be occurring when Kingley's secretary came up to him and said "Minister Shacklebolt is ready for you now Mr. Potter". Harry nodded and walked into the office shutting the door behind him.

"Ahh Mr. Potter, I am sorry to bring you in so soon but I felt it was imperative to speak with you. Please take a seat" Kingsley said with a melancholy sigh. Harry sat down and said "Minister Shackletbolt…" "Kingsley please Harry. I feel we have worked together long enough to be on a first name basis, don't you think?" Kingsley said. Harry nodded in agreement. "Kingsley…" he corrected, "Why am I here?" Kingsley reached into his desk and pulled out a piece of paper that looked like a legal document of some sort. "Harry, the wizarding population has taken a turn for the worst. My colleagues and I in the Wizarding Affairs office have been crunching the numbers for days. The amount of magical blood that has been lost over the past year has reached dire levels. If we don't do something now… the magical world doesn't stand much of a chance. We've been forced to take action. We've had to enact something that hasn't been put in place in centuries. Something a bit… archaic, unfortunately. Read this…." Kingsley told him solemnly, handing him the paper he had retrieved from his desk.

Proclamation of the Ministry of Magic:

Emergency Marriage Act (Effective May 17th, 1998)

All unmarried witches or wizards between the ages of 17 and 40 must marry within the next 30 days to another person of magical blood. Anyone who is currently in a relationship with another magical person has 48 hours upon receipt of this letter to file an engagement petition in order to assure they are matched with one another. Anyone who does not submit an engagement petition will be placed into a magical pool meant to assess his or her magical capabilities and compatibility. Each witch or wizard will then be matched with up to three individuals based on the criteria used in the magical pool. Upon matching, the trained officials at the ministry will then decide which matches are most compatible based on personality, intelligence, and social standing. Each witch or wizard will then receive his or her match and are required to marry within the 30-day time allotment. Those who do not comply will be stripped of their magic and will have their wands taken thus forcing them to live out their days as a muggle. Upon marriage, each couple has five years to produce at least two magical children. Failure to comply will result in loss of magic (if found to be disobeying the mandate intentionally) or will result in mandatory in-vitro implantation (for those struggling to conceive) in which one child must be produced within two years of first implantation. No divorces will be granted to couples that fail to get along and there will be no change to matches made after the 48-hour allotment to file engagement petitions. Those wishing to file petitions to extend their time will need to send all inquires to the Wizarding Affairs office. No exceptions will be made except in severe situations (such as illness or disability).

Harry looked up at Shacklebolt in shock, his heart racing. "You can't be serious? This is barbaric. You can't just have us all fight and then take over our lives!" he said angrily. "Harry… we don't have a choice. From what we have calculated, we will be extinct within the next 100 years. With the rate that people are having children, the loss of lives recently, and the amount of pureblood wizards that are being incarcerated due to their involvement with Voldemort, we don't have a choice. We won't even be able to keep Hogwarts open due to a lack of faculty and students within the next thirty years based on our current population! This isn't what I wanted, in fact, I fought this tooth and nail but it's a mathematical fact. Without this law, life as we know it will cease to exist" Kingsley said sadly.

Harry went through a series of emotions. He hated people trying to control his life, especially since he'd never been given the luxury to control his own future. He was sad that neither he nor his friends would get to marry for love. He was angry for so many reasons that he could hardly list them all. But the overwhelming emotion was pure dread. He knew that it had to be done. The magical world meant so much to him. It was the home for him where he felt like he truly belonged. A home he never really had anywhere else. If this was the only way to keep it intact, than as much as he hated it, it had to be done. "So why am I here? Am I supposed to support this for you or something?" Harry asked him taking a deep breath.

"No, well yes that would be great if you supported us, but that's not why you are here today. We have already submitted everyone's name into the magical pool and we've hit a bit of an issue that I felt I needed to discuss with you. You've done a lot for our world and at the very least, I felt we owed you this much. You must promise that this conversation never leaves this room, as I am breaking quite a few rules letting you have any input into this process, you understand?" Kingsley said to Harry gravely. Harry nodded, understanding the need for discretion.

"You have been paired with two witches: Ginerva Weasley and Hermione Granger" Kingsley told him seriously. "I can marry Ginny, we dated for a while and we get along splendidly! The Weasley's would be thrilled!" Harry said smiling; relieved that both his matches were people he loved dearly. Kingsley's face grew gravely serious. "Your matches are not the issue, Harry. Ginerva has been paired with you, Dean Thomas, and Oliver Wood. Based on our secondary criteria, she would be placed with Oliver Wood should you decide not to choose her" Kingsley told him. Harry nodded with a confused look on his face. "Hermione however was paired with only one other. And her match is the reason I've called you in. You are a dear friend of hers and I… well I thought you might want to be informed" Kingsley said with a gloomy look. "Who?" Harry said, concerned for his best friend's welfare. He knew that it must truly be an awful match for Kingsley to risk getting in trouble with the ministry by telling him. "Draco Malfoy" Kingsley told him with a look of absolute dread.

Harry sat there in shock, unable to comprehend that anyone would even think that matching Hermione with Malfoy would be a good idea. "But sir, you can't possibly do that to her. She's done so much for us all. She's the only damn reason I was able to defeat Voldemort. I'd be dead without her! And to condemn her to be married to Malfoy! He hates her!" Harry said protesting. "I know. It's an awful match but it's the one that came out of the criteria. I wasn't the only one there to see the match; I have no power to change it! Is there anyway she would be putting in for an engagement petition? Is there anyone she is involved with?" Kingsley asked him hopefully. Harry thought about it critically for a moment. While it was true that Ron and Hermione had kissed during the battle, they both had already not to be together. They could hardly last a day without arguing about some stupid little detail. While he knew that it was certainly stress related, if they got married, their friendship would end up in shambles. Not to mention Ron had already decided that the kiss was a huge mistake and has spent the last week crying in Lavender Brown's arms over the loss of Fred. Something about that kiss just didn't click the way either of them had hoped. He had even asked Ron about it and all Ron could say was 'It was the heat of the moment, and I love her dearly… but the spark? It wasn't really there. You can't be with someone and feel nothing when you kiss them'. Harry shook his head and said "No, I don't think so. Ron might do it out of loyalty maybe but… I don't think so, no."

Kingsley sighed and said "The situation is this Harry: If you marry Ginny, Hermione must marry Malfoy or be excommunicated. And to be honest, I'm not sure which one is worse in this case. Knowing this, I had to see what you wanted me to do. Do I pair you with Ginny or Hermione? What would you have me do?" Kingsley asked him. "You're giving this decision to me? But… why?" Harry said in a panic, realizing the magnitude of the decision he was being forced to make. "Because she's your best friend. If you are willing to marry her to spare her, I need to know now. You two are the best match of both your matches. You'd automatically get matched together. Not to mention the fact that the press would be over the moon with the idea. It wouldn't be hard to pull off on my end. But if you are so in love with Ginny Weasley that you'd want her or you would petition for her, you need to know what the outcome will be. I'm not trying to make your choice for you but you need to know. I couldn't let you make this decision without all the information" Kingsley told him, his eyes boring into Harry's with such seriousness that Harry felt the weight of the world on his shoulders.

He knew he cared for Ginny and that she would want to be paired with him. He knew once upon a time he loved her. He wasn't sure if he still did, but he knew that if they were paired up, he would be in a family that wanted nothing but the best for him. But he also knew that Oliver would take great care of Ginny and treat her well if he didn't choose her. He knew that if he didn't pick Ginny, she would be okay. She'd never know he chose Hermione. And if she ever found out, she would understand. He knew he didn't love Hermione in a romantic way. She was his best friend though. They could certainly make a marriage on the foundation of friendship that they had. She'd be safe with him and he hoped he could learn to love her that way if he gave himself the chance. She would make a good wife and an incredible mother when they had kids. And if he had to deal with one person for the rest of his life, there's no one who's company he enjoyed as much as he enjoyed being with Hermione. She would be miserable with Malfoy. He would break her heart and mind. In fact, she would probably just leave the magical world rather than marry Malfoy. If he didn't marry her, she'd be doomed to leave them. He loved her more than anyone else in the whole world. He couldn't let that happen.

"Hermione. Pair me with Hermione." Harry said with a determined look in his eye. Kingsley nodded at Harry with a knowing look. Harry knew it was going to be hard to keep Ginny at bay for the next 48 hours. Not to mention, she would be heartbroken when she found out that Harry and Hermione got paired. But despite the fact that this would be hard on all of them, he knew that it was right. He just hoped that once everyone got their letters, there wasn't too much hell to pay.