I do not own any of the Harry Potter universe or characters. I'm just trying to expand my creative writing. What better way than with your favourite pairing? I also pair certain characters for certain reasons. Harry and Ginny shouldn't have ended up together. i'll fight anyone that says otherwise. Enjoy my trash 3 a.m writing.

Hermione stared out the window at the tall grass swaying in the wind. The gentle summer's breeze moved the dry grass and made the ceramic wind chimes tinkle a soothing melody. She sucked a calming breath in and thought back to all the information that had been filled away in her brain for later processing.

Hermione looked up from cutting the mushrooms. She looked at the window and saw the small brown owl that had been pecking impatiently at the window. She furrowed her brow and looked to Molly. The older woman held a similar look of confusion and paused her own cutting. She strode forward and unlatched the lock on the top part of the window. The bird fluttered inside and landed on the perch next to the window. It dutifully held out its leg for Molly to untie the scroll. Once Molly had worked the knot open, the owl hooted and took off through the window.

Hermione walked over to where Molly was holding several scrolls with Ministry seals and the Daily Prophet. This made Hermione even more confused because they had gotten the post earlier in the morning already. She picked up the newspaper and carefully read the headline.

MINISTER OF MAGIC SIGNS MAGICAL DECREE FORCING WITCHES AND WIZARDS TO MARRY:

MINISTER KINGSLEY SHACKLEBOLT SIGNED THE WIZENGAMOT LAW INTO EFFECT AT 8:16 THIS MORNING. THE LAW STATES THAT WITCHES AND WIZARDS FROM AGES EIGHTEEN TO FORTY-TWO MUST MARRY BY AUGUST 15TH OF 1998.

SHACKLEBOLT HAS STATED THAT HE "DID NOT DO THIS WITH A LIGHT HEART" AND THAT "THIS LAW IS BEING PASSED BECAUSE OUR MAGICAL POPULATION HAS SUFFERED EXPONENTIALLY FROM THE SECOND WIZARDING WAR". SHACKLEBOLT CONTINUED TO EXPLAIN HOW THIS WOULD AFFECT THE WITCHES AND WIZARDS OF THE UK. HE SAID THAT EACH WITCH AND WIZARD WILL BE "MATCHED FROM SOME OF THE FINEST MINDS IN THE MINISTRY. A NEW DEPARTMENT WAS CREATED IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE MATCHES BEING MADE WERE SUCCESSFUL AND WOULD YIELD A COMPATIBLE PAIRING. WE BROUGHT IN PSYCHOLOGISTS, BEHAVIORISTS, AND RELATIONSHIP EXPERTS. EACH MATCH HAS TO MEET A CERTAIN LEVEL OF CRITERIA IN ORDER TO BE MATCHED WITH ANOTHER MAGICAL PERSON." THE MINISTER ALSO WENT ON TO SAY THAT THIS DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN WORKING TOGETHER TO ANALYZE AND PAIR COUPLES SINCE THE BEGINNING OF JUNE. BUT THIS MARRIAGE LAW ISN'T THE ONLY BOMB TO BE DROPPED ON THE WIZARDING COMMUNITY.

MINISTER SHACKLEBOLT ALSO EXPLAINED THAT MARRIAGE WAS ONLY THE START OF THE NEW LAW. WITCHES AND WIZARDS THAT ARE PAIRED ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE A MINIMUM OF TWO MAGICAL CHILDREN IN FOUR YEARS. ANY ADDITIONAL MAGICAL CHILDREN WILL BE GIVEN COMPENSATION FROM THE MINISTRY. THE MINISTER ALSO EXPLAINED THAT LETTERS WILL BE SENT TODAY AND TOMORROW DETAILING FINER POINTS OF THE NEW LAW AND THE MATCHES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE.

RUMOURS OF THIS MARRIAGE LAW HAVE BEEN CIRCULATING SINCE MERE WEEKS AFTER THE WAR. IT IS WITH EXTRE-

Molly yanked the paper out Hermione's hand and moved it to the other side of the room. She was breathing deeply and had gone pale in the face. She opened and closed her mouth as if trying to find the right words to say in this unique situation.

"Maybe we can find a way around it. Maybe there's a loophole or something. There has to be. They can't possibly do something like this! Forcing us to marry one another is absurd! This can't be legal! There has to be a wa-" The rest of Hermione's ramblings were cut off as Molly finally got ahold of herself.

"Everybody in the kitchen now! I don't care what you're doing, get down here immediately! I will not hear otherwise!" Molly heaved out. The sound carried throughout the house and echoed with the forcefulness.

The older woman stormed over to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it viciously into the burning fire. It roared upwards into green flames and Molly jammed her head in.

"Fred Gideon Weasley and George Fabian Weasley! I don't care what you are doing in that store of yours, you are to come home right now for a family meeting! I expect you here in promptly two minutes!"

Molly reappeared from the fireplace and strode back to Hermione. She softened a bit at the pale and slightly trembling young woman before her.

"Dear, I'm not going to even pretend this is alright or that you will be alright. But I will tell you we can handle this. If we could handle a bloody war we can handle this absolute donkey shit that the ministry is forcing." She squeezed Hermione's shoulders and turned towards the stairs.

"I said now!" She shouted up as the wood creaked with thundering footsteps.

Just as Ron, Harry, and Ginny came tumbling down the stairs, the floo came alive with green flames and Fred stumbled out followed shortly by a less graceful George. Fred steadied his brother with a practiced move and turned wearily towards his mother.

"What's all this screaming 'bout?"

"Nearly gave Fred and I a heart attack. Thought we had missed-"

"Sunday dinner or something. It's only Thursday woman." Fred easily finished.

"Everybody sit." Was the grim reply she gave them. She pressed her lips together in a thin line that was white around the edges. "Arthur! Get in here and stop messing with your muggle gadgets!" She screamed out the open window.

A faint popping noise was heard from the garage and a few seconds later Arthur Weasley materialized in the kitchen with a look on his face that said he knew what this could be about.

"Dear?"

"Sit down Arthur."

He sat down and Molly stood behind one of the empty chairs. She quietly summoned the paper the ministry had sent in the mail. It gracefully floated into her waiting hand and she took a deep breathe before looking at each of her children and Harry and Hermione.

"The Ministry," she paused to close her eyes and take a deep breath, "has decided to pass a law requiring all unmarried witches and wizard between the ages of eighteen and forty-two to marry and produce at least two magical children. Now, I kno-" The rest of what she was going to say was cut off by the yelling from the occupants of the table.

"What! That's got to be bloody illegal! They can't make us-"

"That's absolutely repulsive! How can they make us marry people-"

"Someone needs to floo Shacklebolt and see if this is true-"

"Gred is right, how do we know this isn't some kind of sick prank that-"

"Enough!" was Molly's shrill reply. Ron sat back in his seat properly chastised and Ginny reigned in her outrage to barely concealed anger. "Let me finish. The Ministry has said that it's been working thoroughly to match each of you with a suitable partner. They've run tests to see who is your most compatible match. The deadline to be married is August 15th of this year. You must have at least two magical children within four years. Extensions will be given if problems arise," Ron moved to reply but stopped with a look from his mother. "I know this isn't good. You don't need to tell me. I think I'll be having a word with Kingsley myself. But this is the law now. People will be looking to us. The last thing this community needs is another bloody war. Hermione and everyone else, listen closely. There will be no loopholes. Kingsley is a smart man and so are the people on the Wizengamot. They will have made sure there on no ways around it," She paused to catch her breath and look around at her deflating children. "now, I have letters for all of you. The Ministry has already sent out matches. Whoever you are paired with, we'll deal with as a family. We need each other. Especially now." She looked at each person individually.

She grabbed the scrolls with names on each one. She handed the first one to Ron and slowly handed them out. She gave the last one to Hermione and squeezed the defeated young woman's shoulders again.

"Alright. One by one we'll open them. Let's start with you Ginny." She nodded to girl sitting at the far end.

The red head shot a quick glance to Harry and violently opened her scroll. Her eyes moved quickly as she read each line. Her eyes stopped when she presumably came to a name. Her red brows furrowed and she looked around the table.

"Does anybody know a Blaise Zabini? I don't think he was in my year?" She looked around and stopped on Harry the longest.

"He's a Slytherin right? Our year? He didn't take sides during the war. None of his family did. They just disappeared to France from what I know." Hermione supplied.

Ron's face turned a deep shade of red. "She can't marry that snake! For all we know he took the dark side!"

"Ronald! We will cross that bridge if we come to it. We don't hold prejudices in this family and you know that." Molly fixed him with a hard stare. "Ginny, dear, you'll be ok. You won't know until you meet him." She softened her gaze for her daughter. "Harry, open yours next please."

Harry didn't look at anybody as his hands shook while breaking the wax seal. He read quickly, probably just looking for a name Hermione surmised, and relief flooded his face.

"I've got Luna Lovegood." He said quietly while daring a look around the table. Ginny's face became slightly more pinched and Molly sported a forced grin.

"A lovely girl if a bit odd." She complimented. "Ron, open up yours."

Ron, still with a slight flush, clumsily opened his letter and read it in a similar manner as Harry. His face was blank as he read the name and then he tossed the paper on the table. He shot Hermione a sad look. "Hannah Abbott. Hufflepuff right?" He looked to Hermione and Harry.

Hermione gave a stiff nod and felt dread well up in her stomach. Her and Ron hadn't continued what they'd started in the Chamber. The timing was never right. But she was more upset that she could be paired with anyone. She didn't have a safety net of Harry or Ron to fall back on.

"Yes. She was in the D.A. with us. She's sweet." She answered robotically. Ron gave a jerky nod in response.

"George, dear, open yours."

George opened his quickly and skimmed through the paragraphs until he came across the name he needed. "Angelina Johnson. Sorry mate." He shot Fred an apologetic smile.

Fred huffed and shrugged. "We haven't really spoken since before the battle. She's been dealing with family stuff." He explained quickly. George grinned and knocked their shoulders together.

"Fred, your letter please." Molly nodded to the scroll he was twirling.

He gave a dramatic bow and began gingerly opening it like his future wasn't literally in his hands. He skipped right down to the name and quirked his eyebrows in surprise. He looked up at Hermione.

"Hermione Granger." He said in disbelief.

Hermione choked even though she had nothing in her mouth. She stared at Fred and then looked wildly around the table. "What?" She sputtered out.

"That's not funny Fred! Who'd you actually get?" Ron asked angrily. His cheeks flushed an unattractive red.

"It says I'm matched with Hermione Granger you wanker. I wouldn't say it for shits and giggles." He sniped back. Ron ripped the scroll from his hands and went bug eyed when he saw her name. He threw the scroll back at Fred and pushed his chair out hard enough to cause a scraping noise.

"Ron, sit down!" His mother commanded with her hands gripping the table until they were white.

"How could they pair her with you! You have nothing in common with her! You hated each other all of fifth year!" Ron shouted at his brother. Fred was about to give an angry reply when Hermione pushed her chair back hard enough to topple it.

"Ronald! Stop. He had nothing to do with the pairing. None of us did. I don't understand it either. But he's your brother. He's not the enemy. Nobody is. I completely disagree with what the Ministry is doing. It's inhumane. It's humiliating and disgusting. But I can't think of a single law they broke. This is how it is until someone can figure out how to refute this. And until that happens, fighting with your brother isn't going to change anything. Aren't you glad that it's him? Aren't you glad it's him and not someone awful? Like Malfoy? Or a Death Eater? He may drive me crazy, but he is the farthest thing from awful." Hermione was breathing heavily. She leaned forward and bowed her head. After a moment of silence she looked up again. No one was looking at each other. No one but Fred. He gave her a half-smile with a twinkle in his eye.

Hermione straightened up, took a deep breath, and broke the seal on her own letter. She may as well get a better understanding of what was going to happen in the following months.

Miss Granger,

On behalf of the new law going into effect, there are some rules that are being formally established. You can find them listed below along with your match:

All unmarried witches and wizards between eighteen and forty-two must be married no later than August 15th of 1998.

All marriages must be licensed through the Ministry by August 12th of this year.

The marriage must be consummated (penetration) within two days of the ceremony.

No forms of magical or muggle birth control is permitted. i.e. condoms, spermicide potions, birth control, ovulation suppressant potion, etc.

Infidelity will automatically go to trial before a panel.

Domestic abuse is reviewed before the Wizengamot and punishable of up to two years in Azkaban.

Each pairing will be tested for fertility. If infertility is found in either partner, the fertile partner will be assigned a new match.

Leaving the UK will result in the snapping of one's wand.

Lastley, all matched and fertile couple's will be expected to produce at least two magical children within four years of the marriage.

Given these rules, the Department of Post-War Repopulation Efforts has been able to match you, Miss Hermione Jean Granger, with Fred Gideon Weasley. Based on compatibility testing, the DPWRE is certain that the relationship is a level VI compatibility. This is the highest level of compatibility for all tests. Level I is not compatible, level II is mostly not compatible, level III is neutral, level IV is compatible, level V is guaranteed compatible, and level VI is successful compatible.

We understand that this is a hard adjustment to make. Counseling will be offered at the Ministry for those who seek it. Any cases regarding Gay or Lesbian wizards and witches will be heard from the Wizengamot.

The coordinator of the Department of Post-War Repopulation Efforts,

Janica Odoneley.

Hermione gave Fred a tight smile and put the scroll down. She gave Molly a nod and then turned on her heel. She gently pushed open the swinging door and walked along the path to the old Willow tree by the pond. She needed to sit down, file all this away for later, and simply breath.

Hermione looked at the tree she had been sitting under previously and sighed. She turned away from the window and looked at the living room. She found the Weasley clan and Harry quietly talking. There was some tension, but an overall aura of calmness and acceptance. Ginny was carefully sitting away from Harry and talking to Molly. Hermione looked at the Weasley twins sitting next to each other on the floor. They had their long legs splayed out and were having their own private conversation. Only half of it seemed to be verbal.

As if sensing a calculating gaze, Fred shifted his gaze and met Hermione's stare. He stared back and eventually cocked his head to the side. He gave her a small genuine smile and then winked. He turned back to his brother and had the same twinkle in his eyes she'd associated with him for years. In that moment, Hermione breathed easily and knew she was going to be ok.

End of chapter 1 eh? I'll update in a week. By next Sunday I'd wager.