Here we go...story number 7...read and review...xx

Hermione shuffled nervously in her chair. She stared around the large room that contained a huge, old, dark wood desk and numerous equally large chairs and cabinets. The Ministry wizard, Mr Sattybill, sat down opposite her and smiled.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, I'm sure you're keen to get this over with," he said, shuffling some papers on his desk.

"Yes, I am."

"Very well, Miss Granger. I am sure you are aware of the Marriage Law that is to come into force imminently. Myself and my colleagues have been given the task of explaining everything to everyone involved," he paused and Hermione nodded. She just wanted to get this over with because however you looked at it she knew this couldn't end well. In fact she had a distinct feeling that it was going to end horribly but perhaps that was her apprehension and anxiety making her fear the worst. Mr Sattybill continued. "So, the Pureblood Marriage Law has been written and will be enforced for a very particular reason. We are not in the habit of forcing wizards to marry strangers and once I explain all this to you, I hope you will understand why you are being placed in this situation."

"I don't care why I'm being placed in it; I just want to know how I get out of it!" Hermione let her frustration spill over into her words and Mr Sattybill frowned.

"I'm afraid that is impossible, Miss Granger. We have to enforce this law, we have no choice." Hermione shook her head sadly at him but said nothing further so he continued. "Voldemort before he died put into place a spell. His death was the trigger for it but we have only just found out about it and unfortunately this has greatly reduced our time to find a way to counteract it. It is an ancient spell and a very powerful one, more powerful than any spell has been before. We don't know how he knew of this spell or more importantly how he learnt to do it. However, we have had the most advanced and skilled wizards working on removing it and they are unable to. We have therefore being forced to act upon the spell and what it requires us to do."

"The spell specifically says that certain people have to marry a stranger? Why?" Hermione asked, sulkily.

"More accurately the spell requires a child to born. The child will be born of parents who are specially matched. The match is based on their magical ability, their intelligence, their personality and their values and integrity. That is why you have been completing so many tests – our investigation had to be thorough and we have selected several couples who we believe could be the ones to produce this special child. Each couple will be required to marry and have a child. Hopefully this will increase our chances. Voldemort as he cast the spell made one of the conditions that one partner should be a Pureblood wizard or witch and the other partner a Muggleborn wizard or witch. He obviously wanted to make this as painful as possible." Mr Sattybill watched as the beautiful, young woman in front of him leant forward, a horrified look on her face.

"A baby? A child? Are you kidding me?" she demanded. "I have to marry a complete stranger and then have a child with him! I have to have sex with him?" Hermione's outraged emotions made her add the last part of her sentence which was something totally out of character for her but she didn't care. Mr Sattybill remained unmoved by her outburst and shook his head slowly.

"Yes, Miss Granger. The bare truth is that we have to search for the special couple to become married and they must have a child. If we find the correct couple then their offspring will be The One. The One will be the child who saves magic for us all." Mr Sattybill finished dramatically and he now had Hermione's full attention.

"Saves magic? What do you mean?" she asked.

"If we fail in finding the partners who can produce the child who will be The One, then magic will no longer exist," Mr Sattybill spoke quietly. "We have less than a year to do this and therefore time is of the essence. Otherwise, Miss Granger, the magical world as we know it will cease to exist."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Hermione was in her attic, which she had converted into her study. Since leaving Hogwarts, she had made a career as a writer. Her books were fiction, which still surprised her because she had a love of facts and figures; it was how her brain worked. Yet somehow, she had found it easy to write fiction, especially the way she wrote it, which was full of real magical facts and history. It incorporated her vast knowledge of magic and it's past along with a fictional story. Her books were hugely popular and Hermione was sure the first book sold so many copies because it had her name as the author. People were still interested and inspired by the girl who helped Harry Potter defeat the most evil wizard of all time. However, it would seem that many people who bought her first book had liked it and had willingly purchased her second and third and fourth. There was now a furore every time she released a new book. Unfortunately, the fame she had when she defeated Voldemort had not diminished and it had taken her a while to get used to the idea that she would probably always be well known.

Being a famous author had its advantages, of course. She was very wealthy and it had allowed her to buy a beautiful and large old house that she had restored lovingly and by hand. It allowed her to help the people she cared about and it meant she would never have to worry about money again. Money would never be Hermione's main priority but it didn't mean she lacked appreciation for what it could do for her. Money however, brought with it a whole new problem. It practically destroyed any chance of having a proper relationship because Hermione could never tell if any man she met was interested in her or interested in her fame and money. Unfortunately, it would seem that the latter were by far in the majority and Hermione had been stung so many times that she now largely avoided getting close to anymore other than as a friend. That was until she had received the letter from the Ministry. The letter that had destroyed the happy life she had made for herself. Soon she would be a married woman and she would then be expected to be trying to conceive the miracle child that they needed. The One.

She put her quill down and sighed. She wasn't concentrating and she was lacking inspiration which wasn't surprising considering the news she was still trying to digest. Once Mr Sattybill had explained about the spell and the child who would be The One, Hermione had known that whatever her feelings were about this forced arrangement, she had no choice but to go along with it. It was either that or she and everyone else would lose magic forever and that was unthinkable. The fact that she was doing the right thing did nothing to diminish the pain she felt about what she had to do. It was bad enough to know she had to endure marriage to someone she didn't love made worse by the fact they would have to have a child together but the worst part of the situation by far was who she was matched with. She almost laughed out loud when Mr Sattybill had used those words. The wizard she was matched with! Huh! What a joke! How could anyone possibly think that she and her chosen partner could be matched in anyway?

She leant back in her chair, gazing out of the large window that she had designed herself. The view two stories below was a busy market square, just off Diagon Alley. It was perfect and it usually made her feel calm and inspired. Two emotions she couldn't imagine feeling anytime soon because within a month she would be married to her enemy and one of the people she hated most in the world – Draco Malfoy.

So this is a Marriage Law fic but with a twist (of course!) and hopefully with a half believable reason for them to get married! Hope you like it, as always this chapter serves as a bit of a introduction so bear with it and there will be lots of Draco/Hermione soon. You all know this already, I'm sure...7 stories so you should all be used to me by now. x