The Circumstances Of Crossing Paths:

UPDATE AS OF 7/2/2014: Hello! I would just like to add something to the beginning of this story, as most people feel the need to tell me about it, even though I've said in multiple author's notes that I know already. I am very aware that Bill is the oldest Weasley, I made a typing mistake and didn't catch it. Two years ago. That isn't important to the story. There is also a point where a pairing is confused. I know. That isn't important to the story. The age of the characters doesn't matter, either. I love everyone that reviews, but please, before you review, look to see if someone has already pointed that out. All of this was written over a year ago and I'm not going to go back and change it, I just don't have the time. Maybe later in the future I'll re-write this story, but as of right now, I can't. There are inconsistencies to this story, but they're not really important to the plot and are minor. Thank you to everyone that has graciously overlooked these issues, and please, new readers, don't remind me of them. I can accept criticism, goodness knows I need it, but when it's 6 reviews in a row... Okay. Thank you all so much.

A/n: Hello! This is my take on the marriage law idea that's been going around. I hope I'm not too late on the uptake. You may know me from my Dramione story- "What Is A Pureblood?" which I have to admit.. Is not my best work. I'm going to take a leave from that for a while (so sorry!) because I'm having MAJOR writers block. Probably why it's pretty shoddy. Anywho, I'm currently camping! Yes, I do that during the summer. No, there is no wifi. Tragic, I know. But I get by by reading a lot. I've finished two books in the last three days, (I read very quickly) Paper Towns by John Green, easily a favourite. The man is a fantastic author. And The Noah Confessions by Barbara Hall. Decent book, although I didn't understand all of it. Next I will be reading The Road, by a guy whose name I don't remember, and then a book called Hereafter after that. I believe this story takes place after The War (I don't usually think about timelines) and obviously nobody has died. Well. Without further adieu- The Circumstances Of Crossing Paths.

Chapter One: A Secret Place

It was a fine summers day in the Weasley household on the morning of July the 7th. The birds were singing outside the windows, and so was Mrs. Weasley. The plump woman was zooming about her kitchen preparing a feast of sorts for the birthday of her oldest child- Charlie. He had come home from Romania just long enough for Mrs. Weasley to fuss over him to the point of suffocation. But he bore with it. It was only for a few days, and she was his mother. The feast of sorts was to take place at promptly seven thirty that evening, and every close friend and family member had been invited.

The Trio had been staying at the Weasley household since the end of the war, and they didn't plan on leaving anytime soon. It was nice to have some peace and quiet after all of the ruckus that had taken place over the last seventeen years. The War had only ended a few months previously, and the reconstruction was a tedious process. Mr. Weasley and Percy spent long hours at the ministry, passing new laws, interrogating Death Eaters and overseeing the rebuilding of the wizard community. The first place to go under major remodel was, of course, Diagon Alley. Since it was the center of the British wizarding community, it couldn't be left in ruins. Therefore, it had been fixed, shiny and new.

The second place to be fixed was Hogwarts. The damage to the school had been so grand that there were fears of it never being fixed. But, of course, Minerva McGonagall would never allow that to happen. She was the school's new headmaster, and it was her duty to the school and the wizard community to fix it. Hogwarts was over a thousand years old. Surely this wasn't the worst it would ever go through.

Hermione awoke to the sound of pots and pans clanging early that morning. It was light outside, but just barely. Hermione had always been a light sleeper, so it was no surprise that she had awoken early on this day. She was excited for the party tonight. She hadn't seen a lot of the people coming since the end of the war.

Hermione crawled out of bed and reached for her night dress. She tried not to wake Ginny as she inched across the squeaky floorboards and down the narrow set of rickety stairs. The living room was empty except for her cat, Crookshanks, and Hedwig. Crookshanks was curled into a gingery ball on the sofa and Hedwig slept peacefully in her cage.

Hermione made her way to the kitchen. When Mrs. Weasley saw her she immediately enveloped her into a tight hug.

"Good morning, dear. How did you sleep, would you like some breakfast?" She smiled warmly at her before turning to a stewing pot.

"I slept well. I'll just have some toast and tea. I'll make it. I'm going to go for a walk."

"That sounds lovely, dear."

Hermione made her breakfast and ate it hurriedly before taking a leisurely shower and heading into the gardens. She liked the extensive Weasley gardens very much. There was always something to see, or something to happen upon. She was convinced that the things here moved because nothing was ever in its exact place as it had been before.

When you got outside the house, there were two rows of cherry blossom trees that formed a sort of corridor into the garden. From there there were three pathways you could take. One, the left one, took you down to the pond. It was a nice pond, the water wasn't too murky, and there weren't any magical beings that would bite off your toes or try to strangle you. The middle one took you to the quidditch pitch. The Weasley's had had this for years, ever since Charlie was born. It was simply a round open field with trees surrounding it, and a paddock with the equipment to the side. The right path took you to a beautiful part of the garden where there were hedge mazes and it was easy to get lost.

Today Hermione took the left path down to the pond. It was quite warm out and she fancied a swim. When she got there she quickly stripped off her clothing, revealing a black polka dotted two piece. She walked to the edge of the dock, toeing the water, before diving in head first. The water was cool against her skin as it washed off the sweat she had accumulated from her walk down there. She opened her eyes, expecting to see the green of the water, but instead found a pair of blue eyes staring back at her.

Hermione fought the water as she let out a silent, bubbly scream in effort to get to the surface. Not five feet away a second head broke the surface and gave her a bewildered look. The familiar red haired man shook water out of his eyes before turning to stare at her, completely bewildered.

"Hermione! What are you doing here!" he said.

"I could say the same to you. I came here for a swim. It's hot."

"Well so did I." Fred replied, "and that's exactly what I plan on doing. So, are you just going to float there staring at me like that or are you going to swim?" His bewildered look was replaced with a smile.

She glanced back towards the house. "Maybe I should go back and see if your mother needs any help.."

"Come off it, Hermione, you know she'll just tell you no and to go have fun. None of the others are even awake yet. Why don't you just stay down here and enjoy the peace and quiet?"

She sighed before nodding her head in agreement.

"Good. So, what are you doing down here at this time of morning?"

"Exactly what I said. Going for a swim. It's hot."

"Yes, but alone? I thought you'd be with Ginny or Ron or something."

"No. I enjoy the mornings to myself."

"As do I. Come with me, there's something I want to show you."

He led her out of the water before towel drying his hair and body and putting his shirt back on. He wasn't as muscled as Charlie, but he didn't lack in that department, either. He wasn't bulky, but he was toned in all of the right places.

He led her around the pond and on a path she had never been before. It occurred to her that she had no idea where they were going and she should probably ask.

"Fred, where are we going?"

He turned to her and smiled. "George and I found this place a while back. We've never shown anyone before. I thought you'd be interested."

They walked a little ways longer and down a hill to the bottom. In side of the hill was a large, round, metal door.

"What is it?" She asked.

"It's an old muggle bomb shelter from World War 2. We found it a few years ago. It's pretty cool."

He opened the shelter and they walked inside, exploring. He showed her all of the things he and George had found over the past years, smiling warmly at her awed expression and obvious intrigue. It was around lunchtime when they began heading back the way they came. They were halfway up the tree corridor when they heard the shouting. Mrs. Weasley was yelling louder than Hermione had ever heard anyone yell.

"Oh no." Fred looked at her, and they took off running.

A/n: How'd you like it? I'm not going to pine for reviews, but it would be appreciated. Anything to improve or add? Let me know! Thank you for reading!