First and foremost, I would like to point out that though I admire the woman's writing prowess I am not, nor will I ever be J. So needless to say, I don't own anything Harry Potter, so if you recognize it I probably don't own it

Secondly this is my first ever attempt at a Grape so flamers, go easy.

Thirdly except for a few brief mentions, the life of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort is completely ignored. Well at least, as of right now I'm not planning on using his name a lot.

Fourthly, 99.987654321% of this story will be in Hermione's P.O.V. Except for a few brief spots of somebody elses.

And last but certainly not least, Enjoy!

Deseo del Corazón

Chapter One

The world surrounding the Granger house was quiet, except for the noises from the t.v. in their living room. Hermione Granger sat with her parent's watching the television, as they always did late at night during the summer weekends. Summers were the time to relax for the young witch, and enjoyed laying back with her parents. Relaxed though she may be, when somebody knocked on the door, Hermione jumped up with her wand drawn and whispered, "Go stand by the back door, and if I fall I want you to run." They nodded solemnly and did as she asked, as she answered the door.

Once she had the door openned she saw a small delegation of ministry officials standing on their porch. The tall one in the middle, looking very much like a lion, asked softly, "Hermione Granger?" With her nod he continued to speak, "My name is Rufus Scrimgeour, and I am the Minister of magic. I have come to inform you and your family that a new law has been passed."

Hermione's eyes narrowed, "what kind of law?"

He took a step forward, "It is of the utmost importance that both my colleagues and I speak with you and your family inside."

"How do I know that none of you are death eaters in disguise?"

He shot her a patronizing glance, "Miss Granger, if I could do anything to placate your fears, I would, however, you will need to trust me until I can get what I came here to say out on the table."

Hermione's stance did not change, and she said, "will you make an oath on your wand that neither you or any of your colleagues will do any harm to either me or my parents?"

He nodded, and raised his wand slowly, as not to startle her, before he said, "I Rufus K. Scrimgeour do solemnly make an oath on my wand, that neither I nor my colleagues will cause any harm to Jean, Richard, or Hermione Granger." After he finished he raised an eyebrow at her, as if asking if that was enough.

She nodded and stepped aside to allow them entrance, as the minister was passing she said, "We'll do this in the living room, but you may need to summon some chairs."

In a few short minutes Hermione, her parents, and the delegation of ministry wizards were seated around the coffee table in the living room. After taking a sip from his glass of tea, the minister started to speak. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Hermione, we have come here tonight to tell you that a new Marriage Law has been passed. Normally we would start at the beginning of an alphabetical list and work our way down, but there are some people, like 'the Golden Trio' who need protection from potentially problematic spouses. So with you, Harry, and Ron: along with a small amount of others, we are alerting you first."

Mrs. Granger asked, "who is on this list? I would hope that no married people are on it, as it would be destructive."

One of the officials said snidely, "The list is compiled of wizards and witches that are single and of age."

The minister said, "That will be enough ," as Hermione sent a glare at the man for his tone towards her mother.

Hermione kept his glare on him for a moment longer before turning back towards the minister and saying lightly, "Please continue."

"As I said, this is a marriage law, and to determine your future husband, or in a males case, their future wife, we take a small sample of your blood." He paused to take a small sip of tea, but when he openned his mouth to continue, he was interrupted.

"Blood?" Hermione asked, "How will my blood be able to determine who I am going to marry?"

The minister sat his cup of tea down before clasping his hands in front of him and leaning forward. "Before taking your blood we will give you a potion called Esposo del deseo de mi corazón, it was invented by a Spanish conquistador a few centuries ago. Loosely translated it means 'spouse of my hearts desire'."

Jean asked, "just how many people are going to be affected by this new law?"

The minister's face turned very serious, "All unmarried, of age citizens of magical Britain. During the seventh year at Hogwarts, all of the students that fall under this will be taking a few extra classes, primarily to prepare them for marriage. A child development class and such."

Hermione leaned forward, "May I ask again sir how my blood will determine who I am going to marry?"

"After taking the potion, we will prick your finger and let the blood fall onto a piece of parchment where it will spell out the name of your intended."

Hermione's face turned thoughtful, as her father asked, "what if the person is unwilling? Or if my darling daughter get's chosen by somebody else."

sneer grew. "The magic of the potion will only write the name after checking the others heart too. And as the minister said, after Hermione's blood chooses her mate, her name will be crossed off of the list."

"Mr. Fletcher, I would prefer it if you would stop snapping at my parents!" Hermione snapped.

Jean's curiosity broke through the silence that followed Hermione's statement. "How will it do that?" She asked, referring to the potion.

The corners of the ministers lips twitched. "Magic."

"May I speak with my parent's in the other room?" Hermione asked.

"Of course, take as long as you need."

The Grangers disappeared into the kitchen, where they had a whispered conversation, and were back before ten minutes had passed. "My parents and I have decided to do the ritual, but I was wondering if you could explain the process better?"

The minister nodded, and laid a blank piece of parchment on the coffee table in front of Hermione, and set a potion vial down beside it. "We will give you this potion, and after about forty-five seconds, you will begin to feel slightly light headed, but that will only be momentary. As soon as you begin to feel light headed, you need to repeat the name of the potion, and when we prick your finger, you will continue repeating it until the blood touches the paper."

Hermione nodded, "So after I begin feeling light headed I just repeat 'Esposo del deseo de mi corazón'?"

"Yes." He paused, to let his answer sink in before he said, "take the potion when you are ready."

Hermione picked up the vial, and pulled out the stopper, and after a moment's hesitation, downed it's contents. Moving her tongue around in it's wake she said, "It tasted sweet."

The minister nodded, "we will prick your finger a minute after you start saying the name of the potion."

Though she hadn't been counting seconds, the light headed-ness hit her when predicted. So she started speaking, "Esposo del deseo de mi corazón. Esposo del deseo de mi corazón."

The minister had been staring at his watch, and after sixty seconds he held his hand out for hers, and touched the tip of her finger with a needle. Holding her hand above the parchment he squeezed her finger lightly, and the silence in the room was palpable as the blood swirled to form three words. Hermione gasped, because the blood had spelled out the name, Severus Tobias Snape.

What did you think? I know that this chapter is a little bit short, but I can promise that the next one is longer. Next chapter will spend a small amount of time in the mind of our favorite snarky potions professor. Please Review.

Esposo del deseo de mi corazón - Spouse of my heart's desire

Esposo - Spouse

De - Of

Mi - my

Deseo - desire

Corazón - Heart