Devotion

Chapter 3

Everyone wore expressions of confusion as we were lined up in a classroom full of two seater couches. My expression was fake, of course.

Though I was curious as to how they were pairing us up. Was there a test, or were the pairs already made? Would the husband I got actually be a good fit for me? And then one of the biggest questions, why were they marrying us off in the first place?

Once we were all in what I guessed were the right spots, with girls on the left and boys on the right, the Minister took his place at the front of the room and began to speak.

"Now, before I start, I ask that you all remain quiet as I speak. I know it might be difficult, but I have a lot to explain with you all, and I'm sure you all wish to get to dinner. So please, just give me your attention, and this will move along much quicker."

He eyed us all for a second, before continuing. "The war was extremely devastating in many ways. But one of the worst effects was that it left us with an extremely reduced wizarding population. We have been searching for a possible solution to this issue, and sadly, this is what the Wizengamot has decided upon.

A marriage law has now been put into effect. Every eligible witch and wizard in the country, eligible meaning above age seventeen, is getting paired with someone, and married to that person within the next two weeks. After—" he got cut off by the growing number of shouts at him in the room.

Instead of saying anything, he just stayed silent until people gave up. With no reaction from him, they dropped it rather quickly.

"I don't like it either, believe me. I also am getting married to someone under this law. But it doesn't end there. Once married, women are expected to be with child within 2 months, unless exempt by a Healer because of some underlying health issue. After that, the Wizengamot is still deciding upon what to do. You can go ahead and yell at me now, I know you want to."

And so we did. Not so much me, but a lot of people did, including Pansy. I, on the other hand, was trying to hold back my panic. I had accepted that I would be getting married, but have children? I wasn't ready to do that for years yet.

For fifteen minutes the yelling persisted, but then it died out. The Minister pulled what I recognized as the Sorting Hat out from behind the desk, and then spoke again.

"Believe me, I agree with you all. If I could change this, I would. But I can't, and we all have to do this. The best we can do is get to know our partners and hopefully grow to love them. Hopefully this old hat will choose well.

Now, one at a time, I will call each girl up and they will put the Sorting Hat on their head, and wait for their partner to be called. Then, you are to sit together with your partner on one of the couches until everyone is paired up, and I will tell you what to do then, understand?" We all nodded, and he pulled a list out of what I assumed were our names.

The Minister took a breath, and then called, "Abbott, Hannah!"

The blonde girl walked up slowly, nearly tripping in her nervousness. The Minister put the black hat on her head, and we waited with bated breath as we waited for the first couple to be matched, the first to be affected by this terrible law...

"Longbottom, Neville!" Hannah immediately took off the hat, a radiant smile shining off her face as she looked at her fiancé. As they both walked to a couch together, happiness clear in their eyes, I could tell they would be the perfect match. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, and the hat really did think about who would work well together.

"Bones, Susan!" A redhead student walked up, looking a bit nervous as well.

"Boot, Terry!" This time, neither seemed very excited. Not upset, exactly, but not thrilled either. I hoped they would grow to love each other, at least in time.

"Brown, Lavender!" She walked up quickly, clearly wanting to get this over with. But I almost gasped out loud when she turned around. Underneath her golden curls and shirt collar, I saw a glimpse of what looked to be a hideous bite mark, with claw scars along the side of her neck.

"Werewolf attack, during the final battle," Pansy whispered to me, seeing where I was looking. I nodded my thanks for her explanation.

"Corner, Michael!" The boy let out a loud groan. I glared at him, but as Lavender grabbed his hand and pulled him to his seat, he seemed to not hate it so much. I would never understand boys.

"Bulstrode, Millicent!" She walked up strongly, taking the hat and shoving it on her head. I glanced at the line of boys and saw them looking at her fearfully, wondering who would get paired with her.

"Goyle, Gregory!" The boy's eyes widened further in fear, but he cautiously walked to the couch she sat at. Meanwhile, the other boys let out loud sighs of relief.

"Granger, Evelyn!" I froze, my eyes wide. I felt someone place a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Pansy. "You've got this," she whispered, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze before nudging me forward. I took a shaky breath before starting to walk.

As I walked, I glanced at the line of boys across the room. One of them would be my husband. The man I spent the rest of my life with. I quickly glanced away, it was too much to handle.

I nervously took the hat and turned around, glancing at my sister. She gave me an encouraging smile, and I weakly returned it, before placing it on my head.

"Malfoy, Draco!"

"NOO!" Hermione screeched. I ripped the hat off my head to see her being held back by a redhead girl and a blonde. I looked at her in confusion as she continued to struggle against their hold.

There were tears in her eyes as she pleaded "Not him, anyone but him, he's horrible, he's—"

"That's enough, Miss Granger. The hat has made its decision, there's no changing it," the Minister told her.

I looked fearfully around the room, unsure what to do. I couldn't remember the previous instructions, I just had thoughts swirling around in my head. How bad was this guy, that my sister would scream like this?

A tall guy with messy platinum blonde hair walked up to me, and I took a step towards him. This must be Draco Malfoy, the guy...

Who I would marry.

Who I would live with.

Who I would have a child with.

Who I would spend the rest of my life with.

My heart raced, my head spun. The thoughts felt like too much. The world swirled around me, and I grabbed his shoulder for support.

"What are you—" he started, whipping his head around to look at me, and tearing his shoulder from my grasp.

"I'm sorry," I gasped, before losing my balance completely and toppling forward. I saw his silver eyes morph from anger to what looked like concern, and his arms moved to catch me, right before I blacked out.