Is Love Blind?

Chapter 8 - Stubborn Witch.

When one received their letter from the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation of Population Control, informing one that they were to attend a compulsory dating programme after failing to declare a marriage contract, they are informed that the aforementioned dating programme would take approximatley 4 weeks. Hermione Granger, alongside the other candidates in her cohort, was about to begin her third week on the so-called marriage mart. It made her feel quite nauseous indeed, considering that she had no clue who she was going to choose. 

Miraculously, Hermione had narrowed it down to 2 men, neither of which would she feel particularly comfortable sharing the rest of her life with, having only met them twice through a pane of opaque glass. On the bright side, having only 2 dates to attend, meant that she only had to travel to The Ministry 3 times this week, once for each date and again at the end of the week to choose her future husband. Thankfully, her boss, Mr Soren had given Hermione 4 weeks of leave (the new legislation had forced his hand), therefore she was free to do as she pleased when she was not required at The Ministry. 

Her first date was to be with Mystery Man #7, on Tuesday. Getting out of bed had been a challenge. Hermione had spent the previous afternoon at Grimmauld Place, with Ginny and Harry. The moulding old townhouse was practically unrecognisable after their renovation efforts. Ginny it seemed, had her Mother's aptitude for household spells. The ancient furniture had been completely destroyed, walls had been stripped and carpets had been pulled up to make way for a much more modern decor. Harry had even had electric lighting installed, much to the fascination of Arthur. There were still rooms that were left unfinished, however. Ginny had quite urgently asked Hermione to come over and help her decorate an upstairs bedroom. Hermione had been suspicious of friend's sudden persistence, but hadn't managed to extract her reasoning from her. 

Physically exhausted from her efforts the previous day, Hermione practically dragged herself out of bed into the shower, welcoming the warm, relaxing effect it had on her tired muscles. Having stood in the shower for longer than she realised, Hermione dressed quickly, grabbing a Paczki (a deep fried yeast cake filled with custard) from the Polish bakery below her flat for breakfast. She apparated into a secluded alley way, around the corner from The street entrance to The Ministry of Magic, munching on her Polish doughnut as she walked.

____

"Hello?" Hermione called out. 

Once again, she found herself sitting inside one of the small rooms reserved for blind dates, in The Department for the Regulation of Population Control. She relaxed into the soft black leather sofa, that took up the length of the room, facing the white-fogged glass which her date was situated behind.

"Hi." Elligible Bachelor #7 replied.

"Hi." Hermione said, feeling herself smile. "Thank you for choosing me." 

"I seem to recall telling you the last time we met, there's no need to thank me." He chuckled.

Hermione stuck her tongue out indignantly, regardless of the fact that he couldn't see her. "Well, I'm going to do so anyway." 

"Stubborn Witch." He said with no real insult. "How have you been?" 

"Am I allowed to discuss my other dates with you? Or are you going to get offended?" Hermione asked him. 

The man took a second to think. "Offended probably isn't the correct term. I might find myself getting overwhelmingly jealous." He teased. 

"Is that so?" Hermione bit her lip. "You sound terribly possessive."  

The man sucked in air through his teeth. "That depends. You see, for me to be possessive over you, you'd have to allow me to call you mine." 

"I think i'd prefer it if you called me by my name." Hermione quipped.