Married by Law

Chapter Four: Unjust! Unlawful! Just plain wrong

"Get up. Now." snapped a voice. Hermione groggily opened her eyes, her vision blurred. She blinked slowly, trying to make sense of what was happening. Her eyes focused and she saw Ginny throwing clothes at her. Hermione sat up.

"What the hell are you doing?" barked Hermione. She glared at redhead who glared at everything.

"I was sent here by my dear fiancee." sneered Ginny. Hermione was taken aback by her shrewdness.

"That's all fine and lovely, but why?" replied Hermione.

"Because you two are headed off to the ministry to try and overturn the law." snapped Ginny. She tossed a pair of dark wash jeans her way. On her lap already was a light pink blouse and black boots.

"You have five minutes." said Ginny before stalking out.

'Goodness, what's got Ginny's wand in a knot?' wondered Hermione as she pulled on the clothes. With her pink knit hat and matching gloves along with her pea coat she skipped down the steps. Harry was anxiously tapping her wand on the side of his leg. He saw Hermione and his eyes widened.

"Merlin! You're fifteen minutes late!" reprimanded Harry. "Ginny woke you a half hour ago!"

Hermione's eyebrows knit forward. "She woke me up like...ten minutes ago."

Harry's eyes grew stormy. "Urgh. I'll explain on the way."

"On the way to what!" asked Hermione, unsure whether or not to trust Ginny now.

"We're going to the ministry to discuss the law." replied Harry briskly as they walked quickly out of the castle. She assumed they had permission so she didn't hesitate when Harry side long apprated her. They appeared in a dark alley, beside a train station.

"I thought you might like this method of transportation." said Harry, smiling.

"Oh I will!" chirped Hermione. They quickly bought there tickets to London, a thirty minute train ride, and boarded. Hermione sat across from Harry in a small two seater.

"So explain." said Hermione. She crossed her legs and clasped her hands. Harry's green eyes flashed.

"She's pregnant." he said flatly.

Hermione thought it best to play dumb. "Y-You weren't to excited about that...are you?"

Harry's eyes widened. "Oh no! No no no! I mean, yes yes yes! I mean-merlin. I'm excited for us! The fact that we are going to have a baby! B-But, so soon! Of course I was speechless when she told me! Then she got angry and began to cry. I have no idea what I did! Then I let it slip that I was going to try and get the law overturned and she began to cry more! She accused me of not loving her and not wanting to marry her!"

Hermione held her hand up, signaling him to stop his ramblings. "Calm down!"

Harry began to rub his forehead. "I just...don't know what I did."

"Harry you didn't intentionally do anything. Listen, Ginny's hormonal. She...she told me about the pregnancy the day of the announcement." confessed Hermione. "Only because she was scared she wouldn't get matched with you. Then she decided to tell you. You see, what you did was nothing. It freaked her out, thinking you were angry. Then you rolled right on into the fact that you wanted the law over, making it sound like you wanted out."

Harry stared at her. "How the hell did you figure that out?"

"S'easy. I'm a girl." replied Hermione with a smile.

Harry and Hermione strode confidently through the Ministry, ignoring the stares of the workers. They handed their wands to the security guard who let them pass without further examination. The two friends climbed into the elevator, which was thankfully empty. They held on tightly as it zoomed up and down until they reached the eighth floor.

"Good lord." murmured Hermione as they walked up to the secretary.

"M-Mr. Potter. Miss G-Granger!" stammered the young witch. Her blonde hair was in a tight knot and her face was stern, but now awed.

"We have an appointment with Minister Shacklebolt." announced Harry clearly.

"Harry. Hermione! Welcome." boomed a deep voice. Hermione turned to see the familiar bald head that was Kinglsey.

"Kingsley!" greeted Harry, shaking his hand. Hermione kissed his cheek and gave him a small hug. He led them into his private office, ignoring the secretary's dumbfounded look. He gestured for them to sit down, as he himself sat down.

"So I'm assuming you're here about the new law." said Kingsley in a business like way.

"Your assumptions are correct." replied Hermione , mirroring his tone.

"You're wasting you breath. I cannot change it, or reverse it." said Kinglsey sternly.

"It's unjust! Unlawful!" shouted Harry, pounding his fist on his hand.

"It's just plain wrong." hissed Hermione, her eyes narrowing. "You cannot force people, especially underage children to wed! It's wrong!"

"I cannot change it." repeated Kingsley.

"Yes you can! You created the damn law, fix it!" snarled Harry. He began to rub his temples, trying to soothe the oncoming migraine.

"Look, Kingsley. We are not children anymore. After everything we went through the past year? I thought we were out in the clear. Now this? It's...not right." said Hermione softly. Her eyes glistened at the memories.

"Listen, what I'm about to tell you is top secret, confidential. You cannot repeat this to anyone besides Ron. Do you promise?"

"Promise!" swore the pair quickly.

"Alright. Truth is, this law wasn't created by me." confessed Kinglsey. He held up his hand when Hermione opened her mouth to comment. "Let me finish. This law is actually an ancient law. It was created back in the 15th century when the wizarding plague was going around. The population dwindled so much they were forced to implant a marriage law. They created a binding law saying that if the population every dropped below a certain percent the law would be enforced. My teams have been working to find a way around it, but it's futile. All we've managed is to allow beings still in school to get an extension to mid summer to get married, which is to be announced tonight. However there is a flaw."

Hermione, who had been listening intently, nodded. "You can't figure out if a person is going to be magical or not until they turn eleven. Technically."

"Exactly! So if wizarding families have a certain number of kids within the next year or two, the law will disappear!" exclaimed Kingsley.

"But the couples currently matched will be forced to wed anyway." snapped Hermione crossly.

"I'm sorry Hermione, my hands are tied. I literally cannot figure out how to get around it. It's bulletproof!"

"Let Hermione take a crack at it." suggested Harry suddenly. Hermione blushed as Kinglsey grew thoughtful.

"I can't believe I didn't think about it. Hermione, would you be interested?"

"If it gets me out of this law, then yes."

"Come back next week! We'll look at it together." smiled Kinglsey.

Hermione smiled back at him, though it was slightly fake. She only hoped there would be some loophole in the law.