170Author's Notes:
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Saturday 2nd January 1999
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Hermione was walking bare foot around the grounds of Hogwarts School. It was the middle of summer and the sky was a beautiful shade of blue. There wasn't a cloud in sight and the sun was shining brightly. Hermione was wearing school skirt and shirt, which wasn't tucked in. Her tie was hanging loosely around her neck and her black school cloak was billowing out behind her as she ran towards her favourite tree next to the black lake. She took her cloak off and folded it up neatly before sitting down on it with her back resting on the tree trunk. She took a moment to glance across the lake before picking up her small bag. With the help of an undetectable extension charm she kept her entire library in her bag. There were a total of 327 books in her bag so she had to use her wand to get the book she wanted.
She opened her bag and placed the tip of her wand inside. She paused for a moment while deciding which book to read. She decided upon her favourite book.
"Accio Hogwarts: A History." She mumbled and after a few seconds a book with a red cover shot out of the bag. Hermione caught it before it hit the ground. She opened the book to a random page and started reading.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Hermione looked up from her book and took a look at her surroundings. She was sure she had just heard a tapping noise. She decided it was probably a bird in a tree somewhere.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
There it was again. It sounded like a bird was tapping on a glass window, but there were no windows near the black lake.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Hermione was getting annoyed now. She stood up to get a better view of her surroundings. 'Where was the noise coming from,' she thought to herself as she turned around.
"Hermione, will you let that bloody owl in."
Where had that voice come from? It sounded like her Dad but he couldn't be at Hogwarts, muggles couldn't get past the gate.
"Hermione, did you hear me? Your mum and I are trying to sleep."
The voice was followed by a banging. Hermione shut her eyes unsure of what was happening. When she opened her eyes again she found herself in her bed at her parents' house. She wasn't at Hogwarts reading a book in the summer sun; it had only been a dream. She was in fact lying in her bed in the middle of the Christmas holidays. There was a banging on her door and she remembered her Dad had been shouting at her.
"Sorry Dad, I'll get the owl." Hermione shouted to her father through the wall.
"Well I'm awake now so we might as well get up." Her mother shouted from the room next to Hermione's. She heard her father's footsteps making their way downstairs and her mother's footsteps make their way into the bathroom. Hermione checked her clock on the bedside table. It was 7:30am, too early to be awake during the Christmas holidays. 'I suppose I can start my revision early and then go to Diagon Alley,' she thought as she lay back onto her pillow.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Oh I almost forgot." She jumped out of bed and made her way over to her window. She opened it and let the beautiful Barn Owl fly in. "Sorry," she apologised to the owl before untying the letter from its leg. She went back over to her bedside table and pulled the top draw open, reached in and brought out an owl treat. She held it out in her hand and the owl flew over to her took the treat and flew back out the window. "You're welcome," she said sarcastically as she watched the owl fly away. She shut her window and went back to her letter.
The letter had the Ministry of Magic seal on the back. Hermione frowned at this. The ministry sent her a letter once a week asking her to make some talk about the war. She had refused every time; she didn't want to make a speech about how happy she was that Voldemort was dead and that the war was over or how sad she was about the lives that had been lost. She hated think about all the people who had died, there was so many of them. Charlie Weasley had died after he pushed his brother Fred out the way of a falling wall. Dennis Creevey had died after sneaking back into Hogwarts to find his brother, who had also snuck back into Hogwarts. Cho Chang had died after being bitten by FinirGreyback. Horace Slughorn had died after placing himself between a Death Eater and a group of 4th years trying to get to the Room of Requirement to escape. Dobby, Mad-eye Moody, BathildaBagshot and Ted Tonks had also died. There were too many to count and there were a lot of unknown bodies still being identified 8 months after the war. Hermione wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and opened the letter.
02/01/1999
To Sir/Miss,
It is exactly eight months today since the end of the war and we are sad to inform you that we have a total body count of those who lost their lives at the hand of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The total stands at 537 wizards and witches. Unfortunately this number of deaths in such a small period of time has lowered our population drastically. Therefore, the Ministry of Magic has created a new decree which will help boost our population.
If the population is to rise by 50% in the next ten years the decree will be repealed, if not then the decree will stay in place for another five years until our target population has been reached.
The Decree states that:
1. The age range is from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry graduate to the age of 21.
2. All Wizards and Witches whom graduate from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in May 1999 will be required to marry a Wizard or Witch from the age range given.
3. All Wizards and Witches this applies to must fill in the questionnaire enclosed with this letter. The questionnaire must be answered truthfully in order to find you a partner with whom you are most compatible with.
4. All Wizards and Witches this applies to must be present at the Partner Ceremony on the first June 1999 where there partner will be picked and they will be married and given the pass code to their new Ministry Starter House. The couple must live in the Ministry Starter House until their first child is born which must occur within the first two years of marriage. If a child is not born within the given time, a medical exam will be given to check the couple's fertility. If one of the couple is found to be infertile, the couple may be divorced and the fertile person must remarry within one year of the divorce.
5. All Wizards and Witches that are currently in a relationship with someone, please make a note of their name and date of birth in the 'Other Important Information' section on the questionnaire.
6. Marriages of Wizards and Witches that fall within the age range will be banned in order to stop people from eloping to avoid being paired with someone incompatible.
7. All Wizards and Witches this applies to who refuse to marry their chosen partner will be sentenced to a minimum of six months imprisonment in Azkaban.
8. All Wizards and Witches this applies to whom are found using the contraceptive potion or charm will be sentenced to a minimum of six months imprisonment at Azkaban.
All questionnaires must be returned before the first March 1999. You will not find out your partner until the Partner Ceremony which will take place at the Ministry of Magic. Please await more details for the event closer to the time.
Thank you for your time.
Approved and Signed by
Kingsley Shacklebolt
Minister of Magic
Hermione had finished reading the letter and was sat on her bed staring at it with her mouth open wide in shock.
"What the Hell," She shouted out loud. "They can't force me to marry." She said quieter. Hermione stood up and started pacing about her room. 'How could Kingsley approve of this?' She thought as she reread the letter. 'I'm going to be forced to marry someone who I might not even know.' She had to go speak to Ginny about this.
After the war ended in May 1998, students who missed a year were allowed to retake that year. Hermione, Harry and Ron had missed their seventh year so had opted to stay back to finish their education. Ginny, however, hadn't missed any schooling so she was in seventh year with them and they would graduate the same time. This meant that Ginny would be within the age range and would know how she felt.
Hermione ran over to her wardrobe and pulled out a pair of skinny black jeans, a black vest top, an emerald green see through blouse and a black faux leather jacket. She pulled out her wand and tapped her hair three times muttering the hair straightening spell. She then closed her eyes and tapped her face once. When she opened her eyes she had a hint of make up on, the perfect amount that would make it look like she didn't have any on. She gave herself a once over before she ran down the stairs and headed for the front door to pull her black ankle boot on.
"Where do you think you're going this earlier in the morning?" She heard her father call from the kitchen. Hermione turned around and saw her father leaning against the kitchen door frame.
"It was the letter. Something very important has come up and I need to discuss it with Ginny." She pouted and gave him her best puppy dog eyes. "Pleeeaaase." She begged him.
"Fine," Her father surrendered. "But be back for tea at six o'clock tonight." He added as she opened the front door and ran out of it.
"Thanks Daddy." She called back as she shut the front door. She then turned on the spot and apparated just outside the wards of The Burrow home of the Weasleys.
She opened the gate and literally ran down the path to the kitchen door. She opened the door and walked into the kitchen to find Mrs Weasley stood in the kitchen cooking breakfast.
