Tying Knots

~~ A/N - This story is my take on the When I Kissed the Teacher Marriage Law Challenge. I know that Severus doesn't appear a whole lot in this chapter but trust me, he'll become very important in just a little bit.

Also, feel free to email me at cookietypething@netscape.net for any comments, etc. Hope you enjoy this. And now, on with the show ..... ~~

Chapter One – Every Knot was Once Straight Rope


Friday, July 18, 7:36 pm

Miss Hermione Granger
168 Kempston Road
Bedfordshire, UK

Miss Granger:

This letter is to inform you of a new piece of legislation enacted within the Magical Community. Enclosed forthwith is an explanation of Ministry of Magic Decree Number 1,124, subsections A – E, commonly known as the “Rejuvenatory Genetics Marriage Law.” Please direct any comments, questions, or concerns to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Domestic Affairs Division.


Best wishes for your future and your impending nuptials,

Mdm. Belinda Crescenzi
Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement
Domestic Affairs Division

*****

For your information:

Ministry of Magic Decree Number 1,124 subsections A – E:

It is hereby acknowledged by this decree that increasing intermarrying of the ‘pureblood’ community has caused a serious downturn in magical genetic material. As such, strictly pureblood marriages have resulted in a declining birth rate of magical children, have produced more ‘squibs,’ and have now rendered strictly ‘pureblood’ procreation a danger to the wizarding community.

Subsection A:

As such, the Ministry of Magic hereby resolves:

 All Pureblooded witches or wizards between the ages of 18 and 60 who are not already married will be required by law to enter into a state of marriage with a person of mixed parentage or non-magical parentage.

Subsection B:

In compliance with this policy, the Ministry further resolves:

 Any mixed parented or non-magical parented witch or wizard may be served with a petition of marriage from any interested Pureblood family. Any witch or wizard served with a petition of marriage must acquiesce to said petition within a period of 10 working days. Should the witch/ wizard receive more than one petition, the witch/wizard has ten (10) working days from the date of the last petition submitted with which to make a choice between the available petitions.

Subsection C:

In order to ensure the success of this law, the following shall be abided:

 No witch or wizard under the age of 18 may be petitioned for marriage

 Pureblood families who petition for the marriage of a witch/wizard may not be refused unless another family has been accepted. The patriarch of a pureblood family may submit a petition on behalf of his child, with or without the child’s consent. The contract will be considered binding.

Subsection D:

In order to ensure the success of these marriages, the following shall be considered:

 Each marriage formed as a result of the Rejuvenatory Genetics Marriage Law will be performed by a Ministry of Magic appointed official.

 Each marriage formed will be required to submit documented proof of the couple’s cohabitation.

 At the union ceremony, a charm will be placed on each member of the couple to monitor for any instances of infidelity. In the case of infidelity, the Ministry will be informed and the participants will undergo a trial by the Wizengamot to determine repercussions.

Subsection E: The Procreation Clause

In order to ensure the success of the Rejuvenatory Genetic measures, the following shall be abided:

 Each marriage shall be monitored for a period of one month, to ensure the consummation of the marriage. If the marriage has not been consummated within one month, the contract is dissolved and the mixed/non-magical parented spouse is forthwith required to acquiesce to the marriage petition of any other interested parties.

 Each marriage formed under Ministry Decree Number 1124 will be required to produce at least one offspring (of either sex) by the end of a period of two years. If the mixed/non-magical witch or wizard is still enrolled in school at the time of the marriage, an extra period of one year (making a total of three years) will be allotted for the procreation of the first offspring.

The above is in accordance with Ministry of Magic Decree Number 1,124, subsections A-E.

Mdm. Belinda Crescenzi
Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement
Domestic Affairs Division

*****

Hermione ran her hands over her face, smoothing out the wrinkles of shock that had deepened as she had read the letter.

“Mum, Dad,” Hermione called, her voice as even as she could manage, “I know I told you I wouldn’t be leaving for London until tomorrow, but something’s come up. I’m going to have to leave this afternoon.”

Hermione’s mother rushed to the base of the stairs, where her daughter was perched at the top. “Is something wrong, dear? What happened?”

Hermione fought back a rage of harsh words that would express her anger and managed a weak smile. “No, of course not. I’ve just received a letter from Harry, and he says they need me this afternoon if I can make it.”

Her mother nodded gently, her light brown curls waving slightly as she placed a thin arm around Hermione’s father, who had just appeared around the wall to stand next to his wife. “Are you sure everything’s all right, pumpkin?” he asked, concerned. “You look a little peaky. Are you feeling well?”

“I’m quite well, Dad, thanks. I’m just going to pack up and then I’ll come say goodbye, all right?”

Hermione’s mother nodded, her father blowing a kiss to her. As soon as they had gone back into the sitting room, Hermione hauled herself up off the stairs, her wobbling knees nearly collapsing under her.

“You can make it,” she said quietly to herself. “Once you get to Grimmauld Place, we’ll get this all straightened out. It’s got to be a mistake.”

She flew about her room, packing as fast as she could without breaking something. Her organization left something to be desired, compared to her usual precision, but at the moment it didn’t matter. All that mattered now was getting to Grimmauld Place, to Dumbledore, Harry and anyone else who could explain this mess.

She did grin to herself at the ease with which she could pack now that she was allowed to use magic outside of school. Between that and her apparition license, she would be able to get to London to Grimmauld Place fairly easily.

She dragged out her desk chair and scribbled a hasty note that she shoved at the Ministry owl she had begged to stay.

Harry,
Will be Apparating to Grimmauld Place within the hour. No questions now. Will explain everything on arrival. Find out how to get hold of Dumbledore.
See you soon
Hermione


“Please hurry,” she bid the large tawny owl before it rushed away with a hush of wings out her bedroom window. “And …er … don’t … let on where you’ve been.” She was quite certain that owls could neither talk nor betray the whereabouts of their addressees, but with the prescient looks that she often encountered from Hedwig, she was uneasy at sending a Ministry owl to the headquarters of the Order.

With a quick levitation charm, she brought all her school things downstairs hurriedly. She stopped at the base of the stairs for a moment to compose her face before walking into the sitting room to her parents.

Hermione’s heart tugged painfully at the completely mundane picture ahead of her. Her mother was quietly sipping a cup of tea and skimming her eyes over the latest issue of Dentistry Today, her father spread out in an armchair, grimacing at a review of the latest advancements in the auto industry in the London Times. Since she had first started going to Hogwarts six years ago, her life at home became a stark picture of how unusual the vast majority of her life was.

“Well,” she said, as her parents looked up from their respective reading material. “I’m off to London. I’ll owl you when I get notice about school and the Head Girl position.”

Her father grinned and held up his crossed fingers, her mother smiled gently.

“Have a good summer, darling, we’ll see you again at Christmas,” her mother replied easily.

Hermione kissed each of her parents and then held tight to her belongings. Her parents jumped slightly at the pop that signaled Hermione’s departure.

*****

Hermione’s stomach still gave a churn every time she Apparated. Be it broomstick, hippogriff or Apparition, Hermione did not have an aptitude for magical travel. She sighed heavily and muttered to herself as she stood in the filthy Muggle alley, clutching her trunk for dear life.

“The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix can be found at 12 Grimmauld Place, London,” she whispered to herself. Apparating always disoriented her, and she found that this occasionally resulted in inability to find Headquarters.

As she whispered, number 12 Grimmauld Place began to take shape before her eyes, inflating like a child’s pool toy. With a deep breath, she heaved her trunk up the stairs to the porch and made use of the intricate snake door knocker, unsure whether Mrs. Black’s portrait had been removed – thus rendering the doorbell unusable.

To her great surprise it was Harry who answered the door, enveloping her instantly in his arms quickly for a hug before hefting her trunk into the entrance hall. She noticed, to her surprise, that Harry had filled out quite a bit this summer; he lifted her trunk with incredible ease.

Harry noticed her unchecked gaze at him and smiled. “Been working out for Quidditch this year. Got hammered at the Cup match last year.”

Hermione blushed at her inattention to staring, but smiled all the same.

“Good to have you here,” Harry said.

“Good to be back,” she responded quickly. An unmistakable nervousness crept into her eyes that was not lost on Harry, but Hermione continued, so he decided not to comment immediately. “Where is everyone? Ron?”

Harry stretched a bit and then hefted the trunk to his shoulder, starting up the stairway to the room Hermione shared with Ron’s sister Ginny. “Down in the kitchen. Dinner’s starting soon, but I expect Ginny’s still upstairs primping.”

Hermione threw him a questioning look to which Harry responded, “Bill is bringing his new fiancée and I think Neville will be joining us as well.”

Hermione smiled again, pleased to see Neville’s progress in the DA had not been wasted in the year that it had been inactive. “Lovely, I’d welcome Neville’s company, and I’m sure that he must want to get away from his grandmother. Who’s Bill engaged to?”

Harry grunted in exertion as the trunk slipped slightly on his shoulder around the landing outside the room he shared with Ron. “Fleur Delacour.” Harry giggled as he caught the disapproving look that glazed Hermione’s face. “Aww, she’s not so bad. Once you get on her good side.”

Hermione hmmphed in disapproval, but watched Harry more carefully. “Wouldn’t it be easier just to use a locomotor charm on that, rather than hefting it all the way to the third floor?”

“Eh, it’s good for me,” Harry replied.

Hermione eased open the door to the girls’ room, allowing Harry to deposit the trunk at the foot of Hermione’s bed. To her surprise, the bed was turned down, showing deep blue sheets folded beneath the white comforter. It was as if they had been expecting her.

“Harry-?” Hermione began.

“They know why you’re here. In fact, they know more than you do.”

Hermione blanched, wondering what information could possibly have slipped by her, but she fell silent as Ginny walked back into the room. Ginny squealed in delight and rushed across the room to hug Hermione.

“You’re here!” she shrieked. “We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow!”

“Hey, Gin,” she managed, beneath a bone crushing hug. She peered at the redhead. “You’ve grown again?” Hermione asked, incredulous. “You’re taller than I am now.”

“Dunno,” Ginny responded, smiling. “I’m taller than Fred and George now too. Ron’s gonna have a run for his money.” Ginny chuckled winningly, drawing a smile to Hermione’s face. The youngest Weasley certainly kept Hermione on her toes.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” the redhead continued, “Tonks hasn’t been around lately, so it’s just me and Mum for the ladies’ point of view. Too much testosterone in the house for my taste.”

To this end, Harry made quite a show of flexing his muscles, with Hermione and Ginny dissolving into peals of laughter. “Come on,” he beckoned, his hand on the doorknob. “Let’s head down to dinner.”

*****

Mrs. Weasley’s delighted shriek at Hermione’s presence was an interesting mirror of her daughter’s. The assembled party in the warm kitchen in the basement of Grimmauld Place was full to bursting. Hermione was assaulted upon entry with a barrage of welcoming greetings, and several hugs from various members of the Order. Neville came quickly and gave her a gentle hug, expressing his delight to be working for the Order.

“Harry let it slip accidentally last year,” he responded to Hermione’s unspoken question of how Neville knew of it. “But once I’d heard that there was such a thing, I figured I … well, owed it to Mum and Dad, you know.”

Hermione nodded and clasped his hand gently as he fought tears that were welling in his eyes. “You are truly amazing, Neville,” she whispered, smiling into his round face. Neville beamed with pride and turned to Ron, who had just reentered.

Ron made a large fuss over Hermione, picking her off her feet and swinging her around so violently that she started hollering that she was becoming sick just so he would let her down. They hugged briefly before Ron started regaling her with an update of every minute detail of Ron and Harry’s summer activities. Hermione would normally have been hungry for every detail, but her stomach was still churning unpleasantly, so she made to disentangle herself, insisting that she must bestow her good wishes to the happy couple.

She moved away eventually, congratulating Bill and Fleur, shaking hands with Moody and Mr. Weasley as she made her way across the room. She had just pulled apart from a hug with Professor Lupin when she noticed two figures deep in conversation, sequestered in the corner, away from the growing hubbub of kit kitchen.

She squinted into the corner and then questioned her smiling former teacher. “Professor Lupin-“

“Remus,” he spoke softly. “You’re an adult now.”

She smile res response and continued. “Er … Remus…” she trailed off and giggled. “I suppose that will take some get use used to,” she said, acknowledging his nod. “Is that Professor Dumbledore in the corner? Who is he talking to?”

Remus’s face lost some of its happiness. “Yes, that’s Dumbledore. He’s talking to Professor Snape. Something’s … come up, as I’m sure you know.”

Lupin’s smoky gray eyes held hers for a moment of understanding, before she nodded. “I suppose they’re discussing solutions to this?”
ll,”ll,” he began gently, “you might say ‘alternatives,’ rather than ‘solutions.’”

Hermione attempted to pry her mind away from the conversation and set to work downing a healthy portion of Mrs. Weasley’s delicious cooking. Dumbledore and Snape conversed throughout dinner, never leaving the corner they had occupied for several hours, according to Fred and George.

Abruptly,ardsards the end of the meal, Dumbledore rose from the corner and made to leave the room. He stopped at the door, and turned to Hermione.

“Miss Granger, if you would accompany me to the study, please,” Dumbledore said, holding the swinging kitchen door open for her.

She rose from the table, all to aware of the gaze of the rest of the party. She followed Dumbledore to the study, where he settled behind the desk and urged Hermione to one of the worn leather wingbacks that stood in front of it. By the window, standing in the lessening light, Professor Snape was staring out as if he had been there for hours.

Funny, Hermione thought with a start, I didn’t even see him leave the kitchen.

Dumbledore quietly began speaking. “Miss Granger, to try and postpone this subject matter with small talk would be insulting to your intelligence, so I will simply get straight to the point.”

Hermione felt her stomach turn over but did not speak.

“Shortly after Harry informed us that you would be joining us here, we received a letter for you from the Ministry of Magic, no doubt because you were already in transit to Grimmauld Place. As I am well informed of what is going on within the Ministry, I have no doubt that this letter is regarding the new Rejuvenatory Genetics Marriage Law.”

Dumbledore handed a sealed letter across the desk to her, which she nearly fumbled to the floor in nervousness. She slipped a finger underneath the seal and began, unknowingly, read the letter out loud.

“Miss Granger,” she began quickly, “This letter is in reference to Ministry Decree number 1124. We are aware that you have been informed as to the stipulations of the law, and as such, this letter is intended to inform you of your status of eligibility as of 8pm this evening …”

“Eligible?” she said, directing the question to Dumbledore, “how could I be eligible? I’m not 18 yet!”

Dumbledore merely gestured back to the letter, so she kept reading.

“Due to youe ofe of the Time Turner during your third year, your body and person has experienced approximately 18.25 years of age, despite the placement of your birthday in mid-September. As such, you will now be placed on a list of eligible witches for the purpose of obtaining marriage proposals. Yours obediently, Madam Belinda Crescenzi …” she trailed off into silence.

Dumbledore sighed heavily, and Snape moved from the window to the fireplace, but did not speak. “Miss Granger,” Dumbledore spoke eventually, “this has obviously placed you in a delicate situation. As a student at Hogwarts as well as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, your impending proposals will be a matter of great importance and discretion.”

She nodded blankly, still disbelieving the situation she was now in.

She saw Dumbledore make to hand her another e ofe of paper, which she received blankly, not even bothering to open it.

“Miss Granger, you have received the first of your proposals.”

Hermione’s head snapped to attention, fixing her gaze on Dumbledore’s blue eyes, now glazed with a heavy compassion and sadness.

“Who …?” she managed, but Dumbledore gestured to the letter. Hermione reluctantly tore open the green wax seal, a sense of foreboding icing her stomach. She read the contents of the paper out loud. “I, Lucius Adonai Malfoy, request the hand of Hermione Granger in marriage on behalf of my son, Draco Ewan Malfoy …”

Hermione barely digested the words before blackness crowded the corners of her vision. She slipped from the chair, passing out blindly before she hit the dusty carpet.