Visited Upon the Son

Disclaimer: I live in Texas, not Scotland, so I am obviously not JK Rowling. I’m

just playing with the wonderful characters that she created. I promise that I will put them

back the way I found them when I’m done!

AN: Many thanks to Axellia for betaing this for me!

Visited Upon the Son

© SparkyCSI

Chapter 5. Halloween

A few months had gone by, since Draco and Hermione’s conversation at dinner. While, they

weren’t exactly friends, they had become close colleagues. They found that their classes

were intertwined with each other, which led to some in depth discussions to the benefits and

consequences of their respective disciplines.

Hermione found herself growing to respect the potions professor. She sat silently at the

table, before dinner, her mind going over things in her head. Hum…I don’t cringe anymore

when I see him. He has proven to me that he is nothing like that bastard of a father that

he had. Wow. I didn’t think that I would ever feel like that.

She was so lost in thought, that she didn’t hear him sit next to her or ask her to pass the

salt. She was jolted back into reality with a soft touch on her arm. She looked up in

startlement. “I’m sorry. What did you say, Draco?”

Draco looked at her in concern. “Are you okay, Hermione?”

“I’m fine. I was just lost in thought. Harry…” she trailed off as the memories overwhelmed

her. She took a breath and began again. “Harry and Ron used to kid me about that.”

Draco noticed that brief pain that flashed across her face as the bittersweet memories

threatened to overwhelm her. “Okay. I just asked if you could pass the salt.”

Hermione did so, silently. He had just accepted the salt shaker, when McGonagall stood

up.

“Students, your attention please?” The students looked silently up at their Headmistress.

“As you know, Halloween is coming up in a couple of weeks. I would like to announce that

there will be a Halloween Ball on Friday the twenty-fifth. This will be open to fourth

years and above. This is a costume ball, so I would like to remind everyone to make sure

that their costumes are within the acceptable school guidelines. Their will be a Halloween

feast for all the students, starting at six p.m. and the ball will begin at eight p.m.

Thank you and enjoy your dinner.” McGonagall sat down after her speech and with a look at

the professors, she added on, “Chaperones are needed for the students, and while you are not

required to attend the ball, I must make sure that there are enough professors to provide

adequate supervision.”

Hermione sighed. “Well, I guess that means that I’ll need to get a costume. I hate

shopping!”

Draco laughed. “You’re a woman. What do you mean you don’t like to shop?”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Just because I’m a woman does not mean that I enjoy shopping for

clothes! I prefer to shop for books,” she said primly.

Draco just laughed as they continued their dinner.

McGonagall looked over at the pair and sighed. While she was overjoyed that they had

learned to get along, much to Albus’ delight, she felt guilty withholding information from

them. Oh, Albus. What have you gotten me into?

McGonagall continued to watch the pair over the following days, noticing the attraction

between them and the easy manner in which Hermione interacted with him. She was in her

office on the twenty fourth when the news of the new law by the ministry came in.

Ironically enough it was Albus’ portrait which told her of it. She was sitting at her desk,

reading reports on the student’s progress when the painting cleared its throat.

“Minerva? I have some news from the Ministry. They passed that retched law.”

McGonagall looked at the portrait in disgust. “The Marriage Law has been passed? How are

they going to choose the couples?”

“Those details had not been worked out when I left the Ministry. I did manage to overhear

that it will be affecting every witch and wizard over the age of eighteen and under the age

of fifty. Those couples which are engaged are, of course, exempt. Other than that, I do

believe that the Ministry will be sending owls out. Warn them, Minerva.”

Minerva sighed in resignation. “I will. I will bring it to everyone’s attention in the

staff meeting on Saturday morning.”

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Hermione put the finishing touches on her Fallen Angel costume on Friday. She looked down

at herself, a little uncomfortable with the revealing quality of her costume. She had

dressed in a dark grey dress which hugged her body to her knees, then flared out with lace.

The dress had exposed shoulders with grey sleeves. She had affixed two tattered grey wings

to her back with a simple sticking charm. Another charm made them flutter softly, like she

was moving them. Above her head hovered a grey rose halo. “Perfect,” she muttered, still

feeling a little uncomfortable.

Hermione grabbed her wand, slipped it into a concealed pocket and walked out of her

rooms.

When she got to the Great Hall, she helped McGonagall put the finishing touches on the

decorations. McGonagall looked at her when she walked in.

“Wow, Mia. That’s certainly a different look than previous years.”

Hermione smiled. “I know. I was tired of doing the Renaissance look and decided to go for

a Fallen Angel instead. Is it too much? I can still go change into last year’s costume,”

she said in hopes that McGonagall would say that it was not appropriate.

McGonagall smiled. “No, it’s fine. It’s not to revealing. You really do look beautiful.”

Hermione nodded to her in resignation. “I don’t know why I let Ginny talk me into this.

Really. Is this me?”

McGonagall laughed. “Mia, she’s just trying to get you out of your shell. You’re young;

you deserve to—um, spread your wings a bit.”

Hermione just rolled her eyes. Her eyes were drawn to the door, when Draco walked in. He

was dressed in a Phantom of the Opera costume, complete with the mask that covered half his

face. “Wow, Draco. I’m impressed. You are in a Muggle costume?”

Draco looked over a Hermione, stunned. Merlin! She’s gorgeous! His brain kicked

back in when he realized that she was speaking to him. “Yes. I’ve come to enjoy a lot of

forms of Muggle entertainment.” He winked slightly at her.

Hermione saw his wink and blushed slightly. She didn’t have time to say anything else,

since the students began to arrive. She walked around the room, making sure that all the

students were having fun.

After a couple of hours, she had taken a position by the refreshment table to watch the

students interact. She turned her head when she felt someone walk up beside her.

“Hermione,” said Draco. “You look amazing tonight. I’m astounded by your costume, but I do

have to ask. What kind of angel are you?”

Hermione smirked. “I’m a Fallen Angel.”

Draco, always one with a quick response, replied back, “Why did you fall from Heaven?”

Hermione was dumbstruck. “Honestly? I have no clue! Ginny picked out the costume for me.

She said she was tired of my boring Halloween costumes.”

Draco was about to reply back when he saw a seventh year try to slip some Firewhisky into

the punch. He excused himself and walked up to the youth, who was in Slytherin. “You

should know,” he said, startling the young man. “The punch has a charm on it to prevent

meddling. Also, if you were to put the alcohol in there, you would be turned into a cat for

the remainder of the evening.”

The student swallowed and quickly put the flask back into his costume. Draco smirked and

turned back to where Hermione had been standing only to find her gone. He looked around the

room, feeling disappointment.

When Draco walked away, Hermione took a deep breath and decided to leave. She was feeling a

little tired and wanted to get some sleep before the meeting the next morning. She walked

over to McGonagall and motioned to her that she was leaving.

McGonagall nodded. “Have a good night, Mia. I’ll see you at the staff meeting in the

morning.

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Hermione and Draco arrived at the staff meeting the following morning at the same time.

Draco greeted her. “Hi. Where did you go last night?”

Hermione smiled. “I was feeling tired, so I went back to my room to get some sleep.” She

didn’t mention that she had not been sleeping well; dreams of her imprisonment haunted her

dreams almost every night. She nodded her head to him when he held the door open for her.

“Thanks.”

They walked into the room and took their places at the table. Both had just settled into

their seats when the rest of the staff walked in.

McGonagall took her place at the head of the table, with some trepidation. With a breath

she called the meeting to order. “Before we get into the school business, I have some news

from the Ministry.”

Hermione looked at her mentor in alarm, noticing the unease in her voice. “What is it,

Minerva?”

McGonagall exhaled. “The Ministry has passed a new law. It’s a Marriage Law.”

Hermione opened her eyes wide. “What? How can the ministry do that?” she almost shouted in

surprise.

“The population decreased dramatically after the final battle with Voldemort. As a result,

the Ministry invoked a medieval law that states that any unmarried or unengaged witch or

wizard must be married. It originated after the Black Plague, when wizarding society was

threatened with extinction.”

“That’s…that’s…” Hermione trailed off, unable to articulate her thoughts.

“That’s barbaric,” growled Draco.

McGonagall nodded her agreement. “I know. I was unable to stop it. I just wanted to warn

all of you. They are also choosing the couples.” She held up her hand. “I don’t know how

the couples will be chosen, so don’t ask me that. Now, I do believe we should move on since

we do not have any more information on this subject. Anything urgent pending in regards to

the students?”

The staff meeting continued in a subdued manner.

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Hermione and the rest of the staff were understandably subdued the rest of the weekend. The

shock and unease persisted into the following Monday morning. When the Owl Post came,

Hermione was unsurprised to find a letter from the Ministry in it. With trepidation, she

opened the letter.

“Dear Ms. Granger,

The Ministry is implementing a new Marriage Law, which requires all witches and wizards

between the ages of eighteen and fifty to be wed within the next year. The marriages will

be arranged, using the Sorting Hat from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to choose

spouses for all magical people meeting this requirement, so that the marriages will be long

lasting. If you are already married or if you have a fiancé, then you of course will be

excluded. You must fill out the following paperwork if you and your fiancé wish to be

excluded from the law. The paperwork must be returned no later than Thursday, October 31,

or the pending marriage will be resolved.

If you have no fiancé or are not already married, you must report to the Ministry on

November 1 to find out who your pending fiancé will be. You will be given more details at

that time.

Congratulations on this happy occasion.

Sincerely,

Isabelle Rutherford,

Ministress of Marriage”

Hermione finished reading the letter in disgust. “Congratulations on the happy occasion!”

She rolled her eyes as she snorted.

Beside her, Draco was having a similar reaction. “This is preposterous! How can they make

us get married to someone who we might not even know?”

Hermione nodded. “I understand. But even I couldn’t find a way out of it. I read every

book that had to do with its medieval counterpart, but the only reason that it was abolished

was that the population rebounded quickly.”

Draco looked at Hermione, knowing that if she could not find a way out of the law, other

than to be engaged, then there was no hope. “I don’t know, Hermione. I think that our

hands are tied. Is there anyone that you could arrange a marriage with before the

deadline?”

Hermione shook her head, tears threatening to spill over. “No. Not since Ron died.” She

smiled a watery smile. “We were supposed to be married, you know? But he was killed in the

final battle.”

Draco felt bad, since he had brought up painful memories. “I know. He died killing my

father.”

At the mention of the man who continued to haunt her dreams, Hermione jumped up from the

table and ran out of the Hall in tears.

What did I say? Draco thought silently, watching her disappear.

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AN: Here y’all go! Only one more chapter after this to get caught up with

fanfiction.net!

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