I sighed, putting down my quill in the bottle of ink to rest and then flexing my hand, which was cramping up from all the writing. I massaged my palm with my thumb while reading over the report I'd spent the last couple hours writing. I was about to reach for my quill to continue when someone knocked on my cubical. I looked up to see one of my coworkers, her bushy, brown hair pulled up in a bun.

"Hey, I know how hard it is to stop working when you're in the middle of something, but everyone else has already had their lunch breaks." Hermione Granger pointed out, nodding toward the large clock on the other side of the wall. Sure enough, it was going on two in the afternoon. Our boss didn't care when we took our lunch breaks, as long as we got all our work done for the day.

"Right, thanks." I smiled at her, standing and grabbing my bag of lunch before following her down the hall toward the lunchroom.

We sat at one of the round tables in the room, pulling out our food. As I bit into my food, Hermione started on her at-least-weekly rant on her boyfriend.

"So, you'll never guess what Ron did this time. I like to do extra chores around the house, you know, to help Molly out. She always cleans and cooks and everything, and she was kind enough to give me a home, so I enjoy helping her out. So, after dinner last night, I told Molly I'd do the dishes so she could go relax with the others. No big deal." I nodded along, paying only half attention since it was one of those days.

"Well, I started to do the dishes by hand, the Muggle way. I was raised doing it that way, of course, and I find it therapeutic. I had a stressful day at work yesterday." I nodded again, remembering her getting into a rather loud row with one of our coworkers about house elves. That, and she had some extra work to do yesterday.

"So, I wanted to do the dishes by hand, so I could just clear my mind and have something to do. Well, of course, Ron comes in and asks me why I'm doing it "the hard way". And when I explained that it calmed me down, he said it was stupid! Can you believe him? The nerve! Every time I want to do something the Muggle way, he calls me out on it and criticizes me! I understand I'm a witch, and that it's usually easier, but maybe I prefer doing some things the Muggle way! I was raised that way, and it can be calming, and I feel like it's a good way to…make one more modest, you know? I don't always want to rely on magic. And to add on to that, he didn't even bother asking why I needed to calm down. He's just infuriating!"

I nodded yet again, biting into the simple peanut butter sandwich I was eating.

"Sorry, I feel like all I ever do is complain to you about Ron. I just feel bad always complaining to Ginny and Harry, since she's Ron's sister, and Harry's Ron's best friend." Hermione smiled sheepishly at me, scooping up a spoonful of what looked and smelled like delicious beef stew.

"It's fine. Sometimes it feels good to get it out." I smiled slightly at her. Deep down, though, it did get a tad annoying when she complained about him so much. They always fought and argued over little things. I don't completely understand why they're in a relationship, really.

Later that evening, I was sat curled up on my beaten, old couch inside my small flat, a blanket draped over my lap and a book in my hand. I was just getting to a good part when there was a tapping at my window. Looking up, there was a large, white owl at my window. I sighed, marking my book and putting it on my rickety coffee table. I tossed my blanket off me, stood up, and opened the window to let the owl in.

I was mildly surprised that the owl was wearing a ribbon tied loosely around its neck, holding the official Ministry crest. It only waited long enough for me to get the small scroll tied to its leg before it flew back out my window. I watched after it in confusion for a moment before closing the window and returning to the couch, slowly opening the scroll to read it.

Ms. Misty C. Ripley,

We are writing to inform you of the official enactment of the new Marriage Law. This law pairs up witches and wizards between the ages of 18 and 35, based on blood status and compatibility. This law is being enacted as a last resort to help with several issues. These include: eliminating pure-blood prejudices, repopulation due to the large death rates from the war last year, and to create stable homes for the many orphans left behind after the war.

Witches and Wizards who are married or engaged are exempt from this law. Witches and Wizards who've been in long-term relationships can attempt to appeal, and the Ministry will decide to grant or deny this.

You will receive a letter with the name of your chosen partner within the week, and you must marry within the year of receiving this letter. This amount of time was given to give you and your partner time to get to know each other before marrying. You must then conceive a child within the first four years of marriage. If you cannot or don't want to have a child of your own, it is encouraged you adopt one or more of the many orphans in need of a loving family after the effects of the war.

More information will be released to the general public in due time. Thank you for your patience.

Kingsley Shacklebolt

Minister for Magic

I stared down at the letter in my hands, my lips parted in shock. Marriage law? As in they're just going to start pairing up random witches and wizards and hope they have a kid within four years? They're going to pair me up with some random guy that I may or may not know? I'm going to be married within the year?!

"What the hell?" I muttered, tossing the parchment onto the coffee table, as if it had burnt my hands.

OoOoOoO

"So, what do you think of the whole 'Marriage Law' deal?" I asked quietly, picking the croutons out of the salad I'd bought on the way to work.

Hermione shrugged, taking a sip of her tea. "I get why they're doing it, but I feel as if the Ministry's going about it the wrong way. But who knows? It may work out. I just have to hope I'll get paired with Ron."

I tried not to grimace. If the Ministry were pairing people up by compatibility, and probably want to create healthy homes for the children in the orphanages, would Ron and Hermione make a good pair? They always fight and argue, and sometimes go weeks without talking to each other. That wouldn't be a good home for kids.

"But, what will you do if they don't pair you up?" I asked carefully before taking a bite of my salad.

Hermione thought for a moment as she looked down at her stew, slowly stirring it with her spoon. "I think we'll try to get an appeal, but we've only been dating for just under a year. So I'm not sure how successful that will be. Then again, we've been friends for about eight years, that's gotta count for something, right?" she questioned, looking up at me uncertainly.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure. They didn't really explain the whole appeal process and stuff."

Hermione nodded, looking sullen. "Yeah, yeah I'm sure things will work out for the best."

OoOoOoO

Well, that was the first chapter. It's a bit slow to start, but it'll pick up a bit. I've got a few ideas for what I want to put in the story, but if you can think of something you want to see happen just leave a review.