This had the be a joke

Hermione looked back down at the paper. "SAVE THE WIZARD WORLD, GET MARRIED". Nope she read it right. It wasn't the title that was so startling, but what came after it.

The Ministry of Magic in an attempt to combat the rise of unmagical births and the loss of life sustained in the Final Battle have passed a new law. The Minister of Magic and his advisors have been working together for the past 5 years on the new law, which was passed this morning. The law forbids marriage of pure bloods to purebloods or half-bloods. Here is a summary of the new Marriage Law:

1. Individuals with "Pure" blood, Pure bloods, must marry of Muggleborn birth

2. Individuals who have one parent of "Pure" blood, Half-bloods, may marry Muggleborn, person with Muggle parents, or another half-blood individual

3. Muggleborns must marry a Pure blood or Half-Blood

4. The ages of people who will fall under the new law has yet to be revealed.

Coinciding with this new law is "The Arrangement of Preferred Pairings". The government has selected prominent figures to confirm the success of this new pairing system. These people will be married for the span of a year where they will live together and have to produce at least one child, there are other restrictions and rules that have not been made to the public but an insider reports that they have to do with the number of time the couple must copulate, a monitoring system to prevent infidelity and severe consequences if they refuse to participate...

Hermione crumpled and threw down the paper, reading it was making her sick to her stomach. She knew, well everyone knew, that there was a severe lack of new wizards being born and many more Squibs. It was troubling but she hadn't realized it had come to this. Many of her friends hadn't had any problems with it. Ron and Lavender's little boy Charlie, and Harry and Ginny's daughter Lily were both born with Magic, so it seemed like the paper's were over exaggerating the problem

My mistake

TAP TAP

Hermione looked up from the offended paper she had tossed between her plate and teacup, to the owl perched on her window sill. She waved her wand to open the window and the owl flew in, dropped the letter, and flew out. Her eyes opened widened at the Wizengamot's stamp.

She checked her watch 7:30. Not late... Oh no... it wouldn't be... Hermione began to breathe deeply. It's just a coincidence

"Hey Sweetie, what's that?" Luna smiled as she hurried over to the counter to pour some tea, and moved to the table

"I have a horrible feeling it has to do with the new law," She flipped over the letter and ripped it open.

"I don't even want to talk about that horrible mess. Do you know all the paperwork and phone calls I have to deal with now." Luna said with a bite of Hermione's toast in her mouth. Hermione rolled her eyes and pushed the plate towards her.

"You're the one that decided to work at the Ministry, you didn't have to pick Magical Law Enforcement." Hermione held her breath as she pulled out the letter and unfolded it.

Congratulations, Ms. Hermione Granger.

You have been selected to help secure the succession of the Magical world. Please report to the Ministry of Magic, Level 1 for a meeting with Mrs. Olivia Trenton at 8:30 today.

Sincerely,

Mr. Bob Micheals, Senior Director of A.P.P

Luna looked at Hermione's face and pulled the letter from her grip. "Oh. Well..."

Hermione shook her head, "Yeah. Well Miss Olivia is gonna get an earful that's for sure." She stomped up the stairs and prepared herself to do the best arguing she's ever done in her life.

"I will NOT participate in this mistaken abuse of power; this half planned scheme. I will not have my life controlled!" Draco ranted as he paced around his father's office while waving the opened letter he just read.

Lucius sipped his scotch and watched his son. He knew this was coming, he paid good money to stay informed of the government's actions and he knew 3 days ago that his son had been selected as part of the pilot project to "save" the wizarding world. It had taken him years to restore the Malfoy name and even though it did not have the power or pull it once did, he was proud of what he had accomplished. He had to take a less prominent role at the Ministry but his connections were strong.

"Father are you listening? I have to marry a Muggleborn, the Malfoy line will be tarnished forever. What are we going to do?" Draco slammed the letter onto his desk and which snapped Lucius out of his reverie.

"For goodness sake Draco. Sit down boy."

Once Draco plopped down with his sulky face, Lucius began explaining his thoughts, "We have to cooperate... be quiet and listen!" when Draco gasped, "Luckily we'll be able to see the list of the other selected people and we'll pull some strings to have your pick. Hopefully, my connections will be able to have this ridiculous law repealed and you can have your bachelorhood restored."

"You'll send me the list as soon as you get it?" Draco asked sitting up

Lucius pulled out a sheet of paper and placed it in front of him. "Here. This paper is a mirror. It's match is with one of my sources. When he is informed of one of the selected he'll write it on his sheet and you'll know it."

Draco sighed. He got up and put the paper in his pocket. "Well I'm off to meet my match maker"

Hermione noticed the atrium was busier than normal. Luna gave a sympathetic smile, "Come talk to me after your meeting." She popped a piece of gum in her mouth and shoved her way through the mass of people towards an elevator.

"Can you believe this?"... "How can they do this to people?"... "Mom, please tell me we're moving?"

Various conversations of from people of all ages ranging from scared to outrage. Many people were lined up at information stations set up through the space and various Aurors walked through the crowd to monitor and remove the violent.

Hermione walked to the elevator and was confused about what to feel, she was overwhelmed and scared about the implications to her future. No. Stay strong Hermione. You're Harry's best friend, that had to have some weight. And if she had too she would use it

"Excuse me," Hermione pushed her way out of the elevator when it reached her floor and noticed a few others exit. She recognized some musicians, authors, and politicians. Ah yes prominent figures

"Miss?" An Auror gave her a questioning look

"I have a meeting today at 8:30 with Mrs. Olivia" Hermione couldn't keep the sneer out of her voice and shoved the paper at the woman

The woman smiled wide, "Oh Ms. Granger, it's so wonderful to have you with us. This way please. I'm Auror Roberts." Guiding her towards one of the many rooms, "Mrs. Trenton will be with you in a moment"

Hermione moved around the table and sat in one of the two chairs. There was lots of light and a painting on the wall and a plant in the corner. Yes let's try to make the person more comfortable before destroying their life. She sighed and went through her plan of attack and points she wanted to cover.

The door opened and a nice looking woman with greying hair and a friendly smile came in.

"Ms. Hermione. How nice to meet you," She placed the folder on the table and stuck out her hand, but cleared her throat and sat down when Hermione simply looked at it, "I see. Let's get to it then"

"What are the consequences of not cooperating?" Hermione asked flat out

"Please allow me to explain the whole process." Hermione shook her head and went to interrupt. "It's necessary," She said forcefully and began,

"You are required by the Ministry to enter an arranged marriage of a year for the purpose of producing children to prevent the extinction of the magical world. Simply put, without your cooperation in this trial study, the wizarding world will gradually produce fewer and fewer magical children till we are no more."

Hermione's eyes snapped up to her from her hands, "No" she gasped in disbelief

"Here are the studies" She pulled out a chart and a list of studies and research. She folded her hands and continued, "This is not a game or even a guess. We are very serious and are trying to make this transition as easy and painless as possible."

A tear escaped her eyes as she skimmed the research, but the names were enough to convince her. They were the greatest minds in their world and the studies were begun years ago.

"To answer your first question: extensive fines, prison time, loss of your wand and banishment from the magical world, but that is after you consent to an ovary extraction." She placed a page in front of her listing the punishments for uncooperative behaviour

"WHAT?" Hermione stood up quickly

Mrs. Olivia Trenton shook her head, "Not both of course," as if that made the punishment less horrific. "Did you know that woman have an average of 300 000 eggs at puberty? Only 400 are actually ever released, the rest degenerate and by menopause they are all gone. All that potential... lost! While we are wasting away, our society is dying."

Hermione's head was spinning, "That's against my rights. It...it's against my privacy..."

"We would only do so with your permission" Mrs. Trenton stressed with her hand clasped over the papers

Hermione slapped her hand on the table, "You can't do this! It's blackmail!"

"It's sur-vival" Mrs. Trenton enunciated with a tap of her finger on the table.

"I'll report this to The Daily Prophet, the wizarding world will be outraged..." Hermione knew she was grasping at straws

Mrs. Trenton looked calm and not the least bit worried

Hermione swayed and sank back down. Oh Merlin! How am I to decide? Marriage or prison. Isn't marriage just a different kind of prison? Argh! But if I don't I might never be able to see my friends, I'd lose the life I've made here...prison? The wizarding world was all she'd know for years.

"We've already prepared for the backlash that might occur. These are desperate times and many people turn their heads when it comes to necessity"

Silence filled the room while Hermione's mind flipped through all the possibilities and choices she had.

"What are the numbers so far?" Hermione asked, switching her mind to gaining knowledge.

Mrs. Trenton's hands paused, "We are expecting a hundred couples for the first trial phase."

"What is the first phase for?"

"We want to ensure that the pairing process will successfully produce magical children and compatibility between partners"

"Wait. What?" Hermione's eyebrows rose

Trenton smiled, "Of course we hope that our pairs make good couples. We want everyone to be as happy as possible."

Hermione scoffed. "What are the requirements during the trial?"

"Here's the list" She handed it to her, "Our time has come to an end, but we will have our next meeting in a week; after you get your list of potentials" She closed the folder and pushed it towards Hermione, stood and extended her hand, then smiled when it was refused. "Have a nice day" She said as she exited the room.

Hermione could only call her follow reaction, shock. Oh my god. She began to hyperventilate, This isn't real... how could this be real? It's crazy.

She stood up, grabbed the folder and with tears in her eyes stumbled out the door and through the people. She became more and more forceful till she was running to the foo network and to the safety of her home.