Title: To Opt Out

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.

Summary: Harry did not really notice the Marriage Law when it was passed as it did not affect him yet, but as his own deadline approaches, a revelation from a close friend makes him consider the third option… to opt out. Oneshot.

A/N: The one major issue I have with most Marriage Law Fics is the punishments imposed. I understand that it is designed by the authors to force the main characters into marriage, but to me having the only other choice as loss of the person's Magic seems contrary to the purpose of a Marriage Law. This fic is going to be gritty and brutal in the application of the Law.

Outside, snow is falling on slate roofs,

Like Solzenitzen labouring in Vermont,

I shall beaver away in exile,

Unlike Solzenitzen, I shan't be alone.

Timothy Cavendish, Cloud Atlas

Harry and Hermione were sitting on the Hogwarts Express on the trip back from their sixth year at Hogwarts. Ron had been separated from the trio for almost the entire year, instead spending most of his time with Lavender Brown who he had started 'going out with', read snogging, since the end of the pervious school year.

"What do you think of the Marriage Law?" Harry asked. "I'm going to have to make a choice soon."

Hermione looked up from her book, shot Harry a quizzical expression, and then just shrugged.

The Marriage Laws were introduced during Harry's Fourth Year, declaring that all Witches and Wizards between the age of Seventeen and Thirty-five at the time had six months from the date of the announcement to find someone to marry and were required to have at least three children in the next decade. After the six months, if they had not submitted an 'intent to marry' form signed by both parties then they would be matched with the others who could not find a partner by the Ministry. The law applied to those born before the first of January 1990, with those turning seventeen after the first six months having until the first day of the month after their birthday to register the 'intent to marry'.

At the time, Harry had not really paid much attention to the Law because it would not affect him for a few years and he was more focused on not getting killed in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Near the end of the fifth year, Harry had tentatively started dating Ginny Weasley, but they had called it quits a few months ago when they realised that apart from Quidditch they had nothing in common.

"What are you going to do, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Harry, my seventeenth birthday was back in September." Hermione replied, marking her place in her book before closing it and looking Harry in the eye. "I opted out."

Harry stared at Hermione in shock. The punishment for breaking the Marriage Law was steep. Prison Time, forced extraction of sperm and eggs for artificial insemination of other couples, restriction of employment opportunities, a whole slew of measures designed to make breaking the law as unappealing as possible.

But there was what had become known as 'The Third Option', the opt out. Very few had chosen to opt out for a very good reason. While opting out meant you did not have to marry, it did involve two… sacrifices. Firstly sperm or eggs were removed and placed in stasis for use by those married Witches and Wizards who for whatever reason could not conceive children naturally. Secondly, the person who opted out was permanently sterilised.

Thinking back, Harry vaguely remembered Hermione going to the Hospital Wing a few times at the beginning of the year but she had assured him it was not a major issue so he had let it go. Now he was beating himself up for not having paid better attention.

"God, Hermione. Why?" He asked.

"You and Ron were the only ones who were even vaguely nice to me. You much more so than Ron. You were both in relationships, so it was… logical." Hermione replied.

"Why didn't you talk to me about it? We could have done… something." Harry said.

"Like what?" Hermione replied. "Broken up with Ginny just to Marry me? I know you would have done it, but it would have torn you up inside. It would have been an act of pity and we would have grown to hate each other over it."

With her point made, Hermione returned to her book.

Harry sat at the rickety old table in his bedroom at Privet Drive. It was still two weeks to his birthday and he had some serious thinking to do. There were fifteen 'Intent to Marry' forms spread out on the table in front of him. There were another thirty in the bin beside him. The latter were the ones from first through third year girls which he had not even considered. Most of the ones in front of him were from girls in his year or the year below him, but there were three from mature Witches who were beyond the upper threshold of the Marriage Law or whose husband had recently died.

Some were from girls he knew, if vaguely, like Susan Bones or Luna Lovegood, while others were from girls he did not know at all. All of the forms had been sent with a photo and a short description of the girl and her likes/dislikes.

Leaning back and running his hand through his hair, Harry sighed. He could choose one of these girls, or wait to be paired up by the Ministry. Suddenly his thoughts flashed back to his conversation with Hermione a few months ago on the Hogwarts express. Could he do it? Could he possibly take 'The Third Option'?

He had heard the rumours that he wanted a big family, because he was an orphan, but to tell the truth he had never really thought about it. All he ever really wanted was to be with someone, or more than one someone, who simply cared if he was happy or not and that he could make happy in turn. Scratching his head, he tried to make a decision.

It was three days after Harry's birthday when he met up with Hermione at a small Café in Muggle London not far from The Leaky Cauldron. She smiled at him as she walked in and sat down across from him.

"Harry." She said brightly. "Belated Happy Birthday. Did you get my present?"

"Yes. It was brilliant." Harry replied.

Hermione ordered a coffee from the waitress, while Harry took a sip from his own.

"So… should I ask who you chose?" Hermione asked when the waitress left the table.

"No one." Harry said. "I called you here to let you know that I am going away."

"Going away? Why?" Hermione said in shock.

"While they had to accept it, apparently it looks bad for the Boy-Who-Lived to opt out." Harry replied.

"You opted out?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing. "Why? I'm sure you would have gotten some decent proposals."

"Loads." Harry replied, with a shrug. "But none of them cared for me, they just wanted the Boy-Who-Lived. Truth is there is only one person who ever saw me as Harry, and that was you."

"But why do you have to go?" she asked.

"Tomorrow the news is going to hit the Prophet." Harry said. "There will be a backlash that I am not 'preserving the Wizarding Culture' or something. It's going to worse than the Tri-Wizard or the Heir of Slytherin or anything else we've been through. At this stage, I no longer care so I am going into voluntary exile."

"Then I am coming with you." Hermione said. "I'm not blind Harry. I know that despite everything, my options will be limited after we graduate. I would rather be in exile with you than here alone. Besides, I have never abandoned you yet, I'm not going to now."

Harry sat in his lounging chair, staring out at the gentle snowfall on the slate roofs of the little village in the Canadian Rockies. Thirty years had passed since Harry and Hermione has left both Britain and the Wizarding World behind. This little Canadian Village was about as far away from Hogwarts or Magical London as it was possible to get. The logs in the fireplace crackled as the door opened to admit Hermione into the room.

"How were the children?" Harry asked.

"They are great." Hermione said with a smile. "Several of the little ones included me in their drawings of the most important people in their lives. Two included you."

Harry chuckled as Hermione came over and sat sideways on his lap, laying her head against his chest. They had only grown closer as the years had progressed and while, thanks to what had been done to them, they had never had a sexual relationship, they were closer than many married couples, though they had never had the ceremony. In fact most of the community assumed that they were married.

Hermione was the sole teacher in the small village, responsible for the education of all of the local children. Harry, on the other hand, had become a carpenter, thanks to his preference to work with his hands. While most of his work was making furniture, he had chipped in for free a few times doing structural work when houses had been damaged by fire or a storm.

Harry absently began running his hand through Hermione's hair as she snuggled into his chest.

"Do you ever regret opting out?" Harry asked.

"Sometimes, in that I can't give you children." Hermione replied. "But then again, if I had not opted out, we never would have been here, together in this place. So overall, no."

"All I ever wanted was you." Harry replied.

Outside, the snow fell on the slate roofs. Inside, exile never felt so right.

The End.