In the Eyes of the Beholder

It is a strange thing when you sit and contemplate your life. You relive moments in whispers of the original potency, like a feather brushed touch instead of a piercing grip. It is even stranger when you do this at the age of seventeen and still feel sharp stabs of pain.

Harry didn't know what to do now. His whole life had been dominated by one looming figure, one insurmountable goal, and one final battle. And now, once the battle was over, admittedly with a different result than he expected, Harry was astonished at the feeling of nothingness creeping throughout his heart. How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to realize that there is no going back? That the world has changed, moved on, without a thought to you. There are some things that time couldn't mend.

Today he was seventeen. He had everything he ever wanted. He was free from the Dursleys, he had a family in the Weasleys and Hermione, and he no longer had a threat on his life. Perhaps he expected this happiness to feel differently. He only felt numb and incomplete, like a play where the curtain had closed too soon or a book with a missing last chapter. Soon, his inner reveries were interrupted.

"Harry, you alrigh' mate?" said Ron, blocking Harry's Firebolt from completing another lap around the groove where the Weasleys played Quidditch. Harry stopped next to Ron.

"Yah, I'm alright."

"Mum's calling us in. There is something Kingsley wants to discuss with us. He said he will be here in fifteen minutes, and she's asked me to get you and Herminone. You know where she is?"

"Probably finishing up that Care of Magical Creatures or Potions essay. Say, you think she might help us with the Transfiguration one? I'm only an inch short." They walked back towards the house.

...

They found her in Ginny's room, where she slept, sitting at a small table with ink bottles, parchment, quills, and books spewed throughout the room. She grinned when she saw them, still writing with one hand.

"Hey guys, I think this Albartrez potion is a lot harder than it looks. I bought loads of the supplies, but I've only been able to make it once. You have to practically stay up the entire night to make it. And you need to stir it clockwise and then counterclockwise five times each every half hour for twenty four hours. You practically need the potion once you brew it. Good thing I made a lot. I think I have six vials left. You know, it actually works like it says. I would say that it works like a charm, but now that I know what a charm is, it works nothing like a charm. Silly Muggle saying, no? Anyway, I have already finished my Charms, Potions, and Care of Magical Creatures essay, and I was able to rewrite my History of Magic and Transfigurations one. I am just about to finish my Arithmancy one."

Harry cut in once she paused for a breath, "Hermione, how much of the potion did you take?"

"Well, I only intended to take one, but I liked being able to get so much done that I think I have taken about four now. I even managed to read some of the reference books that I had borrowed from Professor McGonagall. I forgot how much I really liked Transfiguration until-"

"Hermione!"

"Ron, don't you think that it's a little rude to interrupt? Your mother would-"

"Hermione! Mum wants us downstairs!"

"Then why didn't you just say so? You've already made her wait this long; let's not let her wait any longer. I wonder what she wants." Hermione's voice resounded through the hall as she bounded down the stairs. Ron looked at Harry.

"Mental, that one. Really."

...

When they reached downstairs, they were greeted by a somber mood. Even Hermione held her tongue, although she was twitching every now and then. Kingsley looked at the pair as they entered, and stood up to greet them.

"Harry, long time, eh? How's the summer treating you?"

"Uh, fine, Minister."

"Harry please, just Kingsley. And Ron, looking forward to the Quidditch matches? Still Keeper right? Ginny was telling me that she was back to Chaser and Harry is Captain and took Seeker. Who else is on the team?"

"Yes. Most of the rest of the team we will have to replace, since most of 'em left. We still have Dean Thomas for Chaser though, he owled us a while back about it. It's going to be a great year though. Can't wait to see Malfoy's face when we kill Slytherin in the first game!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. Quidditch talk usually bored her to tears, but part of her mind lit up when she thought about Malfoy's face. "Minister, didn't you say that you had something really important to discuss with us?"

Kingsley turned to her, and she heard Percy sigh at the doorframe. Mrs. Weasley wiped her hands on her apron and sat at the end of the table next to Ginny, Fred, and George.

Kingsley sighed and spoke, "I think you all better sit down for this. Well, you know that the Daily Prophet has been covering the population levels and calling it the 'Great Wizarding Crisis,' and the Ministry has made no comment on the matter, right? Well, the thing is that it's almost as bad as the Prophet says it is. The Ministry has to take drastic measures to ensure that the population doesn't go extinct in Brittan. So we have had to put a new law in place."

The room was silent for a moment, and then Harry spoke up: "What sort of law, Minister?"

"A Marriage law. Any wizard between the ages of 17 and 30 will be affected. They will have to marry within a year from tomorrow, because that will be when the law will be publically announced. And after five months of marriage, a child must have been conceived. If by nine months from now, a wizard doesn't have a partner in mind, the Ministry will select a partner. We don't want to dictate your entire lives, but the Ministry needs to put time limits to make sure that the circumstances laid out by the law are met."

The end of his speech was met by several different voices at the same time.

"What!" cried Harry.

"A Marriage Law!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley.

"One year!" called out Hermione

"Oi, are they really allowed to even do that?" said Ron.

Then George spoke: "What happens to existing couples, Minister?"

"Nothing, as long as all the requirements are met. After all, it's up to you for the first nine months. We thought that would be the fairest approach. But, that's not all. All seventh years at Hogwarts will be required to take mandatory Family and Parenting classes to help everyone adjust to the responsibility. I don't know the fine details of it, but it's a year-long partner project. McGonagall and the Department of the Advancement of Magical Existence are working out the fine details as we speak. But since we really have no control over people who have already left the school, like classes will also be offered to them but will not be mandatory"

Fred and George high-fived at the small piece of good news. But their faces fell when their mother gave them a knowing look. They knew that the Weasley family would be taking the classes anyway to show support for the Ministry.

"Minister," Ginny spoke after a while, a pretty blush spreading over her face, "What happens to me? I turn seventeen half-way through the school year."

"Well, the law would officially apply to you once you are seventeen, but I think that you won't have to marry until you are officially out of Hogwarts, unless you choose otherwise. After all, it would only be fair since everyone else got that time frame. The policy hasn't been completely thought through for the year after this one, so I suspect amendments will be made to it soon. I will keep send you an owl though. I felt that I should tell you all in person. At least I owe you that much as a friend."

"And I thought Transfiguration would be hard this year." Ron blurted out.

"It's okay Ron! I am sort of excited for it. Anyway, I was thinking that I would be bored for the next week with nothing to do. Looks like I have to go back to Flourish and Blotts!" Hermione piped up, obviously back to her original state. "After all, it's a class so it shouldn't be too hard unless you have a horrible partner. I'm sure Professor McGonagall would help her old house!"

Kingsley gave a guilty look to the innocent girl. "Hermione, wait. I have a favor to ask you, and it's a very big one." Kingsley sighed, before continuing, "I need you to marry Draco Malfoy."

The room gave a sharp gasp.

"You what!" Harry protested.

"Minister, have you gone off your rocker?" Ron bellowed

"Mind your manners, Ronald Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley said in her high pitched voice, before turning to Kingsley, "Kingsley, what is the meaning of this?"

Hermione had grown quite pale, but she didn't say a word.

"Molly, there is a pureblood faction growing which could become incredibly dangerous within a year. They feel isolated from the rest of the world and are angry that they don't command the same respect"

Ron snorted.

Kingsley, not hearing him, continued, "This could mean war in another couple of years, and these families hold the resources to do a lot of damage. The Malfoy family still holds a lot of influence in that world, and Hermione is one of the most renowned war-heros. The union between these two would, I am hoping, quell the factions enough, and create a world where hard work is respected more than money or blood status." He turned to Hermione pleading, "With this, you could save countless lives by stopping a war that never started. You would be creating a better world."

Mrs. Weasley was still not satisfied, "That's all good, but don't you think that asking a little too much of Hermione? For one, she is still a child, who hasn't finished school. Marriage is a big commitment to make when you are in love, let alone one to make when you absolutely hate each other."

Harry added in, "Minister, he was horrid to her for the last six years! He is the son of a Death Eater!"

Ron spoke up as well, "He called her mudblood, Minister. Multiple times. This is the boy you want her to marry?"

The Minister, trying to resolve some of the backlash, spoke, "She wouldn't have to marry for a year, of course. She is Head Girl this year, and he is Head Boy. They will be partnered together for that assignment, as tradition usually entails. It will seem like they fell in love over the year, and get married at the end of it. You don't have to make up your mind now, Hermione. You can have four or five months to come up with an answer. I just want to ask you this now, to warn you about my request. You will have any sort of compensation you would like from the Ministry."

Harry spoke again, "And what about that git? Does he know about this? I can't imagine him or his Death Eater father being too happy about this."

"I have spoken to the Malfoy family. Lucius Malfoy has been rather…accepting to this. To my knowledge, the entire family has no objections to the match. And I can assure you, no harm will come to you Hermione. I would never ask this of you if I thought you would be in any danger. But you are the strongest and brightest girl I know. I know you will make a difference in the world, regardless of what you choose here. Even so, the choice is up to you, Hermione." Kingsley said, turning to her and giving her a small smile which died before reaching his eyes.

She spoke quietly and with a silent determination. "If you think he has changed minister, and if he is willing to be civil…I will do this. I will do this so that no other child like me has to face these old prejudices."

Harry, Ron, Ginny, George, and Fred looked at her with astonishment.

Ron began, "Just think about it-"

Kingsley cut him off before he finished, looking at her determination, "Even so, I want you to think about this. I will ask you again in four months. I want you to make a choice that is right for you."