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All the Best in Your Future Endeavors	By : IfICouldLoveDraco Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 9211 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: All recognizable Harry Potter content is property of JK Rowling. I do not make any profit from this story.

Chapter List
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Hermione had only remained drinking with the boys until ten o’clock the previous night. She had dragged Ginny up to bed in order to prevent her from being too drunk to receive a proposal from Harry. She lay awake for several hours, thinking about the latest predicament she found herself in. Did she trust an elected council to decide what was best for her and her peers? They weren’t politicians, they were scientists, but did that really make a difference to her? If only she were Ginny, an elopement with the love of her life would have resolved a lot of her anxiety. Ron, though, was not exactly showing signs of being an ideal life partner. A series of taps had sounded at the window waking Ginny and Hermione had feigned sleep so that her friend didn’t feel self-conscious for sneaking out with her boy friend.. Harry had gallantly helped her onto his Firebolt and they rode off into the night. The last thing Hermione could remember thinking before falling asleep was the current catastrophe would at least have the fringe benefit of Harry officially becoming a part of a family he so dearly loved.
~
She woke with a start, feeling a set of eyes on her. Transitioning to a state of alertness, since the war, immediately a set off her fight or flight response. She was grateful to see it was only Ginny’s smiling face and relaxed her reflexive grip on her wand. “Harry proposed!”
            Hermione struggled into a sitting position and hugged her younger best friend. “That’s.. wonderful, “she yawned. “How’d he ask?” Ginny crawled into bed next to her and detailed her romantic moonlit broom ride. An intricately woven circlet of gold, with a moderately sized ruby surrounded by tiny diamonds, adorned her left hand. Hermione admired it openly. By the sounds of it, Harry had engineered the perfect proposal in less than five hours. Hermione suspected that he had been planning for that moment since he and Gin had started going with each other back in sixth year.
            By the time Ginny had finished telling the story the sun had peeked above the horizon and Ginny bounded downstairs. Once she arrived in the kitchen, gaining the attention of her brothers proved to be a challenge. After a few minutes she gave up and flicked her wand, levitating all the food out of her brothers reach. Before anyone could raise a ruckus she lifted her hand into their line of vision showing off her glittering engagement ring, “Harry Proposed!” she squealed. Fury over withheld breakfast quickly erupted into congratulatory hugs, high-fives and well wishes before Ginny launched into another account of her proposal.
            Each of them had that one hope for the future that got them through the war, that thing they held onto to get them through the really rough parts. The youngest Weasley had been what Harry had held onto. Hermione guessed that Harry would have only have waited until Ginny passed her NEWTS in order to satisfy Arthur and Molly. Charlie had bet that Ginny would have wrangled a ring out of Harry the moment she turned seventeen. No one had foreseen a meddling ministry speeding things along. Arthur, Molly and Harry had decided that the best course of action would be for the couple to marry the following day in a rushed ceremony at the ministry in order to avoid criminal charges that would be laid if they skipped the signature analysis date as unmarried individuals. The “real” ceremony would be planned with Molly’s help to be held at the burrow in early June.
            After the hubbub died down, Hermione excused herself from the dishes in order to peruse the special edition of the Sunday Prophet. Many articles only served to reiterate Arthur’s summary of the law. A statement, very similar to the letters received by Hermione and her friends was included. The second page was taken up by an interview with Walinda and Kingsley. Hermione tucked away the section devoted to the research council’s findings after quickly skimming it, and made a note to write to Kingsley with questions regarding the exact ritual that would be used to determine compatibility.
            In amongst all the contrite bureaucratic waffle on page four were the actual stipulations of the law. Hermione was shocked to learn that as long as the individuals fit the requirements of the law (of age, unmarried, and fertile) their personal preferences and relative ages would only have a little bearing. In the event that more than one match was found to be compatible, preferences would be taken into account. Hermione was appalled that the Ministry hadn’t even acknowledged the devastation the law would cause for members of the wizarding worlds vibrant gay community. Charlie would be relieved to know that a thirty year cap on age difference had been decided on.
            After her third perusal of the article a sheepish Ron entered the living room. She pointedly ignored him as he sat down. He cleared his throat, “Mione, can we talk?” She allowed herself to be lead out to the back garden where he turned to face her. Taking Hermione by the hand, he entreated, “We could do the same you know? Get married like Harry and Gin, before the day we are appointed to be evaluated.”
            “Ron, are you honestly proposing to me right now? Because if I recall rightly, I’m just an eager slut waiting for a complete stranger to take my virginity.”
            “You know I didn’t mean that! I was just so angry at the idea of losing you.”
            “And what is your excuse for all the other times you have been so angry at me lately? You say these horrible things to me and don’t even apologise for them. We’ve only really been together a month and all it seems we do is fight. That’s not exactly the ideal foundation for a marriage.”
            She saw Ron struggling to maintain his composure. He took a deep breath and said, “I love you Hermione, isn’t that a better foundation than what you’d get if they set you up with some stranger? We may have only been together since the battle, but we belong together, Mione. Everyone knows it. This might be our only chance.”
            Hermione could feel her heart breaking as she looked at him. These were the moments that made her love him in spite of it all. She knew, though, that his soft demeanor could give way to fury at any moment. She couldn’t, knowing what she did, commit to him for the rest of her life.
            “Ron, you know I love you. I always will, but rushing into this now, just because it may be the only time we can, will only make things worse for us. We are not Harry and Ginny.”
            Ron dropped her hand and turned away. “So, this would be you rejecting me again?” He asked.
            “You know it’s not like that! I’m not ready for sex and we are not ready to get married. Those are just facts. I wish you would stop bringing that up to make me feel guilty.”
            “Well, maybe you wouldn’t feel guilty if you hand tlead me on by asking me to stay with you.” He muttered darkly.
            “We all have nightmares since the war, I’d hoped you’d support me, not pressure me for sex!”
            “People who love each other have sex, Hermione!”
            “People who love each other respect each other’s boundaries Ron!” She yelled, and then, quietly, “A quick wedding won’t fix our problems.”
            “You’ve got that right, selfish bitch. Good luck getting a stranger to respect your ‘boundaries’ when he is only there because he HAS to be. He will take all he can get, or did you forget this whole law is about making babies?”
            “Obviously I’d have better luck than with you.”
            “Fine, consider my offer retracted. When you are stuck with some random bloke, you’ll wish you’d picked me while you still had the chance.” He yelled.
            Hermione had heard enough, she turned on the spot and apparated away.

A Note From the Author I'm back! I've missed you all, and I am so sorry that it has been so long. I moved and lost all my notes. Starting over from scratch was too frustrating. I have recently found all the missing chapters and am working on threading them together with my attempted rewrite. It is a slow process. I welcome constructive criticism.
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All the Best in Your Future Endeavors