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BeWitched, Body and Soul	By : SiriusWriter Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 5198 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not make any money from this fanfic. I do not own Harry Potter or any part of this world, nor do I own any part of "Pride and Prejudice." Anything you recognize belongs either to Jane Austen or JKR.

Chapter List
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A/N: Okay, this is the last of the super short chapters for now. I probably won't post Chapter Five until Sunday, there are a couple spots I want to look over again in it, but that's really when the story is going to pick up. Please rate and review!

Three days and innumerable headaches later, Ginny received her father’s reply. She had been anxiously awaiting it since she’d sent it on the first day of classes, and ripped it open the moment Pigwidgeon landed on her plate of eggs and sausages.

My dear Ginny,

I’m unsurprised to hear you’re troubled over the marriage law (in fact, I think I’d be quite worried if you weren’t). Had I known any earlier than the night of the announcement, be assured I would have informed you and your brothers; unfortunately, it was kept under very tight wraps, and came just as much as a shock to your mother and I as I’m sure it did to you and your classmates.

You do have a few options, however. As I hope has been explained to you, if you choose to leave the country and become a citizen outside of Europe, you will not be tied to the law, however, magical citizenship requests can only be submitted once you’re of age, and with your birthday in mid-August, I’m not sure it would be guaranteed to go through before September 1^st. If you feel this is what you would like to do, I urge you to look into the process sooner rather than later, so you will have all the necessary documents prepared as soon as you are eligible to apply.

Your other option is to apply to marry someone a year younger, which would delay the marriage an extra year. There has been a lot of public outrage at the law, so there is a halfway chance it could be repealed before that wedding would have to take place. However, were it not repealed, you would be required to marry the person you’d petitioned with, so I caution you only to do so if there is someone younger who you think you could reasonably marry.

Thirdly, given that this law might be overturned in the next few years, you could always marry and then divorce if you find yourself unhappy, but there is no definite answer as to whether or when the law might be repealed.

I’m so sorry this has been thrust upon you. Whatever you decide, your mother and I will support you and do our best to ensure your happiness.

Chin up my little kneazle,

Dad

‘Oh Merlin,’ Ginny thought, trying to control her spinning head. Hearing back from her father somehow made everything even more real. She was not worried about her parents supporting her, but she was disgusted by the injustice of all of it. ‘My parents shouldn’t have to support their daughter marrying at 17 years old,’ Ginny put the letter into her bag, entirely ready to storm out of the Great Hall and use her early free period to work out her frustrations on the Quidditch pitch, when she felt a tug on her sleeve.

“We have to take that test, remember?” Said Neville, shrinking away as he caught her fierce expression.

“Right. Excellent.” She plopped back down, raking a hand through her mess of scarlet waves.

“What are you going to do?” Neville asked timidly, chewing the end of his quill.

“I honestly don’t know, Neville. Making a plan of action means admitting that this is actually happening,” she said, burying her face in her hands.

Neville offered her a light pat on the back just as Nuppington began coming around to the tables and handing out sheets of parchment. “These shouldn’t take long,” she said excitedly, “but please do be as honest as possible so we’re able to find you your best match. Who knows, many of you could find your future husband or wife from this one slip of paper!” Ginny was on the verge of cursing the witch for her enthusiasm in the face of their misery when one of the tests was shoved into her hands.

Question One, it read, On a scale from one to ten, how important is the appearance of your future spouse? Ginny almost cried out in revulsion. ‘They think we’re going to get married solely based on looks?!’ She was someone sated by the second question, which turned out to be much more reasonable: How important is it for you to be able to engage in intellectual discussions with your spouse? She thought for a moment and scribbled down a seven. Question Three, Would you like to have children at any point? If so, do you have an idea of how many? ‘Well, that’s probably a good thing to know,’ Ginny conceded, answering the question affirmatively but without writing down a number of potential children. When she finally reached the bottom of the test, she was slightly more at ease, but still fairly certain that no one could be instantly paired up with an ideal partner based on only thirty questions. She rolled up the parchment and placed it with all the others on the head table in front of Nuppington, who gave her a wink that made Ginny want to vomit.

She waited just outside the hall; Ron was the next one out, though when asked about his responses, he merely grunted and headed off for class. Hermione came out next, looking utterly perplexed; Ginny supposed she had never before taken any sort of test to which she did not know the right answers. After Hermione had followed Ron’s path and gone to class, Luna floated out of the hall looking serene as usual. Ginny hooked arms with her friend as the two girls headed out towards the lake for a walk, for both had free periods immediately after breakfast.

“I was fairly surprised that none of the questions asked for a preference between Gurdylumps and Winged Batfreys as pets,” Luna said, her orb-like eyes roaming over the autumn landscape. “I wrote it at the bottom though, just to be sure.” Ginny nodded in approval, used to her friend’s oddities.

“So you’re definitely going through with it, then?” Ginny asked.

“Oh, I suppose so. I don’t suppose we have too much of a choice.” Luna shrugged, smiling dreamily at Ginny. “Love seems to me a matter of chance in marriage, anyways. Most people hardly end up happy even when they’re given all the time in the world to decide whether or not they want to marry someone. People are often just too disposed to their own unhappiness.” Luna settled herself down under the birch tree near the end of the lake and took out her wand, charming the daisies that littered the grass to form a little chain. The grounds were, Ginny had to admit, extraordinarily beautiful that morning; kisses of gold and orange had just begun to appear in the leaves, and the crisp autumn sky was an endless welkin streaked with the faintest dustings of clouds. The air was sweet with damp leaves and dew-dampened grass. When Ginny did not speak, Luna asked, “What about Ron and Hermione? Are they going to get married?”

“I don’t know. I mean, they clearly like one another, but neither seems willing to make the first move.”

“Well, haven’t they realized how many Nargles they attract when they’re together?”

Ginny had often heard of Luna speak of Nargles before, and knew it had something to do with mistletoe, but did not press the matter.

“I think I might just leave.” Ginny said after a few minutes of silence. “I don’t have any relatives outside of Europe, I don’t think, but I think I might be happier doing that.” She picked at the small hole in her left knee sock, unraveling the grey fabric further.

“You won’t go to Ecuador, will you?” Luna asked gravely, her huge eyes turning towards her friend’s.

“I hadn’t planned on it…”

“Good. I’ve heard their infestation of Carnivorous Sneed Vines is quite out of hand.” She nodded solemnly before turning back to her daisies. Ginny stared at her bizarrely for a moment before bursting out into laughter. It felt like the first time she’d genuinely smiled in days, and Luna looked pleased for having cheered up her friend.
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BeWitched, Body and Soul