Chapter Text
Marriage Law
Lucius Malfoy sat at the head of the table in the dining room of Malfoy Manor, sipping his tea and reading the Daily Prophet. He was in the midst of his regular morning routine. It was breakfast, followed by tea and the paper, and then later he'd wander the grounds, making sure the remaining Malfoy house-elves were keeping everything in order. Since his wife died only months after the fall of the Dark Lord, it had become his responsibility to oversee the house. Considering he was a social leper, he didn't have anything better to do anyway.
The second half of his routine would not occur that day. He almost spit his tea all over himself in a very undignified manner when his eyes moved across the second front page story:
New Marriage Law Passed to Spur Unity in Magical Community
Late last night The Wizengamot passed the controversial ML: 1286 Marriage Law, pushing it through just after midnight. The law caught much criticism from many notable people including war hero Harry Potter, and the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shaklebolt.
Regardless of the criticism, the high court of England approved and passed the law that would require all Muggle-born witches and wizards to marry a pureblood witch or wizard and vice versa. Some key points to the law include:
*In order to remain in the Wizarding World, all Muggle-Borns (between the ages of 18-40) must marry a Pureblood.
*In order to keep inheritances and continue to practice magic, all Purebloods (between the ages of 18-40) must marry a Muggle-born.
*Marriages are to occur within six month of the passing of the law.
*Either the marriage must produce a child within two years, or provide medical notification from a certified healer if this is not possible.
The new law contains details not described here. An in-depth copy of the law will be sent out to Prophet subscribers later today in the Evening Edition.
When asked why this law was passed even though the Minister himself disapproved, a Wizengamot spokesperson explained, "In the aftermath of the war, not only has there been a drop in the population, but also, the tensions among purebloods and Muggle-borns have not lessened as we would have liked."
When asked if he thought it was the place of the Ministry of Magic to force their wishes on some as young as 18 years old, the spokesman just chuckled and said, "If we didn't, who would?"
Neither The-Boy-Who-Lived, nor the Minister of Magic were available for comment at the time of print, but the Daily Prophet expects their opposition to this law to be vocal, especially considering that good friend and War-Hero Hermione Granger is a Muggle-born who would be affected by the law.
The Daily Prophet will keep you posted on any new developments regarding the law, but it appears, with the number of votes it received, the Wizarding World will be bound by this law for a long time to come.
Lucius sighed deeply. He guessed he could say goodbye to a worthy pureblood heir at this point. Two years ago, he'd have marched into the Ministry and demand the law be abolished while throwing substantial amounts of money around. However, ever since he'd been placed under permanent house arrest after his trial at the end of the war, he couldn't so much as step outside the Malfoy Manor gates, let alone throw his weight around at the Ministry.
If he were not such a proud man, he'd admit that Harry Potter saved his life by testifying on his behalf. He was slated to receive The Kiss, but because of the actions of his late wife and his son in the course of the war, his life was spared and he was simply given house arrest for the rest of his natural life.
But he was a proud man, and instead of being grateful, he constantly thought of ways to relieve himself of his house arrest, or at least restore the Malfoy name to what it once was. And because he could not overturn this ludicrous law, true to Malfoy nature, he began to wonder how he could use it to his own favor.
"Bitsy!" he called.
Immediately the House-elf popped in front of him. "Yes sir, you needing something?" The House-elf never called him master anymore. It was a peeve of his, but technically he wasn't her master. Draco owned everything now.
"Bring me the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black from Narcissa's old rooms," he snapped. It didn't matter how much the Wizarding world supposedly changed, he would never treat House-elves like people. They were servants, and that was how they should be treated.
Bitsy left with a pop and returned only seconds later holding the hefty portrait of the Black ancestor.
He greedily snatched it from her and the elf quickly exited the room. "Phineus," Lucius called into the portrait, glad to see the old man was there instead of his usual home.
"Malfoy," Phineus responded with some disdain.
"I need you to tell me everything you know about what goes on at 12 Grimmauld Place."
Hermione huffed and threw the Daily Prophet down on the kitchen table. "I take it the law passed," Harry said, taking note of the look on her face.
"Yes," Hermione bit out.
Harry sighed and sat next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "I did all that I could, and so did Kingsley, but too many people wanted this law. Probably because they are all over 40 and never have to live with the consequences."
"I know, Harry." Hermione said, trying to smile at him. She knew he felt guilty, even though none of this was his fault. "I just don't know what I'm going to do. The only purebloods I know are the Weasleys'. And not only are they all married, but I find the thought of marrying any of them too close to marrying a brother."
"I'd marry you, Hermione. If you needed me to." Harry always found Hermione beautiful, and she was his best friend in the whole world. If she needed him, he'd have no problem spending the rest of his life with her. Since he and Ginny had broken up a year ago, he and Hermione were practically inseparable. Parts of him thought one day they might get married. It was part of the reason he fought the law so hard. Hermione shouldn't have to marry anyone unless she wanted to.
"That's nice, Harry," Hermione said, her voice thick with emotion. She couldn't believe how great a friend Harry was, and part of her mourned the fact that she'd never get to see him in a romantic light now. "However, you are not a pureblood."
Harry pulled Hermione to him, "No matter what happens, I'll be there for you."
"Thank you, Harry."