The Replenishment Decree

“Hermione? You’re home?”

“Harry,” she sighed, relieved, “you weren’t?”

“No, I went to Blaise and Seamus’ ceremony last night and stayed at the Three Broomsticks. I thought you’d be at the Manor? Is Narcissa here, too?”

Hermione shook her head, “It’s been a rough couple of days, Harry. Really rough. I guess I ought to tell you now, or...actually, you look a mess and you smell a bit like the Hog’s Head. Would you like to wash up and just come over early? We can explain everything then.”

“The Hog’s Head, ouch,” he chuckled, “I wasn’t even there but I have a story for you, too. I’m going to go shower and I’ll be over shortly. Is it okay if I use the Floo?”

“Of course, it is! You’re always welcome at the Manor, you know,” Hermione squeezed his arm as they passed one another on the stairs.

Harry just grinned at her, happy to spend time with his dearest friend. “See you soon, then!”

“See you soon!”

An hour later found Harry, Hermione, and Narcissa seated comfortably in front of the fireplace in Black Manor - a look of shock on Harry’s face.

“He said that to you?”

Hermione nodded.

“I...I am...just...beyond appalled. I can’t believe he was waiting outside to...to...to attack you like that!”

“I’m just glad we got Narcissa inside before he saw her. I can’t imagine how he would have reacted had he actually seen us together again.”

Narcissa bristled a bit, “Well, I wasn’t looking to avoid him. I’m certainly not afraid. I just thought he might bugger off more quickly if he didn’t know I was there. But I was clearly prepared to defend you if needed.”

“You were, I know,” Hermione acquiesced immediately. “I didn’t mean it like that, like you were scared. I simply am quite glad we avoided that extra confrontation with an obviously unstable and easily manipulated person.”

“Speaking of which…” Narcissa raised her eyebrows and looked back at Harry.

He raised his eyebrows in return.

“Speaking of which,” Hermione picked up where Narcissa left off, “who has he been spending time with at the Ministry? That’s where he said he heard all that nonsense.”

“What, about you being with a man?”

“A strong man, he said. If I wasn’t so angry I’d be offended. He sounded like the worst sort of repressed muggle!”

“Hmm,” Harry was thinking, “I don’t really know who he’s been listening to. There’s not that many old guys in the department any more, the war really wiped out the Aurors.”

Hermione, frustrated, growled and dropped her head back.

“I agree, darling, it has to be from the Aurors. He told us he heard it from, and I quote, ‘someone at work’ and that he was working at the Ministry.”

“I just can’t imagine any of the people left in the office actually saying any of that rubbish. I wish I could say I can’t imagine Ron repeating it.”

“Well, he did, Harry!”

The boy who lived put his hands up to placate Hermione, “I believe you, I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just having a hard time seeing this new Ron as the same one we grew up with.”

“He’s not,” Hermione said sharply.

“Darling, you need to tell him about the other thing he said.”

“What other thing?” Harry asked.

Hermione closed her eyes and tucked herself against Narcissa’s side. The other two gave her a moment of quiet before she spoke.

“Remember when we were on the run last year?”

Harry answered affirmatively, it wasn’t something he would ever forget.

“Remember the first time the Snatchers came across us in the woods? Our very first day outside of Grimmauld Place?”

He nodded.

“Do you remember what happened?”

“Scabior smelt your perfume. It terrified you. You had nightmares about it the entire time we were camping, everywhere we went. You haven’t worn perfume since.”

Hermione, tears in her eyes, nodded at Harry.

“What?” He questioned. “What happened?”

“Ronald said to Hermione on Friday that he could smell her perfume. She wasn’t wearing any and neither was I.”

“He was just...he was trying to scare you?”

Hermione shrugged, Narcissa nodded.

“I told you before that I had a story for you, too, right?” Harry reminded Hermione. When she nodded, he continued, “Well, it’s not as funny as it seemed last night.”

“Is this story the reason why you smelled like you slept in a beer barrel?”

Harry chuckled and agreed. “After Seamus and Blaise’s ceremony yesterday, there were a lot of people having drinks and chatting around the Three Broomsticks. Neville was there, Luna, Parvati and Padma, Gregory, Justin, nearly everyone in our year and a bunch of people a year or two older than us...including George and Angelina and Katie Bell.”

“Sounds like you had fun, though we did see a bunch of those people at Daphne and Torben’s wedding afterwards.”

“Yeah, well, we were having a great time until Ron switched from Butterbeer to Beetle Berry Whiskey,” Harry admitted, watching Hermione deflate before him.

“What happened,” she whispered.

“He got belligerent. With everyone. Started spouting off about who should be allowed to be assigned to one another, that no one should be allowed to change to someone else, that…”

“Let me guess,” Narcissa interrupted, “Ronald thinks that two women shouldn’t be allowed to wed one another.”

“Right, nor two men,” Harry said slowly, “and he was at the reception following Blaise and Seamus’ ceremony. People didn’t take too kindly to his comments. Especially when he started mixing in some blood status restrictions.”

“Oh...my,” Hermione’s eyes went wide.

“Exactly,” he shook his head. “Ron was a real pisser last night but most people just ignored him...until he started in on you two.”

“What do you mean?” Narcissa leaned forward.

“I mean, when he was just complaining, everybody was rolling their eyes and walking away but when he started to specifically say the two of you shouldn’t get married he got some real pushback. That’s why I smelled like the Hog’s Head! The evening ended with Angelina Johnson dumping her beer on him and a few others followed suit - and I got caught in the splash zone.”

“So, he was saying I should have to marry him because I was assigned to him first and all those people defended my relationship with Narcissa?”

Harry smiled and nodded.

The pair settled back into the love seat they were occupying and leaned into one another. It was exactly what they needed to hear after the stressful few days they had just had.

“Angelina was so furious at Ron she left without George and told him to sort his brother before he saw her again. The last thing George said to Ron was that for someone who spent so much time fighting against prejudice, he sure showed a great amount of it himself and that he better get it together before Molly and Arthur outright disowned him.”

Hermione’s jaw dropped open in shock. She couldn’t imagine George laying into Ron like that, especially after losing Fred.

“Harry,” Narcissa spoke up, “you must suss out the Ministry employees with whom Ron has been spending time. I have a...an instinct that those men will be somehow behind the Decree pairings as well.”

Hermione nodded in agreement even as Harry’s face grew more pale. Before he could answer, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

“That'll be Andromeda and Teddy,” Narcissa said happily, her eyes alight.

The trio listened as Pepper opened the door and heard her squeaky little voice welcoming the visitor to brunch.

“Narcissa, Hermione Granger,” Pepper said from the doorway, “Madam Hopkirk is here for brunch.”

“Oh,” Narcissa blinked, standing, “Mafalda, welcome. Please join us. We’re just waiting for my sister, Andromeda, and her grandson, Teddy.”

“And Headmistress McGonagall,” Hermione added.

“Right, and Minerva.”

Mafalda’s steps paused for the barest of moments before she continued on to sit in a chair near Harry. “Minerva McGonagall is joining us?”

“She is,” Narcissa answered smoothly, “Hermione and I spent a bit of time with her yesterday and invited her to join us. Is that all right?”

The truth, Hermione noted, just not the entire story.

“Of course, of course,” Mafalda chuckled, one hand smoothing her slacks and the other fiddling with an earring.

Before the conversation could continue, there was another knock and they all listened as Pepper welcomed their latest guest. “Hogwarts Headmistress Professor Minerva McGonagall, this way, please,” Pepper instructed as she led her into the sitting room with the others.

Harry stood as she entered, “Professor, I’m so glad you decided to join us!”

“Mister Potter, pleased to see you again, as always,” she smiled back at him.

“Were you two not at the same location last evening?” Narcissa asked, a curious smirk on her face.

“Oh, we were, but I don’t think we had a moment to speak with one another. Mister Potter here is always quite popular,” Minerva teased.

“The Boy Who Lived,” Hermione smiled, “he’ll never live it down.”

They once more heard Pepper opening the front door and greeting someone.

“Narcissa,” Pepper grinned, “Andydromeda and Baby Teddy are here. Brunch?”

As Narcissa started to lead them into the kitchen, Pepper gestured toward the formal dining room. “Oh, of course,” Narcissa paused. “I wasn’t thinking.” Her cheeks flushed a surprisingly deep shade of red and she changed course to follow the little elf.

“The kitchen table would be better for brunch with Teddy,” Andy offered. “I’ve just started him on a few solid foods and he was immediately quite adept at throwing any food that makes its way to his hands...or spitting anything out that he isn’t thrilled with.”

“The kitchen it is,” the lady of the house turned and gestured for the others to enter ahead of her. As the guests settled themselves around the table, Hermione pressed up onto her toes to place a quick kiss on Narcissa’s cheek before they entered to take their seats.

Seeing the spots left for them were on opposite ends of the table, Hermione frowned but said nothing, taking her seat.

“Everything looks delicious, as always, Filly, thank you,” Narcissa acknowledged her house elf’s work.

“Mistress Black, you are quite welcome. Let us know if anything is needed,” he bowed deeply before exiting, Pepper alongside him.

Conversation remained light as food was passed around and beverages poured. Teddy’s little fists banged on his highchair, procured by Filly from somewhere in the recesses of Black Manor. Andy placed a scoop of scrambled eggs on his tray, knowing he likely wouldn’t get much food into his mouth but he would be distracted enough to entertain himself for a while.

“I’m guessing that because I have to ask, none of you have checked this morning’s Prophet?”

Narcissa tensed up in response to her sister’s question, joining the chorus of negative answers from around the table.

“The first articles we see are related to more trials, it seems the Aurors have rounded up a few stray, low-level Death Eaters. My concern, however, is the headline just below the fold on the front page,” Andy said, passing the paper to Narcissa.

“Please, Cissa, tell me I did not just read ‘Pureblood Attacked in Hogsmeade’ above a photo of Ronald,” Hermione said, dropping her head into her hands.

“No,” Harry gasped, staring at Narcissa.

“Oh, Merlin, you did,” she answered, skimming over the article before saying anything else. “Oh. Oh, but wait. Andy, did you read it?”

Andromeda shook her head, taking a sip of her tea.

“It’s...actually, it’s nearly satire,” Narcissa laughed, her eyes incredulous. “And it’s written by none other than Marguerite Kettleton.”

“Kettleton,” Minerva said slowly. “Why is that name so familiar?”

“I think I’ve heard it before,” Andy furrowed her brow.

“I definitely have,” Mafalda smirked, “and I’m happy to see her writing again, especially if it’s a satirical piece.”

Narcissa laughed again, and implored them to listen to a section of the article. “The emotional victim of assault-by-butterbeer claims he was simply sharing his views on marriage when suddenly his friends turned on him, dousing him in the sweet-smelling beverage. When asked to share those views for this article, Mr. Weasley was hesitant. He seems unsure now that speaking out against the upcoming nuptials between Hermione Granger and Narcissa Black is in his favor, poor man. Though Mr. Weasley, himself a Ministry employee, ardently claims to be a proponent of this latest Ministerial Decree, dubbed the Replenishment Decree, he is obviously conflicted about which marriages should take place and which should not. We are curious to hear more from Mr. Weasley and his fellow Department of Magical Law Enforcement colleagues about just who they think should be marrying whom.”

“Merlin’s pants, that was the most subversive anti-Ministry hit piece the Prophet’s ever printed. And Ron will never even know it,” Hermione sat in shock.

“I think I must have missed something,” Mafalda said gravely. “An employee in my Department was spouting off against certain marriages in public and is now directly tied to it through this article. I can’t believe I haven’t already received an owl from the Minister.”

“The Wizengamot is more likely to approach you about it than Shacklebolt; they’re the ones pushing this decree, they’re the ones trying to marry off every magical Brit above the age of sixteen,” Hermione said bitterly.

“What are you going to do? They are going to pressure you,” Minerva said to the woman next to her, “I wouldn’t be surprised if you found yourself paired off in tomorrow’s paper.”

“This is the last thing I need right now. I’m still trying to figure out how I’m supposed to get these new instant-Aurors trained for the field thanks to Kingsley’s offer and now Weasley goes and spouts off like this? I don’t need eyes on me,” Mafalda’s hands were clenched and her back ramrod straight as she spoke.

“Do you have a plan if they assign you a partner?” Minerva asked quietly, passing a bowl of fruit to Hermione who sat to her right.

“No! I...I had thought I could simply not do it but now? Now it seems as though I’ll have to do something if my name comes up. Or probably lose my job,” she sniffled.

The table fell quiet as food was passed around and plates filled.

“I’m still not marrying anyone other than Ginny,” Harry said suddenly, “They can assign me to as many partners as they like but I’m not getting married to anyone but her.”

“Have you spoken to Ginny about that?” Hermione asked, a small smile on her face.

“No. She’s still in school. She deserves to finish at Hogwarts and decide what she wants to do with her life before anyone tries to lock her into a marriage but I’ll wait for her. If she decides she wants to see someone else or never get married or, I don’t know, go off and travel the world for a few years, I’ll be first in line to support her. We’re all too young for this. We’re all too, too fresh and too...vulnerable for this right now.”

Andy glanced quickly at her sister, Narcissa’s face showed nothing. It was a study of blankness, the perfect facade.

“Well,” Hermione patted Harry’s hand, “I mostly agree.”

Andy, eyes still on Narcissa, caught the wince her sister couldn’t hide.

Hermione continued, “I’m sure there are a lot of our friends who aren’t ready for marriage but everyone is different. Daphne and Torben for example seemed sure of themselves last night. Their Unbreakable Vow was worded perfectly for them, I think. And I, well, I daresay I’m not too young or too vulnerable to marry Cissa. I’m quite looking forward to December the twenty-first, in fact.” Hermione smiled across the table, catching Narcissa’s eyes.

When Narcissa didn’t reply, Hermione winked at her, “Three months, one week, and how many days now?”

“Just one,” Narcissa answered immediately. “Three months, one week, and one day.”

“Ugh,” Hermione laughed again, “Simultaneously so far away and yet so near!”

Narcissa blinked a few times, watching Hermione, her eyes not leaving the younger woman’s expressive face. She heard someone ask Hermione to clarify her comment.

“It’s just such a long wait - more than three months - to be married to this incredible woman...but there’s so much to do, I’m not sure how we’ll get it all done in only three months time! Usually when people are planning a wedding like ours they have a year or more to settle all of the little details. Time is not a luxury we have thanks to the Decree.”

“Details,” Harry pushed Hermione to keep talking.

“Yes, so many of them! You know how detail oriented I am, Harry, and yet I was nearly overwhelmed!”

“She was,” Narcissa finally spoke up. “I came home from an appointment the other day to find her lying on the chaise with a book on her face whinging about proper timelines for planning a honeymoon.”

“It wasn’t just the honeymoon,” Hermione laughed, “it was the dresses, too!”

“And the flowers,” Narcissa added.

“And the music and the Officiant and the cake and the food and the guest list and the seating…” Hermione trailed off.

“Yet others are managing to plan and execute their ceremonies in a matter of days,” Harry pointed out, shrugging.

Narrowing her eyes at Harry, Hermione huffed out, “It’s not the same.”

“Why not? Didn’t Daphne and Torben just host an extravagant event last night. They couldn’t have spent more than a week or so putting it together.”

Narcissa interrupted before Hermione could lash out at her dearest friend, “I daresay Daphne and Torben didn’t put quite as much planning into their wedding as Hermione and I are planning on putting into ours. We could get married next weekend in Hogsmeade and have it done with but that isn’t what we want. Daphne and Torben’s ceremony was focused on their vows, marriage contract, and family entanglements and they definitely spent more than a week arranging it.”

“So, out of all the special days that will be happening in the next few months, yours is the most special,” Andy teased gently.

“Yes,” Narcissa answered simply, taking a bite of her toast.

Minerva and Mafalda had matching expressions of shock on their faces.

“She’s not being stuck-up. To us, Narcissa and myself, our special day is the most special. It’s ours. And we’re the ones planning it. The whole thing. Together. From invitations to location to honeymoon. So, yes, we are going to take as much time as we can to make sure it’s exactly what we both want since neither of us plan on doing this again.”

“Nor have either of us planned one before,” Narcissa added.

“Other people have offered to help, you know,” Andy said, teasing once again.

“We know and you’re going to go dress shopping with us on Friday, Andromeda,” Narcissa answered quietly.

“Not just her,” Harry pointed out, “Mrs. Weasley offered just last weekend. You said you’d have lunch.”

“Yes, but Harry, I don’t think Mrs. Weasley will want to have lunch with us after we go to the Ministry to lodge a formal complaint about Ron tomorrow. Especially when the complaint is accompanied by a fair few Pensieve memories of his irrational, threatening, and aggressive behavior,” Hermione quietly murmured.

“Ask her anyway. When she agrees, it’ll do some good for Ron and Percy to see her supporting your engagement.”

“Mister Potter makes a good point, Hermione,” Minerva chimed in from Hermione’s other side.

Hermione and Narcissa looked at one another across the table, trying to silently communicate. Finally, Hermione shrugged, “I’ll owl her later if you’re still willing to meet her for lunch?”

“To be honest, I don’t believe I ever agreed to lunch with Molly Weasley in the first place but, yes, if it will make you happy I will have lunch with her and discuss our plans,” Narcissa replied, a touch of frost in her voice.

Andy’s eyebrows shot up watching this interaction between the pair before her.

“I apologize, Narcissa. I guess I said yes to Mrs. Weasley without discussing it with you first. I would really appreciate it if we could have lunch with her, perhaps Wednesday?”

Narcissa nodded once and looked back down at her plate, suddenly engrossed in her food.

After a long, awkward silence, Mafalda cleared her throat, “So, who were planning to see tomorrow to lodge your complaint about soon-to-be-Auror Weasley?”

Hermione and Narcissa looked at one another before Hermione answered, “Well, you, actually. You’re head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. But we don’t have to discuss that now, it’s the weekend.”

“Yes, Hermione and I will be in first thing tomorrow to see you.”

“I’ll meet you at the Security Station just to make sure it goes smoothly,” Mafalda offered, remembering Narcissa’s last foray into the Ministry.

“That would be much appreciated,” Narcissa smiled. “How is it going in the office, Mafalda? You’ve been Department head for a few months now, is it everything you thought it would be?”

Hermione, not really paying any attention to Mafalda’s answer, watched Narcissa politely listen. Her fiancée did excel in making people feel comfortable in social situations, it was definitely a skill Hermione needed to work on.

“Yes, I quite agree with you there,” Minerva nodded fervently. “I’m simply appalled that Kingsley appointed all these young people as Aurors with no regard for their suitability or lack of training! Has he no idea how the Ministry actually functions?”

“It’s certainly a challenge,” Mafalda turned toward Minerva who was sitting right next to her at the table. “It’s hard enough to suss out a great Auror but now they aren’t even doing the three years of post-Hogwarts training to weed out the weak, the power hungry, and the unskilled! Not every want-to-be-Auror is a natural like Harry. Nor are they all committed to the training like he is.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, Minerva, didn’t you know? Harry was offered a position as an Auror, with no apprenticeship, just like the others but he’s doing the three years of training we usually require on his own before he will accept a spot as a fully badged Auror. He shows such respect for others, not wanting to enforce laws without knowing them inside and out nor participating in raids without foundational knowledge of how to safely and legally execute them. It’s most respectable.”

Minerva turned toward Harry, a beaming smile on her face, “I’m so proud of you. You finally had an easy out, a simple path with no challenges and you’ve chosen the hard route because you know it’s better.”

Harry, his face a bright red, mumbled, “It’s Narcissa’s fault really.”

“Mine? What did I do?”

“They were treating you terribly. There was no justice, no fairness in what the Wizengamot wanted to do to you. And I didn’t want to turn out like that. Making snap judgements because I have a badge that says I can. I want to know I’m making the right choice. I want to help people who deserve it.”

“You...because of me?”

“Narcissa, you protected me. You saved my life. And I know you saved Hermione’s life. And I know you helped Draco try to hide our identities when the Snatchers caught us. So, yes, I wanted to train the right way to understand the law so I could make sure the law is used fairly and justly, especially when the Wizengamot is trying to subvert it.””

“You’ll make a great Auror, Harry,” Minerva said.

Thankfully, Teddy chose that moment to throw eggs at his godfather so Harry was saved from any more emotional confessions by the need to - literally - wipe egg off his face.

Later, when everyone had gone and Narcissa and Hermione had changed into comfortable clothes, the bookworm dragged her fiancée into her study.

“I just need to look over my schedule for the week. Humor me,” Hermione pressed a kiss to the hand she was holding.

Looking over the younger woman’s shoulder, Narcissa finally understood. Hermione had scheduled her studying for the week and was writing in lunch with Mrs. Weasley - her owl had returned immediately with a positive response.

“Hmm, I still haven’t checked my post box,” Hermione noted.

“Let’s go first thing tomorrow before you start your work. We can go for a quick breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron, visit the post boxes, go to the Ministry, and then I can go by the Daily Prophet when you come home to work. Yes?”

Hermione smiled, “Perfect.”

They heard the clock chime nine times from the sitting room and Hermione frowned. When Narcissa asked what the problem was, Hermione simply buried her face in Narcissa’s neck instead of answering.

“It’s getting late,” she finally offered, “I should get going and I just don’t want to.”

“You can always stay, darling. I’m certainly not kicking you out. We can sleep in the turret again if you’d like?”

“Yes,” Hermione whispered into Narcissa’s ear before pressing a kiss to her neck.