A Hand is Not a Heart

A New Law

It was a cold Sunday in February when Petronella Panders was reading an old Daily Prophet. She flipped the pages mindlessly, waiting for her eyes to catch something that was actually important. Her brain longed to feel something, anything at all. It hadn't done that in a very long time. She had no dreams or aspirations, not realistic ones at least. If she could, she'd move away to the United States and start a simple life there. But alas, her parents and the current regime wouldn't let her. She also had no love in her life. She didn't think she could love again, not after her first love was murdered that one terrible day. As for her parents, they loved her in their own way. Not the way she craved parental love.

She looked up when a house elf popped in to deliver her the new Daily Prophet. "Thank you, Dotty." She said before the elf quickly disappeared again. Petronella leaned back in her chair and began reading the front page. Her eyebrows furrowed upon scanning the headline.

Breaking news: New law enforces marriage between eligible pureblood witches and wizards to ensure pureblood offspring within a year

Her eyes widened in shock as she read and reread the page a few times. She had already known something like this would happen eventually, but she had prayed it wouldn't. She threw the newspaper away in disgust, her future looking even more bleak than it did before. She knew that she wasn't destined for a fairytale ending but she also hadn't expected a nightmare. Merlin knew she'd rather die than bear children. Knowing Lord Voldemort and his regime, she knew everyone would be married off by the end of the week. So she knew she had to talk to her parents, the only thing she would have a little control over now was who. She had to convince her parents to find her someone her age and tolerable.

Petronella stood up from her chair, grabbed the Daily Prophet, and hastily made her way towards her father through their large mansion. Her feet took her as fast as they could through the long halls. Her mind was racing, going through all of the pureblood families she knew and trying to find one with a decent young man. But there weren't a lot of options. There was Marcus Flint, but he was obnoxious, rude and definitely unappealing to the eye. The only other age appropriate option she could think of was Draco Malfoy. He was only two years younger than her and quite attractive. But as soon as the thought of marrying him entered her mind, she shuddered in disgust. She remembered him as an entitled childish snob.

Her feet came to a halt upon seeing her father in the living room. Her mother was sitting next to him, both focused on the words written in the Daily Prophet. "Father, mother." Petronella said. "Please find me a decent young man." Upon hearing herself plea, the tears sprung into her eyes. She made her way towards the sofa and sat down next to her parents. The three of them pondering the next step of action.

"Of course, darling. We only want the best for our daughter. We'll find you a handsome, young pureblood man who will treat you right. But you know what, I'm betting there will be piles of letters on this table by tomorrow night. We've been rejecting proposals on your behalf for years already." Her mother answered. She seemed positive that Petronella was going to be in good hands.

Her father took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose before turning towards his daughter. "Petra, my princess. I will only approve of the best for you and our family. I will look into wealthy, young pureblood men and send them proposals. We'll set dates and you can decide for yourself who it is you want." Her father gave his daughter a kiss on her cheek before standing up and returning to his office.

Petronella sighed in relief as she leaned back on the sofa, her mind now put to rest. She knew she could trust her father to find her a decent man. Now that her fate was safely in her father's hands, she decided to ignore the topic for as long as she could. She couldn't let her mind wander and fall down a rabbit whole, thinking of the horrors of marriage to an unfamiliar man and bearing his child. No, she had to stay calm and collected like she was taught and always did.