Contract Era

Chapter 1: Bewitched

A/N: This was written for BtBFN's Age of Potter competition. Winner in the following categories: Kissing Hour - Best Kiss; Tomes & Scrolls - Best Execution of Prompt; and Sweep of Sunshine - Best Fluff.

My prompt was: Regency. In the wizarding world, everyone follows the rules of magic. All magical blood is precious. The world consists mostly of pureblood wizards and witches. But every few generations they are required to find a Muggleborn to marry, but they are extremely rare. When a Muggleborn comes to Hogwarts, they are courted from day one by the most prominent families. The previous generation's Muggleborn was Lily Evans. Many fought for her hand but House of Potter won. And the proof of their union is a very powerful son. After Draco was born Lucius knew he had to find the best witch for his son. Only the best will found a way to see the list of Muggleborns. He investigated all of them. The best is a beautiful child named Hermione Granger. So he sets his eyes on her and tries to win her parents to sign a betrothal contract.

Much love to my beta RachaelLA26 who helped bring this piece to life. And to Alina Marie who gave me the perfect idea for this prompt.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

~0o0~

The day Lady Hermione Granger found out she was a witch started off quite normally. She'd had breakfast with her governess and lessons with her tutor. Hermione was quite a remarkable girl in that her parents paid for a tutor for her, instead of just a governess as most girls were afforded. Hermione didn't even have any brothers to warrant a tutor; she was an only child. Which made her rather lonely but that was probably for the best. When her emotions ran high, strange things tended to happen around her. She'd gone through three tutors before Mr Jenkins had been hired. He, at least, dealt with her strange outburst with aplomb. The outbursts were becoming more frequent and Hermione was getting to be extremely embarrassed about them.

Halfway through tea with her mother, the butler—Caddington—interrupted.

"A Professor McGonagall is here to see you, madam," Caddington intoned in his deep bass voice.

"Professor McGonagall? I've never heard of such a person," Hermione's mum, Lady Granger said.

"She's asked to speak with Lady Hermione as well, madam," Caddington informed them.

"Do you know of such a person?" Lady Granger asked Hermione

"No, Mother," Hermione shook her head. While she was confused, she was also very excited. It was rare that her parents entertained, so having someone new to see and talk to was always a treat.

"Well, see her in Caddington. We'll see what she wants. Is the Earl home yet?"

"Not yet, madam," Caddington replied.

"Very well," Lady Granger waved the butler away. As he left, a footman came into the room to add an additional setting for tea.

"Oh, are we to provide tea for this Professor McGonagall as well?" Lady Granger asked the footman.

The footman's eyes widened and he froze in terror. Hermione hid her smile behind her hand. It wasn't polite to laugh at servants.

"Well?" Lady Granger asked when the footman didn't respond.

"Mr Caddington said—"

"Oh, well if Caddington requested it," Lady Granger sighed and waved her hand, allowing the footman to continue with his setup.