She walked into the forest, the full moon shining clearly between two clouds. Hugging her cloak closer to herself, the Head Girl shivered delicately in the frigid winds. The woven basket swung noisily as she peered closely at the base of the trees. Bare. The temperature continued to drop as she tread across the dead forest floor. As her teeth began to chatter, the white flowers were finally spotted in the crevice of a tree root. An extra credit assignment required her to finish a wolfsbane potion in a month and the floral ingredient only bloomed under the full moon.
Gathering as many Blue Moon flowers as she could, she carefully placed them in her basket before shrinking it and placing it in her satchel. She turned to leave the forest and go back to the shelter of the school, but the trail she took had vanished. Crouching down to where she was sure the trail had been just moments ago, she gasped when she noticed fresh wolf prints. The newest copy of Hogwarts, A History clearly stated there weren't any wolves residing in the Forbidden Forest.
Growl. She whipped her head in the direction of the sound, wand in hand, the red ribbon used to tie back her hair coming loose and fluttering to the ground unnoticed. Her wavy locks began to curl as the charmed fabric was no longer able to calm the auburn-highlighted tresses. With the moon shining from behind her to give a glowing aura, doe eyes wide with wariness, and the Gryffindor red cloak billowing in the frigid winds, she looked wild.
Without warning, a boy came out of the shadows to her left. Platinum blonde hair swept messily over his eyes, but his startling silver orbs were hard to miss. The oddest thing was not the state of his nonexistent clothing, but the feral look in his eyes. Maybe it was the moonlight, but she couldn't help to watch as his stormy gaze roamed over her body. Every cell in his body wanted to pounce on the beauty in front of him. Every thought he might have had was consumed by the need to sink his teeth into her warm flesh. The two young students stared at each other as his human side tried to cut through the haze. With every ounce of his humanity, he willed himself not to allow the animalistic side take control.
"Run." He collapsed, knees buckling without consent. The fatigue from starvation and sleepless nights caught up to him as the exertion of his internal battling became the last straw. Ignoring his plea, the girl rushed up to catch him before he hit the dry earth. She stumbled under the weight and ended up cradling his head in her lap, unable to hold him upright.
"Malfoy! Where have you been the past six months? Merlin, the school's just about declared you dead!" She exclaimed, forgetting about silly house rivalries in her worry. He inhaled her scent and groaned, the faint scent of vanilla essence rubbed off of her and seeped into his clothing, making it harder to ignore his wolf's demands as the aroma fogged up his sanity.
"You shouldn't be here, Granger." Another groan.
"Why?" She demanded. Why was he here? What happened to him? And she was more than capable of defending herself!
"Fenrir Greyback… Bitten…" He rasped, barely conscious as he fought for control over his body. He smirked faintly when her eyebrows knit together predictably. "It isn't safe for you here, Granger."
"I don't understand why you'd care." She replied haughtily, masking her compassionate nature with mistrust.
"I can't… I can't kill someone…" Grey orbs darkened.
"Show me," She whispered gently. The look she gave him spoke volumes, and he complied reluctantly to the soft voice, rolling over slightly to reveal his shoulder blade. Ragged, pink flesh in a distinct bite mark looked like it was made violently and healed far too fast to scar properly. Hermione resisted the urge to flinch at what must have been an excruciating experience. This time, she couldn't suppress the compassion that bubbled up inside her. "We need to get you to the Infi-"
"No! I don't need your help!" He growled out in a way that definitely wasn't human. Head truce or not, she was still the best friend of his nemesis, and having her see him like this hurt his pride enough; he needed to keep what dignity he had left, he told himself as he shoved the animal in him as far away as he could manage.
"Alright, alright, I won't take you to the Infirmary." She said soothingly. Another false move could end with her torn to shreds."I understand. I won't tell anyone about you." He sighed in relief. Magical creatures still didn't receive equal treatment, and an unlicensed werewolf would most likely be sentenced to death. Now he understood what the bushy-haired girl in front of him had been fighting for in all those equal-rights campaigns. He was snapped out of his thoughts when she spoke.
"If you won't let Madam Pomfrey help you, then I will. I'm making wolfsbane potion for class. It'll be complete before the next full moon and I won't take no for an answer!"
With a scoff at the girl's useless antics, he turned his head away from the intensity of the determined glint in her eyes. With a start, Draco noticed just how close his face was to her crotch. Upon a recently-developed instinct, he inhaled her scent like a drug. Seeing what he was doing, she squirmed away uncomfortably. His hand reached out to firmly rest on her hip to stop her movements, unable to control his own actions.
He then spoke in a voice much deeper than his own, eyes fogged over and out of focus. "When was the last time you indulged, young dragon? She's perfect. Beauty, intelligence, kindness, cunning, bravery, loyalty… She will be your mate. Accept no lesser, young one." A faint glow formed around them and a small black dragon appeared on the inside of each of their right angles, unbeknownst to either.
He jumped up, distress fueling his ragged form as his voice changed back to normal. "You can't do that, you stupid bloody wolf! She'll never accept me!"
"Why not? Worried you lost your charms?"
"Of course not! You don't get it, you imbecile! She's the best friend of my nemesis! She hates me!"
"Obviously not, since she was so kind as to want to help you…"
"You just bound me to the only female in the entire wizarding population who is irrevocably immune to my undeniably incredible attractiveness!"
They continued bickering and, as the boy argued with his wolf side, the wide-eyed girl inched away quietly. A twig snapped in the far distance and the boy whipped his head in the direction of the sound. Silence. He realized he was alone. The girl was gone. The only remaining evidence she'd been there was the scarlet ribbon lying an arm's length away, the smell of vanilla blowing away in the cold winds.
And so the chase began.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this little fic! Dramione is one of my favorite ships and I really hope I did them justice... Let me know if I should continue and build off of this plot bunny or not! ~ pimsaimh