To those who have read this story before, I am going through and editing the chapters, so some things may be really, really different. It has obviously been awhile since I've updated a chapter, mainly because I wanted to re write a chunk of the content, hopefully this new version flows better.
And here is Chapter 1 of my first ever Veela fanfic!
Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns these characters, and the main Harry Potter plot.
Chapter 1.
Hermione Granger sat alone in her small room which she shared with Ginny Weasley at Grimmauld place. Her surroundings were rather bare, something which seemed to reflect her personality lately.
The war was still raging on each day as it had been when she was 17 and still in Hogwarts. Now age 20, she felt completely lost and alone, it hadn't always been like this, it began on the day of her 20th birthday.
She woke that morning, feeling as if something was missing from her life, she looked in the mirror only to see that nothing was actually different. She still had her loose, curly brown hair which fell beneath her breasts, her plump lips were still as red as ever, and figure was same, slim but considerably filled out compared to the 17 year old girl she had been once. The only thing slightly different was her eyes, they were still large and brown, but the spark was gone.
Every day for the next six months she would have the same dreams of a mysterious man trying his hardest to reach out to her, but every time she called out to him and tried to grab his hand, she woke up.
The dreams were only the beginning, every day she was also haunted by a feeling that time was starting to run out. It was a strange feeling, as if she needed to rush all the time in order to get somewhere. The war wasn't going away anytime soon.
It made her nervous to think that there was a countdown to something else that seemed so huge, yet she didn't know anything about.
Most of the time she tried to brush it away as stress of the war, after all, it had been so long since any of them had felt safe, felt some normalcy.
"Mione?" a small tap at the door gained her attention, distracting her from her own deep thoughts.
Hermione rose from the bed and glided across the room, opening the door as soon as she reached it.
"Hello Harry" a smile spread across her face upon seeing her best friend standing across from her.
He returned her smile, "Would we all be able to talk to you downstairs quickly, before the raid?
Hermione opened the door wider motioning to Harry that she would. She followed him down the stairs, attempting to ignore the nagging feeling that they didn't have good news for her. He led her into the lounge area where most of the Order were standing.
"What's going on?" she eyed them suspiciously.
Lupin was the one to stand forward, "We've been hearing whispers, at first we thought them to only be rumours, but now they are becoming more frequent" he cleared his throat and looked directly into her eyes, "The death eaters are looking for you Hermione"
She stared back at the older man stunned, "Looking for me? Are you sure?" she questioned in disbelief, "Why would they want me of all people?"
The room was quiet.
"Most likely to get to me" Harry spoke up, "They could easily hold you as leverage, knowing that the Order would do anything to get you back. This is why we have agreed that you shouldn't be out on the raid with us tonight"
Hermione had to stop herself from snorting, of course if she was wanted it would only have to do with Harry, which made perfect sense, but why couldn't the reason just be about her for once? Not that she wanted that kind of attention.
She shook her head in obvious annoyance, "Yes, but you don't have any solid proof, for all we know the death eaters could just be saying that to try and get us paranoid"
"Hermione" It was Tonks who spoke to her now, "We can't do our job properly tonight if we all concerned for your safety love. Not to mention someone needs to stay here and watch over the others"
Pansy Parkinson.
They wanted her to stay and watch over the girl, even though Pansy had been staying with them for nearly a year now, many of the Order members didn't trust her.
Not that Hermione could blame them, the girl was a piece of work, in some ways she was just like Hermione. Easy to get a rise out of, with a fiery tongue. Only they were different in many ways, Pansy was a Slytherin to the core, she always made you feel as if there was something that you didn't know.
Hermione rubbed the back of her neck, "I don't agree to this but I suppose I don't have much of a choice, I'll just see you when you get back then, good luck"
The Order members began to disaparate one by one, only leaving Harry and Ron behind.
"It's okay guys, I understand" She offered them an unconvincing smile, "At least the others won't be as distracted if I'm not around them"
"We're sorry 'Mione" Ron rubbed her arm, "But we can't let anything happen to you, you're our sister"
His words didn't even sting; there had been a time where hearing something like that would have made her cry and yell at him in frustration, but not any more,
Harry squeezed her shoulder sympathetically, "After tonight we will get to the bottom of this, I promise you, but while we don't know for sure, we can't take chances"
"I know" she sighed, "Good luck"
They both pulled her into a quick hug, "See you in the morning" Harry added before they both apparated away.
A sharp stab at her heart caused Hermione to gasp, "Time is running out" she muttered to herself.
"Time for what?" She spun around to face none other than Pansy Parkinson.
Unease washed over Hermione, no one knew about her dreams, of the things that she had been feeling over the past few months, or so she thought.
The Parkinson girl was barely shorter then Hermione, her eyes shone a bright green, she had perfectly straight teeth, an upturned nose which matched her air of authority and shiny black hair which fell dead straight to her shoulders.
Over the year that she had been here, Pansy and Hermione had developed a strange relationship. Pansy was a lot brighter than people thought. She had a sharp tongue and quick mind, something which resulted in a lot of verbal sparring.
Very few of the Order members saw Pansy like that, which was a mistake on their behalf. Hermione did have to give her credit for surviving in the safe house for so long, especially when some of the others weren't as kind to her.
"Mind your own business" Hermione retorted, not feeling in the mood to fight with the other girl today.
Pansy rolled her eyes at Hermione, "See that's the thing Granger" she walked closer to her, "you are my business, you're the reason why I had to come to this stupid place, and now finally, you're the reason why I can finally leave and return home"
"What are you talking about?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at Pansy, "You can't go anyway, the safe house has been sealed off"
Pansy had been questioned for hours before she was allowed to be in the safe house with others. Even though some were suspicious, there was no way she could've lied to Moody of all people.
"Well that's where you're wrong. It's taken nearly a year, but I figured it out" Pansy pulled her wand out from her sleeve, "Time really is running out, you know it, I know it and some other very important people to me know it"
Her thoughts flashed to the man from her dreams.
Hermione reached down to her pocket for her own wand, her eyes grew wide when she saw Pansy fish it out from her own. How could Parkinson of all people outwit her?
"Now there is something important that I need to show you, and it cannot wait" Pansy took another step closer to her, "I don't want to hurt you. Truth be told, I can't hurt you, but I will try if you don't come with me"
"I don't trust you" Hermione threw back at her, trying to ignore the persistent feeling that she needed to go with Pansy.
"It started when you were 20, didn't it? Every single day like that has been hell for you, it's like depression, you're sinking under but you have no idea why, you're noble Hermione Granger, to be feeling this way but still manage to put everyone else first" Pansy's voice softened as she held out her hand, "I have the answers, just let me show you"
Against all her moral judgement, Hermione took the other witches hand. She immediately felt the familiar tug of side long apparition. They arrived in a long hallway; it was the door in front of them which snapped open that caused Hermione to jump in fright.
Standing before her was Narcissa Malfoy, and that was when realization kicked in.
She was in the Malfoy Manor.
"I was afraid you wouldn't make it" The elder women uttered in distraught, her watery eyes caught Hermione's.
"What's going on Pansy?" Hermione hissed, shrugging away from the other girl, "How did we get through the wards?"
Hermione took a deep breath but it didn't seem to do anything for her, how could she have been so stupid to go anywhere with Pansy, what would Harry and Ron think of her when they arrived back to an empty safe house?
If she was careful enough she could take her wand from Pansy and attempt to escape. She was clueless as to how the girl got through the wards; everyone knew that they were nearly impenetrable at the Manor. She tried to will her body to move, to do something, but it wouldn't.
"I'll explain all of that later. Please, Hermione, you've come this far. Everything will make sense soon" Pansy looked at her pleadingly, "Is he okay?" she asked Narcissa.
Narcissa took in a deep breath, "It gets worse as each day passes, he collapsed not too long ago" She told Pansy shakily, "What does she know?"
Pansy shook her head, "Nothing, I couldn't waste any more time, I thought it would be better to show her instead"
Narcissa nodded her thanks and gestured for Hermione to enter the room, "Please, it's time that you know everything"
Hermione's body automatically walked forward, leaving Pansy standing alone in the hallway.
"I don't understand" Hermione's eyes began to fill with tears, "Are you going to kill me?"
Narcissa squeezed her hand, "Of course not, I'll explain everything, once your inside."
She continued wordlessly through the door, Narcissa following behind her. The bedroom was dark; the only illumination was from the nights sky. On the bed was a motionless figure, obviously asleep. As she moved further into the room, white blonde hair caught reflection of the light. The man on the bed was none other than Draco Malfoy.
"Please sit" Narcissa motioned to two chairs that were facing the bed.
Hermione sat wordlessly; she had to stop herself from reaching out and grabbing his hand. He looked so sickly; she had never seen something in a state such as this. His body was pale, covered with a sheen of sweat, his blonde hair stuck to his face. What shocked her most of all was how his face had been scrunched up in pain.
"The Malfoy name is well distinguished as I'm sure you know," Narcissa began in a hushed voice, "It's always been known for its purity, its money, its prejudice, and also its secrets. Six generations ago, the eldest son of Abraxas Malfoy was bitten by a Veela. It was extraordinary circumstances; never had anything like this happened before"
Hermione gave a small nod to let the witch know she was listening closely.
"The venom injected into the boy somehow turned him into a Veela, a rare case indeed. It came as a surprise to the family that from that boy onwards, each Malfoy boy would have Veela blood and in turn would suffer the transformation upon 17 years of age"
Hermione breathed in sharply, her eyes zoning in on Draco.
"Veela's know their mates long before their bond officially recognizes it and by 20 they begin to suffer every day until they find their mate and bond with them. Veela's always find a match in someone who is compatible with them or with someone who completes who they are" Narcissa paused.
"And what would happen if they didn't?" Hermione turned to face Narcissa, of all that she had read, she had never seen much about male Veela's, the concept was rather frightening.
She shook her head sadly, "It's not a common outcome, after all both the mate and Veela feel the same affects, they don't feel whole without each other. But if the Veela did not happen to bond with his mate, from the age of 20, they slowly disintegrate. We are still unsure exactly what happens, the body seems to shut down and at the age of 21, it stops functioning all together".
Draco was older then her, by at least six months, that would place him nearly at 21.
"He's 21 in four days" his mother spoke so softly this time Hermione almost missed it.
Hermione rose from her seat, "What does this have to do with me?" she asked her panicked.
Narcissa also stood from chair, "My dear, you already know the answer to that"
Lady Malfoy exited the room slowly, leaving a gaping Hermione standing next to the bed.
"I'm his mate?" she asked herself bewildered. Logically it made sense; they were both intelligent people, top of their classes. He was always cold and reserved around others while she was tending and caring. There were many things that Draco Malfoy wasn't that Hermione could make up for.
Hermione stood beside his bed for a few minutes feeling conflicted at his mother's words, curiosity got the better of her and she reached out to stroke the side of Draco's face.
His eyes snapped open immediately, his wrists were quick to grab her own and pull her onto the bed next to him.
"They found you" he breathed a heavy sigh of relief, hovering over her.
She sucked in a breath as he pressed his body into here's, nuzzling his face into her neck, her heart was beating so fast she thought that it would explode from her chest.
Malfoy was a Veela.
She was his mate.
They would have to bond!
The facts of the situation all ran through her head.
Oddly enough, she wasn't too bothered by it. Instead she felt immensely relieved; the pressure that she had been feeling over the last few months had suddenly lifted.