A/N: Hullo, Kell here- I wrote this chapter- couldn't resist rambling a bit ^^; Not much happens here, a bit about the nature of Draco's Veela condition is pointed out here, hmm…yeah:P Please read and review- I'd love to know what people think of my writing style, haha.
Chapter 2
In the last chapter…
[[The colour of Ron's face resembled that of freshly mixed cement. "Harry…" he croaked. "She's not the only one. Malfoy's…Malfoy's part veela too."]]
***
There was a mixed reaction after Ron said this. Hermione's face took on a determined look, as if concentrating on it would eradicate Draco's veela heritage and make him normal again. Neville gave a huge braying laugh, before he realised Ron wasn't joking- then his face contorted into a pained expression. Ron was looking thoroughly miserable- as if telling everyone about Draco's condition would make it final and irreversible. Harry just stood and stared- first at Ron, then Hermione and lastly on Neville, who was clutching Trevor so tightly the toad's eyes were most likely ready to pop out.
"You're...serious?" Harry's eyes were apprehensive. "You know, I've heard things about part-Veela. He might not be too bad." A part of Harry chastised him as he said this- "not too bad"? This was the Malfoy who had scorned the first friend Harry had ever made at Hogwarts- who called his other best friend names for her knowledgeability and blood purity. This was Malfoy, who never failed to make them feel like they were something dirty that had been caught on the heel of his shoe.
Ron gave a loud bark at this. "Not too bad? Harry...this is Malfoy! He's always been a git, and now that his Inheritance is approaching- the girls'll go wild after him and he'll just use that to rub it in our faces!"
Harry gave Ron a puzzled look. "Inheritance?"
"Yeah. Draco's not a full veela, or he'd be chucking balls of fire at us when he got angry and turning into some sort of bird-bloke, like those Veela at the Quidditch World cup. When he's sixteen, and I think he already is, I suppose- his Veela err…genes are activated, and he'll be like a girl-magnet."
Hermione threw a disgruntled look in Ron's direction, "Girl-magnet? Ok, what Ron means is that he'll have a sort of Charm forcefield and anyone near him will be irrevocably attracted to him, unless they take some sort of potion. Knowing Snape though, he'll dish some out to the Slytherins and let the rest of us make fools of ourselves."
Neville piped up, "Us? What do you mean 'us'? Malfoy's a boy, so he should only attract GIRLS."
Ron grinned. "Yeah, like you Hermione. You'll be applying Glamour charms like crazy, and if you get lucky, you won't just have books in your arms, but Malfoy too!"
Harry snorted. "Ugh. So...who knows this?"
"Well…me, Padma Patil, Ernie Macmillan…well, basically all the 5th and 6th year prefects…and the Head Boy and Girl." Hermione answered. "And now, you guys."
"So…why did Malfoy tell you guys?" Harry asked. "Why didn't he just…keep it a secret?"
"Because," Hermione replied. "He needed help."
"Er…help?"
"Yes…well…you see…when Malfoy receives his Inheritance, he also needs to find his mate…or…well…'not-so-good' things will happen."
"Like what?"
"Like he'll die," Ron smirked. "Not like we care-"
"Ron!" Hermione snapped.
"What?" Ron asked, looking sheepish. "I was just telling the truth…"
Hermione frowned slightly."Ron, we can't drag our feelings into this and make it personal! This is a life or death situation for Draco. He was obligated to tell us anyway, just in case some of the Hogswarts students started doing desperate things, you know? I mean, in Hogwarts: A History-" Here the boys all snorted, "A feud was mentioned – around 1673 it took place. A Ravenclaw veela was the cause of a HUGE fight- about 50 boys were seriously injured, duelling for her. Malfoy's a prefect- he had to tell us; students' safety is part of his responsibility. Basically, the faster he finds his mate- they'll be life partners, you know, the faster this whole thing can be quietened down. He'll trim down on his charms when he has a mate."
Harry nodded, "So, why'd you tell us? If only the prefects are meant to know..."
"Well, Harry, you have some sort of influence, and I thought we could persuade people with that...influence. I mean, the Creevey brothers adore you, and there are lots of people who'll listen to you- in case they think this whole Veela thing is a giant farce that Malfoy proposed for more attention. The prefects have been allocated certain Year groups in their House to inform. I dare say Professor McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout will all be asking Snape for the potion- I mean, we can't have the other houses losing points over this. But enough about Malfoy; you know I don't like talking about him anymore than you guys like listening." Hermione's mouth quirked at this, then she burst into a grin. "Look- I can see Ravenclaw Tower- we're almost at Hogwarts, guys! I'll leave you two to change." Hermione slipped out of their compartment, her previously serious mood now dissipating, and with Neville following ("Do you think Trevor'll hop out of his tank if I put him in?")
Ron turned to Harry and made a wry face. "Well, I suppose that's that. I…I always thought there was something odd about Malfoy!"
Harry snorted as he raised his eyebrows. "I didn't hear you complaining about Fleur." Ron's face flushed.
"Errr…maybe Malfoy won't be so bad. I mean, all the girls will be agog over him- we might get a chance to lasso a few for ourselves." Ron said, grinning at the prospect.
"Yeah- I'll have Malfoy's castoffs any day, Ron." Harry simpered, then grinned, "I'll save Hermione for you though- Malfoy doesn't deserve her."
"For…me? I mean…well…Hermione's...err…" Ron spluttered. Harry chuckled to himself as he watched his friend of 5 years, not allowing himself to think of anything but the joy of returning to Hogwarts. No other thoughts at all, especially not those of the grey-eyed, blonde-coiffed kind.
***
"Kettleby, Pascal!"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Lallens, Bathilde!"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Munstrin-Falls, Allegra!"
"Slytherin!"
Harry and Ron watched as Allegra Munstrin-Falls joined the Slytherins; they could see Malfoy clapping along with the rest of his table.
"There's only been four Gryffindors so far- you think they all fell in the lake on the way here?" Hermione was watching the Sorting as if it was the Final match of the Quidditch World Cup.
"Nah, Devin Creevey had that happen to him, the squid pushed him back up." Harry watched as "Quiltt, Adelphi" was sorted into Hufflepuff. "There's only been three Slytherins- maybe the squid sucked them down." Harry replied, drumming his fingers on the table impatiently.
"Maybe." They watched newly sorted Slytherin, scowling Frederick DeVaughn poke his fork sharply at his twin sister. She responded by snarling and grabbing hold of something under the table that made him turn purple.
"And to think our new batch of Gryffindors risked their lives to save that bunch." Ron twiddled his thumbs and watched in interest as first-year Gryffindor Candice Thao winced after one of the resident ghosts passed through her.
Harry's eyes were on the Slytherin table. Since when had he an urge to stare at the Slytherins? His eyes were wildly flitting through the heads…until he spotted a blonde-haired someone. His eyes locked onto Malfoy…who looked up at him, and then froze. Draco arched an eyebrow and simpered coolly at Harry, who could feel a tinge of red coming over his cheeks
Then, with "Zamir, Saul" ('Ravenclaw!') the Sorting was over. Hermione smiled in amusement as Ron grabbed hold of his cutlery and got his knife and fork mixed up in excitement. ("Come on! I'm STARVING!")
The empty dishes in front of them magically filled before their eyes.
***
Later in the common room, Hermione and the other Gryffindor prefects gathered all the students around.
"I'm sure," Her voice carried over the muttering of some students, silencing them, "that you have heard of Veela. Many of you may have seen them at the Quidditch World Cup Finals in 1994, when Ireland played Bulgaria, and won!" She stopped when some third-year boys cheered. "Those of you who were a Hogwarts in that same year, will know of Fleur Delacour" (A few boys gave wistful sounding sighs) "She was the Triwizard Champion representing Beauxbatons, and she was part-veela; her charms at the time had obviously affected a few of you." (Some snickers) "Hogwarts is currently the home of another part-veela student. Who here has heard of Draco Malfoy?" There was a flurry of hands and a few giggles.
"He's that good-looking, blonde chap, who plays Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch Team, isn't he?" A few Third years tittered.
Hermione looked at them sharply, and they stopped their giggling.
"Yes, that would be him. Draco Malfoy is sixteen this year and his Veela Inheritance has occurred. That means, that some of you-" The corners of Hermione's mouth twitched, as if in suppressed laughter, "Will err…act a little differently to what you usually may." Hermione gave a wry smile and proceeded to explain to the Gryffindors what she had told Harry, Ron and Neville that morning.
When she finished speaking, the portrait opening in the wall swung open and Professor McGonagall appeared.
"I trust you our Prefects have informed you of his situation?" Harry knew that by "his", McGonagall had been referring to Malfoy. Everyone nodded.
"Professor Snape has kindly…agreed to let you all take a dose of potion, which will repell the effects that Draco may have on you." Harry and Ron could tell that by her strained voice and the manner in which she had enunciated "agreed", McGonagall meant she had fought tooth and nail over the matter and had barely secured the potion for her House. "…Unfortunately, he has just administered his whole stock to the Slytherins, and will…we must wait for him to brew some more for the other houses." Harry could almost feel McGonagall's fuming- Snape just wanted to see the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff girls lose control of themselves.
"You will receive your schedules tomorrow morning at Breakfast in the Great Hall, and with luck, that potion will be delivered to us in…a week. Good night."
Hermione came rushing up to them as the Gryffindors dispersed. "What a foul thing to do! A whole week! Snape knows that the girls can't do anything about Malfoy, and being the prat he is- Draco'll probably turn up the charm just to get a rise out of the boys!" she fumed.
"I'm just hoping Snape'll get a blast of ye olde Veela charm then," Ron mused."Can you imagine him serenading Draco and doing the tango?"
"Or dressed in that atrociously hairy yellow and brown suit Hagrid owns?" Hermione giggled- her mood growing lighter with the thought of their greasy Potions master dressed in a hairy suit a few sizes too big, serenading Draco, who was draped in a Collapsible Glass cauldron, or something.
Harry nodded absent-mindedly, his mind on the cross-table encounter he had shared with Malfoy. The way Malfoy had...acknowledged him, it wasn't like Malfoy to simper. And his perfectly arched…hang on! Harry's thoughts darted back to Ron's comment…"I'm just hoping Snape'll get a blast of ye olde Veela charm then"…
"Ron!" Harry spoke forcefully, causing Hermione, who was about to enter her dormitory, to start. "You too, Hermione. Err…come up to our dormitory after you've gotten changed?" Ron raised an eyebrow when Lavender and Parvati poked their heads out, before ducking in again and giggling loudly.
Harry drew the curtains on his bed, while getting changed from his Hogwarts robes into more comfortable nightclothes. He pulled his curtain aside and started unpacking his trunk (Ron was dancing around in his Chudley Cannon boxers) when the door was pushed open and Hermione popped in.
"Hermione!" Ron looked outraged and heartily embarrassed. "We could've been…naked or something!"
"Or practising for next Yule Ball." Hermione smiled as Ron turned horribly red and skulked behind his bed. "Alright, Harry, what did you want to talk with me and Ron about? Make it quick," she muttered testily, "Otherwise Lavender and Parvati'll get ideas."
"What, there's nothing between us?" Ron stuck his head out indignantly."
"Ok…well, umm…Ron mentioned Snape getting a blast of Draco's charms…he's a bloke though, a bad-tempered, biased, greasy one, but, he's still male." Harry started. "So, you saying that, guys can get affected by Draco's Veela charms as well?"
There was an uncomfortable silence.
"Well…I suppose so." Hermione said slowly "Unless he's undeniably straight. Umm…why? Say…you're not falling for him, are you?"
Ron tore his bed hangings apart so forcefully that part of the hanging fell off, the rest hanging pitifully onto the canopy frame of his bed.
"Harry's not gay, Hermione! I mean, there was Cho and errr…you aren't feeling anything for him, are you?" Ron looked uncertain, but his expression showed he would support him regardless.
"I don't think I am. It's just that, remember those first year Slytherin twins we saw?"
"Yeah- that Fredericka DeVaughn had balls." Ron whistled. "His balls." He gave Harry a look and they both burst out laughing, while Hermione hovered above them, clearly amused but unsure what to do.
After they had quietened down, Harry continued. "Well, I was looking at their table, and err…" Harry didn't want to say that some part of him had been searching for Malfoy. "Well, Draco popped in my range of vision. We had…a bit of a staring contest ("Staring into your loverrr's eyes- those endless pooools of molten silverrrrr…" (Ron cooed and promptly got a fist in the head from Hermione) and well, he sort of gave me a suggestive look, and that is…what happened." Harry finished lamely.
"I'm sure Malfoy's just trying to get a reaction. He's going to blast everyone with that Veela-charm of his, and who better to start off, but with Potter- Number 1 on his enemy list?" Ron chuckled. "Then I suppose, he'll bat his eyelashes at me and 'Mione. He's probably jumping at the chance to humiliate us."
"Well, don't think about it for too long," muttered Hermione, slightly anxious all the same. "I'm going down to my dorm, Parvati and Lavender have probably cooked up some devious story and well, I'm not in the mood to hear about anything blossoming between me and Ro-you two." She turned pink and then her bunny slippers carried her out of the room.
"Alright then. G'night Harry." Ron yawned,"Sweet dreams about Malf-oof!" A pillow had gone hurtling his way.
Harry was very glad that no one could see how red his cheeks were.
***
At breakfast, the next day, Harry was searching the Slytherin table- but he wasn't the only one. Many of the girls were staring with unbridled enthusiasm at the Slytherins, boys as well- watching the girls warily. But Draco Malfoy wasn't at the table yet-Crabbe and Goyle were clearly also absent. Harry turned when the doors of the Great Hall opened and there were audible gasps from the girls; a few of the boys suddenly looked sentimental.
Draco Malfoy was in the lead, Pansy Parkinson clutching his arm and with Crabbe and Goyle following him. Harry and Ron noticed the first year twins from last night as well, as well as some third years and the rest of the 6th year Slytherins- Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass and Theodore Nott, to mention a few. But everyone, Harry knew, was not focused on the large group itself (the 6th year Slytherins had presented themselves as a united front every day for the last six years) but at Malfoy- he looked visibly different. There was something about the way he carried himself- the way his school robes set off his alabaster skin, the way his hair seemed to shimmer and a few stray tendrils of his hair drifted at the base of his neck.
Even Ron threw a blatant stare at the Slytherin table, where Malfoy was seating himself. Then Draco looked up in mid-chortle, and saw half the Great Hall gawking at him (for lack of a more accurate term).
"It's rude to stare." Draco pursed his lips and flung his head in the general direction of Pansy Parkinson before resuming his talk with Blaise Zabini.
Ron shook his head violently, as if to shrug off any doubts that he had been looking at Malfoy. Professor McGonagall was walking along their side of the table, handing each of them their new timetables.
"Well, we've got Charms, then Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Then double Transfiguration with the Slytherins and double Potions with the Slytherins." Harry looked up. "The entire afternoon with the Slytherins! I can't wait to see how many points Snape'll take off this afternoon."
Hermione grimaced. "We've got half an hour before Charms- look, I'm going to do some research in the library- on Veela, because well, you know." She glanced at Malfoy. "I'll see you two later."
Ron grinned. "Malfoy hasn't gotten to Hermione yet- if she's still going to the Library…though she could've been fibbing- maybe she's going to research Glamour Charms and Love Potions!"
Harry chuckled. "C'mon- lets go get our things for Charms- you suppose we'll need our gloves for Herbology? We might be collecting Bubotuber pus again."
***
"Alright now, students," squeaked tiny Professor Flitwick, "All of you received an "Acceptable" OWL or higher in your OWL tests 2 months ago, and as a bit of a treat, we'll be commencing our course with the Conjuring spell. These have nearly always been featured in your NEWTs in 7th year, so I suggest you try mastering them! Alright now, watch me!"
Flitwick gave a sort of prod then a swish: "Elicio biscuits!" Instantly a tin of Danish butter cookies appeared on Flitwick's desk. "Alright now, you try it! Prod and swish, yes, like that, Weasley, and then El-EE-see-OH."
There was a flurry as wands were swished and cries of "elicio" were heard.
"Eleesho..oh no..hang on…elisco..um…Elicio Hat!" Harry swished his wand and a stylish plaid beret with pink marabou trimming appeared on his desk.
Ron grinned. "Elicio Quill!" A gold and black pheasant quill appeared. "Elicio Gillywater!" A glass of Gillywater, complete with ice cubes and lemon garnish popped onto his desk. "Say..you reckon I could conjure up some galleons?"
Hermione shook her head. "The effect of this spell's temporary. Your galleon'd disappear after a while- where do you think all our conjured items are coming from?"
"Well..it was worth a shot." Ron turned pink. Next to him, Lavender and Parvati were giggling.
"Hey, you suppose I'd be able to conjure up a dream boy?" Lavender murmured.
"Nah…maybe he'd probably get splinched…conjuring people'd be like forced-apparating, wouldn't it? Besides, why not accio Malfoy instead? He was looking sooooo yummy at Breakfast today." Parvati chimed, and both of them burst into giggles.
Hermione rolled her eyes, but turned red. "You know…Malfoy was looking rather…"
"Merlin, Hermione, not YOU as well!"
"I was kidding!" Hermione chortled.
Herbology class was held in Greenhouse One."Alright now. I'm going to split you up –Hufflepuffs, half of you will be collecting Bubotuber puss and the rest of you will be pruning the Flutterby Hedge along the side of the greenhouses- oh and watch out for the Tentacula Vine- it's teething." The Hufflepuffs bustled off to the far end of the Greenhouse. "Alright now, Gryffindors, yes, to my right please. Thomas, Finnegan, Brown, Patil- I want you to go pick a basket of mallowsweet and sage- Professor Sinistra wants some to burn when you attend your Astronomy lesson- it'll help with your stargazing I've been told. Potter, Weasley, Granger, Longbottom, I'll need you to collect some sneezewort, scurvy-grass and lovage- Professor Snape mentioned that you'll be needing some for your Potions class this afternoon. Oh, and one of you scatter some Puffapods along the garden bed on your way out- I've been hankering for some pink flowers- they smell awfully nice too."
The Gryffindors bustled to work- Harry throwing a few handfuls of Puffapod into the freshly manured garden bed outside the greenhouse. Rows of pink flowers sprang up instantly.
With everyone around them talking about Draco, their conversation turned towards Draco as well.
"Will Draco REALLY die if he doesn't find a mate?" Neville asked.
"Of course he will. And he'll die if his mate dies too." Ron shrugged. "I suppose we could go on a killing rampage just to spite Malfoy."
Hermione dropped her 34th sprig of sage into the small basket they had been given. "He won't die like that- especially since he doesn't know who his mate is. Besides, he has until he comes of age. I mean, that's a year or so, and most of the girls couldn't resist him before his Veela genes kicked in. There's only a small chance that someone like Malfoy won't find a mate...I mean, today was his first day- his charms will intensify over the next few weeks, and today's reaction was…well…"
"Damn." Ron shrugged and continued plucking the soft white cubes from the mallowsweet's stem.
After another half-hour of picking, the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs trudged up to the castle, changed out of their Herbology garments and Harry, Ron and Hermione hurried to their next class- double Transfiguration.
The Slytherins had already arrived when Harry and the rest of the Gryffindors trickled in.
Transfiguration was difficult, but today it seemed even more so- what Harry had learnt seemed to have leaked out during the holidays. They were supposed to transfigure their mice into glass dishes. Only Hermione managed to transfigure hers perfectly, earning twenty points for Gryffindor. At the end of the lesson, Harry thought his mouse looked a lot flatter and transparent, and was hoping that McGonagall would notice the special effort that resulted in his mouse having glass feet. It didn't help that Hermione showed up with her frosted glass dish, complete with a flower pattern traced along the edge. Ron's mouse resembled a hairy frisbee, which made Harry feel slightly better.
Lunch in the Great Hall was a rowdy affair-, most of the people seemed to have taken to staring at Malfoy, who had realised his almost celebrity status within the school and had taken to kissing Pansy's hand shamelessly. The girls in the Hall drew a collective gasp when Malfoy threw himself onto Blaise (and they toppled under the table) and Harry, Hermione and Ron gave up hiding their amusement and exited the Great Hall before they could make spectacles of themselves.
Potions was after lunch.
"You may be aware, that Mr Malfoy has reached a certain part of his life where his Veela Inheritance has taken over. You may be tempted to look at him often, or do something you would normally not do. Yes, Longbottom, for once, you might brew a satisfactory potion. Mr Malfoy's…charms, however, are not to distract you from your Potions work this afternoon. Gryffindors! Professor Sprout informed you to bring the lovage, sneezewort and scurvy-grass to today's class?"
Neville sunk low behind his desk. He had been assigned to bring the ingredients to Potions, but his memory being notoriously poor- he had forgotten. He raised a quivering hand.
"Professor Snape, sir, the basket's up in my..dormitory…" He faltered. "Would I be…?"
"Fifteen points from Gryffindor. Weasley, put those abnormally long legs of yours to use and retrieve those ingredients."
Ron stared. "Immediately!"
Ron returned five minutes later with the basket, skidding to a stop in front of the supplies cupboard.
"Five points from Gryffindor for your tardiness, Weasley. Now sit down."
"We will be making a Befuddlement Draught today. Vincent, can you tell me what a Befuddlement Draught does?"
Harry snorted silently. What a ridiculous question, and yet,
"Take ten points for Slytherin, Crabbe."
"Ingredients." Professor Snape pointed at the supplies cupboard and the doors shot open. "Method." The procedure started writing itself on the board. "After you have brewed the Draught, I will be testing it on you. You have an hour. Begin." Snape turned the hourglass on his desk over.
The Potions lesson wasn't too bad. Nearly everyone's solutions were emitting the plumes of shimmery purple smoke, even Neville's though his mixture was also bubbling wildly and splattering his desk.
There was not enough time to test everyone's draughts so Harry and Ron ended up bottling their solutions and slipping them onto Snape's test tube rack.
"Your homework- 5 feet on the properties of lovage and sneezewort. Detailed description of the effects of scurvy-grass when mixed with the two."
Harry cleaned out his cauldron and tidied up his desk; some of Neville's potion had splashed onto his desk and Harry's quill was now dancing the cha-cha around the rim of his inkpot.
Hermione and Ron were waiting while he tidied up his desk, "Go on without me, I'll catch up with you guys."
"Alright, Harry. We'll meet you in the Common Room then."
Harry shoved a sodden rag in the sink (the rag had been most unhelpful when it was scrubbing off the Befuddlement Draught, wheezing and creaking and singing Christmas carols.) and turned to go to the door when-
"Potter, a word with you, please."
Harry looked over his shoulder and froze. It was Malfoy, eyes smouldering and a cool smile etched on his face.
A/N: How did I go? Lol, please R & R =) You'll be getting your beloved Sapphrine back next chapter- don't worry, you only had to put up with me here, hee ;D You can email feedback to me at cherrehs@yahoo.com , or just stick it in a review, lol.
-Kell
