A/n: Hello lovely readers, I have another chapter for you, and the next shouldn't be far along!

In this you will see a lot of Adelaide (Addi) Malfoy, who I fancast as Lily James; and you'll hear about Ellis Yaxley, who is fancasted as Richard Madden. If you like either of these characters enough to want to use them in your writing please message me and ask. I'll almost 100% say yes, and be so humbled but please ask.

Thank you all so much for your absolutely amazing reviews of chapter 1, they filled my heart with so much joy. So please as always leave me with the only currency a fanfic writer asks for and keep the reviews coming!

So much love to my amazing betas gidgetmalfoy and kanewolfe, I could not do this without them!

Friday, 3 November

Draco pulled his eyes from his cousin, tension radiating off of both of them. While he was annoyed at the interruption, he quietly thanked Merlin for it, and for the witch who caused it. It had been a long time since he and Addi had been this riled up and ready to fight.

Hermione cleared her throat and repeated herself, louder this time. "What do you mean, trap everyone here?" Her brown eyes moved between Draco and the blonde witch standing a mere four inches from him, looking ready to commit murder.

Addi's heart sank at the same moment she lowered her eyes. Suddenly she understood the tension Draco was feeling, and the sudden burst of anger when the wards had gone up. Now that she paused, she could also smell something else on her cousin, something that she knew not from Draco, but the scent was familiar because of another werewolf. It was the smell of attraction and pure desire, and suddenly this situation was even worse.

Addi had seven years of dealing with her condition, and she knew that a full moon mixed with attraction made it unbearable, she lived that reality every month. Her cousin would suddenly have to deal with a heightened sense of compulsion towards the source of his attraction. On top of that, the attraction would be worse as his wolf fought to be close to who it desired. Her heart clenched in sadness for her cousin, who was more like a brother.

Draco stared at the brunette for a few moments, he had no other answer then,"It means you're trapped here until the full moon is over in five days."

"I don't understand. Why have you set up wards to keep you on the property? Why are they activated a full day before the full moon?" Hermione asked, not believing that she was truly trapped here. It was the place that starred in many of her nightmares. The look that crossed Draco's face confused her.

"It's a precaution that has been in place for over seven years. The wards go up as soon as Addi arrives, and uses any spell. It's a safety precaution so that I don't get out." Draco confessed while unable to look at his cousin, the very reason the wards were now in place. He knew his cousin didn't resent him for what had happened, but he would forever hate himself for what he had inflicted on her.

Addi could feel the tension grow and knew her favourite cousin was turning inward on himself again. She wanted to hug him, but knowing with the recent desire to fight, that action might not be perceived well. "Draco, stop that, you know I don't hold it against you. Please stop feeling bad."

Draco growled once in reply before he took off up the stairs and out of sight. He had no desire to have that discussion in front of Granger, and while he had spent many years opening up to Addi and Ellis about life, face to face with Hermione Granger in this moment was not the place to express how he felt.

Hermione's brown eyes widened as she watched him go. She turned to the blonde witch, unsure of what to say or do. Technically, she wasn't done going over the laws, which she was required to complete, but if she was truly trapped her for five days, she figured she would have plenty of time.

Addi looked at the brunette witch, finally able to take in her appearance now that Draco had run off. She knew who she was at first glance, this was Hermione Granger, war-heroine. While Addi was overjoyed to make her acquaintance, this probably wasn't the right venue to allow her stardom to go haywire. She walked towards Hermione, sporting a smile, "Hi, I'm Adelaide Malfoy, sorry about all of this."

"I don't understand," Hermione stated simply, unable to help smiling back at the bright smile being offered her way.

"Here, why don't we go sit down. I need to eat, and I'll try to explain everything," Addi offered as she walked past Hermione back into the small breakfast room. As soon as Hermione was seated, she looked back at her, "Would you like anything to eat?"

"No, I'm fine thank you," Hermione said, as soon as the words left her lips she regretted them because her stomach clenched tightly. She wished now she had asked Lottie to fix her something, but she had planned on grabbing a bagel before heading back to the Ministry.

"Milly," Addi called. Patiently waiting for a small pop at her side announced the arrival of Draco's house-elf.

"Yes, Mistress," the small house-elf squeaked. Hermione looked over at the house-elf, expecting to see one similar to Dobby, dressed in only an old pillowcase, but this was not the case. This house-elf had bright brown eyes, a long nose and was wearing something similar to what her gran would wear.

"Can you bring a bunch of muffins for our guest to chose from," Addi requested with a quick wink at Hermione, who blushed. "And I'd love some eggs, sausage and potatoes."

"Thank you but-," Hermione began, clenching her teeth when for the third time this morning her words were cut off. It wasn't like she was never interrupted, she was best friends with Ronald Weasley after all, but it didn't make it any less irritating.

"No point in lying about it. I can smell your hunger. It's hard to explain but I can smell a lack of food on you, and when I mentioned food you briefly tightened the muscles in your stomach. You're hungry, no shame in it. I eat my weight in food in one meal." Addi explained, still smiling at Hermione. Sometimes she loved the fact that she had werewolf senses.

Realizing she was caught, she dropped her gaze before looking up with a smile. "Well, thank you. I guess I didn't realize how hungry I was until you mentioned it."

Feigning ignorance, "So stuck here for five days and you've got Draco's wand in a knot. Who are you?" Addi said with a knowing smile at the blissfully ignorant witch. She would keep it to herself that she smelled desire all over her cousin because he wouldn't care for Ellis to tease him relentlessly.

"I'm Hermione Granger. I work at the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Beasts. I was here to inform Malfoy of the new laws that I've helped to enact on behalf of werewolves," Hermione replied, knowing her job sounded boring to most people, but she loved it. It was the first step of many to finally right the wrongs that had been done to creatures for centuries.

"Brilliant! It's about time we had some new laws, I hope they're good and you're not another prejudiced bint," Addi said smirking. While she wasn't technically a citizen of this country, and France had never had a registry, she spent so much time here that she genuinely cared what laws affected her cousin and her best friend, Ellis.

"No, I believe werewolves shouldn't be shunned for a condition that is beyond their control. I'm working hard to create equal rights for them." Hermione declared just as Milly walked through the door levitating a large basket of muffins and a tray with juices and a steaming pot of tea.

Addi immediately turned her attention to the food, "Thank you, Milly!"

"Mistress's food should be ready soon, would Miss like anything else?" Milly said her voice soft and squeaky as she looked at Hermione.

"No, no thank you this is perfect," Hermione said, giving the little elf a smile. She quickly grabbed what appeared to be a blueberry muffin from the basket, and poured herself a glass of orange juice.

Silence descended on the small breakfast room as the pair ate and drank, helping themselves each to a second muffin with a smile at each other.

Hermione eyed the blonde carefully as she picked off pieces of her muffin. She was almost unnaturally beautiful, close to the beauty of Fleur but in a different more friendly way. The light blonde of her hair was matched only by one other person Hermione knew, the man whose house she now seemed to be a prisoner of, and not for the first time in her life.

The stark difference between her and Malfoy were their eyes. Where Draco's eyes were a stormy grey, Addi's were dark brown, almost the same shade as her own. After her quick assessment of the other witch, her eyes returned to her muffin, which she couldn't help but admit was delicious.

Breaking the silence, Hermione looked back up at Addi, "May I ask, why is it that wards go up a full day before the full moon cycle starts?"

Addi looked at Hermione carefully. She had debated for years the telling of this story, and most of the time the need to tell it didn't come up, as Draco rarely had anyone over that would need to know. However, it seemed this witch was about to be forced to deal with the reality. Wiping her hands with a cloth napkin, she began. "I'm not sure how much Draco would want me to share," she said biting the corner of her lip. "But, well I guess it's my story too, he can just deal. Seven years ago, it was only six months or so after the war, and his dad had been sentenced and his mom had moved out. Draco decided that he wanted to get pissed before the full moon. He came to my parent's house in France, and at the time I was unaware of his condition, we all were. He got himself rightly sloshed, and ended up being unable to apparate home again. He forgot the last dose of his Wolfsbane Potion, resulting in him transforming into the beast. Well... he ended up biting me when I went to check on him because of the screaming. My mum arrived quickly and apparated us away, but the damage was done, to me at least."

Hermione's mouth was hanging open as she heard the tale recounted to her. She couldn't take her eyes of the witch opposite her. Now, the look she had seen cross Draco's features made sense. It was the look he wore in the drawing room of this very house, when she, Harry and Ron had been captured; it was guilt. Her heart plunged with sorrow for her old classmate because no matter what he was like as a child, he would have to be heartless to change someone and not care. With a sad smile, Hermione looked up at Addi, "I'm, well, I'm sorry that happened to you."

Addi laughed then, her eyes crinkling, "Don't be. It's not great, the pain of the transformation is, well, it's the worst, but you also get to eat whatever you want because you don't gain a single stone. You also get some super cool advancements on your senses. Plus we all transform together now, which is actually quite fun."

Hermione was struck between the urge to laugh and disbelief, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. It had to be the first time she had met anyone who wasn't ashamed of their condition. Deciding to ignore both of those thoughts she asked: "Who's we, just you and Draco?"

"Oh Ellis too, he lives here on the property now. He was changed a few months before Draco was," Addi stated, ending her explanation quickly when Milly came back, a tray of eggs, sausages and potatoes floating ahead of her.

Hermione's academic brain was whirling now, "Do you find it easier to cope with when you're all together?"

Addi finished the large bite of egg in her mouth before she replied, "I lasted two full moons on my own before I asked if I could come try it with Draco. It was miserable, even with control of your mind, you're restless and anxious, but as soon as you're amongst a 'pack' you can behave freely. We end up wrestling and getting into scuffles, anything to relieve the anxiety."

Hermione's eyes widened. It was an uncommon occurrence for wolves with wolfsbane to be together, because it was a rare enough occurrence for them to have access to the potion. She wondered if there was a point to some of the pack ideas that a lot of people had resorted to. It would seem that even under the effects of a clear and controlled mind, the inner wolf still longed for company. Hermione's thoughts were interrupted by a sound at the door of the breakfast room.

Turning her eyes she saw that Draco had reentered the room, frowning at the sight of Addi in the chair he had previously occupied. Hermione looked her classmate over. He was no longer as pale and sickly as he had once looked. He had, indeed, filled out in muscle. His once pointed face had also rounded in some areas and chiselled in others. His hair was the most changed about him, he wasn't clean cut, but instead looked like he had needed to shave last week and his hair was no longer combed back, but instead, cut in what she deemed to be a very handsome look. She swallowed, and with a slight shake of her head, attempted to banish those thoughts from her mind.

With a grimace, Addi moved her plate to the chair opposite of Hermione. "Sorry, Draco. I really didn't think anyone else would be here."

Draco nodded once, thankful for his cousin's apology. He walked the length of the table and sat down at his seat. He made a plate of breakfast for himself, his eyes staying on the food. Hermione watched as he began to eat, noticing the tight grip he held on the fork and how quickly he seemed to swallow, taking a deep breath between bites.

Addi's eyes drifted between her cousin and Hermione, a smirk crossing her lips before she schooled it back. "So how do you two know each other?" She didn't miss the way each of them quickly glanced at each other, before they both looked down, shame washing over their features.

It took almost a minute before Hermione finally looked up again. "We were classmates at Hogwarts." Draco lifted the corner of his mouth in silent acknowledgement of her words but gave no other reaction except to continue eating with gusto.

Addi nodded, her smirk threatening again, knowing there was more to this story, and she couldn't wait to get it out of one of them. "So, Draco, what are we going to do about the pure-witch?" She smiled at Hermione, who raised her eyebrows, curiosity etched on her features.

Draco swallowed his bite, his amber eyes lifting to his cousin. "Well, she's stuck here, so she can do whatever she wants until tomorrow night. Then I figured we would transform in the dungeons instead of in the woods, and Granger can be in a bedroom. Warded in, of course." He took another bite, effectively ending the explanation.

"Great! Seems like we get to spend the day together!" exclaimed Addi excitedly before going back to her food. Even with her easy acceptance of her condition and the less stigma, there was in France for lycanthropy she still didn't have many friends, let alone female ones. No, her only true friends were Draco and Ellis. And they were only useful if you wanted to talk about Quidditch. She was overly excited to get to know this witch, who not only was a war-heroine, but she was sure had a story or two to tell about Draco.

"I still don't understand, I really am stuck here? There's no way for me to leave? Can't you just undo the wards?" Hermione asked, her eyes flitting between the Malfoys.

"Yes, Granger. You're really stuck here," Draco said. He knew his explanation seemed curt, but he was trying to avoid breathing through his nose by using short sentences. "The wards are blood magic, and the second Addi arrives and completes a spell the wards go up for five days. She did magic, they went up. They're tied to my blood so unless you want to taint your perfect record, by killing me, you're stuck," he added with a wry smile. With his eyes focused on Hermione, he didn't see the look his cousin was giving both of them.

Hermione finally rolled her eyes, at the over dramatic flare of Draco Malfoy. Fixing him with a pointed look, she asked, "Well, can I borrow an owl to inform Harry that I'm ok?"

Draco narrowed his gaze, he didn't know why it bothered him that she wanted to rush off and owl Potter. He knew they were still friends, and he wasn't sure if he was irritated because of the full moon or because his wolf had suddenly sat up and was growling at the idea of any other male pawing at Granger.

Addi rolled her eyes at her cousin, his irritation and attraction obvious. "Yeah, after I finish I'll take you to the Owlery."

Hermione looked away from Draco, confused by the silence to give Addi a smile. After a few minutes, the pair of witches left the table. As he watched Granger leave with her tight skirt hugging her perfect arse, he had to fight the urge to follow after her like a lost puppy, which only furthered his irritated mood.

Draco sat back in the chair, having finished his breakfast some time ago. He was slowly losing the battle of wills against his wolf, who's insane logic told him to 'go find Granger!'. She and Addi had been gone for at least twenty minutes, and the longer the minutes stretched by, the more restless he was becoming. He had finally been able to breathe through his nose again, but found that the desire to take a whiff of her scent was still overwhelming. Though he would never admit it, his nose had been working hard to pick up the lingering traces of her scent that was left in the room.

Growling loudly, he gave up and rushed to his feet. Stalking from the room, he sniffed the air, walking in the direction that her scent was strongest. All rational thought was gone from his mind, the wolf was almost in complete control when he turned down the hallway towards the owlery where the heaviest concentration of her scent persisted. Narrowing his eyes, he moved on quick, light feet until he heard voices at the end of the hallway, coming from the greenhouse off the main house.

"You have such a variety of ingredients, some I've never heard of before," he heard Hermione say as he crept closer to the door.

"Yeah, Draco tends to them himself mostly, taking special care of them for his potions," Addi explained sounding further away.

"I never knew he was much of a herbalist," Hermione said. Draco could tell how surprised she was, and a huge bubble of pride exploded inside of him.

Draco moved even closer to the door until he could look inside the greenhouse, and see Granger's reflection in the glass planes. This was the perfect spot for him, close enough to hear what they were saying, and still able to see and admire her without her knowing. The scent from the plants somewhat overwhelmed her scent, allowing him to relax.

"I don't think he is, but he wants to make sure they're of the highest quality for his potions. I've never had much of a hand for either. Charms were always my best," Addi stated, moving back towards the door of the greenhouse. She turned her head, catching her own reflection in the glass plane, and she winked in his direction. Rolling his eyes, he cursed the hyper senses that came with being a werewolf, because it meant that his annoying younger cousin knew when he was eavesdropping.

Rounding the corner he stepped into the doorframe catching his cousin's eyes and nodding towards the door.

"Well, I need to go check on somethings with Milly. Hermione, will you be ok with Draco?" Addi asked unable to hide her smirk any longer.

Hermione looked up from the monkshood she had been studying to see that Draco had come into the room. She nodded, before turning back to the plant.

Addi made a quick exit, but not before winking at Draco, who curled his upper lip in response. Once in the room, the plants could no longer mask her scent from his nose and she overwhelmed him once more. He didn't know what had come over him, but he couldn't ignore the delicious pull her scent had. Taking a few steps closer to her, he took a deep breath of her scent letting it fill his nostrils and wipe away any rational thought he had left.

When he stood less than three feet away from her, he watched her as she continued her study of the plants in the greenhouse. He tilted his head to the side and studied her with as much care as she was the plants. For the first time, he noticed the figure that must have been hiding under her robes in the last few years at Hogwarts. He wasn't sure if it was because it had been so long since he had laid eyes on another female, besides Addi and his mother, or because his wolf was drooling over the witch in front of him, but Granger suddenly looked like the most beautiful witch he had ever laid eyes on.

He cleared his throat causing her to turn sharply, not having heard him move in so close to her. "Would you like to see the library," he asked, his eyes finding hers.

Hermione smiled, and he couldn't help but smile back. "You have a library?"

Draco grabbed her hand, surprising Hermione who stared down at the second physical connection the two had ever shared. The first being when her fist had connected with his jaw in their third year. He pulled her gently out of the greenhouse and down the hall.

Hermione followed along, surprise clouding her mind enough that she didn't pull her hand out of his grasp, but just followed along slightly behind him. As he moved her along through the house, she noted that this house didn't seem to line up with her memories of the place; this house was full of light and brightness. From the walls which were painted a light grey, to the wide windows, it seemed to be a place where darkness had never existed.

Draco turned them down the last hallway and stopped before a set of double doors. Still holding onto her hand, he pulled her close and whispered, "Granger, have you always smelled this delicious?"

Hermione swallowed, the hand that he held was pulling her close to him, forcing her to look up into his eyes. His eyes that had been changing since she got here were a dark shade of amber now. This colour that made her uncomfortable, as it wasn't his predictable grey. Swallowing she breathed, "What are you-" her words were cut off for the fourth time that morning as his lips pressed into hers.

Her mind went blank as shock overtook. It had been years since she had been kissed, but being kissed by this wizard was something her mind couldn't have dreamed possible. She felt his other hand snake around her waist, pulling her up against his body as he deepened the kiss. Her eyes closed automatically and suddenly she was kissing him back.

As unexpectedly as the kiss had started it was suddenly over, and Hermione was looking up into Draco's amber eyes as he licked his lips, tasting the last bit of her. Just before he pulled away, he took a deep breath through his nose. Intermixed with her scent was one he knew immediately, desire. It was with great strength that he didn't pull her down the halls to his bedroom to see how far he could go with her, to sate his wolf. Instead, he kept hold of her hand and pushed the double doors wide open. He turned just in time to see her reaction. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the library in front of her. Her legs gave way underneath her, and she was thankful for his hand still holding her up.

To be continued...