Hello! This chapter is twice as long as my usual ones due to the fact that my summer exams will start in a week which will make it highly unlikely that I'll be able to upload a new chapter then. But no worries, after my exams end and I'll return from my holiday (September 18) I'll start uploading again. If you have any questions or comments, you can always send me a PM.

I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Draco was trying strenuously to keep his shallow breathing under control. Being in the Great Hall, surrounded by so many people for the first time after his transformation was gradually becoming quite the ordeal for the young Veela. His nose was bombarded by so many different scents; apple, rosemary, chicken, raspberries, white musk, some sort of cologne, sweat,…
He could smell everything and everyone.
His vision had improved as well and, unlike his new sense of smell which he only found to be troublesome and not useful at all, he definitely appreciated it. Being able to look at the Ravenclaw girls at the table opposite him and see their cleavage as if he was sitting right in front of them was absolutely a perk of his new powers. And if it wasn't for his new sense of hearing, he would be able to enjoy that perk more. Normally, he would love to be able to hear what everyone's saying, to find out their secrets when they think they were having a private conversation, but this was utter madness! He didn't care how dreamy Terry Boot was, or how terrified some first-years were, or how most Gryffindor males were ravenous to the point of dying if they weren't allowed to commence eating in the next ten seconds. He didn't want to hear how much everyone missed ¨Potter and the weasel. Hell, he didn't even care about what they said about him. Things like 'hot platinum blond', 'sharp cheekbones', 'former Death eater', 'Death eater scum', 'very alluring and handsome, but rotten to the core like his family' were repeated every three minutes.
He had expected to be insulted, his father had warned him that the Malfoy name had lost all its respect in the non-Pureblood Slytherin circles of society. It didn't matter that he hadn't wanted to participate in the war and had only done so because his family's lives were threatened, he would always be regarded as the big bad Malfoy, one of the Death eaters closest to the Dark Lord.
Not that he cared too much about what people thought of him. He was filthy rich and people would still sell their products to him and do him favours. Because no matter how much you turned or twisted it, people loved his money more than they hated being associated with the Malfoys.
Besides, he still had his friends from Slytherin. Theo Nott had gone through a similar war experience as Draco, both seeing, hearing and doing things they shouldn't have had. The only difference now was that Nott senior had to serve a sentence of eight years in Azkaban and Draco's father didn't thanks to his brilliant idea to out all other Death eaters. Primarily, he was sentenced to a life time in the wizarding prison, but thanks to a considerate amount of money said sentence was reduced to one of eight years. Once again, money had proven to be stronger than principles or dislike.
Blaise Zabini on the other hand was never branded as a Death Eater and thus had had a more 'comfortable' war experience than Theo and Draco, although even he had seen things he'd never be able to fully shake off again.

"Welcome. Welcome, to another year at Hogwarts."

Draco really didn't care what the new Headmistress had to say. He was far too absorbed by his own thoughts.

"What do I need to do?"

"You will need to find your mate and mark her. Contrary to popular belief, there is no time limit, but the sooner she's marked the better it is for you, my son."

"But mother, how do I do that?"

"You will go through a painful transformation, Draco."

Draco's eyes widened at the word 'painful'. He had gone through enough pain in his life already, he didn't look forward to more just because an ancestor of his couldn't keep it in his pants.

"Your bones will break and regrow, you will grow a bit taller, your muscles will be more prominent, your senses will improve, your magic will be more powerful, your cheekbones will be more refined and you will have a certain glow around you. All by all, you will be stronger, faster and more alluring."

Draco, who had kept quiet during her explanation, but had become ghastly pale, even for a Malfoy, looked at her with the scared eyes of a child.

"All this is just to find my mate?"

"To find and mark her."

"As a Veela, your mate is your entire world. No one will be as adored and respected by you. She will be your best friend, your wife, your true love."

"True love?"

At that, he looked hopeful. Because at odds with what everyone thought, Draco's main goal in life was to be happy. He didn't want to be a Ministry man as his father had once envisioned for him, long before the war had started. He didn't want to start his own company. The Malfoys already had more than enough wealth, although there's no such thing as enough galleons his father once told him, and were always making more by smart investments. He just wanted to be happy. And not happy as when you get the latest broom available, or as when you manage to get a rise out of someone you hate, no, he wanted to be deliriously happy. He wanted to feel accepted and adored by someone. He wanted to feel safe and loved just the way he was. He wanted to confine his deepest secrets to someone that wasn't his mother and not be judged. He wanted, as he now realised, true love.

His mother smiled at him with tears in her ice blue eyes.

"Yes, my son, true love. Someone who will care for and love you equally as much as you love and care for them. Someone who will be your equal. Who will stand with you forever."

He opened and closed his mouth before he was able to say what he wanted.

"How do I get her to comply?"

Narcissa gave her son a loving smile.

"You woo her. You use that famous Malfoy charm and make her fall for you. It shouldn't be a difficult task, you are the epitome of the perfect Pureblood man after all. And when she accepts you, you bring her to the manor. The Marking Ceremony will be held here. You will go down to a secluded part of the dungeons, hidden from everyone but a Veela and its mate, and you will perform the ancient Veela ritual that will make her yours forever."

"What is the ritual?"

"You have to simultaneously perform a certain spell that will share your magic with one another and afterwards you have to bite her as to inject your Veela gene into her."

"Bite her?"

He was completely gobsmacked.

"I may not be as Pure-blooded as I thought I was, but I'm no ferocious animal!"

"Of course you're not, Draco, but it has to happen. Otherwise she won't be marked fully and you won't be able to enjoy your bond as mates to its full extent."

"And afterwards?"

"Afterwards, she will be yours forever and you will live a happy life. A long one as well seeing as Veelas and their mates age more slowly than regular wizards and witches."

"So that's all I have to do? Find her, woo her, mark her, happy life?"

"That's all, my son"

He gave a small nod and rose, intending to leave so to contemplate this new information.
He was halfway to the door, when he turned around.

"Mother, what if she's with someone else or what if she hates me?"

His mother looked up from her cup of tea to him, which she had resumed drinking after their chat.

"Veelas are very possessive. No matter whom she's with, she will be yours, she belongs to you. Never forget that, Draco."

He nodded and left.

Someone nudged him in his left arm. He looked up and saw his friend, Blaise.

"You dazed off during McGonagall's speech. Can't blame you, though, it was awfully tedious."

"Oh, thanks." Draco said uninterestedly.

"Where are you with your head, seriously? You didn't come to our compartment on the train and you've been sitting here for 20 minutes without saying a thing."

"Look, I have something on my mind, that's all."

"Obviously, if you're so quiet." His other friend, Theodore, who was sitting right in front of him piped up.

They were both watching him curiously now.

"Something you need to tell us, Draco?" Blaise asked.

He looked at them and then to the other students who were already eating and then back at them.

"Not now, later."

And he commenced eating.