Hermione woke up feeling euphoric. After what felt like dying in her last moments of consciousness, she now appeared to be much more buoyant. She snuggled into the toasty warmth surrounding her very satisfied. Her tranquil state of mind left her feeling like she could lie here forever and everything would be okay. She knew that her home existed where she laid.

She inhaled deeply. Green apples. Expensive cologne. Spearmint.

She felt a hand rub soft circles on her shoulder and she nuzzled into the tender touch. She heard a masculine sigh and didn't question herself when she began to purr. She reached her hand up and caressed the face nestled into her, feeling a bit of chin stubble before twirling a few silky locks around her fingers. She opened her eyes one at a time, allowing herself to focus in the midnight light, to see her mate cuddled into her.

Draco. My Draco.

She hummed at this, clinging on to make sure that he couldn't leave while she slept, and finally lost consciousness; drifting back into a restful sleep.

. . . . .

Draco's eyes blinked swiftly to remove the sleep out of his eyes. He felt disoriented for a moment, not knowing exactly where he fell asleep. He knew he wasn't in his bed because he didn't feel the Acromantula silk sheets he normally woke in. Surprisingly, he felt a warm body burrowed into his side. He thought he was possibly still dreaming, knowing the last time he slept in the same bed as anyone was as a little boy. And… did he hear purring?

All of a sudden he remembered the events of the day.

He shifted his head down and saw a mass of chestnut curls that prevented him from seeing Hermione's face. He brushed some of the hair beside to see the pleased smile on her face as she snuggled possessively around him.

Her fingertips ghosted over the edge of his waistline, bringing to his attention his uncomfortably hard situation. He tried to turn over to get out of Hermione's hold, but she kept her grip tight. He eventually settled for just being the small spoon, placing his hand under hers to make sure she couldn't feel his arousal.

He sighed, but could not be upset at the situation. He had never felt so untroubled in his entire life than in that moment.

He loved seeing Hermione so comfortable in his presence, not seeming to want to let him go. He hoped when they woke it wouldn't of been just a blissful dream.

He willed himself to get rid of his unwanted morning wood before twisting around onto his back. He kissed Hermione's temple and kept his nose deep in her unruly curls.

He watched as her eyelids fluttered and he stiffened. Would she say anything about their intimate position? Would she mind to see herself wrapped around him? He knew they were friendly with one another, but he hoped he didn't mix the signals he saw from her.

When he saw her eyes open and looked at him questioningly, he knew he fucked up and secretly groaned at his own idiocy.

Her coffee colored eyes had flecks of gold that shimmered in the moonlight and a faint blush had speckled across her cheeks. He silently waited for her to do or say something. Anything.

He let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding when she smiled at him brightly.

"Good morning," she said with a yawn looking around, "or night? What happened Draco?"

"You fainted and gave us quite a scare. I wanted to stay with you to make sure you were alright. I hope you don't mind."

She leaned over and checked the time with her wand. She then stretched and moved back to nuzzle her face back into his neck. "I don't mind at all. It's still early, only two in the morning. We should go back to sleep." She inhaled deeply, "You smell wonderful."

He laughed. "Thank you?"

She yawned and lazily said, "Yes, you smell like home."

He jerked his head to look at her but she had already fallen fast asleep.

He wondered if she was aware of what she just said to him, realizing that she felt like home to him too. He felt butterflies fill his abdomen and he wrapped his arms tightly around her, loving her sigh of contentment.

Screw it. I'm going to do everything I can to make her mine.

. . . . .

"Narcissa Malfoy? I have not seen you in quite some time. What can I do for you?"

"Madame Delacour, It is so wonderful to see you again. I hear your granddaughter has grown to be quite a beauty. Didn't she marry the eldest Weasley? He's quite the catch if you ask me," The older woman chuckled and gestured for Narcissa to continue. "I asked you for tea today to ask you a few questions about your Veela ancestry, if you don't mind."

"Oh?" Madame Delacour picked up her tea with grace and sipped. "And what would that be?"

"Do you know of a location where I can access more information on Veela? I tried looking throughout my personal library, and I've only come across a few texts. There's a young girl I adore who I believe is coming of age. She's a known Muggleborn though, and I don't know if that would be possible. I have searched quite in depth on this, and I am quite afraid if it's true she won't be prepared. I have seen her irises darken and become completely black and noticed her nails turn into talons on occasion. She has become quite possessive over my son as well. Last night we had a female guest over for dinner she catch our guest kissing Draco. The poor girl fainted immediately."

After a moment of being deep in thought, she nodded slowly. "Yes, it does seem that she has the Veela gene and is turning. There is a possibility that she had a squib relative with a Veela gene. Having Veela in your blood does not always mean that they will turn when they come of age. More often than not, if the gene is not strong it must take extreme circumstances and danger of there mate to cause them to turn. You just had a war, No?"

"Yes we did. My son was forced to take the mark from Lucius' failures. They put him under extreme pressure from his Sixth Year at Hogwarts until the Dark L—Voldemort's downfall."

She nodded, "That will certainly do it."

"If you don't mind me asking, where could I find more reading material? I have not told her of my suspicions yet and I want to make sure I am well versed. Her twentieth birthday is next Saturday."

The lady's eyes bulged slightly before she wandlessly and wordlessly summoned parchment and ink. She wrote down an address and handed it to Narcissa.

"Go here and they will help you. You should make sure you are well prepared, the transformation can be agonizing if you do not know what is happening. Especially if they are not around their mate. Our instincts lead us to them for a purpose before coming of age and this is one of the most important things you could do for her. Keep them together as much as possible the next few weeks. If she has any questions you can send her to me. Au Revoir."

"Merci."

Narcissa looked at the address and noticed it only seemed a couple blocks away. She found herself walking in the fall breeze, coming across an ancient looking building with heavy Muggle repelling charms. She walked inside to find an old and dusty library with dim lighting. She flinched her hands away from cobweb and shuddered; she would certainly need a warm bath after this.

"How can I help you Cheri?" An elderly woman appeared from behind a bookshelf. Narcissa could tell this woman would have been stunning in her prime, regardless of the numerous age lines across her face. She still had this ethereal beauty to her that made Narcissa feel very welcomed and comfortable around her.

"I was sent here by Madame Delacour. She recommended this place to find more information on Veela. Perhaps some books I can take off your hands? Money is no issue." She smiled politely.

The lady did not respond, just turned around and walked away with purpose. Narcissa followed her without question to the back of the room behind a tattered curtain and opened a large wooden trunk on the floor. She blew off the dust on the book and placed it in Narcissa's hands.

"Beauty in Rarity" she read the title softly and felt the archaic binding of the book. She could feel magical energy pulsing from the pages, something that she didn't feel often from books nowadays.

"Everything you need to know is in here, Cheri."

"Thank you, I appreciate you giving me this. I can feel that it must be a very special edition. How much do I owe you?"

The elderly lady smirked, "Nothing, she will do great things."

She walked away leaving Narcissa Malfoy loss for words.

. . .

"Narcissa?" Hermione called out as she padded her way down the hallway towards her favorite room in Malfoy Manor. She knew she needed to have a long discussion with Narcissa, and she hoped to find her in the library.

Things have become… different to Hermione.

She didn't notice the changes at first. They were small changes that she just put down to becoming healthier. She had spent a year in near starvation on the run. Not only was her body in a constant adrenaline high, she also was tortured for an hour and cursed many times. She knew it would take long for her body to heal, but the changes in her body were unnatural.

First she noticed her hearing. She could hear the faint 'lub-dub' of a heartbeat whenever she was near someone. She could hear things occurring from long distances away, even when no one else could physically hear it.

Then, her reflexes vastly improved. Sometimes she could move so fast she felt supernatural. It helped that she could use both her heightened sense of hearing and sight to figure out which direction she needed to move. Just a couple of minutes ago, she was in the kitchens with the house elves talking to them as they prepared dinner when she heard something falling above her. Within a second she had moved from her place and caught the falling object in her hands. The elves had just gave her a knowing look as she stared wide-eyed at the frying pan in her hands.

That was the moment Hermione knew she needed to talk to Narcissa; the older witch always seemed to know what to do. As she approached the library she could hear both Draco and Narcissa whispering quite angrily at each other. She peeked her head inside but stayed in the shadows, not wanting to interrupt them while they were fighting.

"And you don't think she has the right to know?" Draco spat out and curled his lip over his teeth.

"Draco please," Hermione was surprised that she saw tears on Narcissa's face, she usually wasn't one to show her emotions. "Draco please listen. I just wanted to be sure."

"By the sounds of it you knew weeks ago when Pansy visited. You just had to go invite that whore over to 'make sure.'' She saw Draco bring his fingers up and did air quotes with his fingers subconsciously, leaving Narcissa with a confused look on her face. If Hermione wasn't so bewildered herself, she would have found it endearing that he picked up a muggle mannerism from her.

"Draco, language." Narcissa hissed.

"Fuck no, Mother. I have every right to be pissed over you meddling with Hermione. I care about her and I don't want to see her hurt from what you're doing."

Wait—They were talking about her?

"Draco, I love her. The last thing I want to see is her hurt. I was going to talk to her about it, I promise. I just wanted to do research first incase she had any questions."

"And your research included letting a gold-digging pureblooded brat over here and let her climb all over me to see if Hermione had any response to it?" Draco was now yelling at this point, no longer trying to keep his voice low.

"I regret my actions," Narcissa said solemnly, "I really truly do. That is why I went to go find this book. It's beautiful. Can't you feel the magical binding in the pages? What better way to show her than allow her an ancient book filled to the brim with history and forbidden knowledge."

"I do not care, Mother. She needs to know that she is a Veela right now. If she truly is turning soon, she has a lot to prepare for, and I don't want to scare her off if what you think is true."

Veela? No, that couldn't be possible. Muggleborns can't be Veela… can they?

But that would explain they changes in her body…

"I know it's true Draco. You are her mate."

Fuck.

This couldn't be happening.

Hermione felt her heart start going into overdrive and she wasn't sure she could physically speak or more. She wanted to talk about her worries with Narcissa first, but it all makes so much sense.

She had been worried her relationship with Draco was becoming unhealthy. All she ever wanted to do was be around Draco constantly, and felt so empty when he was away.

Hermione wanted to talk to Narcissa to see if the right decision was to go back to her flat.

Now she knew it would be the right decision.

Draco hasn't actually been growing fond of her; Hermione only had been influencing him with her…pheromones. That's at least what happened when Fleur came to Hogwarts.

She had to leave, now.

"Fine Draco. We'll get her and all talk about this together. Rosie!"

Hermione heard a pop of apparition, afraid to move and allowing them hear her eavesdropping.

"Yes Mistress?"

"Please bring Hermione here to Draco and myself."

"But, Mistress. Miss Minnie is already here."

Fuck.

Hermione saw both Narcissa's and Draco's heads snap up and look at the door at her. Draco's face morphed into something of torment and she fled.

She didn't stop when she heard her name being called.

She didn't stop even when the voice screamed at her to turn around and comfort her mate.

She could feel Draco's emotions rush through her. His worry, his grief, his dejection. Everything within her wanted to turn around to run back to his arms.

She wouldn't let her body control her feelings anymore. She reached the floo and screamed out for her flat. The second she arrived she closed it down and put up multiple wards before falling to the ground.

She couldn't feel anything anymore. Just complete numbness. The only reason she knew of her tears was the salty taste on her lips.

She knew she was doing the right thing putting up barriers. She was doing this all for Draco after all. He deserved to have happiness in his life after everything he went through. He was forced to be tied to the Darkness and she refused to let him tie himself to her.

With distance between them, Draco would finally be free.