Hey readers,

Thanks for all the amazing reviews. I just wanted to let you know that I've made a deal with myself. For every 15 reviews I get, I will get the next chapter up as soon as possible, which will hopefully be in the next few days.

Anyway, hope you read and enjoy as well as review. Sorry for the wait, but I'm back to updating as soon as I have the time to so you won't have that much of a wait.

Lots of love

xxx


Chapter Seven


Hermione tore down the corridor, the sound of her feet rapidly hitting the floor the only noise filling the halls and it was then that she finally realised just how late it was. After everything that had happened today, what it her previous best friends poor treatment of her, meeting Draco and then this whole Veela shell-bomb she was surprised she hadn't collapsed in tears.

With that on her mind she hurriedly made her way to the heads dorm, thankful that it was general knowledge where it was located since if a younger student was having trouble then it was the most frequent place visited.

Shaking her head she finally managed to slow down to a quick walk, her eyes trailing over the portrait in front of her as she approached the heads dormitory.

The portrait was of a young boy sitting in a field of what she guessed to be rose bushes, the young boy playing with the petals when an older woman filtered into the image of the portrait and took him into her arms. She couldn't help but feel her eyes water when she knew she would no longer have that, no longer have that bond that a child had with their mother, with their parents.

Hermione shoved those types of thoughts as deep down into the back of her mind as possible, not wanting to dwell on what was clearly the past as she took deep calming breaths before sighing to herself. All she wanted was a nice hot shower, a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream before settling into bed with a good book. Was that really too much to ask for?

"Welcome to the head dormitories, password?" the young female in the portrait asked her, it being the standard greeting that every student tended to be approached with. It was the general rule that unless you were with a student who was aware of the password you weren't allowed in, and even then you had to be aware that if a professor enquired your visit would be logged.

There was no sense in privacy, she thought with a huff. It was ridiculous.

Shaking her head she quickly realised she didn't have a clue what it was, her fingers combing through her hair in frustration as she tried to think back to whether she had be told it or not.

"Look, I can't remember what it is but this is my dorm" she tried, desperately wanting to get on with her evening plans.

The woman gave her a pity filled look; she hated pity, but denied her access anyway which wasn't really a surprise. That didn't mean it didn't suck though, because it did.

"I am sorry, but without the password I am not permitted to allow you access" the female told her with a frown. Even if it was obvious that it was Hermione's dorm it still meant she wasn't allowed in, the security in Hogwarts was both impressive and annoying she thought.

"Then what am I meant to do?" she sighed out in aspiration, she didn't have the patience for this and while she was normally polite to the portraits and whoever was in them she just wasn't in the mood.

"You have two choices, dear. You can find a student who is aware of the password, or you can contact Professor Dumbledore and ask what it is," the woman stated.

Just as Hermione was about to turn around and reluctantly head back to the headmasters office she was soon made aware of a presence which had most likely been watching her struggling since she had reached the portrait.

She frowned. Had he gotten amusement out of the fact she couldn't get into her own room?

"It's 'leaping dragon'" she heard Draco mention behind her, the youthful female fluffing up her hair in the portrait causing Hermione to clench her jaw at the sudden wave of jealousy she felt run through her.

She really needed that good night's rest, she thought with a huff.

Muttering a thank you, not wanting to be rude since he had in fact helped her, she quickly power walked into the dorm before letting her eyes take in what would be her new common room for the rest of her year at Hogwarts. She had to admit it was a beautiful room.

Soft, plush sofas sat in front of a large fire place and it was clear whose room was whose since hers had a border of red and gold, while Draco's had silver and green. Each door also had their names neatly scripted in a bold black ink.

Telling herself that she would look over the rest of the dorm later she went directly to her room, hearing Draco shut the portrait before turning around to face her. Thankfully she already had her door shut however, needing some time to herself to process what she now had in front of her.

She still couldn't believe it. She was mated to one Draco Malfoy, a boy who now looked like a model from a magazine catalogue and had bullied her since she could remember. This year was definitely going to be interesting that was for sure.


Draco watched as his mate shut the door to her bedroom before he could get a word in, his brows pulling together into a frown as he felt his inner Veela whine with discontent. It wanted its mate just as much as, if not more than, he did and the fact she was seemingly angry at him for a reason which he didn't understand wasn't helping matters either.

It also didn't help that the uncomfortable ache in his whole body, mainly his shoulders, was playing up again. He knew it was due to the absence of his mate but he couldn't help but vaguely wonder if it was a permanent issue or if it would go away as soon as he mated with her. He hoped the latter; if not then she would be glued to his side for the rest of their lives that was for sure. Not that the thought was unappealing towards him.

Licking his suddenly dry lips he made a mental note to try and talk with her tomorrow, whatever had upset her was clearly his fault if her storming away from him was anything to do with it. He would confront her, gently of course, and ask what he had done wrong. He wanted those temping lips on his again, wanted her to take charge and kiss him like she had done before.

He could still imagine how delicious she had tasted, how right her lips had felt pressed against his own even if it wasn't as deep as he would have liked it to be. Not that he didn't enjoy it though, no he had loved it and always knew he would, but the thing was he craved more. So, so much more.

He knew he would take whatever she would freely give him, whether it was a simple kiss on the lips or the feeling of her body under his. He also knew that he had to be patient though, he would never push her. She was worth a hell of a lot more than a quick tumble in the sheets that was for sure. No, he wanted to keep her for the rest of the foreseeable future as well as beyond. As far as he was concerned, she was his the moment he realised she was his perfect match in every way he could think of.

So no, he couldn't afford to ruin this by pushing her. He would take it slow, even if it killed him. She was worth it in every way possible.

She was his.


Hermione woke up feeling like crap to put it simply. She had spent the whole night tossing and turning, trying to think of how dramatically her life had changed before trying to ignore it. Both ways had left her up most of the night, her eyes only having shut for the brief hour or two before she was up again.

That wasn't what had her on edge though; no she had dealt with the lack of sleep before due to the whole situation with her parents and what had occurred during the war. No, what had her scowling as she grabbed her clothes before heading into the bathroom was the fact that the main reason she hadn't been able to relax enough to nod off was because she did feel 'whole' and she hated it.

She had always thought of herself as an independent woman, someone who didn't need to reply on others for anything, and yet one Draco Malfoy had just dropped this bombshell on her on her first day back leaving her completely off. She hated it, loathed it.

Though his lips had tasted good on mine…

Quickly shaking her head to clear away those types of thoughts she opened her bedroom door after making her bed, knowing that she could have used her wand and had it done it seconds but having decided to do it by hand as to give her some sort of distraction.

Trying not to think about the tall Slytherin who always seemed to manage to get her heart racing she creaked open her door before internally cursing when she took note of the platinum blonde hair poking out above the top of the couch. What was he doing up so early?

Taking a deep breath, pulling out some of her Gryffindor courage she couldn't help but slump against the wall when she realised that she was no longer a Gryffindor. But hadn't her door been in the Gryffindor colours when she had first looked at it last night?

Momentarily forgetting about her previous plan to try and avoid her apparent 'mate' she opened her door to let her eyes run over the entrance to her bedroom, her brows pulling together into a frown when she took note that they were now in Slytherin colours.

Had she really imagined it? Surely not.

She was so deep in her thoughts she jumped when she heard a voice that she hated to admit sent shivers down her spine, leaving her with a feeling of a mixture of yearning and curiosity. Great, just great.

"You ok there, Hermione?" Draco asked, his tone dripping with concern.

Spinning around she instantly felt a blush spread to her cheeks when she took note of his muscular and lean form, her throat suddenly feeling dry and she nodded quickly before dashing for the bathroom. She knew she must have looked like a fool but she couldn't bring herself to care, all that was running through her mind was whether or not she had been imagining the Gryffindor colours on her door last night.

Trying not to dwell on a past matter, even if it was only last night, she stripped out of her pyjamas before stepping into the shower and turning on the spray. She sighed as she felt the warm water run down her back, caressing her slightly pale skin before hitting the bottom of the shower in a silent stream that helped her relax. Even if it was only for a brief period of time.

Rinsing her hair she leaned her head back to let the water run over her face, feeling it warming up her previously tense form as she took a few minutes to simply stand under the spray of water. She had so much on her mind that she really needed to do some research; perhaps they had something in the library.

With her lunch plans sorted she quickly rushed with washing her hair and body before stepping out, slipping on a towel before drying herself with another. She knew she was up even earlier than usual, but to be honest she had simply given up trying to sleep.

Getting dressed in her uniform she flicked her wand towards her hair to make it somewhat manageable, deciding to wear it in a messy bun which would hopefully keep her untameable mess of locks out of the way. It had improved somewhat since she had started using de-frizzing charms and special hair conditioner, but she had a feeling that her hair would never be as smooth and glossy as the other girls. She had given up caring a long time ago however, it just wasn't worth the fuss.

With that sorted she dried her towels before folding them neatly, placing them back on the towel rack intended only for her before taking a deep breath and heading back into the common room. Hopefully Draco would have already left, but she knew that was way too much to hope for.

Well here goes nothing she thought to herself, taking one look into the common room before cringing. Yep, she had a feeling today was not going to be a good day.


Next chapter will be at 15 reviews so get typing guys, it's already started so as soon as it hits 15 I will be updating as soon as I log on next.

So REVIEW and continue to enjoy.