This chapter will also include more of Harry; I want for my story secondary characters to develop as well, and not just stay in the background. I may include more of Lupin, Draco's family and Luna in the next chapters.

I'm hoping you're all enjoying this story as you now see it's not your typical love triangle here *nervous laugh*. I will hopefully upload in a week, (I also realised I always upload on Wednesdays, and not intentionally before) if not in less time. I want to hear your comments, opinions, ideas or whatever you like for this story. And as always, since this is the first day, and I don't have a beta, there will probably be some mistakes that I'll correct in the next days if you want to re-read the chapter later if you're reading this on Wednesday.

I hope you enjoy it and keep reading it ;*


"You lied to me!" Hermione angrily shouted, coming through the Divination's class entrance facing Trelawney, who was cleaning the crystal balls.

"Hm? Excuse me? I don't think you are in my class, are you dear?" Trelawney said, adjusting her glasses. Hermione looked at her with perplexing eyes.

"Don't you recognise me?" How daft must this woman be for not remembering the person she had a prophecy of more than a month ago? Seeing her face of confusion, fruitlessly trying to remember her, she pressed again.

"You seriously can't remember me?"

"I'm sorry dear I-"

"For Merlin's sake! I'm Hermione Granger! The person whom you "supposedly" had a prophecy of?"

"Oh yes, I do remember you now dear, how are you doing with, Malroy is it?" Hermione looked at her incredulously.

"It's Malfoy, and not okay! Not since I realised, your predictions are nothing but a sham!" Hermione fumed. Her face was flushed with anger, and even though she was never rude towards teachers, Trelawney caused great indignation in the young witch.

"I don't understand what you're saying dear, I know Divination isn't always precise but a pro-"

"Bullocks!" Hermione threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "I knew I made the right choice dropping your class in third year! After all these years, I even believed you for a second. To think this woolly subject wasn't actually worthless-" She stopped, noticing she was now trembling, and before she said something Hermione would further regret, she stopped speaking. She took sharp breaths to calm down and stared at the teacher.

"My child, you seem rather troubled in your mind…" She said taking Hermione's hand in hers, entering a into a trance mode, almost as if the touch itself had caused it. Hermione, not caring about this, said,

"Troubled?" She said, in half a whisper with a high pitched tone, taking her hand away from hers. "The only troubled one here is you if you think you can predict the future!" She backed away and made her way out of the classroom, only to be stopped by Trelawney's words.

"Thou who won't see yet the true eyes of love, who is blinded by false infatuation. Thou shall see soon... Your destiny is not to be with your current relationship of untrue emotions. Your true destiny lies at the side of a dear devoted friend. Thou must take away your blindfold and see." I already heard this. I don't need repetition of this rubbish Hermione angrily thought. She reached the doorknob when she heard Trelawney's words again.

"But beware of the road happiness leads. Torn between the heart and love of two souls thou shall find theeself. Only one soul will remain broken in the end." What? I didn't even tell her about the dream… She shook her head as she exited the room whispering "Brilliant."

Hermione sat in one of the small stairs in one of the endless corridors of the castle. As soon as she touched the ground, tears slipped from her eyes and fell, adorning her face and robes. How could this happen to me? In all of Hermione's life, the thing she thought it would bring her fewer problems was her love life. Now it seemed her life practically revolved around it. She hadn't meant to cry endlessly, but the shock, the overwhelming feeling of her newfound discovery and her exploding towards a teacher, were enough for her to momentarily collapse. She made a mental note, to apologise to Ms Trelawney later on, she was never rude to any teacher (with Umbridge as the exception). Not only did her love for Ron wasn't romantic, and she was falling in love with Draco, but she had an admirer; not just any admirer, but it was a Veela. How am I supposed to handle all of this before I go mental? She grasped her hair and head and felt a little breeze around here. Ghosts… She looked up and saw Nearly Headless Nick approaching her gently from the corridor's end.

"Sir Nicholas, good afternoon," She politely said wiping her tears away.

"I heard crying back there, and I came," He said sitting next to her. "Is everything all right dear Hermione?" She smiled at her friend, not seeing him for a very long time.

"It's nothing really, I… just remembered never to trust a seer." She laughed humourlessly.

"Oh? And why is that?" The ghost inquired, now curious. She thought before talking, she'd never felt comfortable giving away details of her life with people, but she was too tired and to vulnerable to keep it quiet.

"Well, I had a prophecy of sorts, and when I realised it couldn't be true, Ms Trelawney just covered it up by telling me "the continuation" of I don't know…"

"I know divinations is not always precise Hermione, the future is always changing, but it doesn't mean untrue. I know some methods to predict the future aren't very reliable, but when it comes to prophecies, we seers can't really help it, we actually do see the future."

"I suppose- wait. Did you just say…?" Sir Nicholas nodded. "But I thought you were…"

"Muggle-born? I am, or rather, was." He laughed, and she blushed.

"My child, even though we are Muggle-born we are still wizards. Just as any other half-blood or pure-blood, the amount of magic in ourselves is the same. That being said, just as you are an average witch, you could've been born a seer or even a metamorphmagus. Although it is infrequent, it doesn't matter if you are Muggle-born or the daughter of pure-blood royalty. Why would you think then I was in the royal court being Muggle-Born? Being a seer is extremely rare if you ask." He further laughed, and Hermione couldn't help but look away in embarrassment. You idiot, what a silly question to ask! Of course the chances for a Muggle-Born would be the same as a Pure-blood or Half-blood!

"But then, if you are indeed a seer, why didn't you teach us Divination? Professor Cuthbert Binns is a ghost, and he's still teaching." Although his class is the most boring…

"At the time the position was offered, I was much more interested in other affairs," Hermione decided not to question him about it, "And teaching is not something I am genuinely keen of."

"I would've much more preferred to have you in Divination than Trelawney in my third year." She said, and he smiled.

"I know you would have. But in reality, I never did experience with all branches of Divination, so even if I wanted, I couldn't teach things like crystal-gazing or cartomancy, which is essentially what is taught here. And even if I did, I couldn't do so with the same accuracy as I know palmistry, dream interpretation and fire-omens."

"It doesn't matter," Hermione, not crying anymore, laughed. "I think anything is better than listening to the daft woman predict nothing but sham." She said with a bitter tone. Even though I wasn't awfully sweet to her, I still can't forgive I believed in her.

"I must question, why is it you believe her words are nothing but a sham? If I recall correctly she was the one who had the prophecy about the chosen one." Hermione looked up at the ghost meditating if she should trust him with what's being going on in her life. She sighed, deciding to start from the beginning. Here goes nothing I guess,

"Well… At the beginning of the term, I was dating Ronald." She paused, regretting she ever spoke.

"Right, you separated not too long ago I believe?" He said and she looked down to the floor.

"Yes, it's true. Our break-up was heavily influenced by a "prophecy" Trelawney said to me. And I love him, I still do, but after the prophecy, I realised my love for him is fraternal. I believe his feelings for me are the same... But it didn't end well. Anyway, the prophecy said my destiny or happiness was with Draco. I decided to believe in it, for I was sort of involved with Draco Malfoy in my sixth year and I admit our feelings remained the same, but then after the war, I became Ron's girlfriend. And right now we are more-less like we were before, in sixth grade."

"I'm sensing a big but at the end of this," Sir Nicholas said, and Hermione laughed nervously.

"Y-yeah. But, the other day I found out I was charmed with a sleep spell that joins consciousness and I don't know who cast it! And not only that but lately I've noticed that someone has been spying or watching me; I believe it is the same person from the dream." She finished.

"And why would this stalker, be any problem between Draco and you, or the prophecy?" He said, and she looked sadder with her next words,

"That's the catch. I did some research and the person who charmed me nicely enough is none other than a Veela. And I do very well know that the only interesting thing for a Veela when already developed is their mate. I don't think a veela would just happen to fancy me and just show me he is one. And after confronting Trelawney, she kindly told me the "continuation" of the prophecy she had of me. Not only I'm pissed that she lied to me, but I fear I may well be some Veela's mate, and I know they can't live without them!" Tears were already forming again in the witch's eyes, and she was shaking. "I just don't know what to do. I don't even know this veela, I don't know if they're full, half, a quarter veela... And I'm already in love with someone else! I've already asked Firenze for help, but I doubt I will be able to do it again. I feel like I'm slowly becoming mad." She said whispering the last words, realising her feelings for Draco were stronger than she believed.

Sir Nicholas sensed the young witch had been passing through moments of immense stress. Ghosts, for some reason, were more sensible of human sensations than they were before, in their mortal lives. It was as if he could almost sense the same emotions she was passing through, and given their close proximity he could almost be sure she was close at having a mental breakdown from stress.

"Hermione I can nearly feel what you are feeling right now, and it is not pleasant in any way. I wish to help you, and I may not be a very skilled seer nor have the same power as centaurs have, as to deal with divination but," He smiled "I am, or rather was, either way you want to say it, a dearly skilled Legilimens." She looked up at him. "You will do that?"

"Yes, I'll look up your memories and the prophecy, and I believe that'll be enough for me to interpret from there." She nodded Gods I feel so hopeless, having everyone "help" me in my situation, very much like a Muggle's soap opera.

Hermione felt Sir Nicholas trying to pass through her barriers in her mind, not harshly, but persistently. She wasn't a very skilled Occlumens, but she was trained for a few months on the basics if anyone of the order was captured by Voldemort and forced into questioning. She let her barriers down gently and led the way into her memories. It wasn't like with Firenze, when the centaur saw, he already knew what memories to search and how to look, with Near Headless Nick, she had to slightly remember the memories, and he would do the rest.

Hermione passed through the hallways, too dizzy and bewildered to even walk straight. She thought she was going to the library, but her feet dragged her towards her chambers. She thought about what Sir Nicholas had said to her. She couldn't deny it anymore. Not only she had the reassurance of three seers regarding her prophecy, but apparently as the dream had "showed" her, a veela was also indeed the other participant of the dream. A veela… Hermione thought. She had no idea how to deal with her situation. Just as she was realising she's falling (or already was) in love with Draco, she finds out she is a veela's mate. I can't just leave the veela to die.. can I? She also didn't have the remotest idea of how much veela blood does it has. I mean, if it's not a full-blooded veela, it won't cause enough trouble if I don't bond with him, would it..? She shook her head, she was dizzy enough, and the news themselves overwhelmed her enough to think properly. She was too distracted to notice the dark eyes, which had a concerned curiosity, following her as she stumbled on one student or two, slowly making her way towards her chambers. Gods Hermione, you're tripping on everyone, get a grip on yourself! She stopped, took a few breaths in and continued walking only to collide with a black, soft wall. "S-Sorry!"

She looked up, and she gasped when her eyes met with dark, obsidian ones.


Harry was sitting on the Great Hall, and seeming quite empty, he decided to do his homework there, but couldn't focus because thoughts of Ron and Hermione flooded his mind every 5 minutes. He was never an expert dealing with strained friendships before, and even though he defeated Voldemort 5 months ago, his social skills hadn't developed much. He cared dearly for both Hermione and Ron, but he knew their friendship won't be renewed until they decide to do so, and both of them were very stubborn. Well, maybe Hermione wasn't that stubborn, but if Ron decided to ignore her completely she wasn't going to wait forever until he realised he was making a mistake. Harry knew that much, and he admired her for that. But he hated the times when Ron and Hermione decided not to speak to one another; he was forced to divide his time with each other.

He was glad Hermione was mature enough to try and resolve the problem. But failed to do so, as Ron wasn't as mature as her and still continued to ignore her just like he always does whenever he was mad at her. Harry sighed, If I don't do something, Hermione might not want to come at all to the Burrow this Christmas. And Ron would only make things uncomfortable, But regardless of his best friends' quarrels, he was happy with the outcome of his life so far.

After the defeat of Voldemort, many students, magical creatures, teachers and helpful wizarding citizens helped rebuild Hogwarts. At ends of August, the school was almost reconstructed the way it was before the war. Even in October, there were still people who were in the castle, rebuilding some unfinished areas, and on free weekends, many students helped as well. Ilvermorny and schools like Beauxbeatons and Durmstrang sent help to rebuild Hogwarts. Not only was Hogwarts devastated after the war, the ministry asked for help from the consulate of other countries and magic areas around the world. They helped rebuild Diagon Alley, Gringotts and also helped families who had lost everything in the war. Just like after a Muggle war, thought Harry, governments from other countries help reconstruct what was left in the war countries. But just like any other war, the process of recovering was rather slow. Hogwarts was the fastest structure to regain stability though, it was urgent the students didn't remain without classes as well as staying without proper education specially those Muggle-borns who couldn't enter Hogwarts last year. It was the only wizarding school in the United Kingdom after all, and many couldn't afford to send their children off to other countries. Everything else came afterwards.

Harry, just like Ron, wanted to become an Auror. After the war, they both were at the brink of dropping out of Hogwarts, but Hermione insisted having their N.E.W.T.s would help them a lot even though Kingsley had much assured them a position in the ministry.

Remus agreed to help them with their early Auror training, but he decided training will start until ends of November. "With all the things you've already went through, I don't believe you need three years of training!" he'd said sourly. He wanted some time to grieve Tonks, and to determine what exactly he was going to do with Teddy. Growing up with an Auror was dangerous enough, and it was even more with an Auror who was not just a single parent, but a werewolf. Molly, Andromeda, Bill and Fleur agreed to take care of Teddy in the weeks of full Moon and also while Remus had work or other affairs that kept him busy for taking care of Teddy. Harry, being his godfather, also volunteered to take care of him once he got out of Hogwarts. Poor Teddy, being a war baby and having a single parent left him being raised by many people.

Harry had inherited Grimmauld Place, and even though it still served as one of the Order's safe-houses, Harry settled to reside in it permanently together with Hermione, who decided she would live there until she found a place of her own. He also thought about moving places, the building still held too many darkness in it, but as for right now, he was comfortable living there.

He thought about living there with Ginny too. He was entirely sure he loved the girl, and although their official relationship wasn't that long, he knew there wasn't any other witch he would choose as a wife. He thought about marrying her, and even though they were still young to do so, he knew he wanted to propose to her in a year or so, having found his family heirloom in one of Sirius' little boxes he gave him in his fifth year. The box said "The Potters". He'd told him it was all they could recover after the attack, and he told him too, the ring belonged to the Potter family. It was an engagement ring that had been passed through generations, and now it was Harry's turn to give it to his future bride. I can imagine my life with her… he started daydreaming and was taken away from his dream by a pat on his back from Ron.

"What is it, Ron?" Harry asked half-annoyed he was taken away from his daydream.

"Dean was asked, to ask you which of the 2 strategies that were proposed was going to be the final for the match against the Hufflepuffs this next month." Harry sighed. He still couldn't understand why new players decided to come to him instead of Ginny, who was the actual team captain. Oh, she is going to be mad when she hears about it.

"I'm not definitely sure, why don't ask Ginny? She is the team captain after all." Harry said piercing his eyes at Ron, who very well knew his sister was the captain. "But I'm hoping it'll be the circle one, it has made us won many times. Haven't got time to discuss it with Ginny really, I've still got my mind wrapped up in what McGonagall said."

"You mean the thing with the death eaters and the murders against Muggle-Borns?" Ron said whispering, sitting down beside Harry.

"Yeah." Thinking about it, even though the war is over, the few death eaters left that were fugitives did pose, though still small, a menacing threat.

"Don't break yourself on that mate. If we defeated Voldemort, kicking some death eater's arse will be a doddle."

"I guess, but still, even though there have been only a few murders, they are still innocent victims. It could be anyone for what we know. And if we don't stop it before we go out from Hogwarts, it might not only grow, but they might target someone dear to us. What if Hermione was next? Would you still be relaxing if they killed her?" Harry could see the sudden paleness the redhead wizard had in his face. He knew Hermione was still a soft spot for conversation, but this wasn't child play, Hermione was in fact, still in danger. And Harry wasn't going to sit, take his tea, and wait for the threat to suddenly go away.

"W-Well no, but she's the most intelligent witch of our generation! Or so they say, and I think she can take care of herself on her own." Harry just looked at his best friend open-mouthed.

"You did not just say that about Hermione! She's like my sister! And you love her! Don't be such a prat about her just because she left you." Ron was about to say something but Harry cut him, "Yeah I've said it. She left you and that's how life's sometimes. Grow some pants and accept the fact you weren't made for each other." Harry finally said. He'd never expected to bash Ron verbally like that, but he was dense enough to ignore the danger she was going through if they were still fighting.

Ron took a bright red colour on his cheeks, changing then to purple, after finally setting on the normal pinky tone he always had. Visibly calm again Harry spoke,

"Sorry, mate. Didn't mean to sound so hard, but Ron, you must realise we aren't completely safe yet. Forget for a minute your quarrel with Hermione and take a look at the bigger picture."

"I know Harry, and I know I'm a git because she wants to talk to me but I'm still ignoring her… I don't want our friendship to end, and I've given much thought about it, and I think she was right. We love each other as brothers, but I'm not ready yet to take things back as they were." Ron said with a small smile.

"It's alright Ron, take your time. She'll understand."


Hermione's thoughts were far from euphoria and comfort. Instead, she met the obsidian eyes with a renewed sense of tremor and shock. She didn't want to move a single muscle nor breathe, for she didn't want the dark wizard in front to hex her, or worse- speak at all. She didn't know why she was feeling this, after all, she was the one who told Harry he wasn't really dead and called for a mediwitch, because she felt there was still hope and he wasn't to be feared. She also helped clean his name. But right now she was oozing with a fear she didn't know the exact source of.

The wizard in front of her seemed quite taken aback too, as if he didn't expect her to collide against him, or touch in any other way. She took a look in his eyes and saw they were slowly, yet discreetly, turning glossy black, even in the white of his eyes Bright obsidian eyes… as she was slowly putting the pieces of the puzzle together, she smelled a scent more delicious than Amortentia itself. She breathed in, and even though her senses were now all groggy, the little logic she had left in her mind was capable of washing her over with realisation.

When Severus approached Hermione in concern, he didn't notice she hadn't seen him and stumbled against him. Even though both of them were fully clothed, the touch still did make an effect on Severus. His body went rigid, and he tried not to breathe; he was so close to her smell, it might trigger something in his mind and magic he couldn't control. He was glad the hallway was now empty, he had his pendant on, and he made sure to take five calming draughts before he approached her. At the same time as her, he looked down and meeting her beautiful brown eyes, and let the smallest gasp his lips would allow. The little air with her scent that came in his nostrils was enough to fill his brain of her perfume.

He knew it was too much magic for the pendant to bear and he felt his eyes turning black and knew she could see them. The pendant, being quite old, couldn't bear the magic anymore and Severus heard the slightest *crack* the pendant made, breaking itself. He couldn't stop himself, and even though he was still under the vague effects of the calming draught, he released some of his magical pheromones that would attract his mate. He could see the immediate impact they took on Hermione, her pupils dilated, her cheeks flushed, and she parted her lips. She then looked at him not quite dreamily, but with a renewed curiosity and affection, as if she was inspecting him. In-between of the hazy moment, he felt for a second horrified by his veela magic; the girl looked like she was drugged. Even though the pendant was now broken, some of its magic still worked, so the pheromones he released were not enough for anything too extreme to happen. He could see Hermione let out the tiniest gasps he's ever heard, and saw her eyes momentarily flash with fear and concern.

She knew

Severus tried with all his might stop his veela from snogging her right on the spot and take her to his chambers, to comfort her fears away. He quickly cast a Confundus charm on himself momentarily making himself stop releasing pheromones and as the effects wore off, Hermione shook out of her trance, looked at him with aghast and frozen eyes before she understood the why of his actions and fled the scene as fast as her feet would give.

Severus went and sat on the nearest bench, composing himself before his meeting with Minerva. It's a loss, a complete loss, I've ruined it he miserably thought. Without the pheromones, he'd seen the appalled look on the girl, and he knew if he'd get any chance at all with the witch he'd ruined it. He remembered when he was young, the similar thoughts he had regarding his loss of hope about finding love.

Ends of March 1978

It had been two years since Lily stopped talking to him and a year with two months since he knew he was a veela. My life couldn't be bloody better he thought playing with the pendant between his fingers. After his seventeenth birthday, he began noticing changes in his body that would typically appear when reaching puberty. But these felt slightly different. He noticed he was stronger, his magical abilities grew, making him even more skilled in all of his subjects, his senses also sharpened, and he realised his looks were also somewhat better. He looked more handsome, his hair was a tad less greasy, and his skin also looked less sallow but being an outcast, nobody really noticed him. At the start, he didn't know what was causing his sudden physical changes but seeing the Dark Lord was pleased with his outcome, he didn't even bother to look his signs up. If this continues as exceptionally as it has been, I'll receive the dark mark in no time Severus had thought somewhat happily.

The part of his body changes that didn't go as smoothly were his fangs. Those did hurt. A lot. He was reading a book silently near the lake when an unbearable pain took over in his mouth and jaw. He fell to the ground, not being able to cast any pain-relieving charms on himself and he clasped his mouth with his hands. A bypassing girl saw him and fearing he might have seizures, called Mme. Pomfrey for help. After rushing him to the hospital wing, he fell unconscious.

"The poor boy has been in pain since he got here." Madame Pomfrey had said to Dumbledore.

After arriving at the Hospital wing, she noticed the source of his pain. As Severus screamed, she saw the pointy fangs the wizard was growing and also saw his skin turning slightly grey. Fearing a vampire was roaming in the grounds of Hogwarts and had bitten a student, she noticed the Headmaster to come immediately because it was a matter of urgency.

"I fear Mr Snape has been either bitten by a vampire or transforming into a veela." She'd said. " I can't be completely sure though. I know veelas have a much longer and painful process of transformation, and I don't recall his mother being one when she studied here. But if he were transforming into a vampire, his eyes would already be crimson by now." She informed Dumbledore.

"I doubt there is a vampire in our grounds Poppy, the school reports the headmaster in charge of any unregistered creature entering the school grounds. I believe it's the other way around. If he has veela ancestry and his blood is awakening, we must inform his family immediately." Dumbledore said watching the now sleeping boy, who had a pained look on his face and marched away to inform his family.

Severus remembered the day his mother told him his true nature, crying for his unfortunate future. After running away momentarily into the rain, he reluctantly returned to his home, his mother made him swear he wouldn't tell his father. "You know how your father is, he despises us enough because we are magical, and if he found out we're not entirely human…"

Severus knew his father and mother always fought, they did when he wasn't home, hey did when he was home, and he presumed they did even before he was born. He never really understood why his mother married him. Not only was his father always drunk and angry, but he was a Muggle. His had mother told him he wasn't like that when they met. He was nicer, and although he was hard-natured, he wasn't nasty. She told him it all changed when she revealed she was a witch. After that, he didn't want to do anything with her anymore, but she found out she was pregnant with Severus. And it explained his horrible childhood, friendless, except for Lily.

After a long talk with his maternal grandfather, he decided to actually give it a go with his veela blood and decided to find his mate. When he returned to Hogwarts, he tried to look for his mate (with the hope of it being Lily) but returned home that summer with a bitter disappointment when none of his classmates or any student in the school was his mate.

His uncle told him he didn't need to worry, quarter veelas sometimes didn't find their mates, and it was somewhat okay. Severus wouldn't live as long as his peers but, he wouldn't face the heart-broken death half, three-quarters and full veelas met when they didn't find theirs. So much relief he thought sarcastically. He gave him then, the pendant. The amber pendant with enough magical power to make him live longer, the only consequence being it also suppressed his ability to find his mate. Before going home from his uncle's he'd told him, remembering, "You know Severus... it is quite rare, but there have been cases where a quarter or a half veela's mate is much younger than them." Severus only looked at him without fully understanding and his uncle cleared his throat, "What I meant to say is... whoever your mate will be, she might be a baby o not even be born yet. But it is very rare I'm telling you. If that's the case then... you'll know when she reaches the age of maturity. Before that you won't even know it's her. Don't lose hope." Severus had only left his uncle's house with a disgusted face and feeling quite offended.

If he thought having now inhuman powers or magic would do his life better, he thought wrong. Even with the little appraisal the Dark Lord gave him over the others, Severus knew he couldn't take away the pain in his chest of a broken heart. He didn't care about veelas dying of a broken heart, he was pretty much already dead inside, having the girl you love entirely avoid and ignore you. Severus, still regretting the memory of his fifth year, wanted so desperately to be in possession of a time turner. Even though he was a veela or whatever, if he had one, he could've easily avoided his worst moment of all his life until now. The punishments and dark magic performed on him by the Dark Lord meant nothing to the shattering of his soul. Little by little the pieces of his broken soul left his body, leaving him miserable. He didn't care he was starting to sound like a girl, but he learned, If you want to succeed in life, conceal, conceal, conceal your feeling at all costs…

If there is a god of any kind in this world, he must surely hate me, were his constant thoughts as he passed through the halls of Hogwarts watching with hatred and misery the repulsive hand of Potter intertwined with Lily's.

He wasn't exactly sure when it had happened, but he was sure somewhere over the past summer they had become a couple because the first thing he saw on the first day of his seventh year was the horrid view of them snogging. But even if he wanted to hex the bloody swine away from his ex-best friend, he knew since the moment he discovered he was a veela, he wasn't meant to love nor be loved.

And I thought entering Hogwarts would be my road towards happiness. I guess, my mother was right, I'm meant to be unfortunate for the rest of my life.

October 1998

Hermione spent the rest of the day wrapped up in blankets, reading non-stop in the little common room the head students had. She tried reading the biggest, most tiresome Arithmancy and rune books she could find in the library.

After the unexpected encounter with… Professor Snape, she found herself in the library. Almost mechanically, she picked up the books that would most probably keep her mind away from what just happened. After retrieving an obscene quantity out from the library, as mechanical as in the library, she entered the common room and immersed herself in the world of runes and magical mathematics. She managed to keep Draco away for a few hours, telling him she might have an apprenticeship concerning Arithmancy and she wanted to be prepared. This worked of course for almost 6 hours, but Draco knew her well enough to suspect there was more to it than just "educational reading".

"Ok Granger, so what really is happening inside your head? I don't think those books are for a possible apprenticeship, I believe they're more of a distraction." Draco said, removing the current book she was reading, too numb to immediately process what was going on.

"Uh? S-sorry?"

"You see? You weren't even paying attention to the book! Granger, before I lose my head here, care to explain what is going on in yours?"

"I…." Hermione's mind was spinning with overwhelming thoughts creeping inside from past days, and before she could feel anything, Draco was touching her cheeks with her hands.

"Why are you crying?" He softly asked. Crying? Her hands went up to her face, and she felt the fresh, wet droplets falling from her eyes. I'm crying… She felt her vision getting blurry from the now unstoppable tears flooding her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry D-Draco." She said, failing to contain back a sob.

"What for?"

"I don't believe being together will help much in the future." Being together… Hermione thought, remembering the actions his godfather had in the past when they almost kiss, and she realised now the why. She couldn't help herself as heavier tears rolled down on her face and she began sobbing.

"Hermione? Hermione, what's wrong? You can tell me. And why can't we be…together?" Draco spoke in a soft, yet pained voice. Hermione hated hearing him like this. She wanted to tell him so badly, but she knew she couldn't, not yet. I can't tell him I'm practically his godfather's source of living!

"Draco… remember the dream… I had?" She said in-between sobs.

"The one of the charm?" He asked and she nodded her head.

"I found… something about it; it was disconcerting, yet true. And I believe its meaning might jeopardise our current relationship." Draco's face hardened for a moment but then relaxed when she touched his arm.

"Why would a dream jeopardise the best thing that has ever happened in my life?" He whispered to her and she blushed, her heart doing a flip over as it pounded against her rib cage. She felt happy for a moment but grimly remembered her life did a 180º turn again.

"Do you know who cast it?"

"A veela." She spoke without emotion in her voice. There, she said it. At least he will understand why I'm reacting like this.

"A veela?" Draco's blood turned icy cold, and he felt he couldn't breathe anymore. Even though he didn't exactly pay much attention to the lesson about them, he understood the general layouts of them.

"Are you entirely sure about it?" She nodded, and he grasped his hair in his hands.

"I-I don't know what to…" He suddenly stopped "And you know who it was?" She stood silently with eyes that could not lie, eyes which stood naked in front of him.

"Hermione, do you know who it is?" He pressed taking her shoulders softly in his hands, and she kept silent with teary eyes.

"You know who it is!" He spoke alarmed yet without any aggression. "Please tell me." He said softly at last, and she shook her head as more tears fell down her cheeks.

"I-" They heard a knock on their door and Hermione felt relieved she escaped briefly from the interrogation. She wiped her damp face as Draco went and answered the door. She silently cast a cleaning spell on her face when she heard Draco calling her.

"Granger? McGonagall is calling us to the Head Master office."

"Both of us?" she said in a small voice.

"Yes, the message said it was urgent." She nodded, and they made their way towards the office.

Hermione was arm crossed, clutching her chest and was silent the whole way. She didn't only fear Draco would speak any time by now but also feared she knew McGonagall wasn't the only headmaster in charge now. They reached the office and silently thanked Merlin, there was no Professor Snape. Snape... a shiver went down her spine with the sole thought of his name.

In the room, they were Harry, Ron, Luna, Ginny and Minerva.

"You wanted to see us… Minerva?" She managed to say, hesitating on her name. "Oh yes, Hermione." The witch said a little bit delighted, at last, speaking on a first name basis.

"I've wanted Severus to be here as well, but he told me dismally so, he couldn't accompany us tonight. I believe he had some personal affairs to attend to, or so he told me." Hermione didn't look up, and she guessed the reason of the Headmaster's absence. Either way, she was glad he wasn't there.

"Back to the topic, what I'm going to inform you must be kept in secrecy and it is only to be spoken within the Order, and well, some of you who most probably join in the future." The six young wizards nodded, and she continued. "I'm very sorry to inform you, four Muggle-Born wizards, who didn't return this year to Hogwarts, were found dead in a town close to Diagon Alley. The Creevey brothers included." Hermione gasped. Meanwhile, Harry and Ron only looked down, with a hard expression, Ginny and Luna, just looked sad.

"I know Colin was a friend of yours, but this is why I called all of you. Students here are protected, and even though some Aurors are patrolling Hogsmeade from time to time, we can't afford losing more innocent lives. We must take full precaution, and even more in the winter holidays, where most students leave the castle." McGonagall continued, speaking about some security measures that should be taken before any other attack, but Hermione didn't want to listen to all of this anymore.

Life can sometimes have so many unexpected twists…


A/N: Hate it? Love it? Pleaase leave me your thoughts about the chapter. I'll make me very happy :)