Song inspiration: Lacrymosa by Evanescence – Don't ask why, it just helped me… It kinda works for a later scene I suppose….

Much thanks to: CS Copenhagen for being such an encouraging and supportive beta!

Chapter dedicated to: Lillith Aurora! Thank you so much for taking your time to review! Another special dedication/mention goes to: numbdramione2005! Thanks for being the first EVER to give me my 100th review (on one single story)! It means so much that people took their precious time to read this story!

A/N: Correction, the next chapter is the EPIC one! I confused myself by thinking that this one was the big deal chappie. But it's not.

Sorry about how long this took. I was on vacation without WIFI for way too long.

Chapter 9

'Understandings'

"Malfoy, we need to talk to you."

Draco looked up from his book and scowled at the sight of two Gryffindor forms blocking the light from the chandelier. Potter had his hands clenched at his sides and Weasley's were crossed in front of his chest, making him look an awful lot like his fuming, red-haired mum. They exchanged a glance before looking back at Draco with nearly identical frowns on their faces.

"To what do I owe the honor?" Draco inquired sarcastically. He refused to show any signs the he was surprised that they were coming to him.

"It's about Hermione." The male two thirds of the Golden Trio glared down at him and Draco stood to meet their height imposingly.

"Is she alright?" Draco couldn't help it. His first instinct was to worry about her, to wonder if she was okay. What other reason would they have to come near him other than to tell him that something had happened to his roommate?

Weasley's lip twitched and Potter exhaled deeply. "She's fine… I think…" Harry shook his head, "But the point is you better not do anything stupid to her. She's too good for you." The Gryffindor boys watched as their enemy's face lit in recognition. So he understood why they were there.

"So Dumbledore told you?" It was an odd sort of injustice to know that the headmaster had told the two people who would probably tell Hermione she was his Mate. Draco was angry that the headmaster had decided to reveal the secret that was his to tell. He had wanted Hermione to be the first one to know, aside from his mother and Dumbledore himself. There was always the chance that Potter or Weasley would tell others and Hermione would find out through the grapevine. Draco desperately didn't want that. He wanted to stick to his plan of winning her over before telling her.

"So she really is your Mate?" Potter seemed to be the one that was going to be doing the talking. Draco didn't have as much ire toward him as he did to Weasley. Potter at least tried to be a good friend and had also stood up for her in the past. Weasley was the one who Draco wanted to decapitate limb from limb for biting her and making her cry…

"Yes." Draco tilted his chin up and pursed his lips, waiting for one of them to have some sort of reaction.

But there was none. Potter just nodded to him and Weasley huffed, irritated. "There's nothing we can do about that… But treat her right." Draco's eyes narrowed at Weasley's words. He was here telling him that he needed to treat Hermione right when he had the one to hurt her? That little prat…

"Same goes for you, Weasel." Draco said snarkily.

Potter turned to look at Ron questioningly. "Did something else happen? Other than the thing in the Dining Hall?" Weasley looked away from his friend in what seemed to be embarrassment.

"Oh, you didn't tell your dear Potter what you did? Are you ashamed?" Draco's voice was a mocking tone that rivaled that of his Aunt Bellatrix. Potter just looked between his fellow Gryffindor, whose hands were fisted, then to Draco. Potter just looked at him questioningly and the blonde elaborated. "Oh, he drunkenly attacked her in a hallway."

"It wasn't that bad! And it's not like you haven't done things to her in the past! She's came to us, her real friends, crying over you before!" Ron spat out as he looked back up Draco with angry eyes. He was being childishly possessive by pointing out that Draco wasn't on Hermione's list of close acquaintances, undermining what he had done by making it seem like digging his teeth into her was nothing, and reminding him of the stupid things he's done in the past all at once.

Flashes of calling Hermione a Mudblood, of telling her she was a know-it-all and of poking fun at her, with his Slytherin friends, hit him. It made him feel like a total git. Draco imagined Hermione running to Potter, after he made fun of her, and him holding her. Merlin, it pissed him off! He wasted all those years not knowing how amazing she was. He stayed loyal to his father's bigotry and stupidity, even though it was so wrong. Draco shook it off, not wanting the Weasel to know that his words had affected him.

"She came back to the Common Room crying. Her lip was bleeding because you bit her. It wasn't nothing. Gods, what were you planning to do, rape her?" Draco's ire grew. The idea of Weasley running his nasty fingers over her body, making her whimper in pain as he took his pleasure freely made Draco ill. He could feel his jaw twitching and his knuckles crack under the pressure he was putting on them by forcing himself not to lash out. He knew that Hermione wouldn't appreciate it if he beat the stupid red git to a pulp even if he deserved it. She just had too much damn compassion.

"No! I would never do that! What about you? Huh? Tried feeling her up lately?" Weasley stupidly stepped closer and Draco grabbed him by the scruff of his robes, pulling him so that they were face to face and the same height. Weasley's eyes met his own dark ones, and the redhead started to struggle to get away. Draco's grip stayed iron tight and left the Weasel without an inch of leeway.

"No, you bastard. I'd let myself die on my birthday before I'd forced her to do anything." Gods, he was turning into a sentimental milksop in front of his enemies, but it was the truth. And it was somewhat terrifying to him. He knew that his veela blood was attracted to her because she was his Mate, but his human part was falling hopelessly in love with her. It made him queasy to think of her straining to get away from him, wanting to be anywhere but with him. He would never touch her if she didn't want him to. Draco wanted her to be happy when he touched her, kissed her - he didn't want her clawing at his skin and crying in agony.

"You like her more than just her being your Mate, don't you?" Potter's question made Draco's attention turn from the red faced git in his grasp to the green-eyed boy. "It's more than veela love and lust." Potter sounded so convinced that it made Draco wonder if he really was that easy to read. It wasn't as if he carried his very heart on his sleeve or something.

Draco didn't answer Potter's question with a heartfelt declaration of his love for Hermione, he simply nodded.

"Hermione's had very few people in her life who've been caring towards her. She thinks of the other Gryffindors as extended family, but not very close friends. There are people, as you know very well, who like to make fun of her because she is somewhat a know-it-all." Draco had to stop himself from letting his head hang in shame. Couldn't they see he was truly sorry for what he'd done to Hermione in the past?

"If you treat her as you have been, I'm sure she'll feel the same way towards you." Potter didn't seem angered by the fact that his best friend was likely to end up with his enemy. "But know that she hates suck ups, and demands respect. She has her moments of weakness, but she never likes to hear that she needs help." Potter chuckled ruefully. It seemed that he once made the mistake of telling Hermione she needed someone also.

"I can tell you honestly that I'm falling in love with her. It's not just my veela blood or lust, I just know it." Draco released the vile redhead from his grasp and watched amusedly as Weasley attempted to right his collar with dignity. He laughed to himself; Weasley with dignity…. The mere idea was laughable.

"But you do lust after her." It wasn't a statement, but an actual question. It unnerved Draco a very tiny bit to have Potter asking if he wanted to bed his best friend. The corners of his eyes tightened and a slight grimace fell over his features.

"Yes." Draco answered truthfully. If he said no, both Weasel and Potter would know he was lying.

"Hmm… I have no idea how she'll react to that… Ginny might though… They have their girl talks I suppose…" Draco cut Potter's rambling short.

"Oh no you don't. I don't want anyone else knowing about this just yet." The black haired boy just stared at him for a moment as if he were trying to understand some sort of difficult puzzle then nodded. The seriousness and dire anxiety made Potter realize how grave Draco was really being. After all, his life was in danger if Hermione didn't find out the right way.

"I understand. Ron does too." Weasel just looked at Potter vindictively.

"Why should I not tell?" Potter smacked Weasley in the back of the head causing Draco to smirk. It seemed that the redhead's stupidity got on everyone's nerves at some point or other.

"Because it's not our secret to tell. Think about Hermione, Ron." Weasel seemed to mull it over before realizing he really didn't have any other options.

"Fine." He spit out and turned and walked away, leaving a nearly tangible trail of anger behind him.

Potter turned back to him with a curious look on his face. "When Hermione came to you crying, what did you do?" Draco's lip twitched and he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from responding maliciously. Potter wasn't horrible. And Hermione loved Potter. She wouldn't appreciate it if he was cruel to the Chosen One.

"Why does it matter?" There, that was civil enough.

"Because I know her. I know what makes her angry, I know what makes her sad, and I know what makes her happy. You don't know all that yet, Malfoy. Someday you will, but just not yet." Draco nodded, understanding what Potter was saying but not quite liking it. Draco once again found himself wishing that he had been the one to be her friend since first year. But he hadn't and there was nothing he could do about it now.

Potter simply raised an eyebrow, telling him to elaborate on how he had reacted to Hermione's crying jag. "I held her."

Potter sighed and ran a hand through his already mussed hair. "Ginny's told me that she's secretly a romantic. I think she's right. Hermione probably changed towards you after that, didn't she?"

Draco nodded. "She gave me a chance."

"Good for you." With that, Potter turned and left, leaving a somewhat confused Draco in the library.

oOo

Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table with a gusty sigh. It was the end of the day and all tests were over for the week. The weekend was approaching and everyone was eating slower than usual, letting their insomnia and exhaustion take over their motions. Hermione found that she was no exception to the zombie-like attitude of her fellow classmates. Harry took a seat on her right and Ron plopped down in front of her. Hermione felt herself grow angry at his seemingly uncaring attitude toward what he'd done to her.

"So… what's going on between you and Malfoy?" Hermione turned and looked pointedly at Harry, ignoring Ron altogether.

"What do you mean? Our project is going well, if that's what you're implying." Harry only sighed and Ron huffed loudly as if he was irritated with her answer.

"He means, how's he treating you? You know, is he being a git?" Ron roughly added.

Hermione's right eyebrow rose incredulously. "No, Malfoy's been great." The end part was a bit more caustic than she had been aiming for, but oh well. Ron was the one who was being a git, after all. Malfoy had been nothing but helpful and kind.

'What an odd turnaround.' Hermione thought while chewing on a piece of pot roast thoughtfully.

"Oh, he's been great? Has he upgraded you to his mistress yet?"

Hermione choked on her food and set down her fork before placing her hand in front of her mouth as she coughed. She felt blood rush to her face in an angry blush as she attempted to right herself. "What the bloody hell? Why would you ask that?" Her voice was accusing and deathly quiet. Gods, what was up with his questions as of late? Was Ron going insane? Or possibly he was losing brain cells every time Parvati kissed him. Those two did seem to be together an awful lot…

And Malfoy would hardly desire her that way! It was unbelievably ridiculous to think that Draco Malfoy, the sex god of Slytherin would want her. Utterly unbelievable. She was a Muggleborn. Even if Malfoy had showed that he didn't hate her and wanted a friendship… It was odd to imagine him desiring her in any other way. He had hoards of beautiful and well-endowed woman following after him; he would have no need for her.

The thought of him looking at her with those silvery full of want made a shiver run up her spine involuntarily. From across the room she saw Malfoy's widened eyes meet her own chestnut ones with unrestricted curiosity.

"What do you mean, 'Why would you ask that?' Because you're Malfoy's-." Harry reached across the table to stab Ron in the hand with his fork.

"Because I'm Malfoy's what, Ron? What do you mean? What do you know?" Hermione demanded hotly, looking from Ron to Harry, betrayed that they wouldn't tell her.

"Ron doesn't know anything Hermione. He's just being a little mental. No one slept well with the tests earlier today." Harry explained, trying to make his act as convincing as possible. He really hated having to lie to Hermione, especially about something so life altering.

Ron looked at Harry as if saying 'Thanks for making me seem like a complete idiot.' There was icy sarcasm in that glare the Harry was receiving. Harry just shrugged, not put off at all. Harry didn't want to betray the promise he had made to Malfoy. Even if Harry didn't like the veela, a promise was a promise. Also, Malfoy was even more volatile when angry than before.

Harry rather liked all his limbs in place.

"Do you honestly think I believe that rubbish of a story you made up just now?" Hermione looked at them accusingly.

She was hurt. Why would they keep Malfoy's secrets from her? Sure, she respected that each person had their right to their own secrets, but it had to do with her! She had a right to know whatever they knew.

"No, I don't expect you to believe it Hermione, just trust us for now. It will all make sense soon. Alright? We aren't allowed to say anything, so please don't ask us." Harry was trying to be some form of a mediator in the conversation. He didn't want Hermione angry at him or Ron. Even if she was Malfoy's (Harry shuddered) Mate, she was still their best friend. And neither Ron nor he wanted Malfoy coming after them when Hermione started asking questions.

"I'll tell you one thing." Harry whispered to her, peering over his shoulder to see if Malfoy or Dumbledore were present. He knew that he was sort of betraying Malfoy's trust… But not really. He wasn't going to say anything about veelas or mates… And he couldn't stand to see his best friend so helpless. Hermione nodded to him and leaned in silently and eagerly. "Look in the library, and think of how Malfoy has been acting. That's all I'm going to say."

"Fine… For now." Hermione went back to eating with even less vigor than before. In her mind, she knew that something was off with Malfoy. His attitude as of late was rather odd too… And having Harry tell her to look into it only proved that something was weird with her blonde… friend…

It was up to her to figure it out since no one was going to tell her.

oOo

Draco sat down on the couch and stared aimlessly into the fire. His meeting with Potter and Weasley was still fresh in his mind. He knew that he was falling in love with her. The veela in him was infatuated with everything about her, but his human part was falling… HARD. It was difficult for him to think of what life had been like before he had found out that he was a veela and she was his Mate. Those days seemed so far away from where he was now.

Knock, knock.

Draco jumped slightly at the sound of someone knocking on the Head's portrait. He could hear Edalton protesting that his paper canvas was old and delicate and that it couldn't take being smashed into. This made Draco shake his head and breathe in deeply. Whoever it was was talking to Edalton and questioning him to see if Draco was in.

Draco let the portrait door swing open and saw the one person he'd never expected to see standing outside his door, waiting for him.

"Weasley." Draco said nodding tightly. Why in the world was she here? Did Potter or Weasley tell her about Hermione being his Mate? Draco felt his eyes grow darker in anger before he let out a sigh. It was no use getting worked up over something before he knew what was going on.

"Malfoy…" She-Weasel seemed to struggle with what to say. "Can I come in? There are a few things we need to talk about." Draco motioned for her to enter, letting the portrait close behind her. When he turned, he saw She-Weasel already seated on his couch in front of the fire. He simply took another breath and sat on the chair farthest from her.

"Why exactly are you here?" Draco inquired, looking over her anxious form. He knew that it had to do with Hermione, but he wasn't sure what it was. Otherwise, there would be no reason for She-Weasel to even be near him and in his and Hermione's dorms.

"It's because of Hermione. She told me about what my brother did to her." Her mouth formed around the word 'brother' as if it was a disgusting curse word. That nearly made Draco smile. "I'm glad that you took care of her." She-Weasel actually looked grateful. "But if this is some scam, or some sort of sick joke to see if you can get the smartest Gryffindor in your bed, then I will personally kill you. Hermione is my best friend, and I know she would be angry at me for saying this, but she's weak when it comes to romantic relationships. She's only ever dated one person, Viktor Krum. And I know that it didn't turn out that well for her." She-Weasel looked at him with fiery eyes and clenched fists. "She secretly wants someone as her own, but she doesn't notice all the guys who like her." She rolled her eyes but there was a soft smile on her face. "Hermione can be a bit dense with that sort of thing."

Draco looked at her wide eyed. "Why are you telling me this?"

She-Weasel grinned slightly and it made Draco squirm a bit. It was the same smirk the twin Weasley's wore right before they pulled a prank. "Because I can tell you like her." Draco looked at her doubtfully. If Potter hadn't told her about him being a veela, then how did she know that he liked Hermione? He had thought he was doing a good job of acting indifferent towards her when they were in the public eye. "You've never done anything so nice for anyone before Hermione, right?" All Draco could do was stare at the She-Weasel numbly. She smiled victoriously and took his silence as a yes. "Hermione really is a good person, and she deserves someone who will treat her well." This was when she frowned. "And you used to be horrible towards her."

Draco's anger shot up from nowhere, surprising even himself. "I know I was a git! Everyone's gone out of their way to tell me I'm too much of an ass to even be her friend! But I would never do anything to hurt her now. Never." His eyes were narrowed to slits and his body was shaking slightly. Why did every single person have to remind him of his past? Why? He was getting better, he was being better for her! Couldn't they see it?

She-Weasel stared at him for a long moment, cataloguing his reactions in the back of her mind. "Yes, you were a git. I'm willing to look past that, though. But only if you treat my friend right. She deserves the world." With that, she stood and readied to exit the Head's quarters.

"Oh, and one more thing Malfoy," He turned and saw her smiling tightly. "Her favorite flowers are lilacs and honeysuckle."

Draco merely shook his head and plopped back down onto his chair.

Today was an odd day.

oOo

Hermione sat herself down at her favorite chair in the corner of the library. The musty scent of old books, dust and creosote swirled in the air around her, having an odd calming effect on her mind. The portraits that usually serenaded all the students were quiet due to it being afterhours. She found it to be simply too quiet for her liking. It was as if the silence was pushing in on her and reminding her of the reason she was here:

To find out what was up with Malfoy.

It was so obvious that Ron and Harry knew what was different so about Malfoy. And she couldn't forget Hogwart's all-knowing headmaster, Dumbledore, probably knew too.

Hermione didn't like having to sneak around to find things out, but in this situation it was completely necessary. And being that she was Head Girl, the likelihood of her getting in trouble was very low. But still, Hermione would've much rather just questioned Malfoy about what was wrong with him.

She let out a quiet sigh and moved to the curses and demon possession area in the library. It seemed to her that either Malfoy was suffering from being under someone's hold or his reactions were due to some sort of potion. But being Hermione, she wanted to research every possibility. She had even concocted a list of books to look at as well as possibilities for what his condition was. Sure, maybe she had gone a little to the extreme by putting them in alphabetical order, but oh well. There were to be no loose ends when she was done searching.

oOo

Hermione put away a thick tome about possession and the ways to tell if someone was possessed. The book had been no help, because from what Hermione had found out, Malfoy was not possessed. Or at least he wasn't being controlled by someone else.

She turned to her list on the table and put a straight line through the book name as well as the word possession.

'Well, at least that's one less book and idea to apply to Malfoy.' Hermione thought. She was trying to keep a positive outlook on her search. She desperately hoped that she would return to her quarters with a vast knowledge of whatever Malfoy was. Part of her was opposed to the idea of saying Malfoy was a 'whatever'. It was like saying he was a monster or a thing. It was totally debasing and demeaning to act as if he wasn't human. 'Maybe he isn't…' Something in her thought. She immediately shook that thought out of her head. Malfoy was human….

Or at least partly.

Hermione frowned as her rampant thoughts gave her an idea.

There were groups of loosely described people: vampires, werewolves, imps (some called then near humans), and veelas. She hadn't even thought to approach the idea of genetic. As Hermione grabbed her quill and wrote down her four new ideas, she felt a new kind of hope. It was like something inside of her was telling her she was closer to the answer than ever before.

Hermione turned swiftly on her heel and made her way towards the creatures section in the massive library. She let her fingers run gently over the spines on the books within her reach until she got to the most promising looking one. The book had a thin weave of what seemed to be unicorn hair looped around a brass button to hold it closed. Its cover was a rustic burgundy color that reeked of ancient information. As she carefully undid the latch, Hermione felt her excitement and anxiety grow. She was nervous to find out what Malfoy was… Her insides were tingling with anticipation as she turned the first page.

It read:

'Werewolves, Vampires & Veelas'

Hermione found it odd that there was no author's name, publication date, or even any basic information. But Hogwarts was full of surprises, so why wouldn't its books be?

The table of contents was very simply laid out. Each of the creatures name had dots next to it that lead to an intricate page number in shiny black ink. Somehow, the straightforwardness of it all mounted her eagerness even more so that she was turning pages right to the first part of the book: werewolves.

The words spoke of the moon cycles having a great effect on the werewolf. Hermione had been doubtful from the start that Malfoy was a werewolf anyway. She would've noticed if he went ill sometimes and disappeared during a full moon. And Snape would be around to give Malfoy a wolfsbane potion too. Hermione was also sure that if she was living so close to a werewolf, Dumbledore would have told her. Werewolves were known to be hot-tempered and unstable and when they transformed, they were sometimes unable to reach. There was no way that Dumbledore would endanger a student's life, and if Malfoy was a werewolf, Hermione would've been in danger on many occasions. Plus, Malfoy was afraid of werewolves. So it wouldn't make sense for him to be one…

The second part was about vampires.

Hermione immediately wrote this option off after she read only a paragraph. Vampires didn't eat food as humans did, and even half vampires didn't find human food edible. Hermione had seen Malfoy eat, he had even eaten chocolate with her without cringing. She thought that she would notice if he laid about drinking blood from people like some fat connoisseur. And, most importantly, Malfoy's eyes remained either a shade of silver or black, never shifting to a red color or burgundy variation. There was simply no way that he could be a vampire. Unless he was so good at hiding it that even she, student proclaimed know-it-all, hadn't noticed.

So no, Malfoy was not a vampire.

Hermione turned to the section of the book with impatient fingers. Her body was screaming, "Warmer! Warmer!" She scanned with steady eyes. And that was when Hermione came upon a paragraph that made her hands shake:

'Once a veela hits the age of approximately sixteen or seventeen, the maturing stage rapidly begins. It can be compared to a human person going through puberty, only at a much quicker rate. Things become noticeable about the veela, such as eyes changing to dark colors, moods being somewhat unstable, and every sense being boosted to nearly unparalleled heights. Also, at this age, a mate becomes both desired and vital.'

She felt a breath escape that she hadn't known she was holding. It was like every single piece was falling into place now. She knew this was it, that Malfoy was a veela… Or part veela, whatever. She knew veelas were identified by their beautiful looks and somewhat delicate features.If there was one thing Hermione couldn't deny, it was that Malfoy was certainly attractive. He had the classical veela look about him, with the light colored hair and eyes. His build wasn't stocky like Neville or overweight like Crabbe, Malfoy had a taller and more slender physique. He wasn't scrawny though…

'That may be from all the Quidditch he does.' Hermione though matter-of-factly.

Now that she thought about it, Hermione had no idea how she hadn't seen it sooner. Malfoy had the platinum eye color that always seemed to fade into a darker color. And she was sure that it was not a trick of the light or her own eyes. There had been many times where the light shade of his irises would go black, so much so that it seemed like he had no pupils. It mainly happened when he was angry, which played right into the fact that he had worse mood swings than she did. One moment he would be angry, (like at Ron) and the next he would be smiling, joking and eating chocolate with her freely. As for Malfoy's senses… she couldn't know for sure if they were any better than before. Hermione couldn't exactly smell things for him. But she supposed that it must be true since every other point was being proven.

The one thing that was bothering Hermione was that last statement about mates… The book had said that a mate for a veela was necessary. And Hermione knew that if a veela went without one, they died of, tragically enough, heartbreak. Malfoy hadn't exactly been moping around about a mate, so she figured he must've figured it out already. After all, even if Malfoy had changed, she knew he was still a somewhat selfish being who didn't want to die.

'His little mate must be stashed somewhere safe.' Hermione thought bitterly. Now there really could be more than a friendship between the two of them. She let a loud, exasperated and angry breath out and picked up her bag to leave.

oOo

Somewhere, someone shuffled a pile of papers anxiously.

There was no way for that specific person to know what was coming. No way at all. This shadow was as stealthy as... something stealthy. Their plan would succeed, and that person would be destroyed. They would make sure of it.

A/N: I am SO sorry about the size of this chapter! 12 pages is nothing, I know! But this is kind of setting the rest of the story up for something big. So, you see, I couldn't drag it out too much. I'm also sorry about the sketchiness of the end of this chapter. I know it's not even good sketchiness. It's like horrible. But there's a reason for that. You'll see next epic chappie!

I hope you can take time to drop a comment to me about what you think so far. Or, maybe you could guess who this "shadow" is. If you think hard, you should get it!