Disclaimer: I own nothing, all characters and associated media of Harry Potter belong to J K Rowling and Warner Bros.

Chapter 9

All night long I was plagued with strange dreams of Draco and I. Dreams of the war that was to come, of death and the most frightening of all, separation. I woke up very early in the morning, far more tired than I'd gone to sleep.

I moved over to the window, gazing down upon the grounds of the castle. Everything looked so peaceful bathed in the early morning light. I the tranquil calm I contemplated the events of the previous night. The mere memory of our argument made me shiver.

Of course there was also the small matter of my possible epiphany. 'Mates', was that what we were? Draco said that the mating gene doesn't kick in till the eighteenth birthday and mine wasn't for another few months. That meant that we couldn't be mates, right?

On the other hand, Draco had also said that the gene could be provoked into showing early if the mate was somehow threatened. I suppose it was possible that Draco's veela instinct found my attempt to break off contact with him in conjunction with the approaching war to be a threat. Us being mates would explain the overly dramatic reactions and the constant need to be physically close afterwards. The way he had held me had been incredibly possessive.

I wondered whether Draco had come to a similar conclusion. We needed to speak. There was a possibility I was wrong but everything did seem to fit together quite well. Where would I find him? He probably wasn't even up at this hour of the morning. Then again if he had dwelled upon the events of the previous night half as much as I had he was quite possibly wide awake too.

I needed to clear my head. I was at my wits end with all the things which had been happening recently and I was now sleep deprived too. I didn't want to go running of to Draco all worked up over some silly idea which might only seem reasonable in such circumstances. I needed to look over all the possibilities, that's what I was good at.

A walk was what I needed. I dressed hurriedly, throwing on some warm clothing to protect me from the chilly Scottish morning. I tried to walk quietly but my lonely footsteps seemed to echo around the deserted corridors. It would seem that I was the only one up yet. It was Saturday so most people would probably be having a lie in anyway. Few people would even contemplate getting up at half five on a Saturday morning, much less actually do it. Of course most people hadn't learned that they were an adopted part Veela with the Malfoys for Godparents and a possible mate, all of which they had learnt within the space of a week.

It was surprisingly pleasant outside. I took of my jacket and laid it down upon the bank of the lake before sitting. Staring out across the expanse of water it was easy to forget all of your worries. The still water was disturbed every now and then by one of the giant squids tentacles or a merperson coming up to look about. The forest beyond the lake was silent.

I sat there for several hours before going back to the castle. By the time I reached the Great Hall breakfast was in full swing with all but the laziest of students sitting down at their respective tables making their way through the mountain of food the elves had prepared. A quick glanced to the Slytherin table told me that Draco had slept has poorly as I. The dark circles around his eyes were clearly visible from meters away.

As it was a Saturday there were no lessons and so Draco and I would be free to talk straight after breakfast. We also needed to finalise the arrangements for the meeting with his mother. I locked eyes with Draco and he nodded back at me. I sat down at the Gryffindor table and attempted to eat some toast. Whilst I was concentrating on the task at hand and lost in my own thoughts Harry and Ron dropped into the seats next to me.

"Hey Hermione."

Their presence shocked me. It shouldn't have we were best friends, or supposed to be, their presence near me should be only natural. With all that had happened to me this past week I knew I had been neglecting them. I should feel bad for it but I could only muster up the slightest twinge of guilt towards them.

"Hey."

"So where have you been this pasted week?" It was Ron and his tone was accusatory.

"I've just had some things to deal with this week Ron, OK?" Couldn't he leave it alone?

"Oh yeah, like what?" Apparently not.

"It's not any of your business Ronald." I would not get involved in an argument with him, I was just too tired.

"Your supposed to be my best friend, of course it's my business!" Apparently that was not going to be possible either.

"Just because you're my friend Ron does not mean you have to know every detail of my life!" Ron's face bore a remarkable resemblance to a beetroot when he was angry.

Harry obviously sensing the coming fight tired to diffuse the situation. He looked tired too and I felt bad that we were taking up his energy when he should be focusing on more important things, like ways to defeat Voldemort. What kind of friends were we to be distracting him from such an important task? I didn't want Ron to bother him so I decided to put a stop to it myself.

"Look Ron I am tired and in no mood to argue with you. When you become more mature and learn to solve your problems without raising your voice, then we will talk."

After saying my piece I stood up and took my leave from the table. I didn't need to look at the Slytherin table to know that Draco would be leaving to. I didn't stop to wait for him after leaving the Great Hall but headed in the direction of our usual meeting place. Draco soon caught up with me.

"Hey, was Weasel bothering you again?" I gave him a look that clearly said 'do you need to ask'.

"You already know what I think on the subject." I did and after our last argument I wasn't willing to get into another one any time soon. Much less one over Ronald Weasley.

"I had a thought about last night." We weren't even at the Room of Requirement yet but I wanted to skip straight over the awkwardness that would ensue if I waited.

"Me too." I glanced over at him to see him looking at me nervously. I wondered whether he had come to the same conclusion as I.

We entered the Room of Requirement to find it had turned itself into something akin to a small living room. The lighting inside was dim but bright enough to be considered warm. It was the sort of Room which would inspire confidence within its occupants, exactly what we needed of course.

"You go first." I didn't want to embarrass myself unnecessarily if Draco had a valid alternative. He rubbed the back of his neck, nervously.

"Well I spent a lot of time thinking about it last night after I got back to my dorm and I can only think of one explanation really. Last night was definitely traumatic, I think probably traumatic enough to awaken some sleeping genes, if you know what I mean."

He thought we were mates to. A feeling of absolute relief washed over me. I suddenly realised that I would've been disappointed if Draco had had an alternative explanation. I wanted Draco to be my mate. I thought back on all the kisses we'd shared, the tension that was always between us whenever we were alone. I then thought back even further. Even when we hadn't been on amiable terms Draco and I had been drawn to each other. Admittedly it had been to curse each other but there had still been some definite tension and neither could be in the others presence without trying to demand their full attention, even in a bad way.

It should have been obvious that we were destined to be mates. Especially since the kisses had started. Would our biology really allow us to be so incredibly drawn to one another only to be forced to separate in the end? Nature was not unnecessarily cruel it merely did what was necessary. Apparently love is blind. Was I in love with Draco? I was drawn to him yes and I liked him lots, but was it love. Could love happen so fast?

Then it hit me. Of course love would come on quickly in these circumstances. We were mates, we were each others perfect life partners. Can you not fall in love with the person who is a perfect match for you, who would do anything for you?

I looked at Draco and found him watching me anxiously. Realising that whilst I had been having my internal monologue I hadn't yet given him an answer and it had been a good five minutes I shook myself out of my stupor.

"I actually had the very same thought myself." I smiled at him and the look of relief that flooded his face.

"So you don't mind it then?" He looked hopeful.

"Not at all. In fact I'm rather glad it's you."

"I'm so glad it's you." I blushed and he hugged me.

"I was just thinking how stupid we were not to see it before."

"What do you mean?"

I went on to tell him my thoughts on the subject, including our previous enmity. He agreed with me and we laughed together over our sheer stupidity. It felt so good to know exactly where I stood in something. It made the rest of the craziness in my life a little less hard to cope with. It didn't matter why my parents didn't want me, Draco did. It didn't matter that my adopted parents didn't tell me, Draco would be honest with me. It didn't matter I was part Veela, Draco was too. It wouldn't matter if Mrs. Malfoy didn't accept me, Draco did. Everything would be OK.

"We still need to work out the details of the meeting with your mother. Do you think we should tell her about this too?" Draco was thoughtful.

"Maybe we should see how the conversation progresses before adding this latest bit in. I imagine this is going to be almost as overwhelming for her as it was for you and you had a brief pause between revelations." This was true, I didn't want to give my Godmother a heart attack, whether she was happy to be my Godmother or not.

We sat and talked it over for a long time. We would meet Mrs. Malfoy on the Hogsmeade weekend at the Three Broomsticks for lunch. I would write to the Ministry to have my last name legally changed back to Declise this afternoon in order to prevent the wild rumours the would otherwise spread in the wake of the meeting. Draco offered to go with me to Gringrotts over the Christmas holidays to visit my new, or old depending on how you look at it, vaults. Speaking of the Christmas holidays I still wasn't sure where I would be spending them. I, as of yet, had had no reply from the letter I had sent to my adoptive parents and so I had no idea whether staying with them would be awkward or not. On top of this I wasn't so sure I wanted to stay with them. They had hidden all of this from me after all.

I could go and stay with the Weasleys but with the way Ron and I had been arguing recently I wasn't so sure that was a good idea. There was also the fact that if I stayed with them it was unlikely I would be able to see Draco without getting a boatload of grief. I wanted to spend at least some of the holiday with my…well mate, boyfriend, confidante any of these could be used I suppose. I told Draco all of this.

"Well its simple enough to sort out. If everything goes well with mother come and stay at the Manor and if things go badly I'll stay with you here." He said it like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"But if things go badly, won't you still want to see your parents, your mother at least." At this point, he began to look a little nervous and I could tell he was worried.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure how to tell you this but my Father is being released from Azkaban."

I wasn't quite sure how to react. I was happy for Draco that he would be able to see his father, whom he clearly loved but at the same time I remembered him chasing us through the Department of Mysteries. I decided that Mr. Malfoy was of no real danger to me at the moment and so I would be supportive of Draco.

"That's great, this way if things do go badly your mother will at least have your father all Christmas." He was visibly relieved at my reaction.

"The thing is, if you wouldn't mind, he would like to meet you at the same time as Mother."

I knew that Draco would never allow me to be in any real danger and so I agreed to meet with his father as well. We spent the rest of the day together, joking and talking. Our conversations were full of lighter subjects and getting to know one another. I was feeling confident that everything would be OK. Even if my adoptive parents didn't want to see me anymore. Even if Draco's parents didn't accept me, everything would be fine.

AN: Thank you for reading! Please review.