Chapter 14

"Hermione, we're so glad you could make it to the states for the holidays." Mrs. Granger embraced her daughter and then allowed her husband to have his turn greeting Hermione.

"School is going well, Love?" Mr. Granger asked kissing the top of her head.

"Its great. I'm a mentor for one of Professor McGonagall's classes!" Hermione smiled up at her parents as she rubbed her temple lightly. "How have things been here in the states?"

"That's wonderful dear." Her mother smiled at her. "We are settling in quite nicely. Our neighbors are lovely, very welcoming people. They have an older son that's your age too." Her mother gave Hermione a knowing look. "Very handsome."

"Well actually, there's someone-" Hermione began to say but was interrupted.

"Are you ok Honey? Is your head bothering you?" Her dad asked coming over to the table where Hermione had sat down. "You haven't stopped rubbing it since you've arrived."

"I'm fine, dad." She said, smiling through the increasing pain. "I just need some med-" She was cut off by the sharpest pain she had felt yet. Her legs gave out and she fell to the floor.

"Hermione!" Her parents yelled. Their voiced were getting louder and she felt her body moving.

"Hermione!" Draco was shaking her trying to get her to open her eyes.

"Malfoy? What's wrong?" Ginny asked groggily from the spot next to Hermione in the bed.

"Hermione!" He shook her some more, Ignoring Ginny. His head was pounding and he was worried as to why Hermione was not waking up. He knew something wasn't right.

Just as he was about to yell her name again she stirred. Her eyes snapped opened and she gasped for breath, she sat straight up and her hand shot to her head. She grimaced in pain. It slowly started to ebb away, very, very slowly.

"Hermione…thank Merlin." Draco breathed out in relief as he put his hand on her cheek. She was practically burning up. But his headache immediately subsided. He noticed her face relaxed visibly as well. "You ok?" He looked into her eyes.

"Yeah." She breathed heavily. "It doesn't hurt anymore, my headache, its gone." She said relieved but confused.

"Did I miss something?" Ginny asked with an utterly perplexed look on her face.

"My head…it felt like it was going to explode." Hermione, still breathing heavily, pointed to her temple as if it would explain further.

"And why are you in here?" Ginny looked at Draco with expectant eyes.

"Because she was in pain…' He said questioningly with narrowed eyebrows.

"How did you know that though, is what I'm looking for." She rolled her eyes.

"I probably heard her scream. I'm only right across the bathroom." He shook his head wondering why she was being so daft.

"Nu-uh. I'm the lightest sleeper and I heard nothing. She didn't scream." She looked at him again with her expectant expression.

Draco sat there for a few moments and thought about it. He couldn't recall hearing a scream now that he thought back to it. He just suddenly woke up with a killer headache and gut wrenching fear that there was something wrong.

"That's irrelevant. We need to get you to the hospital wing." He turned his attention back to the girl who was lying right in front of him.

"I'm not going back there." She said defiantly.

"Hermione…" He grumbled. "This is the second time that this has happened to you within a week. This is not normal." He tried to reason.

"I'm not going back to the hospital wing, anywhere but there, Draco. It's a dreadful place." She mumbled the last part under her breath.

"Anywhere?" He raised his eyebrows.

She just stared back at him with questioning eyes.

(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)

Draco knocked on the heavy wooden door that he and Hermione were now standing in front of.

"Draco? Miss. Granger? What in Merlin's name are you doing up at this hour?" Professor Eron looked between the two students who were sporting their pajamas with cloaks thrown over them. "Is everything alright?" He looked from Hermione to Draco and held eye contact with him.

"Yes."

"No."

They both answered at the same time. Eron looked at Draco, who said "no."

"Why are you up so early…here, at my living quarters?" Eron asked again.

"Its Hermione," Draco started, as Eron looked her over. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes; annoyed that Draco practically had to drag her there in the dead of night. "She's been getting these headaches…"

Eron raised his eyebrow at him. "Why don't you come sit down?" He opened the door further to reveal his nightly attire. He was wearing plaid, flannel pants with a crushed velvet robe over his bare torso. He looked down and wrapped his robe over his chest and tied it so it stayed closed. They walked through the door and through his office. He went behind his desk and waved his wand at a mouse hole, enlarging it into a wide, rounded doorway.

"Tea or coffee?" He asked the two putting a kettle of water on the miniature stove.

"Coffee." The two teens agreed as they walked further into the small living quarters.

"Why don't you just use magic?" Hermione asked through a yawn.

"It doesn't taste the same if you do that, authentically made coffee is unbeatable." Eron grinned as he bustled around making up three cups. "Cream or sugar?" He asked placing the cups and cream and sugar on the small table the other two were currently occupying. "Now what's going on?" He looked at them with a serious expression after taking his own seat.

"Hermione has been getting headaches, really bad headaches." Draco said looking at her. She just kept staring at Eron secretly hoping he had an answer for this problem she didn't want to admit she had.

"What kind of headaches? Can you describe them?" He asked turning to Hermione.

"Well they start in my temples and it seems like they get deeper into my head as the pain increases." She, again, pointed to her temples like she was demonstrating it.

"When do they normally happen? Are they always in the wee hours of the night?" Eron asked intrigued.

"Not necessarily this late…or early depending on how you view it. The first one happened when I was in the library around ten or eleven in the evening."

"Were you just reading?"

"No I was tutoring a student on muggle devices." She said like she was searching for any commonality between the two events.

"Anderson." Draco had to hold back the sneer as he crossed his arms.

"Anderson?" Eron asked, "You mean Seth Anderson?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco. "Yes but he isn't the common denominator, he wasn't in my room tonight." She said almost annoyed.

"Draco, do you mind if I speak with you for a moment?" Eron asked looking at the blonde.

"Um, sure." He stood up and walked back towards the office while Eron excused the two of them and opened the door leading out into the hall.

Once the door was shut he turned to Draco. "Have you told her about your Veela dilemma?"

"No, not yet. Why? You think this is some sort of Veela problem?" Draco asked perplexed. He put his hand to his mouth and started biting at his cuticle.

"Not a problem, so to say. I don't want to jump to anything yet but I want you to keep me informed about any new developments. Owl me if something else happens. For now I will give her a dreamless sleep potion for tonight." Eron looked deep in thought.

Draco just nodded and reached for the door.

"And you may want to find a way to tell her sooner as opposed to later. Your coming into your traits more and more every day and the sooner she knows, the better she will be able to adapt and adjust with your changes."

"Traits?" Draco asked raising his eyebrows. "I'm not going to begin to go crazy without her or anything will I?"

"Not precisely…" Eron said narrowing his eyes with a slight smile and tilt of his head. "You already feel protective of her, yes?" Draco nodded slowly in response. "That will increase as the Veela side of you begins to strengthen. You wont go crazy when someone talks to her or anything," Eron assured Draco as he noticed the wary look, "But you will be able to feel her, her emotions will be apparent to the Veela side. They wont be mixed with yours, you will be very aware that they are hers, but you will definitely feel her pain or happiness or excitement. And if she concentrates hard enough she will feel yours to a small extent depending on how strong your feeling and emotions are as well. Your senses will also become heightened, if they haven't already; not that this will affect Hermione but the other traits will be between the pair of you, and ultimately you should experience it together to make your bond stronger."

"I'm going to ask her to the Christmas ball." He decided then and there.

"Great." Eron turned and opened the door. "Sorry Miss. Granger. I have a sleeping potion for the remainder of the night, or morning, as some would put it. If you have any more problems, please come see me or owl me. I try to make myself as available as possible."

"Wait, your not going to tell me what you two were talking about?" She asked, almost pouting.

"It was about me mainly. He told me to keep an eye on you though." Draco said, not entirely telling the whole truth.

"I'll be fine." She rolled her eyes. "Thank you for the potion professor." She smiled at Eron before she started to stand.

"In my office…or living quarters," he motioned to their surroundings, "You may call me Eron."

Draco smiled a knowing smile because Eron had told him the same thing a short time ago.

"Sure thing, Eron." Hermione smiled again taking one last sip of her coffee. She made her way to the door.

Draco turned and nodded to Eron before departing with Hermione.

(*)*(*)*(*)*(*)

Later on that day, Draco and Blaise were up in the Head dorms talking about random things when Hermione walked in from her last lesson of the day.

"Hey Draco, Blaise." She smiled at the two as she made her way to the counter, dropping her things onto the floor and grabbing a glass, magically filling it with water.

"You got a letter about an hour ago." Draco held up a small rolled up piece of paper.

"From who?" She hurried over to him, hoping it was from her parents. She took it from his hands and began to unroll it.

"Not them," Draco said looking apologetic. "I recognized the owl."

"Its from Professor Eron." She said a few seconds later, looking confused. "He wants me to go to his office later, after dinner."

"Does it say why?" Draco asked standing up.

"No. He is probably wanting to check up from this morning." She said with a disappointed note in her voice.

"This morning?" Blaise asked confused just as Draco began to ask his own question, ignoring his friend.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I was hoping it was my parents." She plopped down next to Blaise as he made room for her. Draco sat on the other side of her, casually laying his hand over the couch.

"Write them." Blaise shrugged.

"I don't know where they are." She said defeated.

"What do you mean? Wouldn't they be at your house?" He seemed perplexed.

Draco just looked at her expectantly when she glanced up at him. She looked back at the water glass that was now in her hands. She twirled it around watching the ridges in the glass distort the appearance of the water.

"What happened this morning?" Blaise asked again since he was interrupted earlier.

"Long story, mate." Draco said leaning further back into the couch.

"I've got no where to be." He said mimicking Draco's actions.

"She wasn't feeling well, is all." Draco looked to his friend with a nonchalant expression.

"So you went to professor Pretty-boy?" He asked confused.

"Its none of your concern, Blaise." Draco said more stern this time.

"I get headaches." Hermione said standing up.

Draco watched her move into the kitchen as she rested her head on the counter.

"Are you ok?" Blaise asked sincerely. "I was only trying to push your buttons you know? You don't have to tell me anything."

"I have a headache." Hermione moaned as Draco's head turned to look at her, "But it certainly is a lot better than they have been." She assured him, "This one may be a normal headache for a change." She said sarcastically.

"Something you should tell Professor Eron?" Draco asked as he turned his body so he was facing her.

"No." She said picking her head up and carrying her glass to the sink. "I'm going to head down for an early supper after I take a shower." She started walking up the stairs.

A knock at the portrait stopped her in her tracks. She looked confused and started to walk back down.

"I'll get it." Draco said rising to his feet. He took a few steps towards the door and opened it expecting to see Potter or one of the two Weasleys. Instead he internally groaned as he saw Seth with a smirk set on his lips.

"Evening Malfoy." Seth said raising his head.

Draco looked back behind him to see if Hermione made it up the stairs yet before turning back to the kid who was slowly grating on his nerves.

"Can I help you with something?" Draco asked, cocking his head to the side.

"I was wondering if I could speak to Hermione?" He said in a polite tone.

"Who is it?" Hermione asked coming to the portrait. "Oh, hey Seth." She greeted.

Draco stiffened when she walked past him and outside of the portrait where Seth was standing.

"Could I speak to you?" Seth asked looking down at Hermione then back up to Draco who was watching him with a stern look. "Alone." He added smirking at Draco.

"Um…yeah, sure." She smiled and began to walk down the steps with him taking one last glance towards Draco, giving him a reassuring smile. Somehow it didn't make him feel any better. He didn't trust Anderson, and the veela in him certainly was not happy to see Hermione walk away with him. He shut the portrait leaving it open a crack but could still hear their conversation due to his newfound hearing capabilities.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmead with me this weekend?" McGonagall had made the announcement that morning about the dance and informed everyone that Hogsmead trips would take place every weekend from present up until the dance.

"Well, you see-" she began but Seth interrupted her by taking her hands in his.

"Please Hermione." He picked up a stray candy wrapper from the floor and used his wand to transform it into a blood red rose. "Accept my offer." He pleaded with a handsome smile on his face.

"I have to go with Draco to chaperone for our head duties; But maybe we can catch up and grab a couple of butterbeers together." She said looking apologetic.

"If that's what I can get, then that is what I will take." He said with a small smile.

"I have to go back inside and shower before dinner. I will see you in class tomorrow." She smiled once again but he took her hand in his before she could turn away.

"Let me walk you back." He led her through the hall and up the small flight of stairs they had walked down. Hermione attempted to take her hand out of his but he surprised her by leaning in and placing a soft kiss on her cheek, making them turn a shade darker than they were.

"See you at dinner." He pivoted on his foot and walked back down the steps and around the corner.

Draco stepped away from the door and tried to hide his look of anger from Blaise. He went to the kitchen and grabbed a shot glass and Hermione's Whiskey that he had taken from her the other night.

"You ok, Mate?" Blaise asked coming over to see what had suddenly transpired to drive Draco to take a shot.

Hermione walked in just after Draco had hid the bottle and glass below the counter on a shelf, out of her view. He had his cheeks still full of the fiery liquid before she gave him a questioning look and he swallowed with a slight wince.

"What did Anderson want?" Draco asked knowing full well how the conversation had gone. He noticed the red rose in her hand and narrowed his eyes a bit.

Hermione hesitated, not sure why she didn't want to disclose her plans with Seth to Draco. "We-we're having a drink at Hogsmead." She stuttered slightly.

Draco just nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"Well, I'm going to shower now…" She said and walked up the stairs.

Blaise began to say something else but Draco held up his finger, motioning him to wait. He listened for the click of Hermione's door then grabbed the bottle and glass before he poured himself another shot and downed it faster than the first.

"What's gotten you to drink?" Blaise asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That one was for the veela." Draco muttered offering Blaise his glass. He just looked at Draco with surprised eyes.

"I knew it!" Blaise all but shouted. "I knew it was in your blood, but I didn't know you had the dominant trait." He settled back down in his seat looking up at Hermione's door. "Does she know?" He motioned with a pointed finger.

"No." Draco said with a stern look.

"Whose your mate?" Blaise asked hurriedly.

"Not going to jinx it." Draco said with an agitated look.

"What if she doesn't like you…?" Blaise asked, worried of the answer.

"Then I pick another one." Draco poured himself yet another shot while Blaise stared at him dumbfounded at the myths he had been told about veelas.

"Veela needs another?" Blaise raised his eyebrow with a smirk.

"Nope, Draco does." Draco replied before downing his third shot.

A/N

So sorry for the long delay, but with Christmas and the New Year its been rather hectic. I plan to update sooner this time! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns or ideas! I am very open to new ideas! I hope everyone had a happy holidays and best wishes to you all this year!

Happy reading!