Disclaimer: I am not J.K Rowling and so have no claim over any names you recognise.
Hermione couldn't blink.
She couldn't breathe.
She couldn't do anything else other than simply stare at the man lying in the bed a few feet away from her. For the first time in her life she'd been struck still in horror at the situation in front of her.
Morbid curiosity had her leaning forward in order to get a closer look at the man and she gasped at what she saw. The blue green patches on the wizard's skin were scales! They shone like glossy pearls and as the frantic crowd of medical staff and Aurors shifted around him, allowing the trickling sunlight to shine upon his skin, the scales reflected light all the colours of the rainbow.
Dear Merlin…What in Merlin's name had those scientists done to this poor man?
Hermione swallowed tightly, thanking Merlin that his face wasn't familiar to her. The thought of someone going through what this man had was horrific enough…but the thought of it being someone she had come across before was even more so…
"Healer Granger," Healer Johnson called and Hermione turned her head towards him numbly, "If you and Nurse Patil could see to the Aurors injured during the rescue mission?"
Hermione nodded her head automatically, her eyes still not removing themselves from the ward's latest patient. She flinched outwardly every time she heard his bones crack back in place but the man didn't even blink. In fact, his eerily emerald jewelled eyes showed no emotion at all.
Had his mind broken? Had it moved to protect itself from the pain?
"Healer Granger."
Hermione snapped out of her daze as Healer Johnson called out her name again. She flushed at being caught staring dumbly and she quickly muttered a sorry before looking around for her patients.
The line of injured Aurors were standing a few metres away, their wary eyes transfixed on the man they had just rescued. And it was obvious as to why their gazes were so wary. It was plain to see by the burn marks littering their arms and bodies and in one case, their face.
Burn marks…Fire…Dragon…Dear Merlin.
He could breathe fire!
Hermione quickly twisted her head back to the patient, expecting to see him unleash a burst of flame that very second. Of course she saw no such thing. The man didn't waver once from his stoic reverie.
"I'll get the bandages," Padma whispered from beside her.
Hermione nodded automatically before she realised she had a job to do. Before Padma could take two more steps, she called out what potion she would need and Padma nodded once to show she had heard before she hurried over to the store.
Taking in a deep calming breath to clear her hand, Hermione focused on the job at hand. Glancing over all her patient's, she assessed their burns and injuries before walking over to the Auror she deemed to be the priority case. The Auror in question had burn marks on her upper chest, her black Auror robes singed and frayed and as Hermione neared, her nose wrinkled at the burnt smell they were still emitting.
Leading the Auror to a bed, she asked the patient to remove her outer robes as she waited for Padma to return. She didn't have to wait for very long. Padma walked briskly towards her, her dark eyes narrowed as she inspected the wounds she would be treating, her arms full of small vials of Murtlap Essence and rolls of bandages.
Hermione unburdened the witch. "Can you give each of the other patients a few drops of pain relief potion? Their burns must be painful." Hermione told her.
Padma nodded at the instruction, half turning to follow Hermione's orders before she hesitated. Hermione asked what was wrong non verbally by raising her eyebrow and Padma moved to explain.
"The store isn't very full…and Pain Relief Potion in particular is running low." She informed.
Hermione frowned at the information before her eyes flicked towards the line of patients. Though their eyes were still on the part dragon, their unharmed hands and fingers clutched near their injuries, pain showing clearly in their tensed white knuckles.
She debated the ups and downs of temporary numbing charms in her head before making her decision. "Temporary numbing charms then."
Padma nodded and moved over to the line. Hermione placed a quick privacy charm around the immediate area and after the Auror had removed her shirt and lowered the straps of her bra, Hermione got to work on soaking the burnt skin with Murtlap Essence.
She worked quickly and efficiently however her mind buzzed with worry as she looked over at the small vials of Murtlap Essence and then the long line of injured Auror's waiting to be treated.
Merlin, would there be enough potion to go around? Her eyes flicked nervously to the part dragon. She prayed fervently that Healer Johnson and Healer Bentley didn't prod him in the wrong way and cause him to wake from his current blank daze.
They most certainly didn't need any more burns being inflicted before the day's end.
"What happened?" Hermione asked the Auror she was healing.
The Auror shook her head, "I have no idea. He was the only prisoner in the lab and everything seemed fine. We were in the process of detaining the scientists when he woke and in the next second there were flames everywhere."
"He breathed fire?" Hermione asked, wanting first hand confirmation of the disturbing fact.
The Auror bit her lip, "I wasn't facing his way when the flames surrounded us. But he must have breathed them through his mouth…if his DNA had been spliced with dragon DNA then how else?"
Hermione didn't answer, spending a few moments concentrating on tying the Auror's bandages. She stepped back when she'd finished and the Auror quickly re-dressed. With a thank you and smile, the witch stepped through the privacy shield and Padma sent in the next patient.
Hermione quickly followed the same procedure she'd just carried out, asking the Auror to undress before she removed the temporary numbing charm, assessed his injuries, soaked them with Murtlap Essence and bandaged them up.
It was the same monotonous healing for the next two and a half hours.
And not once did the part dragon move a single muscle.
ooo
The day's plan for the Ward was thrown out of the window after the latest rescue by the Aurors.
The other patients on the Ward were antsy at the latest tenebris one being under their roof, not being able to determine his threat to them and so they huddled and congregated in their packs.
Vampires with vampires. Werewolves with werewolves. Many patients changing form unconsciously into their animal counterparts, as if readying for any imminent attack.
Once Hermione had finished with her patient's, she and Padma started on the usual rounds of the existing patients on the Ward.
Though Malfoy, Zabini and James had remained outside of the Ward's closed doors, every so often she felt Malfoy touch her mind through their linked golden thread.
She felt oddly touched at his frequent checking in to see if she was well, being able to feel his worry coming through their link. In response, she made a conscious effort to send calming waves back at him to tell him that she was fine.
She was pleasantly surprised that he hadn't burst through the doors and demanded to shadow her every move. A small part of her mind told her that it was because she was now bonded to him. After all, isn't that what Zabini had said a while back? In Malfoy's mind, their bonding ceremony ensured her fidelity to him. He probably wasn't worried now about any other wizard poaching her feelings for him.
Hermione jerked at the question that entered her head. What would happen if she didn't remain faithful to Malfoy?
She flushed guiltily at even pondering the thought. Not that she would ever cheat on Malfoy. She was slowly coming to realise that their lives were now linked irrevocably. The idea seemed less abhorrent as each day passed…but she still knew so little about him. And she didn't want to potentially use their golden connection to find out the answers to her questions. It felt like an invasion of privacy. She certainly wouldn't be pleased if Malfoy somehow found a way to go snooping in her mind for information.
"Healer Granger."
Hermione turned around to face Healer Johnson. The elderly wizard looked older than he had a few hours ago and she flicked her gaze back to the patient he had been treating. The man was still lying blankly in his bed, his eerie eyes still unblinking.
"How is he?" she asked, "Who is he?"
"The Aurors are still trying to determine his identity." Healer Johnson answered. "He does not carry the Dark Mark on his forearm and so they are going through the records of the remaining prisoners. It shouldn't take much longer to find out who the fellow is."
"He's still unresponsive?" she queried.
Healer Johnson nodded. "It is possible that his mind has retreated. His scans are all negative other than the ones for the injuries we have been treating."
Hermione bobbed her head at the information, noting the similarity to her own earlier thoughts. Even though the fact had been confirmed, she still felt the need to query it once more. "Dragon DNA."
Healer Johnson turned his eyes on her, "I'm afraid so."
"How is it even possible…" Hermione wondered.
Healer Johnson sounded disgusted, "Who knows what horrors they have been doing in their supposed labs. It is times like this that make me wish the death penalty was still in force. The Dementor's Kiss seems the only fitting punishment."
Hermione hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his statement.
The other Healer shook his head, clearing away the dark thoughts before he looked her in the eyes. "How are things progressing between Mr Malfoy and yourself?" he asked.
Hermione quickly took to the change in subject but she blushed at the possibility of the older man knowing what had occurred between her and Malfoy last night. "Well." She answered simply.
Healer Johnson nodded singularly. "I came to tell you that if you wish to then you may take your lunch break. Now that things have quietened down again, I don't suspect we will need you until your planned shift tonight."
Hermione nodded her head in agreement. She was starving, having been too busy catching Padma up on the drama between her and Malfoy to eat the muffins she'd brought up for her. She glanced around for Padma and Healer Johnson must have realised who she was looking for.
"Nurse Patil left a few minutes ago."
Hermione nodded once before she said her goodbyes and moved towards the exit. When she opened the door, she saw Malfoy standing alone on the other side. As soon as he caught sight of her, he stalked up to her, his expression displeased.
"Mate is hungry." He stated, his voice containing more than a tinge of anger. Before Hermione could say anything, he continued, "My Hermione did not eat the fare her friend delivered this morning," he said accusingly, "Veela can hear Mate's stomach needing nourishment."
And with that firm telling off, he grabbed hold of her wrist and began storming down the corridor, no doubt heading towards the kitchens. Hermione was forced to half run to keep up with Malfoy's long strides and when it became evident that she wasn't walking in a pace quick enough for him, he stopped, looked down at her in a scrutinising manner before he bent at the knees, his arms wrapping around her waist as he lifted her straight up off her feet.
Hermione let out a squeak at the action, her arms banging at his shoulders in a bid to get him to drop her back down. When he carried on stalking down the corridor, making no move to let her go, she grew even more annoyed. Gathering every ounce of what she was feeling in her head, she touched the mental thread and sent it barrelling his way.
She waited to hear his response and she felt it through their connection before she heard it.
Laughter! He was laughing at her!
Infuriated at his response, she mentally untouched the shimmery thread with a huff…but it wasn't before she felt a powerful wave of joy coming from him. The lightness of his feelings travelled through her and went some way to cooling down her anger. And so she merely sighed and thanked Merlin that the corridor seemed empty and no one else would see the two of them.
Underneath her chest, Malfoy's chest still vibrated as he chuckled. "Veela is pleased his Mate is so amusing."
He'd said the words before and Hermione merely rolled her eyes in response. It was only when she tucked her chin into her neck that she allowed a small smile to pass over her lips.
ooo
"Tell me about you and Rose." Hermione asked as she dozed lightly against Malfoy's side. She felt his claws pause slightly at her question before they resumed their previous ministrations of stroking through her hair.
Hermione knew she should move. But the feeling of his hands running over her scalp felt too good for her to worry about how comfortable she was growing in Malfoy's presence.
"What does Mate wish to know?"
Hermione shrugged lightly, the movement causing her to sink deeper into Malfoy's side. She waited in silence for him to reply.
Earlier on in the day, when they'd entered the kitchen for lunch- or should she say when Malfoy had carried her into the kitchen- Hermione had been mortified to realise that Padma, Blaise and James were all already occupying the room.
As Malfoy had dropped her back down onto her own two feet- and after she'd whacked him none too gently on the shoulder, although she had a feeling that had hurt her knuckles more than it had his shoulder- she'd caught sight of James's wide grin and Padma's small smile. In an effort to hide her rapidly heating cheeks, Hermione had resorted to hiding her face in the refrigerator as she rooted out salad and chicken in order to make some rudimentary sandwiches.
When she'd been able to face the threesome again without her cheeks burning up to resemble the tomatoes in her hands, she and Padma had made plans to eat outside on the grounds in order to make the most of the autumn sunshine.
They hadn't been able to wander too far due to Zabini's vampirism, along with his express orders that Padma remain in his eyesight, an order that was seconded by James and then reiterated by Malfoy. And so the two witches had settled on the grass fifteen metres away from the three wizards who'd chosen to remain guard in the shaded entrance of the Manor.
She and Padma had eaten their lunch in comfortable peace, occasionally asking the other the questions they hadn't quite got around to asking that morning before they'd been interrupted and it had been during this time that Hermione had caught sight of Rose walking up the grounds towards them.
Hermione had frozen upon catching sight of the witch, readying herself for any possible reaction since it was the first time they were coming face to face after her and Malfoy's "bonding ceremony".
Her mouth had suddenly gone dry at wondering what the other Veela would do…But all she'd received was a quick look before the witch had turned her head and hidden her face behind a curtain of pale blond hair.
But a quick look had been enough for Hermione to catch sight of her expression. One of complete and utter anguish. Not pain. Not hurt. Agony.
As the witch had hurried past her, Hermione hadn't been able to stop herself from twisting around to see how Malfoy would greet her. Rose had no doubt caught sight of his hovering body as she walked to the entrance and when she'd climbed up the steps, she'd stopped to greet him. And then she and Malfoy had proceeded to have an inaudible conversation but a conversation nonetheless.
Hermione hadn't had known what to feel as she'd watched the two of them converse. A part of her had been pleased at the polite way in which Malfoy seemed to be treating her with but another part of her wanted to amble over to them so she could hear just what was being said.
Hence her question to Malfoy at the present time.
"Veela was with the female in the laboratory. He protected her from the humans who did this to the tenebris ones."
His brief answer didn't tell her anything new and Hermione wasn't sure how to ask him what she really wanted to know.
"…It was just the two of you for a long time. Did you ever talk?" she asked instead.
"Sometimes. When Veela and the female Veela were not drugged by the potions and were left alone the witch liked to talk. Veela would listen to her. She talked of her family. Missing them."
Hermione tilted her head up so she could meet Malfoy's eyes. "Her family?"
"Her sisters. Her mother. She would wonder what they would look like as time passed. If they had found their own Mates."
Hermione found her chest panging at what Rose must have gone through and she dipped her head back down, suddenly feeling guilty at trying to find out information about the woman behind her back. She sometimes forgot that the female Veela was the only one who had actually been kidnapped from her own life, and not from Azkaban.
Is it any wonder she had formed such a strong connection to Malfoy?
Her thoughts then drifted back to the conversation the two of them had had in the Manor's atrium. Not wanting to think of that jealousy fuelled tête à tête, Hermione shook her head, clearing her memories of the unfortunate event whilst simultaneously ordering herself to get back to the focus of the conversation.
"You talked about finding your Mates?"
She felt Malfoy nod when his chin brushed against her temple. "Veela talked of finding his own Mate," he began saying as he hugged her closer to her side, "how she would feel…smell…how Veela would protect her and keep her safe."
Hermione found herself smiling into the side of his chest. "I bet you didn't think you're Mate would be someone like me…"
One of Malfoy's claws reached out to lift her chin back up again and the look in his eyes seared her own. "Veela is most pleased with his Mate. My Hermione is more lovely than what Veela could ever have dreamed of."
Hermione felt herself blush, strangely pleased at his words. She may not think herself to be as gorgeous as Rose was in the looks department but evidence suggested that she wasn't lacking by any margin…
"The female Veela would talk about finding her own Mate. She would talk often about her wish for children."
Hermione's head jerked upwards. "…Children?"
Malfoy nodded and Hermione tried not to tense up at his side. All thoughts of conversation about Rose were swiped away with that one word. She swallowed down the lump in her throat. "What about you? Did you- think about children I mean?" she asked in a purposefully light voice.
Malfoy's response was instant, a smile blooming across his face. Hermione's stomach caved in as he shifted position so he was leaning over her, his hand coming to rest low over her abdomen. He stroked over the area heavily.
"Veela would dream of his Mate swelling with his child." He said softly.
His response wasn't exactly what Hermione was looking for but she would most certainly take it. At least he wanted kids!
Thank Merlin!
For once, they were actually on the same page!
She smiled. "I was an only child so even when I was a young girl I always dreamed of marrying and having lots of children."
"Marrying?" Malfoy said, a frown on his face.
Hermione nodded hesitantly, briefly explaining the apparently foreign custom to him.
His response had the smile slipping off her face. "Veela and his little Healer are already bonded." He said dismissively, as if a wedding was unnecessary.
Hermione froze when she heard the words, every image she'd ever had of her father walking her down the aisle whilst she wore a white wedding dress being obliterated away.
The pad of Malfoy's thumb swept over her furrowed eyebrows and Hermione closed her eyes. "This is important to my Mate." He said slowly.
Keeping her eyes shut, Hermione nodded twice.
There was silence for a moment.
"My Hermione does not feel bound to Veela?"
Hermione could tell he'd tried to restrain the anger in his voice but his words still came out in a low pitched rumble. Sighing, she opened her eyes and turned her head to face him. "Mated, yes. Bound… yes. But married…no."
Malfoy did not look pleased. He lifted her up in one swift motion until he was sitting with his back to the headboard, Hermione straddling his thighs, her breasts mashing against his chest.
"Then Veela and his Hermione will get married."
Hermione's eyes widened in surprise at his fierce proclamation. "…You would be willing to get married?" she asked, still not believing it.
Malfoy nodded firmly. "Veela and his Hermione will get married."
Hermione smiled as she slumped against him. "Thank you…this means a lot to me…and my family."
Malfoy nodded once again and Hermione dropped her forehead back down to rest against his shoulders. Her thoughts slowly drifted off, the image of her in a white dress slowly reforming.
Around her, Malfoy's arms tightened, embracing her in cozy warmth.
"Yes. Veela and my Hermione will marry tomorrow."
Hermione froze.
Wait- what?
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter but a huge thank you to Peytonkmc who made two manips for the fic (a first for me!). The links are on my profile page so please check them out! The next chapter is going to be a biggie- you'll no doubt hate me but love me at the same time since I'm making quite a few wishes come true...but of course, it comes at a price! As always, thank you so much for reading and until next time, Curiositykils.