Chapter 10

Draco struggled to keep a stoic expression on his face as another unfamiliar owl deposited a letter onto his lap during breakfast that morning.

Dear Draco,

It's nice to hear from you so soon.

I'm happy that you seem to be enjoying your classes and quidditch training this year despite how hectic your schedule is. I'm in the middle of a busy school year myself, so I understand how grueling all those assignments can be on top of everything else.

Unfortunately, I'll have to decline your invitation to visit Hogwarts as I'll be busy during the next few weeks. Though I might have some time during Yule, so I may be able to meet you in Hogsmeade. Would that be okay with you?

Write me again soon.

Sincerely,

That-Nameless-Girl

Ignoring the way Blaise, Pansy and the rest of his housemates beside him were none-too-discreetly trying to peer over his shoulder at the letter, Draco took a quill and parchment out of his bag and wrote out his response.

Dear That-Nameless Girl,

You never actually mentioned that you were also studying this year. Since you obviously don't go to Hogwarts, can I assume you go to Beauxbatons? Or perhaps Durmstrang? Or maybe even Ilvermorny, if you're from America? I swear I'm not stalking you. Or maybe I am. I'm just trying to find out more about you.

I would love it if I could meet you in Hogsmeade during the holidays. Maybe this time, I can buy you dinner and treat you to drinks from a much nicer tavern. Is there anywhere in particular you want to go? Speaking of Hogsmeade, what chocolates do you like? I'll be going there this week, I'll send you some.

Looking forward to hearing from you again.

Sincerely,

Draco

The unexpected news of being able to see his dream girl again definitely lifted his spirits.

Despite the fact that Blaise continued to ignore his persistent queries all week about what exactly he knew of Potter's strange behavior this year, Draco still found himself in a pretty good mood for the rest of that morning.

It was only much later in the afternoon, when a scowling, whiny Pansy had joined him on the way to their first elective class, did his mood instantly dissipate.

"Remind me again why we're taking this ridiculous class."

Pansy's loud, obnoxious voice grated on his nerves as he grit his teeth and reluctantly followed her into the small classroom at the end of the east wing hallway.

"Because you wanted to share a class with me and the only other elective left amenable to both our schedules was Advance Muggle Studies." Draco answered flatly, ignoring the way Pansy continued to grumble under her breath as he deposited his bag onto one of the empty seats near the back of the classroom.

Fortunately, apart from a few Hufflepuffs dozing in the opposite corner, the rest of their classmates hadn't arrived yet so Draco allowed himself a momentary reprieve as he slumped down into his seat and covered his head with his hands in the hope of drowning Pansy's voice out.

"But seriously, can you believe how stupid Longbottom looked during History of Magic? It's like the git has never heard of using a bloody comb for that rat's nest of his. Not to mention his robes, I mean—who wears robes that disheveled?! He's a disgrace to all the children of the Sacred Twenty-Eight—"

"Pansy." Draco groaned, closing his eyes and massaging his temples.

"—I can't believe he even had the audacity to glare at me when all I did was tell him to straighten his tie! I'm a prefect after all, I have the right to make sure all my housemates look presentable!" She huffed.

"Pansy."

"And it's not like I said it to be rude! I just didn't want the git to lose us any more house points! Did you know that he lost us ten points this morning when he couldn't answer Flitwick's question?! Honestly, he's such an idiot."

"Pansy, I swear to Merlin!" Draco ignored the affronted expression on her face and purposely slammed his textbook shut, turning to the side to give the short-haired girl an irritated glare. "I don't give a flobberworm's ass about your latest lover's spat with Longbottom, okay?! Stop whining and just leave me the hell out of it!" He snapped.

"Hmph." Pansy's scowl only deepened at his outburst and she turned her face away, nose high in the air as she crossed her arms petulantly across her chest.

"I wasn't whining. And besides, you're certainly one to talk. Blaise and I had to listen to you rattling on and on about Potter for the last seven years! The least you could do is—"

Draco didn't bother listening to the rest of Pansy's remark as the classroom doors opened again and he happened to look up at the exact same time Aria and the rest of her Gryffindor friends entered the room.

She was talking animatedly to Weasley and Granger as she walked in so she didn't see him yet, but Draco watched her anyway, noting the way she had taken to tying her long hair in a much tighter, impeccably styled braid ever since that incident in the quidditch pitch. Half of the braid was twisted into a tight coil on the top of her head, while the other half hung loosely, ending a few inches above her back.

When she froze near the front of the classroom and looked up, meeting Draco's stare, his cheeks flushed and he almost tore his gaze away had Aria not arched an eyebrow and offered him a friendly smile. Before he realized what he was doing, Draco felt both corners of his lips quirking upwards as he gave her a smile back.

He tried to ignore the warmth that began to spread into his cheeks as Aria eventually looked away and sat down somewhere in the middle of the classroom between Weasley and Granger. Oddly enough, the sight of her suddenly sitting so far away from him caused an unfamiliar stirring somewhere in the pit of his stomach.

It was strange, but seeing Aria back with her two best friends suddenly reminded Draco of how, despite the fact that they now shared a common room and had even called a truce, no matter how much they tried to pretend it wasn't the case, he and Aria were still very different people who were from very different worlds.

The war had definitely taught him that.

She was Harriah Potter, the savior of the wizarding world and defeater of the Dark Lord. Everyone loved her and both adults and young children looked up to her. She had only good things to expect from the rest of her life.

Meanwhile, he was Draco Malfoy, the acquitted Death Eater responsible for the siege on Hogwarts that resulted to Albus Dumbledore's death. Everyone hated him and Merlin only knows what the future had in store for someone like him.

He could never truly deserve to be her friend, much less anything else.

Sighing, he pulled his gaze away from the former Gryffindor trio and turned back to rifle mindlessly through his notebook.

"Draco, did you just…smile at Potter?"

The disgust he heard in Pansy's voice broke Draco out of his thoughts as he flinched and immediately turned away so she wouldn't see the pink splotches on his face.

"No, Pansy. I did not." He hissed back, scowling as he avoided her eyes.

"What's the matter with you? Are you feeling okay?" Pansy asked again as she reached up and pressed a manicured hand to his forehead. "You never smile. At least not without some maniacal intent behind it."

"I. Wasn't. Smiling." Draco retorted hotly as he slapped her hand away.

"But you were, I saw you! You were smiling like an idiot. What, do you like Potter now?" Pansy's eyes had grown so big that they were almost unflattering on her face as she stared accusingly at him. "What about that beautiful dream girl you met this summer? You were so happy when she finally said she'd meet you before Christmas. How would she react if she found out you were crushing on the girl-who-lived?" She scoffed derisively, shaking her head at him.

"Pansy, I do not like Potter, okay? Just drop it!" He growled, flushing darker at the insinuation in her words as he glowered and sank down lower in his seat.

"Oh don't even bother trying to hide it, Draco." Pansy muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes at him and looking away with a huff. "Blaise told me all about how you and Potter decided to be all 'chummy' with each other after quidditch practice last week. Congratulations, by the way." She mocked.

"Don't take your mood swings out on me." Draco's eyes narrowed and he turned to glare irritably at the back of her head. "Just because you and Longbottom insist on continuing that childish little war of yours, it doesn't mean the rest of us are as immature as you are." He snapped.

Pansy stiffened and turned around slowly to gape at him, an indignant expression on her face.

She looked as though she was going to say something else but the doors to the classroom opened again and Neville and Morag walked quietly into the room. As soon as Neville looked up and inadvertently met Pansy's sullen gaze, both Slytherins scowled and looked away, pointedly refusing to acknowledge each other's presence.

Unfortunately, by now, the only two unoccupied seats left in the classroom was the one in the far corner beside a group of Ravenclaws and the one beside Pansy. Naturally, Morag made a beeline for the one beside her former housemates, leaving Neville standing awkwardly by the doors as he stared hesitantly at the last remaining seat in the room.

Draco smirked, ready to believe Neville was going to go all 'Gryffindor' and sit down beside Pansy anyway but to his annoyance, Neville made his way over to him instead and gave him a slightly sheepish smile.

"Er…Malfoy?"

Neville looked embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Do you mind if you and Pansy switch seats?" Neville cast a glare over at Pansy again (which the other Slytherin was all-too-happy to return), neither of them even bothering to be subtle about their blatant dislike of each other.

Normally, Draco would have said no – if only because he couldn't care less whether these two hexed each other's eyeballs out – but when he saw the panicked, slightly pleading expression Pansy was giving him, he rolled his eyes and reluctantly stood up, gathering his things.

"Seriously?" He grumbled under his breath as he and Pansy switched seats so that he now sat directly between her and Neville. "For the record, I think you two are completely ridiculous." Draco added, scowling.

"If we're going to talk about being ridiculous—" Pansy pursed her lips, crossing her arms over her chest. "—then I'm obliged to call attention to your hideous shoes, Longbottom. What, did you just dance around in the mud outside? Have you never heard of cleaning charms?" She mocked loudly.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I was helping take care of some plants in the greenhouse." Neville hissed back, though his cheeks reddened slightly as he took his wand out and cast a quick cleaning charm on his shoes. "Unlike a selfish person who probably can't lift a perfectly manicured fingernail to save her life, I'm actually productive during my spare time."

"You call playing around with plants being productive?"

"Better than spending all day yapping and being a bitch."

"How dare you—"

Draco fought the overwhelming urge to hex them both and sank down lower in his seat, forcing himself to tune out the rest of their inane argument. He ignored the way Pansy's voice began to grow shrill at another one of Neville's biting remarks and directed his attention to the front of the room again, watching as Aria and Granger shared another laugh over something the brunette had said.

When Aria giggled and turned around to say something to Finnigan behind her, Draco's eyes narrowed and he felt a particularly unpleasant stab somewhere in his gut. He wasn't sure why exactly, but the more he watched Aria laughing and smiling so casually with her friends, the more he felt irrationally annoyed – both with himself, and with her.

He assumed it was probably because he still couldn't figure out what exactly she was hiding. It irritated him to know that Blaise obviously knew what was going on but the git didn't even have the decency to tell him - nevermind the fact that it was Draco who shared an entire history with Potter over the last seven years - not Blaise.

Why does she trust that tosser more than me? Not that I've given her any reason to trust me but Blaise isn't exactly any better off. Does she like him or something? A lot of girls tend to like Blaise but does Potter like him too? Maybe it's because he's a prefect.

Draco scowled and shook his head at his own thoughts, withdrawing his gaze from Aria to glare accusingly at his hands.

He decided to cast the obtrusive thoughts away for now, attributing it to his growing anxiety over finally meeting his dream girl during the holidays. He shouldn't be so interested in whatever secrets Aria Potter had and to whom she decided to share them with – she could tell the whole bloody school if she wanted. Frankly, it wasn't really any of his business.

And Pansy was wrong, it wasn't like he liked Aria Potter or anything.

Right?

Draco was still frowning by the time the classroom doors opened again and Headmistress McGonagall finally walked into the bustling room, causing everyone's conversations (even Pansy and Neville's ongoing screaming match about the different species of plants) to quiet down into hushed whispers.

McGonagall cast everyone a long, sweeping glance before she nodded and strode briskly to the front of the room.

"Welcome to European Magical Anthropology."

Without turning around, McGonagall waved her wand once and folded her hands behind her back, waiting patiently as a single piece of chalk floated into the air and began spelling out the name of the class on the board.

"Now, as I'm sure you're all aware…This is an elective class, but the grade you receive at the end of the semester will still count toward your final average. So I warn you, please take this class just as seriously as your other NEWT subjects." McGonagall said as she paced the front of the room, studying each of their nervous expressions.

"The good news is, this will be quite an unconventional class – the first of its kind here at Hogwarts. Instead of lectures, it will consist of a series of individual seminars. In other words, instead of being taught by a single professor, this class will actually be taught by a different guest lecturer each week. Incidentally, each guest lecturer will be a member of the magical race to be discussed in your curriculum." She paused and flicked her wand again, carefully distributing the stack of papers she held by floating them around the room to each student's desk.

Draco glanced down at the curriculum in front of him, silently reading along as McGonagall individually listed all of the topics they'd be covering for the remainder of the term.

"As you can see, each topic will be discussed in detail by your guest lecturers. There will, of course, be tests and assignments given for each topic so you are still required to work hard for this class. Furthermore—" McGonagall lifted her gaze from the curriculum in her hand, glaring pointedly at them over her spectacles.

"—I would like to make one thing perfectly clear. I need not remind you all that this is not a Care of Magical Creatures class. That is to say, the different lecturers you will be meeting in this classroom over the next few months may not be entirely human, but they are certainly not creatures either. This class is a comprehensive study about the different magical races and societies comprising European wizarding society. Thus, all of you are to treat our guest lecturers with the utmost respect." McGonagall's eyes narrowed slightly as she gave them an admonishing look.

"Now then…Our first topic of discussion this week is a particular favorite of most students. Particularly, the boys." McGonagall actually rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh before waving her wand again to write a single word on the board.

Veela.

Draco arched an eyebrow and shared a knowing smirk with Neville beside him.

He noticed that Seamus Finnigan, Anthony Goldstein, and most of the other male students around the room suddenly straightened in their seats and were now listening intently to McGonagall in piqued interest.

"Technically speaking, your first official lecture on this subject was to begin next week and I was supposed to give you a general overview of all the humanoid magical races today. However—" McGonagall paused again and her gaze shot briefly to one of the doors near the front of the classroom. "—seeing as I was fortunate enough to meet with one of your guest lecturers this morning, she agreed to give you an introduction on next week's topic this afternoon."

When the class fell silent and most of the students glanced at each other in confusion, McGonagall directed her attention to the classroom doors again and nodded.

A few seconds later, a tall, slender blonde strode cheerfully into the room, her heels clacking loudly against the polished, wooden floors.

"'allo, everyone! Bonne après-midi!"

Fleur Delacour, still looking as radiant and beautiful as she did four years ago, stopped in front of the classroom and flashed everyone a wide, dazzling smile.

Much like the last time Draco had seen her, she was wearing beautifully tailored robes in a flattering, aquamarine shade and her long blonde hair was twisted up into a neat chignon onto the top of her head, not a single strand of which was out of place.

"I am pleased to be your guest lecturer for this afternoon. I hope you have not forgotten me." She spoke to them in a teasing voice, her words thick with her French accent.

"Ugh, not her again." Pansy muttered under her breath beside Draco, rolling her eyes when she noticed the way most of the boys inside the room were blushing as they stared unabashedly at the tall blonde.

"For those of you who do not know me, my name is Fleur Delacour-Weasley." She smiled and lifted one of her hands, proudly showing off the engagement ring and wedding ring on her finger. "And as you probably guessed, I am a veela." She added, giggling and giving them all a playful wink.

Draco couldn't help but notice the way Fleur's expression changed somewhat and the way her eyes twinkled mischievously when she saw Aria sitting in the middle of the room. When Aria winced and hastily looked away from her, Fleur just smiled again and turned her attention back to McGonagall.

"Instructor Delacour will be your first guest lecturer for this class. She only has enough time to give us a brief introduction today, but she'll continue with a more detailed discussion of the topic next week." McGonagall noticed the way most of the boys were still staring dumbly at Fleur and sighed, shaking her head in exasperation.

"Oui." Fleur agreed with a nod before turning to give the class an apologetic look. "Je suis désolée. I have an important meeting with my associates at Gringotts later so I cannot stay for the entire lesson. But as the Headmistress suggested, I will be able to give you a brief opening dialogue, if you will, about veelas." She explained, giving them another smile.

"Basically, instead of a discussion, Instructor Delacour has so kindly agreed to take part in a question and answer discourse that will dispel most of the common misconceptions some of you may have about veelas. Be sure to make the most out of this opportunity as this will also help you with your research assignment on veela." McGonagall added sternly.

"Professor." Granger's hand immediately shot up into the air. "We don't have a research assignment on veela." She pointed out.

"That's because I haven't assigned it yet, Miss Granger." McGonagall answered flatly, causing a few poorly muffled groans to echo around the small classroom. "It's due next week, just before the start of class. Minimum is 3 feet of parchment. Be sure to include the information you will be learning today from Instructor Delacour. Oh and do mind your footnotes, please."

More groans were heard as Fleur chuckled and settled herself onto the chair behind the teacher's desk situated at the front of the room. She and McGonagall shared one last nod before the Headmistress walked briskly out of the classroom, the heels of her boots fading as she disappeared down the corridor.

As soon as she was gone, Fleur settled back against her seat, folded her hands primly on the table and met everyone's curious stares with a warm smile.

"Before we begin, I would first like to ask…Who among you have encountered – or at least are familiar with – veela?"

Most of the students in the classroom hesitantly raised their hands, including Draco.

"I see." Fleur looked amused as she drummed her manicured fingernails against the table.

"It is important for everyone to realize that, due to the popularity of veela and because of a lot of mistakes in ancient lore, there have always been many false notions about my kind. And I would like to take this opportunity to dispel all – if not, most – of them. So, having said that…" She allowed her voice to trail off and arched an eyebrow at their expectant faces. "Would any of you like to tell me what is it you think you know or have heard about veelas? Anything at all?"

There was a long moment of awkward silence as most of the students shifted in their seats and stared blankly at each other. Finally, after a few minutes, Seamus Finnigan cleared his throat and hesitantly raised his hand.

"They're fair and blonde and bloody gorgeous?" He blurted out, causing a chorus of snorts and snickers to erupt from the class.

Fleur chuckled at everyone's reaction and daintily stifled a smile behind her hand.

"First of all, I would like to point out that not all veelas are blonde." She arched another slim eyebrow and smirked at Aria before quickly looking away. "And not all of them are fair-skinned either. The only reason you may think so is because this is the way contemporary culture has always chosen to portray veela. And probably also because the veela mascots of the Bulgarian quidditch teams are all fair and blonde." Fleur's lips curled slightly with disdain at the thought and she shook her head.

"This is certainly not true. You should know that there are many different types of veela – some with red hair, black hair, brown hair, any color, really. And like I said, not all veelas are fair-skinned. Although, if I am to be completely honest, our skin does have a certain glow that other women will never be able to achieve through any beauty products." Fleur said with a smug, completely unapologetic smile.

"Well...Isn't she a delight?" Pansy muttered with a sneer, rolling her eyes.

Draco couldn't help smirking at the unmistakeable sarcasm he heard in her voice but he didn't dare say anything, knowing full well that Pansy would most likely bury her 5-inch heel into his foot.

After a few more minutes, another eager hand shot up into the air and Fleur nodded, gesturing for Susan Bones to speak.

"Are there any veela men?" She asked.

To everyone's surprise, Fleur didn't bother hiding her amusement at the question as she immediately covered her mouth and giggled. Once she had gotten her laughter under control, she waved her hand and gave a slightly embarrassed Susan an apologetic smile.

"Veelas are all women. There has been no record of a man ever manifesting as a veela. Obviously, there are men who inherit some of their veela mother's features but they themselves will not become veela. This is because the veela gene only manifests in women. If you are a woman and have veela blood in your ancestry, you have a 1/32 chance of becoming a veela as well. No matter how far down the family tree you are from your veela ancestor." Fleur answered.

The class was still silent and taking down notes from her last answer when Granger suddenly raised her hand, waiting for Fleur to nod at her before she began to speak.

"A lot of the old wizarding fairytales I've read always made it seem like veelas are predestined to be with one mate their whole lives, and that if this mate rejects them, they die." She said uncertainly, a frown marring her face.

Fleur's expression immediately soured at Hermione's words.

"This is perhaps the misconception about us veelas that I hate most of all. I don't know why fairytales insist on this nonsense." Fleur answered, her lips twisting into an annoyed scowl. "It is true that when veelas choose a mate, it is for life. However, we are absolutely free to choose whoever we want to mate with. There is no such thing as a 'predestined mate'. Some veela even choose not to have a mate at all. It is entirely and completely her choice."

"So how do veelas go about choosing a mate?" Granger asked again, her eyes wide with keen interest.

"It is quite simple." Fleur answered her with a smile and wink. "An unmated veela is able to sense who her 'compatible mates' are through scent and touch."

Granger looked confused at her answer and she looked as though she was going to ask another question but just as she opened her mouth, Finnigan suddenly raised his hand again and grinned unrepentantly at Fleur.

"So does that mean that for me to score a hot veela girlfriend, I just have to smell good and she has to like touching me?" He asked loudly, causing another chorus of amused snorts and rambunctious laughter to erupt from his classmates.

"In a matter of speaking." Fleur answered, smirking at the mischievous smile on Finnigan's face.

"Different veelas are attracted to different types of men – wizard and muggle alike. It does not matter if he is handsome, rich, smart, tall, fit, pureblood, half-blood or muggleborn. Each veela is different as to what she considers attractive. When an unmated veela touches a compatible mate, her veela instincts take over and may cause her hormones to go crazy. Conversely, if an unmated veela touches a horribly incompatible mate, she is repelled and will, more often than not, get sick."

"Great. Imagine trying to hit on a girl and the minute she shakes your hand, she throws up." Terry Boot muttered loudly to Anthony Goldstein beside him, causing most of the girls to roll their eyes and the boys to snicker under their breath.

From the other end of the classroom, Megan Jones raised her hand and Fleur gave her an encouraging smile.

"Is it true that veelas never age?" She asked, arching her eyebrows in slight disbelief.

"Non." Fleur chuckled and shook her head. "This is another common misconception because of contemporary culture. Veelas are most certainly not immortal, but we do live longer lives and age slower compared to normal witches and wizards. My grandmother, for example, is seventy and yet, her body is biologically only in her forties. What others are not aware of is that once mated, a veela's mate shares her 'prolonged youth and longer life' as well. This is precisely why veelas were often kidnapped by powerful dictators all throughout our history - a topic I will discuss with you in more detail next week." She told them.

"Wow. I seriously gotta get me one of those veelas then." Michael Corner quipped loudly with a grin, not loud enough for Fleur to hear him but loud enough so that Granger, Pansy and the rest of the girls in the nearby vicinity scoffed at him.

"So…Any more common misconceptions?" Fleur briefly checked her watch before turning her attention back to the class. "I believe I still have time to answer a few more questions."

Weasley reluctantly raised his hand, drawing Fleur's attention to him. "The veela gene only manifests upon magical maturity? So I'm guessing this would be around seventeen or eighteen?" He asked.

"That is false, my dear brother-in-law." Fleur smiled at him and leaned back against her seat, primly crossing one ankle over the other.

"There is no fixed age for when a veela first manifests. It has happened for women at many different ages and is completely random. I, myself, manifested at the age of 16. My grandmother, at age 13. My younger sister, Gabrielle, has yet to manifest - though we are still uncertain if she is a veela or not. Only time will tell." She added with a delicate shrug of her shoulder.

"Is it painful to manifest as a veela? You know, with the wings and all?" Weasley pressed further, oblivious to the way Aria was giving him a scathing glare from the seat beside his.

Fleur chuckled at his uncomfortable expression and shook her head. "It is not so much a painful process, but rather quite tiresome. Except perhaps the wings. Those take a few days of endless itching and painful twinges before they completely come out." She admitted with a slight grimace.

"I've read somewhere that veelas can suppress their appearance. Is this true?" Morag suddenly spoke up, raising her hand impatiently from where she sat near the far corner of the room. "I mean, it's common knowledge that veelas are quite stunning but I've also heard a lot of anecdotes that mentioned veelas being able to hide in plain sight by suppressing how they really look." She added.

As Fleur fell silent and contemplated Morag's question, Draco looked up and inadvertently locked gazes with Aria across the classroom.

He noticed that she had gone completely still in her seat, her shoulders taut and her eyes slightly narrowed as she practically burned a hole through the back of Morag's head. When Draco arched an eyebrow at her in query, she blanched and immediately tore her gaze away, staring intently down at her notebook.

"Yes, this is true." Fleur nodded after a long moment, a slight frown tugging at the corner of her cherry-tinted lips. "But if you will allow me, I believe this question requires a bit of further explanation." She paused again and pursed her lips together in thought.

"When a veela first manifests, the magical blood in our veins not only grants us wings, but also automatically 'corrects' all our physical flaws. In other words, our appearance is not really altered, but it is more...er...What is the English equivalent again?" Fleur sighed as she struggled to find the correct word.

"Ah yes, perfected. When a veela first manifests, her physical appearance and flaws are perfected."

"How do you mean?" Morag asked again, looking confused.

"Well...It is similar to what muggles call...plastic surgery?" Fleur laughed when she saw even more confused expressions among the students and rushed to elaborate further. "Imagine every physical flaw or deformity you think you have. So let's say...a crooked nose, bushy hair, poor eyesight, crooked teeth, perhaps a scar? Or varicose veins? All of these and more are magically corrected once a veela manifests. But of course, the transformation also comes with wings, glowing skin and very long, sleek hair. " She explained.

"But then...That kind of unnatural beauty would certainly stand out." Morag pointed out with a slight frown.

"Yes, it would. It is why a lot of veelas prefer to stay in hiding." Fleur agreed with a soft chuckle. "This 'perfected appearance' is what we call our 'true form'. With enough practice, we can keep this form suppressed and retract our wings so that we revert back to our original appearance. This is especially useful if we want to 'hide in plain sight', as you say. Although, suppressing our true form is quite difficult to do for extended periods of time without magically exhausting ourselves." Fleur explained.

"So are you suppressing your true form now?" Morag prodded further, looking intrigued.

"Oui." Fleur's lips twitched into another smirk at the younger girl's directness. "I normally suppress my true form for most of the day when I am not at home. I find it is just easier this way. Besides, I tend to attract a lot more attention if my wings are out."

"If this is her ordinary appearance, I hate to think about how you or all the mindless blokes in this room will start falling all over yourselves when she's in her true form." Pansy muttered under her breath again, loud enough so that Draco could hear her.

"She's not my type." Draco scoffed at the thought and rolled his eyes.

"Like that matters when dealing with these loathsome veela." Pansy retorted.

Draco didn't answer, turning his attention back to the front of the room just as Kevin Entwhistle, the burly Ravenclaw boy beside Morag, raised his hand.

"What about those times when I see those Bulgarian veela mascots get angry? They suddenly get those sharp bird beaks and wrinkly faces? They looked pretty hideous." Entwhistle commented rudely, causing Su Li, the female Ravenclaw sitting beside him, to glare at him from the corner of her eye.

"Ah yes, that." Fleur just chuckled and waved her hand dismissively at the comment. "As you know, veelas are distantly related to harpies, so when we get angry, we may sometimes look like them."

"So you can do that ugly, harpy-face too?" Entwhistle asked again.

This time, Draco saw the way Fleur's left eye involuntarily twitched at the boy's blatant rudeness.

"Yes, I can." Fleur's voice was deceptively saccharine as she looked up and gave Entwhistle an eerily calm smile. "Interestingly, veelas are similar to harpies in terms of magic too. You'd do well to remember this, as veela magic tends to become highly unstable when we get angry." She told him.

To everyone's amusement, Entwhistle shut up immediately at Fleur's words as he swallowed and timidly sank back down into his seat.

"I heard that a veela cannot fully control her allure. Isn't that dangerous? Not just for her but for everyone else around her?" Padma Patil mentioned with a slight frown.

"This is often a source of misunderstanding." Fleur looked troubled at Patil's words and shook her head. "As you all know, the famous veela allure is a bewitchment that entrances males and often puts them in a mindless, lust-induced trance. It is much stronger in unmated veelas, but a fair number of mated veelas have relatively strong allures as well. Yes, it can never be fully 'switched off', but it can be safely managed so as not to be anything other than a mild nuisance."

Fleur seemed to consider something for a few seconds before she nodded and straightened in her seat.

"The allure is actually caused by the magical pheromones emitted by our hair. Observe."

The entire classroom fell silent and watched with bated breath as Fleur reached up and slowly unwound her hair from its tight coil on the back of her head, causing the light blonde tresses to come tumbling down past her shoulders, down her back, all the way to the floor. It wasn't hard to notice how an invisible, magical haze seemed to blanket the entire room after that, causing the eyes of every single male within a ten-foot radius to dilate and then cloud over like an utterly entranced, lovesick zombie.

"As you can see—"

Fleur was smirking as she shook her head and began coiling her long blonde hair back up into her hands.

"—keeping our hair down like this actually releases very powerful pheromones into the air. These pheromones are even stronger when a veela is in her true form. Have you never wondered why all veelas have long hair? It is not simply a matter of preference or aesthetics. We actually cannot cut our hair."

To prove her point, Fleur transfigured the empty water goblet on the table into a pair of scissors and actually tried to cut a stray lock of hair that had fallen into her face. To everyone's amazement, the scissors cracked and Fleur held up the lock of hair again to show that not a single strand had been cut.

"Fortunately, tying our hair up like this and keeping all of the strands locked will diminish most of the effects of the allure, making it manageable enough that most wizards will be able to ignore it. Muggle men, I am not so sure." She added as an afterthought.

While most of the students gasped and chattered loudly amongst themselves, Fleur took advantage of their distraction to finish securing her hair back up onto the top of her head. Afterwards, she turned to smile at the class again, chuckling when she saw that most of the males had finally snapped out of their entranced staring and were shooting each other embarrassed grins.

By now, a very large lightbulb had gone off in Draco's head.

He hadn't been affected at all by Fleur's allure but he did notice that there had been something strangely familiar about the pheromone-induced reactions of his classmates. It wasn't until he glanced at Neville beside him and had seen the other boy's lust-blown pupils up close that everything finally clicked, and he realized that all his male classmates were behaving exactly the way those two Gryffindors, Bentley and Jenson, did when they were about to pounce on Aria in the quidditch pitch.

Draco's eyes narrowed into tiny slits as he glared intently at Aria from the back of the room.

He knew she was aware of the intensity of his stare because the former Gryffindor stiffened in her seat, her shoulders hunched and her lips pressed together into a straight line as she deliberately avoided his eyes.

I can't just be overthinking this. Draco thought to himself, frowning.

While the rest of the class remained distracted and continued to whisper amongst themselves, Granger's hand shot up into the air again, causing Weasley to sigh and roll his eyes.

"Yes, Hermione?" Fleur checked her watch again before nodding at the younger girl. "You can have the last question."

"Is it true that a veela cannot harm her mate?" Granger asked.

The amusement on Fleur's expression slowly vanished, only to be replaced by a forced, indulgent smile.

"This one is true, I'm afraid." She admitted, sighing as she leaned one elbow on the desk and rested her delicate chin on her palm. "Once mated, a veela cannot harm her mate – even if her mate forced the bond, cheats on her, hurts her, or even dies, a veela cannot choose another mate for the rest of her life. This is why there has always been so many incidences of veela abuse nowadays, and why so many of us would rather stay in hiding rather than properly register our status with the Ministry of Magic."

Granger's eyes widened and she looked alarmed as she gave Fleur a strange look.

"So it's actually possible to force a bond?" She asked grimly.

Fleur frowned but she didn't elaborate any further as she suddenly straightened in her seat and began dusting her skirt.

"I'm afraid that is a subject I will have to set aside for next week, as it is quite a lengthy and complicated discussion." She told them, smiling when she saw their looks of disappointment.

"As the Headmistress mentioned, I will be giving a detailed lecture next week on the two most important and most overlooked aspects about veelas – a veela's name and a veela's wings. Ironically, none of you made mention of these two details this afternoon." Fleur pointed out with a slightly arched eyebrow.

"Oh yes, the Headmistress would also like me to remind you about your three foot long essay due next week. Please focus on today's discussion, but feel free to include bits of your own research if you would like some extra credit." She added, giving them a knowing wink.

"Well, I believe that's it for today. À la prochaine, au revoir." Fleur flashed them all one last, dazzling smile as she stood up and folded her hands behind her back, waiting patiently as the 8th years stood up to gather their things and began piling out of the classroom.

As Draco moved to follow Pansy and the rest of their classmates toward the doors, he heard Fleur speak up again and he froze mid-step, glancing curiously over his shoulder to where she stood waiting in front of the teacher's desk.

"Aria?"

Draco shrugged off Pansy's insistent tugging on his arm and moved to stand near the back, behind one of the classroom doors. He crouched slightly and watched as Aria reluctantly hung back from her Gryffindor friends and turned her attention to Fleur.

"May I speak to you in private for a few minutes?"

Fleur didn't say anything else, but judging from the mischievous smile on her face (and the dismayed scowl on Aria's), it was obvious that whatever it was she had to discuss with the younger girl wasn't something Potter was looking forward to.

"Of course, er—Profes—"

"Instructor." Fleur corrected her with a wink.

"—Instructor." Aria rolled her eyes in exasperation but she didn't protest when Fleur giggled and took her by the arm, pulling her towards a private nook in the corner of the classroom.

Undaunted, Draco was debating with himself whether it would be wise to try his luck by hiding behind the teacher's table so he could eavesdrop on their conversation when Pansy suddenly startled him by popping up out of nowhere and snatching his arm.

"Draco, what are you still doing in here?!" She demanded, not even bothering to wait for his answer as she began dragging him impatiently towards the doors. "Blaise said he'd meet us at the Three Broomsticks for dinner this evening, we'd better get going if we want to make it."

"Wait, Pans! I just—I wanted to check on something—"

The last thing Draco saw was Aria turning around and lifting her braid to show Fleur something on the back of her neck before the rest of his protests were cut off as Pansy grabbed his collar and yanked him violently out of the classroom.

Notes: Just a few things:

1. Everything mentioned about Veela in this chapter was completely made up by me for purposes of this story and this story alone so please don't bother pointing out any plot holes or inconsistencies with what veela are in canon.

2. I apologise if I offended anyone with that plastic surgery or 'perfected flaws' discussion, I didn't mean anything bad by it, it's purely for entertainment purposes of this story. ;)

3. Thank you so much to that one guest reviewer who pointed out my mistake about Harry's Firebolt! I looked it up and realized that it was destroyed in book 7 lol. I made the correction already so thanks again!

4. To those asking, I don't actually have an update schedule for this story, though I do try to update at least once a week or every two weeks. The reason updates were so fast before was because chapters 1-9 were all pre-written. This last update took longer because I had to write this chapter from scratch. ;)

As always, reviews, comments and kudos are love!