Please note - all mistakes are my own. I do not currently have a Beta/Alpha to help me correct my horrible grammar.

I do not own the characters created by JK Rowling, nor do I make any profit from this fanfiction.

This is all just fun for me.

Chapter Twenty Five

The next morning was quiet. A few words passed between the two, but Draco felt guilt rising up in him as he woke to find her body distorted on the couch as she slept. Her neck in an awkward position on the back of the couch while her legs were held underneath her. All while he finally caught up on the blessed sleep he had been missing for so long.

When she stood up, stretching and dragging out the stiffness from her limbs, he had turned to avoid watching her. The groan she let out behind him had him stiffening as he waited for her to speak, to question him but surprise smacked him when he could only wish him a good day and excuse herself to get ready for work.

When she left in the flurry of green flames, he stood before the fireplace, leaning against the stone structure as he stared into the emptiness.

The Veela nudged him, flashing a memory from the night before of her hand in his and a brush of lips against her palm. He felt himself freeze as he realized what happened but as an image of the smile on her face came into view, tainted by a soft blush, he couldn't help but feel his muscles loosen. Perhaps, he wondered to himself, ignoring the smug Veela drifting inside of him.

Draco received a response a couple of days later to the letter he had sent out. Too restless to sleep, he grabbed his Floo powder and went straight away to the ministry for an international portkey. His patience thin, and the need to verbalize his thoughts forcing him to move forward faster than most. Thankfully there were still a few things his tainted family's money could buy at any hour.

He arrived in a quaint village outside of Paris. He couldn't remember the name for the life of him, but he could recognize a Nott Manor from miles away. With a small roll of his eyes, he apparated as close as he could to the Manor's protection barriers. He felt the barrier give way as he walked through, and he went to the door. One single knock against the hardwood and then he waited. Glancing back behind him as he waited, he took in the stone of the manor, light in color and worn from years of use. The grounds around the manor were lucious, green with life and the fountain in front was a nice touch. Malfoy couldn't help but smirk when he tried imagining his friend out tending to the hedges.

"Malfoy!" The door was flown open and he found himself tugged inside. Righting himself, he turned to face his mate. "I didn't expect you so soon," Theo Nott grinned as he shook Draco's hand welcoming him inside. His blue eyes shimmering with excitement with his smile stretching across his face, revealing one single dimple. His dark hair, longer than usual but still swept back nicely. Clean and fresh, healthy and happy, Draco realized as he took in his old school friend. "This is Nott Manor 2.0, what do you think?"

"Very French," he smirked at his friend. Theo laughed, a belly laugh that rose through him and came out so carefree that he couldn't help but feel envious of his mate's care free nature. Especially with all the tension still sitting hazardously inside of him.

"Well come in, come in. I have to introduce you to my wife!" Theo led the way through the entry hall to a small dining area before taking him outside onto the veranda. A woman sat at the small outdoor furniture, drinking from a tall glass what looked like some mimosa concoction but as the breeze picked up, the Veela inside Draco rose up and immediately was put on guard. Draco froze mid step as he came to the porch. Uncertainty prickled his skin as she turned her sharp gaze on him, a guarded expression on her face as she took him in.

Draco hears Theo talking to him, introducing this dark haired woman to him, but the words are a jumble against the treacherous growl rising within him from the Veela.

He must have growled a little louder than he imagined because Theo stepped forward, cutting her from his sight. His jovial expression wiped clean as he looked at Draco with a dark look in his eyes.

"Mate, she's my wife -" His voice hard as he stared Draco down.

"Theo," she said as she leaned forward from her seat. A gentle touch on the man's arm and he was putty in her hand. He watched the tension leave Theo with just a simple brush of her fingers. "Theo, he's a Veela." She tried again. Theo's eyes widened to the point that Draco thought they may burst from their sockets, but hearing the words out loud from one of the same breed of creature hit him like a train off the rails.

"No bloody way," Theo breathed but Draco could see the knowledge lighting his expression.

Draco glanced at the woman again. Her eyes were golden, shining just below the surface, as she watched him from her chair. "Please sit," she offered with a gentle sweep of her hand. With the hand touching Theo, she led him to the seat beside her and kissed his cheek. A small reassurance before she turned back to Draco. "Mr. Malfoy, it is a pleasure to meet you." She smiled and he could see the Veela beauty leaking through. "I've heard a great many things about the infamous Draco Malfoy." He winced at the implications in her voice but Theo laughed. "It seems you two were quite the trouble back at Hogwarts," she remarked with her own grin. His eyes flickered to his friend, but he nodded. The table was quiet around them.

"Mate - you're a Veela?"

Draco felt his insides shrinking as he tried to process what was happening, as he sat before a Veela himself. "I found out at the Ministry Gala."

Theo's wife was intelligent. He felt her eyes narrow on him. "You didn't come of age and feel the transformation?" He shook his head. Her eyes spread open and a hand went to her lips. "Mon dieu, you have found your mate!" Wincing, he tried not to listen to the yell that came from Theo as his over sensitive hearing felt as if his ears may rupture from the sheer loudness that encompassed Theo Nott.

"PLEASE TELL ME WHO," he begged as he leaned forward in excitement but his wife gently pushed him back, her shrewd eyes narrowed on the man opposite of them. She gave Theo a look, instantly shutting him up.

"She's… not who I expected." He looked away from the happy couple, constantly touching one another as if their thoughts were one, they didn't even have to speak to know what the other needed and his heart ached. "She knows if we do not cement the bond before my next birthday then I shall die, so she's helping me find a way out of it."

The female laughed then. Her eyes watching him beneath dark lashes. Her mirth left when she found that Draco was not returning her laugh. A dark frown pulled at her features then and unease settled in her stare. "There is no breaking the bond."

Draco looked at her then, unmoved or unphased by her words. "Our histories are smudged with darkness and pain. She fought on the right side of the war and I fought alongside the Dark lord himself. It would be too difficult."

"For her or for you?"

"Both. Our histories are too sordid. We- we would never work."

"Cherie, the bond is irreversible. It is either death or her," she murmured quietly, gently sharing that there was no life without her - but he knew this. It haunted him.

"Then I guess I should spend my fortune before my death," he joked but it fell on deaf ears.

Theo's wife sat forward, her palms coming to rest beneath her chin as she looked at him. "I take it, you do not know much about Veelas? Or the mate bond?"

He nodded sharply. Unsteady ground was before him and he felt the worry start to creep up him again.

"A Veela - mainly female, though on rare occasions a male will pop up- is classified as a creature. Both human and not. We are gifted with heightened sight, hearing, smell, taste, everything. We are part predator with our inhuman speed and strength. We are dangerous but only if the circumstances call for it. A Veela can seduce anyone but they can only love one. Some Veela are gifted with a mate - a magical bond created at birth between a Veela and another. This bond is so unique that no other will be able to fill the Mate's bond if the Veela has discovered her or him." Her eyes narrowed softly. "Mr. Malfoy -"

"Please, call me Draco."

"Then call me, Anna." He nodded his acknowledgement realizing he had been remiss in not catching her name earlier.

"Draco, your mate is literally the other half of your soul. To reject it is to deny part of yourself." Her eyes flickered to Theo. "Theo is my mate and if he dies, I too shall die. That is how close the bond is with mates."

"I don't want her to die!"

"She won't… if you deny the bond, but what I am trying to share with you is that the chance of a million lifetimes lies before you with this. Accept the bond and have the best days of your life. Be fulfilled like nothing has ever done before. It's a magic that even the books cannot share or recreate."

Draco feels himself unraveling, under the golden gaze he finds himself revealing his darkest thoughts. His voice was so quiet, broken in tiny pieces that only her Veela hearing could pick it up. "What if she does not want me?"

"Show her that she does - you are meant to be. It's destiny, fate, whatever you want to call it. You are literally made for one another." She smiled at him then.

"Is the bond forcing her to care for me?"

"The bond does not work like that - it can only show you the person who is your one true mate. It cannot make her care or you care for her. It can only encourage the feelings that have been there all along." She hesitated, glancing at her dark haired husband. A quiet communication passed between them despite words not being said before she turned back to address him. "Draco, do you care for her?"

He bit the inside of his cheek as he stared at her. A knowing smile slid over her face before she snapped her fingers. A smartly dressed house elf, wearing a dress with sunflowers came out with trays of food. "Why don't we have some breakfast and I can try to answer any questions you may have about this new change for you?"

"Thank you," he said quietly as he pulled the napkin from its place beside the dish and folded it over his lap. He felt his nerves tingling over his skin as if he had been hit by a bolt of lighting. Excess energy flowing in his system with no place to go. The Veela was mellower than before, but it recognized a fellow predator when it saw one, so it remained vigilant as Draco started to ask his questions.

For several hours he questioned Anna about the changes that may happen, some of the things that already had, and the mating bond. He felt the unease come from Anna when he asked the latter. A small blush rose across her features and while he knew she was a Veela, he could see why his mate had noticed her. How he could have fallen so hard. She was beautiful, delicate looking but had a fierce tongue which was perfect for dealing with Theo Nott.

"Draco, the mating bond has to be completed through the act of making love." The blood left his face as he heard the words. "There's a ritual that must be performed before, but it cannot be sealed until you consummate your bond."

"There has to be a less…"

"Afraid not."

"Merlin," he hissed, his appetite suddenly gone.

"Come on, Mate - it's not like you haven't done the deed before." Theo teased, lessening the tension on the Veranda. Draco cut his eyes to Theo but unlike most people he was unphased by Draco's glare. Standing, he reached across the table and took Anna's hand in his own. A barely there kiss. The Veela inside curled its lips at having touched anyone beside his mate , but Draco forced his quiet as he tried to show his gratitude.

"Thank you for brunch. And your patience with all of my questions." He smiled gently then. "I truly appreciate it. And good luck," he glanced at Theo. "He's a handful."

She grinned. "I think I can handle him."

"Thank Merlin someone can."

"Hey!"