Chapter 26
Draco hasn't spoken to Aria since he stormed out of her room that day.
To keep himself busy (and mostly to stop himself from wallowing in his own misery and bitterness), Draco alternated his time between his remaining schoolwork and his apprenticeship applications. Graduation was just a few more weeks away, after all, and Draco (as well as all of the 7th years and 8th years) were all busy trying to decide on a suitable career to enter after Hogwarts.
A week after the Yule Ball, the teachers handed out the results of the NEWTs, and Draco was satisfied when he learned that he had gotten high marks for nearly all of the exams he had taken, even topping the exam for Arithmancy. Not surprisingly, the top student for DADA was Aria and the top students for Herbology and Charms were Neville and Hermione Granger, respectively.
Given that most of the classes of the graduating students were already wrapping up, Headmistress McGonagall then announced that she was giving the 8th years and 7th years the last week of school off before their graduation ceremony. She reminded everyone that, as much as possible, they should use the free days to attend to their applications and interviews for their chosen career paths.
Coincidentally, Aria was also discharged from the hospital wing that week; so rather than endure an awkward week of avoiding her in the Slytherin Common Room, Draco decided to leave Hogwarts and spend the break in his flat in London instead.
He figured it was probably best for everyone anyway, seeing as he hasn't exactly been in the best of moods for the past few weeks.
It certainly didn't help that everywhere he looked, he saw his friends being annoyingly sweet with their partners (Blaise was spending more and more of his time with Luna Lovegood; Greg and Astoria were practically joined at the hip; and Pansy and Neville acted like an annoying married couple already); and he wasn't eager to spend another week having to watch them.
During the days he stayed in his flat, Draco spent his mornings monitoring the newspapers for articles about Aria.
Luckily, most of the tabloids seemed to have lost interest in printing ridiculous, outlandish stories about her and had moved on to more recent celebrity scandals (apparently the lead guitarist of the Weird Sisters was photographed in a compromising situation with not one but two women). The only reporter who seemed to persist on writing about Aria was Rita Skeeter. It had even gotten to the point where the ferocity of her defamatory articles about Aria (and the veela community in general) had become so ridiculous that even the Daily Prophet had docked her column from the front page of their newspaper.
Draco did learn from the Prophet that Bentley Fisher was still locked up in the Ministry; and that the Aurors in charge of him were still waiting for Aria's statement before they decide on what formal charges will officially be filed against him. Draco also learned that the Department of Veela Affairs would be holding a public press conference to deliver Aria's statement sometime that week, though no specific details as to the time and place of the event was actually given.
And since he couldn't really ask Aria directly about it, Draco resigned himself to the fact that she probably wouldn't want him there anyway.
It was on the fourth day of Draco's break from school when Narcissa suddenly owled him, inviting him to have breakfast with her in a quaint, little café across the street from his flat. Truth be told, Draco wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone (much less endure his mother's incessant questions about when he was going to start looking for a girlfriend) but he had never really been one to deny his mother anything, so he begrudgingly agreed.
That was how Draco found himself picking at the food on his plate, staring off into empty space as Narcissa sat across the table in front of him, droning on and on about the latest set of draperies she had purchased for one of the sitting rooms in the manor. He wasn't exactly sure how long he'd been sitting there, lost in his own thoughts and deliberately tuning his mother out, but eventually, Draco was broken out of his trance when Narcissa sighed and cleared her throat.
"Hmm?" Draco blinked and looked up, giving her a weary look. "I'm sorry, Mother. I was thinking about something else. What did you say?"
"What is going on with you, darling?" Narcissa frowned in concern, reaching across the table and placing her hand on top of his. "You've been distracted and lost in your own head all morning. Is there a problem? Are you feeling ill?"
"No, it's nothing like that."
Draco felt a little guilty for his behavior.
He forced out a smile, giving Narcissa's fingers a reassuring squeeze. "I was just thinking about a lot of things. It's just, with graduation coming up, and having to worry about my apprenticeship applications—"
"Is this about you and Aria Potter?"
Draco's eyes widened, and he flushed under his mother's knowing smirk.
"How did you—"
"Oh please. I'm not ignorant, darling." Narcissa rolled her eyes at him and leaned back against her seat, taking a dainty bite of her food before dabbing primly at the side of her mouth with her table napkin. "I saw the newspaper articles; I read all about how you supposedly had a 'fling' with Aria Potter. Well, actually, if those tacky tabloids are to be believed, you and a lot of other boys from Hogwarts. But knowing Aria Potter, and knowing you, that wasn't the case at all was it?"
Draco sighed and looked away.
"I don't really want to talk about it."
Narcissa ignored his response and arched a slim blonde eyebrow, inspecting his features closely. "And given the fact that Rita Skeeter is about as trustworthy as a snake, I can only assume that all those other supposed flings she claimed Aria had with all those boys at Hogwarts was rubbish, wasn't it? Would Aria really do something like that?" She asked.
Draco's eyes flashed and his jaw clenched with anger at her words.
"Of course not! Aria would never—"
"I see." Narcissa's lips twitched into a smile. "I can only assume from your reaction that you care about her a lot. So why don't you tell me the truth, darling. Are you in love with Aria Potter?"
When Draco gaped at her, completely stunned as to how she arrived at that deduction without him actually saying anything, Narcissa's eyes narrowed and she gave him an accusing glare.
"I cannot believe you." She set her fork down noisily onto her plate and scowled at him. "Exactly when were you planning to tell me all this? You know how much I adore that lovely girl." Narcissa's eyes suddenly sparkled with delight. "And she's a veela too, I adore veelas. Think of how lovely my little veela grandchildren will be! Your great-great Aunt Dorea was a veela, you know. Well, I suppose that makes sense, Aria is Dorea's direct descendant after all so she probably got the veela gene from her—"
As Narcissa continued to ramble excitedly, Draco reached up and massaged his temples in exasperation.
"I would absolutely love to see her again, Draco. Do you think she'd fancy joining us for a cup of tea this week—"
Draco immediately cut her off.
"Don't get too excited, Mother." He scoffed, taking a sip from his tea to wash away the bitter taste in his mouth. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you can forget all about your 'lovely veela grandchildren'."
"Oh but why—"
"I'm pretty sure Aria dumped me."
Narcissa's beaming smile slowly melted away at his words. Her shoulders slumped as she sighed and stared at him, studying his expression in concern.
"What happened?" She asked gently.
At the soft, comforting tone of Narcissa's voice, Draco swallowed the lump in his throat and forced himself to speak.
He told her everything that happened; from the mysterious, beautiful stranger he met at Hogs Head at the start of the year; the way he and Aria had ended up admitting their attraction to one another in the Forbidden Forest; all the way until the events of the Yule Ball (where Aria had basically outed their relationship to everyone just minutes before Fisher started attacking them; and how, in the end, Aria had been forced to make Draco her mate to save his life).
When he finally finished telling Narcissa everything, Draco realized he was exhausted (both physically and emotionally); and he was more than ready to go back to his flat, crawl under the covers of his bed and mope all day.
Narcissa instantly noticed his dejected expression and reached up, caressing his cheek in comfort.
"Oh sweetie." She sighed, leaning back against her chair and giving him a long suffering look. "From how I understand it, she already made you her mate. Why are you still being so stubborn about all this?"
"Haven't you been listening, Mother?" Draco glared impatiently at her and looked away. "She never wanted me as her mate. She only extended the mating call to me that night to save me. It was out of pity." He said bitterly.
"And Aria said that, did she?"
"Well, no, not exactly." Draco acquiesced, frowning. "But I'm pretty sure that's the case. Aria never wanted a mate before all this. She's always made that perfectly clear to me from the very beginning."
Narcissa sighed again.
"I doubt that, Draco."
"Then why did she tell me to reject the mating call that day?" Draco pointed out.
To his confusion, Narcissa's features softened and she answered him with a fond smile. "She was probably just overwhelmed by it all. And to be honest, I can't really blame her. I mean, you do realize the significance of this whole thing to a veela, don't you?"
Draco glared defiantly at her.
"Of course I do—"
Narcissa raised a hand to prevent him from interrupting her.
"The trick is to look at the argument from Aria's point of view, darling." She spoke in a calm, soothing voice. "Think about it. Aria can never mate with anyone else ever again. You are 'it' for her; and unless she decides to sever the connection by cutting off her wings, she's bound to you for the rest of her life."
"No, she isn't." Draco countered fiercely, sneering to himself and shaking his head. "There are plenty of other veelas who were able to marry other men. Aria certainly doesn't have to 'settle' for me. I mean, look at Blaise's mother—"
"Ilyana Zabini is hardly the best example to emulate for veelas, Draco. Besides, if you think that Aria would be 'settling' by being with you, then clearly you don't quite understand the true concept of a veela's mate."
He frowned at his mother in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Narcissa gave him an exasperated smile, looking a little worn out by his stubbornness.
"Yes, Aria can still choose to be with other men—"
Draco flinched; and his jaw involuntarily clenched at the thought.
"—but they will never be as fulfilling for her as being with you would. She's a veela, Draco, and by choosing you as her mate, she essentially conditioned both her mind and her body to believe that you're the only one for her. She can never have a child with anyone other than you. Her veela blood will always yearn for you, and even if she did cut off her wings to sever the bond, she will never be satisfied or truly happy with anyone else now. Do you understand?" Narcissa explained gently.
When Draco remained silent and refused to answer her, Narcissa went on.
"I'm pretty sure Aria knew all of this when she made you her mate that night. She wouldn't have made such a decision that lightly, even if it was to save your life."
Unsure of what to say in response to that, Draco stared sullenly at his cup of tea.
He felt so horribly...conflicted.
A part of him was still convinced that Aria had only extended the mating call to him out of pity — or worse, that heroic tendency of hers that made her save every poor soul she came across. But another part of Draco desperately wanted to believe what Narcissa was saying — that Aria did feel something more for him than she let on.
He remembered the softness in Aria's eyes when she had kissed him in front of everyone during the Yule Ball. The expression on her face had been unusually tender, and there was something different about her smile.
She had never smiled like that at him before.
But then, Bentley Fisher happened and all hell had broken loose before Draco could try to understand what it meant.
"Then there's your wand."
Draco startled at his mother's words and looked up.
"My wand?" He echoed.
Narcissa gave him a curious look. "You mentioned in your last letter that your old hawthorn wand is suddenly working perfectly for you again, did you not?"
Draco nodded; but he continued to give her a confused look.
"That wand hasn't worked for you since the end of the war. Didn't you find it strange that it suddenly works now?" Narcissa pointed out.
"I didn't really think much about it." He admitted.
Narcissa shook her head at his answer and let out a disappointed sigh. "I forgot that they removed basic wandlore from the list of required subjects to take at Hogwarts a few years ago."
"How is this even related to anything?" Draco demanded, finally losing his patience.
His mother gave him a pointed look. "The reason your wand wasn't working for you before is because its loyalty was still with Aria; and even though she returned it after the war, it wouldn't have just changed loyalties without you disarming her or winning a duel against her. Seeing as you did neither, I'm pretty sure that wand still answers to her."
"So then why—?"
"The only reason I suspect for your wand to be working perfectly for you again is that it probably already considers you and Aria as the same person."
Draco stared blankly at her.
"It means she loves you, darling."
The words reached him, but Draco wasn't sure he heard right. He shook his head in disbelief until Narcissa chuckled and reached across the table again, giving his fingers another comforting squeeze.
"Do you love her?" She asked.
Draco bit his lip and carefully averted his eyes, lowering his dejected gaze to his feet.
"I'm crazy about her."
Narcissa's smile widened, and her eyes grew soft as she studied the forlorn expression on his face.
"Then what exactly are you two still fighting about?" She pointed out in a gentle, cajoling voice.
Draco was silent again as he mulled over her words.
He wasn't sure if he was ready to believe her.
The more he thought about it, the more Draco realized that Aria never really talked about her feelings before (and every time their past conversations even ventured near the topic, she would always change the subject); so he had absolutely no idea how she felt about him — or if she even cared about him at all.
And to be honest, he was too much of a coward to ask her all of this himself.
With a defeated sigh, Draco looked up and decided to divert the expectant look on Narcissa's face with a small, wry smile.
"You're really fond of her, aren't you?" He teased.
"Now what kind of silly question is that? Am I fond of the brave young girl who defeated the wizard who made our lives miserable, saved my son's life twice, and kept my entire family out of Azkaban?" Narcissa scoffed at him and pretended to look offended by his question. "Of course I'm fond of her, Draco. And I'm not even counting the fact that she has a bit of Black blood in her too."
In spite of himself, Draco's lips twitched at her answer.
"So, pray tell, how can I be sure that you trying to convince me to make up with Aria isn't just a manipulative, clever ploy of yours to get those 'lovely veela grandchildren' you just mentioned?"
Narcissa just shrugged and smiled back smugly at him.
"Would it matter?" She countered.
Draco snorted at that, leaning back against his seat and taking another sip of his tea.
He didn't say anything else after that, but thankfully, Narcissa seemed to understand the sudden change in his mood and didn't push him any further on the subject. She shifted the rest of their conversation to lighter topics, and, much to his chagrin, she began regaling him with stories once more about all the latest remodelling efforts she had completed for the manor while Draco was away at Hogwarts.
He was relieved when Narcissa mentioned that she had plans to meet up with a few of her friends after breakfast; so that meant Draco didn't have to worry about making up an excuse to avoid accompanying her on another one of her impromptu shopping sprees around London.
After some thought, Draco decided to make use of his afternoon to go to the Ministry instead. Not only did he need to pass by a few shops on his way there, but more importantly, he still needed to submit his application to the Wizengamot for his upcoming apprenticeship course after graduation. Luckily, the elderly secretary who worked at the Wizengamot office at the Ministry was more than accommodating, and it didn't take Draco long to finish submitting all of his requirements.
By the end of the day, as Draco was making his way out of the crowded elevator back into the Ministry's atrium, he stopped when he caught sight of the massive assembly of reporters sitting around the fountain in the very center of the hall. From the excited reactions of the other Ministry visitors who happened to pass by, it wasn't hard for Draco to guess who everyone was staring at.
Draco pulled the hood of his cloak down, covering his face from view, before slowly making his way towards the crowd.
Sure enough, when Draco managed to find a seat in the middle of all the spectators and reporters around him, he looked up and saw an uncomfortable-looking Aria (in her true form, with her hair up and her wings out) seated at the very middle of a long table that had been placed on a small, elevated platform in front of the Ministry fountain. There were a couple of older-looking veela women (also in their true forms) seated at the table on either side of her; and judging from their uniforms, Draco could only guess that they were all representatives from the Veela Affairs Department of the Ministry. Blaise's mother, Ilyana Zabini (the only veela at the table who didn't have any wings) was seated on Aria's right. She was currently instructing the group of Aurors standing in front of the crowd to keep the reporters a safe distance away from the platform.
A few minutes later, after everyone finally settled down, Aria straightened in her seat and began to speak.
"Good afternoon, everyone."
She managed an awkward half-smile at her audience.
"My name is Harriah Potter. And as you probably already know, I am a veela."
A soft chorus of amused chuckles erupted from the crowd, and even Draco couldn't help cracking a small smile.
Aria continued. "The veela gene came from my father's side. I manifested shortly after the war ended, and I've been hiding my identity from the public ever since." She winced and held a hand up to cover her eyes when a bright flash clicked at her from a nearby camera. "I have my own personal reasons for doing this, so I won't go into details anymore. What I can disclose is that...Well, to be honest, I haven't really acquainted myself with the full extent of my abilities as a veela just yet; and I still have a lot to learn about how my being a veela will change how I interact with the rest of magical society."
She paused and waited until the murmurs and whispers that rippled through the crowd died down before she spoke again.
"The real reason I'm here today, however, is because I would like to clarify, once and for all, what really happened between me and Bentley Fisher on the night of the Hogwarts Yule Ball — as well as all the events that led up to the incident."
Aria proceeded to give a full, detailed account of everything that happened that night, and Draco watched as all the reporters around him listened intently to her, scribbling everything Aria was saying into their gigantic notepads. Eventually, when Aria finished narrating her story and Ilyana Zabini opened the floor for questions, a tall, mousy-faced reporter sitting near the front of the assembly raised his hand.
"Does that mean you'll be pressing charges against Mr. Fisher after all?" He asked.
"I will be pressing charges, yes. Not just assault charges, but also for his failed attempt to force me to mate with him." Aria answered.
Another reporter, a beady-eyed, stocky woman who sat near the back, spoke up.
"You are aware, Miss Potter, that the vampire community is pushing for a lighter sentence? They were able to prove Mister Fisher's fixation on you, after all, and they insist that his actions that night were simply the result of his growing psychological obsession towards you. Are you not worried about drawing any resentment from them?" She pointed out.
Aria frowned and arched a single eyebrow at her. "I'd like to be clear about this — my decision about Bentley Fisher has nothing to do with how I feel about vampires or the vampire community. I hold nothing but respect for them, and in fact, a few friends of mine are vampires themselves. I just don't think that just because Fisher happens to be a vampire, he should be allowed to get away with his actions. He hurt a lot of people that night, myself included. And ultimately, he was the one who allowed his fixation with me to become something so violent and destructive. I'm sure plenty of other vampires have had similar fixations on other people before, but we've heard no such violent attacks from them, have we?" She pointed out.
The beady-eyed reporter fell completely silent at Aria's words, and Draco was amused when he saw the stupefied look on her face as she sat back down into her seat. Aria went on and turned to address the crowd with an irritated look.
"And besides, in the same way that magical society likes to hold veelas accountable for their allure, wouldn't you all agree that it's only fair to also hold vampires accountable for their fixations? Or more importantly, their powers?"
There was an uncomfortable silence that followed, and none of the reporters looked as though they were inclined to answer. Before Aria could continue, however, another reporter from the crowd suddenly spoke up in a loud, obnoxiously saccharine voice.
"The difference between vampires and veelas, Miss Potter—"
Rita Skeeter stood up, a sarcastic smile on her face as she sashayed her way through the crowd until she was standing directly in front of Aria.
"—is that vampires can easily blend into society without causing trouble. Whereas veelas, because of their sexual...proclivity...towards men, tend to cause tension and strife wherever they go. Wouldn't you agree?" She smiled sweetly.
To Draco's surprise, Aria didn't take the bait.
Instead, she shrugged and answered Rita Skeeter's question with a small, knowing smile. "If there's one very important thing I learned this year, Miss Skeeter, it's that we shouldn't judge other people based on flimsy stereotypes. If I'm not mistaken, that's how wars tend to start out...Wouldn't you agree?" Aria spoke her last three words in the exact same, faux sweet voice that Skeeter had used on her just moments before.
Skeeter gaped at her, clearly not expecting such a polite, amicable response.
Her surprise was short-lived, however, because a few seconds later, Aria's eyes narrowed, and the smile on her face became vicious.
"By the way, while we're on the subject of stereotypes, Miss Skeeter, may I also point out that the stories you published about me in your column were very misleading — bordering on libelous, actually. If that doesn't stop soon, I may have to press charges against you too." Aria said cheerfully.
Skeeter stuck her nose in the air. "I'll have you know, Miss Potter, that I never publish anything that doesn't hold a modicum of truth. I happen to have journalistic integrity."
"You made a lot of unfair, judgmental allegations against me, my classmates, and my fellow veelas. The statements you published were just biased and completely unjustified. Did you even research any of them?" Aria pointed out.
Skeeter gave Aria a haughty, defiant look. "I cannot reveal my sources."
"Is that so?" The smile on Aria's face was positively serpentine as she leaned forward and folded her arms over the table. "It's also quite hypocritical of you, don't you think? Especially since, based off these records of ours—"
Aria held a hand out, waiting patiently as the red-headed veela sitting to her left handed her a thick white folder. Smirking, Aria turned her attention back to Rita Skeeter as she flipped the folder open, scanning lazily through its contents.
"—you've been ordering beauty and age glamour potions made from veela hormones and regularly going to St. Mungo's for skin enhancements using veela blood for the past decade now."
At the sound of the sharp gasps and amused snickers from the crowd, Aria snapped the folder shut and set it back down onto the table. She looked up and met the horrified expression on Skeeter's face with another smile. "If I recall, you mentioned in your last article about how you thought veela magic was 'absolutely abhorrent', and that our beauty was simply a 'magical illusion' created to distract people from our 'manipulative nature'." She drawled.
"Y—you...How dare you—" Skeeter cut herself off with an indignant screech and covered her mouth with her hands. "Those records are private! How did you even get your harpy claws on those?!"
"Oh, so you admit that they're yours?" Aria asked innocently.
"I will sue you for defamation, Potter!"
Draco stiffened in alarm when Skeeter suddenly snatched her wand from her purse, shoving past the other reporters in front of her as she made her way to where Aria was seated. She didn't get far though, because as soon as she neared the elevated platform and raised her wand, Aria just arched an eyebrow at her and raised a hand up into the air. With a twirl of her index finger, Aria sat back and watched as Skeeter immediately stilled in her tracks and looked up, staring at her with a flabbergasted look on her face.
A few seconds later, Skeeter gasped as the skin under her eyes immediately began to darken, and her cheeks began to sag with long, heavy wrinkles. The elegant bridge of her nose gave away, followed by her thick, perfectly-styled blonde curls turning a dull, gray color as they began to straighten, hanging limply down her shoulders. It wasn't long before the rest of her veela enhancements began to fade away after that, revealing her age and exposing Skeeter's actual appearance.
As more and more of the reporters around them (especially the ones who were from the gossip tabloids) began laughing amongst themselves and taking pictures of Skeeter, she stifled a panicked scream and hastily covered her face. She glared furiously at Aria one last time before she whirled around, her high heels clicking as she ran as fast as she could back towards the Ministry building.
As soon as she was gone, Aria turned her attention back to the crowd.
"I didn't realize she had so many enhancements."
Surprisingly enough, everyone (including the older veelas who sat beside her) just laughed at her words. Shrugging, Aria leaned back against her seat and continued with the rest of her statement.
"The last thing I would like to clarify — for the sake of all those who were mentioned in Skeeter's article about the Yule Ball — is that I did not sleep with any of the young men she mentioned; nor did I seduce any of them with my veela allure. And if any of you don't believe me, you can question me under veritaserum or you can talk to any of those mentioned, and they can confirm that I'm telling the truth."
Another trail of whispers rang out from the reporters gathered in front of Draco, and he watched as one of them stood up and called Aria's attention.
"So then...Are you saying that you're not currently romantically involved with anyone?"
Aria blinked, looking a little taken back by the question. Then, to Draco's surprise, Aria's green eyes dimmed slightly, and a small, sad smile began to form on her lips.
"I was romantically involved with someone this year, but my being a veela has nothing to do with that." She admitted softly.
Draco held his breath.
There was a brief moment of surprised silence, followed by a smattering of loud, excited murmurs from the crowd. Another reporter, a witch who looked to be in her forties and had a motherly look about her, spoke up this time.
"Based on my personal research about what happened, Miss Potter, would this 'someone' you're referring to be former Death Eater and fellow schoolmate of yours, Draco Malfoy? The son of another convicted Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy? Is he the one you were dating?"
Draco stiffened, watching intently as one corner of Aria's lips gave a brief twitch that he wasn't quite sure how to interpret.
"Yes." She answered.
A collective gasp echoed through the crowd, and the reporter who had spoken waited patiently for everyone's excited whispers to quiet down before she continued.
"Is he your mate?" She asked.
Aria considered her question for a few seconds; but she eventually let out a resigned sigh and slowly shook her head.
"No."
Draco couldn't force himself to watch anymore.
Swallowing the painful lump in his throat, he looked away from Aria and sat up from his seat. He had already made his way out of the crowd when Aria's next few words stunned him and drew his gaze back to her.
"I did extend the mating call to him, but he hasn't affirmed the bond yet." She added quietly.
The female reporter who asked the question stared at her in surprise. "You mean he hasn't accepted you yet? Why not?"
"Because we're both idiots, I suppose." Aria shrugged and answered her with a tired, self-conscious smile. "We both made some stupid mistakes; did some things, said some words we didn't mean and...we ended up hurting each other."
With that, Aria suddenly turned to Ilyana and gave her a very discreet nod. Apparently, Ilyana knew what it meant because she immediately stood up from her seat and gestured to the other veelas sitting at the table.
"I believe that's all the time Miss Potter has allotted for us today." Ilyana announced, smiling graciously as she motioned for the Aurors around the area to begin clearing a path for Aria to walk through. "If any of you have any other concerns, feel free to contact myself or any other of my fellow spokespersons—"
Draco was no longer listening.
As the witches and wizards around him slowly dispersed, Draco began to panic that Aria might see him. He pulled the hood of his cloak lower to hide his face and hastily began making his way out of the main atrium. Unfortunately, just as he reached the middle of the lobby, a familiar voice suddenly called out to him, forcing Draco to stop in his tracks.
"You actually draw more attention to yourself by skulking around suspiciously like that."
The words were spoken softly, without any hint of mirth or teasing in them, but Draco recognized them easily, and he was overwhelmed with a wave of deja vu. Those were the exact same words Aria, disguised as her veela self, had first spoken to him when they met each other in Hogsmeade that night.
With a sigh, Draco allowed his hood to slide back from his face and slowly turned around to face her.
As soon as Draco stormed out of her room that day, Aria realized her mistake, and she wanted to take everything back.
Her veela self screamed at her, and every single muscle in her body ached to follow her mate. With each passing second, the longing in her heart began to intensify into such a sharp, persistent ache that Aria gasped sharply and clutched her hand to her chest.
Draco didn't reject the bond like she expected him to, but to watch him walk away from her like that was almost just as painful; and Aria finally came to understand why a lot of veelas end up cutting off their wings when rejected by their mates.
But she didn't follow him.
Because Aria was stubborn that way; and her stupid pride made her stay right where she was.
The next few weeks that she spent recovering were torture.
Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let her leave the bed until her wing finished healing, so she had to rely on Ron, Hermione, and Neville to drop by every day to give her the required readings and assignments she missed in her classes.
As the days went by, Aria was relieved to see that Hermione seemed to have adjusted well to her vampirism. Admittedly, the brunette did look a little peaky from time to time, but Hermione explained that it was just an unfortunate side effect of her body adjusting to her regular intake of the Sanguine potion, so Aria allowed her worries to slide.
A week before Aria was discharged, Ilyana Zabini dropped by again to personally give her the details of the press conference they arranged for her at the Ministry. She also oriented Aria about the specific issues she needed to publicly address and gave her a basic outline of how her statement should flow.
As graduation drew nearer and nearer, Aria found herself growing anxious with anticipation.
She immediately went looking for Draco as soon as she was released from the hospital wing; only for Blaise to tell her that Draco had actually left Hogwarts to stay at his flat in London for the week.
It stung a little bit, knowing that Draco was avoiding her.
Unfortunately, she didn't get much time to think about it because a few days later, while Aria was in the middle of having lunch with the Slytherins in the Great Hall, an entourage of Veela representatives suddenly arrived at Hogwarts. A small contingent of Aurors arrived with them, ready to escort Aria to her press conference at the Ministry of Magic that afternoon.
There was a large crowd of spectators already waiting for them when they arrived. Aria waited until the Aurors managed to clear a small path for her before she slowly made her way over to the elevated platform in front of the large fountain of the Ministry's atrium lobby.
She was surprised at how smoothly the press conference went.
After Aria introduced herself; finished detailing the events that happened during the Hogwarts Yule Ball; and confirmed that she was going to press charges against Bentley Fisher, Ilyana Zabini eventually cleared her throat and opened the floor for questions.
Thankfully, most of the reporters (with the exception of Rita Skeeter, for obvious reasons) kept their questions confined to the topics that Aria had agreed to discuss beforehand.
Sometime in the middle of the conference, while Aria was talking to one of the reporters near the front, her veela senses tingled; and she felt a strange, magnetic pull from somewhere in the middle of the crowd. It called out to her veela blood, warm and soothing, drawing her towards it like a moth to a flame. She allowed herself to follow the pull for awhile, her eyes scouring through the sea of faces before her until she finally found herself staring at her mate's hooded figure behind a tall row of photographers.
Draco looked...defeated.
He didn't notice that Aria had seen him — probably because he wasn't even staring directly at her, almost as though he was afraid that she would lash out at him if she noticed that he was there.
As the conference continued, Aria's gaze kept flicking to Draco.
The sight of his hunched shoulders, and the way he looked as though he was about to leave when Aria mentioned his name caused something in her chest to squeeze painfully. Suddenly, she realized how utterly ridiculous this whole thing was — what they were doing to each other — and she didn't care anymore if they both made mistakes or which one of them was wrong.
All Aria knew was that, veela or not, she loved Draco.
She needed him to know that.
Even at the risk of him possibly rejecting her for real this time.
As soon as the conference was over, she rushed toward him, shoving through the crowd of persistent reporters that blocked her way. When she finally caught up to him, just as he reached the middle of the atrium lobby, Aria spoke.
"You actually draw more attention to yourself by skulking around suspiciously like that."
Draco stilled at her words.
She wasn't sure how long it took him to turn around and face her. It might have been seconds, but to Aria, it felt like years. When their gazes finally met and she found herself staring directly into his gray eyes, she felt dizzy; and her heart began pounding so rapidly in her chest that she found it hard to breathe.
"What are you doing here?"
Draco looked startled by her question; and Aria winced.
That wasn't what she wanted to say at all, but her brain had completely blanked out.
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, desperately stalling for time until she could work up the courage to tell him exactly what she wanted to say. After a long moment of awkward silence, Draco sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his cloak.
"I just finished submitting my application for my apprenticeship courses under the Wizengamot this summer." He answered quietly.
"Wizengamot?" Aria paused, blinking at him in surprise. "I thought you still had to complete your community service after graduation?"
"I do." Draco avoided her eyes and focused his gaze on the Ministry fountain over her shoulder. "That's why I signed up for the evening classes. My community service hours are during the morning anyway." He explained.
"That sounds...exhausting." Aria stared uncertainly at him.
"No more exhausting than your Auror training." Draco shrugged and answered her with a small, self-conscious smile. "And besides, it's just two years anyway. I figured it was a much better use of my time, especially if I want to start redeeming my family name."
"I...see."
Aria smiled at the thought, her gaze soft as they lingered on Draco's features. When he ducked his head and blushed under her stare, Aria hastily tore her eyes away and fidgeted with her hands.
"So...Magical law, huh? I saw that you took the NEWTs for that, so I suppose it makes sense." She looked up and gave him a teasing grin. "Is there any particular field you plan on specializing in?"
Draco met her smile with a wry smirk. "I haven't really given it much thought yet; but I suppose...Civil Magical Relations."
His answer made Aria's smile widen slightly.
"Civil Magical Relations...So...Laws that govern the relationships between wizards, veelas, vampires, werewolves, and all other magical creatures?" She chuckled when she saw the way Draco reddened at the amusement in her voice. "Do you really find us freaks that fascinating?"
Draco's lips twitched at her quip.
"Well, it would make sense for me to specialize in a field that I have first hand experience with." He drawled.
There was another long moment of silence that followed, and Aria frantically wracked her brain for something else to talk about so she could keep the conversation going. She eventually gave up and looked away, lowering her gaze to the floor.
"Blaise told me you might be going to the Ministry sometime this week. I was really hoping to run into you." She began softly.
To Aria's dismay, Draco didn't say anything.
Instead, he frowned and seemed to stare uncomfortably at something over her shoulder. Aria followed his gaze and, when she noticed the growing crowd of curious onlookers that had gathered around them, she let out a frustrated curse under her breath. From the notebooks and cameras in their hands, Aria realized that they were the same reporters from her press conference and that they probably tailed her when she chased after Draco following her hasty exit.
Aria shook her head and forced herself to ignore their audience.
Clearing her throat, she waited until Draco hesitantly turned his attention back to her before she continued. "Draco, I'm sorry for everything I said that day in the hospital wing. I was needlessly harsh that day. And...I'm sorry for lying to you about who I was. It was never my intention to hurt or deceive you."
She bit her lip, scrambling to find the right words to convey exactly what she felt, but she was forced to stop when Draco suddenly spoke.
"I'm sorry too." He said softly, giving her a contrite look. "I never should have written down your name or kept your feather; and I never should have kept it a secret from you. If it wasn't for me, Fisher would have never been able to hurt you, and you probably wouldn't have been forced to out yourself to everyone like this."
"It's probably better this way." Aria managed a weak smile and answered him by lifting one of her wings in an imitation of a shrug. "At least now, I don't have to hide my appearance anymore. It was getting kind of tiresome anyway."
Draco arched an eyebrow; and his eyes flicked to her arms in belated realization.
"You're not wearing your gloves...?"
"Oh." Aria glanced down at her bare hands and chuckled before folding them neatly behind her. "I don't actually need to wear gloves anymore. Only unmated veelas need to wear them, and since I already—"
She blushed and cut herself off, tearing her gaze away from his when her words inadvertently caused Draco to stiffen.
They stared awkwardly at each other, all of the unspoken words that needed to be said hanging uncomfortably in the air between them, but neither of them knew how to proceed. Finally, when the silence became unbearable, Aria took a deep, shaky breath.
"Draco, there's something you have to know."
In Aria's nervousness, her voice cracked; and the sound of it was so unexpected that Draco frowned and stared at her in concern. Flushing with embarrassment, she swallowed and forced herself to continue.
"You have to know that I didn't make you my mate that night just because I wanted to save your life. It was so much more than that. I—"
Aria was interrupted when a small group of squealing middle aged witches suddenly crowded around her, forcefully separating her from Draco. They gushed excitedly about how they were big fans of hers and begged her for an autograph, but Aria barely paid them any attention. She watched as the expectant expression on Draco's face fell, and he shifted awkwardly a few times before beginning to back away from the growing circle of fans around her.
"It's okay. You're obviously busy right now." Draco massaged the back of his neck and glanced toward the exits. "I should probably go then. We can talk about it at school when I get back."
He had already turned around and walked a good distance away from her when Aria suddenly surprised herself by rudely pushing past the crowd of chattering witches around her. She ignored their affronted protests and broke out into a run, weaving her way through the busy sea of Ministry officials walking past the hallway of the atrium lobby. When she finally reached Draco, he was already stepping into one of the floo exits; and in a desperate bid to make him stay, she stopped directly behind him and blurted out what she wanted to say all along.
"I made you my mate because I love you."
Draco stopped.
He turned around very slowly, staring at Aria with a strange, expression on his face that almost made her want to run away; but she didn't falter. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest, and she felt so unbelievably raw and exposed and vulnerable as she stood there, but still, she stayed exactly where she was.
Aria looked up and slowly met his gaze.
"And...I'm sorry."
Her voice broke, and she winced, clenching both of her hands into fists.
"I'm so sorry it took me so long to tell you that."
She hesitated, biting her lower lip when it began to tremble.
"I don't have a lot of happy memories growing up; and from past experience, the people I love...tend to get hurt...or even die on me. A-and I was so afraid that if I admitted to myself...how I felt about you...Something really bad would happen that would take you away and I would end up losing you too."
The tears that had been pooling in her eyes finally spilled over, rolling heavily down her cheeks, and no matter how much she tried, she couldn't make them stop. She blinked rapidly and reached up, furiously wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. When she tried to look away, she accidentally met Draco's gaze again; but when she saw the way his gray eyes had softened as he stared at her, the last of Aria's restraint over her emotions finally broke down, and she began to cry softly.
"I'm...sorry."
Aria closed her eyes and turned around, wrapping her arms protectively around herself.
Her wings closed in around her, shielding her face from view; but before she could walk away, she felt a pair of strong arms wrapping tightly around her, turning her back around and gently coaxing her wings open. A few seconds later, she found herself pressed firmly against a warm, hard chest.
"You silly veela."
Draco's half-amused, half-exasperated whisper sounded thick with tears of his own as he pulled her closer against him, one of his hands tenderly caressing the back of her head while his other hand caught Aria's chin and tilted her face back up towards his.
He leaned in, pressing his lips against hers and kissing her over and over again.
"You're never going to lose me, because I'm not going anywhere."
She tried to speak, but when it came out as a choked sob, Draco's arms tightened around her and he leaned down, hushing her softly as he cupped her face with his hands and caressed her cheeks. "You're stuck with me, Potter...And even if you eventually tell me that you hate me and scream at me and tell me to go to hell, I will never leave you. Because I love you too. So damn much."
Aria tried to speak again, but Draco took advantage of her parted lips and kissed her, and she forgot all about what she wanted to say. She linked her arms around his neck, arching up desperately against him until she could feel his heartbeat against her chest, pounding just as rapidly as hers.
"I'm sorry too." Draco whispered brokenly as he pulled away and began tracing gentle, soothing kisses along her tear-streaked face. "For everything. I never meant for you to get hurt, and I just—"
Aria pulled him back down and silenced the rest of his apology with another kiss.
They were both still crying and laughing, completely oblivious to the incredulous stares of all the Ministry officials and the growing horde of squealing reporters around them, when they pulled away, but neither of them cared. Draco smiled as he cupped Aria's face in his hands, using his thumbs to wipe away the tears that lingered under her eyes. When she smiled back at him, he closed his eyes and leaned in, resting his forehead gently against hers.
"May I...Please?"
Strangely, Aria knew exactly what he meant.
Without any hesitation, she nodded slowly and closed her own eyes, taking a deep inhale of breath to ready herself for what was going to happen. Draco kissed her again, pulling her closer against him.
He whispered the next few words reverently against her lips.
"All -o cin im shall aeda- a beri-."
The words resonated with something deep in the very recesses of Aria's magic, and she felt a strange, calming warmth enveloping her entire body. Her wings flared out, stretching impossibly high above her head, and even Draco had to pull away from her, shielding his eyes from the golden light that radiated brightly from her skin. They both gasped as they felt an outpouring of strange, overwhelming thoughts and emotions flowing into them like a powerful tidal wave. Eventually, the light faded away, and Aria felt her wings slowly fold themselves back under her shoulders.
And then she felt it for the very first time — the mating bond.
It felt like it had been there all along.
Aria opened her eyes as Draco slowly pulled away, and he stared worriedly at her for a long time, obviously waiting for her reaction. With a smile, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him back down so that she could whisper something into his ear.
"My mate."
Draco smiled at her words and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. He took one of her hands in his and placed a kiss onto her palm before slowly intertwining their fingers together.
"My veela."
Aria squealed with surprised laughter when Draco suddenly grinned and hoisted her up, lifting her easily off the floor.
As they kissed and kissed and kissed, the crowd of frantic spectators around them began to grow, furiously taking pictures of Aria and Draco from every possible angle. Their excited tittering drew even more people, causing a large crowd of onlookers to begin forming in the middle of the Ministry's atrium lobby, but Aria still didn't care.
She was happy.
Draco woke up that morning to the feeling of a warm slender body snuggled comfortably against his.
He caught a whiff of a light, coconut-y shampoo scent, and he hummed, pressing closer until his face was buried against a soft, silky mane of long hair. A few minutes later, when his mind finally began to wake up, Draco realized that he was back in his flat in London.
And he stilled.
For a second, he actually considered the possibility that it may have all just been a dream. He was terrified that the minute he woke up, he would find himself all alone in his bed just like he always did for the past few days.
But then he heard a soft, sleepy sigh beside him, and Draco allowed himself to relax.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
His heart immediately fluttered when he saw a beautiful, full-winged veela — in the form of Aria Potter — sleeping in his arms.
And not just any veela, apparently.
His veela.
Draco smiled to himself.
Since he was spooning her from behind, he couldn't actually see Aria's face, and he felt a little disappointed at that. But the feel of her naked body against his (and the fact that, in their position, Draco was free to press his mouth against that smooth patch of skin behind her neck) more than made up for it.
When he leaned in and did just that, Aria shivered and she reluctantly turned around under the blankets to face him.
"G'morning." She mumbled.
Draco chuckled at her sleepy expression and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her closer.
"Good morning." He teased, tapping her lightly on the tip of her nose. "Did you sleep well?"
"Mmm."
Instead of answering, Aria's eyes fluttered close again and she gave him a lazy smile.
She stretched out, arching her wings behind her, before she yawned and fell back against the bed. When Draco poked her playfully on the ribs, Aria grumbled at him and slipped back underneath the blankets.
"I like sleeping in your bed. It smells like you." Aria murmured sleepily, snuggling back into the pillows.
"I like you in my bed too." Draco growled back in a low voice, tracing an arduous path of kisses down the curve of her neck.
When she made no move to stop him, he snaked a hand underneath the sheets and shamelessly began caressing her curves. Everywhere his hand touched, the skin along Aria's body shimmered, sparked and tingled — even more intensely than it did before — and it was causing Aria to squirm and gasp with need. This time, however, because of their newly formed mate bond, the touch sensitivity went both ways, and Draco felt an echo of every single sensation that she felt (including sexual arousal and pleasure, as evidenced by last night).
It was glorious.
Aria Potter had ruined him for anyone else.
He was all hers now.
Smirking at the thought, Draco leaned down, catching her parted lips in a fierce, hungry kiss that stole her breath and caused her to keen in approval. Aria wrapped her legs invitingly around his waist, locking their bodies together; but when she linked her arms around his neck and pulled him down against her to deepen their kiss, they were interrupted when the large, mahogany fireplace in front of the bed suddenly flared to life.
An annoyingly familiar face popped out from the middle of the flames.
"A-ha, I knew I'd find you here."
At the sound of Blaise's smug, obnoxious voice, Draco and Aria instantly broke apart.
"What the hell, Blaise?!" Aria screeched, reaching frantically for the blankets and wrapping them around herself to cover her naked form. "A little warning would have been nice before you decided to peek your nosy face into the room!"
"Hey, if there's anyone to blame here, Potter, it's your bloody mate over there. He's the genius who didn't set up enough privacy wards on his floo network." Blaise pointed out, scoffing.
"Thank you for that, Blaise." Draco drawled sarcastically, trying not to flinch when he felt a spark of irritation (directed at him, unfortunately) from Aria through their bond. He reached over the side of the bed and grabbed his discarded pants off the floor. "What the hell do you want anyway?"
Blaise turned his attention to Aria, a slightly accusing look on his face as he watched her get up and wrap the sheets tighter around herself.
"You forgot, didn't you?" He sighed.
His words caused Aria to freeze in mid-movement, and she blinked in realization before groaning out loud.
"Oh bugger. Was that today?" She complained.
Draco arched an eyebrow and flicked his gaze back and forth between them in suspicion.
"Is 'what' today, exactly?" He asked cautiously.
With an exasperated grumble, Aria turned to him and opened her mouth to answer but before she could say anything, Blaise spoke up again and gave Draco a wide, conspiratorial grin.
"We arranged a graduation party for the 8th and 7th years today." He beamed.
"You're kidding."
Undeterred by Draco's deadpan voice, Blaise went on as though he hadn't heard him. "So both of you, get your asses up, wash the sex away and hurry back to Hogwarts okay? Because it's about to start. Just go directly to the Chamber of Secrets, everyone should be there." He chirped cheerfully, smirking when Aria nearly tripped on her own long hair as she slid out of the bed.
Before Draco could ask him anything else, Blaise's face disappeared from the fireplace with a soft 'pop'. Draco cursed irritably under his breath as he glared at the flames before he turned his confused expression to Aria.
"Did that wanker just say the Chamber of Secrets?" He demanded.
Aria laughed and dismissed his reaction with a careless wave. "While you were gone, Blaise was all about how we should have this big graduation party for everyone; so we spent the last few days planning it out." She explained.
"In the Chamber of Secrets?!"
She gave Draco a slightly sheepish look. "That's actually partly my fault. I...sort of...owed Blaise a favor, and in exchange, he asked me to show him where the Chamber of Secrets was and to let him organize a drinking session down there. Unfortunately, he decided to turn his little 'drinking session' into a massive party instead."
"Are you both insane?! Didn't people die down there?!"
Aria ignored Draco's shrill protests and reached up, tying half of her long, bed-tousled hair up into a messy bun on the top of her head. "Blaise did say that the party is about to start, so I'm going to take a shower."
She grinned and walked past him without another word, leaving Draco still sputtering after her scantily clad form in stunned disbelief. When he continued to lie there on the bed and stare blankly into empty space for a few more seconds, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard Aria calling out to him in a sing-song voice.
"You're welcome to join me."
Draco blinked.
He immediately stood up from the bed and ran towards the bathroom.
By the time they actually made it back to Hogwarts (which was two hours later, since they ended up needing to take another shower after the first one), Aria led Draco down the secret entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. The party was in full swing when they arrived; and Draco wasn't at all surprised when he saw that more than half of the Hufflepuffs looked as though they were already drunk.
Blaise was in the middle of a rowdy, half-drunk group of Slytherins and Gryffindors when they got there. The minute he saw Draco and Aria walk in through the doors, a smug, lecherous grin broke out onto his face.
"You made it!"
He bounded over towards them, and Draco couldn't help smirking when he saw the slightly drunken gait in his movements. Blaise ignored him and slung an arm around his shoulder, his other hand reaching over and giving Aria's wings an affectionate ruffle.
"I was wondering when you two would manage to pull your heads out of your bums and finally get back together. But personally, I'm just glad you two actually bothered to show up instead of going at it all day."
Aria ignored Blaise's racy comment and gave him a suspicious look. "How did you even know that I'd be in Draco's flat anyway?"
Blaise's grin widened. "How could I not? Even if it wasn't all over the bloody papers, my mother was there yesterday, remember? She told me all about the dramatic scene you two made in the Ministry of Magic." He snickered.
Before Aria could retort, Blaise went on, casting Draco a sideways glance from the corner of his eye. "And it's about time too. Do you have any idea how annoying Draco was the whole time you were in the hospital wing? I swear, with the way he was moping all the time, I could have sworn he—"
"Shut it, Blaise." Draco cut him off sharply, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. He placed a heavy hand on Blaise's shoulder and gave it a hard squeeze. "Or I'll tell the Hufflepuffs that the reason they had to walk backwards during the NEWTs was because you switched their plates with the Gryffindors that day."
Blaise smiled nervously at him before hastily changing the subject. "Anyway, there's some drinks near the back. You two enjoy yourselves, alright?"
Frowning, Aria opened her mouth to say something else but before she could, Blaise winked at them and rushed back off into the crowd. Shaking his head, Draco was just about to ask Aria if she wanted a drink when she suddenly gasped, drawing Draco's attention to her.
"What?" He asked.
"Is that...Hannah?" Aria blurted out, gaping at something over his shoulder.
Draco followed her gaze and turned around. Eventually, his eyes widened and an amused smirk formed on his lips when he saw Hannah (in a surprisingly seductive outfit, sans her usual pigtails) straddling Theodore Nott on one of the plush leather couches near the very back of the room. They were making out very obscenely; completely oblivious to all the stares they were getting from everyone else nearby.
"Huh, what do you know." Draco tore his gaze away from them and gave Aria a suggestive leer. "I guess she really did take some notes while she was watching us that night in the common room."
"I suppose she did." Aria arched an eyebrow and met his smirk with one of her own. "Personally though, I think the way we did it was so, so much better. Wouldn't you agree?"
Draco's eyes darkened with lust at the low purr in her voice.
"Oh, I definitely agree." He murmured, wrapping an arm around her waist. "In fact, I'm actually willing to recreate the scene right now." He pulled her closer and leaned down to nibble on her earlobe. Unfortunately, before he could do anything else, Aria suddenly twisted away from him, glancing at something on the other side of the room.
"There's Ron and Hermione. I'm going to go over there and talk to them for a bit, okay?"
"You did that on purpose, Potter."
She laughed at his high-pitched whine of complaint and continued to wriggle herself out of his arms. When Draco grumbled and reluctantly released her, Aria rewarded him with a quick peck on the lips before she walked off, hurrying towards her Gryffindor friends.
He stared after her retreating form for a minute, blatantly enjoying the view. Though, the smirk on his face quickly transformed into a scowl when he noticed just how many of his male (and female) schoolmates around him seemed to be doing the exact same thing. Still scowling, Draco forced himself to shake his jealousy away before Aria could notice it through their bond, and he took that opportunity to glance around his surroundings.
Interestingly enough, the 'Chamber of Secrets' wasn't as dank or ominous as what he pictured in his head; though the gigantic, tacky statue of Salazar Slytherin's bearded face at the very end of the room did sort of freak him out. The place would have actually been too small to accommodate such a large number of guests; but the water surrounding the narrow pathway that led to Salazar Slytherin's head had been magically frozen so as to expand the floor area.
Draco made his way over to the refreshment table at the end of the room. He heard a loud thud from somewhere behind him, followed by a chorus of loud, boisterous laughter. When he turned around, he saw Zach drinking with a group of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws a few meters away from the entrance. Draco noticed that amongst their group, Zach was obviously the only one who wasn't drunk (though not for lack of drinking, if the nearly empty bottle of firewhiskey in his hand was any indication). Zach's friends, on the other hand, looked just about ready to throw up — and Justin Finch-Fletchley was already passed out on the floor.
Zach saw Draco glancing at him and gave him a superior grin.
"Amateurs." He shrugged.
Draco smirked at him.
After scouring through the rest of the drinks at the refreshment table, Draco grabbed a bottle of firewhiskey for himself and headed back across the room to where Aria was laughing with her friends. He wrapped an arm possessively around her waist when he reached her, dropping a kiss onto her neck. Aria didn't immediately acknowledge him, so when he noticed that she was eating a slice of cake, Draco leaned down and stole the last bite from the fork she held in her hand.
Aria glanced over her shoulder and scowled at him.
"Ugh."
Draco made a disgusted face and immediately washed the cake down by taking a long sip from the bottle of firewhiskey he held in his hand. "Bloody hell, that was way too sweet, Potter." He complained.
Aria rolled her eyes at him but allowed him to pull her closer until her wings folded up neatly against his chest. He rested his chin on her shoulder and reluctantly turned his attention to the rest of their group just as Ron Weasley and Seamus Finnigan burst into cheers and laughter.
"What's going on?" He asked Aria.
She grinned at him and glanced at a spot across the room, waiting until Draco followed her gaze. He saw an exasperated-looking Hermione Granger sitting at a nearby table; but what really made Draco's eyebrows arch up was the fact that she was currently locked in an arm-wrestling match against Greg, of all people. To everyone's astonishment, the match didn't last long — because after a few seconds, Greg winced as Hermione practically crushed his arm back down against the table without so much as batting an eyelash.
Draco blinked.
"Er—"
"It was Ron's idea." Aria rushed out. "He's been challenging everyone to beat Hermione at arm wrestling. Apparently, her new vampire strength kicked in this week and she's unbeatable." She explained, giggling.
"Um...why exactly...?"
Weasley grinned at Draco's reaction. "I promised that whoever manages to beat her, gets 500 galleons. But I charge them 1 galleon per try." He added smugly.
Draco snorted and gave him a derisive look. "Only you could think of an utterly plebeian way to profit off of your girlfriend's newfound vampire powers, Weasley." He drawled.
Weasley looked confused for a minute, turning to Finnigan, then to Aria. "Your boyfriend just insulted me, didn't he?"
"Still as sharp as ever, Weasel."
"Shut it, Ferret."
Aria rolled her eyes and deliberately ignored them, turning her attention to Luna beside her. She smiled and accepted the bottle of butterbeer Luna offered to her before she took a long sip.
"Aren't you glad you don't have to hide your true form anymore? I still can't believe you suppressed it for almost a year. That must have been exhausting." Luna mentioned as she scrutinized Aria's appearance.
"It wasn't that bad." Aria shrugged and gave her a sheepish smile.
"Congratulations, by the way." Luna added in a dreamy voice.
Aria blinked at her in confusion. "Huh? For what?"
"For completing the mating bond. Oh, and from the looks of things, I see that you've consummated it too." Luna glanced back and forth between Draco and Aria, her lips curving into a knowing smile when they both flushed at her words. "I can see the newly mated glow coming off both of you now, it's quite lovely."
Before either Draco or Aria could think of an appropriate answer, they were interrupted when Blaise suddenly sauntered over to them and casually wrapped an arm around Luna's waist.
"What's happening over here?" He grinned.
"You two are perfect for each other." Draco retorted, shaking his head and taking another sip of firewhiskey. "You both seem to have a knack for saying the most horribly inappropriate things at the most random times."
"Ah, so you noticed that they shagged too, did you?" Blaise smirked and rewarded Luna with a peck on the cheek.
Luna smiled back at him, giving him a curious look. "Are you done with your rounds and getting everyone drunk yet?" She asked.
They heard an indignant gasp and looked up just in time to see Hermione walking over to them. She stopped beside Weasley and leveled Luna with a disapproving look. "I can't believe you're condoning his actions, Luna! He's a prefect, he's supposed to be setting an example!" She pointed out, glaring at Blaise's shamelessly impenitent smirk.
Luna sighed and gave Hermione a mildly exasperated look. "It's not really the alcohol that gets people intoxicated, you know." She pointed out.
Everyone turned to stare at her.
"How do you mean, Luna?" Seamus Finnigan smiled sheepishly when everyone around him groaned at his question.
"You had to ask." Weasley grumbled.
Luna blinked and stared at them as though she thought they were the dumbest people alive. "The real reason we get drunk is when we're exposed to too many Tlipmuddles. Unfortunately, crowds like these tend to attract them. They leave behind a special kind of chemical in our blood when they come to suck the alcohol out through our skin; and that chemical is what makes us drunk."
Blaise laughed.
Everyone else either fell silent or 'conveniently' took a long sip from their drinks.
Fortunately for Draco, he saw that Aria ended up finishing the last of her butterbeer just then, and he used that as an excuse to hastily blurt out to everyone that they were going to get more drinks. Before Aria could protest (and before Luna could start talking more about Tlipmuddles — whatever the hell they were) Draco grabbed Aria by her hand and hastily pulled her away.
Just as they reached the middle of the room, they were forced to stop when they inadvertently ended up running into Neville and Pansy. The other couple had been making their way towards them from the other side of the Chamber.
"Hey! You two made it!" Neville greeted cheerfully when he saw them, and his face lit up into a smile when he noticed that they were holding hands. "And made up, apparently. So I can only assume you made out too." He teased.
"Oh haha." Aria reached over and swatted lightly at his head. "Who would have known that being sorted into Slytherin would make you so cute and witty, Longbottom?"
Neville chuckled at her sarcastic quip.
"Anyway, Aria, there's actually someone here who's been looking for you all morning. I believe she has something important to say to you." He gave Aria an amused look and flicked his gaze pointedly over his shoulder.
Pansy glared at him before huffing and slowly lifting her sullen gaze to meet Aria's.
"I'm sorry, Potter." She mumbled.
Neville cleared his throat, causing Pansy to wince and add hastily, "I never should have taken your bloody feather from you. There. I said it, okay?"
To both Draco and Neville's disbelief, Aria just smiled sweetly at Pansy. She shrugged and walked over to her, slinging an arm around the short-haired girl's shoulders. "Personally, I think we should just forget about the whole thing. In fact, let's drink on it. Here, let me get you a bottle of butterbeer."
Aria summoned two more bottles from the refreshment table, handing one of them to a bewildered Pansy.
Draco's eyes narrowed as he flicked his gaze back and forth between the two girls. His suspicions were immediately confirmed when he felt a trickle of glee filter down through his and Aria's mate bond. Since he was pretty sure that he wasn't feeling particularly gleeful about anything, Draco realized that the feeling was Aria's — and he smirked.
He watched as Pansy reluctantly took the bottle from Aria and took a small, ladylike sip. As soon as Pansy set the bottle down, the smile on Aria's face immediately transformed into a mischievous grin.
"So...Why don't you tell me how you really feel about me, Parkinson?" She asked.
Pansy glared at her as though she was crazy.
For a second, Draco thought that Pansy was actually going to tell Aria off, but when she eventually spoke; the words that came out of her mouth did not at all match the resentful scowl on her face.
"What the hell are you on about, Potter?! I think you're bloody brilliant, obviously, and I really admire you! You're powerful, brave, and insanely hot; and if I wasn't straight and already in love with Neville, I would even go as far as say that I have a bit of a girl crush on you!"
As soon as the words flew out, Pansy let out a high-pitched, horrified gasp and slapped both of her hands over her mouth. Her cheeks colored and she glared viciously at Aria while Draco, Neville, and a few other students who had been standing near enough to hear her, suddenly burst out laughing.
"Potter! What the hell did you put into my drink?!" Pansy shrieked.
Aria's grin widened.
"Now I forgive you."
She winked, causing Pansy to flush darker and give her another scathing glare before she huffed and stomped back over to Neville, swatting him on the head when he continued to stifle his snickers behind his hand.
With a dramatic sigh, Draco turned to Aria and gave her an appraising look.
"You really were meant to be in Slytherin, weren't you?" He mused.
Aria smiled at him and leaned up, pressing a feather-light kiss against his lips. Before she could pull away, Draco wrapped an arm around her waist and took advantage of their closeness by leaning down and pressing his mouth against hers in another kiss. As their tongues met, Draco hummed and traced seductive circles along the exposed skin of her waist below her shirt.
"Ehem."
They broke apart, looking up and staring in confusion at the sight of a blank-faced Morag waiting behind them. Draco immediately scowled when he saw her and he leveled her with a warning glare.
"What do you want?" He snapped.
Undaunted, Morag met the hostile expression on Draco's face with a calm smile.
"Aren't you forgetting something, Malfoy?" She asked.
Draco continued to glare at her for the next few seconds, still annoyed by her interruption. Unfortunately, when Morag gave him another pointed look and flicked her gaze briefly to Aria before glancing back at him, Draco suddenly realized what she meant — and his eyes immediately narrowed.
"No."
Morag sighed and leveled him with an unimpressed look.
"A deal's a deal, Malfoy."
"I'll pay you whatever you want."
"I'm not interested in money."
"Listen, you sex-obsessed freak! I am not about to let you—"
"Malfoy, what's going on?" With a sigh, Aria crossed her arms over her chest and alternated her suspicious glare back and forth between Draco and Morag. "What the hell did you promise her? And why is she staring at me like that?"
"You don't have to do it." Draco immediately blurted out as he turned around and gave Aria a frantic, pleading look. "I told her that I would only allow it if you actually consented to it; and since you're obviously not going to, then we can just forget about this whole thing!"
Aria's veela features twisted into a harpy snarl.
"Consent to what, exactly?" She growled.
"Potter, I'm your mate. You can't hurt me, remember?"
"You really want to test that, Malfoy?"
Draco gulped and shrunk under her glare, his eyes wide as he stared at the way her fingernails were beginning to lengthen into talons. "We were in the library, and I really needed a book on Ancient Veelish from the Restricted Section. Morag got it for me, but obviously, she wanted something in exchange." He explained hastily.
"Which is?" Aria snapped.
He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could say anything, Morag beat him to it.
"I believe the exact terms of our arrangement was — in exchange for me helping him get a book from the Restricted Section, Draco agreed that — if the two of you ever did officially become a couple, he would stand back and not react violently, for ten whole seconds, while I ask you for a kiss." Morag told her, blinking once before giving Aria a calm, completely unfazed smile.
At Morag's words, the anger on Aria's face slowly melted away, and she gave Morag an amused look instead.
"...I see."
"If you recall, Morag, this did come with the caveat that Aria has to agree." Draco turned his attention back to Morag and gave her a mocking sneer. "The only thing I promised was to not blast you into a thousand pieces in the rare chance that she did—"
Aria smirked and deliberately cut him off.
"I'll do it."
"What?!" Draco's eyes bugged out of their sockets as he immediately whipped his head around and glared at her as though she had just admitted to having a crush on the Dark Lord. "Potter, have you gone mad?! How can you even consider this?!"
"Why not?" Aria chuckled as she reached over and calmly handed him the bottle of butterbeer she was still holding in her hand. "I've never kissed a girl before, so I'm actually quite curious about how different it will feel."
At Aria's words, the self-satisfied smile on Morag's face grew.
"I promise you'll like it." She purred.
"Wait a minute." Draco's eyes widened and, in his panic, he nearly dropped the butterbeer bottle he was holding to the floor. "Potter, you can't kiss her! You're not supposed to kiss anyone but me—"
To his horror, Aria ignored his shrill protests and walked over to Morag with a determined look on her face. Morag nearly tripped on her own feet when Aria wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer; inadvertently causing Morag to gulp and let out an uncharacteristic squeak. Then, without any warning whatsoever, Aria's lips quirked upwards into a brief smirk just before she leaned down and pressed her mouth against Morag's in a bold, shameless kiss.
Draco saw red.
As everyone around them gasped and turned to stare at the scene, Draco's fingers twitched dangerously, summoning his wand from its holster into his hand.
And even before ten seconds had passed, Draco reached out and snatched Aria by her wrist, yanking her away from a wide-eyed, blushing Morag. With a growl, he shoved Aria possessively behind him, rolling his eyes when he noticed that, once again, they had drawn the attention of nearly every single student in the room.
It was in that moment that Draco finally resigned himself to a few things.
His girlfriend was Aria Potter.
She was the bloody Chosen One, the vanquisher of the Dark Lord, and possibly one of the most powerful witches in their generation. Without even trying, she drew attention to herself everywhere she went.
She was a Slytherin (with annoyingly Gryffindor tendencies).
She was insanely sexy, and every single person in the room (male and female) probably thought so too.
And if that wasn't enough, she was also a veela.
His veela.
Draco sighed in defeat.
He had a feeling that his life was about to become a lot more complicated from now on.
Note: Technically, the story officially ends here. But I will be including one last chapter for the Epilogue just as a thank you for everyone who kept up with me until the end. Thank you all so much, I never would have been able to complete this without your constant support and encouragement! 3
As always, reviews, comments and kudos are love! Hope you all stay with me for the final update! :D