A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters/locations related to the franchise. That all belongs to J.K. Rowling. I hope you enjoy the only thing I do own...the plot. Also M rating for language and possible sexually explicit scenes (really just wanted to be safe with the rating).
Once alone in his room Draco fire-called Snape using the floo network, requesting a conference with Lupin for the first time since his mentor had set up the original meeting. To his credit, Snape didn't ask any questions, he only told Draco when and where to meet the older wolf.
Draco arrived at the same old pub he had originally met Lupin at-the Black Broomstick-with time to spare. He chose to use apparition to limit the possibility of being followed, even though the likelihood of anyone taking that much interest in him at all was slim. They had decided that they needed to wait a week before they could meet to prevent suspicion. It was dark, and the moon was barely present in the sky. Draco pulled his cloak high over his head to block his platinum hair from the deep amber of the torches before scurrying inside as quickly as possible.
Draco, unfortunately, had endured hours of the cruciatus from his Aunt for failing to out duel Potter. Luckily, the young wizard was not seen as the biggest failure in the eyes of his 'master' this time, and was able to escape without punishment from the Dark Lord. The blame, it seemed, fell on Bellatrix for allowing her emotions to get the better of her. The Dark Lord had tortured her for so long that she was still fighting off the aftereffects of the curse. Draco couldn't bring himself to care about his Aunts newfound twitch, as far as he was concerned she bloody well deserved it.
Draco skulked back to the same booth he had sat in the last time, taking a seat on the old stained polyester, the springs in the seat creaking in protest. The pub was busier this time around, with several groups of men jostling about and laughing in boisterous, alcohol fueled guffaws. Draco cringed back as one of the patrons swayed unsteadily on his feet, spilling sticky ale down the side of his table. Using the edge of his cloak, the drunkard wiped down the wood with a muffled "sorry 'bout that," before turning back to his table of companions.
Draco didn't even give a man a nod, intent on keeping his head down, and any emotion absent from his face. His already limited emotions had been buried deep inside of him ever since his mother had lifted the damn imperio. He couldn't allow them to flood him, because if they did he might not be able to force them back down.
Silently he waited for the arrival of the other wizard. His wolf continued to pace in the back of his mind, refusing to rest after watching the torture of it's mate. It had berated Draco the entire time he had endured the torture curse. The wolf had growled that he had deserved to feel what his mate had felt. That he deserved to die for what he allowed to happen to her. The wolf was right.
Draco was so lost in his own self pity that he didn't notice Lupin enter the establishment, or the redhead that was with him. He only realized someone was there when a comforting hand rested on his shoulder. Lupin patted the blond lightly, keeping his eyes on the table while Draco ran a hand roughly down his face. Finally, Draco looked up finding a new set of blue eyes staring at him.
"If you are here to kill me, I won't fight you." Malfoy shrugged his shoulders before sighing heavily, "Not that I could, Potter took my wand."
"Bill Weasley," the new wizard offered his hand, a grim look plastered on his pale face. He looked like Ron, other than the three slash marks down his face and the earring. He stood a hair shorter than Lupin, but held himself taller and with more confidence than the other wizard did. Draco eyed his hand wearily before he gave it one strong shake. Both wizards took off their cloaks and laid them down on the booth seat before sitting down.
Lupin waited for the drinks to be delivered before he spoke, "What do you need Mr. Malfoy?"
Draco glanced over Bill, before flicking his eyes back to Lupin in question. "Young Bill here is for my protection. I just came from a location that houses three of our mutual acquaintances. It seems that they had a run in at your house." Draco lowered his head ashamed, "I don't blame you Mr. Malfoy, I just couldn't risk this being a trap. Bill here has Lycanthropy as well, a mild case, but anything you say regarding the affliction will remain between us. Now, what did you need?" Draco nodded after several moments, absorbing what was just said. He wondered for a brief moment if he could trust the Weasley. If he honestly could trust Lupin. Finally, he coughed to clear his throat before allowing himself to speak, he was too tired to really care who he could trust anymore.
"I found her." He murmured.
"Your Mate?" Lupin prompted carefully. Draco nodded, his eyes locking on the twisting wood of the table. Lupin hesitated, "How did you find her? Who is she?"
"She was at my house. One week ago." His throat was thick with emotion. Both men across the table took in a sharp intake of breath, not seeming to need any more clarification on who she was. The silence that echoed around their booth was heavy. It weighed down on Draco's shoulders, making him feel like he could sink into the cushion of the booth and become one with the furniture. The Weasley broke the silence eventually, but the heaviness remained.
"And you let them-" Bill was so angry that he couldn't even finish his sentence. The fury that colored the man's voice was well aimed at Draco, and he sat there allowing it to wash over him. He needed someone to make him feel like he deserved to feel. He needed someone to hurt him. Even if Draco didn't want Hermione, and when he was honest with himself he wasn't sure he did, he had still allowed her to be tortured. Tortured in his home.
"Yes."
"You fucking bastard. How could you?" Bill slammed his glass down on the table so hard it shattered. Remus, barely fazed, flicked his wand and the shards of glass vanished with a small pop.
"Because, William, if Draco would have revealed his connection, they both would be dead." Lupin spoke calmly, but Draco didn't miss the anger resting just below his hard green eyes.
"I could have-" Draco began, but quickly lost his voice. His throat felt dry and he couldn't bring himself to continue speaking. Part of him wondered if he would have actually tried to protect her. If he was willing to risk his hide for her…a mudblood.
"Does she know?" Lupin asked quietly. Draco shook his head, unable to find his voice in that moment. "Does anyone?"
"Maybe-Maybe Greyback. Maybe my mother." Draco frowned, not liking the idea of either of those people knowing who the little witch was to him. It put a target on her back. Well, a bigger target on her back.
"What do you want us to do?" Lupin asked steadily. He took a sip of the drink that had been dropped off at the table, but his eyes never left the younger wizard across from him.
"I don't know." Draco huffed quietly. "I guess I needed advice on how to ignore this bloody bond."
"Ignore it?" Bill scoffed, "What do you fucking mean ignore it."
"Not now, Bill." Lupin scolded.
"You tried to ignore it, Lupin. Look where it got you! You can't ignore the fucking bond." Bill ran a hand through his hair as he spoke, clearly getting more agitated by the second and with every word he spoke. "The bond is sacred, and you cannot stop it. Why would you want to ignore it?"
"I don't want this bloody bond!" Draco nearly yelled. Eventually he closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths before he pushed the words out through clenched teeth. "She is a fucking mudblood for Salazar's sake."
Both men on the other side of the table stiffened. Bill looked murderous, his hand reaching for his pocket, but Lupin put a calming hand on his shoulder before the redhead could grab what was clearly his wand. The voices around the pub continued, and a slight shouting on the other side of the room drew the attention of the three wizards in the booth. They all turned, appraising the growing discontent across the pub, before deciding that it was nothing more than your average bar fight. The pub owner was already breaking it up, and forcing the participants out the door. Settling back down in their seats, and allowing themselves to relax a little they turned back to each other.
"Yes, she is a muggleborn." Lupin responded. "What does that matter?"
"What does it matter?" Draco rolled his eyes towards the ceiling at the man's ignorance. "It matters. She is…she is everything I have been taught to fucking hate. I can't stand the fact that part of me wants to die because of what I let happen to her. I used to harass her daily…but now I feel this fucking bond towards her? I don't want it. I want to be free…to be able to be with the witches I want. Witches that I love."
"Witches you love? You can't love other witches! Not really you daft knob-"
"I want the fucking choice!" Draco yelled this time, slamming his hand on the table, effectively ending Bill's insult. The redhead paused, his mouth clicking shut as Draco continued. "I want to be able to choose who I love. But now I can't. Can I?" Draco's chest was heaving as he finished his tirade, waiting for the answer. Bill seemed to deflate a little, and both men looked at him with pity in their eyes. "I don't want her. She is annoying, and a swot. She is vile, and not worth it. I don't want to have to love her, she is everything I don't want. She is not worth this. She is-" Draco nearly cracked.
He knew he was repeating himself, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't help the fact that he was beginning to sound like a petulant child. His emotions were boiling and every thought he had buried inside of his mind was breaking at the surface. His heart was thumping so loud he could barely hear the cacophony of voices in the pub around him. All he could really hear was the wolf snarling at all the insults Draco had just thrown at Granger.
"She is your mate." Lupin finished for him. There was a sadness in his voice that hadn't been there earlier. Draco flinched at the term, his eyebrows low on his head as he listened to Remus speak in soothing tones, "It is not fair. I know it's not. But, remember what I said last time. You can live without her, it will just be difficult. You will constantly feel the bond, but you will be able to ignore it."
"What about her?" Draco ventured, his grey eyes pleading, "Can she feel it too?"
"No," Lupin whispered, the sad smile he wore back on his face. Green eyes stared at Draco, filled with kindred sorrow and pity, "As far as I know she will be unable to feel the bond. She should be able to live her life none the wiser."
"You're wrong about her though," Bill hissed, nabbing Draco's drink before downing it in one quick gulp, "She is worth so much more than you." Bill stood quickly grabbing his cloak and throwing it around his shoulders.
"You are going to need to take a good look in the mirror Malfoy, and you are going to need to ask yourself a couple of crucial questions. Do you really believe all that shite your parents taught you? And are your prejudices worth living your life with a piece of your soul missing? Because that's what it is going to feel like, because like it or not…she is your soulmate. The only woman who can match you in every way. You better bloody hope she forgives you. Personally, I hope she doesn't." The redhead punctuated his speech by turning on his heel and stalking away from the table, and began fighting his way through the growing mass of bodies. Once he made it through the central part of the pub, he leaned impatiently against the wall at the door and waited for Lupin to follow. His hand remained tucked in his pocket, securely holding his wand.
Lupin released a long sigh before standing up. He patted a hand on Draco's shoulder before speaking in his calming voice, "If you should have need of me again, Snape knows how to contact me."
Draco waited for a moment, trying to act like he didn't care. Really what did he care? It honestly didn't matter in the end. He took a couple of deep breaths, trying to reason with himself. But he was divided, and in the end he had to know. "Is she alright?"
Lupin turned around back to the younger wizard and gave him a small smile, "She's going to be fine." A final nod in Draco's direction signified the end of the discussion between the two wolves. The older wizard met with Bill by the door, and the two left the establishment together.
Draco hated the fact that those simple words allowed him to relax. He hated that now that he knew she was going to be fine his body was able to feel the exhaustion of the last week. He hated that the wolf now didn't pace constantly in his mind, and instead laid down…still awake but blessedly quiet. And most of all he hated the betraying thoughts in his mind, all centered around one thing.
That even if he died in the coming war, at least she was going to be alright. At least she wouldn't have died due to his inability to help her.
Happy Holiday's everyone! Here is the next installment. I hope everyone like's it and has a wonderful holiday season. I should be posting SEMI regularly. I think every two weeks will be good! Feel free to leave reviews below, as I love to read your guys' opinions!