A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters related to the franchise. That all belongs to the wonderful 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).

Also, I would like to say that from here on I may be taking liberties with JK's version of werewolves. I hope to keep it relatively in the same vein with some creative changes. I know they may not be exactly the same. Just know I have done thorough research and this is the version I have decided to go with. Any comments or concerns are greatly appreciated.

Draco's quick steps echoed through the hall, the click click of the dragon souls bouncing around him as he quickened his pace. His heart thudded in his ears as he made his way down the hall and towards the study. As he approached he heard the two women deep in discussion.

"No, really Cissa, I-I shouldn't stay. Malfoy might not-"

"Hush now Minny, you are more than welcome to stay for lunch. No matter what my foolish son has said. The house elves adore you, and honestly I think they began making too much food on purpose to try and tempt you to stay." Draco paused outside the door, leaning up against the wall as he waited for Hermione's response. She chuckled, which quickly turned into a small giggle as she tried to stifle it.

"I have no doubt, in fact I'm sure Rebila was the ringleader." She sighed, her footsteps muffled on the other side of the oaken door, like she was moving away and towards the opposite wall. "Your property is beautiful, Cissa. I am going to miss coming here. I bet it is beautiful when spring is in full bloom."

"Oh, it is dear. I plant many different flowers, and Draco usually rides his broom in the evenings. He says all my flowers make the air smell sweet," Draco leaned closer, so he could hear a little better.

"He sounds so different when you talk about him, like a completely different person." Hermione sounded small.

"He is dear. His father, and to a lesser extent me, taught him to protect himself in front of others. I blame myself for how closed off he is now. How determined he is to keep himself locked away from everyone else. Sometimes I just wish he would be himself, because I feel like if he showed more people then he would have more chances to be successful in this new world." Draco stood quietly, a pit in his stomach. His mother never opened up to anyone, yet here she was spilling her guts to someone that, as far as Draco was aware, she barely knew.

"I wish I knew the man you did." There was a pause in conversation, a few sniffles as if tears were being shed on the other side of the door. Draco took a small sniff of the air, it did smell slightly salty. Someone was definitely crying on the other side of the door.

"Hermione, dear, come back for lunch. For me." His mothers voice sounded choked. "Please." Another pause, that seemed to last for hours. This would be the time to enter. To break the train of thought in the room and prevent her from coming back for lunch with them. But Draco stood where he was, waiting with a baited breath for her answer.

"Alright, Cissa." There was a smile in Hermione's voice, but there was also the near imperceptible sound of a broken sob. Draco moved towards the door then, and walked through without a knock. It was his office after all. Both women were standing at the window, the sun having fully risen over the trees. They were hugging. His mother pulled back, running her hand through Hermionie's hair in a matronly way before pulling back. Her eyes were redder than when Draco had seen her in the hallway, indicating that she was the one who had been crying. Making this already strange situation even more bizarre. His mother never cried.

Hermione turned away, facing the windows. Draco watched as she ran her hand down her face before turning back. Her eyes were puffy and slightly red rimmed.

"See you this afternoon, Minny." Narcissa waved back towards Hermione as she walked by Draco, stopping to give his shoulder a squeeze as she passed. Once the wooden door closed with a secure thud, he turned back to the witch still standing by the windows, her arms crossed protectively in front of her.

"Let's go to the floo room," Hermione mumbled, quickly passing by him, the hint of salt and fresh rain following her as she scampered from his study to the hall leading towards the main room.

"Minny?" Draco asked as he caught up to her, and bgan take the lead down the hallway and towards the room that was dedicated for floo travel.

"Only your mother is allowed to call me that." Hermione said playfully, seemingly recovered from her incident in the study, a small grin on her face.

"Oh, really?" Draco teased. "What would happen if I were to try it? You know, give it a go. See how it feels on my tongue."

Hermione blushed, rolling her eyes in exasperation, "I could hex your teeth, and cause them to look like a beaver's." She quipped. Draco thought for a second that she was upset, that he had crossed some unknown boundary, but there was a smile on her face.

"For what it's worth, I'm really sorry I did that." Draco muttered, eyeing her while they walked. Their arms almost swinging in tandem, fingertips practically brushing every few steps. She smiled up at him, rolling her eyes as she let out a small chuckle.

"I'm not. When we reversed it, magic fixed what years of dentistry couldn't. My teeth finally fit my big bushy head." She laughed again, giving his shoulder a slight push.

"You just really like to tease yourself don't you?"

"Ehh, I'm ok with who I am. Bushy hair and all." Draco couldn't help but realize that her hand had crept a couple inches closer to his, her fingertips began to brush his every few steps. Like tiny volts of muggle electricity running up his arm.

"So what gives my mother your blessing to call you that horrid name?" They had entered the floo room. Draco reluctantly went to the small table in the back to grab the floo powder vase, glancing around the room as he did. The room was decorated with pale blue walls, and a cream colored settee for those who arrived a bit dizzy from floo travel. A line of coat and hat racks lined one wall, and the Malfoy family crest was painted across the other. As if someone could accidentally stumble into the room, and would need clarification of where they were.

As he walked back towards Hermione she began putting her hair up, holding the lavender scrunchy delicately in her teeth as she did. She spoke around the scrunchy, her words tight and slightly muffled, "I told her that my dad used to call me that, and she just...started doing it." her hair now fully up and away from her face she continued, a bit more articulate, "I would have told her to stop, but for some reason I like it when she calls me it. It's...comforting." Draco nodded his head slightly in understanding before the weight of what she said settled on his bones. The dark feeling that had been filling him up when the topic of her parents came up grew slightly.

"Wait," Draco reached out and grabbed her arm, as she moved towards the floo. "What do you mean, used to call you." She glanced up at him, gently pulling her arm from his light grip. "Why doesn't he anymore?"

"Ask me again after lunch," She grabbed a handful of floo powder, and stepped backwards into the fireplace. Her brown eyes were shiny, and her brow was furrowed,"Moonstone Recovery Center, Bristol!" With a flash of green flames, she was gone.

Draco reappeared in a sea of emerald embers. He patted down his cloak and shirt, feeling satisfaction as the soot slowly puffed into the air leaving him relatively clean. He glanced around the room, taking in his new surroundings as a predator does with the unfamiliar. The room was relatively small, about the size of his study back at the manor. The walls were painted a light, cool blue color. On the far wall there was a large painting of a birch forest, with sunlight streaming through the leaves. The golden hughes mixed well with the overall white and green nature of the piece. It was contrasted by a window to the right which showed nothing but the sky and rolling hills covered in early March snow. Icicles hung outside the window causing a rainbow of light to reflect off of the blue walls.

The room was filled with people. Draco took a quick sniff of the air and was almost knocked off his feet at the feral musky scent that assaulted his senses. It had been several years since Draco had last smelt another wolf. He tended to avoid those who were well known, not wanting his own status revealed. In fact, this was the first time that he was actually around other wolves that could potentially be able to identify him. There were a total of twelve people in the room excluding Hermione and himself.

Speaking of the witch, Draco had lost her as he had arrived in the new building. He did a quick glance around, avoiding the strange looks he was getting. A blond witch next to him took a quick sniff as he walked away from the fireplace, growling low in her throat when she did. A wizard next to her grabbed her arm and slowly pulled her to stand at his side. Both were wolves, and both were wary. Draco eyed them, his teeth baring for a second as he raised his head slightly, and instinctively sniffed the two. They smelled strongly of each other, and heavily of earth and trees. The woman, however, smelled off to him. The scent reminded him slightly of rotten milk, and he pushed air out through his nose in an effort to clear out the scent. The man gave him a knowing smirk before the pair walked off towards a small refreshment table.

Draco scanned the crowd for his-for Hermione, finding her talking to a stocky wolf next to her. She spoke animatedly, smiling and waving her hands as she told what appeared to be a very funny story. Draco walked closer, and smelled the air. Tangling with her natural scent of rain and lavender, was a man's scent of fresh grass, and smoke. The scent was familiar, but Draco was unable to place it as he twisted through the room of other wolves, their scents combining with the air and making it difficult to focus on one thoroughly. Except for Hermione's. He could find hers in the middle of a potions manufacturer.

Draco moved forward slowly, trying not to touch the wolf. He relied on his inhuman balance and grace to get through the crowd relatively unseen. He was about halfway there when the wolf Hermione was currently speaking with moved to place his hand on his mate's arm. A gesture that was entirely too friendly. Draco moved faster than humanly possible, the thought of stopping the man barely formed in his head as he snatched the man's arm and shoved it away from her. Moving to stand in between the two as he did.

"Dont touch her," the command left his mouth with a deep feral growl. A sound that he hadn't heard leave his mouth in years. Not since his last encounter with a wolf, and even then it had never been layered with this amount of power.

He expected the other man to cower, maybe raise his hands in surrender as Lupin often did to show he wasn't a threat. Instead the man moved towards him, raising his chin and pulling his shoulders back as he invaded Draco's space. The power rolling off the man was something Draco had never felt before. The taste of the other wolf's magic hit Draco's tongue, sharp and metallic as it moved off the man in rolling waves, reminding Draco of the sea during a storm. Even though this was his first encounter with a werewolf in years, his wolf knew that it was a challenge, and pushed Draco not to cower. Not to back down.

"Watch it, Malfoy!" The man growled back his voice deep and gravely, eyes flashing an iridescent green as his wolf pushed through to the front of his mind. The room came to a stand still as wolves moved to give the two some space, while a few also positioned themselves behind the man opposite of Draco.

The way they moved meant one thing. A pack.

And this...this was their alpha.

Great.

A/N 2: I know this is a short chapter, but I am finally out of my writing slump and I am ready to begin giving you guys thicker chapters in the future. In the meantime feel free to leave a review. Any reviews between now and the next time I post will be responded to with a comment. Love you all!