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Her broken-hearted Veela

Chapter III: Unfair.

…

"The changes we dread most may contain our salvation."

…

Neither Lucius nor Narcissa knew how to react. Of course, they were planning on telling him in the near future, preferably before winter break was over and he went to Hogwarts for his spring term. Otherwise, it would be too late and the consequences they'd face would be horrendous. But because, to their knowledge, Draco hadn't been informed, his parents had decided to prepare some books for him to read about Veelas and the Malfoy family tree, thus ensuring he'd understand. Yet, apparently, Draco had been a step ahead of them and had done his research, and very exhaustively at that. And so, now that their son had brought it up, Lucius and Narcissa deemed tea time as a good time to talk about it.

Narcissa put her cup of Assam down and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Draco, my darling," She called him, her beautiful, big aquamarine eyes meeting his mercury ones, "Coming to terms with being a Veela at a younger age than yours is quite difficult. Veelas are complex creatures; and one needs to, at least, have some basic education on magic to understand."

Grabbing a puff pastry, the blonde boy couldn't help but huff. He wanted to complain, but before he could do that, Narcissa continued talking.

"Yes, you've grown up in the Wizarding World and have seen magical beasts from a very young age. And it does seem logical that you would believe that, when you were only a little boy, you could have grasped the information that would've been presented to you. But the reality is, my dear, you couldn't have." She said, softly smiling and lightly shaking her head. She then picked up her cup of tea, took a sip, and lay it back down. "Now, take into consideration what I've just said. Imagine that we, as parents, told you when you were little that you were part Veela. How do you think you would've reacted, not really knowing what it meant to be a Veela?"

"How do you think you would've spent all of these years at Hogwarts, knowing that you're a Veela, Draco?" Lucius asked as well.

Draco frowned. Even though his parents were making valid points, and asking poignant questions, he couldn't keep up with their logic. Why would it have made an impact in the first place?

"How should I know how I would have reacted?" He spat. Lucius threw him a stern fatherly look and immediately, Draco apologised. He knew that Lucius could get very protective of Narcissa and didn't take it kindly to people not paying her any respect. The young man recalled one specific time where his father seemed so mad, his eyes went from his usual grey to pitch-black. "I'm sorry, Mother, I didn't mean to let it out on you. I'm frustrated, and quite frankly, I'm very confused, as well. I simply have so many questions that have gone unanswered, and I'm finding this conversation to be quite cryptic."

He rubbed his temple and sighed. Surely, he'd get a head ache after all of this.

"To answer your question, Mother, no. I don't know how I would've reacted, because I don't know what it means to be part Veela. Everything I know is what they are, not how they behave. And considering I found Armand's picture in a psychology book, and judging by what you've just told me about a Veela's complexity; I suspect there's much more to these creatures than just sheer beauty."

Narcissa placed her hand on Draco's knee, squeezed, and gifted him a sweet smile, just like a mother would smile at her child. Her son had always been so ambitious in wanting to learn new things, she saw how much he disliked it when he was confused. Truth to be told, she found that trait of his to be quite adorable.

"And you are right, dear. There is much more to a Veela, indeed." She told him. Narcissa then turned to Lucius. "You would know best, wouldn't you, Lucius? I'll leave you both to talk, mon cher."

Lucius nodded at Narcissa, and he watched her as she stood up and went over to him, caressing his cheek as she was making her leave. He closed his eyes in delight, leaned into her caress, and almost purred at her touch. His beautiful Narcissa, his chère beauté Cissy, oh, how he desired her. She had all power over him and she knew it. Luckily for Lucius, she took responsibility for it and cared for him greatly and ever so lovingly.

Once she was gone, Lucius felt Draco's demanding eyes on him. The man took his time to give him an answer, he sipped his tea, took a couple of pastries and leisurely ate them. Apparently, his son had been having these Veela-related questions for some time, and so he decided that a couple more minutes wouldn't hurt him. Once he was done, the wizard crossed his legs, intertwined his fingers and tilted his head slightly to the right, looking at his son.

"You've answered your mother's question, son, but you have forgotten about mine. Before I explain to you what a Veela's behaviour is like, I'd very much appreciate your answer."

"You want to know how I would've spent my past years at Hogwarts, had I known I was part Veela?" Draco raised his eyebrows, somewhat puzzled and curious, "Why?"

"Because it's relevant. It'll help you to understand why we chose to wait to tell you about your heritage."

For a minute, the room was silent, and Draco thought about his answer.

"I wouldn't know, Father, because I didn't know. Everything I could tell you right now would be mere speculation."

"Well then, let me reformulate my question and put it this way: How have you spent your time at Hogwarts?"

At that point, Draco just hoped that this discussion wouldn't drive him mad with irritation. Was it really all that difficult to get straight to the point? He was the one with the questions, and they were the ones with the answers he sought!

"I took all my classes, did my homework, and in my spare time, I hung out with Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini and Nott. Doing… Well, Slytherin things. You know how it is."

"Ah, the 'Slytherin things', yes." Lucius chuckled, somewhat amused, as he looked into the distance, remembering what his time doing the 'Slytherin things' was like. "The secret drinking and the sneaking around the castle past bed-time. Completely free and without a worry in the world, am I correct in making this assumption?"

Lucius' sudden serious gaze met Draco's; almost as if his father was studying him. And the man wondered whether or not his son was starting to see where their dialogue was headed. Seeing that Draco was frowning and seemed lost in thought, Lucius presumed that he was indeed recognising what his point was: freedom. The freedom his parents chose to give him.

After a couple of minutes pondering about whether he was truly free or not, considering that his mind had these bizarre thoughts about Granger, as much as his sudden fits of jealousy and itches to kill anyone who'd come near her; Draco found himself accepting that his parents hadn't wished for anything else other than his freedom, but what still irked him was that he couldn't entirely figure out what that freedom was for. Clearly, it had to do with his Veela-heritage, but there was still a piece of information missing, and he needed to know. – And so, looking at his father, he whispered:

"Why?"

"Veelas have mates, Draco. A mate is, simply put, a Veela's soulmate." Lucius explained, "Unfortunately, there are several issues with that. One of them being that, as a Veela, you don't get to choose your mate. Magic does that for you, thus creating a bond between two souls. Much to the Veela's dismay, Magic doesn't tell the Veela who its mate is, and so the Veela may obsess over finding out. – Now, imagine if your mother and I had told you, when you were merely a child, that you were part Veela. Imagine how your 'Slytherin doings', as you say, would have changed, had you known you were part Veela. And what if your mate wasn't even at Hogwarts? You would have genuinely lost your sanity, Draco."

Draco's heart sank.

"I thought I had lost it already." He confessed, letting out a heavy sigh, and covering his face with his hands in a weakened motion. He rubbed his eyes and let one hand run through his hair, as the other one fell back down onto his lap, "I have had these… thoughts, these images in my head for years. I didn't understand why I was having them, they were completely involuntary. I still don't."

"Your mate must've been around, then. I had similar symptoms. But I gather you don't know who your mate is yet?"

Deep down, his answer was: 'Yes, I do.'

"No, I don't." Words came out of his mouth pretty fast, as if trying to avoid being asked who it was, "And since Magic won't tell me who my mate is, how am I supposed to know?"

"That is correct, son, Magic won't tell you. Not directly, at least. Luckily, there are some obvious hints."

"And they'd be?"

"Surely, you must have noticed that you have a very fine sense of smell." He noted, "Your mate has a unique scent that infatuates you and has the ability to make you feel at peace with yourself, and no other fragrance compares to the intensity of your mate's."

…That beautiful fragrance seemed to tame the beast within him. – The woody scent of pages in a book, the sweet aroma of a warm cocoa with cinnamon, the aura of raindrops falling on a field full of orchids.

"Another indication would be your sense of protection towards your mate." Lucius went on with his explanation, "If your mate gets hurt in any way, be it physically or psychologically, you'll feel absolutely livid. And as I said earlier, Magic creates a bond between you and your mate. This means that if your mate feels pain, you will, as well."

Rage, rage, rage. When he'd found out Dolohov had critically injured her over at the Ministry of Magic, everything Draco could feel was complete and utter rage. He saw red.

"Feeling a strong sense of envy, or resentment, and a darker, how shall I put it, urge towards any other male touching your mate is a sign, as well. Your Veela instinct is trying to protect your mate, but it might have a more aggressive approach than the rest of the non-Veela population."

For only a second, he'd found himself in an enormous sea of jealousy, as he felt a burning rage when Krum kissed her hand.

"And the last thing you should pay attention to, and the most important one, Draco, is the need you feel for your mate to touch you. You will crave the touch at all times, you will need it for your own survival. Your mate's touch is crucial for your Veela blood; only then you will feel complete, strong and unstoppable."

'She touched me… She touched me and her touch felt good, indeed.'

…Draco found himself wanting more.

He was in absolute shock: His ears rang, his vision went foggy, his mouth became dry. – All the signs were there. Magic had chosen Hermione Granger as his mate. Filthy, little Mudblood Hermione Granger – Gorgeous, dazzling, brilliant, beautiful Hermione Granger.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

The young Slytherin frowned. There was anguish building up in his chest. What Lucius was telling him was already horrid enough, but Draco knew his father very well, and he knew that he saved the bad news for last. So, there had to be something more to his Veela situation. Something, he felt, was going to be dreadful.

"However, as unstoppable you may become due to your mate's touch, your mate, or your mate's absence, does indeed have the power to stop you." Lucius paused for a moment before he spoke again; a distressing thought had crossed his mind. "If the Veela doesn't find its mate before the Veela becomes of age, or if the mate rejects the Veela, uttering the words 'I don't want you, Veela'; the Veela dies of a broken heart."

I don't want you, Veela.

A terrifying chill ran down his spine. He swallowed so hard it hurt his throat. Those words, even though Lucius was the one who'd said them, cut through his heart as if they had been daggers drenched in venom. Suddenly, his mind pictured how Hermione would blurt out those horrendous words to him, looking at him with disgust; and his heart shrank and hurt even more. – Draco shut his eyes forcefully, similarly as how Lucius had done just seconds before; and tried to shrug it off as best as he could. Now was the time to focus on their conversation and make the best out of it before he had a mental breakdown, seeing that he was very close to having one.

Draco was exhausted.

"So, basically, what you're saying is that Magic is forcing me to find my mate before I turn 17, otherwise I die?" He whispered, incredulously. Unexpectedly, Draco was getting very angry, "You're telling me that Magic is forcing me to love my mate, but if my mate chooses not to love me back, I die? All in all, you're telling me that Magic is forcing me to be at my mate's mercy, are you not? You're telling me that my life will depend on my mate, and they can choose whether or not I die. And you chose to tell me now, a year and a half before I become of age."

It was so unfair.

Lucius said nothing, he stared at his infuriated son instead, mainly because he could comprehend his anger over the realisation. Hence the reason as to why he and Narcissa had wanted to give him as much freedom as possible, because in this matter, Draco had none. And it was bitter, because his son was right: his seventeenth birthday was only eighteen months away, and that was very little time to find and woo his mate.

"It's by far the biggest sacrifice your mother and I have ever had to endure, Draco. It was either giving you enough freedom in that regard, thus allowing you to live with very little worry, yet leaving you with very little time to find your mate; or it was telling you very early in your infant years, and risk your sanity, making the rest of your life miserable."

Draco said nothing else. He sat there in disbelief, taking in what his father told him, trying to process all of the information, letting it sink in. He had a year and a half to win Hermione over, otherwise, it was over for him. His heart would break, and he'd die a horrid, slow and painful death.

And yet, he'd gladly put his heart in her hands, and let her decide if she wanted to break it.

…

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHO! Chapter THREE, bay-bee! :D

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Skyselisse