The changes in her son brought him closer to her. Narcissa carefully read the contents of his latest letter. Early on he had written that he would not be giving allegiance to the Dark Lord. This she understood. She had nothing to say to Draco on his choice because it was the way of Veela. Veela could not tolerate subjugation by men. Veela were the charmers, they were the ones in control, not the men. The Dark Lord was too powerful to fight against should he pay attention to Draco, so it was better this way to not be under the Dark Lord's control. Of course, she had no doubts as to Lucius' eventual reaction to this decision. So she quietly opened a personal Gringotts account for Draco, placed a deposit and sent him the key. She advised him to study hard as always and to be strong. She had always written this to him because there was nothing else to say between them, but now it had especial meaning; he had to be strong enough to go against his father and his wrath. It was inevitable. Draco was not going to produce heirs and that alone would guarantee Lucius' punishment. Of course there were ways to get Draco to cooperate, but they were not ways that Narcissa would allow to happen to her son. He was now more her son than Lucius' son by virtue of his Veela traits and Narcissa was bound by her own inhuman impulses to protect her own. Veela were supportive of each other in a male-dominated world for centuries.

This latest letter brought news that he had found one male who captivated him above all others. This male was a Weasley. Disapproval was Narcissa's first reaction as a matter of course. A Weasley? They were very much beneath consideration for a Malfoy. But Draco had been uncharacteristically descriptive of Weasley's attractiveness. He was, barring lack of breeding or finances, a prize. Now Narcissa could not sense human male pheromones, only pheromones sent by Veela, which were used amongst them as communication. But she could understand, which was a surprise, her son's choice. And perhaps this was a far better choice than the one she herself made. The Veela partnership was to be in the Veela's control. Undoubtedly Draco was the superior one in this potential pairing. Narcissa herself was not in control of Lucius, not nearly as much as she should be and as a result, her son would be in danger from his own father. Regrettable, but Narcissa was not one for lingering on regrets. Draco must win over this Weasley.

A Veela fights fiercest when their desired was in danger and those Muggle-loving Weasleys would have no shortage of enemies. The strength and fury gained by Draco through his protective impulses would stand him good stead against Lucius.


"Draco. Draco!"
Draco turned.
"What is it?"
Hermione paused for breath. She had run all the way to the library.
"Your father. I saw him. He's here."
"What?"
"I think you should hide."
Draco nodded.
"Massage room."
"No. It's not safe enough. You have to get out of here."
"And where do you suggest?"
"Hagrid's place. Your father definitely won't go there. He's gone to see Dumbledore about seeing you."
"No. I won't go there."
Hermione frowned.
"Draco, you-"
"I know just the place. Thank you for warning me."
Draco packed his books into his bag and handed them to Hermione. And he left. Hermione was right. When Draco wasn't found in the library or in the Slytherin Common Room, a school wide search was put out for him. Filch reported nothing. Lucius continued to badger Dumbledore on his son's whereabouts. He wasn't leaving any time soon.
"Where is he?" Harry asked, "He's not on the Map."
"He isn't?"
Harry shook his head. Just then, McGonagall came and told him that the Headmaster wanted to see him. Hermione and Ron looked at each other with worry. Harry sighed and went to follow McGonagall out.
"They think he's got something to do with this?"
"Of course. He's Harry Potter. But this won't help Malfoy find Draco."
Ron bit his lip, thinking.
"I think I know where he is."
"Where?"
"The Forbidden Forest."
"But that's crazy!"
"Best place for him to hide right now. He's part Veela, so he's practically a beast himself."
"It's still very dangerous."
"Believe me, I know."


Lucius could not get any information from Harry, despite his threats. And Dumbledore dismissed him. Snape of course was suspicious and kept Harry after. Harry sighed. Funnily enough, he didn't mind. Must mean that Draco was really his friend now, because he wouldn't be enduring this otherwise. And he got to see how very angry Lucius was without undue risk. Which was a bonus. He was scary, but nothing compared to Snape in a rage. Of course, he could draw certain parallels between Lucius and Uncle Vernon, so Draco's decision to cut it and run was doubly understandable now. Only he had no idea where Draco was and no way to find him or tell him that his father was gone. Not that he could anyway, with Snape interrogating him.


"Ron, this is a bad idea."
"I have to go get him."
Hermione shook her head.
"We can tell Dumbledore and he can get Hagrid to go look for him."
"But then he might have to tell Malfoy that Draco is back. I mean, he's gone missing right? And parents have to know. School policy, I bet. I know Dumbledore owled Mum and Dad when Ginny was taken."
"But Malfoy wants to do something bad to Draco."
"Well, Dumbledore can't stop him, he's Draco's father. I have to go. The less time he's stuck in the Forest, the better."
"But you might be hurt. And didn't you say that you were never ever going in there again?"
"This time's different."
Ron put on the Invisibility cloak and headed out. He dropped it off at Hagrid's and went into the Forest.

He began to remember exactly why he didn't want to go back into the Forbidden Forest after walking for about an hour. First of all, he couldn't call out Draco's name, because it might attract unwanted attention from things that could eat him. And of course Draco was hiding, so he wasn't going to be just waiting for him. But Ron wandered on. No point in leaving after just getting here. And Draco really needed to get back to Hogwarts. A twig snapped and Ron froze.
"Draco?"
No answer. Ron took out his wand. He began backing away slowly. No good. Whatever it was came crashing through the brush at him. He fired off as many Impedimentias as he could and ran. Just his luck, there were more things after him. He was running blind. Pincers snapped at his heels and he stumbled. He screamed and shot the thing's face with Incendio. A smell like burnt hair filled the air. Ron froze. Acromantula. Oh, shit. His mind went blank when he needed another curse. Just then, something dropped on top of the Acromantula and began to rip and tear. Other spiders attacked the newcomer and a pitched battle began. Ron took this chance to run. He could hear screeching behind him.
He was disorientated. He rubbed his arms, which were scratched by brush and his heart was still beating too fast. He looked up, but the trees were thick and hid the sky from view. He began to look for a clearing. If he could just see the North Star, everything would be over. Just then, sharp claws dug into his shoulders. He yelled, twisted and punched. His attacker's maw split open.
"Ron, you blasted, bloody fool. It's me!"
Ron gasped.
"You can talk!"
Draco's yellow eyes blinked.
"I wasn't about to let common parrots upstage me. I'm a Malfoy."
Draco's contemptuous tone snapped Ron from all lingering panic. He snorted.
"What are you doing here? I nearly got killed by some overgrown spiders back there because of you!" Draco continued.
Draco's head feathers rippled with irritation.
"That was you?"
Draco snapped his beak in reply.
"Uh...Thanks."
"Answer my question."
"I came looking for you."
Draco was silent for a long time.
"What?"
"I came looking for you. Your father left and you didn't come back and I was worried-"
"You were worried?"
"We were worried. Harry hadn't gotten back yet, Snape's probably got him because he thinks he has something to do with this, and Hermione's watching your stuff, so I came to get you."
Draco cooed. Ron came looking for him! Ron was worried for him!
"Hey, are you hurt?"
"Some cuts. Stupid spiders. What about you? Did they harm you?"
"No. I tripped a couple of times, but it's nothing. We should be heading back."
Draco nodded.
"Pity. The Forest's not as bad as I remembered."
"What do you mean not as bad? We nearly got eaten!"
"Still not as bad. I saw something back in First Year. That was scary, scarier than some overgrown house pests. Now, I don't feel scared of anything."
"Well, you can fly away from anything you can't cut open. Makes a difference."
Draco nodded and moved to pick Ron up.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
Ron pulled away.
"Taking you back. Fastest way is by air."
Ron hesitated.
"You sure you can lift me?"
Draco clicked his beak.
"Shut up and hold on. I'm stronger than you in this form, don't you forget."
Ron nodded and allowed Draco to pick him up. He took a running start and his wings caught air. He strained and they lifted off, somewhat unsteadily. Ron felt a little woozy from left over adrenaline and the swooping flight of Draco. Draco cooed again. Ron was very warm. And he was as good as hugging him hanging on like this. This was turning out better than expected. They could see the shape of Hogwarts. They landed. Draco reluctantly set Ron on his feet.
"I should say this before I forget. Thank you for looking for me. I wasn't expecting that."
"Oh. Er… You're welcome."
Draco extended his head forward and began to rearrange Ron's hair with his beak.
"It's mussed."
Ron was confused again, but he allowed Draco to preen. Another soft coo, Draco stepped back and they went back to the castle.


"You look like you were dragged through a hedge backwards."
"Master of the obvious, aren't you Mr. Potter?
Harry snorted.
"What did my father want?"
Harry shrugged.
"He wouldn't say. He just looked angry from the moment I saw him."
"Could be any number of things then. Such as the fact that I haven't answered any of his letters."
"Could be. How was the Forest?"
"Dark. Quiet. Full of things I could kill and eat and things that could kill and eat me. But I was one of the more dangerous things. It was… liberating. Simple."
"If push comes to shove, you'll go there?"
"Only if Ron won't have me. Father doesn't matter."
"Never thought I'd hear you say that."
"Well, I've been enlightened. I need to do what I really want, not what Father wants. He obviously isn't looking out for my well being at all. And now that I can start getting what I want, I won't let him get in my way."

TBC