Disclaimer- J.K, the Lucky One, owns this entire story, not me. (I own me, no one else ever will!) I do however claim ownership to the story line. This Prophecy was mine, than one was included in The Order. I didn't copy the Prophecy, I swear. J.K owns hers, and I own mine.

Chapter 12- Animagus Animal

Draco made his way cautiously down the corridor leading to Dumbledore's secluded office. He reached the gargoyle that guarded the entrance and stopped short. Bugger, bugger, bugger! Why couldn't Dumbledore just have a normal door, on which he could knock and enter?

Draco crossed his arms and scowled at the entryway in annoyance. He couldn't even begin to guess what the password might be. He looked down the corridor in hope that a Professor would be walking up to help him. No such luck. Draco suddenly felt the amulet from around his neck grow warm and it glowed a shade emerald. The gargoyle sprung back from the doorway in response and Draco looked in to see a spiraling staircase leading to a closed wooden door. Draco stood still, staring from the gargoyle to his amulet in perplexity. "What in the wizards world made you know to do that?" He stupidly asked the amulet, as if hoping to get a response. "And how did you make it open? What did you do…?"

Draco shook his head. Another for the increasing list of questions to ask Dumbledore, he thought as he climbed the stairs. He knocked respectfully on the door and waited for a reply.

"Come in." Came the soft voice on the other side.

Draco walked into the office and closed the door behind him. He turned to see Dumbledore sitting at his desk looking mildly surprised to see Draco in his office.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy? What can I do for you?" Dumbledore gestured to a seat in front of him, which Draco politely sat in.

"I was wondering if I could ask you a few blunt questions?" Draco inquired. Dumbledore nodded with a small smile and leaned back in his chair with his hands placed on his lap.

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco looked Dumbledore in the eye. "I was wondering if you know anything about a Prophecy?" Draco had thought that this was an OK question to ask, because if Dumbledore strangely didn't know about it, he could easily cover it up by apologizing, and saying he meant to say a prosperity potion.

But it seemed that wasn't going to be necessary, for Dumbledore nodded gravely. "Yes I do. I had assumed that you and Miss. Granger had already come across it. Are you aware of what you must do?"

"Yes Headmaster. We must pull together and somehow defeat the Dark Lord."

"Hmm. And have you any idea of how you are going to do it? It sounds like quite a difficult task to carry out." Dumbledore said. It seemed he knew much about it, and didn't want to say anything he shouldn't.

"Hermione has to become an Animagus, I think. We've got no idea as to what she should become just yet. I have to help her. Got no idea how to do that either. We have to defeat Voldemort somehow. Definitely wouldn't have a clue as to how we're gonna manage that…"

Dumbledore leaned forward at Draco's confusion. "Mr. Malfoy, you shouldn't worry about how you're going to do these things. The answers will come to you in time. All you must do is be prepared for what you have to do. When it's time; you'll be able to do it. Don't worry."

Draco tried to accept Dumbledore's words, but found it hard. What if he couldn't help Hermione, and ruined any chance of the Prophecy coming true? Trying to think for the Prophecy was the hardest thing Draco had ever had to do. He was intelligent. He was good at what he set his mind to. But if he didn't even know what he was supposed to be doing, then he was at a loss.

"You're not listening to me Draco, I can tell." Dumbledore reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a piece of parchment. "I thought I may be needing this soon, so I dug it up from the library." He held it out for Draco to read, but spoke it as if he had committed it to memory.

'True Seers are very rare in the wizarding world. One of the most accomplished in this field was Derek Malfoy. He lived over 100 years ago, but his name and skill is still remembered today. He worked with a witch partner to create a Prophecy concerning their descendants. Derek believed that his descendant would prove to wield the same skill and power as he, though no sane wizard would believe this, as he was a rare being that no one could duplicate.'

Draco raised his eyebrows after the short passage had been read. "So I'm supposed to be a powerful Seer like my great grandfather. I don't even like divination, or at least the Professors. Sure I still do it, but I don't learn any thing from that centaur or google-eyed fly lady."

"Now, Mr. Malfoy. They know enough to teach you the basics. But Derek will teach you advanced divination through the journal, so keep it checked regularly."

Draco nodded and began proposing another more personal question on his mind. "Um, Professor Dumbledore? Do you know if every line of the Prophecy is true? Because there's one I don't really-" At that moment there was a knock at the door. Draco's stomach did an unwanted turn as it slowly opened and Hermione's head poked in.

"Excuse me Professor Dumbledore. Sorry about the interruption, but do you mind if I come-" Hermione spotted Draco sitting opposite Dumbledore and dropped her eyes momentarily to the floor out of mild embarrassment. "What are you doing here?" she then asked curiously.

"I blew up the Herbology buildings and am about to be expelled from Hogwarts. You?" Draco said coolly, his manner nothing like his thoughts. All his rational thoughts left him as soon as her beautiful face had peered around the door. The close call last night surfaced in his mind. Hermione's eyes widened in shock, then she scowled at him.

"Did not. I saw them out my window this morning and they were all intact. I'm here to ask Dumbledore some questions." Hermione answered, not looking away from his face, even though the last sentence was more or less directed at Dumbledore.

"Then have a seat Miss. Granger. I have been answering a few questions that Mr. Malfoy has for me too." Dumbledore quickly conjured up another chair next to Draco and beckoned for her to sit in it. Casting an unreadable glance at Draco, Hermione sat herself next to him.

"Mr. Malfoy, you were in the middle of something, would you like to continue? Which line of the Prophecy do you not see coming true?"

Hermione looked to him with narrowed eyes, obviously running through the Prophecy in her head, searching for the line that Draco may be thinking of. After a few seconds, her expression became uncomfortable. Draco sighed. She's realized which line it is, he thought.

"Well, it's in the last paragraph. Second last line." Dumbledore looked confused. "Um, the part about 'Once these two lovers combine their power…'" Hermione kept her eyes on her feet, trying desperately to avoid Draco's gaze. His expression was intentionally unperturbed as he met Dumbledore's smiling eyes. "Are you sure that's correct?"

"Yes Mr. Malfoy. Derek could predict everything to do with you two, and I don't think he'd include something that he wasn't certain about in the prophecy." He looked to Hermione. "Miss. Granger, what did you want to know?"

She swallowed and looked up at him. "I was wondering if you knew what animal I am meant to become? I was going to ask less bluntly, but you seem to be aware of the whole thing, so what's the point?"

"Exactly. And to answer your question; No, I don't know what your form is going to be. I do know that Mr. Malfoy will help you find out."

"Um, I've had a few dreams recently. Do you think they are messages?" Hermione asked.

Draco leaned forward. "So have I."

"You're both having dreams? What are they about?" Dumbledore asked them both.

"I see a grown Unicorn running through the trees." Draco answered. "It's stormy and she runs to a clearing and helps free a young Unicorn who is trapped under some fallen branches. Not much else."

"And you Miss. Granger?"

"Same thing. Except I am the Unicorn." Hermione replied skeptically. "So it does mean something then? If we are both seeing it…"

"I'd say so." Dumbledore glanced at a small piece of metal on his desk. Draco assumed it was a clock. "I have to go talk to some of the Professors about classes tomorrow. You two should probably get together and try to pinpoint this animal. Good luck."

With that, Dumbledore stood and left the room. Draco sighed and also stood up. He walked over to the door and was about to close it behind him when Hermione spoke.

"I'm sorry."

He stopped to listen, but didn't turn to face her.

"I shouldn't have done what I did last night. I could have just waited for today to thank you. I'm sorry I came into your room, and I'm sorry you followed me to mine. I'm sorry that I didn't demand you leave. But I'm not sorry about Lavender and Parvarti coming in. They saved us from never being able to talk again. I couldn't live with that Draco. Could you?"

Draco turned and looked at her. She had remained seated, and looked up at him with troubled eyes and a frown. "I don't think so." He answered truthfully. "I thought along different lines then you did last night. I cursed your ditzy friends for coming in, not thanked them. Yet I know that if they hadn't, this Prophecy would be abandoned due to your need to avoid me."

Hermione turned her head away. She couldn't bear to look at him. Over the past four months, she had gone from hating Malfoy, to accepting him, to respecting him and now she felt another feeling coming through. She liked Draco. For his strength to cope with the Prophecy even though it screams against everything he was ever taught. For the strength of the guard he puts up to avoid being hurt. For carrying her out of the snow and into the warmth of the cabin. For letting her cry on his shoulder, and now for what he had just said.

"Hermione, don't look away from me. Return my stare. You have to stop avoiding this. I know you would have never looked at me again if last night had happened. But it didn't Hermione. So you can talk to me and look at me with out feeling embarrassment or humiliation or whatever it is you would have felt for kissing me." He walked over to her and grasped her by the shoulders. "Now lets forget about this, and do what we were told. We need to discover your animal."

Draco took hold of his amulet and pictured the clearing near the cabin. A few seconds later, he had transported himself and Hermione there. She followed him silently to the cabin and sat down on the couch once inside.

"I have had dreams. Have you had them too?" Hermione asked him quietly.

"I think so. I dreamt last night about it, did you?"

"Yes…but what if its wrong? What if we're interpreting it in the wrong way, and I'm supposed to be the little squirrel watching form the sidelines? How will we know?"

Draco walked over and sat next to her on the couch. "Divination. I'll have to try figuring this out for myself…" he muttered. "Can I have your hand?"

He held his out his hand. She tentatively placed her hand in his, and immediately got shivers down her back. His eyes met with hers briefly, but in that short look, she could tell he had received that same fate. Draco closed his gray eyes, and tried to concentrate on the mind of the girl whose hand he was holding.

He felt his mind joining with hers. A barrier blocked his way to sift through her thoughts and memories. He pushed lightly with his mind and broke it down. Images began racing through his mind and he watched them all pass with curiosity. Harry, Ron, a ginger cat, two people who looked like they were her parents, the Gryffindor emblem, a Quidditch match. Draco stopped momentarily to pull back a bit. He was on the wrong path.

He tried again. Harry, Ron, Professor McGonagall, the Potions dungeon, Professor Snape, homework, sitting in OWL's. Nope. Not this train of thought either. Draco opened his eyes and looked Hermione over. She was sitting with her eyes shut, her grip on Draco's hand tighter than before and she looked slightly pained.

"Are you OK Hermione? I'm not hurting you am I?" he asked softly.

Her eyes opened slowly. "No, not at all. It's calming actually. I feel completely relaxed."

"Do you see what I see?" Draco asked her curiously.

"Uh-uh. Only black, beautiful black…" She answered dreamily, closing her eyes again.

Draco followed suit and concentrated on her mind again. An image of a corridor down in the dungeons, a guy with white hair and malicious gray eyes sending her flying backwards into the stone wall, blood, the Forbidden Forest, Glowing Oaks, the cabin, the journal. Draco had found the right section of her memory. More images came easily. The prophecy, an angry Ginny, a sorry Ginny, an amulet with a Unicorn and dagger, the white haired Slytherin guy again. This time he was shirtless, close and leaning towards her. Draco stopped here out of interest. He felt Hermione's emotions over this event. She was nervous, scared and worried. Yet she was pleased, and yearning for him in a way that had surprised her.

Draco moved on. An image of Hermione sleeping; then her dream. She was cantering through the trees with four hooves, her silver coat glistened with raindrops, and she whinnied to the sky in desperation…

***FLASH***

The image of Hermione' s amulet again.

Her dream of running through the forest.

The image of a young unicorn snuggling under her neck.

A silver pelt.

A gold pelt.

A long pointed horn.

Cantering, prancing and dancing.

The extreme beauty and intelligence of only one creature…

A Unicorn.

***FLASH***

Draco's eyes flew open and he realized he was sitting up dead straight. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead. He had been concentrating so hard, not wanting to miss anything. Hermione seemed to be content, holding his hand and dreaming about nothing.

"Hermione…?" He squeezed her hand gently. "I saw something."

She looked up at him slowly, brown eyes were glistening with tears. "What did you see?"

Draco was alarmed, but told her about the Unicorn. "I think I've clarified that issue for you. It's definitely a Unicorn."

A single tear fell across Hermione's face when he said that.

"What's wrong?" Draco didn't understand.

"I had a terrible feeling of pain and loss when you were Seeing. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about the Unicorn. Can we pick another animal? The squirrel doesn't sound all bad."

"I don't think so. It's what I Saw, what you dream and what your amulet is. I'd say it's a pretty strong message. Sorry."

She put on her brave face, wiped away her tears and pretended that she'd forgotten about her hand being in Draco's. It made her feel secure after what she'd just felt, and she didn't want him to let her go. Draco glanced quickly down at their joint hands also, but said nothing.

"What now? Do we know what comes after deciding the animal?" He asked her.

"Maybe, if it's definitely the Unicorn it'll say something in the journal." Hermione suggested. Draco nodded, slowly removed his hand from hers and retrieved the journal. Handing it to her he walked to the small table and sat down there. He pulled a few pieces of parchment from inside his robes and a bottle of ink.

"What are you doing?" Hermione stood and made her way over to him. She read the heading he had just written. "You're doing homework?" she asked incredulously.

"Yep. I couldn't be bothered doing it over the holidays." He replied. "Have you done all of yours?"

Hermione nearly laughed. She had done hers in the first week of holidays, and since then had done it about three times over. "Um, yes. I have. By the way, it's an essay on Weakness potions, not Sneakiness potions."

"Oh, thanks." He performed a small clearing charm on the parchment and rewrote the heading. "Uh…how the hell do you make a Weakness potion, then?"

Hermione laughed at him. "You'd better find out before class tomorrow, or you wont be Snape's favorite student anymore." She turned and walked to the door. "I'm gonna check out the journal for clues of what to do, but I feel like some fresh air, so I'll do it in the clearing. Have fun homeworking."

Hermione left the cabin and made her way to the clearing, following the little river that flowed out from the lake. She sat down on a boulder by the lake and opened the small book. Flipping through the pages she had already read, she came across a page with writing that hadn't been there previously.

'Now you have chosen your animal. Your changes will be quicker than the usual three years needed to become an Animagus, because you don't have to register. I will teach you how to do it, don't worry. The first step is to visualize.

The image must be perfect, or else your shape will be wrong and you'll have to start again, and you don't have time for that. Just visualize the Unicorn, Hermione. Then you can begin…'

Hermione finished and looked pensively across the small lake. Visualize? Hermione tried, but every time the image of a Unicorn came into her head, it would change shape, disappear or not even appear in the first place. She just couldn't keep the image. "This is ridiculous!" She huffed. Hermione looked down at the journal in frustration and noticed more words had formed on the parchment.

'Come on Hermione. How is the best way to get an image in your mind and have it stay there? Visualize…'

Hermione stared at the night sky helplessly. What the bloody hell were they talking about? The stars formed patterns that she could easily remember, with or without looking at them. But why…?

Images! If she saw it first, than she could reform it in her mind properly. Hermione would need a picture of a Unicorn, or even the real thing, then she could visualize it clearly and not have it waver.

***

Ducking under a low branch of a Glowing Oak, Draco saw Hermione sitting by the lake staring at the sky. The moon shone on her face and illustrated her features perfectly. Her face was filled with excitement as he walked quietly over to her. She didn't know he was watching her, so the barriers she usually put up around people weren't showing. Hermione looked happy and she even laughed softly as she peered into the trees, obviously searching for something. Seeing her innocence and true self, without thinking Draco wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

She jumped slightly, then turned to face him with sparkling eyes. "Draco, if I draw it, I can keep it clear!" He smiled at her even though he didn't have a clue what she was talking about. Laughing quietly again, she turned back to face the trees, resting the back of her head on Draco's chest.

Feeling his heart beating on her head felt strange to Hermione. Her and Victor had never really gotten all that close. Holding hands and a few kisses was all. Hermione had hugged and lay down with Harry and Ron many times, but only as friends do. Never like this.

The melodic beats seared through her, and Hermione felt her body resting fully against his. The pulsing glow of the Oaks relaxed her and gradually Hermione let her eyelids fall closed. Draco rested his arms on her shoulders and held her up as he moved. Kneeling down in front of her, he didn't need to think twice this time before leaning towards her.

Hermione only realised what Draco was doing when she felt his face close to hers. Leaving her eyes closed, Hermione tilted her face and met his lips with hers. His lips were soft and smooth, and Hermione wound her arms around his neck. Draco slid his hands about her waist slowly and they came to rest at the base of her back. Hermione stood up so she could feel her body against his as Draco deepened the kiss.

***

Unnoticed by neither Draco nor Hermione, a small gold head peeped through the trees to watch them curiously. The dappled moonlight played across its pelt, and it seemed to dance. The young Unicorn took another cautious step forward, then realised that the two-legged creatures couldn't see him. They were preoccupied with something else. He had seen the female watching the trees a few times before, but was too shy to come out in to view. Backing away from the two, the Unicorn melted back into the cover of the forest to return to its mother.

***

Hermione pulled away, and inhaled a few quick, deep breaths. Glancing up at Draco she took a distancing step backwards. She swallowed, cleared her throat and smiled mischievously.

"Man, if Parvarti or Lavender had walked in half way through that, there's no way I would have let you escape unnoticed."

Draco laughed, partly from what she'd said, and partly because he had been thinking exactly the same thing. He ran a hand through his hair and stared up at the night sky. Wow. That was an unexpected event he did not regret one bit.

Even if Hermione couldn't handle looking at him straight once she had thought about it overnight, it had been worth it. No doubt about that.

"Sooo…" Hermione started, now looking slightly uncomfortable. "You finished all your homework?"

"Nope. I suppose Snape will just have to fail me." Draco shrugged. "I am getting sick of being his favorite student now anyway. It's starting to get old, you know?"

"Oh, sure. Yeah." Hermione didn't have a clue what he was talking about. She loved being professor McGonagal's favorite student, and she had been since first year. "If you wanted to keep up the charade for a little longer though, I could always help you." She offered.

Draco thought about it for a few seconds. He really should get it done, and it wouldn't hurt him any to get Hermione's intelligence down in his work. "Alright."

They spent the next hour or so lying on their stomachs in the clearing, doing Draco's essay on Weakness potions. Or rather, Hermione doing it. Draco just watched her in fascination. How could she have her mind set so firmly on work when she had just kissed him? No girl can do it with that much ease. They all drop dead at the sight of him once he's been with them.

Maybe it hadn't meant anything to Hermione.

Draco continued to nod and scribble down what she told him until she seemed to think he knew it all. He put the parchment and ink back in his robe, stood and helped Hermione to her feet.

"Well, I'll see you in class tomorrow." Hermione nodded at him and took hold of her amulet. Stealing one last glance in his direction, she disappeared.

Draco let out an audible breath. Bloody hell. Now he'd messed it all up. They were getting on much better these days, now how would things be between them? Hopefully not forced. Hermione hadn't minded him kissing her, she even smiled and stayed with him afterwards.

Draco sighed and used his amulet to appear in the forest near the castle. Then he walked back to the Slytherin Common Room to write up his potion essay from the notes Hermione had supplied him with. He hadn't listened at all when she had explained things, so his notes made no sense. He tried anyway; thinking Hermione would be disappointed in him if he didn't.

***

A/N- Great! Chapter 12 is finished! Thanks to EVERYONE who has reviewed, each and every one is fantastic! I would mention names, but I just want to post this chapter for you all :D

(Winter Fae- I love your long reviews! Don't make them any shorter, I love the detail you put in them! Thanks.)