Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter's world. That is the property of JKR, a most talented woman. So, don't sue me.
Plot: Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger are normal talented wizards who, on their 16th birthdays, learn otherwise. They are now burdened with family secrets that no one can ever know. They return to Hogwarts and struggle to get their lives back on track. However, both vows to find out one another's secret when they notice something different about each other.
A/N: I'M BAAAAAAAACK! Did you all miss me? I'm guessing you did and I'm terribly sorry that I didn't update after I got back from my trip. The place I was using for getting on the Net had closed for the rest of summer. Cursing my luck so furiously, I completely forgot there was somewhere else I could go.
Anywho, thank you all so much for the reviews. It was so bloody great to read them. Oh and I finished this story finally. I have uploaded THREE chapters altogether and am now going through ideas for a sequel. Happy Reading!
The Moon's Call
Chapter Fifteen
He attacked without thought.
He moved on instinct.
No one could touch him. All who tried were thwarted.
She healed me.
It was rather hard to believe. Mia was a powerful witch, yes, but not that powerful. Even so, if she was that powerful, there was no way she could negate the silver's fatal effect in his blood.
He had been burning alive. A fire he couldn't extinguish touched everything in his body. He tried to ignore it as he talked with her. He tried to breathe, but his lungs were tight with pain. His vision faded in and out. Everything hurt. It was difficult to think. He just wanted to die. He wanted the pain to stop.
She had hit him repeatedly until she slumped over him, crying her eyes out. He had never had someone cry over him before. His mother never bothered with that much emotional depth. Mia raised herself up, still crying, and he had felt something…something that soothed his burning body for a second.
It happened again. The second lengthened to two, then to four. Something he didn't understand was happening. Warmth infused him, smothering the painful flames that his blood carried. A sense of peace descended on him for a second that lasted an eternity. He had never known that kind of tranquillity.
What sort of power did she have that could have healed him and given him peace?
It came to him now.
Lucien had once said love was a very powerful thing. Its power was something to behold, something to cherish. He had wondered why he included this information in his education. Perhaps this was why.
She loves me?
Draco could hardly wrap his mind around it. It reminded him strongly of how he couldn't absorb the fact that she was a wolf a few days ago.
How was he supposed to go on now? Mia loves him. Did that mean if he marked her again, she would choose him for her mate?
A more important question: could he continue his plans for her death?
He had a perfect opportunity, but was classically interrupted. Looking back on it now, it all seems so unimportant and a wasteful energy. She was a member of the pack, the only female. Primal instinct prodded him to protect her, to give her the chance to pick him. Fuck, this was so damn complicated! Why couldn't she have been a human? It all would have been so much better if she were.
Could he kill her? Could he kill someone who loved him?
Draco never thought he'd see the day when someone's feelings would count so much in his decision. He felt stuck, disgusted. He wondered if Lucien had ever been in such a situation as his.
Damn it all!
If those fucking Death Eaters hadn't showed up when they did, he might have succeeded in killing her. His wand had been out, he had pointed it at her, she just stood there with her mouth open in shock…it was perfect. He forced himself to remember all the things she'd done to upstage him and provoke him.
He should not have hesitated, staring at her face turned up him, bathed in moonlight, making the wild gleam always present in her eyes shine all the clearer. He should have taken the advantage and killed her. Merlin knew he had enough anger and hate to do it.
But those fucking Death Eaters…
Why were they attacking? What was their goal? What role did his father play—or better he should say 'had played'.
The Death Eaters he had fought by the lake threw Lucius's bloody head at him. Long, tangled blonde hair stained red, sightless silver-blue eyes, mouth gruesomely open in a silent scream, it was not a pretty sight and Draco was happier that Mia had not stayed around to see it.
Draco could not keep the surprise from showing nor stop the deeply felt grief coming from some hidden place within him. Lucius was a hard man and a harder father, but he was his sire. That had to count for something at least. All the shit he had been put through growing up faded away to nothing. The drills, the beatings and punishments for imagined slights—none of it mattered anymore.
What had Lucius done to warrant being killed by decapitation? Draco didn't know if the Killing Curse could kill an Alpha, or a Beta, like it would a wizard or muggle. Lucien had never said anything about that actually. All he spoke of were physical deaths done without magic.
Draco wondered about his mother. Was she still alive? Did she escape Lucius's fate or share it?
Too many questions and not enough answers.
He hated that.
Merlin, the night had started out with such promise! Mia had left the dance and Turpin had followed her out. Some minutes later, Turpin had come back and signaled him discreetly across the room. Once she went back out, he waited a minute or two before meandering in that direction. Then he slipped out. Turpin waited for him outside in the hall and led him to a stone bench in the small courtyard to sit down.
When he asked why the location, she replied so she wouldn't break her word to Mia about their talk not leaving 'this spot'. Turpin quickly recounted what was said—which was blissfully nothing—and informed him of where she was. Draco had given her his thanks and set out after her.
He found her by the Big Rock (it might as well be capitalized for there was no other name for the spot), fully meaning to ask why she was by the lake or something asinine like that, but she started the conversation on a different track. Draco couldn't tell her he and Blaise really meant to follow her instructions, but seeing her with Potter was too much. It was a territorial thing. She was with an unknown male. He had to be challenged somewhat. They couldn't help it. It was instinctual.
Then she asked if she counted as anything to him. She did count, but he didn't know how to put it, let alone allow the words to form in his mind. She could be a lot of things to him, or she could be nothing. He was honest about still deciding. She hadn't given any sort of loyalty pledge. She was a wild cannon even though she said she'd join them.
Draco told her to decide whether or not to formally join them. Of course, being the idiotic, thickheaded Gryffindor, she feigned ignorance. That pissed him off more than anything. Who the hell was she kidding? She had to know. He would have continued talking with her, but this…this was too much. He'd snapped and grabbed his wand, which was his aim all along.
If only he hadn't hesitated…
What was he going to do? He couldn't kill her. The beast inside would never allow it, no matter how much his human side argued. There was no bargaining with an animal instinct. If he went against it, Draco could very well tear himself apart. What sort of abomination might he become then? Would the two halves of himself just separate like one of those people with multiple people living inside them, or would one side just completely disappear? Which would be the one to survive: man or wolf? Would his soul even survive such a thing?
A chill went through him. He'd rather die than live as a soulless thing with no meaning in his life. It would kill him slowly, a torture more cruel than anything Lucius had dreamed up. This could break him before such a thing would happen, knowing that such a fate would be waiting for him.
No, he would not kill her.
But that didn't mean he couldn't move on to Weasley and Potter. Either way, the Golden Trio would be no more. Mission accomplished.
A flash of silver broke through his thoughts.
Draco turned and grabbed the wrist, twisting as he did so. A grunt of pain reached him and the knife slipped out of his attacker's limp hand, but that didn't stop him from twisting more. There was a sharp snap of bone and Draco shoved the man away to the floor. The hooded man clutched his broken wrist to his chest and crawled away, whimpering.
Sharp footsteps ran at him from behind. Whirling around, Draco grabbed the person, evading the knife, and threw him against the wall.
Did they all have knives?
The open corridor filled with voices shouting curses. More people ran by him to cover the windows further down. Draco shouted a hex and it hit a dense shadow across the courtyard. More Death Eaters were coming up by way of the courtyard. He could hear them running up. The wolf inside howled, longing to get out. He held tight to his control, not even letting himself put on some muscle.
He had a feeling that once there were enough Death Eaters, they'd rush the line and overwhelm the students defending the courtyard.
It's what he would do.
A girl screamed beside him and fell after a blue jet of light hit her, narrowly missing him. Draco cast a quick glance at her and saw she was still breathing. Whatever they hit her with, she'd live.
If only there were a way across, then he'd Change and clear the doorway, but he couldn't. There was no way he'd announce his other side like that.
But if they already know your secret, that doesn't matter anymore, his mind whispered.
Draco refused to allow himself to fully think it through.
The hell with it.
If he died this night, then he'd go out fighting, using every weapon he had in his possession. They would rue the day they thought they could attack the school.
He looked up the line for Blaise. Towards the middle, he spotted his friend. A Death Eater had charged, breaking from the shadows and blocking curses, and Blaise stepped out to meet him with a punch to the face. It happened quick as lightning and the Death Eater went down. Blaise pointed his wand at the person and fired a spell.
Draco ran up to him and pulled him back.
"I'm going for the doorway," Draco said quickly.
Blaise wiped his forehead. "Are you crazy? There's a shitload of Death Eaters in there."
"Exactly. They'll wait, build up their numbers, and then charge us, overwhelm our defenses."
"What are you going to do?"
"Run in there, Change, and attack. I'll start to Change before I even reach the doorway." Draco glanced around for Mia. He couldn't help it.
"I'll go with you," Blaise said instantly.
"No. You have to stay here." He met Blaise's darkened eyes. "Stay and protect her. I'll take care of it myself."
"You might be killed."
"I was cut once, but I stand before you unharmed now. I was able to heal somehow," Draco lied. "Just…look after her. Take my wand. I don't want to lose it."
Blaise frowned, but accepted Draco's wand. "Okay. I'll cover you, Draco, but be careful. We still have things to resolve."
Draco smiled. "Just hold the courtyard."
He slipped away before Blaise could say anything else. His eyes looked for her as he ran by to the far end, to where the courtyard wall met the low wall of the open corridor. He picked her out by the rich chestnut in her hair. He caught a glimpse of her face and looked away.
Ripping off his robes, he jumped the low wall. Draco ignored the people behind him yelling to get back. He slipped into the shadows, wishing his hair was darker.
It's now or never.
He ran, twisting and turning to avoid the curses sent his way. Then a number of curses hit the open doorway to distract the Death Eaters. Blaise to the rescue.
"DRACO!" a girl screamed after him.
Mia.
He didn't look. Just a little more and he'd be in. Draco started the Change. Hunching over so the students behind him wouldn't see, Draco plowed into the Death Eaters taking aim at him. There was confusion for a few precious seconds, which he used to complete his Change. Then he attacked.
The doorway was pitch black and very crowded. He didn't use his teeth unless it was to kill. He would not pass his gift on to others. They didn't deserve that.
When he saw a bare throat, he jumped and snapped. Within a minute, his muzzle was wet. His claws scored flesh. There were screams and wet gurgles. Bodies collided with one another. Draco slipped between the Death Eaters.
Even when he caught glimpses of sliver, he kept going. He jumped at a person holding a knife, driving him to the ground. The blade skidded dully across his fur as Draco went for the throat, his claws digging deeply into the Death Eater's chest as he moved. He snapped his jaws shut on the delicate column of flesh. It crunched and he pulled. Whoever it was, he fell back on the stone floor, shaking.
In short order, Draco chased out most of the Death Eaters and down the stone steps. He hoped Blaise would move to take the doorway. It was strategically sound and very defensible.
Draco ran the Death Eaters ragged all the way to the forest's edge. The Death Eaters ran heavily, breathing harshly in short pants. When one tripped, he pounced on him or her—yes, her—and shook them by the scruff of their necks until he heard the spine snap and the bodies go limp in his grip.
The Forbidden Forest was very dangerous for the Death Eaters he chased. They couldn't see in the dark. The raised roots of the trees and the sudden dips and rises in the ground took out many.
Thwack!
Draco looked back and saw a bolt of wood in the trunk of a tree he just passed. He circled back warily and recognized it as a centaur's bolt. He nosed the air and caught their scents in the wind. Then he heard cries of Death Eaters, thundering hooves, and the deep chested shouts of the centaurs.
Remembering what happened the last time he and the others ran into them, Draco went back the way he came. He kept his eyes, ears, and nose open for the centaurs.
He headed back for the courtyard. Draco stepped lightly, silently. He stopped when he heard a twig snap. He looked around.
A man leaped out from behind a tree. Draco jumped to the side, but the man tackled his hind legs. Draco twisted around and snapped at the man's face. The man rolled away and got to his feet. Draco saw him pull a knife out, but the blade didn't shine brightly at all. It was plain steel, not silver.
Growling low, he stalked after the man. He ignored the knife. Draco kept his eyes on the other man's eyes.
Draco jumped, but the man sidestepped him, bringing the knife down on his shoulder. Draco hit the ground and rolled. He could feel the sting of the cut as he worked his shoulder. He smelled blood.
Fire burned in his gut. He struggled to calm his rage. He would make mistakes if he rushed his attacks. This man could wound him seriously, even fatally.
He leaped again, but the same thing happened. He earned another wound. This time on his back. He managed to twist away, avoiding most of the power in the blow.
Slowly, he berated himself.
Draco circled him, eying the knife.
An idea came to him suddenly and he went with it.
Snarling, he went after the man's feet. The man couldn't effectively use his weapon without losing his balance. When Draco paused, the man drew back his foot and kicked at him. He didn't see it in time and received a hard kick to the ribs. Draco yelped in pain and rolled into a tree. He didn't have time to get up before the man kicked him again.
Pinned against a tree, he couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. Spots of black played across his vision.
Kicked again, he heard one of his ribs snap. Draco yelped again. He couldn't help it.
The man stopped. Draco tried to move, but only managed to shift his weight from one side to the other. His limbs were heavy. He couldn't even hold his head up. All he could do was stare at the man.
It hurt to breathe.
The man threw back his hood and ripped the Death Eater mask away. Long ink black hair spilled in front of his face as he looked down at Draco, but not before Draco saw green eyes as brilliant as Potter's. Draco would have thought it was actually Potter, except Potter was still at the castle and this man was at least older than him by a good ten years.
He brought the knife out.
Draco tried to Change, but he had to move to do that and it was too painful. He tried as hard as he could, blinking back tears, but was beaten back by a terrible mind-numbing feeling that touched every part of his body. Despairing, gazing into those intense green eyes, Draco struggled to block the pain and Change again.
The man laughed darkly. "Your fangs will look good as a necklace, boy."
Twirling the knife artfully, he raised it. With a cry, he swung it down.
Roaring, a blur of white tackled the man before the knife could reach its deadly destination. The man went down to the ground and the knife flew out of his hand, spinning into the night.
Draco stared blankly at the white wolf standing over the man, its teeth on his throat. Red splashed its muzzle, head and chest. The man kicked out futilely and flailed his arms.
The snarls coming from the wolf were harsh and deep.
The man stopped moving and the wolf released its victim. It licked its chops and looked at him.
He must have drifted off or blacked out because he was shaken awake by another man. Draco panicked and thrashed about, desperate to get away. He nearly blacked out again, but the man shook him. "Stay with me, son."
Draco tried to focus. His vision darkened, lightened, then darkened again. Blinking, he steeled himself and concentrated.
Pale gray eyes stared at him steadily.
Lucien?
"Draco, stay calm. I'll get you out of here." Lucien glanced around distractedly. Looking back at him, he said in a whisper, "We're far enough away from the school to apparate, but you can't Change right now. We don't have the time. I can apparate you with me, but I need you to hold on to me."
What?
Lucien held out his forearm. "Bite me, Draco. Bite me hard and don't let go."
The determination in Lucien's eyes…Draco couldn't ignore it, nor could he ignore the anxiety in his uncle's voice.
A new surge of strength came through some hidden depth and Draco found it in him to turn his head and open his jaws. Lucien placed his arm between his teeth.
"Bite."
Draco swallowed and did as he was told. He bit down until blood flowed into his mouth. He tried to ignore that and Lucien's grunt of pain.
"Okay. Brace yourself."
"DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!"
"STUPEFY!"
Light flashed before Draco's eyes, illuminating Lucien's snarling face.
HEY Y'ALL! IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK!
My trip was very fun, although the driving was a bit too long for my taste and the humidity nearly killed me. But I'll live to continue writing.
Don't forget that I have uploaded two other chapters and that this story is finished.
Ha, gotta go now. I've more writing to do. Don't forget to drop me a review.
– TG