Disclaimer: Not mine.

Warnings: Slash, Veela, melodrama (sob)

Author's Notes: I shall slice off my own head now a save you all the trouble. (In other words, sorry about the incredibly prolonged wait.) Thank you SO much for your wonderful response, I love all y'all so much! (Oh, and there's a LOT of information in this chapter!)

Geas is pronounced 'Gee-sh' and no, I didn't make it up.

XoX

Chapter 9: Family History

"Oh dear," Draco's grandmother said, staring down at Harry's unconscious form. "I see we'll have to teach you control on top of everything else."

Draco slumped in his seat. "Grandmother," he whined. "It's not my fault. If people would just keep their grubby hands off my mate we'd be fine."

Elizabeth Chamberlain raised a manicured, gray eyebrow. "Really, Draco. I myself have a mate and I'm perfectly content to stay with the old bugger. Do you think you could let someone besides yourself touch Harry? In the most plutonic of fashions of course."

Draco grumbled a bit, then shrugged. "Mother could touch him if she wants, but not too much. Maybe shake his hand."

"Excellent. From now on Harry must shake the hand of everyone who greets him." The old woman smiled. "And now Draco, you are going to learn the most powerful and simple of Veela magics. The geas."

Draco blinked. "The what? I didn't think Veela had a whole brand of magic – isn't it all hormones and looks?"

Elizabeth clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "How ever do you think the elder Veela function, Draco? Not all of us have lithe bodies and blonde hair. Our looks and hormones are used primarily to attract a mate and fade with age, like with all species. Either we get bald and fat like your grandfather, or we grow old and regal. It all depends on our nature. Do not trust your wizard manufactured books to give you correct information on Veelas."

"Fine." Draco shrugged. "What are geas?"

"The plural is geasa Draco, and they are… compulsions of a sort. A very powerful and, for Veela, easily learned art. With a geas you can ensure many things. The loyalties of your followers, the honesty of your children, even behavioral patterns, as you will see when Harry wakes up. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named uses a weak form of it when he applies the Dark Mark. But only Veela, Vampires, the Fae, and wizards who have been trained in the Druidic arts can fully master its power, and He is no Druid. A Druid would care for the Earth and the lives around him more than he does. It is why The Dark Lord's followers still have the ability to repent."

Draco nodded. "Alright, so how does one cast a geas?"

"It's easy, Draco. Although at first there are… words you should use. Think of them as the words to a spell and memorize them. The victims of your geas will not be able to remember the words unless you command them to, but if an observer should pick them up… well, it would mean part of the Veela magic would be exposed. Get rid of their memories of the moment or put a geas on them as well. It matters not."

"So what are the words?" Draco asked eagerly, "And how is it that you don't have to say them, but I do?"

"To the second, I am a full blooded Veela much older and wiser than you. To the first – and this is mearly an example – say something like this:

"Harry Potter, I hereby lay a geas on you,
that you must always shake the hand of any being who greets you by name,
be they alive or dead,
disembodied, inanimate or between states.
From now onward refusal to do so will mean instant death."

"But that's horrible!" Draco exclaimed. "Death because you refuse to shake someone's hand? Stay away from my mate you old witch!"

Sighing, Draco's grandmother rubbed her temples and dropped into the chair next to Harry's body. "Look, I'll be frank. Nobody has ever had the will to actually disobey a geas long enough for it to actually kill them. If it reaches that point – and I concede that it is possible, Gryffindors and all that rubbish – you can always reverse it."

"How?"

Elizabeth cleared her throat authoritatively.

"Harry Potter, I hereby release you from you geas.
I solemnly swear that any and all compulsions to shake hands will be your own from now on.
To renege on my pledge will mean instant death."

"So if you put a geas on him to shake peoples hands again you'll die?"

Elizabeth laughed. "Oh heavens no, the words used are formal for the most part. You've no need to fear. Why I'd cast multiple 'wash your hands' geasa on your father through out the course of a day when he was young. And… oh, there is so much to teach you about what you are Draco. You must understand, Veela are not human. We make look like humans, even talk and dress like them, but we are not.

"Veela," Draco's grandmother continued, "originate from Central Europe. Before Veela started to mate with other species we were one with nature. Falcons, hawks, snakes, swans, horses, wolves – Veela were once able to take all of these shapes. Now… Now most are limited to a sort of half-transformation. Half-bird is the most common today. We were more advanced then the humans around us back then. We pitied them, I think, for we started to heal their wounded and tell the fortunes of new born babes. It was then that inter-species mating began.

"It was not, as your wizard history books will tell you, a sudden outburst of Veela/Wizard love. Veela were ripped from their mates and forced to bear the young of multiple wizards. Our people were kept as beautiful whores and slaves, forced to heal and shape shift on demand. It was a dark times for our people, Draco.

"As time progressed Veela began to change. Bloodlines were severely diluted and, to this day, there is no true 'pureblood' Veela. Our family is about as close as it comes, but we see the odd sign of past cross-species mating every now and then. Your father, for example. Pureblooded Veela don't have wizarding magic."

Draco stared, open mouthed, at his grandmother. He'd just learned more about Veela in ten minutes with her then he had in a week of forced lessons with that oaf Hagrid in Care of Magical Creatures classes at school.

"You – you're a Veela?" a voice from beside his grandmother asked.

Draco paled and shot his grandmother a nasty look. If she hadn't showed up and started waxing on about Veela history Harry would still be in the dark.

XoX

Harry opened his eyes slowly and bit back the groan that threatened to escape him. Not bothering to raise his pounding head from where it rested on the table he began to gather his energy and listen to Mal – Draco's conversation with his grandmother.

"… mating ever now and then. Your father, for example. Pureblooded Veela don't have wizarding magic."

Harry's head shot up. "You – you're a Veela?" he gasped, wide eyed.

Draco paled and shot his grandmother a dirty look. "Yes," he ground out, "half-Veela. My mother was my father's mate and she managed to get pregnant with me before she was married off to Lucius."

"Wow," Harry said, trying to wrap his mind around it. Draco Malfoy not a pureblood? Who would have thought?

Draco scowled at him. "Yes well, it's not something I want spread around, is it? Do you have any idea what they would do to me in Slytherin if they knew I wasn't pureblooded?"

Harry shivered artfully. "I can hazard a guess, and it's not pleasant."

"Exactly."

"Draco Chamberlain!"

Draco started and shifted in his seat so that he was facing his grandmother. "Chamberlain?"

"Of course, child. And don't you dare forget it! You are to declare your heritage proudly. You are a Chamberlain, the equivalent to Veela royalty. You'll have all manner of people throwing themselves at you. Muggles, Wizards, Veela – all different kinds of species. And you will hold your head high and persevere. You are a Chamberlain and you best not forget it."

Draco nodded fearfully and Harry snickered.

XoX

Harry and Draco sat in a dusty room near the back of Grimmauld Place and waited for Elizabeth to begin her lesson.

"Well," she said, "my old friend Albus asked me to come out here and help teach you boys some… useful survival skills. And, of course, help Draco with his Veela magic."

"Veela have a separate brand of magic?"

"Yes Harry dear, they do. And a powerful one too. I think our Draco will find that his relationships with animals are significantly improved for one."

Harry snorted and burst into laughter. "Draco? Good with animals?" he clutched his stomach as his body shook.

"Oh shut up, Potter," Draco grumbled miserably. "It's not that funny."

"Y- yes it is. Have you seen you in Care of Magical Creatures?"

"Ah," Elizabeth said, "if you were that bad you should now be that good."

"What do you mean?" Draco asked, kicking the still laughing Harry's shoe gently.

"It happens to the most powerful Veela among us." Draco perked up at the word 'powerful'. "The worse you are at something that Veela are supposed to be quiet proficient in, the better you will be at in when you reach your inheritance."

"Hey," Harry said, smothering his giggles. "How come Draco wasn't suddenly better with animals after his birthday last year?"

"Wait," Draco said before his grandmother could answer. "You know when my birthday is?" For some reason, the thought of Harry remembering his birthday made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

"Umm, yeah? Doesn't everyone? You go around bragging about the gifts you get every year."

"Oh," said Draco, suddenly not feeling very warm and fuzzy at all.

"Veela reach their majority on their mate's coming of age, not their own," Elizabeth explained, shooting both boys dirty looks. "It makes for quiet a convoluted social hierarchy since Veela aren't allowed to formally inherit anything until after they come of age. I know one man who, at twenty-two, was still waiting for his mate to mature. That was, of course, a rare occurrence as Veela usually subconsciously select a mate."

"What do you mean?" asked Draco, wondering how on Earth his subconscious had come up with the idea of Harry Potter.

"Well, your inner Veela looks around and selects whomever it thinks would be best suited for a life long relationship. Depending on where you spend most of your time, it could be anyone. Since you spend the majority of the year at boarding school you're most likely to have a mate from within Hogwarts, and obviously from within your year." Elizabeth's eyes darted towards Harry who, embarrassed by all the talk of Draco's future life partner, was staring resolutely at the ground.

"Oh," said Draco, following his grandmother's gaze. "I see." He didn't really, but that was beside the point. Harry was his mate and he'd have to deal with it. Not that it was that hard to deal with. He was handsome, brave, smart… Draco barely managed to stop from hitting himself. Hard on inducing thoughts weren't a good idea in from of his mate and grandmother. Not at all.

XoX

Remus sat in the kitchen of Sirius' old house and listened to Narcissa tell stories of her past exploits contentedly while drinking a mug of hot chocolate.

"… and so when Bella came into the room Andromeda, Sirius and I were all hidden behind the couch. She didn't know what hit her when the bucket fell on her head! She was screaming and screaming… Regulus had to spell it off." Narcissa smiled and refilled her own mug, picking up one of the cookies Molly'd send over with Harry and Tonks.

"We had such fun when we were all in this old house. Mother had wanted to move to the continent after father died, but we convinced her to stay here. Hogwarts is such a nice school and, of course, we all had our own little romances going. I did envy Andromeda though, she had the courage to stand up for herself and marry the man she loved."

"Come on, Aunt 'Cissa," Tonks whined. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Sure, mum went and married dad, but your romance with Rowan was after that. Grandma wasn't about to lose another daughter to the 'light side', now was she?"

Narcissa smiled weakly and Remus' heart went out to her. "I suppose. But saying things like that… it just seems like I'm making excuses. I know what I should have done, what was right. I didn't do it; I didn't stand up for myself. Hell, when Draco was born I even let Lucius whisk him away from me. What's important now is Draco's happiness…. However hard it will be for him to find and hold on to."

Tonks slammed her mug down onto the table. "Don't underestimate your son or H – his mate! Knowing the both of them like I do, they won't give up on love once they find it."

Narcissa laughed bitterly. "We all think we're strong until we're faced with a real problem, darling. In the end love isn't enough."

"If you don't mind me interrupting," Remus said calmly, "what are you two talking about?"

Narcissa closed her eyes and slumped back in her chair, resigned to whatever fate put in front of her. Tonks blushed furiously and stared resolutely into her cocoa.

"Do you remember that Ravenclaw I used to date?" Narcissa asked. "Rowan Chamberlain?"

Remus nodded.

"He was a full blooded Veela and Draco's father."

"W—what?"

"Draco's half Veela. Harry Potter is his mate."

XoX

Author's Notes: Terribly sorry to all of you who thought that last chapter was the last one. What kind of ending would that have been? Sorry! I meant I had to end the chapter there.

Anyway, thank you to everyone who reviewed! I love you all so much!