Disclaimer: Not mine.
Warnings: Slash, Veela, melodrama
A/N's: Dear reviewers, IloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyou!
XoX
Chapter 10: Lessons and Explanations
After spending an hour listening to Draco's grandmother talk about Veela Harry had to wonder what any of it had to do with him. What had Dumbledore been thinking?
Perhaps, he thought, glancing at Draco out of the corner of his gray eye and smothering a yawn, he wants Draco to have somebody his own age at school who understands him. Satisfied with this explanation, Harry continued to pretend to pay attention to Elizabeth's ramblings.
"And so you see, Draco, a Veela's ability to bond is not strictly reserved for their mate."
Harry's ears perked up and his focus shifted. Hagrid had told them that a Veela only cared about their mates and were vicious creatures. Not that Malfoy wasn't vicious, because he was. And his grandmother seemed to be equally as fierce.
Judging by the incredulous expression on Draco's face the same thought had occurred to him. "But don't Veela reserve all their love for their mates?" Draco asked, puzzled.
"Of course not," Elizabeth snapped. "Don't believe all that trash they teach you at Hogwarts, all their information comes from wizards and witches who have observed Veela from afar and made assumptions. Hogwash – that's what it is!" She sighed, "Have you ever heard the saying, 'Lovers make the worst parents'? Well, imagine if two Veela – the creatures that fall deepest in love with their other halves – got together and had children. If they were truly unable to love anyone but each other than the children would be neglected."
"Wait," Harry said. "Wouldn't it be like they were loving a part of their mates anyway?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "No. Children are not their parents."
Harry shrugged. "Alright, I was just wondering. How else can Veela bonds be used then?"
Elizabeth smiled slightly. "Veela can bond to their friends, parents, siblings and children. Veelas usually have up to four bonds, but there is no actual restriction. However, the only bond that goes both ways is a mate or 'double' bond. It's even possible for a Veela to have a triple bond with their mate. This would mean a combined bond of friendship and mate, but the friendship bond be in place before the mate bond is consummated – after that it doesn't matter if you are friends, you will still only have the double bond. Triple bonded Veela and their mates are very strong and very rare.
"You must also understand that familial or friendly Veela bonds are the most dangerous. The other party feels no need to love the Veela back and could easily turn on them. While the breaking of a familial or friendship bond won't permanently hinder a Veela – especially if they're mated – that doesn't mean that a betrayal won't hurt like Hellfire," Elizabeth smiled sadly. "I myself have experienced one of these bonds breaking. It was painful."
Harry felt Draco shudder beside him and repressed an echoing shudder of his own.
XoX
Remus' mug was in pieces on the ground, tea seeping closer and closer to his beaten up old loafers.
"W-what?"
"Draco is a Veela and Harry's is his mate," Narcissa repeated. "Mr. Lupin, please calm down."
"Calm down!" Remus shouted, leaping from his chair. "Why should I? It's obvious that the only reason you're even pretending to be good is because Draco wants to have his way with Harry and produce more perfect Malfoy heirs! I won't have it! Get out!"
Narcissa stood to equalize their heights. "Did you not just hear me, Mr. Lupin? Rowan was Draco's father. Draco is a half-breed!"
Remus paused.
"That's right! Do you know what Voldemort and Lucius would do if they found out? They would kill him! Imagine the gall! Half-human filth living as a Malfoy under the pretense of being Lucius' only son and heir? Why, the insinuation of such a thing alone would be enough to execute the accuser!
"Do you have any idea of what life would have been like for Draco if we'd stayed? We only found out who his mate was after we reached this vile manor!"
"I think," Remus said in a deceptively calm tone. "I know exactly what life would have been like for him. Don't forget, Mrs. Malfoy, I'm 'half-breed filth' too."
"Then don't condemn my son to the same fate, Lupin! Let the boy have his childhood while he still can!" Narcissa cried. "Life was hard on you, yes, but does that mean that it has to be hard on everyone?"
"Aunt 'Cissa, Remus," Tonks murmured quietly from where she sat beside the table. "I think you both have a bad case of parenting."
Remus caught Narcissa's eye and smiled slightly. "I think you might be right, Tonks," he sat down. "But if your son hurts Harry in any way, I'll rip his intestines out through his nose."
Narcissa sat down and sighed. "I don't think that will be necessary, Mr. Lupin – he'd probably do it himself."
XoX
Draco was barelyholding on to his instincts as he sat next to Harry, tuning out his grandmother's babble about The Long and Proud Chamberlain Line – she was almost as bad as Lucius when it came to family pride. His Inner Veela was actually doing alright – his mate was here, next to him, and was spending time with him without… much… prompting – it was the 'Malfoy' instincts he was having trouble with.
After all, sitting beside him, innocent as you please, was Harry Potter. And Harry was obviously just as bored as he was.
So Draco lent over and pushed Harry off of his chair.
"… and of course your great-great-great aunt Vermillion… Draco!"
"Err… Yes?" Draco turned to his grandmother and tried to look as innocent as possible.
"How on Earth… Never mind, it's just the kind of person you are, isn't it?" Elizabeth said with a sigh. "Pick him up."
"Hey!" Harry exclaimed from where he lay on the floor. "You touched me!"
"Yes, Potter, I touched you. I also pushed you. Have you caught up yet?" Draco asked with a snicker, bending over and hauling Harry to his feet.
"No, I mean – you touched me! No one has been able to since my birthday!" Harry looked around the room excitedly, as if the source of this phenomenon was related to his surroundings and not the people he was with. Draco was thankful for Harry being remarkably slow on the uptake.
"How strange," Elizabeth said, with a pointed glare at Draco. "It must be a side effect of… your scar."
"What?" Harry exclaimed, turning to face her.
"Yes," she said. "It must be because of your scar and the Dark Lord."
"Oh." Harry said. "That makes sense, actually. Expect for the part where Draco can touch me."
"Well, the Dark Lord must have made it so that only his followers can touch you. Since it's only been a couple of days since Draco and his mother renounced their evil ways they can still touch you. He hasn't adjusted the spell yet."
Harry nodded. "Why didn't Dumbledore think of that?"
Draco wondered if, perhaps, Harry might be a tad too slow.
XoX
Remus, Narcissa and Tonks were sitting around the kitchen table sipping newly replenished mugs of tea when Draco and Harry came in, laughing uproariously. Remus tensed and Narcissa smiled gently. Tonks drowned her own laughter in a sip of tea.
"How was the lesson, boys?" Narcissa asked cheerfully, motioning for them to sit down in the two chairs across from her.
"Fine, mum. More than a bit boring, though. Do I really need to know about everything every single one of my newly found ancestors ever did?"
"If your grandmother deems it important, I'm not going to interfere," Narcissa said primly. "Tea? None of us can cook anything else and Minerva left for Hogwarts after breakfast."
Draco groaned. He and his mother had never learnt to cook because of their status in the wizarding world, and who knew what Lupin deemed edible – he was a werewolf after all, having seen his cousin in action, Draco could only imagine the damage she'd due if let near a stove, and Harry had lived with muggles who probably made him all of his food.
"None of you can cook anything?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Not really," Lupin explained self-consciously. "Remember that we all grew up with House Elves, Harry."
"I didn't!" Tonks protested. "But there's no microwave here."
Harry smiled at Tonks and Draco's opinion of his cousin dropped.
"Purebloods, eh Tonks?" Harry laughed, getting up and merrily striding to the fridge. "How do roast beef sandwiches sound to everybody?"
Draco smiled. He'd take the ability to cook over deductive skills any day.
XoX
Draco was standing on a beach. This was strange, because Draco had never been to a beach before, and he was fairly certain that they weren't supposed to look like this one did.
There was no sand beneath his feet, only hard packed dirt covered with gravel. And, as he looked around, he realized that he was standing on a wide path which sloped gently down to the green ocean on either side of him. The path extended back into a giant forest and sloped up a mountain as far as he could see. The mountain also wasn't like anything he'd ever seen. It was huge! And there was more than one, he noted with something akin to awe; the path also extended to a mountain in front of him, this time wrapping around it before disappearing from sight.
Draco stood on the path and quietly examined his surroundings. He was in a place lifted directly out of fairy tales, surrounded by mountains but still beside the ocean.
"Hello?" he called, voice echoing back to him in a haunting fashion. "Is there anyone else here?"
In the quiet that followed his cry, he heard the rustling of leaves and turned to face the sloping path again. Harry stood in the forest to the right of the path, smiling at him.
Draco smiled back, marveling at how at peace he felt with the world – how utterly perfect this moment was.
That's when the roaring, rushing sound started.
Draco glanced up the mountain and froze. Mudslide, said something inside him, it's a mudslide! Move!
I'm trapped! he thought desperately, Ocean to my left and right and no chance of reaching the shore in time.
"Harry!" he screamed as the filthy water neared. "Harry, help!"
He could see logs and rocks in the onslaught headed towards him now, and white foam forming on the edge of the water in a parody of ocean waves.
"Harry!" he called one last time before the mudslide enveloped him. He tried swimming, tried calling again, but he couldn't get enough air into his lungs and his strokes did nothing against the power of the mudslide. When he bobbed to the surface he saw Harry, still smiling, standing safely on the shore.
Why aren't you helping me? he tried to say. Don't you want to?
A log hit him in the stomach and he blacked out.
XoX
Author's Notes: Another cliffhanger. Damn. Well, I'm off to start work on the next chapter and soothe your troubled minds! Please review!