Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 17

Hermione wore the necklace from Draco everyday but hid underneath her shirt. Her moon had improved greatly since she told Ginny. She felt a small amount of weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Everyone noticed Hermione's brighter mood, including Harry and Ron.

A few days after Valentine's Day, Hermione got the rare chance to visit the Gryffindor Tower. She surprised her friends who were happy to see her as she joined them by the fire place.

"Hey guys", she greeted with a large smile.

"Hey, Hermione, nice to see you here", Harry replied as she sat down next to him on the couch. "Why are you so happy?" he asked eyeing her.

"What, a girl can't be happy to see her friends?" she replied like nothing was up.

Hermione stayed with her friends for a couple of hours before she had to leave. She said her good byes the left the Tower. Once she was gone, Harry turned to Ginny.

"Why is she so happy all of a sudden?"

"What? She's just happy. Is that a crime?" Ginny asked trying to avoid the question.

"No, it's not that she can't be happy but she's seemed so down lately and rarely comes to visit. I'm curious to know what's making her happy."

"Just accept it and move on", Ginny said ending the conversation.

XxX

Tuesday rolled around and Draco and Hermione made their way to McGonagall's class room after dinner. The lessons had become tiresome and they both wanted them to be over. Even though the lesson lasted only for an hour, it felt longer than that. McGonagall was waiting for them as they entered the class room. They exchanged their greetings then got down to business.

Draco and Hermione knew the routine but McGonagall went step by step like she always did. They closed their eyes, breathed in deeply, and cleared their minds. Both had mastered clearing their minds, which would come in handy later on. Draco visualized a wolf and believed he could become it. Hermione saw the little otter before her and imagined transforming into the creature.

As Draco imagine himself becoming a wolf, he felt an odd sensation run through out his body. He continued to concentrate and ignore the feeling. He pictured himself going down onto all fours and his body changing into the wolf's. The sensation grew stronger and soon felt a little bit of pain. He allowed it to continue for another minute before opening his eyes. As he gazed around the room, everything looked the same. 'Great, it still didn't work.' Draco turned to look at McGonagall but saw her looking back at him with excitement and surprise.

"What?" he asked but words didn't come out of his but a bark.

Draco looked down at his feet and discovered there were white paws where his feet should have been. McGonagall summoned a mirror and placed it in front of Draco so he could get a better look at himself. Draco gazed into the mirror and saw a white wolf staring back. He closely inspected every angle of his new form. He was a beautiful wolf covered head to toe in white fur except for a small black ring on his right front paw where his ring was.

He couldn't believe he was a wolf and that he finally achieved it. He was an Animgus now. He imagined turning back into his human body and he did. He looked at Hermione and McGonagall beaming.

"Congratulations, Mr. Malfoy on accomplishing the transformation", McGonagall said. "Was there any pain?"

"Yes but it wasn't too bad."

"That only happened the first time you change. Well, the hour is up. I'll see you next week, Ms. Granger to continue working on it. You can join if you want, Mr. Malfoy. Good night."

The pair left the class room. McGonagall left right after them to speak with Dumbledore about the progress. Hermione was happy for Draco but upset she still hadn't achieved it. As they walked back to their dorm they had their conversation telepathically.

'Congratulations, Draco.'

'Thanks, Hermione. I know you'll get it next time.'

'I hope so. I can't believe you beat me at something.'

Draco laughed out loud, 'Looks like you're not the best at everything.'

They arrived at their dorm and Draco said the password.

"So, what do you think of my wolf form?" Draco asked once they were inside the common room.

"I liked it. It's a beautiful wolf."

"Thanks. I'm going to have so much fun with this. It would be nice to go run outside as a wolf", Draco said as he thought about the possibility.

"I don't think the other students would like seeing a wolf running around the grounds."

"Oh I would do it at night when everyone is inside of course", Draco said as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I bet you'll make an adorable otter", he said as he kissed her forehead.

"Aw, thanks, Draco", she replied as she inclined her head back to kiss him on the lips.

XxX

Within the next week, Hermione achieved Animagus and successfully turned into an Otter. Her fur was brown and had a similar black ring marking like Draco. Hermione was relieved to finally achieve it like Draco. Their lesson with McGonagall was finally over and they were both happy. It was one less thing they had to worry about. There was still Metamorphmagus they had to work on but that was something that would develop on its own.

But they didn't care about that. They were enjoying their time together, whether it was doing homework or hanging out in the Room of Requirement watching movies. Hermione could feel her own powers strengthen as her bond with Draco grew stronger. Draco felt his powers grow too.

Ron sat in the chair by the fire place in the Gryffindor common room. He had a feeling something was going on with Hermione. He regretted what he did to her and knew he could never fix their relationship. He liked seeing her around though he could never say anything to her. But Ron noticed a change in Hermione since they got back from break. She seemed so happy, which made him happy and he wasn't mad at her for that. But what he didn't like how she was gone most of the time now. She hardly visited them outside of class and meal times and he wanted to know why. 'Could Hermione be seeing someone?' he asked himself.

Just then, Harry and Ginny entered the common room hand in hand. They saw Ron by the fire and sat down on the couch.

"Hey, Ron", Harry greeted.

"Hey", he responded with a far off expression.

"Ron, what are you thinking about?" asked Ginny as she looked at her brother.

"Do you think Hermione is seeing someone?"

"What? No, she's not seeing anyone", Ginny answered.

"Are you sure, Ginny?" Ron asked turning to her.

"Yes, Ron, I'm sure. Hermione would have told me if she was in a relationship", Ginny lied flawlessly. She hoped she was convincing enough. She knew Ron would hate to know Hermione had moved on since he still loved her. But he would completely freak out if he knew it was Draco Malfoy.

Ron observed Ginny to see if she was being honest with him. She seemed convincing but there was something telling him otherwise in the back of his mind. He leaned back in his chair ignoring his friend and sister again.

Ginny eyes her brother. She was a little worried about him doing something rash. She still didn't approve of Hermione dating Draco but she could tell her friend was genuinely happy, and that's what mattered.

Hermione and Draco sat on the couch in their common room snogging. Everything was going great until Hermione felt something. She pulled away from Draco who looked at her with concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Her thought for a second about what she was feeling. She blinked several times and looked at Draco, "I don't know what just happened but I got this feeling something bad is going to happen."

"Like some kind of premonition?"

"Sort of, I didn't see anything but it was just feelings."

"I'm sure it's nothing", Draco said trying to comfort her but he didn't like what she was saying.

"Yeah, you're probably right." But Hermione couldn't shake the feeling. Something was going to happen but she didn't know what and that's what bothered her the most.

A/N: Yay they finally are able to change into their animals! Ron is catching on that something is going on but will he figure it out? You'll just have to wait and find out.

Peace!