Well. That certainly caught him off guard. His brain was rapidly firing questions before his irises. When did she get turned? Do Potter and Weasley know? Who turned her? Why couldn't I smell her?Sensing his panic Hermione backed off a bit, not wanting to make him angrier. She turned around and walked over to her door, ensuring that it was locked. After casting more than the usual privacy spells, she began to talk.
"After leaving your house, I was a wreck." As she talked, Draco watched her closely, noting how her demeanor had changed and how anxious she became.
"I didn't talk to Harry or Ron for weeks. For the first time in my life, even though you bullied me about it my entire childhood, I felt like I was an abomination. I was broken."
She took a deep breath and continued, grasping the edge of the chair in front of her to keep her steady.
"I never dealt with those feelings so when the time came for the final battle, I was careless. I didn't care if I lived or died. I figured since I was broken it didn't matter anyway." Draco stiffened. He closed his eyes, bracing for her next words.
"I…I was trying to help Lavender Brown after she had been attacked. I was trying to stop the blood, but there was just too much. As I was trying to help, someone yanked me from behind, pulling me away. I can still see her face."
Hermione grew silent for a few moments gathering her nerves so that she could finish her tale. "Unfortunately for me, it just so happened to be one of Fenrir's new recruits. He was a young wolf and I'm pretty sure his name was Starling." She pulled her shirt up turning around to face him.
"When he pulled me away, his claws dug into my hips, scratching my hips around to my rear. I could smell blood on him which indicated that he had recently killed. He then bit down on my shoulder earning him an elbow to the ribs. Once he released his jaw, I was able to get quite a few good hits before I tried to run. Unfortunately, I couldn't get far enough and was bitten again on my hip."
At this point Hermione had tears running down her face. She hadn't told anyone up until now. No one had known. She had done so well to cover her scent and scars with glamour charms and other various means. She had fooled everyone. Harry, Ron, even the Minister.
Hermione kicked herself mentally for allowing Malfoy to rile her up, but dammit this was important. This was the first time since that night where she felt like she was worth something.
"I wanted him to kill me. I wanted to die, right then. I blacked out from the pain and when I woke up, he was gone. I knew I had been infected and that I would be eternally damned from a career if anyone found out, so I decided that I had to run. Since the wards were down I apparated to the headmaster's office so that I could ask Dumbledore if he knew whether Snape had any wolfsbane in his stores."
Draco moved towards her in hopes of comforting her. She looked destroyed but beautiful at the same time. He had never seen or known a stronger, more resilient woman than the one who stood before him.
She allowed him to come closer but didn't allow him to touch her. "Please, let me finish." He nodded and watched her as she seemed to pull strength from him being there.
"Once I located the wolfsbane, I decided to apparate to the Shrieking Shack. I knew that I only had enough wolfsbane for a few months and I would eventually have to come out of hiding, however, it was a long enough time to work out a plan and a story. I sent a patronus to Harry telling him that I was called away urgently to Australia. I had modified my parent's memories and sent them there before the war. I told him that I got a message telling me that they had been in an accident."
"I hid for a few months, going back to the castle to visit the library as well as Snape and Slughorn's potions cupboards. I was able to brew the Wolfsbane in the castle. Once I figured out how to mask my scent and to glamour my scars, I went back to the Burrow and now here I am." Draco was angry. This shouldn't have happened to her. Out of all people, why her?
"I knew Starling. He was killed later on in the battle. The world definitely is better off without him." Hermione nodded in agreement. While she didn't condone murder, she was grateful that he had been killed. "Enough of me for a while, let's talk about you." Draco summoned over two chairs so that they could sit. The heightened emotions were dangerous combined with their wolf hormones.
"After I failed my task, Voldemort was eerily calm. It wasn't until he called me in front of everyone during a full meeting that I realized that I was basically fucked. Within seconds, Greyback was on me."
Hermione's hands flew to her mouth in horror. She couldn't imagine being attacked like that. She knew Greyback was as unhinged as they came, Bellatrix only being second due to Greybacks' unpredictable nature.
"My parents watched as he mauled me, turning me. He did it to not only punish me but to also "taint" me. As I was inches from death, he allowed for my mother to heal me so that I would be forced to live out this life." He met her eyes and saw just how horrified she was. While her attack was nasty, his was downright inhumane.
Hermione tentatively reached out her hand to comfort him. Both of them were hyper-aware of all of the tension and different emotions in the air, however now that both of their secrets had been revealed, there was something new about the air.
She could smell him. She could smell his wolf. At first, she thought it was a new cologne, but as she took in another deep breath she realized it was something more earthy and calm, but at the same time all wolf. To her, he smelled of petrichor. The smell that frequently follows the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather. She also got a hint of green apples, which could easily be his shampoo, she thought.
Unknown to her, Draco was having similar thoughts. He had taken notice a while back of how she smelled, however, now it was like a dam had been broken. He was flooded with her scent. She smelled of lilac and autumn leaves, but also of parchment. She still smelled like the Granger he knew in Hogwarts, but more heavenly.
When their eyes met, they both noticed that the others irises had turned back to their regular hue, however, there was also the look of desire and knowing upon each of their faces. From their brief studies together about werewolves and the history of mates, they knew the meaning of recognizing another's scent.
While it was normal to smell another's wolf, only one's mate could recognize the specific smells that signaled their mate.
AN: Hey! So the first time I tried to upload, it was all in source code for some reason.
This is going to be a kinda multi-chapter one shot. I think that everything that needs to happen will happen in about 5 chapters or less. I hope that this chapter is okay. My muse kinda threw it all up at me. I wish it would send some ideas for Alone No More and Everything... Oh well. Enjoy!
Please review! They really make my day!