Chapter Four.

Draco was fighting a losing battle and he knew it. After Granger, Black, Salazar help him, his fiancé had left the Great Hall with Pansy shrieking in her wake Draco could feel himself losing control. He was losing the battle with his wolf, the ever present rage that surged through his veins like volcanic lava. Yesterday had been the worst day of his life. He felt like hell for having to break Daphne's heart the way he did. She had cried and begged him to tell her that this was his idea of a sick joke, and when he hadn't she had lashed out, throwing anything she could reach and guilt ate at him as he could see her heart breaking in her eyes.

They hadn't been together very long, but they had spent the whole summer together, and to Draco it had been euphoric, he was finally free of the Dark Lord and his life was his own again. He should have known that he was not truly free, he felt that he should have been expecting that something was not right. He had always wondered why his father had never made him a match, never sought to find the next lady Malfoy for him. The will reading of Lady Black had revealed why, she had imperiused my father in order to make sure he would not hinder the arrangement she had so carefully bargained for.

His father's face had mottled with anger at all the stipulations that had been made into this marriage, they all favoured Hermione in the end, sought her happiness above all else and it showed one thing. Hermione was well loved by her Matriarch, whom had gone to great lengths to insure her future. By having them get married so young, Draco himself would only be eighteen, she had ensured that the Ministry would not be able to interfere as it often did with the lives of the sacred twenty eight. Not even a ministry decree or a change in law could prevent their marriage.

By wedding them on the winter solstice they would be joined not just in law but the union would bond their magic as one, thus insuring that abuse from either party would harm them both. It was an ancient tradition one Draco had long thought forgotten but clearly Walburga had thought long and hard about how to protect her granddaughter. Draco couldn't help but feel relieved that she was no longer on this earth as she would have most likely have been a very formidable foe.

Draco did not know what to make of Sirius, what he knew of him was scrawled on the walls of broom closets and he knew his Godfather, Severus had created some of his curses with him in mind. He was legendary amongst the Slytherin house for being a formidable foe, tales of how he and his friends had been practically worshipped at this school were still told. He, as a Black, was considered royalty amongst the Sacred twenty eight so when he turned his back on those traditions it made him a lot of enemies. His aunt Bellatrix would often go into a demented rage about him, he was the promised heir, named for the brightest star in the sky and prophesised to bring the Black name back into noble glory. Draco couldn't help but feel that maybe he already had, their Black name was worth more than gold right now and business he knew was booming for them in the aftermath of the war.

Draco had left breakfast with Theo and Blaise having refused to even deign to respond to Pansy and their classmates, after all he was a Malfoy such nonsense was beneath him. Theo and Blaise knew everything Draco knew about Hermione and the wedding, Theo even going as far to call him the luckiest son of a bitch to ever live. He was still doing so.

"Seriously Draco she isn't one of the Sacred twenty-eight she is the sacred twenty-eight. Their name is first on that list, ahead of every other house, theirs was the first pure family created in England, hell it was in their honour that the scared Twenty-eight was started." He paused as they reached the grounds, heading in the direction of the whomping willow to the grove of trees and benches to sit. "Not to mention she is intelligent, not dithering or playing coy and one hell of a looker now. I mean she was always kind of pretty but now she's stunning. I don't know why you are pouting when every bloke in our school has been drooling over her since she walked into breakfast."

"Theo mate, just shut it. I don't think it's her that's bothering him so much as the time limit and the fact that her dear old Dad is Sirius fucking Black, mass-murderer turned Auror who has already decided to make Draco's life a living hell if she so much as cries because of him." Blaise ignored the benches and stretched out on the grass, shedding his white shirt to work on his tan he claimed, but Draco knew it was to attract the attention of any passing female.

Draco settled beside him, leaving Theo to recline on his perch on the benches. "You're both right and your both wrong. Yes all that is worrying but it's the fact that I told her I am a werewolf and she wasn't even slightly concerned. In fact she gave the distinct impression that it wasn't even a concern, which means either she knows more about werewolves mating than I do or she is insane and I can't decide which option is worse. Hell since that night it is like I can sense her, I knew when she was walking in with Longbottom, I knew she was worried and confused and I could smell her. It's the week of the full moon and the beast inside me wants to mark and claim her and I don't even like her. You have any idea how messed up that is? I'm craving her touch and not a few days ago I could barely tolerate the know it all."

Draco growled and put his head in his hands once again concluding that he is doomed, assigned to a fate worse than death when only days ago he was quietly revelling in his freedom. "She's Potter's golden girl, he who would not die no matter how hard everyone tried and I know it was her that kept him that way. She helped save him time and again, she's a war hero and I escaped life in Azkaban only because of her bloody Potter." Draco wanted to unleash his rage and knew he couldn't, he was banned from Quidditch this year for the safety of others, Old Slughorn had him on probation and one wrong move would have him expelled from school. He needed his NEWT's as the Malfoy name was tarnished, almost beyond repair and he knew if he was ever to succeeded he needed to be twice as good as anyone else.

Blaise tapped his shoulder and Draco looked up to see a look of concern on both his friends faces. "Mate it won't come to that, she's a Gryffindor, a bleeding heart the whole lot of them. If you think you're messed up imagine how she feels, Bella branded her a mudblood and now she's a pure blood princess. Her world just turned on its head and yet you know what's expected of you. Give her time, don't be an ass and you might just be able to have an amical marriage to her. Honestly mate, you should be glad it's not the Weaslette, she'd have gelded you by now. Although should you need anyone to take one for the team and tame that hellcat I will be happy to help." Blaise finished his speech with a lecherous grin, wagging his eyebrows making the three of them laugh.

"Good luck with that, mate" Theo laughed "Said hellcat is rumoured to be the future Mrs. Potter, ready to bring in the next generation of scruffy haired gits."

"She's not you know" Draco murmured.

"Not what?" they asked in unison, making Draco grin.

"She's not with Potter, refused to take him back after he, and I quote 'tried to commit suicide by Voldemort and leave everyone he loves to fight his battle for him'. According to Pansy who has it from the Patil twins, she hasn't given him the time of day since she slapped his face in the great hall when the battle ended." Draco noted that Theo looked amused but that Blaise had something very calculating in his eyes.