Author's Forward Notes:

Chapter revised as of January, 2014 to fix SPaG and add a bit more foreshadowing to the plot.

CHAPTER 4: CASUALTY OF TRUTH

Saturday, June 28th, 2031 (afternoon to night)

Rose slumped back in her chair, staring at the rim of the tea cup the waitress had brought in and set down before her. Her mind was whirling, the information her mother had just dropped in her lap a firestorm that would destroy her life.

One - Scorpius was a Veela.

Two – She, Rose, was supposedly his chosen mate – at least, according to him.

Three – As a result of said claim (for which there was no proof other than Scorpius' word), she was going to be forced into a legally-binding, irrevocable marriage to Scorpius this year – a marriage that would be sanctioned and enforced by the Ministry, and would last until death took one of them. She had absolutely no say in the matter, either. Her wishes, desires, personal dignity, and needs didn't count. She had no individual rights or recourse for refusal. She was, in effect, just some object to be given to a man and a magical creature (one she hadn't even seen yet), to be used, bred, and abused as they willed.

It had to be a mistake, or a terribly-timed joke, or a really bad dream, or a funky hallucination caused by the fumes from her hair tonic, because this absolutely couldn't be real. Things like this didn't happen in modern-day Britain – especially to modern-day witches who wielded modern-day functioning wands.

"Rose, darling?" Her mother laid a conciliatory hand on Rose's chilled arm, causing her to break out in goosebumps. "Say something, please. You've been silent for ten minutes now."

It was an effort to form coherent sentences. Random thoughts were all Rose could grab onto at the moment. "Please say this is all some elaborate prank." She choked on a sob, afraid it really wasn't given the manner in which her mother was behaving. "Tell me it's not true."

Scorpius' father was sincerely contrite. "I'm sorry, Miss Weasley, but what your mother has told you is not a lie. You are my son's Veela mate."

"But… but… he hates me," she stammered, her breath hitching, her body twitching and shaking as the protection that her earlier shock had provided now began to fade. "And Corwin," she mumbled, feeling tears of frustration threatening to ruin her eye make-up and turn her blotchy. "We're together, mum."

Mr. Malfoy sucked in a sharp breath. "You're seeing Corwin McLaggen?"

Rose nodded.

He looked at her with something akin to pity and simply said, "I'm sorry."

She fumed over his response.

He was sorry. Sorry for which part, exactly? Was he sorry that his son was taking away her personal autonomy, turning her into nothing more than chattel? Sorry that her body, her future, and her dreams were no longer hers to own as she willed? Sorry that his family was responsible for doing this same thing to a slew of other women before her?

She may not know the circumstances under which those other Malfoy mates had accepted their lot, but she was certainly not going to accept that she was some piece of property to be traded at will! She was a human being, and they lived in an egalitarian state, and international law stated that she had unalienable, fundamental rights to her own person. This wasn't the ancient world, and as an adult woman who no longer lived with her family, she wasn't subject to something as archaic and outmoded as patria potestas, either (not that her father would ever have dared such a heavy-handed tactic being married to someone like her liberal-minded mother).

There had to be a way out of this farce of a mating! There just had to be!

"Look, none of this makes sense. Your family has always prided itself on its pure-blood status, Mister Malfoy," she stated, looking Scorpius' father in the eye. "Not to bring up old news, but you fought on the wrong side of a war to keep people like my mother from even practising magic. Now you want me to believe that all of that was a sham – some clever ruse to cover up the truth about your not-so-pureblood-Veela heritage? Well, I'm sorry, but I'm not buying it. Where's your proof? I demand substantiation before I'll even consider something as ludicrous as–"

She stopped short as across the table, Draco Malfoy's eyes began to glow. His grey gaze shot to Rose's mum, and the irises began to swirl, transforming. A blink later, they appeared almost alien, the colour a pearlised liquid silver that no ordinary human, wizarding or Muggle, could hope to replicate without the aid of CGI. Eerie shadows crept forward from the corners of the room to gather around him, slithering across his pale cheeks and settling around the lids of his eyes, giving him a more feral appearance. When he spoke, his voice was an odd amalgamation of two entities – the man he was and a deeper, more sultry-sounding voice belonging to someone else entirely.

"Hermione…"

Next to her, her mum stiffened in her chair. Her eyes had gone wide, and her cheeks were flushed with blood. "Veela." She sounded out of breath. "It's been a long time."

An arrogant, sexy smirk turned up the corner of his lips. "We'll catch up later. Don't you worry, Granger."

He closed his eyes then, and the shadows retreated. When he opened his lids again, he was back to normal.

Silence reigned as Rose took in what she'd just seen and heard. Her heart pounded in her chest, threatening to choke her as her entire world crashed down around her ears.

It was true, wasn't it? Everything she'd been told. The Malfoys were part-Veela, and Scorpius was… Oh, God. This was really going to happen, whether she liked it or not! She was really going to have to give up Corwin, the boy of her dreams, and be forced to marry and have sex with his awful cousin, the boy who had tormented her for years. She was going to lose everything that mattered to her most, including her personal freedom. She was going to become nothing more than a brood mare.

No, no, NO! There had to be a way out of it.

A way out…

She was going about this all wrong, wasn't she? Scorpius was Slytherin, as was his father before him, and so on down the line. Their kind appreciated the defeat of an enemy's pride, and they liked making deals. Perhaps she could offer the Malfoys something in exchange for making this whole thing go away?

It was worth a try.

"I have a counter proposal: if Scorpius wants to see me humiliated, I'll be willing to… to get on my knees and kiss his hands and feet in apology," she bargained. "I'll take an ad in the papers publicly apologising for every single cruel thing I've said or done to him, then I'll stay out of his way for the rest of his life. He'll never have to see me again."

To her chagrin, her host began shaking his head in earnest disapproval. "It doesn't work like that, Miss Weasley. You can't buy your way out."

Her hands were trembling as she clasped them together in front of her, praying for a blessing to save her from this doom. "I... I'll give him every Snitch I've ever kept from every game I've ever played. He can have them all – and all the money I've earned from Quidditch over the years," she frantically bargained.

"Miss Weasley-"

"I'll… I'll even sleep with him, if he wants!"

Her mother gasped at such a scandalous suggestion, but Rose didn't let that deter her. Her desperation levels had hit the ceiling and at this point, she'd do whatever it took to get out of this fix.

"I'll be his in any way he wants for a whole day and night. No, for a whole week! That should satisfy his need for revenge against me, shouldn't it?"

Her mother put a comforting hand over hers and she knew then there would be nothing she could offer to fix this. The world–her own mother, even!–had turned against her. "Darling, this isn't something you can negotiate," her mum softly explained. "And Scorpius isn't doing this to hurt or humble you. He doesn't have a choice, either."

"Miss Weasley, once the ancient magic picks a solid match for the Veela from among the viable pool of witches, there's nothing to be done," Scorpius' father reiterated. "At that point, the pairing becomes the province of God, or Merlin, or Fate – whichever you choose to believe."

"No, I don't want this! Doesn't that matter?" she refuted, slamming her fist on the table and making the china rattle about. "There has to be a way to quit this... this travesty! I demand a divorce, or whatever it's called before you actually marry someone! I want one of those right now!"

Rose's stubborn insistence was clearly beginning to try even Mr. Malfoy's patience. The man took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Being mated to a Veela isn't the same as human marriage, Rose. It's a biological, chemical, magical, and spiritual bonding. From the moment my son saw you were to become his mate, your souls began to resonate. Distance or the fact you're in a relationship with someone else doesn't affect the magic. Haven't you noticed your interest in Corwin waning over the last few days?"

Dear Merlin, she had!

"From this point forward, you and Scorpius are going to be drawn to each other on every level. It begins with intense attraction, because that's where a Veela's power and innate talent resides. As the days pass, your desire for each other will only increase. The more you interact, the deeper your bond will become and the faster your feelings will shift to align with the Veela's. Even without the backing of the Ministry law behind it, it's not something you're going to be able to deny or fight."

Having heard enough propagandising, Rose clenched her teeth and stood up, reaching deep into the well of her darkest anger and grabbing hold of that fury for strength. "Just watch me!" she snarled, grabbing her clutch and running from the restaurant. As she hurried to the Disapparation point, she dashed her tears away with swift hands, collecting her thoughts.

If anyone could give her the truth of the matter, and perhaps even help her find a way out of her predicament, it would be her Aunt Fleur. The woman was part-Veela, as were all three of her children.

X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X

"I am sorry, ma petite, but as much as I know, zee Veela mating eeze… how you say? Unbreakable," her aunt explained in exacting honesty, refilling her cup from the contents of the teapot in the centre of the table. She added a dash of sweet by plunking a sugar cube into the cup for good measure. "My Dominique would know more. She eez expert on all zings Veela, but... zees man, you say he eeze zee son of zat reformed Death Eater, non?"

Rose nodded, feeling both cold inside and out. She'd bet all her hope on Fleur knowing a way to break the enchantment between she and Scorpius, but it seemed her aunt was actually rather happy with the idea of Rose having a Veela mating of her own, despite the past connection her mate's family had to the Dark Arts and He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.

"Well, zat eeze zee past," the blonde stated, waving a hand in the air as if the issue was of no significance. "Zee sins of zee father are not his, oui? Besides, things change."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Rose demanded. She exploded to her feet, angry, and began furiously pacing back and forth in the narrow space between her aunt's dining table and the wall. "Sometimes, a person's past–the bad things they do–should be held against them! Some things may be unforgivable!"

Fleur's piercing blue eyes stopped her in her tracks, and Rose floundered for a moment under the weight of so hard a stare. "Eef zat was true I would not have married Bill." Her aunt indicated the vacated chair across from her. "Sit. I will tell you a secret."

Hesitantly, Rose resumed her seat and sat quietly, listening.

Sipping from her tea to whet her lips, her Aunt Fleur took a moment more to gather her courage. She cleared her throat, and then launched into her tale. "When I first met your Oncle Bill, he was mean to me. He refused to do as I wished. He made me get my own coffee and pastry. He would not serve me as so many other men did. He meanly called me 'princess' and 'your Majesty' in zee mocking voice. We fought all zee time. I was horrible to him back. At first, we were… how you say?… oil and water."

"Sounds familiar," Rose murmured.

"One afternoon, I caught Bill having sex with another woman at work. I was so angry I hex them both. I was nineteen, so I did not know my Veela yet, but I know after zat I was jealous. You see, ma petite, inside my heart, I knew Bill was to be mine one day."

"What do you mean you didn't know your Veela yet?" Rose asked, curious.

She knew practically nothing about the Veela aside from what she'd learned in her classes back at school – which was curiously very little about their life cycles and breeding habits. Mostly, she knew the generalities about them and their military history.

In her Defence Against the Dark Arts and Magical Creatures classes, she'd learned that Veela were an extraordinarily beautiful species with humanoid features, that they were experts at glamours and enchanting (especially when it came to spells for sexual attraction), and that they were known to be extremely jealous, especially of each other (which was part of the reason there weren't many of them left, she supposed). Of the genders, it was said the females were the ones to be feared, as they were easily agitated, and when they transformed, their harpy-like appearances and vicious displays of temper were legendary.

According to her History of Magic textbook, Rose recalled that the Veela had at one time ruled much of modern day Turkey. Back then, they'd been a united kingdom governed by a hereditary monarchy – specifically, a lineage of blood-related Queens. When their last beloved ruler, Penthesilea, was killed at the battle of Troy, however, their kingdom fell into chaos. After the Trojan War finally ended a decade later, the Greeks turned on those who had aided the Trojans – including the Veela. With their army of human wizards and witches hiding amongst the regular soldiers, the Greeks were able to easily defeat both the Veela's male army, called the Elohim, and that of their female army, who were known as the Amazons. After that, there was a diaspora of the Veela. Some settled in Gaul – now known as France, while others settled in northern Europe and even Russia.

And that was about the extent of her knowledge, aside from knowing that her Aunt Fleur's family on the female side were all part-Veela.

"In a half-breed, zee female Veela eeze like... how do you say? A twin inside," her aunt explained, tapping her chest. "Eet sleeps until we are twenty years. Zen, it wakes up."

"Twenty years?" Rose asked, confused. "I thought it was twenty-five."

Fleur shook her head. "For zee female Veela, eet eeze twenty. For zee male, eet eeze twenty-five."

Well, that was strangely contrasting. If the species needed to reproduce, female Veela would reach the age of sexual maturity faster than their male counterparts. What possible biological advantage could that give them, especially since Veelas only took a single mate in their lifetime?

"I do not know why this eeze. As I say, Dominique eeze studying zee Veela to become expert on zee species. You should ask her."

She would, eventually. Right now, Rose was more curious about how a Veela and a human worked together in one body so she could understand how to possibly distract Scorpius away from what his Veela was demanding. "Going back to what you said earlier: you've got someone else living in your head and body now that your Veela's woken up?"

"Non, eet is not separate," Fleur replied. "Eet is part of me. Eet is like how a Werewolf eeze – two living in one. Oh, zat is bad example!" She clucked her tongue in dissatisfaction, then turned to her cat, who was perched in the window, lazily soaking up the sun. "Zee Veela eeze like zee cat. Inside zee house, zee cat is like this." She pointed to her domesticated pet. "But outside, eet's instincts take over. Eet becomes a beast zat focusses all on catching zee bird. Zee Veela inside me eeze like that once it wakes up. Zen, once I mate and make le bébé, eet sleeps again. Eet wakes up only when eet desires to mate."

Rose watched her Aunt's eyes suddenly turn inward and a frown mar her pretty features as she considered a bad memory.

"Zee desire to mate in many creatures eeze zee strong pull, and sometimes eet consumes zee soul." She sombrely turned her baby-blues on Rose. "Eet eeze what I meant earlier by a secret. You see, ma petite, I love Bill with all my heart, but he was never zee same after being attacked by zat monster, Greyback." She sighed, and dropped her attention to playing with the edge of her tea napkin in a nervous gesture. "When we married, we were so in love – c'est magnifique! My Veela accepted him as a mate, and we were happy. But zen, there came zee Harvest Moon zat Fall. Bill… changed. Not into zee wolf form, but eet was like he was Werewolf. He was… violent. He forced himself on me many times zat night." Fleur's lips were tight, her spine rigid, her eyes focused on the wall to the left and behind Rose. Clearly, the memory of her assault was still very painful for her. "His inside wolf was frenzied to mate me. Eet was horrible. Zee next day, I left him. I knew I was pregnant from what he did. A Veela always knows when she conceives. I almost did not forgive."

Rose's throat threatened to close up on her. How awful would it be if Scorpius were to do something similar to her! "What made you go back?" she asked her aunt.

Fleur's lips turned up in a sad smile. "Even though I am human, in my heart, I am also mated Veela. I cannot live without Bill. He eeze my soul."

"But he hurt you!" Rose protested, not understanding. How could Fleur have wanted to go back to such a brutal relationship?

Fleur put a warm hand over hers to silence her. "Zee call of zee wolf to breed his mate was… how you say? More intense from zee red moon. I understand this. He could not stop himself." She removed her hand and took another sip of her tea. "Zee point eeze, ma petite, I forgive Bill for hurting me. He was not in control. His wolf owned him that night. I love him with all I am. If I had stayed away and broken zee Veela bond, unlike male Veela, I could have survived. But neither would be happy again, and mes bébés, Victoire and Dominique and Louis would not have been born."

Rose clung to the one thing her Aunt had just said, feeling a spark of hope ignite in her chest. "So, there is a way to break a Veela bond?"

Fleur looked at her evenly for a moment, and then shook her head firmly. "I absolute do not recommend zees idea, Rose. Veela are très possessive of their mate once they have gone through zee ritual and zee magic has chosen zee person. You would either have to go far away and keep running forever, for your Malfoy would stop at nothing to find you, or you would have to get pregnant with another man's bébé, which could make your Malfoy go mad and kill you and zee other man now zat he knows you are his. And zee Ministry… they will not allow you to escape from a Veela once you are known as zee mate. They will force zee bonding ceremony – and in front of others to… how do you say? Witness. I do not think you want such a thing to be public, as zee first mating eeze very intense. If you get pregnant to escape your Malfoy, zee Ministry will not allow zee bébé to be born. Zee law is very strict."

The hollow, sinking feeling in Rose's gut nearly made her vomit on the spot. "So, let me get this straight: if I don't mate with Scorpius, and I try to run from him, he'll hunt me down. If he doesn't kill me himself, the Ministry will help him drag me back in chains to be his obedient little sex slave. If I try to trick him and get pregnant with another man's baby, and Malfoy doesn't kill all of us in a fit of jealous rage, the Ministry will force me to have an abortion. And after all is said and done, they'll still force me into some kind of barbaric, sexual ritual in front of a room full of voyeurs to ensure he raped me properly?" She clenched her teeth in fury. "What kind of fucked up world are we living in? This is not the Dark Ages!"

Fleur tilted her head casually, but her eyes had darkened perceptively, and her face was tight with anger. "If you reject your Malfoy now zat he knows you are his mate, you will… how you say? Condemn him. He will go mad. He will have to be killed. This is why zee Ministry eeze so unforgiving."

Heated resentment over her predicament bubbled up inside Rose. "It's not fair! I don't want to marry him! I don't love him! I love someone else!"

Her Aunt's hand on hers again was calming, gentle. "Ma petite, I fought my fate, too. I knew Bill was mine zee moment I caught him with that other woman, but I still refused him then. He was so poor, and he dressed funny, and he didn't treat me as other men. But over time, zat feeling changed. When my Veela came awake and picked him, I knew eet was fate." Those small, pale hands patted Rose's fingers kindly. "True, you will never be able to love this other man as you will your Malfoy once you have accepted him. Zee bond between Veela and mate eeze more than simple human marriage. Eet eeze a soul binding."

Hot tears burned her eyes. Rose put her head down over her Aunt's hands and wept. "Doesn't what I want matter at all? And Scorpius… he hates me!"

Her Aunt's free hand began softly stroking her hair, soothing and tender. "Non, ma petite. Your Malfoy will love you with all he eeze, if you will let him. He already does I think. Eet is why zee mating magic chose you. Destin sait mieux, oui? – Destiny knows best, yes?"

X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X

The dreams began that night.

One moment, Rose was closing her eyes. The next, she was sitting on a park bench surrounded by grass in a very well-manicured, indoor garden filled with the same varietal flowers as her namesake. Every color was represented, and the shapes were astounding – some delicate and open, others tightly budded, small blooms and large both. Light poured in from above, through a rounded window turret. The glass surrounding the vast greenhouse was spotless, and the air a little humid. Various species of butterfly danced from bloom to bloom, landing on delicate petals and sipping sweet nectar.

"Beautiful."

She recognized the voice instantly, and knew this had to be a dream, because there was no way in the Seven Hells that she could be anywhere near the real Scorpius Malfoy right now without wanting to throttle him. With a sigh, she watched a Painted Lady butterfly, its orange and black patterned wings fluttering in a stately rhythm. It drank its fill from a gorgeous pink tea hybrid rose nearby.

"Yes, they are," she replied.

He crossed to her. She still didn't look up, but could feel his body heat closing in on her. On the grass before her, his shadow crossed hers at an angle. "I didn't mean the butterflies or the flowers."

Rose ground her teeth together in irritation. "Why are you in my dreams? I don't want to see you right now."

He was silent for a moment. "I know."

"I hate you and what you're forcing on me."

"I know." He sounded contrite. "I'm sorry, Rose. Believe me, I didn't expect this either."

Those hateful tears prickled her eyes again and she sniffed, wiping them away. "Then let me go. Pick someone else."

His sigh was resigned and his shadow shifted as he nervously transferred his weight from one foot to the other. "I can't, even if I wanted to. This… it happened a long time ago and it can't be undone."

Popping up from the bench, she snarled at him, "You did it, so you can bloody well undo it! So help me, I'll make your life miserable if you force me into this, Malfoy, I swear it!" The sunlight directly in her eyes made it hard to see his features, and she had to squint and put up a hand as a shield from its strong rays. "I will not be your little sex slave, chained to you against my will!"

"I wouldn't want you to be!" he growled, simultaneously moving to block the sun for her so she could put her hand down. His blue, cotton t-shirt–Muggle style, to her amazement–was drawn tightly over his chest and tucked neatly into a pair of snug Muggle jeans. He was barefoot, and seemed undaunted by that fact. She had to admit, he looked quite handsome in casual clothes, too.

"I want this to be good between us, Rose. Why do you think I tried to talk to you today? But you wouldn't have any of it, would you?"

Rose's chest tightened. "This isn't a dream, is it?"

Scorpius stared stonily at her. "You're sleeping right now, so yes, this is a dream. I'm just visiting."

"You're controlling my dream, though, aren't you?" she accused, horrified by the thought. How could he have any sort of influence over her unconscious mind? Was this a sign that the bond between them that Mr. Malfoy and her Aunt had described was growing stronger? Merlin, how much control over her did he already possess? "Somehow you've forced me in here!"

"Not much force was required, baby. You opened right up for me."

She panicked, looking around for a way out. "Let me go, Scorpius! Get out of my head! LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!"

Malfoy stepped past her and took a seat on the stone bench she'd just vacated, straddling it and getting comfortable. "Not until we've had our talk, Weasley. You owe me this much."

"I owe you nothing! NOTHING!" she screamed at him, clenching her fists. Tears gathered in her eyes and her lungs burned as she gulped down great, heaving breaths. "You've wrecked everything for me! I'm seeing someone else, was falling in love with him, and now that's all ruined because of your sodding claim on me!" She pressed her hands over her eyes. "You've destroyed my life, Malfoy, and I hate you for it!"

He was quiet for a moment, but she could feel his resentment boring into her.

"You'll get over it, baby. I certainly have to."

In three steps, she crossed the distance between him. Drawing back her hand, she let it fly with all the force she could muster. It was the hardest slap she'd ever delivered and it made her palm sting. Scorpius' cheek turned with the force of the blow.

A beat later, he had her in his arms, moving so fast, she hadn't even seen him coming. He dragged her down to the grass, and sat upon her with all his weight, holding her wrists by her ears with hardly any effort. Looking up at his infuriated countenance, feeling so utterly overwhelmed by the sheer strength in his grip and thighs, Rose was suddenly very terrified.

"I tolerated your abuse when we were children, Rose, but no more. Never hit me again," he warned in a calm, but firm tone.

He lowered his face towards her, and it was clear where he was aiming – right for her mouth.

"Don't," she pleaded, choking on her fear and humiliation.

He stopped half an inch from her lips, and as she gazed up at him, his irises began to glow. The colour swirled and became fluidic, liquid mercury. "Why do you deny us, pretty mate?" he asked her... only, it wasn't just him talking to her now. As with his father earlier that afternoon, Scorpius' voice was an odd amalgamation of two voices: his own, and another deeper, more seductive voice that clearly belonged to his Veela.

The beast had come forward to introduce itself to her at last.

Rose was instantly terrified. Her fight-or-flight instincts kicked into overdrive and she struggled with everything she had to break the hold on her, but Scorpius and his Veela were unnaturally strong. "Let go of me!" she shouted, her tears making everything before her wavy and indistinct.

Their grip on her wrists tightened, preventing her escape. "We don't wish to hurt you, Rose. Stop fighting us."

"No, NO!" She was starting to lose it to panic. Her chest constricted, her breathing grew laboured, and she squirmed and bucked like an animal in a trap.

The Veela sighed, as if disappointed by her continued resistance. He laid his head down in the crook of her shoulder and released some of his glamour into the air.

It only took a minute for her struggles to cease and for her desire to flair to life instead. His alluring, aphrodisiac-like magic wound itself around her and saturated her skin, causing her body to ignite with flames of need. Her fear was instantly forgotten, transforming into arousal. Deep inside her head, her mind was shouting to her the reminder that she'd been tricked and not to give in, but a powerful sexual greed overrode that voice of reason. She moaned and rubbed her lower body against his.

"You see, love? There's nothing to fear. You want us," Scorpius and his creature together spoke with the utmost assurance. His nose moved along her cheek as he sniffed her, inhaling her dream-self's scent deeply into his nostrils and imprinting upon it. "Say the word and we will come to you tonight and mate you. Then, you won't be afraid of us any longer."

Rose swallowed three times before she found her voice. "It's not real desire. You're compelling me to with your freaky Veela magic. I don't really want you."

Those alien eyes looked down at her with frustration.

"I'll never forgive you for it if you force me into your bed, especially like this," she promised him, fighting against her body's eagerness to hump against him like mad.

Her 'mate' seemed confused for a moment, and then he shut his eyelids with what appeared to be pain. Scorpius' breathing accelerated, and his face scrunched up as if he were struggling against his own nature. "I know," he grit, his voice solo once again. Sweat dotted his forehead and a moment later, with a violent shudder, the shadows withdrew from Malfoy's face, the Veela retreating. Panting, Scorpius cracked open his eyelids. His eyes were normal once more. He looked tired, however, as if all the strength had been sapped from him. Limbs shaking, he collapsed atop her, his grip on her wrists going slack. "I don't want to force this. I want to court you... properly," he murmured. "I don't want to take you. I want you to want me back."

Rose's heart gave a sharp lurch at the regret in Malfoy's tone. He'd always been so caustic and swaggeringly arrogant in the past, but now he sounded, well, scared. This was a side of Scorpius she wasn't sure she was prepared to experience. She wasn't certain what to do or say either, afraid of a resurgence of his animalistic side.

As his Veela had retreated back to wherever it came from inside him, the cloud of fear that had suffocated her had dissipated as well. Wrung out by the high adrenaline rush and her physical efforts, Rose wilted, too. Quietly, the two lay together for a long time, with him mounted atop her in a very intimate position, as if they were preparing for sex. Yet, he made no move to take advantage of their awkward arrangement, except to get the strength back in his elbows to take some of the pressure off her chest.

"Sorry about that," he said in apology for nearly crushing her. "He's a bit overwhelming and it takes a lot to rein him in."

She stared up into Scorpius' face and was startled by how open he was to her in that moment. "You really didn't arrange this purposefully, did you?" she asked.

"Not consciously, no." With a flexing of his biceps and shoulders, he was able to lift himself up until they were nose-to-nose again. "Father says… he said the Veela within me picked you as its equal, magically speaking, the moment we first met. That it was the reason I was compelled to seek you out on the train and try to introduce myself to you." He licked his lips and swallowed heavily. "I swear to you, Rose, I never meant for this to happen. I was as shocked as you were at the choice."

To her astonishment, there was no lie in his lovely, human eyes. "I believe you," she murmured, suddenly entranced by the lips that were only a breath away from hers. They were such nicely shaped lips, pillow soft, and more than ample for kissing…

She blinked. What was the hell was she thinking?

"Your Veela magic is still pouring all over me. Can you turn it off?"

Scorpius seemed confused by that. His brows lowered and his gaze shot to the side, as if he were conversing with the beast inside his head. A moment later, he was back. "He says he isn't doing it, and I have no idea if I even can without him. I only came into this birthright less than a week ago. I'm still figuring it out. Sorry, if I'm affecting you still. I'm not sure how to stop that."

As if realizing just then how intimate a position they were in, Scorpius' breathing slowed.

They warily watched each other in silence for a while.

"I'll make you a deal, Rose," he finally murmured, his fingers moving to play with her hair. "Meet me here regularly in the dream world, so we can get to know each other a little better and I promise not to push us to mate in the real world until you're comfortable with the idea. As I wanted to offer today, maybe we can start over and we can both get a second chance to make things right."

Rose was about to protest, but Scorpius gently placed two fingers over her lips to shush her up. "This is our reality now, baby. I'd like to make it as pleasant for both of us as possible." Quicker than she could track, he was off her and on his feet again, staring down at her. "As you are aware, the alternative is not so pleasant, but the outcome would be the same."

Her anger returning at the implied threat, Rose sat up, rearing for round two. "You're threatening to rape me," she hissed as her fury began boiling to the surface again. She got to her feet and lifted her chin, refusing to be cowed. "I will not have anything to do with you, you bastard!"

Malfoy didn't move as she headed for the glass door to the fantasy conservatory he'd constructed. He turned with her, tracking her movements, but didn't follow.

"You can walk away – hell, you can run, if you want, but it won't change a thing, Rose," he warned. "We're both trapped by this mating, and although I wouldn't want to force you into it, I will if I have to."

At that, she abruptly stopped and whirled around to face him, ready for the end-all-be-all of cat fights. "You try any tricks or to take me by violence, and I'll make you regret the day you were born, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy! I'll invent a curse just for you!"

He ran a hand through his hair, clearly aggravated with her. "You just don't get it, do you? The Veela needs to bond with you soon. He doesn't understand human courtship and doesn't recognise its law. It's his instinct to claim a mate – you. He can no more turn away from that duty than you can willingly put aside your magic. He needs you to complete him, to keep him sane by calming his inner beast. Only a mate can do this for a Veela. It's who they are!"

He closed his eyes and quivered rather violently again, and when his lids lifted once more, his Veela had once more come forward to share Scorpius' body. He tilted his head like a predatory bird-like manner and looked at her with blatant hunger. "We will have you, mate. We've waited a long time for you. You are ours."

"Go to hell, you monster!" she snarled, balling her fists and holding them before her in a defensive stance. She knew shit-all about fist fighting, but she'd give it her all if pushed.

She needn't have bothered. Scorpius didn't move from his spot. Instead, a bitter smirk twisted his lips. "Too late, love," he informed her softly. "We are already there."

In a blink, he was gone, and the indoor garden perceptibly darkened. Everything around her melted into shadow, until all was black and she fell once more into the realm of unconsciousness.

Despite having her mind returned to her control, Rose's sleep was not relaxing after that. Several times during the night, she awoke sweating, her body burning with arousal that, try as she might, she could not completely alleviate. Three self-induced climaxes over the long hours until dawn and it still wasn't enough to quell the aching lust that seared through her veins as the Veela's residual magic left her body. It took another hour and a cold shower after her waking for that to happen.

Malfoy, it seemed, wasn't the only one in hell. Apparently, some of the things he did to her in the dream world had repercussions in the real one. She feared what that meant if he were to actually kiss her the next time he barged into her slumbering mind.

X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X

Sunday, June 29th, 2031 (morning-afternoon)

A sip from a Draught of Peace had allowed Rose to finally catch some sleep that morning after drying off from her icy shower. She awoke around noon, and immediately Floo-called her girlfriends, asking for them to meet her in the Alley for a little bitch-therapy session.

As she surrounded herself with her support group for a little cold, sweet comfort at Fortescue's, Rose realized that she felt little better than she had yesterday. Even with Eleri, Alicia, Holly, Shannon, and her cousins, Lily, Lucy, and Molly surrounding her at the round café table, sharing in the healing power that was chocolate ice cream and hot fudge, she was uncharacteristically glum. Her girls were consoling her with kind words of sympathy as she poured out her soul, explaining the horrid situation she now found herself forced into as Malfoy's mate, but none of the compassionate gestures or words, nor the uplifting potential of gelato, seemed to help remove the veil of depression that blanketed her heart.

"There's nothing to be done at all?" Lucy asked again. "Even your mum can't help?"

Rose shook her head, practically in tears over the situation. "I'm going to lose Corwin. It took me so long to find him again, and he's… Merlin, I was falling in serious love with him." Now she was sobbing, hiding away behind her hands. "If I hadn't let him go years back, we might be married by now and Malfoy would have to look elsewhere."

Molly petted her arm in a conciliatorily fashion. "Rosie, I don't think it works like that. You said that Aunt Fleur told you that a Veela's mate is determined from the moment they meet, and Malfoy confirmed that for you last night." She shook her head. "I think you'd have been made to divorce Corwin if things had worked out as you envision, and that would hurt far worse."

Rose slumped in her chair, feeling defeated. "Why me? Why did that bastard's magic choose me? He knows I've always loathed the very sight of him!"

There was a pregnant pause, and the following silence was oddly strained.

Finally, someone spoke up.

"Do you?"

Rose jerked her head around to spear Eleri with a glance that was part-astonishment, part-incredulity. How could her best friend even ask her that? She knew better than anyone how Rose felt about Scorpius Malfoy.

"What? Yes, of course! Why would you even have to ask?"

Her dark-haired friend gave her a piercing, significant look. "I remember quite clearly that all you ever seemed to do back in school was talk about Quidditch, Prefect duties, your studies, and Malfoy – the last more than any other topic. You even managed to somehow work him into the other three topics any time you could manage it. It was always 'Scorpius, this,' or "Scorpius, that.' You schemed incessantly about how to get even with him for the smallest slight or how to put one over on him in some fashion or another." She held up a hand to cut off Rose, who was about to launch into a long-winded, well-rehearsed explanation. "No, let me finish. You can tear me up afterwards." Those odd lavender-coloured eyes seemed to stare right into Rose's soul, making her quite uncomfortable. "You were furious every time he switched girlfriends, too, commenting about how you felt sorry for his witches for being so easily tricked. That kind of jealousy and animosity smacks of obsession and attraction, not hate, Rose."

Molly picked up the baton next. "Hate to say it, Rosie, but Eleri is right. You were rather preoccupied with Malfoy's comings and goings from day one. He was the topic of practically every conversation. You've never stopped following his story, either." She absently shook her long, dyed blonde bangs off her forehead. "Since the day you graduated, every time you've see him mentioned in Witch Weekly or The Daily Prophet or some other rag, you've blown your stack. That kind of anger, the years of antagonism… it's like some sort of twisted foreplay."

Rose couldn't believe her ears. She nearly launched into a scathing rejoinder of the indictments from her friends when Lily's metal spoon clinked against her fluted sundae glass rather loudly. "Rosie, we've all seen it for years, but I think it's safe to say that none of us wanted to send you 'round the bend by being the first to question your behaviour. Now, though, I think it's time you admit it: you've got a thing for Scorpius Malfoy. You always have."

Alicia nodded in agreement to the assessment, lips pursed together in silent apology.

Holly and Shannon traded a look and both shrugged simultaneously. "Agreed," they spoke as one, staring at Rose with something akin to pity.

Glancing between her cousins and girlfriends–the women who were supposed to be on her side–Rose felt the stab of betrayal go deep. "You bitches," she sighed in melodramatic anguish, and sat back in her chair, laying her head against the padding and staring up at the ceiling. "I hate all of you. You're not supposed to be on his side! You're supposed to help me find a way out of this mess, and help me curse him out, too!"

Next to her, Lucy took one of her hands in her own, petting it. "I love you, Rosie, and you know I'm behind you no matter what you do, but I really think you should consider what's being said here. I know Malfoy was a git a lot of the time. I remember your screaming matches, and the hexes flying back and forth, and the wads of paper you'd throw at each other in classes to flip each other off. But Rosie, I think it's safe to say he had a thing for you, too, beyond all of this Veela stuff. You might not have noticed it, but everyone else did. The boy couldn't take his eyes off of you for a minute during school."

"Yeah, remember that party in seventh year just after N.E.W.T.s finished, when everyone was pissed on the Firewhisky Marcus Zabini snuck in?" Alicia reminded them. She pointed her spoon at Rose. "Malfoy talked you into following him into an empty corridor in the dungeons that night. Drunk as he was, he obviously intended to get you alone for a purpose. If Marshall Macmillan hadn't accidentally stumbled across you two swapping tonsils, you probably would have given your vee-jay up to him right there in the hallway, too."

Rose blinked, confused, her mind a total blank as to that alleged incident. "I don't remember that ever happening!"

Alicia snorted. "I'm not surprised. You were so drunk that when you crawled back to Ravenclaw tower later that night, I'm told you needed help getting from your common room up to your dorm."

"What did that wanker, Macmillan say I did?" Rose demanded.

"He said Scor had you against the wall and your lips were plastered to his, while his hand was up your skirt," Alicia relayed. "Meanwhile, your hands were having a party in his pants. You were wanking him like his meat was on the menu, witch."

Rose's head began to ache. She rubbed her temples to alleviate the pain. "You're lying! That couldn't have happened," she refuted, but was stopped short from a fantastic rant on the subject by a unanimous round of nodding from everyone at the table. Clearly, consensus was that Rose had indeed done just as Alicia had stated. Lowering her voice, she leaned in and hissed at her friends. "Fucking hell! You absolute bitches! You let that man-whore frig me and never told me so I could kick his arse later for it?"

Holly spoke up then, finishing the last of her side of a banana split with her twin. "None of us had the brass-ones to tell you then," she stated, putting down her spoon and wiping her mouth with her napkin.

"So instead, we blackmailed Marshall so he wouldn't report it," Shannon completed the thought.

Holly snickered. "Turns out, the goody-good Head Boy wasn't quite as innocent as he'd professed."

Her twin nodded in full agreement and the two burst into wicked laughter, but did not elaborate further.

"Malfoy didn't seem to remember the incident at all when I fished around the next day," Alicia finished the tale. "He was as drunk as you were that night, so we all believed your secret was safe. Why upset you then and possibly bring shame down upon you? Better to let sleeping dogs lie and chalk it up to a mistake."

Rose's jaw practically hit the floor. "I can't believe this! Betrayed by my own friends!"

Across the table, Eleri cleared her throat. "Regardless of the past, the fact of the matter is, Rose, that the laws on Veela mates are clear, aren't they? You don't have a choice about this mating and marriage. The Ministry is going to enforce it, whether you want it or not." She nervously adjusted her small, silver bowl that contained only remnants of her dessert now. "However, you do have a choice about how you go into this relationship with Malfoy. If you want a happy life, you're going to have to put what happened at Hogwarts behind you, and see what Scor has to offer you now." She shrugged, her attention fixated on the red, cotton napkin she'd politely folded up and placed next to her dish. "Who knows? He might surprise you."

Rose shook her head. "I don't want to have any kind of a life with Scorpius Malfoy! I'm already half in love with Corwin McLaggen!"

Lucy held her hand a little tighter. "Rose–"

Pulling her hand away quickly, Rose firmly shook her head again. "Absolutely not! I'm not giving up on my dream guy for the man who spent all of our childhood tormenting me! I'm just going to have to dig deeper and hope I can find some obscure rule or reference to breaking a mating bond legally, so that if he comes at me, I'll have the Ministry's protection, not its coercion."

Slamming her fist down on the table, she sat up straight in her chair. A path and purpose were laid out before her, and she refused to wallow in self-pity any longer. She'd find a way, or she wasn't a Weasley!

"I spent all our school years beating Malfoy. I won't let that spoiled, womanizing bastard win this time either!"

X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X

Sunday, June 29th, 2031 (late afternoon-evening)

Rose Floo'd to her mum's cottage that evening, hoping to get some legal advice and possibly convince the woman into helping her do some research into breaking Veela mate bonds.

"Mum? Are you here?" she called out, but there was no answer. "Mum?"

Not finding her in the small, comfortable living area, she prowled through the back hallway, opening each door, calling out for her mother. When she arrived at her mother's bedroom, she stopped, eyes taking in the mess before her. An array of pant suits, dresses, skirts, and blouses were flung haphazardly on the bed. Some were inside-out, as if tried on hastily and discarded as unacceptable. Matching jewellery pieces were similarly strewn around the coverlet. Shoes were tossed into a pile near the dresser. Clearly, her mum had been attempting to put together a nice outfit for a date tonight.

The idea made her chuckle, until she tried to envision the possible male options. Only one sprang immediately to mind…

"I could never forget anything about you."

"We'll catch up later. Don't you worry, Granger."

Oh, no.

No, no, NO!

Her mother could not do that to her! She couldn't!

"Hermione…"

Next to her, her mum stiffened in her chair. Her eyes had gone wide, and her cheeks were flushed with blood. "Veela." She sounded out of breath. "It's been a long time."

Jesus Christ on a cracker! If her mum got together with Mr. Malfoy, it would just make it more difficult for Rose to escape Scorpius' influence. Hell, knowing her mother, the woman would insist upon another 'double-date' scenario instead! Biting her nails in growing anxiety, Rose sat on her mum's bed and waited for the woman to get home, hoping they could talk before things got out of hand and became irrevocable.

By two o'clock that next morning, it was clear her mother was out for the night and wouldn't be coming home. That meant she was either spending the night in lock-up in a Ministry cell (highly unlikely) or she was sleeping in someone else's bed for the night (more than likely).

Her mum was probably shagging Draco Malfoy right then, wasn't she?

The idea made her positively ill.

TO BE CONTINUED…

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Please review!

Amazons - Nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology.

Penthesilea - Queen of the Amazons. She fought on the side of the Trojans against the Greeks in the Trojan War. She was killed in the first day of fighting after Hector's mourning period ended, Achilles was called over by Ajax to aid him. Mistaking Penthesilea as a man (as she was dressed in men's armour), Achilles gave her a mortal blow and then mocked her as she lay dying. When he removed her helmet and realised she was female, he wept (some say for instant love of her, others because he had a personal rule not to harm women). According to Diodorus Siculus, Penthesileia was the last Amazon to win distinction for bravery, and after she was gone, "(the Amazon race) diminished more and more and then lost all its strength." I have shamelessly borrowed from this tale to connect Penthesilea and the Amazons up to the Veela for a purpose to be revealed in future chapters.

Elohim - Hebrew for 'Heavenly Host' (i.e. angels)