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"Must you always steal me from my lady friends?"
She snorted.
"Given the circumstances, I would have thought it was more important than your...activities."
"Hey, a magical being has to live."
"Veela," she sighed.
His expression softened. She was frazzled. Frazzled was the wrong word to describe Valerie, though. She was unnerved and perturbed, and Valerie was a usually calm person. He couldn't blame her for her incessant pacing and interrupting. He was glad that she had gone and searched for him.
"Hey," he said, grabbing her upper arms, "it'll be fine."
"That's what both you and Felix said last time and look at now."
"Yes, well look at all the cool stuff that's happened since then!"
She glared at him and turned her gaze back to the school. The moon was out this night, and it cast a shadow across her face. Veela had always thought that she had a rough beauty. There wasn't any other way to describe it, really. She wasn't a looker, not in an obvious sense. She wasn't like the Granger girl, with the subtle beauty that left boys taking second glances. She had a rather rugged beauty to her. One that you could only notice if you knew her and her personality. Not that she was ugly, either. On more than one occasion he had made a point to Felix about it, making certain comments. And of course the little fool made a denial and said the whole "She's just a friend."
Sigh. Was he an idiot? Felix seemed to think so. It wasn't like he couldn't sense the boy's feelings. It wasn't love, no. But there was a fondness there, a rare fondness that Felix didn't feel for others. Then again, the two had been through so much with each other that it would be difficult not to feel something different.
And what with Valerie's...no.
"So how are preparations for-"
"Coming along. Marcus seems to think that he can push me around and ignore my warning."
"It won't help if those warnings sound like orders."
"Well, they were orders."
He laughed.
"And it wasn't anything that couldn't be done or handled."
"Still, isn't five times the security a little much?"
"I don't think that it's enough."
"I understand the reasoning behind it, though."
She gave him a small smile. He was happy to notice that she smiled a little more since coming here.
"Was I the only one to notice that they were in the hallway?" He asked.
Her smile slipped. "I know."
"What?"
She breathed out angrily. "Don't play this game with me Veela. I know about your bet. You and her."
"It was just-"
"Don't say it was fun. It's wrong, and you know it."
"You cast the spell on them. You-"
"I'm not the one using pheromones to try to manipulate them-"
"I can't manipulate what-"
She moved to him and shoved him against a tree. She held his shoulder and he knew not to move.
"Don't," she held up a finger with her other hand, "give me that bullshit. I would have thought you'd be above her little games. Or that you would tell me about it!"
"Valerie-"
"DON'T!"
She moved away from him. "I have more shit than I care to deal with with! The upcoming-"
"Valerie!"
Surprisingly she quieted down and stopped her yelling. He walked toward her and grabbed her by the chin.
"I didn't tell you because I knew she wouldn't."
"That doesn't make it any sense."
"Look, she has some...thing for those two. I'm not sure what it is, but she thinks she's playing some weird matchmaker role."
"Figures."
"And I didn't tell you because I'm trying to make sure nothing bad happens."
She jerked her chin out of his grasp. She shook her head back and forth rapidly and put her hands on either temple.
"I can't deal with this. Not now. Not with..."
Veela was drawn back. She very rarely lost it. She had only lost it maybe twice that he had known her. He closed his eyes and faded off.
Felix drew her into a hug.
"Knowing you, if anyone really ruins your plans you would just kill them."
She laughed into his shirt. He gave her a look.
"You have no idea how serious I'm being."
XXXXX
McGonagall was noticing some strange things. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor third year pair flirting, some Slytherins playing a friendly game of exploding snap with the other houses, and just the other night she had walked into the library to see Pansy Parkinson and Ronald Weasley studying together! Professor McGonagall had even noticed Theo Nott chatting with Dean Thomas about football, whatever in the name of Merlin that was. More and more inner house relationships were popping up, and the teachers were surprised.
She was quite worried of the current events and had even made a note of it to other teachers.
The others did not have any sort of idea what had gone on, but they were not complaining.
In truth, during the lunch episode with Malfoy sitting next to Granger, the teachers were going over important matters to do with their new older American students.
The situation had gotten dire, and McGonagall was trying to preserve the peace.
But that was not the current focus at hand.
McGonagall strode through the long and homey corridors until she got to the Slytherin portrait. She muttered out the password and strode in. It was quite and the few students that were in the common room were studying. She did not see the young Malfoy, but instead saw his dark Italian friend, Blaise Zabini, sleeping on the couch. Striding over to the boy, she cleared her throat. It was obvious that that did nothing to wake him, so glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she kicked the couch. His eyes snapped open and he jolted awake, falling off the couch in the process. He jumped up and brushed his clothes off and gave the Headmistress a startled look.
"Professor, er, Headmistress McGonagall. Can I help you?"
"Yes. Do you know where Mr. Malfoy is at?"
"Yes! I'll...go get him."
He scurried off in the direction of the stairwell that led to the boys' dormitories. A minute later, Zabini came down with an obviously just woken Malfoy.
McGonagall wished she could take a nap herself.
"Mr. Malfoy, if you will follow me." She didn't wait to see if the boy was following and left the common room. She continued her walk until she got to the Transfiguration room. She was still teaching the beloved subject, as she had not found a replacement yet. She didn't mind however, and was glad to still teach.
"Um, Headmistress what exactly-"
"Your sessions. I believe I told you about them?"
Clarity filled the Slytherin's eyes and he stood up straighter. "I remember yes. And they're today?"
"Today and two weeks from now and then two weeks from then and then so on."
He blinked rapidly.
"Every two weeks Mr. Malfoy."
She opened the door and shuffled the blonde into the room. There was a middle aged man with brown hair in the room already, sitting with his legs crossed and writing on a parchment pad. He glanced up when Draco came in, did a once over, and wrote something down.
"Mr. Malfoy this is Mr. Kidner. He is an official from the Ministry and he will be conducting your sessions."
Her stare was unyielding. She had expected some sort of resistance to the idea of talking to a Ministry official of all people, but the boy stood there and gave her a nod. When he did nothing a moment later, McGonagall ducked out.
Draco stood standing near the doorway. Did he want to do this? Fuck no. But that didn't mean that he was going to not do it. There was too much riding on these little sessions. Resigned to his fate, he moved to a chair in front of the man.
He was a nice looking man, although nowhere near Felix' looks. His brown hair had some gray coming through on the sides. As expected of a Ministry official, he was impeccably dressed with a nice dark brown suit. He looked calmed and relaxed, but he had the same demeanor that Valerie had when she was calm and relaxed: calculating.
Neither said anything as Draco sat down in the chair. The man wrote something down on his parchment when Draco took his seat.
"Mr. Malfoy...," he finally started, "I assume you are fitting back in well at the school?"
Seriously?
"Sure."
Mr. Kidner glanced up at Draco at his answer. "Care to elaborate?"
"Not really," Draco deadpanned.
They sat there staring at each other in a silent standoff. Mr. Kidner gave a sigh and took his glasses off.
"Mr. Malfoy I'm afraid you have no choice in this. The Ministry and the Board for Hogwarts were sketchy on letting you back in here. These sessions are to make sure they didn't make a mistake in letting you back in here. If anything comes to light in these sessions that seem...untoward...then they will have you pulled out of Hogwarts."
"What?" McGonagall did not tell him that.
"Mr. Malfoy you will have to participate in these sessions. You will have to explain things and be open. If the Ministry or the Board find out that you are not, in their mind, improving within these sessions then you will be kicked out of school."
Draco could not breathe, could not move. Just when things were starting to slow down and he was getting his life back together, this happened. He couldn't be kicked out of Hogwarts. He just couldn't.
He fixed his face so that he looked at Mr. Kidner with cool detachment.
"That's good to know," he said smoothly.
Mr. Kidner leaned forward. "Mr. Malfoy I am here to help you. These sessions are to try and figure out why you made the decisions you made. They are here to let you vent. So I'm going to start over. Are you fitting back into the school well?"
Draco glared at him. He was a Ministry official. What did he know about the decisions that he had to make? He wasn't there, at the Manor when Voldemort took over. He wasn't there at the Battle of Hogwarts. In fact, most of the Ministry wasn't. It was a battle fought and won by the students and teachers who called these halls home. The Ministry was too busy cowering to Voldemort and carrying out his twisted world view. That wasn't to say that all the Ministry workers were absent from the battle. Kingsley of course and the Weasle's father were there and maybe a few others. But Draco had no recollection of this man face or name.
He took a deep breath and gave Mr. Kidner his nastiest glare. "I've been spurned and ostracized. I've been threatened and almost attacked. I've had to save-" he almost said that he almost said that he had to save Granger. No matter what, he couldn't tell anyone, this man especially. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but Slytherins took care of their own matters. Not to mention this man would probably think that he was the one that attacked Granger, not help her.
"-I've had to save my family's name and that's caused my house to hate me. Not that I care what they think, but the fact that I can't even sleep in my bed without worrying about my life speaks to how much you people really care. And don't sit there and tell me about my decisions like you understand what I've gone through, what I've had to do. You weren't there; you couldn't even begin to understand anything. So you can sit there and say that you are here to help me so that the Ministry can see that my beliefs are like theirs. I'm a pureblood born and raised, meaning that, yes, I did have racist beliefs. That I believed that Muggle-borns were inferior. Do I still think that? Only a little."
Mr. Kidner nodded his head and went to write something, but Draco interrupted him.
"The only reason I have still a little of those thoughts is because I've been raised to believe those things. You can't erase beliefs you've had since a child like that. It takes time, and I'm working on it. Can you say that there's not a belief you've had as a child that's been wrong, but you didn't want to believe it? For the simple fact that that's all you've known? You can't tell me you haven't."
Draco stood up and brushed off his robes. "That's my elaboration." Then he left. He didn't stay around to see Mr. Kidner write something on that blasted parchment pad, or the small smile the man had on his face.
Draco made his way back down to the Slytherin Common Rooms.
Shit. What the fuck did he just do? He just told the fucking Ministry worker that he still had racist tendencies! Great. Dragging his hand down his face, he said the password and entered the common room. It was empty now. Maybe he had been with Mr. Kidner longer than he thought. However, Valerie was still there.
She was writing on parchment with several books around her. She was obviously doing homework. Draco walked over to the chair next to her and sat down. She didn't look up as he took a seat. They didn't talk for a moment, but eventually he sighed and spoke.
"Am I a bad person?"
Valerie looked up with a raised brow.
"Well that was out of left field."
"What's left field?"
She gave him a look. "You guys really need to get out more. And as for you being a bad person...no. I don't. I think you were a good kid, but you were brought up in a bad environment."
Draco narrowed his eyes at her. "My parents-"
"I didn't say anything against your parents. I just said you were brought up in a bad environment. I have no doubt that your parents loved you, but...you were raised around so much...hate, Draco. You can't expect to come out of that unscathed. Why do you ask?"
He took a deep breath.
"Well, it's just...the war-"
"Stop." She held up her hand. "Don't."
He gave her a queer look.
"Look Malfoy...Draco. It's great that you're opening up, it is. Since I've known you, you've buried whatever emotions you have. And that's not healthy. You need to let it out, tell someone about it. But not me."
His eyes became downcast.
"I'm not trying to be callus, quite the opposite. But you need to talk to someone who...knows, who understands. I can never understand what it is that you went through. Sure I've read about it, but that doesn't mean shit. I wasn't here to know what happened exactly. I can never fully know. Just like you'll never know about my problems because you weren't there."
"Blaise-"
"Not even Blaise. As much as he is a good friend, he wasn't here either."
He gave her a look. "What, you want me to talk to Granger is that it?"
"She was here wasn't she? And I'm not meaning just her. The Weasley boy was here. Hell, you could even talk to Harry fucking Potter. All I'm saying is that you need to find someone who understands."
She turned back to her homework. Draco got up. He didn't know what to do, or what to think. Everything that had happened in the past month was crashing down. Blaise and Pansy being around him, giving him some sort of hope. Meeting Valerie and Felix and making friends, surprisingly. Kissing Granger, hugging Granger. Everything. He just wanted to forget for a moment. He climbed the stairs to his dorm room, thankful that no one was there. He kept it in his trunk, under the fake bottom. He dug around until he found it.
Ogden's Finest Fire whiskey.
He took a swig.
XXXXX
Hermione was in the library, working on Arithmancy homework. It was late, and technically the library was closed, but she and Madam Pince had created an understanding. Madam Pince had liked Hermione and her quest for knowledge. She took great care of the books, and in return Hermione got her a few chocolate frogs every Hogsmeade trip. Madam Pince had gone to her professor's room about thirty minutes ago. The only reason that Hermione was working on homework so late was because she had stayed up so late last night after Malfoy hugged her.
...nope...
...highly unlikely...
...why...
...just nope...
Hermione could. Not. Sleep. Or think. Or concentrate on anything. Her thoughts just kept returning to Malfoy hugging her. No matter how many times she played it over in her head or repeated it, it just didn't...nope, nuh uh.
Just...Malfoy...and hug? And Malfoy? A stream of curses flowed through her head.
If anyone had said that Malfoy would ever hug her, she would have cursed herself, just to see if she was in some sort of nightmare.
Kissing was different. Kissing was passionate. Hugs though...Hugs were a sort of intimacy usually saved for close friends and family. But Malfoy...
Not that he was a bad hugger, if there was such a thing, but IT WAS MALFOY!
She needed to just calm down. Put the thought in the back of her head.
When she did really think about it though, it wasn't all that horrible. He needed to hear some things, some things that no one had told him.
Still did not erase the fact that it was Malfoy. And he hugged her! Maybe she was being melodramatic.
She was stuck looking at the top of her bed's canopy and listening to Padma's soft snores before she gave into exhaustion.
It wasn't until she had woken up and seen him in Potions again that she had realized she was overreacting. Sure it was Malfoy, and as strange as it sounded, he had feelings as well. And sometimes he could get a little overwhelmed. They hadn't ignored each other, but they had not talked much either. They were polite, but familiar. It wasn't weird at all, and Hermione was glad for that. When Potions had ended, Malfoy had even said a quick "See you later, Granger."
He had even given her a slight smile, however much it looked like a smirk.
She was starting a new chapter when she heard a thunk followed by what she figured was a chair falling over. Grabbing her wand and raising it up in case she needed to defend herself.
She had secretly been keeping up with defenses ever since the war ended. She had practiced and read to keep up. Constant vigilance. That's what she needed if she wanted to survive. The library had been spared from the brunt of the war. There were a few shelves that had gotten blown back and some books that were flung across the room, but her precious library was still a sacred and safe place.
She walked slowly toward the noise and stopped at the end of a bookshelf. She whipped around and cast a stinging hex.
"OUCH! For fuck's sake!"
Malfoy was sprawled around on the floor rubbing his ribs.
"Malfoy, what in the name of Merlin are you doing?"
He flipped over, albeit sluggishly and groaned. He cocked his head and gave her a warm smile.
"Granger. Thought I'd find you here."
His words were slurred and she could now smell the whiskey on him.
"Malfoy you're drunk!"
"Not nearly as much as I'd like to be," he groaned.
Hermione didn't know what to do. She hadn't really encountered a drunk person before, so her knowledge of this particular area of life were lacking.
She chewed on her bottom lip. "Um, Malfoy-"
"Why do you always do that?" He asked.
"Do what?"
"You always chew on your lip for some reason."
"Oh, I didn't realize-"
"It's kind of cute."
She could only stare at him. He, being drunk, was oblivious to her questioning gaze. He closed his eyes as if he was going to try and sleep and gave a content smile.
"Not as cute as your smile though."
She froze. Malfoy thought her smile was cute? She couldn't help it. She smiled.
"See. Cute."
Giving off a sigh, she kneeled down. She grabbed his shoulder and started to get him into an upright position. She leaned him against one of the book shelves. His shoulder was like his bicep. Muscled and toned. She needed to stop thinking about that.
"You need to go back to the Slytherin common room before you say something you'll regret."
"Granger, Granger, Granger...you need to lighten up. You could snog me again if that would help."
"Malfoy-"
"One time offer Granger. You know you want to."
She contemplated slapping him. But it would be unfair since he was drunk.
"Frankly I'd rather hug you again. You give warm hugs. It's like rainbows and sunshine with are wrapped up in your arms."
"Malfoy," she started.
"You don't have to say anything Granger. I know I'm pathetic." He sighed "Well, I know I am."
She sat down and leaned against the book shelves next to him.
"I don't think you're pathetic Malfoy. Although given this current situation, I have to question your intellect."
"So I'm not pathetic. That's good."
"Yes."
He leaned his head on her shoulder. "Actually I take my word back. You can snog me anytime."
"Malfoy, you aren't making any sense."
"Probably not."
"And besides...we don't really need to kiss. We know that it works against our curse."
"Is that why you think I kissed you? I didn't think you'd believe me," he said thoughtfully.
Hermione leaned forward and looked at him. "What?"
He gave her a look. "What?"
"Are you saying you kissed me...because you wanted to?"
He looked thoughtful for a minute. "Mmmmmm...yep. That sounds about right."
Malfoy kissed her because he wanted to? Her brain went fuzzy. She couldn't believe it. Malfoy kissed her out of choice, and she was...glad. Yes she was actually glad. She couldn't explain it. She just felt happy.
"Malfoy...why are you drunk?"
"Oh, that? Because I'm a bad person."
"...What?"
He told her, in his slurred and drunk speech, about why he thought he was a bad person.
"Oh." Anything that Malfoy did, he did in the past when he was a child. It wasn't Malfoy's fault. Granted he could have had a mind of his own, and not believed everything that his parents taught him, Hermione didn't blame him. It was hard to go against what your parents taught you.
"Malfoy-"
"You could call me Draco you know. I think we've gotten to that point by now."
She snorted. "Like you call me Hermione?"
"Are you joking? My name is much easier to say than yours. Hermione." It sounded botched and funny. It reminded her of Viktor trying to say her name.
She laughed. She turned to him to comment about it, but he just leaned forward and caught her lips in his. She was startled, but calmed down. His kiss was warm, and she could taste the Fire whiskey on his lips. His hand traveled to her neck and into her hair. He twirled her hair around his fingers. She brought her hand up tentatively and put it against his shoulder. There was warmth that she could feel through his clothes. Everything about him was a constant contradiction. His behavior and his appearance were cold, but his hugs and his kisses were warm. He was warm. His hands traveled down to her arms and he pulled her closer. She moved her hand up over his shoulder and to his back. Then she moved it up to his neck and into his hair. It was soft and fine. She liked his hair. She even liked it better now that he let it hang loose, without all that gel in his hair. She twirled her fingers in his hair as well. She was unprepared for his tongue on her lips and she jumped back.
"Um..."
He smiled. "Sorry." He pulled his hands from her hair and moved it down to her arms. His thumbs stroked her forearm and he froze. She sucked in air. He lowered his gaze to her arm and pulled her sleeve back. The scar was there, all jagged and white. He didn't say anything, but he rubbed his fingers over each letter. He looked up at her with a hard expression.
"You didn't deserve this."
She didn't say anything to this. She didn't really recall much of the incident. Her head was reeling from the Cruciatus curse Bellatrix had cast. Then there was the pain as she was carving into her arm. She didn't remember Malfoy or his parents. She could only hazily recall being pulled up with a knife at her throat, thrown from Bellatrix and she was apparated to the beach.
"It's-"
"Don't say it's fine, Granger. It's not. Nothing is fine. You're not fine. I know this. You're different from the old Granger. You're burying yourself with schoolwork and you're having trouble sleeping."
Was she really that transparent?
"Hell you haven't even been around Scar head and Gingerbread boy. Actually he'd be Gingerhead boy. Either way, you haven't been around them in a while. Why is that?"
Now that she thought about it, she hadn't really been around Harry, Ron, or Ginny that much. The most she ever saw of them anymore was at meal times. A sense of sadness washed over her. She had been avoiding them. She'd been avoiding everyone. She had been getting the next day's homework so that she had something to do, and she'd buried herself in books.
She just did not want to deal with anything. She wanted a break after the war, to just get away from this world. And the easiest way to do that was to do work. To just not think about it anymore.
"Granger?
"Huh?"
"You went somewhere."
"Oh, sorry."
"It's alright."
They looked at each other for a minute more.
"It's getting late, Malfoy."
"Probably."
She laughed and got up. She went back to her chair and gathered all her things. Her assignment wasn't due until three days from now, so she didn't need to finish it. She put her things in her bag and the books back on the shelves. Malfoy watched as she did all this and didn't say a word. When she was done, he walked behind her and out the door of the library. Well, he stumbled a little, and Hermione cast a spell that would help his balance.
When they got to the stairwell, they stopped. Hermione didn't want to leave Malfoy and let him stumble back to the Slytherin Common Room. Merlin forbid he falls down the stairs or get caught.
Was she caring about Malfoy? Perhaps.
"Um, do you want me to walk you to your common room?"
"Aw, Granger. Escorting your date back to their living quarters."
"No, Malfoy. And if you call getting drunk and stumbling around the place a date, then I pity the women you did go out with. I was simply...worried that you'd break your neck stumbling down the stairs."
"You do like me Granger."
She rolled her eyes.
"I'll tuck him in."
Hermione turned around to see Valerie striding toward them.
"What are you doing out?" Hermione asked.
"Well, actually I was looking for him." She pointed at Malfoy.
"Ah! More than one woman likes me!" Malfoy threw his hands in the air. Hermione ignored him.
Valerie shook her head and gave Hermione an amused look. "That's why. I was making sure he didn't do anything stupid. It's obvious that I've failed."
"Oh. Ok."
Valerie peered at her with a look she could not decipher.
"I'll see you tomorrow Hermione. It's a Hogsmeade weekend isn't it?"
"Oh! Yes." She forgot all about that.
They parted ways with Malfoy still stumbling around and Valerie grumbling in irritation.
Hermione then noticed that there were several leaves in Valerie's hair.
XXXXX
Draco woke with a crick in his neck and a hammer pounding on his head. Ok so it was an imaginary hammer, and it was in his head, but it still hurt like hell. He also heard voices.
Never again.
He couldn't remember anything during his alcohol induced numbness. He knew that something made him happy, but he didn't know what it was.
There was a laugh.
Draco turned his head. He wasn't in his bed. That would explain why he was so cold and why he had a crick. There was a small fire in the fireplace and Draco was sprawled out on the couch without even a blanket. There were more sounds of talking and he turned his gaze to one of the accompanying chairs by the couch. Valerie was sitting in the chair looking at him with an amused smile. Draco sat up. Waaaaaay too fast. Valerie chuckled and said something in that different language and looked over to the other chair across the little coffee table. Felix occupied the chair. Well it wasn't really Felix. Draco noticed the difference in the eye color and knew that it was Veela who currently sat there. He responded in the same weird language and shook his head. Draco groaned.
"What are you doing here?" Draco asked, looking at Veela.
"Well, he met us on the way here. Despite what you'd think, carrying your pale ass down several flights of stairs - while you are drunk I might add - is not the most fun thing to do. He helped," Valerie explained.
"And you couldn't deposit me in my room? On my bed?" He asked with a glare.
"Nope," Veela and Valerie answered at the same time.
"Wait. What was he doing up so late in the halls?" Draco asked. He rubbed his head and realized he had a tangle in his hair. Dammit! Now he'd have to comb it out later.
"I was having a rendezvous with a special lady. I needed to recharge. Sort of."
"Slut," Valerie coughed.
"What?"
"I didn't say anything," Valerie said innocently.
"I take offense to that," Veela glared her.
"Well, face it Veela. It's what you are. Be loud and proud and so on and so forth."
Veela stuck his tongue out at her.
"You are such a child," Valerie sighed, but she was smiling nonetheless.
Draco, during this encounter was looking back and forth between the pair.
"And you say me and Granger fight like cats and dogs."
"Granger and I," Valerie corrected. "Really, it's simple English. And besides Veela and I, hell even Felix and I, know what our problems are. And we've dealt with them."
"It's a love-hate relationship," Veela added.
Draco had a head ached. He rubbed his hand across his forehead, even though he knew it wouldn't help.
"So why are your guys still here? You could have just dropped me off on the couch and went to your own beds."
Valerie nodded her head. "We could have. But we were making sure you didn't choke on your own vomit."
"I wasn't that drunk."
"You were making claims about making out with Hermione. Twice!"
Memories slammed into him.
The library. He remembered. He got drunk and left to go and find Granger because he wanted to talk. And she seemed the only one who would listen. Then he got to the library, because really where else would she be, and they didn't really do much talking.
Damn. There was no way he could play that off. What would he say when Granger asked about it or said something? He was drunk!
He was drunk.
It wasn't until a moment ago that he remembered everything. Problem solved.
"Son of a bitch."
Draco looked over to Valerie. She was wearing a wide smile and her eyes were twinkling with mischief.
"You two actually kissed!"
Draco remained silent.
"Oh, don't be a Silent Susan. Details," Valerie demanded.
"Nothing happened, alright! I was drunk and found her in the library. End of story."
Valerie sighed and let her head fall back in exasperation.
"I was drunk-"
"So you did kiss her! Holy- Veela they kissed!"
"Oh, I know," Veela said automatically.
"You knew?" Valerie exclaimed.
"Only about the first one," he said lamely.
"Oh, for...never mind. Anyway, so your drunken ramblings weren't ramblings."
His headache was getting worse. He lay back down and flung his arm over his face.
"Veela," Valerie called.
There was a rustling sound and an "Ah ha," from Veela. There was the sound of steps and a hand pulled his arm back.
"Here," Veela said, thrusting a potion vial in his face. Draco took it and sat up while Veela sat at the other end of the couch. "It's a hangover potion. But this one is strong, so you need to go up to bed before you take it."
Draco looked at Veela and nodded his head. "Thanks. But why are you here?"
Valerie gave him a look. "I thought we explained that."
"No," Draco said, "why isn't he Felix?"
Veela and Valerie shared a look. Valerie smirked and a dark look came over Veela.
"Uhh, I'm still...in need of a recharge."
Valerie burst out laughing and Veela shot her a glare.
"What?" she asked. She turned to Draco. "Big boy over here can't perform."
"I can to perform!" Veela yelled.
There was an explosion of pain in Draco's head. "Could you...not yell please," he murmured.
"Sorry," Veela said to Draco. He turned back to Valerie. "I was focusing on my partner's pleasure first, thank you."
Valerie snorted.
"You know very well I can perform," Veela muttered.
Draco jerked his head to Valerie with wide eyes. "YOU know he can perform?"
This time Valerie shot Veela a glare before she turned her gaze back to Draco. "Once," she sighed.
Draco laughed without humor. "And here you were making a big deal about me and Granger."
"Granger and I. I swear...And Veela and I only kissed. We have a...understanding of sorts."
"What, are you his on-the-side hooker?" Draco said with a smirk. He felt another exploding pain in his head, but this was ten times worse. Veela had smacked him over the head. "Play nice," he growled.
"I don't much like drunken Draco," Valerie said darkly. "You don't really know anything about Veelas. If he doesn't recharge," she pointed at Veela, "then he'll die."
Draco's smarmy smirk dropped and he looked back and forth between the two Americans. "Are you serious?"
"As a heart attack. That's why Veelas have such an allure. It's like a Venus Fly Trap."
"'Cause that's a lovely thing to be compared to," Veela muttered.
Valerie ignored him. "Venus Fly Traps are pretty and they secrete a sort of nectar that attracts flies. If they didn't have that part of them then they wouldn't attract anything, and they'd die. Same with Veela over there. If Veela didn't recharge within the week, then he would start to deteriorate and then eventually he would die."
"That's rather grim."
"Yep," said Veela.
There was silence in the common room. Draco tried to think about what Valerie said, but he was too tired. He grabbed the potion vial Veela gave him and got up. He didn't falter this time and he was glad. He needed sleep, in his own comfy bed.
"Well, I'll see you two...sometime," then he walked to the stairwell.
Valerie watched Draco's departure, and when he disappeared she turned back to Veela.
"Interesting. So he's kissed Hermione. Twice, apparently."
"So are you gonna be mad that I-"
"Yep."
"Damn."
"Well, that's your fault. What else haven't you told me, Veela?"
"I have a fetish for silk sheets."
She shot a stinging hex at him. Valerie was quiet for a moment before her face lit up and a smile spread across her face.
"What's that look for?" Veela asked, rubbing his shoulder. "I've seen that look before. What are you going to do, what do you have planned? What is it?!"
"You want to win the bet right? What was the winner's prize?"
"Bragging rights," he said.
"Oh, for fucks sake. She wins the bet we'll never hear the end of it."
"Most indubitably," Veela said thoughtfully.
"I have a plan..."
XXXXX
Hermione walked into the Great Hall with a smile on her face. She had thought about the library incident with Malfoy. Well, after she thought about their kiss anyway. It was hard not to think about that.
In all honesty she was confused. Her relationship with Malfoy, if it could be called a relationship, was changing and different lines were being made and crossed. How in the name of Merlin was she supposed to comprehend all of this? She was yelling at Malfoy and then she was kissing Malfoy, and she just felt confused! It didn't make any sense, no logical sense! But kissing Malfoy, as cliché as it sounded, woke something in her. She felt different with him like that. She felt stronger. She felt like she did before the war, before everything happened and she changed. This brought her to present company.
She had ignored Harry, Ron, and Ginny. The saddest part was that she hadn't even realized it. She had stuck her head in her books and kept it there. But it was too keep the thoughts and memories away. They needed to stay away. She was only able to sleep because of a charm. It was in one of the new books Harry had bought her over the summer. It kept nightmares away and gave her peaceful sleep. And she hated herself. She didn't want to depend on a charm or anything for that matter, but she didn't want the nightmares either. And she didn't want to worry Harry, Ginny, or Ron. But she was going to try to fix that.
She sat down next to Ron, as Ginny was sitting next to Harry of course. They smiled when Hermione sat down.
"Hogsmeade is today Hermione!" Ron said with a smile.
"Yeah, we were going to go to the Three Broomsticks. You in?" Ginny asked.
"Yes, of course," Hermione said.
"So what exactly is Hogsmeade?"
Felix sat down next to Hermione with a questioning look.
"Didn't McGonagall tell you?"
"Well, she explained to us that there was a local wizarding village and that the older students got to go on some weekends."
"That's what Hogsmeade is, is the wizarding village. It has a book store, a joke shop-"
"There's Honeydukes, which is an amazing candy store," Harry added.
"It's a lot of fun," Hermione finished.
"Sounds like it. Mind if I tag along?" Felix asked.
"I see no problem with that," Hermione said.
"Yeah, sure," Ginny said with a smile.
"Sweet." Felix smiled back.
Hermione saw a look of jealousy pass over Harry's face.
"Do you think I could tag along?" Valerie sat down next to Felix.
"The more the merrier," Ginny said.
"Straggler," Felix coughed.
"Hey!" Valerie called.
"Oh, sure you can call me a slut."
"I called Veela a slut."
"Who's Veela?" Ginny, Harry, and Ron chimed in.
Crap. That's right. Hermione never told them about Felix's other side. She really had been neglecting her friendships.
Felix filled the trio in on his alter-ego. Ginny looked on wide eyed and Harry had a strange look on his face. Ron looked at Felix like he was the greatest thing he'd ever seen.
"So you have to be with girls to live? That's awesome! That explains why I always see you with a different girl!" Ginny smacked Ron in the arm.
Felix actually blushed.
"At least you have some shame," Valerie muttered.
Felix opened his mouth to make a comeback, but he noticed the smile on Valerie's face and realized she was joking.
"So...you can't be with the same girl?" Harry asked.
Felix sighed. "I could be, but Veela is..."
"A douche bag?" Valerie offered.
Felix shot her a glare. "He's one of your closest friends."
"What's that say about me?"
"You have horrible taste in friends?"
"That includes you," she said pointing at Felix with a fork.
"Anyway," Felix said turning back to Harry, "Veela considers it as saving himself. That the person he'll have..."
"Seconds," Valerie said over her toast.
"Yeah, is with my...our...his? Mate."
"You don't sound too sure of who'll have the mate," Ginny said.
Valerie and Felix shared a look.
Valerie held her hands up. "Hey, it's your species. You explain."
Felix sighed again. "It's a widely discussed topic of who exactly gets the mate. If it weren't for the Veela side, there wouldn't be a mate technically speaking, so most people say that it's the Veela that has the mate. However, the mate is technically chosen for the human part, and that's who most mates fall in love with, so others say that it's the human side the mate is for. Then there are the others who couldn't pick a side, so they just say that the mate is for both."
Hermione thought about that. "Wait, then for your...mating ceremony," Hermione blushed, "doesn't Veela need to, uh..."
Felix smiled at her. "No. Do you remember how Valerie explained it? Two consciousnesses sharing one body? Well, think of it as the body that has all the special powers. So the heightened emotional sense and sense of smell is part of the body. Veela wouldn't actually need to be, uh, present for the ceremony to occur."
"I don't get it," Ron said.
Valerie face-palmed and Ginny attempted to explain things in a simpler matter to Ron.
"Pansy!" Valerie called.
Pansy was walking over to the Slytherin table when Valerie called her. She gave Valerie a strange look when she waved her over.
"Oh, come on they don't bite," Valerie said.
Pansy stood there for a moment thinking about it and then slowly walked over to the Gryffindor table. She sat down next to Valerie and gave her a small smile.
The Gryffindors were giving each other questioning looks as Valerie chatted with the Slytherin girl. Ron, Hermione noticed, was trying his darndest to stare at his plate and she saw that his ears were turning red. Interesting.
"Is there any reason we're sitting with the Gryffindorks today?" Blaise asked as he took a seat next to Harry.
"No idea," Pansy muttered.
"What she said," Valerie jerked her thumb at Pansy.
"And I resent the 'Gryffindork' comment," Hermione said with a smile.
"Oh, Granger, you know it's true."
"Don't be rude Blaise."
"Very well."
Blaise reached his hand across the table to Felix. Felix gave him his hand and shook it.
"How do you do, Blaise Zabini."
He did the same with Ron and Harry. Ginny stuck her hand out and Blaise took it very delicately.
"Enchante, mademoiselle." He kissed Ginny's hand and gave her a rouge look.
Harry had to try really hard to keep from punching the Slytherin next to him.
"Blaise," Valerie warned with amusement.
"What? Don't you know I have a thing for red-heads?"
"Then hit on Ron."
Both Ron and Blaise jerked and shook in revulsion and the rest of the group laughed.
Blaise sighed dramatically. "It figures. And don't worry Potter. I may be a ladies man," Pansy coughed, "but I won't go after a taken woman. Besides, she's far too taken with you."
Harry perked up a little bit and Ginny took his hand in hers with a smile.
"Isn't this cute?" A voice said behind Hermione.
She stiffened.
Oh damn.
Don't think about it don't think about it don't think about it don't think about it.
She was thinking about it.
Oddly, there was only one thing she was really concerned with.
That pale haired ferret better remember.
"Malfoy," Valerie said, "come join the party."
"No thanks."
"Sit Malfoy."
"No."
Valerie turned to the Gryffindors. "Did you guys know that Malfoy-"
Malfoy had moved behind her and clamped a hand over Valerie's mouth.
"Keep your mouth closed and I'll sit down," he threatened.
He walked over to the other side of the table and sat down next to Blaise.
"So are we all going to Hogsmeade together?" Felix asked.
"Yes," Valerie said at the same time Malfoy, Hermione, and Pansy said, "No."
Valerie gave each protestor a look that said they didn't have a choice.
"You are all my new friends here, and I would like to spend time with ALL of you. So put the inter house rivalries away for a day."
There was grumbling.
"Come on, it could be fun!" Felix put in.
"Bloody Gryffindor bleeding hearts," Malfoy muttered.
As it turned out it wasn't half bad. Sort of.
The large group had decided to walk to Hogsmeade, since they wouldn't all fit in one carriage and they were too weirded out to think of taking more than one. Idiots.
Fortunately for them, it wasn't snowing or raining nor was it too cold. It was the stereotypical dreary England weather, so they did keep their robes on.
They went to every store. EVERY store. Both Felix and Valerie were stuck in place with awe with each passing store. Hermione had inquired about a wizarding town for Salem and Valerie shook her head.
"Since it's in one of the most Muggle populated regions, the Ministry didn't want to push it. There are wizarding towns yes, but it takes a great deal of magic to conceal them. The Ministry didn't want to deal with a bunch of teenagers' trouble, so we don't go out. It's not all bad though. Salem is like one big Muggle university, so there are plenty of things to do and places to go."
Honeydukes was the biggest hit for the Americans. They bought nearly one of everything from the store, walking out with several bags. Those, added with the bags from other stores, weighed down the two quite a bit, and they were a tad slower keeping up.
The group worked surprisingly well. Blaise was in a deep conversation with Harry and Ron about Quidditch, with a heated argument on who was the best team. Pansy and Ginny discussed latest fashions and trends, which rather freaked Hermione out. And since Valerie and Felix were behind a bit, that left Hermione with Malfoy.
Yaaaay.
Neither actually opted to say anything to each other, instead going for a silent walk. Hermione did want to discuss things with Malfoy, library related things, but with the others around she didn't want to risk being overheard. But the rest of the group was in their own little world, not paying attention to the pair.
The anticipation was, however, killing her and she couldn't help it.
"So Malfoy, did you have a good night?"
She could feel him tense next to her.
"Sure. Not any different from usual."
"So you often get drunk and wonder the halls of Hogwarts?"
"Yep."
Nothing. Not one hint that he remembered anything. Sure he tensed, but that could be because he was embarrassed that she had seen him in such a different manner.
"Did you...remember anything?"
"Not much," he said.
He had not glanced at her once. He kept his gaze focused straight ahead of them.
"Oh."
She let the conversation drop.
So he didn't remember. Of course he wouldn't, why would he? She was just Hermione Granger. She was over-lookable, screw the fact that that wasn't a word.
People went to her if they needed help on homework or studying tips. They didn't go to her for passion infused nights.
'Is that what you want?' A little voice in her head asked.
Did she want that? Did she want to be with Malfoy? She knew the entire idea was bonkers and that it probably would not end well. But he made her feel. And it was completely insane and wild and she was confused beyond anything, but by Merlin he made her feel.
She didn't want to feel. Because feeling would mean letting in the emotions for sadness and grief. She would remember things from the war and then she would break down again because she was helpless to do anything about it, just like she was useless to help.
Malfoy brought feelings of good, however.
She wasn't an idiot. She had read many books on the subject of, erm, relations, and she knew that those 'relations' were a big deal to relieve stress. There were many interesting facts about that subject actually, but back on the main point.
Would she risk everything, just to be with Malfoy for a little fling? Because that's what she would be doing. Harry and Ron would most likely not understand, and she couldn't bear it if they stopped talking to her. People in the school would talk and her reputation would most assuredly be tarnished.
And she didn't want to date Malfoy or anything, no. She was just deeply contemplating the benefits for a physical relationship.
If there was one thing Hermione would ever admit she was wrong on, it was that there was nothing between her and Malfoy. Valerie was right. There was a sort of sexual tension there, and Hermione was curious to satisfy it, to see the end results. But she wasn't going to go up to Malfoy and say, "Hey, Malfoy. I was hoping you would snog me and do other such dirty things with me. For an academic purpose of course."
That's what this was for, an academic purpose.
'Liar.' The voice smirked. She swore it sounded a little like Valerie.
"Okay, so we got all the shopping done," Ginny said, "let's go to the Three Broomsticks. I'm dying for a butterbeer."
"What the hell is a butterbeer?" Valerie asked.
The group stopped and looked at her.
"What?" Valerie asked, obviously confused.
Pansy and Ginny made some big gesture and pulled Valerie forward, toward the Three Broomsticks.
The Three Broomsticks was warm, at least warmer than outside. It had that homey feeling that you couldn't find just anywhere and Hermione found herself smiling.
The group found a table that was big enough in the back of the little pub.
Hermione took a seat in a chair underneath the window, facing the rest of the pub. Felix took a seat next to hers and plopped down into it. Ginny sat down next to Harry and Blaise pulled up a seat next to the dark haired Gryffindor.
Ron pulled out a chair for Pansy, and she sat down with slow motions with a blush.
Valerie and Ginny shared a smirk with Hermione.
Malfoy took a seat next to Pansy, and Hermione could have sworn he glared at Felix.
Valerie grabbed the chair between Malfoy and Blaise.
Pansy and Ginny had ordered nine butterbeers for the group earlier and they sat there patiently waiting for their drinks.
"So today was fun," Valerie said.
It actually was. Despite the whole Malfoy thing, it was.
"I can't believe there are that many shops here," Felix added.
"And we didn't even go to all of them," Blaise said.
"We missed one?" Valerie asked in shock.
"Well, yes and no. Madam Puddifoots is more of a couple's thing."
"Sounds interesting," Felix said. "Hey, Granger maybe next Hogsmeade trip you and I could go."
The group hushed and looked at Felix.
"What?"
Harry gave him a strict look that Ron also supported.
"Well, you were just explaining to us today how you were with several different girls. We aren't too keen on letting you go out with Hermione. No offense."
"Harry! I can take care of myself!" Hermione exclaimed.
Felix gave Harry a sad smile. "It wouldn't be like that. Unfortunately, one of the cons of having Veela is that I don't get to date. I would like to try it sometime, and Hermione's-"
"Convenient," Ron said angrily.
Felix looked affronted. "No! I was going to say Hermione's different. I wouldn't try to get in her pants! I can't say the same for Veela however." He gave Hermione an apologetic look.
"Is anyone else following this?" Pansy asked.
"No." Malfoy sounded irked.
The group didn't say anything else on the matter because their drinks were done.
"Malfoy, Blaise?" Felix got up and gestured to the counter. The two Slytherin's followed him.
"Wow. He must really like you Hermione." Valerie said.
"Has he never asked a girl out on a date?" Ron asked sarcastically.
"No."
They were quiet.
Valerie sighed. "The problem with having a Veela, well there are several problems with having a Veela, but the biggest is, well, connection. Do you realize how horribly complicated it would be if Felix asked a girl out, and they by some chance fell in love? Sure they would be happy for the time being, but Veelas have one specific mate. Our there, right now, is Felix's soul mate. Out of the billions of women on the planet, he is destined for one specifically. So he and whatever girl he would be dating would be happy, until one day Felix wakes up and realizes he's in love with someone else. Any previous feelings he had for the girl would be gone. That's why Veela can seem like a cold hearted bastard only interested in one-night stands. It's a cruel thing, yes, but it's one of the nicest things he could do, so no girl got her hopes up."
"So why would he want to date Hermione?" Ron asked.
Ginny face palmed herself and grumbled. Pansy gave Ron a glare along with Hermione. Valerie just stared at Ron like he was an idiot. Harry was looking at the table, avoiding Ron's eyes.
Ron realized he said something wrong and rushed to correct it.
"I mean, why if it's so mean, would Felix ask her on a date?
"Well, for all we know Granger could be Felix's mate," Blaise said, placing the butterbeers on the table.
"There is that," Felix said, sitting back down next to Hermione. He tossed an arm around the back of her chair and gave her a rakish look. "What do you say Hermione?"
Hermione chuckled and shook her head.
"Oh, yeah cause Granger could be Veela's mate." Malfoy said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione ground out.
"Well Granger-"
The door to the Three Broomsticks opened with a bang. Two burly men walked in with evil smiles. They talked low and made their way over to the bar.
Felix said something in that strange language to Valerie. He sounded harsh and spoke quickly.
Hermione and Malfoy were still arguing.
Valerie turned around to get a look at the two newcomers at Felix's words. She turned stone faced looked back at Felix. She said something back in that strange language and they sat up straighter.
It didn't help. The two men walked over to their table and stood behind Valerie, Malfoy, and Blaise.
"Thought we smelled a Veela in here." They sneered at Felix.
"Better a Veela than you degenerates."
"Felix," Valerie warned.
"Yeah, listen to your little girlfriend." The other said.
"Hey," Blaise said. "Don't-"
Valerie reached over and put her hand over his mouth.
"Don't, Blaise."
"We can see who gives the orders around here." One of them smiled.
"And we just wanted to talk to you regarding-"
Felix spoke fast and clear to them in the strange language.
The smiles on the two men's faces dropped and they looked at Felix with glares.
One of the men advanced. "How dare-"
Valerie stood up and put her hand out, stopping the man. She said something to them, which of course the others did not understand.
"So leave," she said finally.
The two men gave her a curled lip, and gave one last look at Felix. They backed away and left.
The others sat there and looked at one another.
Malfoy looked around at the others and then back at Hermione. "Back to our argument Granger."
"Really Malfoy?"
"Yes."
"We're not doing this here Malfoy."
"Really you two?" Ginny asked.
Malfoy took a look at Ginny and then Granger and stood up.
"Never mind."
"Mate," Blaise said.
"No. I'll see you guys later." Malfoy left.
He didn't want to deal with people. He didn't want to talk to them. Or deal with Granger and her disappointed look.
He left the Three Broomsticks and went out into the colder air.
He had done it on purpose, started the argument. He wanted a reason to leave. He couldn't stand Felix hitting on Granger like he had the right.
It was unnecessary and he was blowing things out of proportion. He just felt...angry, all of a sudden and being in there was making it worse.
He wanted to punch something or someone. He wanted to scream and-
He felt something hit him over the head and a sharp pain in his side.
"Told you we'd get one of them later," a man said. Draco recognized it as one of the men who were bothering Felix earlier.
"This should teach them a lesson."
Draco had tried to get up, but he felt a boot slam into his back and a kick to his side. He was flipped over and one of the guys grabbed the front of his shirt and slammed a fist into his face. Draco tried to grab his wand from his robes, but it wasn't there.
"Awww, the little wizard wants his stick. Too bad."
Another exploding pain in his head.
He was dropped back and hit the ground with a thud. His vision was going fuzzy and he couldn't think clearly.
"Draco!"
He heard Valerie's voice shout and he felt a hand lifting his head.
He heard Valerie mutter, "Fuck," and there was a weird sound. He felt her hand trying to open his mouth and something warm trickled down his throat. It was weirdly metallic and tasteless.
"Come on Malfoy drink," she said.
There was a nasty aftertaste and he couldn't breathe.
He passed out.