A/N: A cookie and candy filled thanks to my Beta.
Chapter 3: Black, white or just plain grey?
"So how are we supposed to look for him?" Harry asked not sure how to find a particular mating partner for a 'Veela' among billions. Ron suddenly looked alarmed.
"And what if he's a dirty, perverted, old man?! Or worse, a Death Eater!" Ron suddenly exclaimed. Those words made Harry sit up straight, perturbed.
"Calm down boys. Do you really think that my mate would be someone not entirely up to the mark?" Hermione said calmly.
"Arrogant, much?" Harry said calling her out quietly. Hermione flushed.
"I just meant that my mate wouldn't be any of those qualities that Ronald mentioned because those are not the qualities I need or want." She spoke. "I think you guys don't really understand. A Half-Veela's mate is literally the Veela's other half. They both are halves of a whole. At least that's what I've read till now…" She fidgeted with her thumbs.
"Like a soul mate?" Harry said raising his eyebrow in disbelief.
"Well, you can say that… I guess." Hermione replied smiling slightly at Harry's expression.
"You still haven't told us how we're going to find him though." Ron said impatiently.
"There are some things I found that will help narrow this down." Hermione said thinking back to the books she had read. Ron and Harry let out a relieved sigh. They had seemed very determined but both had felt that the daunting task would be impossible to do. They were extremely comforted to hear there was some way they could actually narrow down the billions of possibilities.
"Firstly, the mate will always have the Veela gene in them too. However, obviously it's not dominant." She spoke.
"That doesn't help much. It could be anyone. Your family is all Muggle, but you still have it. It could be anyone and we might not know!" Ron said rather impatiently. He stood up and began to pace to the annoyance of Hermione.
"Ron, let me tell you all the things before you start wearing out the carpet." Hermione said tiredly. "Secondly, a Half Veela usually gets signs in their dreams. Like small prompts about who their mate can be. It's the desires of the Veela's magic leaking out through subconscious dreams."
"That's better than that stupid blood thing. It can really help." Ron said sitting back down.
"Is there anything else Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Yes. If a Half Veela is around their mate, they begin to feel better."
"What do you mean better?" Harry asked.
"I mean… Well, I've hit the height of my power. So now… Well the decline starts now." Hermione said.
"Hermione…" Ron, for once hesitated before asking, "What exactly do you mean by decline?"
"Well, according to the extremely rare chance that a half Veela is not able to convince their mate or takes too long to find them… It starts off with feelings of tiredness and weakness. But then it moves on to depression, extreme weakness, insomnia and loss of appetite. There can be more, or less, symptoms. But it's usually the same. A Veela starts giving up… Mentally and physically." Hermione spoke; her voice was muted and quivering. "Veelas gets weaker and weaker until… they eventually die."
There was silence.
Ron's face matched his hair in colour while Harry looked like he was going to throw up his lunch.
Hermione looked off in a distance. Her mind was racing. She was very much aware of the fact that she didn't have much time. She thought of the first thing she should do. Her ever rational mind came to one very obvious conclusion.
I need to sleep.
That night she had more trouble sleeping than she had ever had. Usually Hermione's brain could never shut off, but tonight it was absolutely running in every direction. She had been unnervingly calm throughout the day but now she was slightly panicking. She realised with sudden clarity that her peaceful manner had only been because of the vial of Calming Draught she had gulped down.
The effects were now wearing off just as she needed them most.
Sitting up, she picked up a book. Turning on the light she began reading a diary of a Half Veela she had found earlier at the library. Word after word, page after page she read till her eyelids became heavy.
The Head Girl finally fell asleep sitting up in her bed, with a book in her lap, and she began to dream…
She walked down the Hogwarts corridor leading up to the Great Hall. Her fingers brushed against the stone walls as her footsteps echoed through the empty corridor. That's when she realised Hogwarts was strangely vacant. Never mind, she did not want to be with anyone anyway.
Her feet led her to the grand doors of the Great Hall and she pushed them open with her small hand. A cold wind greeted her face, which was strange since she always associated a welcoming and warm feeling with this room.
Her eyes settled on the Hall. It wasn't like she remembered. There were no candles. The only light shining through the hall was of the eerie full moon hanging on the ceiling. The four tables stood in front of her, casting long shadows against the walls. Her eyes moved to find the outline a person sitting to the farthest left table.
She opened her mouth to greet the figure, but no sound came out. It frustrated her that she couldn't call out to whoever it was. She began to walk towards the figure sitting in the shadows.
With each step she could feel a strange chill settling in her chest. She suddenly felt tired and wished to sit down. But she had to keep moving if she wanted to see the face of the stranger sitting far away. The curiosity kept her going. She could feel her breaths becoming laboured as she dragged her feet against the floor. Her vision was blurry. But she went on.
She stood right behind the mysterious figure, gasping and weak. She could only make out a blurry outline of the person seated on the table. Her hand shook as she reached out. Her fingertips touched the shoulder of the person.
She felt instant warmth, a tingling sensation spread through her. She suddenly felt alert and awake. She stood up straight and realised the person had turned around and was staring right at her.
All she saw were the stormy grey eyes on hers…
… Before she woke up with a gasp.
A/N: Tell me how it was!
Ciao for now, Alexia.