Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters. I just happened to come up with the plot for this ship. All credit to J.K for her amazing universe that she allows us to play in.

Warning: Rated M. Cursing, sexual innuendos, lemons and fluff ahead. Basically what you would expect from a romance novel nowadays.

Eternal love and gratitude to my Beta, Ihrin who is taking over this story for me. Thank you so much!

Music is my muse:
Song for this chapter: I don't love you too, Olly Mars
Lyrics: And I'll pretend that I don't love you too.

Love of a Mate

Chapter 6
What we do for Love

Draco watched his mate and his mother interact for the rest of the dinner. Narcissa had very wisely changed the subject to some Ministry policy that was being debated regarding werewolves.

He wasn't at all surprised by how knowledgeable his mate was on this matter, not just because of her charity. No, she would have known about this anyway.

His mate was a very compassionate woman and even as a girl she had raged against what she considered an injustice or a marginalized group. Plus, she had been very close to an actual werewolf- something that gave him heartburn if he thought about it too much.

Currently, she was explaining to Narcissa about funding that would be put toward the improvement of Wolfsbane Potion.

Draco listened as he ate his chicken with a slight smile on his face. He would bet all his gold that she was working on the potion in some way herself. Sure enough, she launched into telling his mother how she was hoping that an arithmancy equation she had started might hold the clues to unlocking an ingredient for the potion and that the Master she had spoken with just last week had been hopeful was right.

He shook his head. That was his brilliant mate, a swotty little know-it-all who was probably going to change the world.

Pride rushed through him, followed by relief. If she hadn't been this brilliant, she would be dead and the Dark Lord would still be in power.

The world owed her a great deal and she never acted like she had done much in the way of affecting the outcome of Potter's quest.

It irked him, but he was comforted by the knowledge that Potter and Weasley always credited her for everything- He snorted softly- with good reason. From what he knew of their adventures, she was the reason they'd survived past eleven.

Dinner was drawing to a close and he felt himself panicking a bit about leaving her. His veela was the most content it had ever been since marking her and he knew it was going to almost kill him to walk away tonight.

But it wasn't time to confront her yet; this had to be done properly. He still wasn't sure, for instance, just how much his brash and brilliant mate knew.

Her eyes started to go dreamy as his pheromones washed over her and he smiled softly at her. Oh, the things he wanted to do to her when she had that look on.

His mother cleared her throat. "Perhaps Draco, you should see Miss Granger to her flat?"

Draco grinned at his mother and nodded, standing to offer a hand to his mate who took it and then let out a soft breathy little sigh.

He felt his cock twitch and gritted his teeth. Hermione allowed him to put her arm in his as he escorted she and his mother out of the restaurant.

Pausing to exchange portkeys with his mother in the lobby, his mother gave him a stern look. "I expect you in half an hour, do not linger with her she isn't properly prepared yet."

Draco gave his mother an exasperated look but nodded nonetheless. His mother was correct, of course, but he didn't like hearing that.

He apparated to her flat and watched her walk in, still clearly in a daze, and then sighed as he went back to the Manor to face down his mother.

Narcissa was waiting for him in the drawing room sipping a firewhiskey. He knew immediately that he had better serve himself a drink as well. His mother rarely drank anything but wine, and when she did, it was because she was rather upset.

She waited until he had poured his drink before she said in a very cool tone,

"When did you know?"

Draco sighed. "I was obsessed with her from the start, mother. The moment she barged into my compartment on the train in our first year, I knew something intrigued me about her. I was horrified to discover she was a mudblood and that she ended up in Gryffindor no less."

His mother snorted but sipped her drink, her eyes flashing, but she stayed silent waiting for him to continue.

"By the time I hit puberty, around fourth year, my obsession had graduated to infatuation and lust." Draco grimaced and then shook his head. "And then the Dark Lord returned and I knew that even if she ended up being my mate, I could do nothing about it. By that time, I had also spent years tormenting her. I couldn't seem to help myself; it was an addiction firing her up."

His mother smirked but still glared at him and Draco gave her a pleading look. "You claim father would have protected her but he ended up in Azkaban and out of the Dark Lord's favor by the end of our fifth year."

His mother's tone was cold, infuriated, "He could have harmed her in the Ministry, Draco. He should have been told."

Draco shook his head, feeling sick. "And then what? Get himself killed protecting her?"

Narcissa waved her hand agitated. "We could have had her moved-"

Draco cut her off angrily. "You think I didn't beg her to leave? She would have never abandoned Potter and Weasley, nor would she have deviated from her course. She wasn't being manipulated and threatened to risk her life, mother. Gryffindor remember? She bloody well wouldn't budge, even after she knew what we were."

He was breathing hard and his mother was staring at him wide-eyed. "Draco-"

He sat down, collapsed really, and dropped his head into his hands. "Mother, you have no idea how terrified I was. I was trying to stay alive, keep her alive, learn occlumency so that your crazy sister and the Dark Lord didn't learn of her, and deal with you and father who were a perfect mess that year."

Narcissa fell into her chair, tears running down her cheeks unchecked. "Oh, my dragon. You should have shared this burden."

Draco let out a rather manic laugh. "Mother, our house was besieged, my mate was under constant attack, I was trying to kill my headmaster to insure your survival, and father had checked out mentally. I had no time to sit down with you and have a chat."

His mother flinched and pinched her lips at him. "Don't be rude, Draco."

Draco gave a long sigh and looked up at her, his eyes haunted. "She made me mark her and do the memory charm. She had researched it- my little mate and her books," he said with a grimace.

His mother shook her head in shock. "Why would she do that?"

Draco grimaced. "Because we were at war and on opposing sides, mother. We both had tasks we couldn't abandon. She wouldn't let me abandon you and she wouldn't abandon Potter or the righteous cause she so believed in."

His mother wiped at her eyes and was shaking. "When did you mark her?"

Draco sat back, staring into the fire. "Two weeks before the battle on the Astronomy tower. We had been officially together since Yule. She made me promise a wizard's oath that I wouldn't tell her anything about what I was doing that year in case she couldn't keep her shields up. All of our contact fell under the memory shield. She effectively erased our relationship with the memory charm so that, if she were ever captured, I would be safe. Obviously, by binding me to an Unbreakable Vow, I couldn't betray our relationship either."

He watched his mother go pale. "Oh, my dragon, she protected you."

Draco nodded, feeling weak. "She did and I could not protect her. I thought I would die when I saw her on the floor bleeding. It took everything in my power not to betray myself."

His mother gasped, her hand going to her mouth. "She made you vow not to save her?"

Draco looked up and his eyes flashed with his misery and anger. "Of course she did. I could not contact her, speak of her in a positive light, or try to protect her."

Narcissa looked appalled. "Why would you ever agree to such a thing?"

Draco stood up angrily. "You forget that I could never refuse her something she truly wanted."

Narcissa was gasping with outrage. "But to bind you not to protect her-"

Draco grabbed at his hair and yanked at it. "Protecting a mudblood would have meant my death, mother. You have not dealt with my mate but let me assure you that she would have done very well in Slytherin herself. She put great thought into all of this, even knowing I could not refuse her request when she made it. The witch didn't flinch as she made her demands; she didn't blink an eye as I raged at her, she just asked if I was done and could we please be together one more time before she had to forget me."

Narcissa was shaking her head, crying again. "Did she not wish to be mated? Is that why you have left her alone?"

Draco shook his head. "No, I had to rebuild our lives. Until the Death Eaters were tried, I couldn't risk making our relationship public. She also asked for time to finish her schooling before we were together again."

Narcissa sat back in shock. "Did she not realize how much this would torment you?"

Draco paused as he considered that and then shook his head. "No, I do not believe she did. She knew the basic mechanics of a mated pair, but not much more. I am sure whatever text she found to form her plan was rather academic in nature. She only knew that I would die without her. That is why she made me mark her, in case the war took too long. She wanted me to have my mate- to live."

Narcissa went pale and then quickly swallowed as she absorbed all that her son had been through in the last five years. She stood shakily and gave him a soft smile.

"You are a great man, my dragon."

Draco gave her a long look and then took a shuddering breath. "Thank you, mother. I had to become better. She deserves-"

He broke off and then shook his head and his mother nodded at him in understanding and left quickly, needing time to process all that she had been told.

Notes:
My muse is about to focus on Hermione getting memories back so that should be fun, yes? This was a bit heartbreaking so I apologize but, they were in a war, love is never easy in war.
Please do review, I adore them and they are sometimes extremely helpful.

Up Next: Hermione has a starge dream...