Veela Love

Chapter Five: The Morning

            Hermione was awoken from her own nightmares by the screaming. Disoriented, she tried to rise out of bed but fell out of it into a heap on the floor. Stumbling out of the bedroom, she rushed over to find Draco thrashing on the overstuffed couch.

"Draco! Wake up!"

He screamed again.

"Draco !" she tried. Nothing. Reaching out, she gently touched his bare shoulder. He stilled, although his breathing was still ragged. Hermione removed her hand, and he whimpered in his sleep before starting to thrash again.

At a loss, Hermione slowly sat down next to him and placed her hand back on his shoulder. He stilled for just a moment before his arms snaked out and grabbed Hermione, pulling her down next to him. She struggled for a moment before laying there stiff as a board.

Draco was obviously still asleep, and she didn't know what to do; he held her too tight. She tried to wiggle out, but she was stuck.

"Stay," he whispered, his voice hoarse. Hermione didn't know how asleep he was. "Please."

It was the please that did her in. She'd never heard Draco Malfoy ask for anything – he demanded. Leaning back into him, Hermione relaxed as best she could given the situation. It was then that Draco started to...purr? He nestled himself around her, so she was firmly in his arms, his purring vibrating his chest. She admitted to herself it was rather soothing. Faster than she thought possible, she was asleep, her own nightmare long forgotten.

"Couldn't keep your hands off me, could you, Hermione?"

Hermione opened one eye and found Draco smirking down at her.

"It wasn't by choice, Draco. You were having a nightmare, and when I tried to wake you up, you pulled me down to you. I couldn't get up." She tried to get up but was stopped by him leaning over her.

He frowned. "Oh, yea. I was having a nightmare, wasn't I?"

Curiosity got the better of her. "What was it about?"

Draco turned vaguely green.

"What?"

He closed his eyes. "It was about the night you all were brought to the manor, except, well, it was from your point of view."

Hermione froze. "That's what I was dreaming of before your screaming woke me up..."

Draco opened his eyes and stared down at her. In unison, they both said, "Dream sharing."

"How could I forget?" Hermione fretted, pushing at Draco's chest until he let her get up. "But that means you can feel my emotions?"

Looking at the ground sheepishly, Draco nodded.

"Since when?"

"Since I saw you on the train..."

"But that shouldn't be the case!" she started pacing the length of the room. "You should only be able to feel my emotions after we've bonded."

"That's not necessarily true," Draco muttered.

Hermione rounded on him. "What was that? What do you know?"

"There are rare cases when a Veela and their mate had a strong emotional connection before they were mated or bonded, which results in a faster connection."