Veela Love

Chapter Twenty-Six: Early Spring

            After searching the grass, Draco found what he was looking for. "Darling!" No response. "Hermione!" She still didn't look up from the textbook she was studying. Annoyed, Draco threw the four-leaf clover at her. It landed in her bushy hair and stayed, a daring strand wrapping its arm around the spot of green, effectively swallowing it up.

Groaning, Draco flopped onto his back. He and Hermione were under a magic dome of spring out on the grounds. Outside their bubble of warmth, snow still fell. "You could pay some attention to me," he grumbled, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Oh, hush." Draco glanced over and found Hermione marking her page, satisfaction rolling off her. "I needed to finish that chapter. We have a test tomorrow after all. It wouldn't hurt if you studied a bit, too."

"I already did," he whined. "I came out here to spend time with my girlfriend.

Hermione rolled her eyes but laid down next to him, snuggling up to his side. Draco felt himself starting to purr. It wasn't embarrassing anymore, at least not when they were alone. "What, I'm just your girlfriend now?"

Turning onto his side, so he lay facing her, Draco reaching out and pushed her hair behind her ear. "No," he growled, soaking up her playful smile. "You're my better other half, my reason for living. You're my mate, before all else."

"Good," she whispered.

Draco leaned closer and kissed her forehead. "And don't you dare forget it." He could feel her satisfaction at his words, and his purring only picked up.

"What do you want to do, now that I'm done with my studying?"

Flopping onto his back, Draco looked up at the top of the dome. Snow was collecting there. "Why don't we play twenty questions again? There's so much I don't know about you still. I don't know if I'll ever be able to say I truly know you, Hermione."

"After enough years, I'm sure you'll have me figured out," she whispered. "I just hope you don't get tired of me."

Draco snorted, earning an indignant slap on the arm. "I'm serious!"

"I know you are. That's why it's funny. First question: why would you ever think I'd get tired of you?"

Hermione was silent for several long moments before she sighed. "Well, it's been made clear that I'm a know-it-all, and I always will be. I'm too concerned with books and logic to understand much else. I don't have time for silliness, and honestly, I'm quite tired of adventures after the last seven years. I just want the opportunity to be a homebody with my cat and my books. I'm tired of being part of the Golden Trio. I don't like the limelight."

To Draco's horror, he felt how ashamed she was at her words as if she was wrong to feel that way. Before he could say anything to make her feel better, she asked, "Why do you think you'll never get tired of me?"

He stared at the falling snow, trying to find the right words to put her at ease. "Well, besides the fact that you're literally designed by nature for me, and you're my mate, I happen to like all the things you just listed. I love how smart you are – you make me want to do better, to try and catch up to you. There's nothing wrong with books or logic – logic is what brought you to me. If it'd been up to your feelings, we never would have accepted the bond between us. You have every right to want a quiet life, and I want that too. I've been in the limelight for all the wrong reasons all my life. Your cat terrifies me, but he seems to like me well enough. I don't think I could ever get tired of quiet evenings with you. You saved the whole world – you can do whatever you want, and no one can say anything to you."