A Veela's Mate || Draco Malfoy

Mᴇᴅᴅʟɪɴɢ Hᴇᴀᴅᴍᴀsᴛᴇʀs ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ Dᴀʀᴋ Mᴀʀᴋ

Hermione marched down the corridors of Hogwarts, fuming. That had not gone the way she had anticipated! She had been prepared to go and visit Iris and be gracious when taking her back, although she had not been behaving the way she should. She hadn't even bothered to tell her and Ron where her new rooms were, she had to go to the Headmaster to find that out.

Had Iris been grateful that she had come? Noooo. She had hidden it well, but Hermione could read her like one of her books, and she knew fully well that she hadn't been pleased to see her. Who the hell did she think she was? Didn't she realize that she was nothing without her? Who kept nagging at her to make her study? Had she any idea how abysmal her grades would have been if it wasn't for her helping him with her schoolwork?

Furthermore, who exactly was it that had puzzled the pieces together when they had been trying to figure out what that menace Fluffy was hiding? Who was it that had figured out that the monster that was roaming the school during their second year was a Basilisk? Hermione Granger, resident genius, that's who!

How dare Iris throw all that aside? How dare she spend all her time with the Malfoys and not acknowledge that she still needed her at her side? What did the Malfoys have that she didn't? Besides money, but Iris had plenty of that herself and she didn't need any more.

Didn't she realize? No she didn't, Hermione was forced to admit, and that was one of the reasons she had stayed friends with her for all these years. She had early on realized that although wizards like Albus Dumbledore liked muggleborns and did not discriminate against them, most of the wizarding world was not as forward in their thinking and still measured a person by their blood. If she was to get somewhere, she needed the help of a wizard like Iris Potter.

The girl had no political aspirations what so ever, but Hermione had, and she figured she easily would become the next Minister of Magic after she graduated if she had the backing of the Hero, Iris Potter, the Girl Who Lived. She was not about to let her dreams allow to go up in smoke just because Iris suddenly was the mate of a Veela!

Hermione shuddered at the thought. At first when Professor Dumbledore had told her and Ron that Iris was a Veela's mate, she had been thrilled for Iris's sake. It was an added bonus that the Veela in question was Draco Malfoy. If she could get both of them behind her, there was no opposition she could not overcome between her intelligence, Iris's hero status, or the Malfoy prestige; although it was a bit tarnished nowadays she had to admit. Still, if they were associated with Iris Potter, the smudge would soon be forgotten.

However, that was before she truly studied what being with a Veela entitled, and she hadn't liked what she'd found. If only she had read up on the creatures last year, but for once Hermione hadn't bothered since she was more concerned with the end of school and recovering from the fiasco at the Department of Mystery. Being the chosen one of a Veela was nothing like the romantic notions she'd had, fueled by the lectures given by McGonagall.

She had been given the impression that the Veela would spend his or her life doing everything in their powers to make their mate happy. Hermione had liked that idea, and had even spent a few evenings dreaming of having her own Veela, but that was only half the truth. The lecture hadn't mentioned much that the mate was virtually their Veela's slave! They could not spend time freely with other people; the Veela had to sanction which people it was alright for their mate to associate with. Furthermore, the Veela was extremely reluctant to let their mate out of their sight, ruled as they were by their fears that their mate would leave them.

Hermione snorted; of course the mate would leave them, when they were given no freedom. All her life Hermione had been ruled by other people and once she was considered an adult no one would ever tell her what to do ever again! Her parents had forever kept nagging at her not to read so much and spend time with her friends. Her 'friends' never wanted to sit quietly in a cozy corner and read, they only wanted to run around screaming and playing some silly game or other, when they weren't gossiping about boys and clothes. Hermione suppressed another shudder.