The End's Intent

Chapter 11

Everything felt different to Draco. He knew that was to be expected, but it was still uncomfortable. Madam Pomfrey had tried to explain what he could expect as a result of the werewolf bites, but he wasn't sure there was really a way to describe what he felt like.

He'd known something was wrong the second he'd woken up in the infirmary. He still wasn't sure what had even made him wake up. It hadn't felt like he was entirely in control when he'd snatched Hermione's hand back and refused to let go. Something in him had turned absolutely feral and the thought of Hermione leaving or anyone else taking her away made him furious. After being told he'd been bit twice by werewolves the previous night, Draco had a slightly better understanding of what was going on.

How he was going to explain things to anyone else, however, he had no idea. Thankfully, Hermione seemed to understand that leaving his side wasn't an option at the moment and had spent the entire morning with him in the infirmary while Snape and McGonagall attempted to devise a plan for the following week now that he was a werewolf.

Merlin, he was a werewolf. His father would have his head. No longer a pureblooded wizard, he was a disgrace to his family. He'd still be expected to fight for the Dark Lord as both a wizard and a werewolf, but would he be demoted from Death Eater? His father was sure to torture him for such a disgrace.

"—not enough time to brew a potion," Snape was saying. Draco blinked and saw McGonagall nodding. "I have a small supply I keep on hand, but it will hardly last this month. Besides, the time to start taking the potion was yesterday, he'll already be a day late."

"Better a day late than not at all," McGonagall said.

Draco hated how they were discussing it without him, so he turned to look at Hermione who was sitting beside him on his cot. He felt something warm rush over him just looking at her and it took all of his self control not to pull her to his chest again and touch her all over.

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked, looking at him worriedly. She grabbed his hand and the urge to touch her subsided slightly, but not enough to easily ignore.

"I don't know what's happening to me," he muttered. He pulled away from her and found himself immediately needing to touch her again, so he grabbed her hand once more. "I can hear footsteps in the dungeons and on the third floor, everything smells so strongly, and it feels like there's a whole separate person in my mind."

"That would be your wolf, Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall said. Draco glared at her for eavesdropping, but she didn't look concerned. She nodded at Snape and turned to face Draco better. "A trait of lycanthropy, as you probably know, is that you have two similar, yet different personalities. One is your original self and the other is your wolf."

Draco took a second to process the information. He'd never read much on werewolves as his father had been adamant they weren't worth his time, so it was unsurprising he didn't know much about his situation. With a little luck, Hermione would be able to better explain things to him.

"Is that what the books say?" Draco asked. McGonagall looked unenthused by his bitter tone, but Draco didn't feel particularly remorseful. "If I'm cleared, I'd like to be leaving now. I'm sure no one wants a werewolf roaming the halls before the full moon."

"Mr. Malfoy, I strongly suggest you stay here for observation," Madam Pomfrey said. Draco glared at her and felt something flash through him angrily. A second later, Hermione was squeezing his hand and he calmed down.

"I'm leaving," he announced, standing up from his cot. "If you wish to observe me—" he spit out the word like it was venom, "—then you'll have to do it when I'm not in a foul mood."

He grabbed hold of Hermione's hand and pulled her out of the infirmary with him, ignoring the calls for him to come back. Behind him, Hermione hurried to keep up as he quickly returned to their dormitory. As soon as they'd arrived in the head's dormitory, he let go of Hermione and took several steps away from her.

He could feel something else—probably the wolf McGonagall had mentioned—longing to touch Hermione more now that they weren't in a public place and it took great control to not turn around and grab her. Even from across the room, he could smell her and it was quickly becoming overwhelming.

"You need to leave," he grit out, tugging at his hair. Clearly dragging her to the dorm with him had been a bad idea, but he was not about to leave her in the presence of a Death Eater.

"What? No!" she exclaimed.

He heard her step forward and he stuck out a hand behind him to stop her. He heard her stop, but now that she was a few steps closer, her scent was even stronger.

"Draco, what is going on? You dragged me from the infirmary to the dorm and now you won't even look at me."

"I know, and I'm sorry," he said, taking a small step away from her. Something inside of him snarled at him to stop moving away and he inhaled sharply. "I need you to leave, though. I'm not—I don't think I'm in control right now."

"Draco," she said softly. She took a small step forward and Draco whirled around to glare at her. She sucked in a breath and pulled back the hand she'd extended towards him.

"Go away, Hermione," he growled. Her look of surprise was replaced with one of frustration as she glared back at him. He moved forward against his will but Hermione didn't flinch. "Granger, I'm asking you to leave before I can't control myself."

"No, I'm staying right here," she said, stomping her foot to emphasize her point. Her face softened even as Draco continued to glare at her. "You're not going to hurt me, Draco, and I know that, so no, I'm not going to leave this dorm."

Draco could feel himself losing what little control he had as he stared at Hermione. Unfortunately for him, his newfound wolf had a very strong attraction to Hermione as he found himself leaning forward slightly to inhale her scent.

"Hermione, please leave," he said, trying to move backward but finding he couldn't. His feet refused to move backward and instead he took a step closer.

"I'm not afraid of you, Draco," she said. She reached forward to grab his hand and the instant she touched him, Draco lost all control.

He lunged forward and pinned Hermione to the wall. Something inside of him thrilled at having Hermione so close and he found himself kissing her roughly a split second later. From under him, Hermione gasped and he pressed closer to her, tangling one of his hands in her hair. He reveled in the feeling of her body pressed against his and kissed her harder. He pulled back just enough he could press kisses along her jawline, smirking at the way she seemed to melt at the touch.

When he hit a particularly sensitive spot, Hermione let out a low moan and he immediately snapped out of the daze he'd been in. He pulled away from her sharply and stared at her wide-eyed. Just below her jaw, he'd left a mark that was already beginning to color.

Hermione's eyes opened and he took another painful step back.

"I'm—I'm sorry," he gasped, stumbling back until he hit the back of the sofa. "I'm so sorry, Hermione. I don't—I didn't have control."

"It's alright," she said, her face red as she avoided looking directly at him.

Draco shook his head, angry with himself for forcing himself on her like that. Wolf or not, he knew he needed better control over whatever had just happened.

"It's not," he snapped. Hermione jumped and scowled at him.

"Don't get angry with me," she replied. Draco narrowed his eyes at her but felt guilty for snapping. It wasn't her fault he'd forced himself on her.

"I need you to leave," he said slowly. Hermione glared at him, but this time she didn't argue.

She snatched her wand from where she'd dropped it on the ground and disappeared out the door without a word. Her scent lingered for several minutes even after she'd left and Draco could feel his wolf longing to chase after her. Instead, he turned to the stairs and stormed up to his room, locking himself inside before he trashed the common room.