The End's Intent

Chapter 13

The walk to Hogsmeade was silent. Draco was too busy keeping his wolf under control with Hermione walking so close to keep up a conversation and Hermione seemed to notice. Even with a cloak to muffle the smell of her, Draco was still overwhelmed by her scent and every gust of wind that blew it towards him made it that much more difficult to control.

He'd hardly slept last night. Hermione had disappeared shortly after he'd kissed her and hadn't returned until late, but that hadn't seemed to calm his wolf. Even after he was certain she'd returned to her room and slipped into her bed, he'd tossed and turned.

Whatever had happened when that werewolf bit him had clearly affected more than just his blood. He knew he'd turn at the full moon, but even now, all of his senses were heightened and there was a part of his mind that was uncontrollably feral. He hoped Professor Lupin could help explain what was happening and why he had an almost undeniable urge to take Hermione every time he laid his eyes on her.

"I don't suppose you'll talk to me, will you?" Hermione asked, interrupting his thoughts sharply. As she turned her head to look at him, Draco caught a stronger whiff of her scent and almost—almost—growled.

"What would we talk about?" he asked in return. Hermione shrugged and took a longer step than usual so she could step on a crunchy leaf. Draco couldn't help the smile that made its way onto his face when she grinned at the sound.

"How do you feel?" she asked. Draco frowned and she quickly backtracked. "Obviously, everything's different and I know that—I read a lot on werewolves last night and I think one of the biggest changes is you now have an inner wolf which is just—so interesting! Did you know that werewolves—"

"You're rambling," Draco said, cutting her off. She stopped and frowned at the ground.

"Sorry," she muttered. Draco felt his heart clench at how he'd upset her and hurried to fix it even without his wolf snarling at him for hurting her feelings.

"No, I'm sorry, Hermione," he said. He grabbed her hand briefly, but the feral response of his wolf had him immediately dropping her hand. "It's complicated. I can't—I don't think I could describe it if I wanted."

"Well, start with just one thing," she suggested. Draco gave her a strange look and she smiled. "I know werewolves have heightened senses, so what's that like?"

Recognising this as a good way to distract himself from her scent and the way his wolf urged him to snog her senseless at the very least, he decided to try and answer. It was a little difficult at first, but a few minutes in and he was able to give her a better description of how his hearing had changed. He could hear people talking faintly in Hogsmeade even though they were still several minutes away. Hogwarts was a little too far at this point, but Hogsmeade was growing steadily louder.

He avoided talking about how he could smell her distinctly and how every time they touched, he had the strongest urge to take her right there, no matter where they were. By the time they reached the Hog's Head, his tongue was dry from talking and Hermione's eyes were bright with interest.

"I hope Lupin can maybe explain some of the other changes," he muttered, glancing at the Hog's Head.

He'd been able to smell the other wolf when they were almost halfway to the village. His wolf had snarled at the scent then, and now, with Hermione walking towards the new wolf, he had to clench his hands tightly around his robes to keep from drawing her away. Clearly his wolf did not like the idea of Hermione being anywhere near another.

"Remus should be waiting inside," she said, leading the way into the Hog's Head.

Draco followed her closer than usual, glaring at anyone who looked at them. If Hermione cared that his chest was pressing against her back even as they walked, she didn't say anything.