Intuition

Chapter 1 ~ A Veela's Instincts

Sitting by the fire, looking out at the snow covered grounds and being so cozy, made Draco Malfoy feel content. He had not felt this way for ages, so the sensation felt, at first, raw inside of him, but it began to roast, as the open blaze in Draco's heart spun it around and around.

Perhaps the reason that Draco had been so cold was the upcoming event in his life. The event that he knew, was bound to happen, and would never fail. It created fluttering nerves inside of him, making him unable to get a good night's sleep, thus creating bad moods. The past few days, Draco had been unusually snappish and bitter to everyone around him, including his friends.

The Slytherins didn't question this strange behavior. His group of mates knew why he seemed nervous all the time, and the rest of the Slytherins, seeing that the friends of Draco Malfoy seemed unconcerned, began to relax, taking off the tense cocoon they had wrapped themselves in when he was around.

The other students, however, did not understand. Draco could hear them whispering behind his back every time he shoved someone aside, or gave detention for "talking too loud".

"What is it with him?" one would say, and the other would reply, "I dunno, but he's being a real asshole."

Draco hated it. He hated being called names, just because of his edginess. He couldn't help it. What if it all went wrong? What if the one he chose, his mate for life, wasn't what he expected? What if they were unpleasing to his parent's eyes?

He couldn't help what he was. He couldn't help being a half Veela. "It's nothing to be ashamed of," his father had always said. "You should be proud. Not many people get to be such a wondrous, glorious creature."

It was his mother's side, of course. His mother had been a half Veela herself. Her mother, Draco's grandmother, was a whole Veela. She must have been one of the most beautiful beings to have walked upon Earth. Even when Draco was ten, and she, sixty, she seemed flawless. When Draco met her, he knew that he must have looked foolish, his jaw dropping, but she had merely laughed, and kissed him on the cheek. Draco remembered refusing to wash that cheek for days.

But alas, Draco had only met her once. A year after, her husband, her mate, had passed away, and after only just days of torture, Draco's grandmother had deceased herself. "A Veela cannot live without their mates," his mother had told him. "They suffer."

Draco was scared, in a way. He was afraid of pain, but still curious to find his mate. He wondered who it would be. Would she be in Slytherin? He hoped it wasn't someone like Millicent Bulstrong. Draco was sure that he would die before bonding with her.

It was a simple procedure, if not one at all.

"You will be attracted to her," Narcissa told him, "right on your sixteenth birthday. You may not feel anything special at first, because she might not be in the room, or not close by. But I can assure you that she will be in Hogwarts. We know this, because the Seer, Apoblus Rondes told us this, right when you were born. That's why we sent you there, instead of Dumstrang in the first place."

"When you first see her, you will know," His mother said. "You will know."

But still, Draco was anxious. His mother had told him that it was Fate's decision to connect him to someone, and that whoever she was, no matter how the Malfoy's opposed to her, they would accept his decision. But that was not comforting to Draco Malfoy. What if it was Granger? Draco knew that if it actually was, he would feel attracted to her, and past thoughts would disappear, but she was going out with that Weasley now. Draco did not want to kiss a Mudblood, much less one who had connected tongues with a Weasley.

Draco felt as if his life was going all wrong. His father was in Azkaban, and would not get a trial, nor get freed until God-knows-when. His mother, suffering from being separated from her mate for so long, had been sent to Azkaban to live with Lucius, so that she wouldn't die. Draco could only be happy that the dementors had gone, so that his parents wouldn't go mad.

This was all Potter's fault, Draco knew. Potter was the reason behind this. If it were not for Potter, his father would not be held in prison, his mother would not have almost died. It was all because of Harry Potter. Draco hated Harry with all his heart. Before, he might have even considered, if Potter had actually offered his hand in friendship. But now? Now Draco would spit at his feet.

"Draco?" Draco looked up, to see Pansy Parkinson there. "Hey," she said tentatively.

"Hey," Draco replied, then, seeing that she hadn't moved, said, "Why don't you sit?"

Pansy sighed with relief, knowing that Draco wouldn't burst, and moved into the chair across from him.

Many people always thought that Draco and Pansy were an item. That wasn't so. They were merely just very good friends, and went to the Yule Ball together as that. That was all. Draco couldn't have dated her, anyway. As a part Veela, he wasn't allowed to be with anyone except his mate, which he wouldn't find until he was sixteen.

"So," Pansy said, sounding hesitant. "Well, this...this thing that's going to happen on your birthday...er...well, I don't really understand it. Will you explain it to me?"

Draco heaved a little sigh and closed his eyes. This was what was bothering him the whole time, and he really didn't feel like talking about it.

"Oh," he could hear Pansy saying. "You really don't have to! I'm sorry, I was just-"

"No," he interrupted. "It's okay. I'm just tired..."

"I'm sorry," Pansy said gently.

"It's okay," Draco repeated, opening his eyes and giving her a fatigued smile. Then, taking a deep breath, he said, "So, what do you want to know?"

"Well," Pansy began. "How do you...how will you know who your mate is? I mean, do you just know? Or..."

"I would just know. It's...it's like love at first sight, I suppose. And, whoever she is, when I see her, I'll just...know. I mean, I'll have, like, Veela instincts then, and they would tell me. If it's her."

"And," Pansy continued. "What will happen when you do find your...your mate?"

'Well," Draco answered. "I won't be able to keep my mind off her. But I won't exactly bug her. I'll somehow let her know that I'm attracted to her, and then, I'll wait. After my sixteenth birthday, I have exactly one month to find my mate, confess my love, and get her to kiss me freely. If she won't kiss me, or if she kisses me unwillingly, it won't work."

"What won't work?" Pansy asked breathlessly.

"The...the connection. She has to kiss me, and we would...bond in a way, I suppose. Not the kind of bonding like sex, but just a special, 'kissing' kind."

"Er..." Pansy said. "Well, what happens if you don't find your mate, or...or she doesn't kiss you willingly within a month?"

Draco sighed again. This was what was worrying him the most throughout the whole time. This was what got him scared in the first place.

"Then I die," he said simply, hoping that the fear in his heart didn't show in his voice.

Pansy gasped. "Oh Draco!" she whispered. "That's horrible!"

"Yeah..." Draco muttered.

"But..." Pansy went on. "But aren't you scared?"

Draco propped his chin on his palms, and his elbows on his knees. He looked up at Pansy, and answered defiantly, "Yes. I'm scared. I haven't been this scared in my life since...I don't even remembered when. I'm scared that I won't find my mate, or that she won't love me back."

"Which," he added. "Would be near impossible, because when I turn sixteen, my Veela charms would kick in, and everyone would suddenly find me above gorgeous." Draco grinned. "Like all the other Veela's. I mean, for whole Veela's, their charismas are with them from the beginning. Half Veela's, however, get theirs at sixteen."

"Well," Pansy said, with an air of determined attitude about her. "I sincerely hope that everything goes out fine, Draco. I really do!"

"Thanks, Pansy," Draco said, sounding tired. Pansy leant in and hugged Draco, and he hugged her back, though wearily. He was so lucky to have such good friends. Pansy then left, and Draco was once again absorbed into his own thoughts.

He knew that if he couldn't make that special "bond", he'd die. He was, of course, demoralized by that, even though his mind kept on telling him over and over again that it would be fine. After all, who had been able to resist a Veela's charms before?

But Draco was frightened, all the same. What if his mate didn't respond to him? What if he died? He was scared of Death, even though he knew it would eventually come to him anyway. He couldn't help it. It was a feeling that came naturally to him.

"Draco?"

Draco sighed. How many people did he need to talk to today? Looking up, he realized that it was Thorton McKarton, a fourth year. Draco never really spoke to Thorton, because he had always thought him a little strange. But today, Draco couldn't help asking, "What?"

"Well," Thorton began nervously, sounding almost like Pansy, except he had a guilty kind of look on his face. "Well, er, well is it true?"

"Is what true?" Draco snapped, fearing the answer.

"That...that you're a half Veela!"

"How...when..." Draco sputtered, furious that one of his friends might have spilled the beans.

"I, er, well, I couldn't help...overhearingthe conversation between you and Pansy."

"You mean you were eavesdropping?" Draco raged.

"No! I mean, okay, I was, but-"

"MCKARTON! DETENTION FOR A WEEK! NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Thorton ran, and Draco sat back in his chair his head now pounding with an infuriating headache. Many people were staring at him already, and they stared even more when he let out a horribly loud groan, realizing that he had forgotten to tell Thorton not to say a word to anyone.

~*~

The news passed like running water in a stream the next few days. Within a week, the whole school knew that Draco Malfoy was a half Veela, and that he would come of age soon. Surprisingly, not many people knew about the thing with Draco's "mate". Draco supposed that Thorton might have felt that he would be crushed to pieces if he let too much out.

"Want us to beat him up for you?" Crabbe and Goyle had asked him, but Draco had just shaken his head. He couldn't endure any more excitement as of now, in his life.

The girls in his group of friends simpered for him, telling him that everything would be okay, and that everyone would have found out sooner or later anyway. After all, when he turned sixteen, people would see that there was something about him that was quite unusual from others.

The guys just shook their heads in sympathy, and shot glowing looks at McKarton whenever they could.

As for the other students in the school......Draco didn't know what to make of them. Seeing that he was one of the most popular guys in school, as well as one of the better looking, many people started to look up information about Veela, reading about their habits, likes and dislikes, and behavior. Some did this mainly because they were interested in Veelas, or that they had never thought to research them before. Others, because they were just plain interested in Draco Malfoy.

Whatever the reason, many girls seemed to be looking at him more, fluffing up their hair when he was around, or smoothing out invisible wrinkles in their robes. They would smile at him, and try to get him to smile back. No doubt that they were trying to impress him, wanting to be the "oh-so-fabulous" girl of Draco Malfoy's dreams.

It was laughable, really, seeing all these girls around Draco all the time. Draco thought little of them, because he knew that he wasn't going to find a mate because of some disgusting flirting that was going on. He was going to find a mate from Fate. Whoever he was meant to be with, he would be attracted to.

Even more laughable than the girls surrounding him was the boys. Although none of them actually surrounded him, he was absolutely certain that people like Ernie Macmillan, and Anthony Goldstein were winking at him, trying to strike up a conversation, or playing something close to the "damsel in distress" and begging Draco to help them in Potions class.

"I know how great you are in Potions," Ernie had cooed to him once, in class. "But I just can't seem to get it! Help me, won't you Draco? Won't you......" Luckily, Draco was saved by Crabbe and Goyle, who, despite how dim they were, sensed that their leader would rather eat a cauldron of cockroaches than spend time with Macmillan. They asked Draco to help them, and he left a very disappointed-looking Ernie behind.

Draco certainly felt nauseous about the whole thing. If this was how people acted before he had even come to his powers, then...Draco really didn't want to think about how others would act when he seemed even more stunning than ever.

Draco's birthday was coming up soon. In a week, on Sunday, the Slytherins were planning a huge party for him. Any Slytherins would be invited, of course. However, only a limited amount of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws would be there, and absolutely no Gryffindors. The party would be an all night party, lasting from 6 o'clock to hours after. Draco knew that it would be an exciting time of his life, and one that he was sure he'd never forget.

After all, he would find a mate. His wonderful Veela charms would kick in, and he would find a mate.

How?

His Veela instincts would tell him, of course.