Harry Potter and the Bonds of the Fathers

Ch. 4. Surprises Come in Eights

Harry woke up to the wonderful smell of breakfast. He rolled over and then tensed. The Dursleys made their own meal? Realizing that if they had done so it would mean that he had slept in, he opened his eyes and sat up so quickly that his vision hazed. He blinked. He wasn't in his room at the Dursleys'. He was in one of the bedrooms at Sirius's house, and the smell of breakfast came from a tray next to him, piled high with eggs, sausage, pancakes, toast and bowls of porridge.

Before the briefly forgotten sense of loss could flood him at the thought of his godfather, his eyes fell on Malfoy. He was sitting in a chair right next to his bed, with his arms around his legs. His forehead was resting on his knees in slumber. Harry's heart was warmed by the fact that he had stayed by his side while he slept and at the same time frightened by what that could mean. A faint desperation stirred within him when he noticed the dry tear tracks left on his still-dusty cheeks. He rotated till his feet made contact with the floor, and leaned forward slightly to cover one of Malfoy's hands in his own. The boy awoke even quicker than Harry had, if that was possible. His head jerked up, and suddenly Harry's insides were awash with cold seeing the wretched look in his eyes.

"Oh god, Malfoy..." Harry whispered breathlessly; it was the only thing he could think to say. The desperation was growing in his chest, but he didn't know what to do. He didn't know anything about the boy in front of him, and after so many years of trading insults he didn't know if he could even imagine what he was normally like.

Remembering their lasting feud, Harry wondered if Malfoy was embarrassed because of the kiss. He wondered if he regretted it and was feeling disgusted with himself. The blonde stood and made to run again but Harry reflexively tightened his grip on his hand, making him stop. Harry interlaced Malfoy's fingers in his and they both stared at the joined hands, transfixed.

Silver eyes roamed to meet green. "Harry..." the boy pleaded, biting his lip. Harry's heart swelled, hearing Malfoy's smooth voice say his first name.

"We have to talk," he said resolutely. "There's something- I'm so confused- I don't know what to-" he was cut off rather abruptly by Malfoy putting his lips to his again. His body jerked with what could only be described as an electric jolt. Harry propelled himself backwards, falling onto the bed with a bounce and bringing the hand that had once held Malfoy's to his lips.

"What was that?" Harry squeaked. His heart thumped in his chest a few times before settling down to its regular beat. The silver-haired boy looked pained at the tone in his voice. Harry heard a whine come unbidden from his throat, and watched as Malfoy took a deep breath.

"Tested- to... to see," he answered, hesitation clear in his words.

"Tested to see what exactly, Malfoy?" Harry asked, and then bit his tongue. His tone had come out sharper than he had meant. He didn't like spells cast on him without his permission, and the thought that Malfoy had only kissed him to cast a spell, even if it was only to check something, hurt slightly. Like it or not, he was realizing more and more that he liked the priggish boy before him.

"To see if you were my mate," he answered, morose.

"My... mate?" Harry shrugged, trying to hide his confusion. "Sure if you want to be my friend... but you don't have to, to kiss me to find out..." he trailed off seeing in Malfoy's eyes that wasn't what he had meant.

"I don't mean mates like that; I mean it in more of a primal sense... Like I was meant for you. You being my mate would mean that you were perfect for me; exactly what I need in a life-partner." Harry's heart leapt into his throat at these words. It sounded as if Malfoy was professing his undying love for him or something. At that moment worrying over how he was suddenly attracted to the other boy wasn't as important as what that other boy had to say next. "Being mates would mean that we would be together for the rest of our lives."

"Er." Harry managed. "I don't understand... Wizards don't normally go around worrying about finding a perfect mate... do they?"

"Harry," Malfoy bit his lip again, looking uncomfortable. Harry vaguely noticed his own tongue licking his lips. The fidgeting boy's lips were getting redder with each time he lightly closed his teeth onto his lower lip, and Harry found himself staring. He suddenly got the urge to see those lips move as they said his name. "Harry," Malfoy said, unknowingly giving into the other boy's wishes. "Imaveelaandyourmymate" he said in a rush, unable to hold it back.

Harry stared blankly at him, not catching what he said. "I'm... a veela. You're my mate, my life partner. Erm." Harry didn't know if he'd ever seen Malfoy looking so torn. Actually, he realized, he had never seen Malfoy look anything but cold and distant before today. He realized just how open and unshielded the boy was at the moment. It was quite a spectacle when Malfoy wasn't closed in on himself. Was what he said true? Was this why his control was seemingly shattered? Maybe he was ashamed at having a boy as his mate. Harry refused to think about how he himself wasn't ashamed of the possibility he might like guys himself right then and decided to save that little tidbit for later.

"You... you can't just decide to be someone's mate," Harry said trying to work things out. "I mean like isn't it up to a veela's partner...? And how can you be a veela? I thought the Malfoys were, as you like to call it, 'purebloods'." His skin prickled, and he wondered if he should have mentioned a topic relating so closely with his imprisoned father.

The questioned Malfoy's face scrunched up adorably. Not that Harry would say that to him. "I... we are. The Malfoys are, I mean. And my mother's a veela because her mother was one and... well that makes me a veela. Veela inherit from their mothers, who pass the veelian abilities on to their female children. The fathers of their children usually don't have any hand in the actual making of them. The fathers call the child their own only because of the mating that brought the child to life but in reality the child doesn't gain anything from him," Draco answered. "And yes, a veela's partner does have a choice but the veela doesn't. Usually veela get their mate, though, but that's because they're meant for each other anyway-"

"I thought you said you were a veela." Harry interrupted, confused.

"I am." Draco smiled, because he had deliberately made Harry think in circles.

"You said veela inherit through their mothers... and pass the power to their daughters. You're not... secretly a girl?" Harry asked, feeling a bit odd. He had never been a homophobe like Ron, not even bothering enough to have a specific preference, but somehow he felt as if he would rather Draco be male.

"Merlin, no! I'm an 'enigma', or so my mother tells me. Told me," he amended, his brow furrowing.

"What happened?" Harry asked softly, but Malfoy just shook his head. Harry found he was biting his own lip. He realized seeing the usually unfazable Draco upset had been setting him on edge and his nerves were beginning to get frazzled at how often it happened. Most of his lingering doubt fled at that epiphany. He had never worried about Malfoy before. Being so cynical and cruel to Harry, Ron, and Hermione had damned him in so many ways, yet the more time Harry spent with him, the more he felt as if the years of spite were being lifted from the corner of his mind.

"Anyway," Draco continued, looking a bit forlorn, "because I've turned sixteen and have come into my Veelian Inheritance already, I have acquired all of my previously hidden abilities. My wings are hidden magically under my flesh and I can grow a beak or talons at any moment, if I need to. I changed overnight, and being a light sleeper, I was unlucky enough to wake up. It was painful, growing and having my body rearrange itself to fit the standards of... well, acceptable beauty." He bit his lip again and Harry wondered if it was a nervous habit. Harry wanted to lean down and suck the lip right from in between his teeth, and this time he didn't hold that back.

He slid off the bed onto the ground and knelt on the floor before Malfoy, angling his head upwards so he could nudge the Slytherin's down turned face into accepting the kiss. Draco gasped in shock, but then slipped off the chair to bring their bodies against each other. He deepened the kiss, and Harry followed his lead reassuringly. Harry pulled back only when his stomach announced to the world that he hadn't had a proper meal since the bread crust and water dinner he had the day before. The veela immediately started mothering him, making sure he was eating some of everything on the plate.

"I'm all right, you know. I feel a lot better," Harry protested through a mouthful of eggs and sausage. Draco regarded him with a raised eyebrow and a familiar sneer, holding a spoon of porridge from his own plate.

"Oh right, Potter," he snapped sarcastically, reverting to the use of Harry's last name with a sneer. Harry noted it seemed lightly less volatile than the ones in his past. "I'll have you know Longbottom said you were undernourished. I'm not letting you be until you eat your half of the food. All of it." Harry gulped. There was quite a lot of food on the tray.

"My name is Harry, you know," he pointed out, gesturing with a sausage-speared fork. Then he blinked. Draco had leaned over and bit the sausage off his fork. He slid the meat off and chewed slowly, keeping eye contact with the wide-eyed boy before him the whole time. He swallowed and smirked at Harry's blush.

"Yes, Harry," he whispered. He turned back to his breakfast as if nothing had happened and left the other boy to shovel food in his mouth to hide his embarrassment.

"So," they both said later, after Malfoy had ensured that Harry had eaten enough. They laughed, lifting some of the tension that had seeped into Harry's muscles after the Slytherin's earlier performance.

"How... do you feel? I mean about all of this?" Harry asked carefully. Malfoy's eyes flicked to him then back to his empty plate. He took a deep breath.

"Well... truthfully? I'm scared." He turned his eyes back to Harry's again. "I mean you probably have wondered why I'm here... in my father's enemies' headquarters."

Harry nodded silently. He had been wondering.

"I've been through... a lot this summer before Dumbledore rescued me." His eyes got a frantic look in them. "They want you dead Harry!" he blurted after his short pause. Harry didn't have to try very hard to know who 'they' were. "And they're terrible! I don't think even you know how bad they are or else you'd be running around screaming-" he took a deep, shuddering breath, and grabbed one of Harry's hands on the table like an anchor, not even noticing his sleeve trailing through the syrup. Harry gently removed the small pitcher from under Malfoy's arm.

Not noticing, Malfoy went on, "Before you arrived, I was in... a trance. I have been in one ever since I turned sixteen...you know, because of the veela thing. All I could think of was you; I had visions and such, because you're my mate. Some... were bad. Really bad. When you came, I knew you had to be here because I could think on my own again. And when I saw you... all bruised... oh, Harry the blood," he choked, and Harry became increasingly more alarmed. "I have all these different feelings for you, and naturally, I've never felt this way about anyone else because of the veela in me but-" His gaze into Harry's eyes seemed to deepen, and Harry found himself holding his breath. "I don't want them to go away already... even if we haven't been around each other very long, and we've only been on regular speaking terms for about an hour... If he comes for you, I'll be afraid of what he'll do. If he finds out you're my mate..." he shuddered.

"Who?" he asked Malfoy. "Who's he? The one you're scared of?"

"My father."

The door opened suddenly, and they sprang apart. Moody and a few Aurors whom Harry knew were working for the Order strode in, Moody limping a little on his clawed, wooden leg.

"There's the little miscreant," one exclaimed. Moody's eyes glittered dangerously.

"Back away from him, Harry... there's a fellow..." he ordered, but Harry refused to remove himself from the still-quivering blonde next to him.

"What's going on?" Harry asked carefully, shifting in front of Malfoy slowly so he could protect him without it looking like too much of a threat. He was getting bad vibes, remembering when Barty Crouch's son of the same name used Polyjuice to replicate the very same man in front of him. He worried about where his wand had gotten to since last night, the fear tightening in his chest until he suddenly felt something smooth and wooden hit the palm of his hand. Unconsciously, his fingers closed around it, and he knew from the shiver up his arm that it was his wand. He assumed he had gotten it from his pocket upon reflex and let his cautious uncertainty go. Most of the Aurors' eyes flickered to his wand and then back at him, a trace of fear entering their gaze. Moody's normal eye flickered to his hand but his blue, magical eye stayed trained on his face.

"That's a new trick Harry, but new tricks won't make up for covering up for the Death Eater spawn behind you." Moody whispered quietly. Harry wondered briefly what he was talking about. He had just grabbed his wand, which wasn't all that tricky, but after a second, realized he was being distracted and refocused his attention.

"What do you think you're doing here, Moody?" Harry said, patience cracking slightly. "You can't just burst into this bedroom like you own it, demanding the custody of an innocent person." His eyes flickered to the crowd behind him. He noticed none of the Auror Order members he knew well were in the group.

"I have it on good authority to take this boy in. Just living in that house for that long is enough to question him on at least the acts of his father, if not his father's friends..." He took a step forward, raising his wand to point it over Harry's shoulder.

"Where's Kingsley? Tonks?" Harry asked, trying to stall until someone thought to come pay him a visit. Moody ignored him and took a few more steps forward. "Moody! Where's Dumbledore?" he said menacingly, hoping that bringing up the formidable wizard would make Moody come to his senses and realize the consequences of what he was doing.

"He knows about this, son, just back away from the boy. He needs to be taken in under the proper authority," one of the Aurors spoke up. Moody's magical eye rolled back into his head, no doubt to look at the Auror who had spoken.

"Is that what you told them, then?" Harry said waspishly. "That Dumbledore agreed?" His whole consciousness now focused on a female Auror on his left. She was aiming her wand at him behind the security of her cloak, her chestnut hair framing her unfamiliar face.

Harry strained to keep his eyes from flicking to her, instead busying them by looking around at a bunch of wizards on his left. "Oh yes," he crowed, "Dumbledore surely agreed to have you lot ambush us, threaten our safety, and cart away a teenager that he was keeping safe here." He saw the uncertainty in some of their faces, and felt it heavy in the air. He heard a rustle of clothing beside him and reacted immediately.

"PROTEGO!" He shouted, forcing a great wad of power through his wand.

"Stupefy!" the witch shouted a millisecond after him. The red stunner ricocheted off his shield with a sharp pidink-like sound, although it changed into a completely different spell after hitting the shield. The wizard it was heading for jumped out of its way, not wanting to take his chances with the now blue and pink spiraling comet. His robes caught on fire, though the spell had missed him by three inches, instead hitting the door. It swung shut on its hinges before dissolving into a sticky-looking puddle on the floor. He felt Malfoy clutch at his robes and pull him backwards against him, but he refrained from wrapping his arms around him, thus not making both of them a target the Aurors would be tempted to cast at.

"ARE YOU MAD?!" Moody bellowed as the threatened wizard behind Harry mumbled gibberish into the back of his robes. No one seemed to know who Moody was talking to, the witch or Harry. His eye was rolling about madly, and it made Harry sick just looking at the whirling blur.

"NOT SUPPOSED TO DO MAGIC!" he roared unhelpfully. Harry could see that none of them were looking keen on spelling him again, however he kept up the strain in his arm that sent power down his wand. Many of the Aurors were green, shifting so they could peek at the wood-patterned puddle on the floor, and back at Harry and his translucent shield.

"No one could hold up a simple Protego up for that long," one muttered in a deep voice. "The fabric of the spell isn't strong enough to hold up like he's doing..." Harry isolated the voice and smirked inwardly. The man was writing furiously in a tablet, studying everything he was doing.

"Now Moody," Harry said chattily. "Didn't I hear somewhere that you retired? Would you care to enlighten me as why I find you of all people leading a-" he glanced around at all the witches and wizards with an appraising eye. They were scattered helter-skelter and looked absolutely gob smacked. "- a... gabble, shall we say, of half-trained Aurors-" A wizard drew himself up pompously but shrank back again when Harry turned his stern gaze to his. "Half-trained," he stressed, "Aurors who act without thinking of the consequences. The fact that you're here at all following someone who hasn't been in service to the Ministry for years shows that you have no more sense than any ordinary greenie," he told the man, fighting to maintain the tone Mrs. Weasley used on him if he misbehaved when all he wanted to do was scream at them. He turned back to Moody with the glare he felt more like wearing. "I've already used magic once, Moody. As long as I'm getting expelled, I don't see why I should have any qualms about using more magic. Tell me why you're here." Malfoy was patting his back, either to comfort away the well hidden panic in his breastbone, or to congratulate him in successfully handling the nine-odd people in the room, he didn't know.

"His father's Lucius Malfoy, you'll have heard of him, eh?" Moody said coldly. "You know, the Death Eater who attacked you and your friends last year? He's either one of them already or he knows everything that we need to. There's no way his father would pass up a chance to sully his name further by selling his son off to the Dark Lord, Potter! Use your head! Or whatever's left of it," he snapped, apparently loosing his patience. Knowing that the wizard in front of him was loosing control amused Harry and he felt much more in control of the situation at the moment.

"Moody..." one of the witches near his side whispered uncertainly, staring into the empty space next to Harry. Apparently Malfoy had slipped out from behind him. Harry grabbed him and pushed him back just as Moody lashed out to try and grab at his arm. Harry gritted his teeth and sent another pulse into his shield, making Moody hiss and pull back as though burned. He didn't move his wand from pointing straight at Harry's face however and smiling coldly. Harry kept the pulse of power he sent down his arm at a steady stream, thickening its power supply, telling himself that now was not the time to worry about where it was coming from.

"Temper, temper, Moody. So, you made up a story about having permission from Dumbledore to harass a student and his protector-"

"Protector?" Moody barked just as Malfoy whispered it questioningly into his shoulder.

"Yes," Harry said idly, inspecting the dirt under his nails of his free hand. He needed something to distract him from cursing the rest of the fool's face off. "That's what I said. Remember it next time you choose to abduct him. So as I was saying, you lie to his lot," he said gesturing widely, "that you were allowed to come and what? Force the answers out of him? With no criminal background, no crime, no real suspicions at all-"

"NO SUSPISIONS!" Moody roared, his voice straining. "Common sense, boy! Constant vigilance! Not just when you haven't got some falsely noble idea in your head! You're not using your noggin-"

"USE YOURS!" Harry thundered awed a bit that he could pitch his voice to that level. It was past a yell or a scream; it didn't hurt at all and he was hardly straining to get the desired volume. "GO, ALL OF YOU- GET OUT RIGHT NOW AND LEAVE THIS HOUSE!" Harry was shaking in fury and his shield was failing in his loss of concentration. "I never want to see you enter this house again, Moody!" He breathed raggedly while everyone stared at him, shell-shocked. Using the small bit of his senses that he had left, he said more calmly, "At least until you can prove to me that you have grown up like the rest of us. Even the ones who followed you regret coming now." Moody lowered his wand slowly, his eye rolling, although he kept his beady black one on Harry. "Then, when you finally act your age and you've apologized truthfully to Draco," he continued, using Malfoy's first name for effect, "I will consider letting you back in my godfather's house again. Even Dumbledore will support me on this."

"Yes, yes, he certainly will," said a quiet voice from the doorway. Harry looked up, relief flooding through his system. "Alastor," Dumbledore said, eyes sparkling with what looked to be a mix of anger and disappointment. "Please do leave immediately and go to my office at Hogwarts. Harry, I will need to talk to you... both of you..." he finished, quite preoccupied.

"Headmaster," Malfoy squeaked. Dumbledore turned his eyes to him. "Harry used magic," he blurted in a rush.

"Yes, I am aware. All in due time, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said heavily. He brought out two envelopes from his robes. "Your O.W.L.s have just arrived... I will be back in a bit. The rest of you go back to your offices; I will be having a word with your supervisors. They are all aware of the situation..." He turned and led the rest of the group out. The witch who cast the stunner looked at Harry without the slightest trace of remorse or regret. Harry memorized her face soundlessly.

As soon as he and Malfoy were alone in the room Harry slumped to the floor. The other boy sank slower, burying his face in his hands as he fell to his knees.

"What on Earth..." Harry muttered. "What was he thinking?" he whispered to the floor. His bones sang with the aftereffects of his magic. He shivered. Casting had never affected him like this. He suddenly found himself subjected to a furiously tight hug, and whispered gratitude into his ear.

"Thanks," Malfoy muttered, although he didn't meet Harry's shocked gaze. Harry felt slight embarrassment radiating off him.

"Malfoy... why did you let him do that? You didn't fight back at all...." Harry asked. The Slytherin pulled back to stare into Harry's face critically.

"And do what? He was carrying a bottle of Truth Serum, Harry."

"Well you could have, you know... said something"

"Said what? If I retaliated, anything I would have said would have been put down as resistance. That would mean to them that I'm withholding information-not a good thing for the Ministry to think." He signed running his hand through his grimy hair and grimacing. "You were raised by Muggles, correct? Well if you had grown up in the wizarding world, you would have been raised knowing to never challenge the power of law officials. This isn't like being insubordinate to a prefect in school; there is a much wider scale, and there won't be any Dumbledore to make things automatically better every time." He looked away, eyes darkening.

"I will be there to fight them off for you," Harry said, defiantly. Malfoy just slumped more.

"Why are you doing this to me?" he whispered tightly.

"Doing what?" Harry asked, surprised.

"You can't like me. I'm a horrible person. Those Aurors can attest to that."

"You can't expect me to judge you by word of mouth! I mean look at the papers last year-"

"You did before," Malfoy said, some strength creeping into his voice, along with a little bit of anger. "With Weasley. I wanted to know you and you turned me down-"

"You insulted Hagrid! And Ron!" Harry exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah," Malfoy said, voice limp once more. "Another reason why you should hate me..."

"I don't hate you! It used to be more of a justified rage more than anything... I don't think I've ever really truly hated you. When I was at my relatives-" he shuddered but went on, "it began to change... into what I don't know, but since I've been here, you've been in a constant mood swing the whole time and I find myself... worried. I'm going insane just being so near to you- I've never felt this before, but it's not hate." He paused. "I've never been able to talk to you before. Now that I have... and... you kissed me and all... I don't think I really could hate you..." He blushed and looked at the floor near Malfoy's knee.

"We should get you tested for a love potion or a love spell. You're supposed to hate me." The boy said, although there was a trace of hope within his words.

"That will not be necessary, Mr. Malfoy," a voice called. They looked up to see a smiling Dumbledore shielding the doorway. He looked at the still unopened letters from the school and his mouth twitched. "I am so happy to see you two taking an avid interest in your academic achievements," he said, voice full of badly concealed mirth.

"Harry!" Malfoy burst out. "He's going to be expelled... he did magic!" he reminded Dumbledore.

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore started, eyes twinkling. "I believe Harry's use of magic away from school shall no longer be a problem."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked skeptically. "Does this have anything to do with last year in the Department of Mysteries?"

"Department of Mysteries? You've been there?" Malfoy asked, incredulous. Harry felt slightly guilty; that was how Malfoy's father had been caught.

"No, my boy, it seems that you're legally an adult now."

"But I'm only sixteen... wizards become of age when they're seventeen," Harry protested.

"But not," Dumbledore interrupted, "if they are veelian as well."

"Hold the Sneakoscope- what the hell is going on here?!" Malfoy demanded.

"Language, Mr. Malfoy," the elderly man admonished before continuing. "In rare cases, when two people are especially matched-for lack of better words, perfect for each other in every way, a veela's mate has been known to turn veelian as well. It seems as though Harry here has become a veela... and chosen you as a mate just like you have chosen him," Dumbledore explained, leaving both boys speechless.

"I entrust you will teach Mr. Potter all you know?" Dumbledore asked the stunned boy kindly. Malfoy gave a sort of nod and Dumbledore smiled widely. "When you two choose to mate all I ask is that you not do it here and that you wait till you are safely at Hogwarts. You will get your own quarters; two bedrooms connected by a living area, should anyone feel like visiting one of you two, under the pretense that you are both fully grown, unmated veela. It would be unwise to let anyone know that you two are... fraternizing." Harry snorted, the first sign of life that he had given since being told the tumultuous news.

"You don't look too shocked," Malfoy observed, relieved immensely that Harry felt the way he did of his own free will.

"It fits. Perfectly. How I dreamed of you nearly every night and felt so bad when I woke up and you found weren't really there," he said in a small voice. Malfoy broke into a wide grin, and then he frowned guiltily.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know..." His frown deepened although it looked as if it was from another cause. "Where were you anyway? Why weren't you at your relatives? The Muggles?"

"I was," He said in a small voice.

"And you didn't tell us this why?" Dumbledore asked sharply as Malfoy gasped. Harry looked back and forth from his Headmaster's uncharacteristically strict face to Malfoy's petrified but equally irate one.

"Was it Death Eaters? Was... was it my father?" Malfoy asked in a small voice, with Dumbledore leaning forward, looking as if he wanted to ask the same question.

Harry was silently shocked; he had thought Dumbledore would have already guessed what had happened. His guess was so far off as well- usually he would have guessed something much closer to the actual truth. Wait- did Malfoy just ask if his father had been there? He was out of prison?!

"What I wish to know," Dumbledore said severely, "is why your mother's blood protection failed to keep them out."

"It wasn't Death Eaters." Comprehension, then a look of horror spread across Dumbledore's usually composed features. Malfoy's face turned unrecognizable in fury before he turned completely veela: beak, wings, talons and all.

"I will kill them!" he screeched. Harry was interested to see that his beak was made of flesh and moved like lips, unlike ordinary bird's beaks.

"Mr. Malfoy, get a hold of yourself until we have the full story! It may not have been his relatives at all, and even if it was, until they revoke Umbridge's law against humanoid creatures and reinstate the previous laws, you will not be able to exercise any sort of retribution for your mate! It will be taken care of, take condolence in that." There was an underlying tone of apprehension in Dumbledore's voice and Harry wondered if even Dumbledore was afraid to tangle with an enraged veela.

"You know very well he deserves to be avenged Headmaster," Malfoy spat. "You know perfectly well I would not try to control myself, even if I could."

He started for the door, but with a flick of his wand the older wizard has him encased in a cylindrical shield. Malfoy let out a shriek that chilled Harry's bones and made him want to help him. Malfoy clawed at the wall savagely, though Dumbledore held up the shield anyway.

"Why can't he control it?" Harry asked stifling the urge to throw himself at the barrier as well.

"Veela are fiercely protective of their mates," the fierce veela grunted. He was battering the shield with his wings now as well, although with his admission it seemed as if not all of him was in the fight. Dumbledore nodded, not breaking his gaze from Malfoy's face, although sweat was beginning to gather at his temples.

"You showed an acceptable version of it when standing up for Mr. Malfoy no matter what the cost, but this veela is about to get himself into a lot of trouble for those urges if he goes to Muggles and attacks them in an act of cold-blooded hate. He would be sent to Azkaban and where would Harry be?" Dumbledore asked plaintively.

Malfoy stopped battering the wall immediately, staring at him with open shock. Harry silently agreed with him, even he could see with his limited knowledge of veela that Malfoy suffering in prison so far away in the middle of nowhere would be difficult on him. The Slytherin's wings drooped and Dumbledore let go of his shield charm, though he kept his wand out. Harry walked forward and placed his arms around Malfoy to show his silent support. He leaned into Harry's embrace, though he was still shaking with anger.

"How are we going to be going about with classes, then?" Malfoy asked agitatedly, breaking free of Harry's hold to sit on the floor tiredly. Harry sat next to him missing the feel of the other boy in his arms. "If we're separated for that length of time and I know there's going to be a large amount of people near him, I'll panic and think they're trying to seduce him." His hands clenched subconsciously against the floor, creating deep furrows.

Harry gently unhooked his hands from the floor and examined the three-inch silver talons that had replaced his nails. Harry wondered if this was what his hands had done to the Potions book in his trunk. He felt the boy relax slightly, and gasped in surprised awe as Malfoy's nails shrank and became normal colored again. Dumbledore watched all of this with a satisfied eye before answering.

"That is easy to fix. You two are pretty well matched in everything you do; I wouldn't be surprised if you got nearly the same results on your O.W.L.s," he said, stressing the last two words, glancing meaningfully at the envelopes. "It won't be hard to get you in all of the same classes. We can just pass it off as you two forming some sort of tribal bond, and looking out for each other so that no one interferes before you both find your mates."

"I think he wants us to open our results." Malfoy said dryly, although Harry knew somehow he felt approval in the Headmaster's words. Harry got up and fetched them, handing Malfoy's over to him. While Harry ripped his open, the blonde carefully broke the wax seal with one conveniently taloned finger, and pulled out the letter slowly. Both stared eagerly at their results, putting their school supply list aside for the moment.

'Mr. Potter we are happy to present to you the results of your O.W.L. examinations.

Your results are as follows:

Transfiguration - E

Care of Magical Creatures- O

Potions - O

Charms - E

Divination - T

Herbology - E

Astronomy - A

History of Magic - P

Defense Against the Dark Arts - O

Congratulations on your seven O.W.L.s. The classes you are qualified to take next year are:

N.E.W.T. Transfiguration (prerequisite: E or O in Transfiguration)

N.E.W.T. Care of Magical Creatures (prerequisite: A, E, or O in Care of Magical Creatures)

N.E.W.T. Potions (prerequisite: O in Potions)

N.E.W.T. Charms (prerequisite: A, E, or O in Charms)

N.E.W.T. Herbology (prerequisite: A, E, or O in Herbology)

N.E.W.T. Defense Against the Dark Arts (prerequisite: E or O in Defense Against the Dark Arts)

O.W.L. Divination

O.W.L. History

O.W.L. Astronomy

Strategy and Tactics (classroom course)

Basic Glamour Charms (prerequisite: A, E, or O in Charms and A, E, or O in Transfiguration)

Basic Theater Magic and Performance (prerequisite: A, E, or O in Charms or A, E, or O in Transfiguration)

Basic Dueling (prerequisite: E or O in Defense Against the Dark Arts)

Introduction to Muggle Dueling

Basic Imagery

Muggle Studies

Arithmancy

Ancient Runes

Introduction to Ballroom Dancing

You will be automatically place in the available N.E.W.T. courses, but please reply with your two additional class choices as soon as possible along with any questions you might have and requests for additional teaching. Your N.E.W.T. classes have added a list of supplies in conjunction with this letter along with the summary and list of supplies for each of the additional courses.

Congratulations again on your stunning results.'

He looked over to see that Malfoy had gotten very similar results. He had gotten a 'T' in Divination as well and a 'D' in History. They had received the same number of O.W.L.S. in all of the same classes, which had both beaming at the proof of their compatibility. Feeling Malfoy's joy, Harry was forcibly reminded of all the other times he felt others' emotions.

"Professor, is it normal for a wizard to feel how another person feels?" he asked slowly. Malfoy looked at him curiously, but then looked over Harry's results again with pride.

"I wondered if this would come up. Harry you are also an Empathos. (A/N: no, its not ehm-path-ohs, its ehm-payth-ohs) Being an Empathos doesn't mean anything more than you are able to tell how others are feeling and what their predominant thoughts are with proper training. Training can be done by reading out of books, so you won't have to worry about any other extra-curricular courses," Professor Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling.

Harry removed one of the hands that he had subconsciously wound around Malfoy's waist and rubbed at his forehead. This was too much for one day and he still felt fairly worn out from before with Moody. Malfoy's arms encircled Harry's comfortingly and he pulled Harry to him. He gratefully leaned against Malfoy while Malfoy himself proceeded to glare at Dumbledore like it was his fault Harry's life was always so complicated. The Headmaster returned his gaze evenly.

"You know that this could be a real advantage to Mr. Potter," he said. Malfoy sighed, indeed knowing that it was true. "By knowing what others feel about him he'll know who is being true to him, and whose friendship is deceptive. He'll be able to tell beforehand whether someone is up to no good." Harry lifted his head.

"I know this is actually a great stroke of luck and all but it feels wrong. What if they don't want me to know what they're feeling?"

"If anyone doesn't want you to know what they're feeling, then it makes it all the more important to know what they are feeling," Malfoy spoke for Dumbledore. The Headmaster nodded gravely. Harry slumped.

"I wish nobody was deceptive," he grumbled. To his surprise, Dumbledore chuckled.

"Don't we all, don't we all. Now, I know you are probably full to bursting with questions about the real actions of the Death Eaters and since you're... prematurely of age, you will be brought up to full speed, no worries. That is, after you tell every member of the Order who is available about what happened this summer, excepting that you're Mr. Malfoy's mate, of course. Before we get into all that, I am hoping you will both get cleaned up- separate showers of course," he added although his ever-twinkling eyes told them all too clearly that he wouldn't blame them if they showered together.

It was almost as if he was expecting them to. Harry shuddered a bit, his innocent mind shocked that he would even hint at that kind of thing. They had only just established that they 'loved' each other, and now was definitely not the time for those kinds of going-ons. He peeked over at Draco who looked calm and nonchalant, but Harry could tell- by his skill as an Empathos? - that his interest was piqued. Dumbledore looked back and forth between them with approval.

"Just whatever you do," he started off, paying special attention to Malfoy, "do not fully mate. Mr. Malfoy, you have, I assume, already gone through your veelian educational courses?" Draco nodded. "Then you will know what will happen if you do... Hogwarts' wards are very good at hiding the... tremor you two are bound to cause by mating." Harry stared at him flabbergasted.

"You make it seem like we will end up showering together after all," Harry exclaimed. Dumbledore just chuckled and walked to the door. With a wave of his wand he took down the wards on the door and the privacy charms on the walls, ceiling, and floor. He continued the rest of the way out of the door, leaving without as much as a good-bye.

"You shower first," Harry looked the other boy up and down. "Just how long have you gone without a shower anyway, Malfoy?" he asked, not really expecting an answer.

True to form, Draco didn't answer his question. Instead he gave a preoccupied, "Draco," while gathering up a new change of clothes. He kept sending a smirk towards Harry the whole time, as if assuming the boy would appreciate the clothing item before he pulled it out and inspected it more thoroughly. Harry smiled at his antics.

"Draco," he agreed, happy to have permission to use the name that had been flitting in and out of his thoughts. Draco straightened up, clutching his clothes and a number of bottles that looked like they had to be wizard beauty products and looking immensely proud of his selection.

"Potter-"

"Harry."

"Harry," he amended, "If you can at all, try to er, restrain yourself while I'm in there." When Harry puffed up like an annoyed pigeon and opened his mouth to defend his virtue, Draco held up a hand. "I did not mean that in any derogatory way, but since you have not been educated on exactly what is going to happen, and you have been thrown into this without any prior knowledge of how to shield yourself from... well certain amorous feelings, your veelian traits will most likely not give you any choice. But, if by some odd chance you are able to stay here, I was kind of hoping you would so I could fully wash my hair and clean up after all this time..." he trailed off as he realized he was babbling.

"Don't worry, Malfoy," he sputtered, reverting back to the Slytherin's surname at the implication that he couldn't handle his own libido. "I think I'm more than capable of staying away from you when you take a shower!" Draco silently raised a brow in skepticism, which made Harry rethink what he had just said. Draco obviously knew a lot more about veela-ness than he did, and if he had doubts that Harry, headstrong stubborn Gryffindor Harry, could keep a hold on his sex drive, then it was very likely that he wouldn't be able to. Harry squirmed slightly from his place on the floor.

"Don't worry," Draco advised, noting his sudden discomfort. "I have uh, been told how to manage things in certain situations and how to handle introducing, well, sexual interactions to an innocent'." He looked as uncomfortable as Harry felt.

"They didn't demonstrate, did they? With you?" Harry burst out. Jealousy that came from nowhere coursed through his veins. If someone had defiled his mate before he could get to him... His fists clenched over already lengthened talons and in his fit of anger he didn't even notice how they dug into the palm of his hands. Draco noticed however and dropped his armload promptly and he strode over to Harry, answering on his way.

"No! Of course not! They're not that stupid. They just gave suggestions on how to make the hypothetical situation play out smoothly." He grabbed one of Harry's hands and pried them open. Harry himself was shocked to see the deep abrasions and the blood that crept sluggishly out of them. Draco placed his own hand over his and attained a look of concentration. Harry gazed admiringly at the way the other boy seemed so set on doing whatever he was doing. So determined... so beautiful... Draco stepped back, throwing him another look. This time his expression was of mild agitation bordering on frustration.

"Don't clench your hands when you're upset! You didn't see me doing that when Dumbledore wouldn't let me go after your relatives did you?" he huffed.

"Well sorry that I didn't know that my... claws would pop out my hands! Remember, you're the one with the seemingly infinite knowledge and instincts here-"

"Sorry! It's just... you were hurt... I should have remembered myself how I would react to your hurting yourself, no matter how incidental. I should have prevented myself from yelling at you..." He looked guilty.

Harry ran a hand through his hair to try and calm down. "It's not your fault, but you have to remember I'm new to all of this. By the way, how did you manage not to clench your hands? It was the only thing I could manage to do with them." Draco smirked amusedly at him.

"Hours of Angering Charms and drills," he admitted. Then a look of realization spread across his features. "Harry, were you just angry with me?" The Gryffindor had the heart to look sheepish.

"Yeah," he said sharing a guilty look of his own. What he didn't expect however was an armful of an elated blonde hugging him ferociously.

"Oh, Harry do you know what this means?!" he shrieked. Harry winced; Draco had yelled into his ear. "That means we're really well suited! Mates with weaker similarities can't get mad at each other at all! Their magic won't let them in case they never get over it! But our magic just assumes that we'll be able to overcome an argument!" He pulled back to beam happily at the astonished Harry in front of him. Draco swiped furiously at his eyes, still grinning like an idiot.

"Harry this is all so perfect! I've heard some terrible stories of people who get stuck with mates who are the best suited for them in the area they reached their Inheritance in, and they were forced to love their partner and what they did to them no matter what but-" he pulled Harry in for another bone crushing hug, "-I never thought I would be lucky like this. Honestly I wouldn't be able to bear it if I had a Slytherin as a mate. I love my House and all, but I've been thinking more and more these days how the only reason I was sorted in it must have been my lineage." He was rocking Harry from side to side ecstatically, and Harry found the movement, combined with the feel of the other boy in his arms and the smell of his skin, no matter how unclean it was, intoxicating.

To his disappointment, Draco pulled back again, his expression now sober and contemplative. "I used to think I fit perfectly. Lord over everyone else, I did. Thought I was the best Slytherin. Honestly, Zabini is more than fit for that position nowadays." He said all of this without a trace of regret or sadness, and Harry began to honestly wonder about how different Draco was from the boy he remembered. Had this slightly mushy, excitable boy always been lurking under the surface? He quickly squashed that thought though; Draco had certainly seemed open enough in Madame Malkin's, and on the train, on the way to their first year at Hogwarts.

He wondered if it had to do with Draco's Inheritance. He had never heard of such a thing before so it may have been possible that it happened to only a few select witches and wizards, or else nobody mentioned it because it was such a normal, expected transition in their lives. Maybe it was a truly uprooting process, a life-changing occurrence in the blink of an eye. But if that were true, why didn't he act any differently? He couldn't imagine acting any differently than he had. Maybe he did have an altered persona, but since it was him going through the actions he didn't notice it.

Oblivious to Harry's thoughts, Draco nuzzled Harry's nose with his own before parting altogether. "Better get that shower, huh," he explained, picking up his stuff. Harry wondered why Draco was suddenly feeling anticipation, but then remembered how he thought Harry was going to interrupt his shower to debauch him. When he left the room Harry stuck a tongue out at his retreating back, thinking there was no way he was going to do that.

Draco's POV:

Draco knew perfectly well however, what Harry didn't. His mentors didn't go into detail about what would occur in an untrained veela's mind when their mate was unclothed somewhere, but he had managed to get some of this mother's books on veela and read up on the subject in case he wasn't able to actually create the shield himself when it came time for him to actually need to. It turned out that his mate, if it was a veela, and an untrained one at that, would know the instant he was unclothed and vulnerable. Since they wouldn't be prepared for the onslaught of emotion this would elicit, they would become overrun with lust and try and pounce, for lack of a better word, on their mate. As soon as they stepped one foot away from their mate, their mate would be unable to control his own surge of lust, trained or not.

Unfortunately, in Draco's opinion, this urge stopped only once the two lovers were finally mated. Usually with veela-human matches this took a long time to occur, because the human wouldn't have the matching emotions and would need to warm up to the other before agreeing to mate with them. Although veela were fully susceptible to the lust for his or her mate, and could engage in numerous amounts of sexual activity with their mate, they could not actually shag their mate until their partner agreed.

Draco grinned, setting his clothes as far from the shower as the walls would allow. Come to think of it, Harry hadn't verbally opposed the idea of mating. Oh sure he defended his honor and ability of being able to resist Draco, but he hadn't opposed to the actual act in entirety. Still grinning, although a bit more wickedly, he set his gel and skin lotion on the rim of the sink and his shampoo, soap, and numerous conditioners on the large ledge in the shower. Then he began to remove his clothing, knowing full well Harry's lust would increase with every garment he removed.

Leisurely, he looked around at the bathroom before his vision was obstructed with the removal of his shirt. The room was large and lavish, in a darkish, drafty kind of way. There was even a currently-empty bath as large as a small swimming pool, which he found reasonable because of the general size and expense he guessed the rest of the house was. Once totally relieved of clothing, he hurriedly turned the taps of the bath on, thinking it could come in handy, watching the pool fill almost instantly. He mourned the lack of bubble taps like the ones in the prefects' bath and his bath at home, but he figured the size of the tub made up for their absence. Once the bath was full the taps turned off by themselves, and he rushed over to the shower and turned on the taps in there to his desired temperature. Once the roof of the shower was materializing water to pour down, he leaned against the wall opposite the closed curtain and assumed a stance he knew had to be tantalizing. After a few moments, however he became impatient and a tad apprehensive. Surely the innocent Gryffindor hadn't found a way to refuse to give into the attraction him felt- and if he did, that could foreshadow a fairly prudish sex life in the future. His worries were abated however when the curtains were yanked aside by the newly-rendered veela in question.

"Bastard," Harry said, although Draco could hear the admiration in his tone. He had time to emit one squeak before the fully-clad boy joined him under the battering water and covered his mouth with his own. His hands made quick work of mapping out Draco's body. Silently praising their magic, which he knew to be intermingling at that very second, for ridding the other boy of any hesitation or shyness he might have had at being in such a state of affairs, he began to divest Harry of his soaking clothes.

Harry clutched the edge of the bath with one hand and slid his other arm around his lover's shoulders as Draco buried his face into the crook of his neck. Harry murmured exaltations and kissed the top of his head, wondering about his sudden confidence until Draco brought his head back and tipped it to be kissed. Harry pressed his lips to Draco's, feeling his regular emotions return and his lust fade, sated. The kiss was slow and lazy; a kiss of lovers extremely fulfilled. A loud gasp behind them broke into their apathy, however and they sprang apart instantly. Harry turned to see who it was, but Draco had a full view of the intruder at the door. It was one of Harry's mates, and one of the banes of Draco's existence. It was the Mudblood Granger girl, with bother of her hands over her mouth, eyes wide with shock.

"Harry," he said slowly. "Please tell me you didn't forget to close the door." Apparently this was too much for Hermione, who made a run for it.

"HERMIONE!" Harry yelled. Draco was glad he was facing the opposite way or the loudness in his delicate veelian ears would have been terrible. "Get back here!"

She actually did return, but with her eyes covered.

"Granger can you please close the door and wait for us to get... respectable? If anyone comes, say you're waiting for Potter and that you don't know where I am. Discreetly, if you can, knock twice on the door if the person won't leave and I'll hide while Potter leaves, apparently alone from the bathroom. Got it?" She nodded with a whimper and with her eyes shut tight as she felt around for the doorknob. She squeaked in shock when she found it and closed it with a bang. Draco rounded on Harry.

"You forgot to close the door!" he accused.

"I believe my mind was occupied with other thoughts at the time," he stated coolly. Draco rubbed at his temples.

"I know, you're right, anyone in that state would easily have forgotten their own name like that," he said, reminiscing. "I didn't think the lust would be so... well anyway. You were bloody brilliant by the way; I thought you hadn't done this before." It was a fight to keep the jealousy from entering his voice. Harry seemed to sense it, however; he could probably feel it with his Empathotic skills, because he raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"I haven't. I wasn't anywhere as good as you were. Use your veelian skills on others before this?" he asked, just as jealous as the other boy had been a second ago. Draco smiled beautifully.

"Nope, I'm all yours." Harry decided he could definitely get used to this new Draco.

"Clothes, now," he ordered playfully. Draco kissed his nose then rushed to obey. Yes, he decided, kindness did go a long way in loyalty. He wondered how he hadn't seen it before.

He dried off with the help of a towel he found lying on top of a stack, and when he was finished he slipped into the clothes he had so carefully planned with Harry's approval in mind, completely oblivious to the fact that his very persona was changing the more he was exposed to Harry. He just took it as his normal thoughts, only with more awareness and adaptation. All finished changing he turned to see Harry still naked and holding his sodden garments looking sheepish.

"Do you know a Drying Charm? Oh, but we left our wands back in the room..." he looked suddenly panicked.

"Hold your hand over the clothes and say Exareso.*"

"But I'd need my wand-"

"Harry, a hyperventilating Granger is waiting outside, no doubt having a stroke, and any moment now the Weasel is going to come and not go away no matter how politely she asks," he said testily.

"Don't call him that!"

"Just cast the spell," he said tiredly. "Don't doubt yourself. I saw you do wandless magic when Professor Moody was threatening you and you didn't have your wand. It leaped into your hand from a couple of feet away." Harry still looked agitated, but he said the spell anyway. His clothes steamed under his hand as the water evaporated and Draco looked on with badly concealed pride. He hadn't really known for sure if Harry could do the spell. Those who could do wandless magic were rare and few. Harry looked up at him, astonishment shining clearly through his eyes, Weasel forgotten.

"Never done that before," he mumbled.

"Of course you have, just not on purpose. Have you ever said a spell without your wand in your hand, and had it work?" Harry hesitated, and Draco knew he had his answer. "See? Now to deal with Granger. You go first to make sure the coast is clear and then I'll follow so we can nip into our room and either explain or Obliviate her."

"I will not have my friend Obliviated!" He looked fierce and suddenly Draco wished Granger wasn't just on the other side of the door. He gazed admiringly at his mate's stark body. His thoughts were snuffed out as Harry began to rapidly clothe himself.

"Spoilsport," Draco grinned. Harry smirked and he had to do a double-take to make sure he wasn't looking at a darker haired and skinned version of himself. He finished and walked to the door. He opened it, peeked around, and then signaled Draco over. All three walked briskly to Harry and Draco's room and shut the door behind them.

"Signum. Munio. Colloportus. Silencio. Macero sonitus. Tego. Texi. Tectum," Draco fired off one after another at the door, sealing, silencing, and warding it. Both Harry and Granger looked at him with similar looks of curiosity.

"Years of hiding where my father couldn't punish me, if only for hiding from punishment in the first place," he explained simply. Even Granger looked horrified at this, picturing the punishments a Death Eater in You-Know-Who's inner circle could carry out without regret. He silently nodded, agreeing with whatever assumptions they had, for they were probably correct. Harry reached out as it to comfort him but stopped with a look at Granger.

Snapping back into her bossy self, she assumed a hand-on-hips stance and demanded, "Now tell me what in the world is going on! You've been here less than twenty-four hours, and I seem to remember you two were no where near that intimate last year. You hated each other!"

"You know I've been wondering if that was all a façade," Draco said musing. "I mean we felt the emotions sure, but I wonder if it was just our magic hiding our emotions until we were old enough to deal with them..." Harry nodded his agreement. "I didn't really hate-hate you though. Not really. I was always trying to warn you ahead of time of danger, but I couldn't make it seem like I was, being a Death Eater's son and all. My father would have killed me. I always made myself do something especially horrible later though. I never did understand why I felt I had to alert you somehow of something coming up..." He trailed off, lost in his own thoughts.

"Your magic made you think you hated each other?" Hermione exclaimed incredulously. "You two have been at each other's throats for years! You couldn't stop sniping at each other!"

"Well," Draco started off, dragging out the word, "I rarely insulted Harry, well at least last year. I couldn't bring myself to do it for all I felt like I hated him. It was mostly you or Weasley who I insulted." He looked away, a sudden and unexpected guilt at the remembrance of the words he had hurled so carelessly and often before at the girl before him. His father had proved to him quite thoroughly that purebloods could be dirty and heartless earlier this summer, and this girl had yet to be truly unkind to him.

"So...you felt like you needed a way to show your hate, and you chose us as an outlet instead of Harry," she said as-a-matter-of-factly, as if it wasn't her that had been used.

"Well not really, because I hate the... er, Weasley already and I had problems with Muggle-borns, you see..." he said, stressing the past tense on the last bit.

"Had?" she asked, recognizing his bait.

"Yes," he said brightly, glad that she had pursued the issue. He felt like he had to get this off his chest, the unnatural guilt was starting to eat away at his insides. "You see about five seconds ago I had this epiphany about how I've done nothing but insult you since first year even though you hadn't done anything bad and I remembered my father who... wasn't a very good person this summer. I came to the conclusion that since he proved to me that even purebloods can be dirty, nasty, backstabbing bastards who don't give a damn about anything or anyone but their own effing gain and are-" he broke off realizing that he had gotten carried away and just stopped himself from clenching his fists. Strike one for Draco! His nails had extended and his back was twitching, wanting to spread his wings in frustration. Harry noticed and before Draco could go on, he interrupted.

"Draco, take off your shirt and let it go. I'll do the same, so she can... see without a lot of explaining what we are," he said, reaching for the hem of his shirt. Draco pulled off his own and let it drop to the floor. He relaxed his muscles and flexed the bit of his magic that triggered his transformation. Harry took longer, and his face was screwed up in a look of almost painful concentration but then he stood there, fully veela. Draco pumped his wings, getting the hand of them, and watched Harry do the same as Granger looked on, hazy-eyed and open-mouthed. Harry had accidently turned on his powers of attraction while trying to change. Draco used Harry's preoccupation to his advantage and with one wingtip tickled Harry's side. Harry laughed and leaped of the way while Granger shook her head, regaining her senses. His eyes widened as his wings held him aloft, reflexively flapping to keep him in the air.

Draco and Granger were buffeted by the wind and Draco laughed out, "Harry, not indoors!"

Harry drifted back down to the floor, elated. Hermione looked smugly on at Harry and then at Draco.

"If you didn't think I could tell you were veela, then you're in for a shock: I did. Look closely at me, and tell me what you see," she spread her arms as if she were offering herself.

Draco squinted at her, wondering what she wanted them to see, and then reeled backwards as his brain was pummeled with her magical signature. She laughed at his reaction, and at Harry's who was coughing desperately.

"Mione! You're not... not human!" he protested.