Hermione awoke on the morning of September second feeling irritated and with a pounding headache. Malfoy, who had inexplicable become head boy and consequently her roommate, had decided to throw a " welcome back to Hogwarts/ glad you didn't kick the bucket last year" party in their shared common room that seemed to include all of the Slytherin upperclassmen and enough alcohol to fill the black lake. She walked down the stairs and into their bathroom to find Malloy leaning close the mirror looking panicked and muttering "Oh shit! Not good! Really not good at all!"

"What's a matter Malfoy?" she asked scathingly "did the ferret not get his precious beauty sleep?"

"Shut Up!" he yelled turning to face her.

Looking at him she blanched and blacked out onto the cold stone floor.

Recovering quickly she sat up clutching her now even more throbbing head and stared up at him.

"What happened?" she asked quickly scrabbling to her feet staring at his eyes. Instead of their normal, silvery grey they were a shining, onyx black.

"It's happening." He said more to himself than to her, "Granger listen, I'm going to tell you something but you have to swear that you will not tell a single living soul!" His intense manner coupled with his frightening new eyes scared her but she nodded slowly.

"I promise"

"I've started to transform into a veela." He gave her a few minutes to let it sink in, "My great grandfather, Abraxus Malfoy was a veela and veela blood always asserts itself with the person it is present in reaches adulthood. My blood has started changing and I will become a fully fledged veela within a month."

" But what about the whole scary wings and fire and stuff? I can hardly see you walking around looking like a bloody harpy all the time and not being noticed!"

"I'll only transform when I'm angry, like when someone is threatening my mate. Yeah I've got a mate. " Just stood there as she stared at him, transfixed. "Veelas mate for life and if I don't find my mate and have her agree to be mine, I will die on my eighteenth birthday. " He looked at her fear etched into his normally emotionless face. "I'm not ready to die! Hermione, look at me! I'm not ready." His voice crack and there were silvery tears glistening in his eyes. She had never seen him look so helpless. "That's why I panicked, it reminded my how little time I have left to find her. Veela have one mate and one mate only and if I don't find her, I'm through. She's the only one who can save me!" He slid down the bathroom wall and landed in a shaking heap at her feet.

Hermione walked toward him tentatively and placed a shaking hand on his shoulder, " It's alright, you'll find her. You won't die. Not like this."