Enchanted

Chapter 1

Hermione rummaged through her large tote bag in search of her elusive sunglasses. The sun had been beating down on her all day as she spent some quality time at the beach with her parents during one of the last days of the summer. Soon she would be boarding the Hogwarts Express for her final year at the magic school.

"Do you need help dear?"

"No thanks, mum. They're stuck at the bottom. I'll find them." Her mother turned back to the book she had open on her lap. When the 17-year old was finally successful, she frowned at the horribly scratched state she recovered them in.

"I think I'll need a new pair though."

"I keep telling you to store them in a case." Hermione didn't respond, deciding to just magically repair them when they got home. As she lay back to take in some Vitamin D, a breeze blew by, pushing her unruly hair into her face.

"Mum?" She called out when she noticed something peculiar about a particular lock. "Does my hair look strange to you?" Hermione removed her glasses to get a better look. Mrs. Granger shifted closer to her daughter to see what the fuss was about.

"Oh, it looks like you've got some premature grey!" Her mother jokingly told her. Hermione frowned at the silvery hair before her. Was it normal for a 17-year old to have such a large portion of hair change? Quickly, she grabbed several other chunks of hair to check if it had spread, but found no other oddities. Perhaps she would just have to start coloring her hair at a younger age than other women. The thought frustrated her slightly, but not much was to be done about it. Looking at the lock again, she decided the color didn't look so bad anyway. After all, the hair was more silver than grey and it almost sparkled in the bright sunlight. She might just leave it the way it was.

As the Gryffindor turned back to the book she had been reading before her sunglasses hunt, she spotted her mother from the corner of her eye.

"What?"

"Nothing." Her mother told her, seemingly finding renewed interest in her own book.

The rest of the day went on without any other strangeness happening, unless one counts Mr. Granger finding a shark tooth by the shoreline. Of course he and Mrs. Granger become quite animated upon the discovery, eager to bring it to their office and show their clients.

The following morning, Hermione woke and began her day much like any other. As she wandered into the bathroom to freshen up, she froze in front of her large mirror. Surely she was dreaming. She rubbed her eyes, hoping she was still just half-asleep and simply seeing things. But no, it would appear that nearly half her hair had turned from brown to the same silvery shade she had noticed the previous day. What on Earth?

She had never found a need to research the topic, but Hermione decided she would spend her entire day at the library to figure out if such drastic biological changes were at all normal. Perhaps her parents would know something about it and be able to ease her mind before she made the trip.

"Mum?" She asked once she reached the kitchen later that morning.

"Yes dear?" Mrs. Granger was standing at the stove, preparing a pot for tea.

"I don't suppose you would know anything about this would you?" Hermione mentioned to her hair as her mother turned around to face her.

"Oh, what on Earth's happened to you head sweetie? Did you magic it a different color?" The thought hadn't occurred to her, but perhaps she accidentally did this to herself. Her wand had been in her bag all day yesterday; maybe she mishandled it. If that was the case, she realized she should be grateful it just changed her hair color and didn't cause her to break out in boils.

"Right, that must be it! Of course!" Hermione laughed and joined her mother at the stove, relieved that she had figured out the cause to her hair problem. It didn't seem to be endangering her at the moment, so she decided she would have some breakfast before fetching her wand to correct the issue.

She had a rather difficult time when the time came however. A simple 'finite' was ineffective, so the bookworm had to get creative with alternative spells she could think of. She finally did get the changed strands back to a muddy brown color. It didn't look quite right, but she wasn't about to complain anymore. It had taken her several hours and she was getting tired.

"DEAR MERLIN!" Mr. and Mrs. Granger heard from the kitchen the next morning. Hermione had woken up to find that the hair coloring spell she used to correct the silver change had worn off and her entire head had adopted the new color. This could NOT be normal. It certainly didn't seem like her wand was the problem either. Hermione hoped it wasn't a bout of accidental magic. If that was the case she hadn't a clue how to reverse it, but unfortunately, it seemed the most likely scenario. She would simply have to wait until she got back to school to receive assistance from a better trained witch. Professor McGonagall would surely know what to do.

When she reached the kitchen, her parents appeared to have little to say on the subject. Hermione realized that they had grown accustomed to strange things happening in their home and often attributed them to magic. It would seem this was no different. They quietly accepted that her hair would remain its new color until their daughter could attain additional help. Fortunately, Hermione would be boarding the train to school in less than a week.

By the time Hermione found herself seated in the compartment with her two best friends, she had found that her hair had also become much more manageable, settling into soft curls, rather than the unruly mess it had previously been. Not only that, but her skin seemed to have gotten lighter, despite all the time she had spent in the sun over the summer.

"Erm, Mione?" Ron blushed and began awkwardly once he and Harry found her compartment and joined her.

"Yes, I know," The previously brunette girl responded, addressing the elephant in the room. "I couldn't figure out how to fix it. I'm hoping McGonagall can help later." The redhead visibly relaxed at her confession.

"Get in a fight with your wand?" Harry chimed in, both boys chuckled.

"I don't think so," she smirked at them. "It was likely some bit of accidental magic. I noticed at the beach about a week ago. It's only gotten worse." Perhaps 'worse' was the wrong word. Hermione found that she actually quite liked her new look. If the former Gryffindor Head of House couldn't fix it, she would probably keep it the way it was.

About half way through the trip, Ron drew the compartment curtain so he could take a nap against the window without looking like a buffoon to passing students. Hermione had to agree that he looked ridiculous with his cheek pressed against the cloth covered window and drool beginning to drip out of the corner of his mouth.

As she sat across from Harry and stared at Ron, trying not to laugh, Hermione caught a whiff of something delectable.

"Harry, are you wearing a new cologne?" She asked as she breathed in deeply.

"Uh, I don't wear cologne Mione." Hermione ignored him, eager to take in more of the scent that was quickly dissipating. She closed her eyes and settled back against the compartment seat. A pleasant shiver ran through her and a small smile formed on her lips. When she opened her eyes, Harry was staring at her, open mouthed.

"What's wrong, Harry?"

"N-nothing!" His face flushed furiously. "I-uh-you." He cleared his throat. "Would you like me to wear cologne?" Hermione quirked an eyebrow at her best friend.

"Well, if it smells as wonderful as whatever that just was, then I think every man should wear it." Hermione closed her eyes again, feeling more relaxed than she was just a few minutes ago.

She must have fallen asleep soon after, because before she knew it, the Hogwarts Express was coming to a stop and Harry was lightly nudging her awake. She gathered her things and joined the rest of the Golden Trio to the castle.

Hermione gained quite a few stares on their way. Most of the girls she passed gave her mixed looks, either of disgust, or something else Hermione couldn't identify. The boys just sort of stared at her. Then again, she could've just been overanalyzing. She was walking next to Harry Potter anyway. They were probably all looking at him. She certainly wasn't anything special, except for Head Girl of course. Remembering her new title, she fished her Head Girl badge out of her robe pocket and proudly pinned it so it would be visible.

When she entered the Great Hall, the same scent that took over Hermione's senses on the train was present again.

"Do you two smell that?" She closed her eyes again, lightly holding Harry's arm to guide her to the Gryffindor table.

"Uh, no? Is it bad?" Ron asked from the other side of the Boy Who Lived.

"Really? No, it's not bad at all. It's quite wonderful." She opened her eyes again when they reached the table and looked around for a source for the delicious aroma. Finding none, she turned back to her friends as the First years began to file into the Hall.

The scent remained as the eleven year old were sorted and throughout the entire meal. In fact, Hermione sensed it until the time came for all the students to retire to their dorms. At that point, the Head Girl had grown almost dizzy with the smell of freshly cut grass, new parchment, and mint that she had to lean on Harry just to stand from the table.

Once she left the hall and met with the Head Boy, Anthony Goldstein, the scent cleared and she could begin to think clearly once more. After bidding goodnight to her two best friends, the rest of the day went by uneventfully. She got acquainted with her new Head Girl dorm and had a pleasant chat with the Head Boy.

The next morning, however, as Hermione sat in the Great Hall for breakfast alongside Harry and Ron, that irresistible scent hit her once more. It was a good thing she had already been sitting down, or else her knees might have just given out from beneath her. Once again, she searched the room for the source of the scent, but found nothing. The hall was nearly full, as everyone wanted to have a large breakfast for the first day of classes.

"At least we don't have many classes with the Slytherins this year," Ron mentioned through a mouthful of porridge. Hermione nodded her head as she attempted to stomach a forkful of eggs. Eating was proving to be a challenge with the butterflies in her stomach and the pleasurable shivers travelling down her spine. Somehow, though, she made it through breakfast and to Arithmancy, which they had with the Hufflepuffs. Hermione was pleased that her sensations had ceased shortly after leaving the Great Hall. Perhaps there was something in there causing this strange reaction in her.

The next two weeks progressed in much the same way. Hermione even got to the point where she avoided the Great Hall at all costs, opting to sneak into the kitchens for her meals. She would have loved to continue eating with her friends, but if that blasted scent continued to pervade her senses, she'd starve.

On September 19th, Hermione woke to her parents' owl tapping at her window. Smiling at the birthday card, she let the bird inside and offered it a treat.

Dearest,

There is something the Headmistress and we need to discuss with you today. It's very important. We've made an appointment for 8:30am. Please don't be late.

Happy Birthday.

Much Love,

Mum and Dad

Hermione frowned at the letter. She had never considered herself a spoiled child, but she had expected a little more from a birthday card than cryptic information about a meeting with McGonagall. Brushing aside her disappointment, the Head Girl changed from her pajamas, before completing her usual morning tasks and heading down to the kitchens for some breakfast. Fortunately she didn't encounter anyone on way. Her fellow students had gotten quite strange since the start of term and Hermione wasn't sure what about her warranted stares. Maybe it was the hair. She had been putting off asking for McGonagall's help but since she would be in her office shortly, she might as well ask then.

The House elves were more than happy to fill her plate with a little bit of everything they prepared for the rest of the school. She smiled, thanked them and ate in relative peace at one of the small tables along the perimeter of the expansive room.

Before long though, it was time to head to the Headmistresses office. Hermione wondered how her parents had managed to get to Hogwarts, but supposed if they had owled for an appointment, someone may have gone to fetch them. As expected, she saw her parents sitting across from Headmistress McGonagall's desk when she arrived.

"Hi mum, dad. What's this all about?" She greeted as she hugged them warmly.

"We actually have something we need to discuss with you," Mrs. Granger told her.

"Uh, alright. I'm listening." For all the supposed preparation they made, Mr. and Mrs. Granger seemed at a loss where to begin with whatever it was they needed to tell their daughter.

"First of all, we need you to know that we love you. We'll love you forever. You're our baby girl." Hermione stiffened at her words.

"Guys, what is it? You're scaring me."

"Sweetie, you're…adopted," Mr. Granger sighed. Whatever Hermione had expected to hear, it certainly wasn't that.

"Excuse me?"

"You see, in some magical circles, when the biological parents are deemed unfit to raise offspring, the child is granted to an adoptive couple," Professor McGonagall explained slowly. Hermione's eyes darted back and forth from her favorite professor to the people she had always known to be her parents.

"Yes, and in your case, we stepped forward and took you in."

"You stepped forward?" Hermione's face was growing hot in anger. "As if no one else wanted me? What is this? What's going on? Did you know I was a witch?"

"Well, that's the reason we've brought you here today, dear. It's your birthday."

"Yes, mum. I'm very aware it's my birthday today. This is not the way I imagined celebrating it."

"Miss Granger, please remain clam. Your parents have come to share a very important aspect of your adoption."

"What? What is it? Spit it out already!" Hermione knew, even as she fumed, that she was probably acting out more than she should be. She didn't know what was coming over her, despite being at total liberty to be angry with her parents.

"You were granted to us by The Ministry of Magic shortly after your Veela mother surrendered you." Hermione's rage subsided momentarily at her father's words.

"My…what?"

"You're a Veela, dearest," her mother placed a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder. "Bother your biological parents were Veela. We're only telling you this now, because it's your 18th birthday today and you've come into your inheritance."

Mrs. Granger had more to say, but Hermione heard none of it. Instead, she rushed out the door, sure she was about to be sick. Her brain didn't process the halls she ran through in her race to escape to her dorm room.

And then it hit her.

That heavenly scent overtook her senses and she suddenly couldn't think straight. Before she knew it, she came to an abrupt stop in the Entrance Hall, where dozens of students were milling about, preparing for another day of classes. She barely noticed that all the boys present stopped to gawk at her, as she circled the room in search of the source of the aroma.

Her fingers tingled as she ran her hand through her hair, attempting to calm herself to no avail. Her skin felt electric and if she didn't know better, she would say it was glowing.

She paced as more students passed into the Entrance Hall. Her heart was racing as the scent grew stronger the closer she got to the Great Hall. She had almost found the source as a coil began to wind in her gut from the delectable shivers passing down her spine. She was so close.

There.

In the entranceway to the Great Hall, the source of the scent was stood. Hermione felt her instincts take over her and practically flew over to him.

She saw stars when their mouths met and she inhaled his intoxicating aroma, eliciting a euphoric moan. She ran her hands through his hair and she felt his hands run over her back. At some point she vaguely realized she had been pushed up against the stone wall of the corridor as he ravished her neck and grabbed her bum.

In what seemed like an eternity and yet no time at all, the pair were pulled apart by a couple of nearby Hogwarts professors and Hermione finally was able to figure out who the source of that delicious scent was.

Draco Malfoy.