The Highjacking of Hermione Granger: A different sort of Veela Story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor any of his universe. The Veela idea comes from Frizzy's Magnetic Attraction, which of course is the Mother of all Veela Fics. A classic, thank you Frizzy! Long may she Reign. :)
I have been INTO the Veela thing the last week or so and hadn't seen a Draco/Hermione one.....if anyone has read one I would love to see it! :)
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Chapter One: One Step Forward and Two Steps Back
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In his room in the west tower of Hogwarts School of Wizardry, Arithmancy Professor Draco Malfoy was lying on his bed. His eyes were closed and the moonlight was shining off his luminescent skin, giving him an otherworldly glory.
To a casual observer it would have appeared that he was merely sleeping, so even was his breathing, but no indeed Draco Malfoy was anything but contented. His body might be lying quiescent on the bed but his mind was sending out tendrils of feeling searching the world over for the one thing he wanted, nay needed!
Draco Malfoy had finally come into his Veela Inheritance. It was somewhat of a shock, even perhaps an embarrassment in certain circles, that at the age of 27 he was finally hitting his majority, well in Veela terms. The inheritance usually manifested itself at a far younger age.
Draco's mother Narcissa had thought long ago that perhaps the amount of the "blood" in him wouldn't be enough to foster the change. But even though, it hadn't manifested itself in her, a cousin of her same generation had gone quite wild and sadly lost his life when he had had the misguided belief that his true mate was a 300 year old whomping willow tree. But none of those things really mattered right now to Draco, if they ever had, to begin with. He was in the first throes of Veela Enchantment and it was all he could do to teach the idiot children in his classes, let alone worry about family skeletons.
He cast his feelings out like a fisherman's lines, checking the thousands of "spots" that felt like his mate. He would spin his mind out toward those places then slowly drag back through the bulk of human souls looking for the one that would trigger, in him, the response of completion! His body had started with recognition on more than one occasion, but the person found was not right in some way and he would send his mind searching again and again. So far he had found himself casting about into most corners of the world, but always something wouldn't be right.
Every night for three months now he had lain in this same position searching until exhaustion had forced him to sleep. And for three months now he had awoken more bad tempered than the day before. The students were now more frightened of (albeit attracted to) Professor Malfoy than they were of Professor Snape, a thing, that in his more lucid moments Draco relished. If he couldn't be happy then why should the sniveling little brats?
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Half way around the world standing at a podium, in an huge auditorium, in front of hundreds of the best minds in the Wizarding world was Hermione Granger, former schoolmate and childhood antagonist of the aforementioned Professor Malfoy.
The hush in the huge auditorium was complete. Not only could one have heard a pin drop in this silence, but also have heard the very naughty words pins invariably utter when finding themselves thrown onto hard wood floors.
All eyes were on Hermione, and it was clear she was very much in her element. Her brown eyes shone with excitement and her frizzled hair stood from her head in tufts as if she had stuck her finger in a very large electrical socket, (not that wizards used sockets mind you) but it wasn't her indisputably 'good looks' that made the room at large hang onto her every word, it was the words themselves...
"And so we can see Ladies and Gentleman that through this clear pattern of events, coincidental muggle and wizard history is anything BUT coincidental!" She ended her speech with triumph. The group gave way to spontaneous applause, rising to their feet as one. Hermione stood and acknowledged their praise of her for a few minutes before she was bustled from the stage and pushed down a long hall toward a smaller room. Inside the room stood her agent Theodosia Gurgling.
"YOU were wonderful! Dahling, the best I have ever heard you! Fantastic." She said as she embraced Hermione and gave her the fake 'kiss, kiss on each cheek' routine. Hermione was familiar enough with the whole thing that she was able to laugh and settle herself comfortably at a table that was in the middle of the room. In minutes the room would be filled with Wizards who would want to know all about her theories and possibly have her sign their copy of her new book....and speaking of books, stacked on the table, were dozens of copies of "Proffessor Hermione Granger's Theory of Relatives and Relativity as it Relates to Wizard and Muggle Relations" On the back of each book the picture of her, was waving and smiling in a somewhat shy but smug fashion. Hermione patted her hair absent mindedly and nodded to Theodosia. This was her least favorite part of the tour, and her agent's favorite. Hermione loved standing before her wizarding peers imparting her knowledge to them, but she hated the meet and great sessions that Theodosia insisted were paramount for her becoming a really famous Wizard, up to and "hopefully surmounting even the great Professor Lockheart!" Theodosia's words not hers, after all Hermione knew the truth about Lockheart!
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With a sigh, Draco cast out again, following that small niggling that he always got in his mind whenever he had found any of his "almost" mates. He stretched forth and found himself speeding along a strange conduit, the speed at which his mind was traveling wasn't something that had ever happened before. A light started behind his closed eyelids and his heart started beating so quickly that it could be seen visibly pounding against the pulse in his neck. His Veela instincts touched the mind of the other and Draco instinctually called out at the pain pleasure of the sensation. Then he was hurtling back toward his body elated, he had found her! And she would be coming home, to Hogwarts, to him. A smile shaped his lips and he turned his head against his pillow and slept as he hadn't in months.
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Hermione smiled and began making small comments and signing books, but her mind was suddenly drawn away to Hogworts and her youth, and her best friends Ron and Harry. A feeling flowed through her, and the sharp pang of homesickness filled her stomach. The rest of the evening passed in a blur. For the first time in over a year her mind wasn't completely filled with Muggle and Wizard relations.
Two days later found Hermione Granger in a private apartment aboard the famous Hogworts Express, an invitation from Professor Dumbledore safely tucked away in her bags, a very cranky Crookshanks grumbling inside his magical cat carrying case and a furious Theodosia Grumbling on the station platform. Hermione leaned back in her seat, and sighed. She was finally going back home to Hogworts!
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Draco was stalking around Headmaster Dumbledore's office with a large smile playing across his usually sneering mouth. He had smiled so much the last week that the students had found themselves vacillating between abject fear and wanting to pounce upon their Professor.
"Explain this Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore waved a piece of parchment in front of his face. Draco looked questioningly at Dumbledore.
"Yes Draco of course I issued her an invitation." Draco let out the breath that he had been holding and reached out to take the parchment from Dumbledore. As he had thought, it was a letter from Hermione talking about how she missed Hogwarts. Draco touched it and a frisson of sensation passed up his forearm. He raised the letter to his face and breathed deeply, opening his mouth slightly, like a cat so that the scent could roll over the receptors on the roof of his mouth. His sigh filled the room.
"You cannot kidnap your mate Draco, no matter how much you want to be with her." Dumbledore was looking at him with none of the usual twinkle in his eyes.
"Pish-tosh, kidnap? I haven't done any such thing, I am here and she is..." he trailed off, because his next words could have been a BIT damning. He didn't dare say that Hermione was on her way here because he had used his Veela allure to stir in her a desire to come to Hogwarts...but even that couldn't be considered kidnapping, per se. Could it?
"OK then what is this all about?" Dumbledore passed over a copy of The Daily Prophet, there on the front page was the news that Professor Hermione Granger had cancelled the remainder of her world book signing tour due to "personal reasons." In the picture stood a determined looking Hermione. Draco only slightly noticed the scowling woman at her side and the fact that they were quite forcibly arguing with each other. Hermione hadn't changed much since school, she was taller of course but she remained much the same as Draco remembered her. Hair frizzed out, bright eyes burning with intelligence, rather prudish mode of dress, not much figure to speak of.....MERLIN'S BEARD but she was the loveliest thing he had ever seen. A wave of jealously gripped his stomach, she must drive the men wild. He crushed the newspaper in his grip and whirled toward the headmaster.
"I am meeting her train!" He growled.
"Sit down Professor Malfoy." The old wizard's tone was quite stern, shaking Draco out of his irrational behavior.
Draco sat and looked at his hands, which were clenched into fists on his knees.
"So you haven't kidnapped her? Fair enough, but you have meddled in her career, do you think she will be happy with that Draco? You know to Hermione Granger work and study are paramount. My boy, you need to THINK." Dumbledore was back to his usual eye twinkling self, and Draco knew quite well that the amusement was aimed in his direction.
Draco felt the bottom drop out of his stomach and put his head in his hands. He had done the one thing certain to alienate his mate. He had Hijacked Hermione Granger!
"Headmaster...." he trailed off rather pathetically.
"Well Draco she is on her way, there is little you can do. How long after she arrives do you think it will be before she figures out your secret. The school is well aware that you have finally reached your Veela Inheritance. Won't it appear odd that every child over 14 is having Anti-Charms potion administered to them on a daily basis? Hermione is a smart witch my friend, I THINK she will notice." His smile was unmistakable now.
Draco wasn't sure what his options were. There was every chance that when she found out she would leave and never come back. If only he had spent a little thought on things he would have asked for a leave from school and gone to her and courted her. But he had been so overcome with finding her that he hadn't thought of anything but being near her. He had always been a selfish man and now that selfishness could be his downfall.
"I will allow you to pick her up from the train station, your only hope might be to tell her before she finds out, and hope that she will give you a chance."
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Draco had been pacing along the platform for what seemed hours. His stomach so knotted that he could scarcely breathe. His robes swirled around his ankles and his hair was ruffled by the continuous running of his hands through it.
All of a sudden the train whistle could be heard down the track, and it took everything he had not to bolt and run back to Hogwarts and hide in his tower. The old familiar engine came into view the steam rising from the stack making round gray puffs in the sky.
The train's brakes clamped onto the metal track and the train squealed to a slow stop. There was one more puff of steam from the engine and the train doors began to open. The stop wasn't a busy one, just servicing
Hogwarts and Hogsmeade area.
A group of four older Witches let themselves off the train and looked in Draco's direction. He tampered down his Veela Attractions as best he could, he didn't need any unwanted attention today. They moved on past, with bright smiles.
A mother and small boy exited from a car a bit down the track, and walked off. Draco scanned the rest of the crowd but no Hermione. Time seemed to stand still, why was it taking so long, if she didn't appear soon he would be running from car to car yelling her name. He needed to get a grip on himself!
Finally three cars down a tall gangly Wizard wearing bright yellow robes stepped from the train and reached back to help hand Hermione down. She had a flush to her cheeks that told him the tall wizard had been flattering her in some way. Draco didn't like it, not at all, not even a little bit. In fact he could feel his fingers tightening around his wand and had it partially pulled from his robe's pocket when Hermione noticed him standing there.
The happy flush on her face disappeared as if a hand had wiped it away. The wizard with her looked over his shoulder to see what had caused the change in her expression. Whatever he saw on Draco's face made him make a hasty excuse and leave Hermione on the platform.
"What are you doing here Malfoy?" The way she said his name made his heart flip flop in despair.
"Obviously to meet your train Granger!" He returned and then wanted to punch himself in the stomach, making snide remarks to a woman wasn't the way to her heart. (which makes it hard to explain the way the women seemed to swoon over Snape...hmmm...Oh well no time to think about that right now)
"Oh." Was her only response.
"Do you only have the one bag?" Draco pointed to her small case by her feet, it looked as though she wouldn't be staying long. How unfortunate for him.
"Yes, just this one case and of course Crookshanks." She indicated the cat carrying case in her hand, where the big red cat was glaring out at him. Yes, well the feeling was mutual, Draco hated cats!
"The carriage is over there, I will get this." Draco leaned down and lifted her bag and off they went to find the carriage.
Draco followed Hermione for a moment trying to school his expression. Being this near her had brought a goofy smile unbidden to his lips, and he was having a very hard time squashing it.
As they neared the carriage Draco moved forward to open the door for Hermione and attach her case to the back.
Once inside Draco couldn't find a way to start a conversation, they both sat quietly for a moment. The rumble of the wheels making the carriage sway a tiny bit. Hermione's leg brushed against his, and his Veela side was soaring at the contact, it was a heady experience being this near his mate. He was still trying to tamper his own allurements so as not to make her feel later as though he had taken advantage of her, his original "sending" for her would already be mistake enough! He didn't relish admitting that, let alone if he unleashed his Veela charms on her.
Being this close was very hard and with each sway of the carriage and unconscious touch of Hermione a jolt went through him. His fingers folded themselves into fists, the nails digging into his palms, hoping the pain would be enough to keep him from leaning over her...touch her...place his lips to the pulse point on her neck...he shuddered at the direction his thoughts were taking.
The scent of her inflamed his senses, he knew the grin was back. He wanted to gather her into his arms and tangle his fingers in that hair, that frizzy sweet smelling......
"BLOODY HELL Malfoy, did you just sniff me!"
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TBC?
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Well there you are folks the first installment.