Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter's world. That is the property of JKR, a most talented woman. So, don't sue me.
Plot: Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger are normal talented wizards who, on their 16th birthdays, learn otherwise. They are now burdened with family secrets that no one can ever know. They return to Hogwarts and struggle to get their lives back on track. However, both vows to find out one another's secret when they notice something different about each other.
The Moon's Call
Chapter Seventeen
Voldemort was dead.
Rumor grew of a prophecy fulfilled grew.
Harry Potter was a hero.
The war was over and the world was safe again.
There were parades and celebrations.
But none of that mattered to a boy and a girl bound together by fate and grief. While they put smiles on their faces, they grieved inside. They had lost someone that dreadful night. They were the makings of a pack, but that dream was over now. It would just be the two of them.
Fate cast their lot as werewolves, and not just any werewolves. They were not ruled by the Moon. They could Change at anytime they wanted. Other werewolves, the ones who were bitten, cowered before them. Power flowed in their veins.
Whether or not they knew it, the power was there. It enhanced their attractiveness, their intelligence, their strength…
As powerful as they are, the boy and girl were also just that: a boy and a girl. They still had their education to finish. Knowledge is power and they were determined to have it.
Hogwarts had returned to its normal routine: housing and teaching young witches and wizards. It was comforting that normalcy.
Mia Granger, as she now went by, and Blaise Zabini never let on that they were different from their peers. They played the part of regular students well. Despite their different Houses, they forged a deep friendship to protect the nature of their true relationship. Another needed benefit was so that they would always have someone to talk to and retreat to when the bright, cheery world became too much.
Blaise was right. No matter what happened, Draco would always be a ghost between them. He hid his feelings for Mia, buried them deep within his soul, never to be bared to the light of the Moon. He couldn't hide it forever, but for now, what choice did he have?
Mia was grateful for Blaise's strong presence, but felt there was something missing in him. It took her a while to realize it was because of Draco. Draco was his friend long before she even knew about them. How did one get over that? She thought about Draco constantly. She never discovered how she was able to heal his wounds with her tears. By all rights, he should have died from the silver's poison, but he didn't.
They finished their sixth year quietly. They kept in touch by owl and arranged visits in Diagon Alley when they could. Blaise even made it possible for Mia to get to the wizarding would. He brushed aside her protests with a calm shake of the head and said not to worry about the money. It didn't matter.
During the school term, they ran together constantly. They even hunted together, taking down a deer sometimes. When school let out, however, they weren't able to do the same thing. It was hard that summer. They both felt the loneliness of their place in the world and in their families. They longed for the comfort of each other.
They never gave up hope that Draco Malfoy was alive. They could not move on until they found out what happened to him.
Elsewhere...
He opened his eyes weakly and coughed.
The light was too bright. He couldn't see anything, but his ears picked up sound. He heard measured pounding and then heavy footsteps. It was distant and muffled, but he heard it.
He heard something else. It was just noise to him. It started softly at first, but grew louder as it went on. Vaguely, he knew someone was talking to him.
Merlin, he hurt all over. It was a raw ache that made him want to curl in on himself and pray it would stop. It wasn't like the pain of before, that hot fire. He wished for that pain.
Something touched him. Something stroked his head, moving down his neck and shoulders to his side. He growled in discomfort. Where it had touched him, in its wake pins and needles followed.
Slowly, the talking became clearer. It was like nosing the forest all at once and then sifting through numerous smells to find just that one you were looking for.
"Quiet, son," a calm measured voice said. The deep roughness of it, he felt deep in his bones. For a moment, he felt safe. "You're hurt, but you'll be fine."
Something touched him again. The feeling of it grated on him, awakening his anger.
He snapped at the thing touching him.
"Easy. You almost took my hand off."
But he wouldn't be calmed. He couldn't see anything but white. He stood shakily, trembling from the stain on his muscles. He growled low in his throat as much from the pain as from the need to defend himself.
"Calm down now. You'll hurt yourself."
He wouldn't be stopped. He didn't know where he was or why he couldn't see. He couldn't remember who he was.
He backed up from he sensed the other. He hit something behind him. He backed up along it. There were spaces between solid. He smelled something metal. He bucked up and hit a low ceiling.
Definitely metal.
"I mean it. Calm down." The voice was harsh.
He felt his way along the sides and came up against a corner. He turned with it and came against another corner. He hit two more corners. It dawned on him slowly.
He was in a cage.
Knowing he was boxed in, the air seemed to disappear. He threw back his head and howled. He threw himself against the bars.
What was happening? How did he get in a cage?
He howled again.
"STUPEFY!"
He was thrown back against the bars by a cold hit, striking his head hard. He groaned and moved, shaking his head. He slowly got to his feet, snarling.
The voice chuckled. "Yes, that's it. Shake it off."
He was hit repeatedly. He lost count of the many times, but he always got back up.
"You're growing strong. Soon, you'll be unstoppable, Draco."
Draco. Yes, that was very familiar to him. An image of a girl came to the forefront of his mind. She was pretty with brown chestnut hair and an oval face.
She disappeared when he was hit with another spell.
Ah, yes.
Power was theirs.
It was their birthright. What they did with it was their choice and there could be no turning away from the path.
They would all meet again.
To Be Continued…