Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long guys, don't give up on me yet. This chapters refers to molestation and rape of a minor, though it is not graphic. Please review!

Chapter Three

"Draco," a male voice crooned in a leering tone. Draco felt spidery long fingers drift across his exposed flesh. Goosebumps were left in those hands wake, they were cold, inhumanly cold."Draco," the voice called again and suddenly those hands that seemed so gentle, if not uncomfortable, became harsh as they gripped down on his skin in a bruising touch. "Submit to me Draco," he commanded and just like that Draco was pinned under a cold body, being held down and pain burned through his body, deep within him.

There was a roaring in Draco's ears and it took him a while to realize he was screaming, that he was crying, and thrashing about trying to escape. Magic tried to force it way out of the heavy bind that the Dark Lord had placed on him. It tunneled through his skin, burning to be released. Draco screamed again, mixed with the pain coming from the man above him and the pain from within as his magic tore at his insides.

"Malfoy!" This was a different voice now, someone else, but Draco couldn't concentrate on them now. He was to preoccupied trying to escape from the iron like grip of the creature above him who was holding him down as he forced himself on the young blonde teenager.

"Malfoy!" It was Potter's voice, Draco couldn't fathom why Potter would be in the Manor. Draco panicked, not wanting Potter to see this.

"Draco!" Harry's voice jarred Draco from the nightmare he has been entangled in. Draco bolted up, gasping for air. He was covered in a layer of sweat, shivering like it was snowing inside the room. It took him a while to realize where he was. At first he panicked, trying to bolt from the bed, thinking for a moment the figure in front of him, sitting next to him on the bed was the Dark Lord.

"It's me, it's Harry, or Potter. Malfoy, calm down," Harry spoke softly but with a determined edge to his voice as he took a hold of Draco's shaking shoulders.

That snapped Draco back to reality and the next thing he knew there was a loud bang and Potter was on the other side of the room groaning in pain as he had just been thrown into a wall.

"Fuck, Potter, I'm sorry," Draco got up, regret burning through him. Would Potter throw him out of the house, would Draco have to fend for himself against the Dark Lord now that he assaulted Potter?

"No, it's fine. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Harry said with a grimace as he got himself up from the wall. "Are you alright?" he asked Draco, rubbing the back of his head that had smacked into the wall extremely hard.

Of course Potter would ask if Draco was alright after Draco has just thrown him into a fucking wall. "Fine," Draco muttered suddenly feeling self conscious. He had never had a problem with nightmares before and certainly was never woken by his dorm mates.

"You were screaming," Potter stated stupidly, staring hard at Draco which must have been difficult since he didn't have his glasses on. They has fallen off when he hit the wall. Draco looked down at the ground to see the glasses lying shattered in a mangled heap as Potter had fallen on them.

Without a word the glasses flew into his outstretched hand and immediately repaired themselves, looking as good as new. He handed them wordlessly to Potter who was now staring at him in astonishment.

"Er, thanks," Harry mumbled awkwardly, shoving the glasses on his face.

Silver and green connected together and locked and the room was silent for what seemed forever. Harry broke the silence, clearing his throat as he averted his eyes. "Er, yeah, well...um g'night then," he announced as he moved back over to his bed.

"Night Potter," Draco muttered and rolled back over, facing away from Potter his mind still a whirling from his dream. God, he hoped he hadn't talked in his sleep and clued Potter in on what he was dreaming about.

That snake faced bastard had been the star of his dreams ever since his inheritance. Draco bit his lip hard, not wanting to go back to sleep. Quietly he sat up and looked over at Potter and the other boy seemed to have fallen back to sleep. Softly he slipped out of bed and then out of the room. He shut the door silently behind him and peered into the darkness of the house. It reminded him a lot of Malfoy Manor, except how dirty it was. Even one speck of dust in their Manor and his mother would have the house elves heads.

He padded down the hallway exploring the dark and grim house. He traveled downstairs when he came upon an open door that was spilling light out onto the hallway. Curiously he poked his head through and saw a magnificent library. Every wall was covered in large and glorious, but dusty, bookshelves full to the brim of books.

The sound of a throat clearing startled Draco out of his amazement of the beautiful book haven around him. He turned around sharply to see in the far corner a pair of plush arm chairs sat, one occupied by Hermione.

"Do you need something?" Granger asked, her eyes calculating as she observed Draco. Her voiced was neither vicious nor was it friendly. She was testing the waters, seeing what kind of person Draco would present before her now.

Draco stared at her for a moment. She was in her pajamas, they were pink with white bunnies hopping across them. Her hair was frizzled and sticking out everywhere and she was surrounded in a pile of books.

"Couldn't sleep, decided to look around a bit, unless I'm a prisoner," Draco announced haughtily entering further into the room to show he was not afraid of her.

Hermione gave him a sort of half smile, laced with mischief. "Trust me Draco, if you were a prisoner, you would know."

Draco was stunned speechless for a good moment whether it was at this humorous side to Granger that had startled him or the way she used his first name. Hermione seemed to notice this as she noticed everything else.

"Yes, I've decided now that we live together we might as well use our given names, not this silly surname business. You can call me Hermione, or you can stick to Mudblood if you want," she shot at him, all friendliness in her tone gone, replaced by a cool voice laced with hurt.

Draco had the audacity to feel shame and guilt. He really was quite the brat in his day in the names he had called people, especially Hermione. He had always been jealous of her ability to concentrate, even in Binn's class. Her tendency to outshine him in every single subject, even Potions.

"I'm sorry, for what it's worth," it took every ounce of Draco's will to force those words out. He had always been taught never to admit defeat, never to be seen as weaker, and never to apologize. Of course he also been taught that everyone and everything was beneath him, especially muggleborns. Now he knew better, all those rules his father jammed down his throat were some bigots opinions, not a way to lead life. See where those opinions got his father, bowing to a psychopath, living every day in fear.

"It's worth something," Hermione answered after a while, staring again at Draco with that calculating look that unnerved him so. After a while she broke her gaze away back to her tower or books.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked curiously, stepping further into the room, examining the closest bookshelf for familiar titles.

"Researching you," Hermione answered bluntly causing Draco to look up suddenly at the frizzy haired witch.

"What?"

"Veelas. I'm researching male veelas," she explained with an amused grin. This sparked Draco's curiosity as while he was being held captive by the Dark Lord he was never allowed to openly research male Veelas. He was told certain things, small facts and tidbits that helped him manage some of his power but he had always felt the Dark Lord was holding back, not wanting Draco to see his full potential in case he were to rebel.

"Did you know Merlin was a male Veela?" Hermione offered picking up a large dusty tome. "That's why he was so powerful."
"I didn't know that, actually, I don't know much about Veelas. I never had the chance to research it much," Draco told her with a yearning to pick her brain and found out what it really meant to be a male veela. He had heard of female veela of course. Frivolous creatures who preyed on weak willed men and lead them to their deaths or enslavement if they weren't careful.

Hermione titled her head to the seat next to her, offering it up to the blonde boy. Draco studied the girl for a moment and then hesitantly sat down. He had entertained the idea of refusing her help and looking up all the information on male Veelas alone but the library was huge and Draco had never been fond of research. So he sat down and stared at her expectantly. She gave a little half smirk and proceeded into a lecture.

"Well they seem to be descended from Sirens from Greek mythology though no one knows where they directly came from. Female veela are exceptionally beautiful and have the power to lure any man they want with just the sound of their voice. They're very seductive beings and though they make take many lovers in adolescence they have one true mate, as they call it. A soul mate that is the perfect match for them in all ways, physical, mental, and chemical. They're perfect partner, and once they find this person they will lay down their life for them," Hermione explained in a very matter of fact tone as she was reciting the passage she had just read without looking down at the book at all.

Draco had always wondered how Hermione had been able to provide spot on definitions of things in class that were directly from their text books. He had thought, as many others, that she locked herself in her room and read her books so many times that she memorized the passages by heart.

Now, it seems as though she had natural ability to glance over something and remember it verbatim. He had heard the muggles had a term for it, photographic memory or something like that.

"This is where their extremely powerful magic comes in. Their magic is a defense that they use to protect their mate. They have control over the four elements, fire, water, earth, and air. Female veelas usually have an affinity for using fire as it more temperamental than the other elements and female veelas can be quite rash and temperamental themselves," Hermione lectured with a scoff at the end. Clearly she didn't think much of female veelas.

"Male veelas are less frivolous then female veelas. Female veelas are content to spend their lives flaunting their beauty in front of males than using their powers for anything productive. Male veela have a larger store of power than female veelas though as they are more rare. Most veelas are known to have small amounts of healing power. Some veelas have even been known to have prophetic powers, there were at least three cases of female veelas who had predicted things and only one case of a male veela ever having prophetic powers," Hermione went on and Draco's mind swirled with all of this information. Mates. Soul mates. Element magic.

Merlin had been the last wizard known to have control over all the elements, it was a very difficult piece of magic that most didn't have the ability to control. Would Draco have a mate? Or would he be alone, searching endlessly for this soul mate he was supposed to have?

"Male veelas are quite a bit more feminine than normal males and usually take a male mate instead of a female mate," Hermione explained quickly, her cheeks growing pink as she touched on this delicate subject. Draco recoiled, most male veelas were...gay? He had never had a particular interest in girls, he had thought himself above such frivolous things as relationships and dating but he had certainly never been attracted to a boy before either! He felt himself color too.

"Most veelas are able to realize who there mate is quickly. Something in their body just seems to react to their mate, some sort of chemical reaction between the two. There have been cases though where it takes years and years to either find their mate or realize who your mate is. It has a lot to do with the maturity of the veela, if they're ready for such a commitment. A veela could know their mate their whole life but they won't know it until they're ready. When they do find their mate though, they're with them for life. There's never been a case of divorce or abandonment in veelas," Hermione finished off quietly.

"What happens if they do leave their mate," Draco asked quickly. He didn't like the sound of being tied to someone for all of his life. He much preferred his freedom.

"That's never happened before, though I assume the veela would die. There have been cases where the veela's mate had died and out of grief the veela dies shortly after. I don't think a veela can live without their mate," Hermione answered sounding unsure. "This is all based on speculation of course," she reassured Draco quickly as he looked quite sick. All color had drained from his face and he was gripping the chairs arm rests quite severely, nails biting into the wood.

Would Draco find his mate? And if he did what if his mate didn't want him? What if his mate could never accept the fact that Draco was some cast off death eater, Voldemort's little pawn, his play thing, and escaped pet? Could his mate ever love him if they knew Draco had been defiled by the Dark Lord?

Draco gripped the chair harder, closing his eyes against the wetness of the tears that threatened to break loose. He struggled to gain control not wanting to break down in front of Granger.

"Malfoy," he could hear Granger's voice but it sounded strangely far away. There was a roaring in Draco's ears and he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Draco!" Granger's voice broke through as she reached out and enclosed a small hand around his wrist and Draco's eyes snapped open. Everything seemed to happen at once, vaguely Draco recognized that his powers had become agitated while he had been breaking down and there was a small wind storm circling the room, fluttering the pages of open books. The small windstorm turned into a monsoon as soon as Granger made contact with his skin. His magic exploded and Draco watched in horror as Granger was thrown backwards out of her chair and across the room. She landed with a dull thud, her head hitting the ground with a sickening sound.

Red flashed before Draco's eyes as he started to really panic. He rushed over to Granger's side, kneeling cautiously searching for any sign that she was still alive. Draco's whole body seemed to climb down one step on the anxiety ladder when he saw she was still breathing.

"Fuck, Merlin, Granger I'm so sorry," Draco intoned lowly as he saw a large gash on her forehead had started to weep blood. Without any hesitation, any rational thought really, Draco laid both of his pale white hands on Granger's forehead and the next thing he knew heat spread throughout his body like flames were flickering insides of him. All that heat inside of him traveled to his finger tips and he watched, entranced, as they started to glow. The heat lasted a few more seconds before slowly ebbing away and when Draco pulled his hands away Granger's forehead was healed completely, not even a scratch and she was waking up.

"Granger, I'm so sorry, Merlin, I'm sorry," Draco gasped out, his body shaking from all that left over adrenaline that had built up. Granger would tell the wolf and Potter what he had done and they would have him kicked out, thrown to the Dark Lord. Draco's body quivered with fear at the thought of being captured by the Dark Lord again, the punishment he would be given for escaping would be severe. He could already see Voldemort's red serpentine eyes glaring down at him as his cold fingers traveled down Draco's body...

"Draco!" Hermione called his name louder but she did not reach out and touch him. He snapped out of his thoughts and shuddered in revulsion as he tried to banished the Dark Lord's eyes from his mind.

"I'm sorry," Draco whispered shaken, not daring to meet Granger's eyes.

"Draco, please calm down. It's alright, I startled you and you don't have control over your powers yet. Please Draco, calm down. Everything will be alright," Granger reassured him in a soft tone and Draco looked up at her not believing what he was hearing. Her eyes were full of compassion and concern. She reached out again tentatively but second guessed herself again and laid her hands down in her lap.

"Y-you're not gonna kick me out?" Draco questioned suspiciously, hating that his voiced still held a tremble. He hated feeling weak in front of others, even if it was just Granger.

"No Draco, it's okay I'm not even hurt. You healed me with your magic," Granger assured Draco with a tentative smile. "Look we're both tired, why don't we talk more about male veelas in the morning, yeah?" she suggested softly seeing that Draco was entirely convinced. Draco nodded tiredly pulling himself off the floor and then helping Granger up.

"Goodnight, Draco," Granger chirped with a friendly smile. She seemed to have completely forgiven him for all the horrible things he had said and done while they had been at school. Draco couldn't fathom why she would forgive him. Honestly, Gryffindors were the strangest people.

"Night Granger," Draco replied gruffly heading for the door, exhaustion seeping over him. He felt like all the energy he just had had been drained from his bed.
"Hermione," Granger said confusing Draco.

"What?"

"Call me Hermione. Like I said we're living together now, we need to stop with all this silly surname nonsense. You're not really that bad, maybe we could even be friends," she told him with a warm smile and something clenched in Draco's chest. He had never been offered such a warm invitation at friendship.

All his other friendships, if you could call them that, were based on what the other person could get out of Draco and what Draco could get out of them in return. Draco didn't have friends really, he had partners and allies. There was no one Draco could just come to talk or to spend time with. Goyle and Crabbe were just silent bodyguards, ordered by their father to stay close to Draco. Pansy was only interested in marrying into money.

"I would like that," Draco said cautiously after a while, the slight fear of rejection making him hold back. With that said he hurried from the room and slipped back into his and Potter's room. Potter was sound asleep, splayed out across his bed, mouth wide open, messy black hair contrasting with the white pillow.

Draco was about to climb into bed when he heard Potter make a sound of discomfort. Draco looked over and saw Potter squirm restlessly, his forehead screwed up as if he were in deep thought or deep distress. He made a pitiful whimper again and one of his hands came up to touch his scar that looked red and agitated.

Draco walked over slowly and silently. He leaned over Potter and touched two small fingers to Potter's scar trying to activate his healing powers once again as he did with Grang-Hermione. Slowly his body warmed and began to heat, his fingertips glowed bright white and then the glow ebbed away. When Draco pulled his hand away he saw Potter looked once again peaceful and relaxed. He made a soft noise, one you would hear from a small happy kitten. Draco stifled his laughter at the image of Harry Potter as a small black kitten and crawled back into his own bed and let fatigue and exhaustion take him.