Hello Readers!

I meant to post an Author's Note at the beginning of Chapter 1, but forgot when I posted it. Anyway I hope you all are enjoying the story. This is a concept that I've been toying with for a while and I am happy that I have finally found the time to start bringing it to life. With that being said please be aware that I am currently a student and my schoolwork comes first. However, I will post chapters as soon as I have them done. I am currently aiming for one a week, after I get the first few chapters up, but if I get more done I promise to post them. Also please favorite, follow, and review. All of these things allow me to see that people are enjoying my work and make me want to write more. Plus I love to hear what all of you have to say about my writing. I am constantly looking to improve and want to make the best story possible. With that being said please be kind if you decide to critique my writing. I want to improve, but I do not wish to have my writing bashed. Constructive criticisms, predictions, and opinions are encouraged. With that being said here is chapter 2!

3

Anna

Chapter 2

I can feel her. She's here. Draco leapt from the floor, still feeling the tingle from whatever sensation it was that struck him. He could sense her aura near by and felt the need to follow it. Today must be her 17th birthday. He walked through his bedroom door and immediately knew he was going in the right direction. She was so close he could palpably feel her aura in the room. By the time he reached the common area his awareness was so heightened that he couldn't decipher which direction the pull was coming from.

"Draco?" He heard from the most angelic voice ask.

Draco turned around to find not the angel he imagined but know-it-all mudblood Granger.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

"Well… you wandered down here rather dazed looking…" the angelic voice stumbled over her sentence. Why is my mate's voice coming from Granger? Maybe her mudblood filth overtook her body. He smirked to himself at the thought.

"I'm looking for something, but that's really none of your business is it mudblood?" Draco drawled.

Next thing he knew he felt stabs of pain as if someone were punching him in the abdomen. Draco's eyes began to tear up and he felt anger… and hurt? Why was he feeling hurt all he did was insult the stupid mudblood. He looked up and stared at Granger, her eyes welling up with tears.

"No." He said stumbling backwards as the realization hit him. Granger was his mate. Annoying, know-it-all, mudblood granger of all people was his mate. "This can't be happening." He sputtered.

"What?" she asked looking confused and hurt at the same time.

"Nothing… I … uh…" he mumbled out as he darted back up the staircase to his room. I need to tell father. Now. Draco thought as he composed his second letter to his father that night.

Father,

It would appear the statement about mates needing to be 17 years of age is accurate. At the stroke of midnight I felt a sensation rush through me. It was as if my entire body had been engulfed in flames. It reminded me of the transformation process only much quicker. This lasted thirty seconds at best. However when it was over, I knew she was there. I could feel her father. I knew she was near. Therefore I did the only logical thing I could think of and followed her aura. However all that did was lead me directly to the mudblood, know-it-all Granger. But when she spoke it wasn't Granger at all. It was the voice of an angel. My angel. That's when it hit me… Granger is my mate. I just know it. When I reached the common room her aura was so palpable that I didn't know which direction to turn and she was the only one in the nearby vicinity. What do I do father? This can't be happening.

Draco

For the second time that night Draco called for Artemis and sent his letter off with her into the night sky. As he watched her fly away the pacing began. He began to run through every possible option that could explain away what happened tonight with Granger. Though however hard he tried he couldn't think of a reason. It's Granger. I know it's Granger. Now what do I do about it? She hates me and I hate her… well I think I do… maybe. I need to woo her. Win her over a bit. Maybe I can agree to that truce she proposed earlier. She'll probably think I've gone mental… but I suppose I have. Draco continued to process his options as he waited for his father's reply. He liked himself too much to just let her go and die instead. Therefore his only option was to win her over. He needed to think of something good, and it needed to be fast, as his yearlong clock had started ticking. Who knows how long it could take for him to win Granger over. He needed that whole year incase anything went wrong.

Draco was beginning to get impatient. "Where is father's reply?" he asked himself as he waited. Soon an hour had passed and he was no closer to figuring out the situation on his own and his father had yet to reply. Not knowing what else to do, Draco laid down in his bed and fell into a fitful nights slumber.

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Hermione watched Draco run up the stairs. Good. He deserves to feel ashamed for that. Why he insists on calling me by that atrocious, rude, and prejudiced name I will never understand. I thought that phase of the world was over… UGH! He is such an inconsiderate jerk!

"Moron." Hermione mumbled under her breath as she finished making her tea.

She quickly dabbed her eyes with a napkin to try and brush off the unshed tears. Why she continually let his words hurt her this way she would never understand. As she finished making her tea she could hear Draco mumbling to himself.

"Mental that one." She stated and continued back up to her room.

Her lodging looked similar to Draco's except her walls were painted gold with a red accent wall behind her bed. All of her furniture was a rich deep brown wood with gold knobs. She also had a large bed, desk, dresser, and closet. However she also had a tall bookcase, which she had already filled with books. Her bedding was a beautiful gold with red accents making the whole room look like something that would belong to a princess. Hermione wandered over to her bed and placed her mug on the bedside table. She also began to pace a bit. Malfoy was acting rather odd. The way he floated down the stairs like that as if he were being tugged by invisible rope. He didn't seem to have a clue where he was going, then to just stop like that and turn around looking like the happiest person on the planet? What was up with that? He never smiles… yet there he was grinning like an idiot. I wonder what possessed him.

Hermione continued to pace and was trying to keep her mind off of anything related to Draco Malfoy. Suddenly she stopped and looked at herself in the mirror. Something didn't seem right.

"What?" She asked herself.

Hermione's hair was kind of shimmering and it looked like it was darker than usual.

"I must be exhausted." She muttered to herself as she slipped into bed. "Nox." She whispered and she soon fell into a deep slumber.

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The next morning Draco awoke to a pecking on his window and he groggily looked out and saw Artemis fluttering tiredly. He grudgingly got up and opened the window for her while grabbing her a treat from the jar on his desk. She happily accepted the treat and allowed him to remove the letter from her leg. Once he was finished she took off for the owlry, and he quickly unrolled the parchment from his father.

Draco,

I can't say that I am thrilled at who destiny has chosen for you. However I have done a lot of reading on veelas so that I would be able to assist you when this day arrived. From what you have said it would seem that the Granger girl is indeed your mate. You must win her over Draco, as this girl's acceptance is now your only chance for survival. Try playing nice. Just see where it gets you. Females are typically easier swayed than you might originally think. All they want is a little attention and romance, both of which you will be instinctually driven to give her. A word of caution Draco … be careful around her. You will find that you may lose control of your actions around her. The last thing you need is to be pinning her to a wall for a snogging session she doesn't want to partake in. Take care of yourself son. You can do this.

Father

Draco looked around the room. How to woo Granger… That is going to be a tough one he thought to himself. He knew that after that letter he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep so he got up to begin his day. With that he made his way into the loo and stepped into the shower letting the warm water run down his back. What to do… what to do… make her breakfast? No, she'll think it's poisoned or something. Flowers? No, she'll think I'm deranged. Just as another thought was getting ready to cross into his mind he heard a knock at the door.
"Malfoy? Are you almost done in there?" she asked almost hesitantly.

"Yeah! Sorry!" He called out and turned off the shower.

Draco stepped out and wrapped a towel around himself while padding over to the door.
"Sorry about that Granger…" He said trailing off as he opened the door.

"What Malfoy?" she asked pushing through.

The girl that came through the door didn't look quite like the Granger he remembered from the last seven years. She was different, a bit shorter, longer and deeper brown hair. Her curls had also softened a lot; they were more like relaxed curls as opposed to the tighter frizzy ones he was used to seeing on her. Her facial structure was more refined; her eyes were the same color but they looked larger and her cheekbones were more prominent. This girl's body was also slightly different… she was a little larger in the chest area and smaller in the waist. Her skin color had even darkened to a light olive. Over all, this girl was not the Hermione Granger he knew, but she was someone completely different.

"I would take a quick peek in the mirror if I were you." He said calmly.

He watched as Hermione stepped in front of the mirror and gasped.

"This is not me... Who am I and what was done with my face!?" She shrieked.

Then she turned her eyes directly towards me.

"What did you do?" she asked angrily.

"I did nothing. I was actually going to ask what you did to yourself." He said smoothly.

"You think I did this to myself!?" She shrieked, " I have been completely happy with myself for a long time and now I wake up to find that I look like a completely different person?! What a way to kick off a birthday."

"Happy birthday Granger." He replied before walking quickly out of the bathroom and into his own room. Well… that's one way for the day to start off he thought to himself.

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This cannot be happening. What is going on? Why do I look like this? Hermione began to panic a bit.

"I need to find McGonagall. She'll know what to do." She tried to convince herself.

Hermione quickly brushed her teeth and hurried into her room to get dressed. She wanted to get to McGonagall as quickly as possible so that this situation could be remedied before classes began. Once in her room she threw on the first clean uniform she could find and brushed past Malfoy on her way out the door. She immediately broke into a speed walk through the corridors and up to McGonagall's office. Hermione knocked twice upon arrival.

"Come in." Professor McGonagall replied from the other side of the door.

Hermione immediately opened the door and walked in, coming face to face with her head of house and newly deemed headmistress.

"Professor… I have a problem." She stated nervously.

"I'm sorry dear, but who are you?" McGonagall asked curiously.

"Professor. It's Hermione. Hermione Granger. I don't know what happened. I woke up this morning and looked this way; quite frankly it's not the best birthday morning I've ever had." She replied quickly sounding rather panicked.

"Hermione?" Professor McGonagall questioned wide-eyed. "Oh my. Let's get you to Madam Pomfrey. She may have a better idea of what's happening here than I do."

The two women walked brusquely to the Hospital wing and found Madam Pomfrey making the beds.

"Poppy." McGonagall called out as she led Hermione through the doors.

"Yes Minerva?" Madam Pomfrey replied as she turned to face them.

"It would appear something has happened to Miss Granger. Could you run some diagnostic spells for us?" McGonagall asked.

"Miss Granger?" Madam Pomfrey asked Hermione curiously.

"Present." Hermione mumbled.

"Oh my. Please dear. Just lay here and I'll be right back." Madam Pomfrey stated calmly in a business like manner. As Hermione waited for Madam Pomfrey to come back she lay wondering what was happening to her. She heard the sharp clicking of Madam Pomfrey's shoes as she rounded the corner.

"Alright dear. Just relax and I'll be done as soon as possible." Madam Pomfrey told her. Hermione laid as still as possible while the tests were run. She tested for every type of spell she could think of that would have caused this reaction. Then finally nearly an hour later she heard an "Ah ha." Come from Madam Pomfrey.

"What is it?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Well it would appear that a disillusionment charm was removed early this morning from your person. It was a relatively strong and long lasting one from the looks of it. From what I can gather it was your magic being released that broke the charm." Madam Pomfrey replied calmly.

"What exactly do you mean? Are you telling me that I've been living under an appearance altering charm my entire life?" Hermione asked sounding rather hysterical.

"It would seem so dear. This is your true appearance from what I can gather. A spell was not placed on you this morning, one was removed." She soothed.

"Who am I then?" Hermione asked to herself more than to anyone else in the room.