The Serpent Beguiled Me and Other Stories

What's Meant to Be

Albus was well aware he wasn't omniscient, no matter what anyone thought, yet he still prided himself on his ability to predict the actions of all of the people around him. If you had lived as long as Albus had and spent most of that time carefully observing everyone you'd ever met, you gained that ability almost without effort.

Yet Albus was forced to admit that he had not seen this coming. Not from any possible angle. Then again, judging by the scowl on his face, even Severus hadn't been able to predict the current events and he was a great deal closer to Draco Malfoy.

There was a soft knock on the door of Albus' office. "Harry, do come in," Albus said, knowing Harry wouldn't hesitate to come to Albus the moment he was summoned.

Harry pushed the door open with a quiet creak and shuffled inside the office, looking between Narcissa and Draco Malfoy with wide, curious eyes. Narcissa sat straight and kept still, almost like a statue as she stared resolutely at nothing at all. Beside her, Draco Malfoy looked wan and grey, as though he hadn't been sleeping well for months now. Of course, Albus had noticed that the Malfoy boy looked sickly from the start of the year, but he'd chalked that up to the impossible order Draco had received from Lord Voldemort over the summer.

"Take a seat, my boy." Albus waved Harry towards the last remaining seat in front of his desk and then folded his hands on top of the wooden surface, carefully looking for the words he needed to convince Harry to essentially sign his life away. He knew Harry was stubborn in nature and would probably react with nothing by stroppiness at the idea of being bonded with Draco Malfoy out of the blue.

"What's going on, Professor?" Harry asked as he slowly lowered himself in his seat. Severus scowled in response and Draco Malfoy sniffled while giving Harry a look full of despair.

"Something has been brought to my attention that only you can help me with," Albus started, deciding to appeal to Harry's innate desire to help those around him. A desire Albus had encouraged in the boy ever since he'd stepped foot in Hogwarts, since at some point in the future Harry would need to push his own survival instincts aside and fulfil the prophecy once and for all. "Are you familiar with Veela?"

Harry frowned for a few moments before giving a single, brief nod. "Sure. Fleur is one, right?"

"Miss Delacour is indeed part Veela," Albus said with a genial smile. "Veela are not human, though they do bond with them. Veela need to find their mate, and when they do, they need to bond with them or they will die a slow and painful death."

"Alright," Harry said with an unconcerned shrug, proving he was still very much a teenager no matter how mature he acted whenever someone needed saving. "What's that got to do with me?"

"Mr Malfoy is part Veela and somehow the instinct to mate has been awakened in him," Albus continued, ignoring the quiet snort of disbelief coming from Severus, who was standing to his left against the wall. Severus had been sceptical about this whole thing, claiming Harry was far too selfish to ever go along with anything that was meant to save Draco Malfoy's life. "Those instincts have selected you to be his mate, Harry."

Harry blinked a few times, face a blank mask while Draco released a strangled sob and buried his face in his trembling hands. "What?" Harry finally asked, staring in Dumbledore in obvious disbelief. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"I'm afraid not." Albus gestured at Draco, who still wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. "I'm sure you've noticed Mr Malfoy's not been looking his best this year. It's because he's been trying to suppress his Veela instincts and keep his distance from you."

"Since when is Draco Malfoy a bloody Veela?" Harry all but shouted while gesturing wildly at the boy sitting beside him. "Have you considered that he's just doing this to get me in trouble?"