Black Truth [READ DESCRIPTION]

chapter seven

Chapter Seven: As the Truth is Dragged Out

Ron and Hermione sat in stunned silence as Harry's tirade finished. Ron was the first to recover, turning to Hermione looking puzzled.

"Hermione... is it even possible to have a pink aura?"

Hermione frowned. "Yes, I suppose anything's possible."

"Guys, the strange conversation Malfoy started coming back up to the castle is not the point here," Harry groaned, falling back on to the conveniently placed couch. "Why in Merlin's name did Malfoy help me?"

"I don't know Harry-" Hermione started.

"Probably wants something in return." Ron muttered.

"-And before I was interrupted!" Hermione gave Ron a pointed look and Ron smiled sheepishly, "I was going to say not to dwell on it. You shouldn't be complaining that he stepped in after all. It's better in the long run for you."

"He didn't demand anything in return right?" Ron asked sharply.

"No. All he said afterwards was that thing about the aura. Then he said nothing. We walked back to the school and he took the potions' stuff and left."

"Maybe he doesn't realize why he did what he did," Hermione spoke thoughtfully, and then yawned.

Harry grimaced. "Sorry I woke you guys up." He realized that dragging his friends out of bed (Ron literally from his bed and Hermione by yelling up at the girl's dorm) might not have been the nicest thing to do, but he'd been freaked.

"Don't worry about it. I would have done the same thing," Ron admitted. "Well, let's go to bed and think on it in the morning."

"Good idea," Hermione agreed, then pulled Ron back as Harry walked into the dorm. "I need to talk to you. Wait until Harry falls asleep, then come back down."

Ron nodded, not waiting to ask why. Hermione would explain it later as she always did.

Ron came back down to see Hermione sitting on a chair with a book in her hands. "What's up?"

"I know why Malfoy did what he did tonight."

"You mean 'last night'; it's after midnight. But why did he do it?"

"Because of his Veriae blood."

Ron frowned. "You'll need a long explanation for this, Hermione."

The girl nodded. "Don't stop me until I'm done then."

Ron flopped onto a couch and waited.

"When I saw Malfoy's feather fall to the ground that day he went ballistic on you, I picked it up so that I could research what he was. I was very careful never to directly touch the feather itself because it was razor sharp. I found one book which had a description of a feather, but it was in the restricted section so it took a while to get permission to read it. By then the school knew he was a Veriae, but so what. I wanted to find out more about his powers. But the book didn't tell me that, apparently the Veriae is taught by his auctor... that's the reason Lucius Malfoy is here by the way. Anyway, what the book did tell me was the life... cycle I guess, of the Veriae. It also told me of the Veriae's soul mate. It works almost like the Veela, in that the Veriae also look for their perfect mate. But the Veriae don't sniff out their mates like Veelas do, they look at the aura of the soul. When they find the person that matches their own, they've found their soul mate. This mate is very important, but not necessarily vital to their lives. If their soul mate never rejects them, they won't die and can live without their mate. However, if they tell their mate and their mate rejects them they die at midnight of that day. Now I was just reading about another purpose of the mate when Harry walked in. The feather of Draco's was on the table. When Harry touched it, it reverted back to its soft silken form. This is because the Veriae instinct wouldn't want to hurt their mate in any way."