Custody (REDRAFTED- NEW ONE IS POSTED)

Chapter Fifteen

Hermione passed one of the books to Harry. He peeked at the first page before giving her an incredulous look. “Are you kidding me?”

“I know what you think. But trust me. I’ve tried every other option. But this is it.”

Harry burst out laughing. Draco glared at him and snatched the book from his lap. “A… neko? What the fuck is that?”

Harry started laughing harder. Hermione smacked at his shoulder. “Harry come on. Be serious.”

“But ‘Mione…”

“I know. I know. Shut up. You’re just going to make this worse. The wizarding is much different from the muggle version. Well, not that different. But different.”

“The neko are class XXXX magical creatures due to their human intellect. The neko are easily recognized by their ears and tails. Unlike most catlike magical creatures, Neko’s have retractable claws. Their tails and ears are much bigger than that of other feline MCs.” Draco trailed off after reading the first paragraph. He rolled his eyes and handed the book back to Harry.

“I don’t really care unless this book says I can be fixed.”

“Well technically, there is a procedure to do that but I thought you wanted kids. Or is Teddy enough.” Harry teased, Draco shoved him, causing him to fall off the couch. The Gryffindor lay on the floor laughing.

“I don’t think so Draco. Listen to this.” Hermione picked up the book that had fallen on the floor and quickly flipped to a page. Of course she had memorized which page it was on “After a neko’s seventeenth birthday, they will receive their inheritance. The process is slow however. It can take up to two years for a neko to develop their defining features, the ears, tail, and claws. Removing any of these features could result in extreme pain or death. So far, it is impossible for a wizard to be transformed into a Neko.” She stopped reading, putting down the book which Harry stole, still lying on the floor. “You have to be born with it in order be a Neko. And so far, all of what has happened matches what is said in the book.”

“Personality change is common once the feline features have developed. Extreme mood swings are the most prominent. Nekos will often be hostile towards anyone they see as potential rivals.” Ron gave Draco a curious glance making him turn away and glare at the window. “Like most magical creatures, Nekos will be incredibly possessive of their mates-”

“What?!” Draco yelped, whipping his gaze back to Hermione. Ron burst out laughing. “I’m not doing some soulmate bullshit.”

Hermione sighed and flipped to a different page. “I knew you would be the most difficult about this part.” After a second’s hesitation, she started to read. “Neko’s are capable of choosing their own mates however once they have been marked voluntarily by their mate, they become more submissive and possessive of them.”

Draco growled, not liking the sound of that.

“What kind of mark do you mean? Like, he had to have something drawn on him?” Ron asked, earning a glare from Hermione.

“I think it means anything from a hickey to a bruise. If they are consciously making an effort to mark him, he will become-”

“Their bitch.” Draco snarked, curling more into himself on the couch. His tail was twitching angrily. Hermione gave him a sympathetic look.

“Well you can fight back. Sort of.”

Draco gave her a deadpan look, starting to retort. An alarm started blaring, causing them all to yelp. Draco cried out, curling into a ball and covering his fluffy ears. Harry rushed to his feet and drew his wand. Hermione was directly behind him, followed by Ron and Draco who was holding his ears and trying his hardest to not whimper in pain. Harry kept shooting him worried glances as they made their way towards the front door. They had just made it when the door opened.

Standing there looking extremely pissed off was Lucius Malfoy.