Not your usual Veela mate

Meddling Headmaster and the Dark Mark

Hermione marched down the corridors of Hogwarts, fuming. That had not gone the way she had anticipated! She had been prepared to go and visit Harry and be gracious when taking him back, although he had not been behaving the way he should. He hadn't even bothered to tell her and Ron where his new rooms were, she had to go to the Headmaster to find that out.

Had Harry been grateful that she had come? Noooo. He had hidden it well, but Hermione could read him like one of her books, and she knew fully well that he hadn't been pleased to see her. Who the hell did he think he was? Didn't he realise that he was nothing without her? Who kept nagging at him to make him study? Had he any idea how abysmal his grades would have been if it wasn't for her helping him with his schoolwork?

Furthermore, who exactly was it that had puzzled the pieces together when they had been trying to figure out what that menace Fluffy was hiding? Who was it that had figured out that the monster that was roaming the school during their second year was a Basilisk? Hermione Granger, resident genius, that's who!

How dare Harry throw all that aside? How dare he spend all his time with the Malfoys and not acknowledge that he still needed her at his side? What did the Malfoys have that she didn't? Besides money, but Harry had plenty of that himself and he didn't need any more.

Didn't he realise? No he didn't, Hermione was forced to admit, and that was one of the reasons she had stayed friends with him for all these years. She had early on realised that although wizards like Albus Dumbledore liked muggleborns and did not discriminate against them, most of the wizarding world was not as forward in their thinking and still measured a person by their blood. If she was to get somewhere, she needed the help of a wizard like Harry Potter.

The boy had no political aspirations what so ever, but Hermione had, and she figured she easily would become the next Minister of Magic after she graduated if she had the backing of the Hero, Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. She was not about to let her dreams allow to go up in smoke just because Harry suddenly was the mate of a Veela!

Hermione shuddered at the thought. At first when Professor Dumbledore had told her and Ron that Harry was a Veela's mate, she had been thrilled for Harry's sake. It was an added bonus that the Veela in question was Draco Malfoy. If she could get both those boys behind her, there was no opposition she could not overcome between her intelligence, Harry's hero status, or the Malfoy prestige; although it was a bit tarnished nowadays she had to admit. Still, if they were associated with Harry Potter, the smudge would soon be forgotten.

However, that was before she truly studied what being with a Veela entitled, and she hadn't liked what she'd found. If only she had read up on the creatures last year, but for once Hermione hadn't bothered since she was more concerned with the end of school and recovering from the fiasco at the Department of Mystery. Being the chosen one of a Veela was nothing like the romantic notions she'd had, fuelled by the lectures given by McGonagall.

She had been given the impression that the Veela would spend his or her life doing everything in their powers to make their mate happy. Hermione had liked that idea, and had even spent a few evenings dreaming of having her own Veela, but that was only half the truth. The lecture hadn't mentioned much that the mate was virtually their Veela's slave! They could not spend time freely with other people; the Veela had to sanction which people it was alright for their mate to associate with. Furthermore, the Veela was extremely reluctant to let their mate out of their sight, ruled as they were by their fears that their mate would leave them.