At Long Last

A/N: Wow! I'm blown away by the overwhelming response to this story. It seems as if veela was the magical word. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy.

Hermione struggled against Malfoy's superior strength as they landed on a soft surface. She glanced around wildly as she struggled against her captor, his lips still pressed firmly against her own. The direness of her situation was not lost on her as she took in the details of the room they had landed in.

It was a bedroom.

And, judging by the paraphernalia littering the room, it was Malfoy's personal room. And he had her pinned beneath his sturdy frame on his bed.

She kicked out ferociously trying to dislodge his hold.

"Stop," he hissed violently as his mouth finally released its hold. "Stop struggling, Granger. I can make things so much worse for you."

"Oh really," she countered, her anger quickly simmering to a boiling point. "And how, pray-tell are you going to accomplish that Ferret Face? You've admitted that you have Ron. Now, here I am, pinned to your bed, the last place on Earth that I'd ever want to be. How are you going to make it worse?"

She shivered at the hungry look that had taken up residence in his glacial eyes. She didn't miss the glint of triumph that passed through those pale eyes as he regarded her form.

"I could make things infinitely worse, my dearest Granger," he murmured as his face descended once more to her own. She turned her face away as he nuzzled her ear. She shuddered as his hot breath ghosted over her neck, raising the fine hair that grew there.

"I could call my Father," he paused as he licked her throat. "I could have him call my Aunt," he punctuated this statement by sucking harshly on the tender flesh there.

Hermione stilled as she recalled just what Bellatrix Lestrange had done to her the last time she had darkened the halls of Malfoy Manor. The evidence of that visit still scarred her arm. She stiffened when Malfoy bit her, the pain stinging before he laved the bite with his tongue. "I could even summon the Dark Lord and hand you directly to him myself. I would be honored and rewarded above all others. Imagine me, Draco Malfoy, handing over the brains behind the Order. I'd be hailed as a hero."

Hermione's mind turned quickly as she imagined the scenario he had just painted. He was right. If he handed her to his Dark Lord, he would be rewarded. He would be redeemed in the eyes of everyone on his side for his failure to kill Dumbledore. In the end, it would evidently result in her death. No doubt, it would be gruesome and probably a public spectacle to help strike fear in the hearts of all who opposed him. It would be a serious blow to the resistance. Hermione wasn't being arrogant, she was being realistic. She was important to the Order. She was important for morale.

She swallowed her pride. "What," she asked hesitantly. "What is it that you want?"

He smirked victoriously at her capitulation. "You," he stated simply. "I want you."

Her mind had turned to stone. What exactly was he asking? Surely he wasn't being serious?

"Me?" she asked confused. Why in Merlin's name would he want her? According to him, she was dirty, beneath his notice.

"I want you," he clarified. "In my bed, willingly. I want you to stay here. You are safe in this castle. I want you to stop participating in any battles. I was serious about what I said before. You are to naïve for this fight."

Her mind reeled from his words. He wanted her to stay with him. Sleep with him. He wanted her to abandon Harry.

"You've asked for the impossible," she stated quietly after a few minutes. "I can't abandon the fight. I can't abandon my friends and hide away as they die. How dare you ask me to do such a thing?"

Her voice had rose in volume as she voiced her convictions. She believed in the fight against Voldemort. She believed that she had a place in the magical world, that she belonged here despite the fact that her parents were muggles. She believed in the strength of her magic. She was better with it than most purebloods. There was an obvious flaw in their logic to assume that she was beneath them just because of her heritage.

"Look," he stated as he swept her hair off of her neck gently. "I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to say it: I'm a veela Granger. You are my mate. I can't stand for you to be in danger any longer. I can't fight the compulsion to mate you any longer. I'm weary."

Hermione's mind completely went blank with his words. She felt faint. She wanted to run away as fast as she could. He was a veela. She quickly shuffled through the facts that she knew of veela. Pre-determined mates, they mated for life, extremely protective of their mate, enhanced magic and strength. That accounted for his physical and magical change over the last year. And he said she was his mate.

"Surely you must be mistaken, Malfoy," she stated calmly even though she wanted to scream. "You've been horrible to me over the years. Downright nasty at times. How can you expect me to believe any of this?"

She watched as his eyes softened. "I call it a misguided attempt of a little boy trying to gain the attention of the girl he was crushing on. You never looked at me unless I was fighting with you. You were always looking at Potter and Weasley."

Her mind reeled with his words. He had like her even then. "I didn't know about the veela thing until later," he continued on as he played with her hair. "At the manor, when my Aunt had you on the floor. I hadn't had the transformation yet but I was at war with myself. I knew if I did something, we would both be killed. That was the worst night of my life."

"Why did you scare me like that in the alley," she challenged. "You wouldn't hold your mate down and scare the life out of her."

"I did what was necessary," he assured her. "I had to show you how vulnerable you are to attack. I lied about Weasley. He wasn't captured. But I can longer stand for you to be in open danger. I forbid it."

End Note: Just to let everyone know how these little drabble fics work, this is a completed story.I will be uploading a chapter a day until complete. This particular story is only seven chapters long. I have one more after this that I will begin posting next week. Do drop me a line, teel me what you liked or didn't like. See you tomorrow...