My Mate

The hospital now had three residents, all of which were in Madame Pompfrey’s opinion, acting like fussy children.

The rabble had descended upon her perfectly peaceful domain with enough noise to wake the dead, the lot of them reverting back to childhood squabbling. She would barely get one settled in bed and turn to the next, when the other would pop back up to see how the others were getting along.

And somewhere along the way, her competant assistant had lost her usual composure and was fretting like a flustered hen over Draco. Severus was blustering and swearing when she tried to mend his broken nose, Narcissa kept trying to get out of her bed to see the men, so finally Poppy cast a spell to send them all to sleep so she could work on them in peace, but then had to banish Bill Weasley, Simeon Black, and Olivia out of the hospital because they were just as bad as the others if not worse.

So far, they hadn’t figured out how to unlock the door.

Ginny awoke to silence with a terror that threatened to eat her alive and it took her a minute before she realized where she was. The three other forms in the darkened room calmed her breathing.

They had come so close to death, Ginny reflected. Too close. Her eyes flicked to her mate. It didn’t seem strange anymore to call him that. Now it just felt right and she didn’t want to dwell on the realization that she had almost lost him. It was only then that she remembered the werewolf.

She winced as she lifted herself out of bed and tiptoed over to Draco. His hair glinted silver in the moonlight and his patrician features were relaxed in sleep. She ran her hands lightly over his body, checking the wounds, unable to convince herself that he was recovering without physical proof.

His chest lifted with even breathing as Ginny moaned in anguish at the deep gashes that hadn’t been healed magically. Oh Merlin! She tried to frantically recall if Draco had been bitten or just clawed. She couldn’t tell from the wounds. Ginny would never forgive herself if Draco became a werewolf because of her carelessness.

She was shaking so badly that she didn’t notice Draco’s body tense and nearly screamed when she was hauled across his chest, her face millimeters from his own. A slight hiss escaped him when she landed, but otherwise, he showed no sign of pain.

Instantly, his mouth was on hers, hot and demanding. After a moment, he thrust his tongue deeply into her mouth and Ginny moaned. It felt so good to touch him and be touched by him.

His arms were locked around her, fusing her to his length. She raked her hands through his hair and then slid them down to caress his face. He had some slight stubble which was an anomaly for Draco Malfoy.

She had never seen him when he wasn’t smooth shaven. Ginny let herself get swept away by the passion, not caring that they were snogging in the Hospital Wing.

Abruptly, Draco broke away. “Are you ok?” His voice was hoarse, his eyes flashing intensely in the moonlight.

She gaped for a moment. “Me! I’m not the one who was mauled by a werewolf!” Ginny’s voice rose an octave. “How can you even worry about me?”

His eyes narrowed into a glare. “You’re my mate.” He growled. “It’s my job to protect you and you were almost killed!” Like a dam bursting, emotion surged through their bond and Ginny had to bite her lip to keep from crying at the depth of anguish he was feeling.

“I almost lost you!” He continued. “I…”

Ginny clasped his face between her hands and said, “It wasn’t your fault. You told me to go straight back to Hogwarts. It was my own choice to stop for a Butterbeer at Hogsmeade.”

Draco’s eyes flashed at the reminder. “I’m still angry at you for that by the way.”

Ginny winced more at the hoarsness of his voice, than his words. “Draco.” She said urgently. “Did the werewolf bite you?”

His face clouded with confusion for a moment before swiftly darkening and Ginny felt the door between them slam shut. She gasped at the feeling of emptiness and gaped at him.

“I don’t know.” He bit off, savagely. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

“What’s the matter with you?” Ginny asked, feeling angry and hurt.

Draco simply shoved her off the bed and turned his back to her. “Just leave me alone so I can sleep.”

His voice was harsh and Ginny couldn’t seem to find the energy to do more than stumble back to her bed, though sleep was a long time coming.

The next morning flew by in a rush of family and friends, checking in on them. Her parents, Ron, Fred, George, Percy, and even Charlie had shown up, fussing and fuming. Ron was upset about being left out but vehemently glad that the “sodding bastard was dead”.

Ginny watched Charlie carefully while he was there and hated the cold bitterness she saw in his face. He no longer joked or laughed. She had a hard time thinking of that lying, cheating witch without wanting to hex her to oblivion. For Charlie to react this badly, he must have been madly in love with her.

Her older brother had given her a tight hug and whispered that he was glad she was safe, before releasing her to the rest of her loud, chaotic family.

Draco had still been sleeping, so Poppy had allowed Ginny to go back to her own room, so the rabble wouldn’t disturb him.

She’d also had an opportunity to ask Poppy about Draco’s wounds.

“There’s no way to tell if any of the gashes are from teeth instead of claws, but as of yet, he hasn’t shown any signs of being infected from a bite. The wounds will have to heal naturally, unfortunately. I’ve done all I can magically, and I’m afraid he’s going to have the scars as proof of his encounter.”

Ginny had moaned under her breath, mired in guilt.

“We’ll simply have to wait and see if he shows any symptoms of a bite.” Poppy paused. “I’ve never heard of a case of a veela bitten by a werewolf, so I cannot be sure if it would affect him the same as a regular wizard. I’m going to need to do some research.”

“I’ll see what I can find too.” Ginny said, desperate for some purpose. Her classes had been taken over for the unforeseeable future. Dumbledore, when he had arrived back at Hogwarts, had said he wanted her to be able to have a nice honeymoon with Draco.

Right now, she couldn’t imagine a wedding on Saturday, much less a honeymoon. Not with Draco, Narcissa, and Severus still lying in the Hospital Wing. Not with so much uncertainty surrounding Draco’s injuries.

So here she sat now, poring over old medical tomes, hoping to find some information, some case, any little tidbit she could find. A jumpy Olivia sat next to her doing the same thing.

Ginny frowned. Her friend had been acting odd the past few days, and she had attatched herself to Ginny the whole morning, and she kept sneaking glances around, as if she thought the boogeyman might jump out at any moment.

“What’s wrong?” She finally asked.

Olivia looked up with a start, then flushed bright red. “Nothing. I’m fine.” When Ginny looked at her skeptically, she nodded forcefully. “I’m fine, Ginny. Let’s just concentrate on this.”

Ginny scowled. If she didn’t have so many other things on her mind, she wouldn’t have let Olivia put her off so easily.

A moment later, they both jerked their heads up as a stack of books were dropped onto the table.

Hermione gave them a crooked smile. “I heard about everything, so I’ll take over the research. You have better things to do getting ready for the wedding and protecting your fiancée from your family.” Sitting down, she pulled out a quill and parchment. “Besides, this is what I do best you know!”

Ginny smiled tiredly back at the older girl. “Thanks, Hermione. Mother’s been bugging me about the wedding.” And she needed to get to the bottom of Draco’s abrupt coldness toward her. She’d only seen him once this morning before she left the Hospital Wing and he’d been just as closed off as before.

“Oh, and be warned; Slytherins have descended on Hogwarts. Marcus Flint, Blaise Zabini, Millicent Bulstrode, and a few others were all congregated in the Great Hall.”

Ginny blinked in surprise at first. “Oh! I suppose they’re here for the wedding. I didn’t think to ask Draco who he had invited.”

“Yeah, well.” Hermione snorted with disdain. “Flint gave me an arrogant eyebrow, and Zabini wouldn’t stop staring at me. I don’t care if they are Draco’s friends, they’d better watch the attitudes around me. I’d take great delight in hexing them.” She muttered.

Ginny stood. “I guess I’ll go back to the Hospital Wing and check on everyone.” On her way back, she wondered how Severus and Narcissa would behave during the wedding. He hadn’t seemed to have thawed much towards Draco’s mother yet.

Olivia volunteered to walk as far as the Great Hall with her, so she could have lunch, and would bring Ginny a plate later.