My Mate

Ginny stormed out of the Hospital Wing ready to murder anyone who got in her way. When she found her mate, she was going to rip him up one side and down the other for this stunt.

How he could possibly think he was well enough to go on some sort of “errand” was beyond her. And just what made this so important that he had to risk his health for it? He had said he would be back later on this night, but Ginny wasn’t going to take any chances.

She’d almost lost the prat once, she wasn’t about to risk him again.

The first logical place to search was Malfoy manor now that Lucius was dead. Dead. Ginny was still having a hard time believing that he was actually dead. They were finally free of him. Narcissa Draco and herself.

At least, she hoped that’s where he was.




Blaise, Marcus, Millicent, and Greg all burst into the Hospital Wing like a tornado. Poppy blinked in shock and confusion at the group of Slytherins that had invaded her domain. She was just heading to the Floo to inform Dumbledore and Severus that Draco had disappeared somewhere, the foolhardy boy!

“Can I help you?” She finally said briskly when she’d regained her capability for speech.

Marcus was the first to speak. “What’s wrong with Draco? Was he really bit by a werewolf? What can be done for him?” His voice was hard and commanding as he fired off the questions.

Well! He’d certainly grown taller and…had he fixed his teeth? Much handsomer than when he was still in school. Really, all of them had turned out quite well formed pleasing to the eye. Poppy caught herself.

“He was mauled and we can’t be sure if he was bit, but so far he hasn’t shown any signs of a transformation. Now I’m extremely busy and I’m going to have to ask all of you to leave immediately.”

The protestations came from every side but Poppy was used to dealing with unruly young people and had them cleared out in no time, with assurances that Draco would be informed of their visit and he could let them know when they found out anything, and NO Mr. Zabini, you may not see him right now.

After they were gone, she hurried back to the floo, but had to stop and calm Narcissa down first.



Ginny had intended to search every room of the Manor until she realized just how many rooms there actually were in the monstrous thing and decided to rely on the house elves claims that their master had been there earlier, but left the house already.

Disgruntled and still fuming, and not entirely sure where to search next, she wandered out onto the grounds. It was still covered in snow, but now that the elder Malfoy was gone, it seemed peaceful and almost like a beautiful fairy land. She was picking her way through the snow towards what looked like a gazebo when she saw him. He was sitting inside the structure, still and pensive.

His pale hair gleamed, and he looked like a Roman statue, cold and hard.

Intellectually she knew that he wouldn’t have left before completing the mating, (Really, when the option was going nutters!) but he had closed himself off so that she could no longer feel him and that scared her. She didn’t really know what he felt for her except a maddening desire to mate. That didn’t mean he loved her.

Did he dislike her? Hate her even? And then she was furious with herself for letting Draco Malfoy make her feel so insecure and unwanted. They were going to have it out once and for all so she knew where she stood with him.

Just a necessary tool to keep from going mad or someone he had feelings for? Before, she couldn’t have imagined caring what Draco Malfoy thought of her, but now she thought she just might break into a million pieces if he was indifferent.

Draco jerked his head up at her furious, “What the bloody hell are you doing here Malfoy!”

His face tightened and he whisked his hand quickly under his cloak. He’d been holding something that she couldn’t make out.

Her eyes narrowed. “How dare you!”

“How dare I what?” He sneered, a hint of his old self showing through and stood, his cloak swirling about him.

“How dare you just walk out of the Hospital Wing, out of Hogwarts in your condition! Have you lost all of your senses? You should be on bed rest for another week, the wedding definitely postponed, and here you are tromping through the frozen countryside like a bloody idiot, doing Merlin knows what and you have to ask me what I’m angry about?” Ginny knew her voice had risen to a shriek, but she didn’t care.

Her mate growled. Actually growled! Then strode forward and grabbed her wrist. “What, you want me to go back until you find out if I’m going to be a werewolf or not? He yanked her against his hard body.

“Postpone the wedding, huh? For how long? Indefinitely? Until you know whether or not it would be safe to marry me? A veela AND a werewolf would be a deal breaker?”

She gasped, stung at his accusations and slapped him hard across the face. “How could you think that about me?”

She watched a bright red handprint slowly color his cheek and storm clouds gather in his eyes. Without warning, he hauled her over to the bench and across his knees.

“No!” She tried to push herself up, but he had her pinned securely. “What are you doing?” She panted, hoping it wasn’t what she thought.

“What I promised you if you didn’t go straight to Hogwarts. Did you think I’d forgotten?” He snarled.

“Don’t you dare you bastard!” She kicked furiously. “Let me up!”

“Not a chance.” Draco said just before his palm cracked down on her bum.

Ginny squealed in shock and was rewarded with another hard smack.

“I warned you, but you didn’t listen and it almost got you killed, you foolish wench!” He continued paddling her, ignoring her threats of maiming and all of Fred and George’s concoctions that she was going to shove down his throat.

Damn! She thought. How could his hand hurt that badly? It felt like a board and her backside was on fire.

“Make your decision now Virginia.” His voice was icy. “It won’t mean anything if you make the decision after you know if I’m tainted. So by the time I finish, you’d better know if you’re going to marry me or not.” His voice cracked like a whip as he continued the steady cracks to her bottom and it took a moment for the meaning to sink into her mind.

“What?” She gasped. He thought she didn’t want him if he was a werewolf? As that thought crystallized, she felt his emotions crashing over her like a dam that had broken. Pain, anger, grief, fury, and love swirled around her.

Everything cumulated into one blinding moment: the spanking, his pain, her love for him and she burst into sobs.

His hand stilled and he swept the hair away from her face. “Ginny?” His voice was concerned and somehow gruffly gentle.

She took advantage of his relaxed state to lurch upright and throw her arms around his neck, clinging like the squid in the lake at Hogwarts.

“You stupid idiot!” She sobbed. “You thought I cared if you were a werewolf?”

Draco seemed shocked into silence, but hesitantly brought his arms up to clamp around her, nearly squeezing the breath out of her lungs.

“It wouldn’t have mattered! It doesn’t matter.” Ginny cried.

“You asked if it had bit me.” He muttered, confusion in his voice. “You looked like everything hung on my answer and I could feel your horror.” He was hoarse and choked a little on the last part.

“I was horrified because it was my fault!” She cried even harder, gasping for breath. “It was all my fault and I don’t think I could have lived with myself if you had died and I wasn’t sure if I could live with myself if I had consigned you to life as a werewolf through my stupidity!”

“I don’t want your pity!” Draco tried to pull away, but she held fast.

“It’s not pity!” She fairly shrieked. “I love you so much, it’s killing me and I hate you for making me feel this way and you just need me to keep from going mad and I can’t bear to think about what the future is going to look like for us, with me pining for you and…”

His hands snapped up and gripped the side of her face, holding her still for him to dive down and literally consume her as his tongue desperately tangled with hers. He was moaning and they tumbled to the ground, Draco landing atop her and doing his best to pull her right into his body.

He reared back just enough to growl, “I can’t believe you’re so daft that you haven’t figured out yet that I love you!”

Then he dove back for her lips and they gave themselves over to the incredible sensations of love washing over them that they were finally able to see for what it really was.

Time passed, the couple too wrapped up in each other to notice.