Haunted

A/N: Sorry about the wait, lovelies. I’m finding myself stretched rather thin at the moment. My own fault really. I just started writing too many stories at once. I don’t want to neglect any of them, so I’ve settled for updating them in rotation. Thanks for all the comments and reviews for the last chapter. You all reek of awesomeness. Enough rambling, on with the chapter.

Chapter 5


I looked at Harry anxiously, awaiting the inevitable explosion. It was expected really. It was entirely irresponsible to get pregnant while still in school. And by my best friend’s arch enemy at that. The minutes crawled by agonizingly slow. Harry’s face was an emotionless mask of calm as he contemplated the bombshell that I had just dropped. My eyes filled with tears as I anticipated his reaction. I wouldn’t be able to stand it if Harry was angry with me as well. He was the closest thing that I had to family in the wizarding world. After the news of my pregnancy leaked, I would need someone that I could rely on, someone to lean on.


“Harry…?” my voice wavered fearfully. I was terrified that he would reject me and toss our friendship to the four winds like Ron had done.


Finally, he looked at me. His green eyes peered carefully into my brown ones. He brushed the tears from my cheek with his thumb. “Are you sure, Mia?”


I let out a sigh of relief as he spoke my nickname. Harry was the only one who ever called me Mia. He only called me that while we were in private. It let me know that he wasn’t angry with me, that we would be okay and that he would stand by my side.


“I have not seen Madam Pomphrey, yet,” I admitted. “But Draco said that he could smell the change in my body, that he could sense the baby growing inside me. He said that it is a boy.”


Harry raised his brows at that statement. “He could smell the changes in your body?,” he asked curiously. “How in Merlin’s name can he do that?”


I stared out at the serene lake. It was so smooth, so still that it looked like a mirror reflecting the brightness of the morning. It really was beautiful here. Harry scooted closer to me and I leaned against his shoulder, taking the comfort that he was offering.


“Well, I don’t know much…”


Harry barked out a loud laugh interrupting me. “What?” I asked indignantly. “There wasn’t anything even remotely amusing in that statement.”


He laughed even harder. I was perplexed. It must have been written all over my face. Harry calmed himself down and explained, “I’m sorry, Mia. It’s just, I’ve never heard you utter those words ever before. It was unexpected.”


I slapped his arm playfully. “Shut up, prat. I don’t claim to know everything. It’s not my fault that I’ve been stereotyped as ‘the bookworm know-it-all’. Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I don’t know much but Draco explained that a veela’s senses are much more acute than the average witch or wizard. He can see better, smell better, and hear better than he could before he matured into a full fledged veela. Merlin Harry, he can even hear my thoughts. Without using legilimancy! It’s spooky.”


“He can hear your thoughts!” Harry’s shock was evident in his deep voice.


I nodded my head. “Yes, and it’s bloody annoying. He also has some sort of connection with the baby since it’s part veela. That’s how we know it’s a boy.”


Harry cleared his throat. “Wow. I really don’t know what to say to that. I guess we should thank the heavens that he didn’t decide to bond with you while Voldemort was still around. That would have been a catastrophe.”


I agreed whole-heartedly. “I wanted to research to see if there was a way to block him out. You know me Harry, I’m a very private person. But you should have seen the look on his face when I mentioned it. Harry, he looked absolutely crushed. And what’s more, I could feel it. I could feel the pain that those words caused him. It’s beyond bizarre. I can’t even be angry with him anymore. I can feel how sad it makes him and it makes my temper melt away. What scares me even more is how much I feel drawn to him, how much I need him. I couldn’t stand the sight of him a few days ago and now I can’t get enough. I can’t even begin to describe it. It’s terrifying that I seem to have no control over my life anymore.”


Harry put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him. I leaned into his embrace. I didn’t know what I would do without him. He was my best friend, my brother. I knew I could tell him anything. If I ever needed help, he was the first one that I would run to.


“I’m scared, Harry,” I finally admitted. It’s not a statement that should be taken lightly. I prided myself on my Gryffindor bravery, but at the moment I felt like a Hufflepuff. “I’m not ready to be a mother. I had so many plans, so many dreams. Everything changed in the course of a single night and now I have no idea what is going to happen.”


“Everything will be alright, Mia,” he mumbled into my hair.


“How do you know?,” I whispered.


Harry chuckled. “I’m the chosen one,” he replied cheekily. “What I say, goes.”


I laughed at him. “Since when did your ego get so big? Keep talking like that and I’ll begin to confuse you with Draco.”


He shuddered against me. “Don’t even say things like that. Malfoy and I are nothing alike.”


“You can say that again, Potter,” a voice ground out from behind us.


We both jumped, startled at his presence. Neither of us had heard his approach.


“Malfoy,” Harry acknowledged.


Draco’s face was expressionless but I could tell he was angry and surprisingly jealous. I could feel it.


“Potter,” he stated calmly. “As grateful as I am to you for comforting my mate, do you mind taking your paws off her before I remove your hands from your wrists?”


Harry caught my eye and arched his brow at the threat. He was just as surprised by Draco’s behavior as I was. This was a side of Draco that I hadn’t even seen.


Harry released me and scooted back. Then he got to his feet and faced Draco.


“I just want to let you know, Malfoy, that even though I don’t like you, I’m willing to be civil as long as you are. Hermione is like my sister and she’s my best friend. If you hurt her, I will not hesitate to make you suffer….. In the worst of ways,” he finished darkly. I could feel Harry’s magic pulse powerfully around us as he issued his threat. I had to admit that it was quite impressive. I had only seen Harry flex his power like that on one other occasion.


It didn’t seem to phase Draco at all. “I’ll keep that in mind, Potter,” he drawled. “However, it is impossible for me to hurt her. My own life and happiness are tied to hers. I would die before I let something happen to her.”


“Good,” Harry replied. “I’m glad that we are on the same page.” Then he looked at me. “I’m going to go find Ginny. You know how to find me if you need to, Mia. I’ll see you later.”


Then he left, his long strides carrying him quickly back to the castle. I looked back out at the lake, watching the giant squid as its tentacles floated lazily in the shallows.


I heard Draco settle himself on the ground next to me. He was quiet for moment, just content to sit beside me. Then he fidgeted and pulled me closer to him. I heard him take a deep breath and purr with contentment. It was almost cute.


“I missed you,” he admitted.


“We’ve only been apart for an hour,” I teased.


“I don’t care. It’s too long. I waited for years for you. All that time I wasted, I don’t want to waste another minute.”


I couldn’t deny that it felt wonderful when he said things like that. For years, I had wondered if I would ever find someone to love, who would love me in return for who I was. While I didn’t love Draco yet, I felt like could in the future. It would take some time though. It was still an awful lot to process in such a short amount of time.


He took my hand and placed a soft kiss on the inside of my wrist. “I’m proud of you, cara.”


I looked at him quizzically. “Why?”


He smiled softly, “I thought you handled the scene at breakfast remarkably well. I’m sorry about your friend. I wanted to kill the Weasel when he called you that filthy name. If it weren’t for Blaise, I would have. It’s all I can do right now not to hunt him down and curse the life out of him, though the Weaselette did a fine job making him suffer. I could feel how upset you were about the whole thing and I wanted to follow you but Potter beat me to it.” He looked me in the eyes for a moment before continuing. “ I know that he’s important to you, but does he have to touch you so much? I wanted to rip his head off a moment ago.”


I raised my brow at his words. Draco Malfoy was jealous of Harry Potter. Imagine that. (Note the heavy sarcasm.)


“Harry’s not interested in me like that,” I replied. “You have nothing to worry about on that front. I have it on very good authority that he’s going to ask Ginny to marry him at the graduation ball. Harry is like my brother and the only love and affection I feel for him is on the familial level.”


“It doesn’t matter,” he grumbled. “I don’t like the sight of any man’s hands on you, other than my own.”


I glared frostily at him. “Well, you better get used to it. I’m not about to stop having contact with my friends just because you are jealous,” I huffed in annoyance.


Silence reigned for a few minutes and I felt my anger slowly draining away. It seemed that no matter what happened, I couldn’t stay angry with him for very long.


Finally, he broke the uncomfortable silence. “I’m sorry, cara. It’s just instinct. I’m jealous over how close your relationship is with him, your familiarity with each other. I long for us to be close like that. I’ve watched you for years, even before I knew that you were the one. Something about you fascinated me. You were the very epitome of what I was taught to loathe and hate but I could never find it in myself to do that.”


I breathed deeply before I answered. He couldn’t expect for me to be so close to him so quickly. “Draco, Harry and I are so close because of everything that we’ve been through together. You don’t even know the half of it. Harry has saved my life more than once, just as I have saved his. I’m close to Ron in the same way although it seems that his hatred for you super cedes the friendship he had with me. Nevertheless, it’s taken years for us to form the bond that we have. Maybe someday we’ll get there, but don’t get all melancholy because it doesn’t happen today.”


“I’ll try,” he promised. “On a different topic, why did Potter call you Mia?”


“Harry’s the only one who calls me that. He started calling me that in the first year, after we passed Snape’s test to get the Sorcerer’s Stone. I’m surprised that he called me that in front of you. Normally, he only uses my nickname in private.”


“Hmmmm……”


I arched my brow at him again as I felt the jealousy rolling off him in waves. “You can’t seriously be jealous because Harry has a nickname for me?,” I asked, incredulous at the thought.


“Maybe,” he growled in return.


I laughed at him. Really, this was ridiculous. “You are silly. You really need to check your inner veela. It seems to be taking control of you.”


“I’m not silly,” he said petulantly. “I’m just worried that your bond with Potter is stronger than your bond with me.”


“It may be,” I teased. Draco’s cool grey eyes flashed bright silver and I felt his anger. I rushed to placate him. “But I’ve never slept with Harry, so it’s unreasonable to think that I’m closer to him than I am to you.”


His eyes slowly melted back to their smoky grey color. I sighed internally with relief. For a minute, Draco looked like he was going to hunt Harry down and attack him. It seemed like even the smallest things were enough to make him jealous. I made a mental note to ask Harry not to call me Mia in front of Draco. At least until Draco got a better handle on his emotions.


This veela thing was really going to take some getting used to. I really needed to do some research. I wouldn’t feel like I was so clueless to what was going on. I turned my eyes back to the lake.


“Cara…” he whispered softly, his voice as rough as velvet.


I faced him once more and my breath caught at the amount of heated desire I saw shimmering in his eyes. They were almost a charcoal color now. His eyes were really beautiful. I had never appreciated them before. I blushed scarlet under the intensity of his gaze. It still felt strange that he’d be looking at me like that, of all people.


His heavenly scent wrapped around me, making me forget all of my worries. He reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear. I flushed at his casual touch. It was shocking how one simple touch could drive me almost wild with desire.


He chuckled lightly. Gently tilting my face, his lips met mine in a soft kiss. His lips were so silky, so supple. They moved gently against my own, slowly like he was savoring the moment. Kissing him was like no other kissing that I had ever experienced. It was anything and everything, all at once. His tongue tenderly slid across my bottom lip seeking access. I moaned quietly at the sensation and he took the permission that I granted. He tasted so good, unlike anything I’ve ever come across. I felt my need and desire for him grow exponentially. It was almost beyond my control. The only thing that existed in the world at this moment was him.


I could feel myself slowly giving in as he kissed me senseless. My body didn’t want to fight anymore, even if my mind did. There wasn’t much I could do about it anyway. All three steps of the bonding had taken place. I could no longer live without him. It was a sobering realization, but I couldn’t find it in myself to care anymore.


Draco threaded his hands in my hair and pulled me closer as he deepened his kiss. I could feel his love and desire rolling through our bond. It made me feel warm and happy. It made me feel like I was home, right where I belonged. Maybe Harry was right. Maybe everything would be okay.


I pulled away reluctantly, panting for breath. “We need to go to class, Draco.” This was our NEWT year, we couldn’t afford to neglect our studies.


He smirked mischievously, “Are you sure? There are so many more interesting things that we could be doing.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and I blushed a brilliant, crimson color.


“You are insufferable. Yes, we have to go to class. You may be Snape’s favorite student, but I’m not. And I don’t want detention for the next month for skipping his class,” I retorted hotly.


His smirk broadened. “Severus is my Godfather. I think you will find that he is much more agreeable towards you for now on. He’s not as mean as he portrays himself to be.” He sat back and looked rather pleased with himself.


“He’s your Godfather!” I exclaimed. “No wonder you bloody well get away with everything.”


“Hey, I resent that. I do not get away with everything,” he argued.


I smirked his smirk, knowing that it would annoy him. “Yes, you do. Snape is blatantly biased against anyone who isn’t in Slytherin. You can’t argue that point.”


“You’re right, cara. Snape is rather biased sometimes,” he admitted.


“I’m always right,” I stated as I stood up. “Now, let’s get to class. We’re going to be late.”


“Yes, dear,” he said as he stood.


I smiled at him. Maybe this veela thing wasn’t so bad after all.


End Note: So….. What did you think? Please review. I love to hear it all. What you loved, what you hated. It makes me a better writer and I need all the help that I can get. Sadly, I think there may be only three more chapters of this, at the most. And an epilogue. But hey, it’s still four more updates, right? : ) Review!