Souls Collide

Title: Souls Collide

Author: Luna

Feedback: Loved and appreciated…send it to ambersgrrl@yahoo.com

Archive: Full Moon Romper Room, Tainted Fiction, Forbidden Desires, and Luna’s Night Moves…anyone else, please just ask.

Fandom: Harry Potter

Rating: NC-17 (just to be on the safe side)

Type: Challenge Response

Pairings: Hermione/Draco

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling, Scholastic Publishing, and Warner Brothers Entertainment do not authorize this author. All characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling, Scholastic Publishing, and/or Warner Brothers Entertainment. Nothing is being gained from this work of fiction.

Summary: Everything’s changing and nothing makes sense except her. He needs her more than he needs anything. Will she finally see just how perfect they are for one another or will she leave him languishing away in hell?

Author’s Note: Yes, it’s another Veela challenge fic and I’ve got to say that there are far too few of them out there! Seeing as it is it’s going to be slightly AU, or maybe more so. Okay, to be honest this is going to be completely AU. I’m going to be using these characters as I see fit. Not going to be going against their personalities too much but if you don’t like that PLEASE STOP READING NOW!!!

Anything else: I want to thank everyone who has been so patient with me waiting for this chapter. Hopefully future chapters will not be so long in coming; at least I hope they won’t. Your continued patience with me and by extension with this story is truly appreciated. Thank you so much!!!

One Other Thing: If you would like a personalized feedback response please be sure to leave your e-mail addy. I will be sure to thank you personally! After all you’ve taken the time to tell me your thoughts the least I can do is thank you properly. Thank you to everyone reading at AFF you guys rock!!!!
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Chapter Six

The sun crept slowly over the eastern horizon painting the sky soft muted colors. Birds had already begun their joyous songs in welcome of the new day. Dew bathed the lawn in minute prisms of dancing vibrant rainbows. A child’s laughter floated on the breeze.

It was the beginning of a lovely day…or it would have been, Hermione Granger thought sourly rolling over to face her bedroom door. Why in the name of all things magical did she have to be the chosen one for Draco Malfoy? The one person that had single handedly made her academic career a living hell; he let no opportunity pass to show just where she ranked in his world.

A sudden thought occurred to her while she stared sightlessly at the wooden panel. The corners of her mouth began to twitch before becoming a full-blown smile. Laughter soon bubbled up in her throat.

The Malfoys had to be furious! They prided themselves on being one of the oldest pureblooded families. To know that she, a muggle born, was their son’s chosen mate had to be driving them up the wall and the best, or worst depending on your point of view, part was that Draco didn’t have choice in the matter.

That thought helped her push off the gloomy feelings she’d had only moments before. She flung the covers off slinging her legs over the side to slide her feet into her slippers. Grabbing the satin robe off the end of her bed she headed toward the shower ready to face the bright new day with a song in her heart.

Her good humor didn’t last long though. Half way through her morning’s absolutions she was confronted with the fact that just because Draco felt compelled to forge a link between them didn’t mean he had to like it. He would most likely find it his duty to remind her at every turn just how disgusting and loathsome he found this entire ordeal. It was a very depressing thought and not even Hedwig’s missive had been able to rouse her from the quagmire she now found herself in.

Opening the door that led to the backyard Hermione didn’t see the roses her mother had lovingly planted years ago nor did she notice the thick lush feeling of grass under her bare feet. Slowly she trudged over to the carefully maintained swing set that she’d had since she was a child. Absently she rocked on the balls of her feet dirt beginning to cover her toes. Her mind was trying to find a way out of the mess she now found herself in.

That was how Harry and Ron found their dearly beloved friend. Her honey colored eyes downcast her shoulders were hunched as if she carried some great weight. Mrs. Granger’s all too bright greeting upon their arrival now sounded like a death knell. Cautiously the two boys approached the young woman.

“Hermione,” Harry ventured trying not to startle her.

It didn’t work as she jumped as if she’d been jabbed with a sharp stick. Her expression, which she didn’t bother to hide since she was a terrible liar, could only be called forlorn. It only served to heighten the boys’ sense of anxiety about being there. They shared a worried look as they took the last steps to join their friend on the swings.

“Hermione,” Harry said softly. This person he sat next to bore no resemblance to the bright happy witch that he knew. It didn’t escape his notice either that she had filled out. Sitting next to her now he could plainly see the beauty that the Yule Ball in their fourth year had only hinted at.

The young woman turned her head to look at him her eyes so filled with sadness that Harry felt his heart clench. Whatever had put that look in her eyes had to be extremely appalling. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to know but knew that she couldn’t go on like this. She was his best friend, aside from Ron, and would do anything for him. He could do no less for her.

“Whatever it is ‘Mione we can get through it together, just like always,” Ron offered quietly. While most of the time he let his temper get the better of him something deep inside said that no matter how angry he got or how much he railed against it things would not change. The only thing he could do was be there to support his friend.

Hermione smiled wanly at the boys. They were so sweet that it absolutely broke her heart to have to tell them. However the alternative was even less appealing. She had no defenses where these two were concerned. She loved them both dearly and knew that without both of them she wouldn’t even be half the person she was today.

“I’m afraid that you can’t help me this time,” she confessed, her amber colored eyes filling with tears.

“How do you know that if you won’t even tell us what it is,” Harry countered gently. He was now sure that it was something awful if she was this dejected.

“Yeah, maybe we can help,” Ron interjected deeply affected by the tears falling down her cheeks.

He had long ago given up the idea of ever being with her. They were just too different. He loved her more than anything, perhaps even more than Quidditch. He just understood that she needed someone that could love all aspects of her personality as well as appreciate her impressive intellect. They had clashed much too often for them to have any kind stable relationship other than friendship. The thought had saddened him but the knowledge that in Hermione he would always have a cherished friend made it bearable.

“What do you know about Veela,” she asked quietly.

The seemingly incongruous thought threw the boys for a loop. It took them a moment to recover so that could respond. The young men knew that she didn’t ask random questions. All of her questions were designed to lead them to a certain goal. It didn’t matter that neither Harry nor Ron had a clue where they were being led. She was beginning to share whatever was bothering her and they could not let their obvious impatience show through.

“They’re very beautiful,” Ron offered, a blush tingeing his cheeks as he recalled the fiasco of asking Fleur to the Yule Ball in their fourth year.

“They can throw fire when they’re angry,” Harry said wondering if he knew anything else about the creatures.

Hermione smiled softly at them. Had her heart been lighter she might have been amused by the way they answered her, as if she were one of the professors from school. “What I meant was do you know anything about how they reproduce?”

Both Harry and Ron looked like a fish out of water with their mouths opening and closing in that fashion. Harry’s dark brows furrowed as he tried recall ever reading anything about it. It was useless. He couldn’t remember ever coming across any information that would be useful.

Ron was staring at the ground as if the answers would spring up from between the blades of grass. He was sure he knew it but every time he tried to reach for it, the tidbit of knowledge danced out of reach. Running his fingers through his red tresses, which had grown over the summer, he sighed heavily. “Sorry ‘Mione,” he muttered. “It escapes me at the moment.”

“I really didn’t expect either of you to know,” she informed them kindly.

“’Mione, if you didn’t think we’d know then why ask,” Harry asked running a hand through his own hair.

“Because there was always the possibility that one of you might know,” she said. Simply being with the two boys that she now thought of as brothers calmed her more than she had expected. She couldn’t imagine a life without them in it. The fear she had felt increased ten fold as she contemplated how best to break the news about her and Malfoy.

Her fingers curled around the cool metal links of the swing’s chain. The warm comforting weight of Harry’s hands pushed Hermione gently making the swing rock to and fro.

Harry and Ron knew now was not the time to press her for the answers they so desperately wanted. It was apparent to the boys that whatever was going on was causing a great deal of stress on their friend. There could only be one person, or thing, that could cause this type of upheaval. The young men shared a concerned look; the look said it all. Malfoy!

They weren’t sure how the little ferret figured into what was happening with Hermione. However there was no doubt in either of their minds that he was at the center of this. It was more important than ever to let her know that nothing would ever stop them from being there for her.

Ron hated seeing Hermione like some kind of shell of her former self. He did what he always did in situations when he felt out of his element. He made a joke. “Come on Hermione, it’s not like you have to marrying the ferret or anything.”

The young witch nearly swallowed her tongue as the words left his mouth. She made a strangled sound like some kind of cross between a shout and a sob. Her amber eyes were wide filling with tears as her hands flew up to her mouth. She had forgotten how perceptive he could be, whether he knew it or not, when he was kidding.

Both boys picked up on the truth quickly enough. Harry’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Ron looked like he had been hit between the eyes with a bludger.

“’Mione, please tell me you’re joking,” Harry implored his fingers biting into her knees.

Hermione shook her head tears spilling over her hands. Her slight frame rocked from the sobs she was holding in. She had hoped to find an easier way to tell her friends about this thing with Malfoy. She had sort of planned to introduce the topic letting them get used to the idea then tell them about the connection with Draco.

She was so distraught that the thought of keeping silent never occurred to her. Deep choking sobs were wrenched from her throat. Never in her life had she felt so miserable and so helpless. It was something she never wanted to feel again, yet something she always managed to feel at Malfoy’s hands. Doesn’t this ever end she wondered bitterly.

Harry couldn’t stand how broken she sounded. He pulled her from the swing into his waiting arms rubbing her back in soothing circles. Frantic green eyes met an equally troubled cerulean gaze. If this was what she was like after only having part of the story told what would she be like when the rest of it came out? Were they even ready to hear it? Harry begged whatever deity was listening for strength as it looked like he and Ron were going to need all they could get.