To Start Over

TO START OVER


Title: To Start Over
Pairings: DM/HP, HG/RW, many others
Rating: R
Warnings: Sexual Content, Language
Summary: Draco has just figured out who his mate is. However, he will not tell him because he wants to gain his friendship and trust first.


Prologue


The summer holidays found Draco Malfoy at home, pacing his room in a frenzy. Tomorrow would be his 17th birthday, the day he would finally fully come into his Inheritance. No, not an inheritance of money, an Inheritance of power, strength, and magic. Draco Malfoy was ½ Veela, mostly from his mothers side. He knew what this meant; the slight change in his appearance, the additional powers, added strength, new magical abilities, heightened senses, the ability to use his scent to allure, charm and seduce anyone he wanted. But none of this was what he was nervously, frantically pacing his room for. What he was concerned about, apprehensive about, queasy about, was finding his mate. The one he would love until his death, the one he would spend the rest of his life with. The one he would do anything to make happy, die to protect, the one he knew he would never be able to live without. But still that was not the problem. The problem was that he knew not who his mate was, yet. What he did know was that it was some one from Hogwarts. He knew because after searching in vain all of last year he had finally picked up the scent, on the train ride home for the summer holidays. But he never figured out who it was, his powers had not fully merged, not until tomorrow. Knowing that he would have his powers in full still did not calm him, he could not search for his mate until he returned to school September 1st, and he did not want to wait “Another bloody month, ahhh, I can’t make it that long. I need to know, it’s driving me insane,” he screamed.

His father had been watching him pace from the doorway for about the last 5 minutes.
“Now, now, Draco, you need to calm down, you need to stay in control or your raw power could start destroying things. What could possibly be so bad that you’re working yourself into a frenzy?” Lucius drawled.
“Father…I guess I should tell you, I’m anxious to get to school; I felt, sensed my mate, on the train ride home. But my abilities were not strong enough for me to pinpoint where it was emanating from. It’s driving me crazy, the need to know.” Draco whined.
“That is good news, Draco, you know where to start your search. I guess I can cancel that trip to France after all.” Lucius said with some amusement.
“Why were we going to France?” Draco questioned.
“Your mother thought after your birthday next week that we should make a trip to France since they have the most heavily populated Veela community. But it would seem that that is no longer necessary,” Lucius responded.
“Ohh, guess not,” Draco snorted.
“Now that you at least know where to search for your mate, and you can not begin the search for a month, you will have a month to develop your new powers. It may also help to distract your mind from worrying about your upcoming destined meeting.” Lucius drawled.
“Yes, Father. I’ll try to concentrate on that.” Draco said despondently.
“It’s late, Draco, you should attempt to get some rest. You’ll need it to face all the changes between now and tomorrow. It will be easier for your body to except all the changes if your are sleeping as apposed to awake.” Lucius said thoughtfully.
“Goodnight, father.”
“Goodnight, Draco. Remember you have your party to look forward to tomorrow.” Lucius responded as he swept from the room, silently closing the door behind himself.


That night screams could be heard echoing through the halls of Malfoy Manor as Draco’s body united with the changes that his Inheritance brought forth. Yet when he woke in the morning he felt better than he had in his entire life. He was full of vigor, and the energy that was emanating from his body was crackling through the air. He threw off the covers, sprung off his bed and strode with feline grace over to the full length mirror in his room. He was amazed by what he saw. His height had increased by a good 5 to 6 inches, ‘I must be about 6’2” now,’ he thought as he gazed at his reflection. His hair was longer, slightly past his shoulders, softer and shinier. His muscles were slightly more defined, and his skin seemed to glow radiantly. He was very pleased by his appearance to the the least. ‘ I just hope that who ever my mate is they feel the same way,’ he thought.

Draco spent the rest of the summer honing his new skills. He became proficient in wandless magic, transfiguration, defensive magic, and healing. Almost everything he had spent the last 6 years learning at Hogwarts now seemed to easy, like second nature. What he learned over the summer was much more advanced for some one his age. With a flick of his wrhe che could do more than most of the professors at Hogwarts, but the most important lesson he learned was how to control his pheromones. He knew that he had the ability to use his pheromones to seduce anyone he wanted, and maybe some he didn’t want. Which is why he needed to be able to control them, especially if he didn’t want his fellow students ( those that were not his mate ) following him around like felines in heat. After he felt he had mastered the control he decided to try it in public, and had his father take him to Diagon Alley to pick up his school supplies.

~ DIAGON ALLEY~

Draco and his father strolled leisurely through the shops of Diagon Alley purchasing, new robes at Madam Malkins, new books at Flourish and Blotts, new potions ingredients at the Apothecary, and a new Firebolt broom from Quality Quidditch Supplies, for his birthday. The entire time the two aristocratic Malfoy men strolled along, Draco would release his Veela pheromones, causing any men and women in the vicinity to stop what they were doing and approach the blonde Adonis to strike up conversation. As soon as he felt someone getting uncomfortably close he would immediately stop the release, causing those that had approached to apologize to Draco for bothering him, much to his and his fathamusamusement. But the real test was when Draco spotted Hermione Granger sitting alone at the ice cream shop with out her two friends that made up the rest of the Gryffindor trio.
“Father, wait for me here, please. This will be the ultimate test,” he said excitedly, pointing out Hermione to his father. Then he explained, “She absolutely hates me; she’s a friend of Potter’s andudbludblood whom I’ve taunted relentlessly for the past 6 years.”
“Go ahead, Draco, I’ll watch from here,” Lucius said encouragingly.
Draco gracefully and quietly approached one of the banes of his existence. When he arrived at the table where she sat he paused and waited for her to look up at him.
“What no Potty and Weasel to play with today?” he spat.
“What do you want, Malfoy?” she retorted then gave an icy glare.
He released his pheromones, backed away a few steps and waited. Within seconds she stood from her seat and hovered dangerously close to him, when she received no reaction, she reached out and clasped her hands around his biceps. As soon as she started to lean in, mere centimeters away from his face, close enough to feel her breath, he cd hid himself off again.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, you filthy Mudblood? Don’t touch me, you’re disgusting!” he snarled.
Waking up from the haze she had been in, and seeing her current position, she released him.
“I ..I’m sorry,” she whispered, before she turned tail and ran away with tears streaming down her face.
Draco laughed heartily at the sight of Granger running away, defeated. He then turned and walked back over to join his father.
“This is going to be a good year, I can feel it already,” he said as he grinned up at his father.
“Yes, well playtime is over for today, Draco, lets return home. Your mother awaits us for dinner,” Lucius drawled.


~FORMFORM 9 ¾ ~

September 1ST was finally here and Draco was emerging from the limo with his dad to join his friends on the Hogwarts express. But more importantly, he was eagerly anticipating discover who his mate was.
“Draco, I know you’re eager to meet with your mate, however you need to be sure you don’t neglect your studies. Make sure you also keep a tight reign on your emotions; you do not need to let your anger get out of control. We both know what could happen,” Lucius said with the pride of a father.
“Don’t worry father, I know what I need to do. I’ll write you as soon as I know who my mate is,” he answered excitedly.
Lucius left and Draco made his way onto the train to find his friends and in hopes of discovering his mate.

~Hogwarts express~

Draco’s POV

Draco made sure that the house elves had loaded all his belongings onto the train before he made his way to his usual compartment that he shared with his friends. Shortly after he entered, Crabbe and Golye arrived followed by Pansy and Blaise. They quickly settled into familiar cosatisation about the upcoming year, quidditch, lessons, and house rivalries.
“Well I’m going for a walk, by myself !!” Draco stated firmly, looking directly at Crabbe and Goyle as if challenging them to contradict him. Whipping his head back sharply, he turned on his heel and swiftly exited the compartment. Draco took his time wandering the corridor of the train, breathing deeply, searching for the scent of his mate.
“My mate is here, I can smell it. If I have to search every compartment until I find them, I will.” Draco stated with conviction. The further he walked along the corridor, the stronger the scent got. ‘It’s almost as if the scent is leading me, pulling me. This might be easier than I planned,’ he thought to himself. Not paying attention and being too captivated by his senses, he bumped into Ginny Weasley. The smell was all over her, but it was not her, he was certain of that.
“Out of my way, Weasley,” he growled, pushing her aside.
“What’s your problem, ferret boy,” she yelled in return.
He ignored her and kept on walking. Finally he made it to the last compartment. The smell was so strong, it was everywhere. Swinging the compartment door open, he spotted Weasley and Granger making out on the seat. He almost collapsed, his senses were overloaded with the scent of his mate. The snogging pair had yet to notice the intruder, and he took the opportunity of their ignorance to step closer and deeply inhale the air. ‘Thank all the gods and goddesses it’s not one of them,’ he thought with extreme relief. In a stealthy fashion, he exited the room, not even being noticed. As he closed the door behind him, he also closed his eyes to take a deep breath and focus on his senses. The smell was strong once again, so he started to follow where he thought he was being led without opening his eyes, and bumped into a body, grasping the robes in front of himself to keep from falling.
‘Oh my God, oh my God, this is my mate, I’m holding onto my mate,’ he repeated in his head ecstatically.
“Malfoy, you can let go of me now.”
Draco slowly opened his eyes.


Harry’s POV

Arriving at Platform 9 ¾ with time to spare, he loaded all of his belongings onto the train. When he had finished, he strolled back out to the barrier in hopes of catching the Weasley clan as they dropped off their children. Sure enough, when he reached the barrier they were all just crossing over the invisible thresh hold. As soon as Ginny spotted Harry, she ran up to him and threw her arms around him in tight embrace.
“How are you doing, Harry?” she asked.
“I’m good, Gin. Did you have a nice summer in Romania with your brother?”
“It was one of the best vacations I’ve ever had,” she stated exuberantly.
Mrs. Weasley was the next to descend on Harry, giving him a big hug, followed by Ron, and the twins, who were there to help their mom see everybody off.
“Hey, Harry, here’s part of your birthday present that we couldn’t mail. Slightly volatile if you know what I mean,” said George, taking Harry aside so that his mother couldn’t overhear.
“It’s all of our latest products that we’ve developed for the shop. There’s a note inside explaining what each thing does,” said Fred.
“Thanks guys, I’m sure this will come in handy. Someone has to take over your job as school prankster. Last year was extremely dull with out you guys there. And we certainly can’t count on Ron to carry on the tradition, being a prefect and all.” Harry said, grinning from ear to ear.
“Good to know you’ll continue the tradition. We have all the faith in the world in your capabilities,” said Fred and George together.
“You had better get yourselves on the train. It’s nearly time for it to depart,” said Mrs. Weasley.
“Hermione told me she’d get here early and save us a cabin,” said Ron to Harry.

Ron, Ginny, and Harry said their goodbyes to the family and walked to the train, just as the last whistle blew. It took no time at all to reach their usual cabin where Hermione sat patiently waiting. Upon spotting Harry, Ginny, and Ron entering the compartment, Hermione jumped up and threw her arms around Harry, wrapping him in yet another tight embrace.
“Harry, how have you been? I’ve missed you,” she said seriously.
“I’m good. I wish I didhavehave to stay at the Dursley’s for the summer, but at least this was the final summer. After we graduate I plan to get a place of my own,” Harry stated with conviction.
Ginny left the compartment shortly after to go catch up with her friends. The Gryffindor trio talked for a while trying to catch each other up on their summer holidays. It didn’t take to long to catch up as Harry had nothing exciting happen at the Dursley’s. Hermione had stayed home for the summer as well to start studying for the NEWTs, which they would be taking near the end of the year. Ron was the one with the exciting summer, as he had visited his older brother in Romania, so really he did most of the talking, except when the other two asked questions.
“Harry, I didn’t send your birthday present by owl this year because I wanted to give it to you in person. It’s from all of us, my whole family. Anyway, when I gave it to you I wanted to be able to explain what it does,” said Ron sincerely.
“You didn’t have to get me a present, but thanks for remembering,” Harry said as a soft pink blush crept over his cheeks.
Ron handed Harry a small rectangular box. Slowly, he took the wrapping off of the red velvet box and lifted the lid. Inside, attached to a silver chain was a crystal the size of galleon, in the shape of a teardrop. Enclosed in the crystal was a substance that was blood red in color, but appeared to be solid.
“The crystal holds part of a dragon’s heart,” Ron said looking at Harry. “If you’re wearing the pendant and the person your speaking to is not being honest or truthful, or has bad intentions, the color will change from red to black. So I guess in a way it’s sort of a protection charm, although it won’t protect you, but it will warn you if something is not right. It detects if others have dishonest or ill intentions towards the wearer,” Ron tried to explain. “When a Dragon dies, they take its heart out before it stops beating, and they make these protection pendants, use it in potions, and other things. It was Charlie’s idea and we all agreed it was a good one. Perfect for you, Harry.”
“Wow, this is great Ron. I’ll know whenever someone is lying to me. How cool is that?” stated Harry as he put the pendant around his neck and tucked the crystal under his robes.
‘Now to test it,” he thought with amusement.
“Hey, Ron, Hermione, I know you Guys like each other, so when are you to going to start dating?” he asked with a big grin on his face.
Both of his best friends started blushing furiously.
“I ..we…” stuttered Ron.
“You better tell the truth cause I’ll know if you don’t,” said Harry pulliut hut his pendant.
“Ron, you should just tell him,” Hermione said.
“I asked Hermione out over the holidays and she said yes,” Ron said somewhat hesitantly. “We were planning on telling you…soon, you’re not upset are you?”
“Ron, that’s great, and it’s about time. Why would I be upset? You guys are like family to me and you have liked Hermione since forth year. I just can’t believe you waited this long,” Harry said with his endearing lopsided smile.
“Thanks, mate,” Ron said relieved.
It was not long later that the two bir birds got so wrapped up in each other, having been apart the whole summer after their declarations of their feelings, that Harry slipped out of the cabin completely unnoticed. He thought he’d give the snogging couple their privacy, not to mention he didn’t really care to be witnessing their intimate reunion.

Harry was in the loo, staring inte mie mirror, preparing to change into his school robes. He had changed very little over the summer. He grew at the most an inch or two, much to his displeasure. He was only 5’7”, which is rather short for a guy, and he was shorter then most girls his age not to mention the fifth and sixth years. All those years of having food withheld by his relatives must have contributed to his stunted growth, because he knew his father had been tall. His hair was slightly longer, more wavy than unruly and darker, almost the color of a raven. The only happy change to his appearance, in his opinion, was the tan he had from spending most of his time out of doors, and the muscle definition he had gained from the exercise regime he had started to help relieve the tension of being cooped up at his aunt and uncles. After what had happened two summers ago with the Dementors, Dumbledore had decided that it wouldn’t be wise for him to leave the yard that surrounded his house. For his protection of course. After donning his robes, he headed back to his compartment where his friends were. Just as he was about to reach the cabin, a rather tall blonde boy, who was not paying attention, walked right into him. The boy grabbed Harry’s robes to steady himself and keep from falling. When Harry snapped out of his shocked daze at almost being knocked down he realized who his assailant was: None other than the biggest prat in all of Howarts, Draco Malfoy.
“Malfoy, you can let go of me now,” Harry said.