Ch. 24

The next week went by smoothly, and Blaise and Ginny had both settled into their dorm easily. Hermione and Ginny were both happy to be able to hang out with each other more often, and this made the two Veelas immensely happy.

Draco was almost always on alert outside of their dorm after Pansy's threat to hex Hermione, and he had become very protective of his mate, growling at anyone who got close to her. This didn't go unnoticed by her, and she tried hard to not say anything, but after a few days of his overbearing protectiveness, she finally broke down.

"Draco, what's wrong?" She asked, pulling him to the side in the corridor.

He looked around slightly before answering her. "Nothing, why do you ask?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You've been walking me to and from every class, and you search the corridors as if you're expecting something to jump out at you. Not to mention growling at anyone who comes within five feet of me."

"There's nothing wrong, I promise," He said, smiling at her.

"Then will you relax?" She asked, frustrated.

"I am relaxed!"

She looked at him, clearly unconvinced. He couldn't help but glance around the corridor and she huffed. "There you go again, you just looked around. You better tell me what is happening right now, Draco."

He sighed and his shoulders dropped. "Someone may have threatened to hex you."

"Who?"

"Pansy."

She stared at him for a moment and then laughed. "? You really are worried about Pansy hexing me?"

"I don't want something happening to you," He said worriedly.

"You think I can't defend myself from her?" She asked defensively. "That's rather insulting."

"That's not it," He said, frustrated. "Look, Veelas are very protective of their mates, and any threat, regardless of how ridiculous it is, makes us on edge. I am well aware that you can defend yourself, especially from Pansy, but that doesn't mean that I can control my protectiveness. It's hard to explain."

She relaxed slightly, feeling bad that she had assumed his reasoning. She reached out and took his hands, squeezing them as she smiled at him. "I understand now; if this is what it takes for you and your Veela to be comfortable, then I will happily oblige."

He smiled widely. "You are incredible, Hermione."

Wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug, she laid her head on his chest and returned his hug happily.

Their last class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts, one which the four of them shared. The position had been taken over by a new professor, a woman named Adeliza Rhodes. She was a very stern woman in her mid-forties, towering over everyone. She was very lithe and always reminded Hermione of a ballerina due to the fact that she glided instead of walking and was always clad in pale blue robes.

"Good afternoon, class," She greeted in a light voice that clashed against her stern appearance. "Today, we will be learning about a creature that isn't necessarily dark, but can be dangerous when provoked. This creature is the Veela."

The four of them looked at each other uncomfortably before returning their attention back to the front of the class.

"Now, most of the information that we have on Veelas is only in reference to full-blood Veelas, which are always female," Professor Rhodes stated, walking slowly up the aisle between desks with her hands clasped in front of her. "However, once a Veela mates and the gene is passed on, the gene can appear in both male and female children. Full-blooded Veelas are extremely rare these days, but there are more witches and wizards with the Veela gene than one would think."

She paused at their tables and glanced between the four of them, and Hermione thought she saw a faint smile curving the tips of the woman's lips before the professor turned away and slowly made her way back down the aisle, continuing her lecture.

"Now, because of their rarity and the fact that they are extremely prone to being private with their lives, there is little known about Veelas. However," She turned back to face the classroom, "We know enough about them to be able to respect them. And Veelas should absolutely be respected.

"Veelas are mated to one person for their lifetime; this seems to be one of the only constants between full-blooded Veelas and part-blooded Veelas throughout the generations, aside from an abnormally beautiful appearance that many agree to be more beautiful than the average witch or wizard, even with beautification potions."

She waved her wand silently at the projector and the shades drew themselves over the windows, and a picture of the Veela mascots for the Bulgarian Quidditch team appeared on the screen behind her. "I'm sure many of you are aware that Veelas are the mascots of the Bulgarian Quidditch team. This is mostly because Bulgaria is the Veela's native country, but Veelas have been known to be found all over Europe. It is unknown if any have been found in the Americas or Asia, but studies are still underway on these creatures."

With a snap of her fingers, the slide changed to another picture, but there was no way this was a picture of a Veela. Instead of a beautiful woman, there was a hideous bird-like creature with a beak and wings that were larger than the body of the creature. Its eyes were dark with bright-red irises, and from its hands it seemed to be launching balls of fire at something.

"Veelas are a very fickle and easily provoked race," Professor Rhodes stated. "They anger very easily, and full-blooded Veelas will transform into a harpy-like creature when angered, which includes growing scaly wings and their face transforming to accommodate a beak. Veelas are also known to have extended hearing and be able to 'feel' their mates' emotions. This trait is primarily believed to be so that the Veela can know when their mate is feeling anything negative or is in trouble, and the Veela can take action. It is unknown what traits are passed down between generations, but from what few reports I have been able to see, the eye-darkening trait seems to be the most common trait that is passed down as well as the ability to feel the mate's emotions. The ability to form and project fireballs along with the ability to grow wings is much rarer, but it has still been recorded to happen."

Draco noticed Blaise had turned slightly to look back at him, eyebrows raised. He smirked and shook his head, knowing what his friend was insinuating. After Blaise turned back around, he felt a smack on his leg and saw Hermione giving him a glare. He shook his head and grabbed her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. He also made a mental note to not tell her of any tests he and Blaise would run to see what they could do.

"Now, if you'll remember, earlier I stated that Veelas are only mated to one person. This person must accept the Veela as their mate in order to prevent a rejection. When a Veela is rejected by their mate, the Veela will slowly die of heartbreak. There are only a handful of known cases of this happening, and while I will not cover those right now, I will be happy to provide you with reading material if you are interested in reading more about them. It is believed that this particular rejection trait does not pass down through the generations, or if it does, it is not as prevalent. But there is evidence that when a part-blooded Veela truly cares for their mate, any rejection will affect them just as strongly as it would a pure-blood Veela."

Professor Rhodes eyed Blaise and Ginny as she said this, and the two shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. Blaise reached over and grabbed Ginny's hand under the table, at which she looked over at him and gave him a small smile.