A/N: The original chapter 10 has been posted as a second half to Chapter 9! Please go back and read that one before reading this chapter as it won't make sense otherwise! Thank you for reading!

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Harry had never slept for so long in his entire life. After the night in the forest, he was exhausted. His whole Saturday had vanished by the time he awoke, and he was thankful that Ron and the rest of the boys had left him be.

The anger Harry had felt for Draco leaving him in the forest hadn't left, and he was still furious with the boy. He couldn't understand his mind. Was Draco really serious about him? Was this whole thing just a joke?

Harry cursed himself for feeling so much for Draco. He hadn't felt this way about anyone before, and it scared him. A lot. He never realised relationships were as serious as this one felt. His head was spinning and he wanted answers.

Dressing into his comfy clothes, Harry made his way down to the common room where he found Ron and Seamus playing a game of Wizard's chess. Ron's face lit up when he spotted Harry.

"Harry mate! You're awake! Blimey, you were out for ages. What happened yesterday?" Ron stood from his game and came over to meet Harry.

"Oh, uh.. I just had a bad night. Worrying about the third task and all." Harry lied. He in fact had not given one thought to the third task and he didn't intend on starting now.

Ron gave him a sympathetic smile and a pat on the shoulder. As hopeless as Ron was at detecting lies, Harry was extremely grateful he was in that moment.

Looking around, Harry noticed Hermione wasn't with him and the rest of the boys.

"Where's 'Mione?" Harry asked Ron, looking round the common room as if she was hiding in the walls. He wouldn't be surprised - Hermione always seemed to pop up in the most random places.

"Oh, she's in the library - said she had some late minute studying to catch up on," Ron shrugged.

Harry furrowed his brow in confusion. Hermione always left her Saturday evenings to spend with him and Ron - and Hermione was the one person Harry knew detested cramming as a revision method. So why was she in the library?

It must have been because he was asleep for most of the day, Harry concluded.

"We going down to eat then?" Ron's voice sounded from beside him. Harry checked his watch. It was seven p.m. Of course Ron would never miss dinner - his favourite time of day.

The two exited the common room through the portrait and headed down to the great hall, Dean and Seamus following behind. Maybe Hermione would already be there.

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Sitting down at the Gryffindor table, Harry couldn't help but notice the empty space where Hermione usually sat.

"Ron, where is she?" Harry was growing more and more concerned for his friend at this point. As annoying as Hermione could be, she was his closest friend besides Ron, and this was very out of character for her.

"Mate, I told you," Ron said through his mouthful of pie. "She's in the library."

Was she though? Harry couldn't comprehend why Hermione would be in the library at this time - she would never miss dinner, especially at the weekend.

"She's fine, mate," Ron reassured him. "We'll go find her later." Harry nodded, agreeing.

After a few more minutes, a chill ran down Harry's spine as he felt a pair of grey eyes settle on him. He looked up instinctively and his eyes landed on Draco's face across the hall.

He didn't smile. He wasn't sure how he felt. He was still angry, and Draco was looking at him sheepishly, clearly feeling guilty for what had happened the night before, which made his anger worse.

Cutting his dinner short, he stood quickly from his place, and walked the length of the hall, trudging over to the Slytherin table, ignoring Ron's bewildered calls of his name.

Harry could feel millions of pairs of eyes on him as he got nearer to the sea of green and black. Oh god, what was he doing? Was he really about to embarrass himself in front of everyone? He should just leave it. But his mind whirred back to that night - feeling cold, scared, angry, humiliated. All because of him.

That did it. He walked over to Draco, who was shaking his head at him, his eyes wider than ever. Zabini and Parkinson were sitting next to him, the same expression etched on their faces. Harry's fists were clenched and he was sweating. Was he really about to do this?

"What was that about?" Harry asked loudly. He hadn't realised almost the whole Slytherin and Gryffindor table had gone silent.

Draco didn't answer him, just stared wide-eyed at his outburst.

"Come on, answer me. What was that about?" Harry stood, arms folded now, looking at Draco with raised eyebrows, not caring who was looking.

"Potter, stop." Draco grit through his teeth, but not meeting his eyes.

At the use of his last name, Harry's nostrils flared and a series of stabbing pains shot through his chest. Did he really just say that?

"No, Malfoy," emphasising Draco's last name in a feeble attempt to get his own back. Zabini and Parkinson were looking confused, and were staring at both Harry and Draco.

"I won't stop. Was it all just a joke then? Was this some massive prank you decided to play on me for the fun of it? Because if so, bravo!" Harry clapped his hands sarcastically, his eyes piercing Draco's skull, who still wouldn't look at him.

"You played well," he hissed leaning in, before turning his back on the Slytherins and storming out of the great hall.

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"Harry, wait! Harry please! Let me explain!" Draco had followed Harry out to the lake, where the raven-haired boy had disappeared to.

Draco stopped to catch his breath. "Harry, please. I need to explain what happened."

Harry was standing about two meters from him, his back turned on the blond. His silence told Draco he was seething.

Draco gulped, unsure how to approach this. His Veriae instincts were screaming at him; fighting with your mate was not pleasant, both physically and emotionally. He could feel his chest seizing up with the physical pain, and he knew Harry could feel it too.

"I... I didn't mean to leave you there..." Draco trailed off, having no idea how to explain.

"But you did, Draco!" Harry rounded on him, his voice growing louder. "You're supposed to be my boyfriend and you just left me!"

An icy chill ran down Draco's spine. He felt awful. Hanging his head, Draco whispered, "There are things I can't tell you Harry. It's complicated, but I can't explain."

Harry scoffed. "What, so now, now you're keeping secrets from me? From your own boyfriend?" His voice started cracking. "You're meant to protect me..." he whispered.

In that moment Draco's heart broke. That's all he wanted to do. That's what he needed to do. He wanted to protect Harry with his life. It was his duty as a Veriae.

"Harry, please," Draco pleaded desperately, trying to catch the boy's arm. "I am protecting you. You just don't know it yet."

Harry didn't say anything but didn't turn away from Draco either. He looked in his eyes. They were the deepest shade of blue he'd seen. He could tell Draco was scared. He didn't understand why, but he hated fighting like this.

There was a long pause.

"Harry, please, there are things I want to tell you so badly, but I can't just yet. I'm sorry I left you by yourself. It was an irresponsible thing to do, so I apologise. I just need you to trust me on this. I just don't want to put you in any danger. Please." Draco looked at Harry hopefully. This was cutting him deep inside.

Harry let out a long sigh. He had secrets just like anyone else. And if Draco wasn't ready to share them, then that was his business. He shouldn't be prying so soon, especially as their relationship was so fresh.

"Okay, okay fine... I forgive you." Harry said slowly. Harry knew he could trust him. There was a very obvious invisible connection between the two boys, and he couldn't ignore it.

A smile broke over Draco's face and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Really?" Draco came towards Harry and took his hand, biting his lip.

"Yes... I'm sorry too - for my outburst in the hall. I embarrassed us both." Harry put a hand to his forehead and gave Draco a wry smile.

"You didn't. I understand." That response alone was how Harry knew Draco was the one for him. He was known for being the school bully, but in reality he was the kindest, most caring person he knew.

"Thank you," Harry whispered into the cold night air. He could barely see the blond in the darkness, but could distinctively find his beautiful pair of deep blue eyes. A gentle kiss found its way onto his lips, and he felt Draco's body press flush against his. That's all he needed for the pain in his chest to leave. And it seemed to be the same for Draco, who was clinging to him tightly.

The two pulled away, still in each other's arms, smiling at one another.

Draco's hand was still wrapped tightly in Harry's. The blond looked down at their intertwined fingers.

"I want to take you on a date," Draco said. "A proper one this time. Food, blankets; a picnic."

Harry pretended to make a thoughtful thinking face and Draco rolled his eyes.

"Hmmm..." Harry pretended to muse. "Only if.. you don't run off in the middle of it this time," he said playfully, hitting Draco lightly on the arm.

Rolling his eyes again, Draco laughed and nodded. "Tomorrow at six a.m. I want you to watch the sunrise with me," He blushed.

Harry's face heated up too, thankful that it was dark out. "That would be lovely, Draco." Harry smiled timidly at him.

Draco returned the smile. He took in Harry's appearance, noticing the boy was shivering.

"Holy Merlin, Harry you must be freezing!" Draco exclaimed, realising the boy had very little on him.

"I'm fine..." Harry's teeth chattered loudly.

"I'm taking you back inside, come on," Draco said, shaking his head. He could feel his wings ripple inside his shirt, as his instincts told him to protect his mate from the cold. He willed them to stay in place. He would not have a repeat of the other night.

The two made their way back up to the castle, hand in hand, towards the light.

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Stretching out his wings, Draco yawned as a new day began. Sunlight poured in through the windows, reflecting the metallic green at the tip of his wingspan. Draco ruffled them proudly. They were truly beautiful.

He was in the bathroom, away from the rest of his dorm. There were only a couple other boys besides Blaise staying there, but he knew he couldn't risk anyone seeing his wings. It was too dangerous. His eye colour could be excused, he knew that - people would put it down to a mere trick of the light, that was all. Unless, of course, someone knew of the Veriae species. But that was virtually impossible. It was believed that they died out years ago.

After stepping out of the shower, the Variae gelled his hair back and changed into his smart clothes. He had to look his best for Harry.

Harry. Oh Merlin, he had felt awful. He'd betrayed Harry in the worst way possible. He'd lost his trust, and he wasn't sure that he had earned any back. The empty feeling he'd been carrying around with him for the whole of yesterday ate at him. He couldn't bare to think what the pain would be like if Harry rejected him as his Veriae.

Draco shook his head to get rid of the awful thought. Today was a new day. Harry had forgiven him, and that's what Draco wanted to focus on. The positives.

Taking a deep breath, Draco crept out of the dormitory, in order not to wake the other boys. It was nearly six - the time he said he'd meet Harry. He'd already laid out the blankets and food half an hour earlier. He wanted this to be perfect.

Draco shot a glance at Blaise to check he was still asleep. After getting back to the Slytherin common room the night before, he was bombarded with a series of questions from Blaise and Pansy about what happened between him and Harry in the great hall.

He hadn't told them about what happened in the forest. Thankfully, after calmly explaining the situation, both his friends understood why he did what he did. Although they told him he needed to tell Harry. And soon. It was getting later and later, and although Draco knew he still had a bit of time left, he wasn't sure exactly how long. And sooner or later, Harry would start putting the pieces together himself.

Shutting the door behind him, Draco slid through the common room and out of the castle into the fresh morning air.

He quickly made his way down to the black lake, to a secluded area where he had told Harry to meet him.

His insides were jumping around frantically. Merlin, would it always be like this? Would he always feel jittery around the boy or would it go away at some point? He was meant to be the big bad one in the relationship, for Merlin's sake! And here he was, an excited, nervous sludge, thinking about seeing Harry's face again and looking into his gorgeous green eyes...

A cough disturbed his thoughts.

Draco's head shot up, and came face to face with a certain Gryffindor.

"Hi," Harry smiled, walking towards him.

"Hey," Draco whispered as Harry leaned forwards and connected their lips in a passionate kiss.

Draco's face heated up. He had to stop doing that! Did he know what he was doing to him, for God's sake?! Harry was just... intoxicating.

Pulling himself from his thoughts, Draco admired Harry. He looked amazing. His usually unruly, messy hair was combed backwards, and his glasses were clean and reflected the green of his irises.

"You look gorgeous," Draco breathed.

Harry bit his lip and smiled, looking down. "As do you, my lovely boyfriend," Harry giggled.

Draco smiled at the label. "Shall we sit?" He gestured behind Harry.

The blond had laid out a luxe velour black and green blanket on the bank of the lake, accompanied with a huge wicker hamper. Harry's mouth watered at the smell emanating from inside. White roses were laid all around the blanket, a touch Harry thought was adorable.

Trees from the edge of the Forbidden Forest stood behind them, sheltering them from the rest of the world. No one was out here anyway, as it was very early on a Sunday morning.

The sky was a beautiful combination of yellow and orange, as the sun rose over the lake, the slow ripple completing the scene, along with the early morning sing-song of the birds in the treetops. It was the most peaceful place he'd been within Hogwarts, besides from his and Draco's special place behind the vines, of course.

"Draco..." Harry stared around him in awe. "It's beautiful."

"You're beautiful..." Draco replied, staring only at Harry.

Another case of déjà vu encased both boys once again. This feeling was amazing, Harry thought. He never wanted it to end. He never wanted to be away from Draco. And that scared him slightly.

Breaking his thoughts, Draco began opening the hamper in front of Harry. An amazing smell wafted through the air, making Harry's stomach gurgle.

Draco raised his eyebrows, trying not to laugh.

Harry's cheeks heated up from embarrassment. "Shush, Draco, I've not eaten breakfast yet.."

"I didn't say anything," Draco held up his hands in mock defence.

"Harry, I hereby treat you to le petit déjeuner français." He grinned at Harry, holding up a croissant.

Harry's mouth fell open.

"You speak french?!" He asked, totally in shock.

"Why, of course, mon petit canard. Je parle français." Draco laughed at Harry's shocked expression; his mouth was still hanging open.

Wow... who knew Draco could get even hotter then he already was. Harry was in awe.

"But... how?" Harry asked, as Draco cut him a piece of the pastry, slathering it in maple jam.

"My mother," Draco replied, licking his fingers and passing the plate to Harry. "She taught me french when I was young. Said it would help improve the family name when I was older, whatever that means," Draco laughed lightly.

Harry simply nodded since his mouth was filled with maple jam and croissant.

"That's an amazing skill to have though," he said once he'd finished his mouthful. "I wish i could speak another language," he sighed.

Draco looked at him with interest as he delicately placed a slice of baguette in his mouth. "You were never taught?" he asked carefully.

He knew Harry's home life hadn't been brilliant growing up; that was common knowledge. He didn't know the extent to how bad, though.

Harry sighed and looked across at the lake, leaning back on his palms. "No. No, I was never taught another language. Not properly anyway."

It appeared Harry didn't want to continue talking about his upbringing, so Draco took the hint and changed the subject.

"The sunrise looks beautiful, doesn't it?" He said, glancing over at Harry.

"Yes, it's gorgeous." Harry replied, thanking Draco silently for the subject change. "Thank you for bringing me out here, Draco, it's lovely. And the food is wonderful!" he said gratefully, making a noise of appreciation as he finished the last of his croissant.

"You're welcome, Harry," Draco answered, taking the boy's hand in his and stroking it. His skin was so smooth and soft. He wanted to hold it forever.

Draco didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. The lying to Harry. To Harry, his mate. He needed to know, it wasn't fair to keep him in the dark. And Draco felt guilty. So, so guilty.

He stared at Harry, who was staring out across the lake. He looked so calm, so at peace. Did Draco really want to disturb that so soon? He'd only just gained his trust back after the incident in the forest. Was this really what he wanted to do?

Draco clenched the fist that wasn't holding Harry's hand. The indecisiveness was driving him insane.

"You'll have to tell him soon." Blaise's voice rang in Draco's head, reminding him he can't escape this.

Some nights he cursed himself for being a Veriae. For being this... creature. Why couldn't he and Harry just live a normal life? Harry being Draco's mate put him in danger. How would this affect him? He could be tortured, killed even. A Veriae was one of the most endangered species in the magical world, and Draco knew if anyone could get their hands on one, it would fetch a vast sum of money.

Draco knew that he was dragging Harry to his eventual demise, being the mate of one of the only last living Veriaes. This was so dangerous.

But he couldn't stop it. This was happening. Harry had been chosen as his, and he vowed to protect him for the rest of his life. He just needed Harry to accept him.

But not yet. He couldn't tell him yet. It was still too early, still too soon. What if he didn't-

"I need to tell you something."

Draco's thoughts were interrupted and he was brought back to the back of the lake. His eyes met Harry's emerald green ones through his glasses.

Draco gulped. "O-okay.. go ahead," he tried to smile reassuringly at Harry but he wasn't sure where this was going.

Harry turned to face him. He was looking into Draco's eyes intently, still grasping his hand.

"Draco, I think..." Harry swallowed, and dropped his voice to a whisper. "I- I think I love you.."

It was Draco's turn to look shocked.

"Wh-what?" His mouth fell open. "No, Harry, I don't think..." he trailed off.

"Draco, I love you." Harry said with more confidence. "This is the most real thing I've felt in my whole life. We have this insane connection, and I don't understand it, but I know that we're meant to be together."

Draco's eyes were wide.

Harry continued; "I know we're still young, but I know. I just know." He bit his lip, trying to gauge Draco's reaction.

The blond closed his mouth. He couldn't believe this. He felt elated. An enormous grin broke across his face and he wrapped his arms around Harry's neck, kissing him intensely, to the surprise of the latter.

Pulling away, Draco whispered, "I love you too, Harry."

"Really?" the dark-haired boy whispered back, their foreheads touching.

"Yes," came the reply, before both locked lips once more.

As ecstatic as Draco was, the pit of guilt in his stomach only grew bigger as he ran his hands over Harry's body, kissing him with force. Draco tried to shove it back down, but it was only getting stronger. He was in too deep. Harry had to know. Before things got ugly.

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Harry was grinning from ear to ear as he made his way back to the Gryffindor common room. He'd been out in the sun with Draco for hours, and he felt on top of the world.

Stepping through the portrait, he noticed the common room was empty. Where was everyone? He glanced at the time, noticing it was nine a.m. Everyone must be at breakfast, he thought.

He smiled at the thought of the wonderful French breakfast Draco had treated him to. He could still taste the beautifully made baguette from Draco's kiss.

Smiling to himself, he went up to the dormitory to change his clothes.

Walking over to his trunk, Harry noticed it was cracked open the tiniest bit. Weird, he thought. He was sure he'd closed it properly.

Rifling through the trunk, he noticed something was missing. All his clothes were still there, his wand, his robes. But where was..?

"Looking for this?" A voice sounded from behind Harry, and he jumped and shot around to face the intruder.

"Hermione?!" Harry spluttered, bewildered. "What are you doing here? Where have you been?"

The girl looked exhausted. Dark circles were underlying her eyes, and her hair looked as if it hadn't been brushed in a good few days.

"We've been looking for you everywhere!" Harry exclaimed, laughing.

Hermione didn't return the laugh. She simply looked at Harry gravely.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Harry asked, more confused than ever. That's when he noticed the feather Hermione was holding in her right hand.

Harry swallowed.

"Why do you have that?" He said defensively. Had she really taken Draco's gift from his possessions? "Why have you got Draco's gift to me?"

Hermione said nothing, but pulled something out of her pocket. It was the same feather; black tinged with green. But it was another one. An identical one.

Harry stared, not able to comprehend how Hermione managed to get an exact copy of Draco's gift.

"I- What.. how?" Harry started but couldn't seem to find the words.

"I found it on the floor of the library," Hermione eventually replied, making her way to sit on Harry's four poster bed.

"You found an identical feather to the one Draco gave me?" Harry looked at her as if she was mad, even though the evidence was right in front of him.

"Yes, Harry." Hermione said slowly. "And that's not the only thing..." She trailed off.

Harry watched in confusion as Hermione slid her finger down the ridge of one of the feathers. Red blood seeped from her fingertip, dripping to the floor.

Harry looked at her in alarm. What on earth-

"Now you try," Hermione told him.

"What?!"

"Just do it."

Harry held out his hand, sliding his finger down the edge of the same feather. It was smooth and silky. The softest thing he'd ever felt. Besides Draco's velour luxe blanket.

"But- how did it-?"

"It's the feather from a Veriae." Hermione cut across him.

Silence.

Hermione was staring at Harry intently.

"Feather from a what?" Harry stared at Hermione. The girl had grown an alien brain. What on earth was she on about?

Hermione sighed, and began to pace the room. "It's a feather from a Veriae, Harry." She looked at him, as if expecting him to understand after repeating it. It was clear he didn't. So she continued;

"A Veriae is a magical creature, of whom the Veela are descended from. It looks like an angel or fallen angel, which I believed to be extinct until just recently. But then all these clues started showing-"

"Clues?! Hermione, what on Merlin's earth are you on about? Clues to what?" Harry was almost shouting now.

The girl stopped pacing and looked at him hard.

"Let me finish, and you'll understand."

Harry said nothing, but nodded at her to go ahead.

"I found an ancient book on them in the library. It was very old, half its pages were falling out, and it was hidden away from all the others.. No one would have spotted it if they didn't spend all their hours reading and studying there. It was filled with pages and pages of how the Veriae species act, how they think, how they come into their inheritance, and how each one has a unique soulmate."

"So that's where you've been this whole time? You really were in the library?" Harry asked.

The girl just nodded in response, and continued;

"Then I started putting the pieces together.. You say that Draco gave you that feather, correct?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed, answering slowly.

"And, he gave you that necklace along with it?"

She pointed to the angel pendant hanging from Harry's neck. He looked down and touched it carefully.

Harry looked back up at Hermione, bewildered. "What's Draco's gifts got to do with any of this?" he asked incredulously.

Hermione sighed touching her forehead, unsure if she should be telling Harry this. She had no idea what the consequences might be.

"A Veriae's feathers are soft to the touch for their mate, but cuts anyone who isn't..." Hermione answered.

She watched the boy's reaction carefully.

"What.." Harry whispered.

"You didn't see an angel that night, Harry. And you weren't hallucinating either."

There was a pause.

"You're saying..." Harry trailed off, barely grasping what Hermione was telling him.

The empty question hung in the air, the silence in the dormitory enveloping it before Hermione finally gave her answer.

"Draco is a Veriae Harry." She bit her lip. "And you're his mate."

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A/N: Hi, thank you so much for reading if you've gotten this far! I'd love to know what you think, or if anyone's even reading this anymore. 😅
I think this chapter was a bit better than my last now that i've gotten back into the flow of writing. Please let me know if you like it, and of course, I have the next few chapters already planned out :)