The walk to Hogsmeade was silent. Draco was too busy keeping his wolf under control with Hermione walking so close to keep up a conversation and Hermione seemed to notice. Even with a cloak to muffle the smell of her, Draco was still overwhelmed by her scent and every gust of wind that blew it towards him made it that much more difficult to control.

He'd hardly slept last night. Hermione had disappeared shortly after he'd kissed her and hadn't returned until late, but that hadn't seemed to calm his wolf. Even after he was certain she'd returned to her room and slipped into her bed, he'd tossed and turned.

Whatever had happened when that werewolf bit him had clearly affected more than just his blood. He knew he'd turn at the full moon, but even now, all of his senses were heightened and there was a part of his mind that was uncontrollably feral. He hoped Professor Lupin could help explain what was happening and why he had an almost undeniable urge to take Hermione every time he laid his eyes on her.

"I don't suppose you'll talk to me, will you?" Hermione asked, interrupting his thoughts sharply. As she turned her head to look at him, Draco caught a stronger whiff of her scent and almost—almost—growled.

"What would we talk about?" he asked in return. Hermione shrugged and took a longer step than usual so she could step on a crunchy leaf. Draco couldn't help the smile that made its way onto his face when she grinned at the sound.

"How do you feel?" she asked. Draco frowned and she quickly backtracked. "Obviously, everything's different and I know that—I read a lot on werewolves last night and I think one of the biggest changes is you now have an inner wolf which is just—so interesting! Did you know that werewolves—"

"You're rambling," Draco said, cutting her off. She stopped and frowned at the ground.

"Sorry," she muttered. Draco felt his heart clench at how he'd upset her and hurried to fix it even without his wolf snarling at him for hurting her feelings.

"No, I'm sorry, Hermione," he said. He grabbed her hand briefly, but the feral response of his wolf had him immediately dropping her hand. "It's complicated. I can't—I don't think I could describe it if I wanted."

"Well, start with just one thing," she suggested. Draco gave her a strange look and she smiled. "I know werewolves have heightened senses, so what's that like?"

Recognising this as a good way to distract himself from her scent and the way his wolf urged him to snog her senseless at the very least, he decided to try and answer. It was a little difficult at first, but a few minutes in and he was able to give her a better description of how his hearing had changed. He could hear people talking faintly in Hogsmeade even though they were still several minutes away. Hogwarts was a little too far at this point, but Hogsmeade was growing steadily louder.

He avoided talking about how he could smell her distinctly and how every time they touched, he had the strongest urge to take her right there, no matter where they were. By the time they reached the Hog's Head, his tongue was dry from talking and Hermione's eyes were bright with interest.

"I hope Lupin can maybe explain some of the other changes," he muttered, glancing at the Hog's Head.

He'd been able to smell the other wolf when they were almost halfway to the village. His wolf had snarled at the scent then, and now, with Hermione walking towards the new wolf, he had to clench his hands tightly around his robes to keep from drawing her away. Clearly his wolf did not like the idea of Hermione being anywhere near another.

"Remus should be waiting inside," she said, leading the way into the Hog's Head.

Draco followed her closer than usual, glaring at anyone who looked at them. If Hermione cared that his chest was pressing against her back even as they walked, she didn't say anything.

Draco spotted Lupin before Hermione did and glared at him for several seconds. Lupin looked up and made eye contact, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw Draco. Had she not told him who she was bringing?

"Remus!" she whispered excitedly. She moved to hug him, but Draco snatched her back before she could step too close. His upper lip curled back as he growled lowly and Lupin had the courtesy to stop reaching for Hermione.

"I'll admit, Hermione," Remus sighed, returning to his seat, "I did not expect you to bring a Malfoy. You're sure this isn't a ruse to trick the Order?"

Draco glared at Remus and remained standing directly behind Hermione. Perhaps he shouldn't let her leave while he talked with Lupin.

"I saw it happen, Remus," Hermione said softly. Lupin glanced over Draco warily and Draco made to growl at him again, but Hermione's hand grabbed his and he stopped.

Draco and Lupin eyed each other warily for several uncomfortable seconds.

"I hear you may have some questions," Remus said glancing down at his cup of tea before looking back at Draco. He gestured to the seat in front of him and Draco glanced down at Hermione.

"I'll be just down the street," she promised, squeezing his hand before letting it go. He wanted to grab her hand back, but he refrained. "Come get me when you're done."

Lupin nodded at Hermione who smiled at them both before leaving the Hog's Head. Even though her scent remained behind, Draco was tense as he took the seat across from Lupin. The man silently sipped his tea as he eyed Draco who pretended to be unbothered by the constant staring.

"What is it that bothers you most right now, Draco?" Lupin asked, setting his tea on the table and staring kindly at Draco.

Off the top of his head, Draco could list many things that were bothering him. He could smell and hear everything nearby, the chair was almost too small for him, he was now a half-blood, and the werewolf in front of him had been eyeing Hermione. Instead of listing all of these things off, however, he settled on what he knew he would likely not find in any book.

"I can hardly control myself," he muttered, embarrassed to even admit it. His wolf hated to admit something to another werewolf, but he forced it aside in hopes of gaining something useful from his time with Lupin.

"Explain," Lupin said. Draco glared at him, but Lupin looked unafraid as he sipped his tea some more. When had Rosmerta even started serving tea?

"My wolf," Draco bit out. He knew that was the answer Lupin was looking for because the older man nodded. "I can't control it and I don't—" he sighed and took a deep breath, avoiding Lupin's eyes. "—it has very strong urges," he said tightly, "and some impulses are hard to contain."

He risked a glance at Lupin who was nodding in understanding. Somewhere behind him in the restaurant, a group cheered loudly. He glared at the wall, wishing they would shut up and wondering if they had actually yelled or if it was just his heightened senses.

"Around Hermione?" Lupin asked. Draco snarled at the use of her name and that seemed to answer Lupin's questions better than any word he could have spoken. He hummed and looked at Draco closely. "Your wolf was threatened by me earlier, yes?"

Draco gave a short nod and Lupin hummed again.

"While some of your wolf's urges may be stronger because of the nearness of the full moon," Lupin said, drawing Draco's attention away from the bar counter and back to their conversation. "You should be prepared for these urges to continue even when the full moon is nowhere nearby."

"It's only her," Draco said. Lupin frowned and Draco struggled to explain as his wolf grew further embarrassed in the presence of another. "My wolf—He doesn't feel the same towards others. It's only Hermione."

"That is to be expected," Lupin informed him. Draco frowned now and Lupin attempted to explain. "I'm sure you've heard that all werewolves have mates; some may never find them, but many do. I was lucky enough to find mine and clearly, you seem to have also."

Draco looked up at him sharply but Lupin did not recoil. Instead, he smiled at Draco and finished off his tea.

"I can't be certain, of course, but it sounds to me like that is what has happened," Lupin said. He glanced over Draco's shoulder as the Hog's Head door opened and closed. "Hermione—" Draco's lip curled, but Lupin continued, "—is your mate, however much I hate to say it. Your wolf will stop at nothing to claim her and if you are not careful, you will hurt her." Lupin stared fiercely at Draco, not letting him miss a single word as he said, "If I get word that you have hurt her, intentionally or not, it will be the last day you breathe, you can be sure of it."

"I would never harm her," Draco snarled lowly, put off by the mere suggestion of it.

"You'd best not, boy," Lupin replied. He flashed his now elongated teeth at Draco before standing up abruptly. Draco jumped to his feet as well, knocking over his chair and getting a few stares. "The full moon is in three days and I know Severus has very little Wolfsbane potion on hand. With the watch on apothecaries and the limitation of potion ingredients, you'd better plan now for future full moons or you'll put everyone at Hogwarts in risk, understood?"

Draco glared fiercer at him in response and Lupin nodded. He pulled his coat tighter but rather than going towards the front door, Lupin made to go into Rosmerta's back office. He paused before he fully disappeared.

"Be smart, Draco," he said without turning around. Draco watched him slip into the hallway and disappear around the corner silently.

Once Lupin had gone, Draco turned and left for the bookshop he knew Hermione would be in.