Chapter One: Frustration and Rain

Draco Malfoy stared thoughtfully out at the rain. He hated feeling helpless, and that had been happening a lot lately. Just when life couldn't get any more complicated…Today, September the first, was his birthday. His sixteenth birthday, he thought with an internal growl. And life was proving annoyingly complex today.

All of his life, he'd known. Known-hell, how could he not have known? It was a fact that had been drilled into him since birth-he was above, a divine being, a Wizard, a pureblood, a Malfoy…a Veela. His parents, both full-blooded Veela themselves, had instilled in him the pride of that, showed him that it was, in fact, a gift, a blessing. When his Hogwarts letter had come, his parents had been ecstatic. For about a minute.

They knew that Draco, as a Veela, would come into his "inheritance" on his sixteenth birthday, and that, when he did, the changes would be astounding. While Draco had always been a beautiful child, when he did at last reach his sixteenth year, he would be breath-taking. Not one creature, human or otherwise, would be able to resist him. Beyond that, his strength would increase a hundredfold, and his magic, wandless and otherwise, would be likewise affected.

This was not what was bothering Draco. Being drop-dead gorgeous, magnetic, and powerful he could deal with. What was currently producing the over-enthusiastic butterflies in his stomach was the prospect of finding his life mate. Like most truly magical creatures, Veela mated for life, and usually did so in the months just after their inheritance. They chose their mates by scent, knowing immediately the identity of their soul mate upon contact or in close proximity.

Once a Veela had found its mate, there was nothing for it. They would do everything, anything, to gain the love of that person-sacrificing everything-even their life-for their safety. And, upon their mates death, the Veelas heart would stop, leaving behind the perfect shell-half complete. Bonding with his mate, Draco's father had told him, would be the most beautiful experience of his life. It would bond together not only their bodies, but their souls as well, creating a link of the minds and hearts of the two that would allow them to feel each others sensations, and read each others thoughts. The pleasure and love would be so great, said his Father, he would never want another, and he would never get enough.

The problem was that he had picked up the scent-first in the station, and now, on the train, it was everywhere. It was literaly driving him nuts! And the worst part was that will all of the students packed onto the train, how the hell was he supposed to figure out who it belonged to? He was hardly going to go into each individual compartment and ask. Draco snorted softly. Yeah, that'd be the day.

Someone walked by his compartment, and the scent intensified. Siezing the opportunity, Draco ran to the door and yanked it open, glancing frantically up and down the aisle. It was overflowing with students. Draco groaned to himself, sitting down across from Dumb and Dumber. Merlin, he thought miserably as he went back to staring at the rain. This is going to be one hell of a year.