Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.

Okay, I was completely blocked with this story, but with a chat with one of my closest friends and a faithful follower of my stories I got some inspiration to write another chapter for you guys! I love this story and I really don't wanna make it go into hiatus. I think Draco, Hermione and Blaise don't deserve that at all!

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The groups of young people stood together as they looked at the two doors ahead of them.

Dumbledore smiled as he stood with his back between both ominous doors, his hat bright pink with yellow glitters and stars circling the material constantly. He seemed quite happy with his hands clasped behind his back as he looked at the young people standing in their travel clothes, with their suitcases and pets, some looking eager and others nervous.

"As you can see, there are two doors behind me." The Headmaster finally spoke. "You will be dividing into two groups, half of you will enter the door to my right, and the other will enter the next door. Once you reach there you will be directed as to where to go to next and what to do."

The old man enjoyed this. It'd been a long time since he'd been able to let his creative juices take control, and he was giddy to see how this would end up. "You will be staying in an isolated village in an undisclosed location, in which magic will not be allowed and you will have to depend on your own strength---and on your peers---to survive."

There were murmurs amongst the teenagers. The boys looked psyched, the girls nervous.

"Each group will have a teacher appointed over them as a chaperone and as a silent protector---he or she will be the only one who will be allowed to take his or her wand. But your protector will only use his or her magic if the situation is life or death." Dumbledore continued, patting himself on the back for having come up with this all by himself---and on such short notice!

He was killing two birds with one stone! Not only would he force unity between the houses---but he was helping young Mister Malfoy and Miss Granger.

"In Group 1, who shall go through Door 1, there is: Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, Justin Finch-Fletchy, Ernie McMillan, Luna Lovegood and Isabel MacDougal."

The youth mentioned looked at each other.

"Group 2, who shall go through Door 2, is made of: Hermione Granger, Ginerva Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, Steven Cornfoot and Kevin Entwhistle."

There was silence.

The old man smiled. "There will be more instructions on the other side. Now, children, be off. May Merlin be with you."

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Harry Potter led Group 1 through Door 1 and once they passed the threshold they found themselves no longer in the Room of Requirements but in a room of mirrors, where Professor McGonagall stood waiting for them with her stern expression on her face.

"Good, I see you have crossed over." She announced, looking them over. "Here you will split into two groups again."

The students murmured in surprise.

"In Group 1 will be known as Syrbotae." McGonagall announced. "Its leader will be Harry Potter, and will consist of Ronald Weasley, Pansy Parkinson and Luna Lovegood." She looked at the others. "Group 2 will be known as Panotti, and will have Ernie McMillan as leader."

Harry didn't know how to take this. When Dumbledore had said that they were going to be in an Inter-Joining crusade, he hadn't thought that they'd be broken into such small groups. How could they join together if they were all so far apart?

And while he understood why Dumbledore had separated each household, sending two of each into the first two groups, Harry really wished that Mione and Gin were with them now. How were they going to be able to take care of the girls if they wouldn't even know where they were?

"Syrbotae will enter through this mirror." Professor McGonagall pointed to the mirror mentioned. "And Panotti will go through this one." She then folded her arms over her chest. "Do us proud."

That sounded like a threat.

Harry gulped as he led Syrbotae through their mirror.

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Draco Malfoy led the group through Door 2, and once everyone in their group was over the threshold, they found themselves in a dungeon, in which there were two jail-cells. Between the cells was Professor Lupin, who'd returned after the war to teach DADA again.

"Hello everyone." He smiled at them. "I hope you're all excited about this."

There were nods and soft 'yes sir's.

"Well, you will be divided into two groups." The werewolf announced with an easy smile. "Group 1, Mandin, will go into this cell---and it will consist of Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, Steven Cornfoot and Kevin Entwhistle. Mister Cornfoot will be the leader of Mandin."

Steven grinned and puffed out his chest as he led his group into the cell, and once Remus closed the cell's door on them they disappeared.

Remus turned to Draco, Hermione, Blaise and Ginny. "Hello you four."

"Professor," Draco and Blaise nodded, looking uncomfortable.

Weaslette was for some reason looking at her shoes.

Only Hermione was smiling back at the older man. "Hello Remus."

Draco looked up and raised an eyebrow at the casual and familiar way she said their professor's first name. Then again, Hermione and Remus had worked should to shoulder during the war. It was obvious to all that the muggleborn and the werewolf were the smartest of the Order, and they'd been targeted for the same reason.

The Dark Lord had wanted them either corrupted or killed. Thankfully, his royal darkness hadn't had as competent minions as he'd believed.

"Well, the five of us know the real reason why we're here." Remus shoved his hands into his pockets, looking a little anxious but excited nonetheless. "These are incredible circumstances, and Dumbledore thought that I would be the best chaperone for your group. Not only would I be able to understand Mr. Malfoy's sudden transformations, but I'd be able to help him deal with having change thrust unwontedly on him."

Draco paused as he heard this. He hadn't really thought about it that way, but now that Remus said it, it made sense. From what the Slytherin had been able to find out, some werewolf had attacked Remus when he was younger and the curse. He'd had the curse forced on him. So if there was anyone out there who could help Draco himself and understand him, it would be the very man who'd gone through something so very similar.

"So…" Blaise announced as he cleared his throat. "What do we do now?"

"Well, the plan is as follows." Now that he was once more in total control and in teacher mode, Remus Lupin lost all anxiety. "We will enter through this cell and the spell in it will transport us to a preselected location. It will be isolated and a little bit rustic, but it's idealistic for our necessities. We will spend the time understanding the situation better, and helping Mister Malfoy and Hermione get accustomed to their situation and to each other."

"Okay, perfect." Draco nodded. "Let's get this over with."

Weaslette smiled at Remus, the freckles on her cheeks disappearing due to the red filling them. "I'm very glad that you're going to be our chaperone."

"So am I." Remus nodded with an absent-minded smile as he turned to pick up his luggage and lead them into the cell.

Weaslette's smile fell considerably at his dismissal, and hurt crossed her brown eyes, before she took in a deep breath and walked in after Hermione.

Draco raised an eyebrow as he noticed Remus answering some Blaise asked him, and saw Weaslette's gaze on the DADA teacher.

Did the Weaslette have a little school-girl crush on the oblivious werewolf?

Snickering at that possibility, Draco stalked into the cell and closed the door behind them, and in seconds the cell was gone and they were standing in front of a large wood cabin in the middle of a forest.

"Wow! It's so beautiful!" Hermione whispered, her chocolate eyes wide, her smile beautiful as she twirled around, taking everything in. "Remus! This place is so perfect!"

Draco smiled as he watched her. He'd never seen anything as beautiful as an awed Hermione. The sun bounced off of her dark curls, giving it an unearthly glow, and something in him was content as he watched her.

Mine.

"Dumbledore and I believed so as well." Remus nodded proudly. "As you will discover, your wands have disappeared. Do not worry, they are safe and if in need you will have them. But given the extreme and utterly unprecedented situation it was decided that it would be safer to use as little magic as possible."

"Sounds like a smart idea." Weaslette chirped.

"Thank you, Miss Weasley." Remus nodded with a smile that made him look a little younger. "I will be needing your help throughout this mission. You have vital knowledge about Veelas thanks to your association with Mrs. Delacour-Weasley, and that is an area that I'm afraid I have very little information."

"I would be happy to be yours—your helper!" Weaslette was suddenly that famous Weasley puce, but the professor seemed quite oblivious to the slip up as he nodded absentmindedly and pointed to the house, talking about how they'd decided on it.

"I've never been without my wand ever." Blaise muttered softly as he looked around him with a look of slight discomfort. "It kinda feels like I'm missing a part of me. Or that I'm naked."

Draco wouldn't admit it out loud, because it would never do for a Malfoy to admit any sort of discomfort or vulnerability, but he felt the very same way.

Hermione smiled at Blaise, placing her hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. "You'll get used to it in a little bit. And anyway, think of this as a learning experience. Now that you don't have a wand and magic to do everything for you, you'll be able to do things the muggle way. You told me once that our ways intrigued you, remember that. Now's your opportunity to do so, and I'll be happy to teach you anything you want to learn."

The dark skinned Slytherin smirked at the chocolate-eyed Gryffindor, the expression on his face betraying the fact that he was dying to say something lecherous that'd have her blushing scarlet, but for some reason he was keeping it silent.

And Hermione was smiling softly at Blaise, as if realizing what he was doing and rewarding him.

Mine. That thing inside Draco growled, and he had to look away, eyes closing rapidly and tightly. MINE!

Hermione never looked at him like that!

Draco felt his body going taut and he somehow managed to turn his back on the group before they could realize that his skin was rippling slightly. Merlin, he hated this feeling! He hated that it was his best friend---his only friend that was making him feel this way! Sure, Draco had a major problem with Weaselbee and Pothead in general, especially Pothead, but he didn't feel so threatened with Pothead as he did with Blaise.

Something inside of him viewed Blaise as a bigger rival than it did Hermione's Saint Potter, and Draco didn't like it. He had to get himself under control, get the beast under control, before he did something like kill the only friend he'd ever had while under this bloodlust he felt every time Hermione and Blaise were together.

And it wasn't only insecurity of a rival male he felt when they were together. No. Hermione and Blaise connected in a way Draco and her didn't (not that they connected in any way at the moment) and Draco had a feeling he and her would never connect in that way either. Hermione and Blaise were academic, they enjoyed reading and studying and learning the mysteries of magic and the universe, and while Draco enjoyed a good book he much preferred to be outside, on top of his broom…and Hermione was terrified of heights.

"Your ability to control yourself and the desires of the beast within is impressive, Mister Malfoy."

Turning at the sound of his professor's voice, Draco was surprised to find that they were the only ones still outside.

"I sent them inside to look around before they could realize what was going on." The werewolf explained in a laidback way, watching him with interest. "Is this the first time that your beast has reacted like this to the presence of Mister Zabini?"

Draco stilled in surprise. The older man was more observant than he'd given him credit for. "No. It's happened before."

"Hmmmm." Brown eyes went to the cabin. "And why do you suppose that is?"

Draco went silent, gray eyes going to the cabin as well as he heard the sound of Hermione's laughter. It was soft and clear, and he loved the sound…and also hated it. He wasn't some love-besotted fool, he was a Malfoy! He was of one of the most pure bloodlines! He could trace his family to Merlin himself! If there should be anyone in awe and utterly infatuated it should be Hermione, and yet she was only going along with this because they were already mates and she couldn't get rid of him now.

Well, she COULD if she used SUGGESTION on me…but she'll never know she has that power over me.

If she did, she'd suggest he take a hike or jump over the nearest cliff…and Draco wasn't prepared to leave or die right now.

Which brought him to his original point. He should be happy at the thought of her suggesting him not to love her anymore and leave forever, and yet the thought filled him with a nauseating fear that he was more than sure the Veela in him had everything to do with. Instead of using his right as Mate and Malfoy, instead of just telling her to get over things and accept her place in his life, he wanted her to want to be his mate.

Since when had he apparently forgotten to care that his mate was a mudblood? She was everything he'd been brought up to hate. She wasn't even the most gorgeous girl in the school---which could have helped somehow soften the blow to the Malfoy name when it was made public that the Malfoy heir had married a mudblood---and yet the only thing that worried Draco was her sending him away, her not learning to care for him.

And it infuriated him!

Why should he care if she learnt to care for him or not?

She was his mate! She was a poor, bush-haired mudblood. She should be honored to be his mate and he should be telling her just that!

And yet he wasn't…and he wasn't going to.

And that revelation didn't really help his mood in the least bit.

Realizing that his professor had been silent for a suspicious amount of time, gray eyes shifted to Remus in time to catch the thoughtful expression on the werewolf's face as he looked towards the cabin.

"What exactly did the Headmaster tell you about your condition?"

It was only because Remus had a similar 'condition' that Draco didn't take offense. "Nothing much. Just that I'm a dhampir, although my Veela has been activated as well, and that Hermione is my mate." The blonde paused, running fingers through his silky hair. "Apparently both sides of me chose her because they found her to be my perfect match, and now I can't bloody want another bird ever again."

Remus nodded for him to continue.

Draco steeled him. "But Hermione can. Dumble—the Headmaster—said that she might have another mate, or soulmate, or pet or whatever the bleedin' hell he or she would be called."

"Hmmm."

He hated that sound.

"Are you prepared for the possibility that it might be Mister Zabini?"

Draco snorted, sneering a little at the older man. "You go straight for the point, don't you professor?"

"There's no advantage to beating around the bush, and call me Remus." The werewolf commanded. "We will be working in close quarters and I think it's best if you and I learn to be more comfortable around each other."

"Ok." Draco nodded, face not betraying any emotion. Inside, though, he was a little intrigued. He'd always found the werewolf to be one of their most interesting professors, but since Remus had allied himself with Potter Draco had refused to be friendly with someone who was friends with Saint Potter, Patron Saint of the Forever Annoying.

"Are you?"

The younger man knew what Remus was asking, and yet he hesitated. "She's mine."

"You're not." Remus sighed, shaking his head. "You and I will have much to talk about, Draco."

It was so odd to hear the werewolf say his name.

Folding his arms over his chest, Draco looked ahead of him, at the cabin, in time to see Weaslette squealing and running out of the cabin, Hermione on her tail in hot pursuit, looking a little annoyed and yet utterly amused at the same time as Weaslette waved an odd contraption over her head tauntingly.

Obviously the redhead had taken some muggle thing of Hermione's and his mate was trying to get it back.

"Dray!" Blaise could be heard calling from inside. "You've got to come and see this!"

"Go on." Remus nodded.

Taking in a deep breath, Draco walked towards the cabin, wondering what had Blaise in such a tizzy.

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"What the bloody hell?"

"My thoughts exactly." Blaise announced as both boys stood over the odd contraption in the bathroom. It looked like a toilet and everything, but there was a lever on it that one had to push to get the water to flush---didn't muggles have toilets that flushed themselves with flower-scented water?---and there was another button on this odd muggle toilet that made water spring up at whoever would be sitting on it.

It was…odd and a little intimidating.

Also, what was this roll of paper next to the toilet? What was it for?

Shaking their heads, the slytherins went to the sink and found out that that was the same as wizarding, except that you had to turn knobs to get the water to come out. It was the shower that proved to be the greatest difficulty. They couldn't figure out the water system and ended up making the water either scalding hot (Blaise) or freezing cold (Draco).

"How do muggles live this way?" Blaise asked with a wince as he shook the hand he'd burnt slightly while testing the water. "We're going to have to ask Granger to explain this to us after we settle in. I'm not going to go around dirty nor burnt to death either."

Draco made a face, not liking the thought of being dirty (a Malfoy was never dirty), nor the thought of having to bathe in the freezing water, and yet he was a little more proud than his friend. "I think we can manage to figure this out on our own."

"And I think its safe to say that Granger already knows that we haven't a clue as how to use muggle things or live like they do." Blaise folded his arms over his chest. "It won't hurt to talk to her and let her give us some help."

Draco snorted. "It won't hurt anything other than our pride, you mean."

Blaise suddenly grinned. "Malfoys and their pride." His grin grew. "Zabini's prefer cleanliness over pride any day." Seeing the look on his friend's face when he thought about being dirty, Blaise laughed and shook his head. "C'mon, I'll ask and pretend I'm the only one who doesn't know."

Draco seemed to think it over before smirking and nodding, obviously agreeing with this plan.

Sighing and shaking his head, Blaise grinned as they walked out of the bathroom in search of Hermione, both knowing that this was going to be an interesting couple of weeks.

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I updated! Miracles DO happen!