Aimer Les Cicatrices D'un Loup

Loving a Wolf's Scars

A/n: Hello lovely, wonderful readers!

I'm sharing the muse that has been attacking me for months with you finally. I had three chapters of this story written months ago, but decided to redo them, and provide you with the story you'll read now, one that I'm very very much in love with.

There are no triggers for this story outside of normal things that happen in werewolf fics!

I ask that going forward you remember a few things. One, I write these stories for free, like all fanfiction writers, your reviews are the only currency that fanfiction writers ask for, so please leave them full of love and rainbows and werewolf kisses. Two, I struggle with depression, anxiety and PTSD, I say that because my stories do not always flow or there are breaks in my writing because I'm dealing with my real life. If you send me a comment, even on anon, demanding a new chapter, you'll actually make me not want to write.

I am introducing two original characters (OCs) to this fic, Adelaide Malfoy and Ellis Yaxley. I love these characters to pieces, and if you do too and want to use them in your writing, please ask first. I'll most likely say yes, but I would like to know ahead of time! Thanks!

Fancasts for this stories:
Draco Malfoy - Tom Felton
Hermione Granger - Emma Watson
Adelaide Malfoy - Lily James
Ellis Yaxley - Richard Madden

Yes the two are the characters from Disney's live action Cinderella, I love them dearly!

Huge love to my betas kanewolfe and my husband! Without them I could not put these fics out!

This story is dedicated to my friend gidgetmalfoy and baby Arnold growing inside of her. She has supported and loved this story as much as I have, and I couldn't have written this fic without her!

Friday, 3 November 2006

Hermione

Hermione's brown eyes opened slowly as her wand began to buzz, indicating she had actually slept to its alarm. Slightly surprised, she muttered the spell to stop her alarm under her breath. She groaned at the idea of leaving her warm, cozy bed on this chilly morning. It didn't help that her task at work today was one she had been putting off for months, leaving this particular task til the very end of her list. As she pulled her feet out from under the covers, she received a pointed look from Crookshanks on the end of the bed.

"I know, I'm not thrilled about being awake either," Hermione said, rubbing the spot between his ears. She pulled the covers up tight around her, snuggling down into the warmth. Groaning she needed to stop putting it off, because the sooner she got this one task done, the sooner the weekend would come.

On quick feet, she ran to the bathroom across the hall from her bedroom on the third floor of Grimmauld Place. As she showered, she thanked Merlin... again, for Harry giving her a place to live, but she knew the time of her staying here was coming to an end. Especially once Harry and Hannah married. She'd been saving most of her salary for years, as well as the money given by the Ministry for her war efforts. She could certainly afford a house of her own, but living alone wasn't something she was looking forward to.

Back in her room, Hermione stared into her mass of clothing inside her wardrobe, debating on the type of outfit she wanted to wear. Did she want to look professional and untouchable, much like Minerva. Or did she want to appear friendly and professional. Tilting her head to the side, she finally settled on her favorite yellow pencil skirt, hoping that the bright color would evoke warmth and friendly feelings. Pairing it with a tight black sweater, black tights and her black heels, she felt ready. Before she went downstairs for a cup of tea, she grabbed her purse, checking to make sure she had all the necessary documents and let Crookshanks lead her to the kitchen.

"Miss wants tea?" Lottie asked from the stove when Hermione entered the kitchen, her large green eyes crinkling when Hermione sat down at the kitchen table. Lottie bustled around, quickly setting the kettle on the hob to prepare Hermione's tea.

"Yes. Thank you, Lottie," Hermione said, smiling at Lottie when the house-elf placed a warm cup of tea before her. While Hermione still struggled with the idea of house-elves, Lottie's good nature and care made it easy to see the joy she took in her work.

Hermione rushed through her cup of tea, while glancing over the list of tasks she needed to complete next week. Once she visited the last wizard on her list, she would be able to resume her previous work. It had taken her three full months to visit all the registered werewolves and inform them of the new laws that she had written and fought for before the Wizengamot. While some of the werewolves had been hesitant to meet with a Ministry official, all of the visits had gone well once they realized why she was visiting. She was not as optimistic about this visit.

"Master has requested French Onion soup for dinner, is that ok with Miss?" Lottie asked as Hermione took the last sip of her tea.

"Yes, that sounds delicious. Thank you, Lottie," Hermione said, as she grabbed her notes and put them back in her bag. Hermione always loved French Onion soup because it reminded her of Kreacher, the only other Black house-elf she had known. After the Battle, Kreacher's body had been discovered on the third floor of Hogwarts surrounded by Death Eaters with stab wounds in their legs. When Harry had arrived back at Grimmauld Place to start the renovation process of House Black, he found a quiet, young house-elf waiting for him in the kitchen. It took almost an entire year before Lottie could speak to Harry without stuttering or looking down the entire time.

Hermione stopped at the mirror in the front hall, checking over her reflection, before deciding to put her curls in a bun on the top of her head, which added hint of professionalism. Once on the front step of Grimmauld Place, she turned on the spot, concentrating on the wrought iron gates of Malfoy Manor.

Draco

Draco growled as he stubbed his toe on the barn door. The day before the start of the full moon always left him testy, but today was particularly irritating already. Something seemed off, and his wolf was restless, almost uncontrollable. His dreams the night before, while he was unable to remember much of them, had left him troubled and he had this sense of issues coming back to haunt him.

He was thankful to be outside, and on his way to the favorite part of his day, toward the barn he housed his thestrals. As he walked to the first stall he paused, looking into the beautiful white eyes of one of his thestrals, Carina. "Good morning, pretty girl," he said, his voice low as he rubbed his hand along her muzzle. His eyes darted around the small barn as he continued his daily greeting to Carina, and his eyes landed on his other thestral. Aries, was the biggest male thestral that he had ever seen, and while he wasn't one to brag about it openly, it brought a sense of pride to him.

Moving to the end of the barn, he lowered the enchantments on the last stall where he housed a large icebox full of raw meats. Draco pulled out two large hunks of deer, and levitated them down to Aries and Carina's stall.

He stood for a few minutes watching the animals tear into the meat before he reapplied the enchantments to the last stall. Pulling his cloak tighter around his body, he began the long walk back to the Manor. Unlike his younger self, who would just apparate back and forth, he preferred the walk, especially before the full moon to gather his thoughts. The path took him near the hedges that lined the drive up to the manor and through the extensive gardens.

Draco's thoughts turned to what had happened after the war was over and the trials began for the Malfoys, newspapers throughout Europe covered their fates. His father was sentenced to life in Azkaban, found guilty of the crime of being a Death Eater and the use of Unforgivables. He and his mother were each declared innocent after Potter testified on their behalf. He was officially registered as a werewolf and his mother moved out of Malfoy Manor and into a townhouse in London. She was as changed after the war and her husband imprisonment as Draco was. The mother he had now was the one he had wished for whole life.

Every aspect of his life was changed. He no longer held the same ideals he once had, largely due to the fact that now he was no longer just a pureblood but also belonged to one of the groups of wizards that held little regard in their community. He didn't leave the Manor often, and most of his friends had taken off on their own ventures and had left him and his status as a registered werewolf behind. His arranged marriage had fallen through, and what little hope he had of ever finding love had diminished when the Prophet had publicized the change he went through every month.

Sighing, he pushed thoughts of the past away as he picked up the pace, wanting to get back to the warmth of the Manor and ask Milly, his house-elf, for cottage pie. He had just passed the first row of hedges when he heard a distinctive pop to his right, on the other side of the hedges that separated him from the front gate and the gravel drive that led to the front of the Manor.

As he turned to look at the hedge, as though it would give way and allow him to see who had just apparated to his front gate, the wind blew towards him, and he picked up a scent that was both delicious, familiar, and captivating. As soon as his brain catalogued the scent he felt the wolf inside him leap forward, itching to move and find out what delicious creature held that scent. Draco struggled to ignore the wolf, but found curiosity moving him onward. With great strength he walked down the row of hedges, away from the scent.

Draco swept past the last row of hedges and turned to the gate some distance away. As his shoes crunched on the gravel drive the wind blew the smell back at him again, and he fought the urge to apparate the rest of the way. The source of the intoxicating scent stood 10 yards away from him, his only view was a short brunette with her back turned as she appeared to be rifling through a bag she had placed on the ground.

Draco licked his lips at the sight of this witch bent over, her tight skirt highlighting her curves. He continued moving forward, thankful for his wolfish tendencies and the ability to walk quietly over the gravel. As he pulled his wand from the pocket of his robes, to open the gates, the beautiful creature stood finally, and turned. His eyes, which currently rested somewhere between the grey he was born with and the amber of his inner wolf, narrowed as this witch's face registered in his mind.

"Granger?" Draco asked with teeth clenched and his fist tightening around his delicate wand.

Hermione locked eyes with Draco Malfoy for the first time since the war, a small smile playing over her lips. "Yes," she said quickly, her worries of the awkwardness of this meeting slowly reigniting. "I'm here as a Ministry representative to discuss some of the changes in the laws that will directly affect werewolves. I only need a few minutes of your time."

Draco couldn't stop the growl that left his mouth, as she took a step closer, bringing more of her scent to wrap around him. The last thing he needed was to be put into closer proximity with the last witch on the planet who his wolf should want to become close to. "That's really not a good idea Granger, why don't you just owl me what you need to explain."

"Part of the law is that I must inform all registered werewolves in person, so that's impossible. I just need a few minutes of your time, then I'll be off." Hermione said, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. Of course Malfoy was going to make this difficult on her. It's not like she wanted to be here anymore then he wanted her here. She took a few steps closer to the gates, indicating that her leaving was not an option.

Draco warred with himself for a few minutes, opting to breathe through his mouth, and ignore the scent that called to him and made him want to howl loudly. With a quick wave of his wand, he opened the gates. "Let's make this quick, I don't have much time."

Draco turned as soon as Hermione had passed through the gates, and he shut them again with a wave of his wand. He took off toward the Manor, determined not to notice the careful steps of the witch a few feet behind him.

Hermione clenched her bag tightly. Fighting the urge to pull out her wand and curse things into oblivion as the front door of her nightmares loomed closer. She had known this visit would be the worst that she would make, but the sooner it was over the better. She had a bottle of dreamless sleep already waiting for tonight.

Draco opened the front doors wide, sweeping through them as he led her through the entryway. He couldn't focus on anything else but breathing through his mouth, even though he desperately wanted to take a deep breath of her delicious scent to sate the wolf that was fighting his tether in his mind. He didn't notice the small gasp that escaped Hermione as she took the first step into the Manor.

Hermione's eyes widened as she took in the entryway that had once been a dark, dreary snapshot that haunted her in her sleep. The room was now bright and airy, the windows now uncovered and letting in the little November light that persisted to break through the clouds. There were comfortable chairs placed around the room, but the most startling change were the plants that seemed to decorate small tables, floorspace and even wallspace in the large room. It looked almost like a greenhouse, and Hermione struggled to realize this was the same room that she, Harry and Ron had been drug through years ago.

Draco continued into the small breakfast room that looked over the gardens and sat down in his normal spot at the head of the small table. His quick eyes flicking to the door way that the source of his current stress was just moving into. "Can we please get this over with quickly?" He asked, his teeth clenched together. He had raised his hand casually to indicate the cream chair to his left.

Hermione looked at him carefully before sitting down, and pulling out the pamphlets of information to share with him. She was used to the testy moods of werewolves, but she had the added disadvantage of personal contention with this wizard. "Well Mr. Malfoy-" Hermione began but was cut off just as quickly when the wizard next to her growled loudly, his eyes narrowed on her.

"Don't call me that. That is my father. It's either Draco or Malfoy, pick one." Draco said, his voice low and menacing. He regretted offering his first name as an option when he realized that he really didn't want to hear her call him Draco, it would only serve to torture him further.

"Fine, Malfoy, over the last few years I've fought for the rights of werewolves to be respected in our community. I have drafted numerous policies on their behalf, with much input from the community itself, and after much struggle we've finally had three policies approved. I'll go over each new policy in as much depth as you care to know. The three we have right now are: equal working rights for werewolves, Wolfsbane incentive programme, and finally we have introduced the Safe Housing Project."

Draco leaned back in his chair, his fist clenched in his lap as he listened to her explain that employers were now subject to criminal charges for denying a werewolf employment, and that all registered werewolves were given 5 days off around the full moon to deal with the effects of their condition, and it was now illegal to terminate them for missing days, as long as they fell around the full moon. The longer she talked the more he relaxed, and as she began explaining about the Wolfsbane Incentive Programme, which offered heavy rebates, based on income, to werewolves when they purchased the potion, he accidentally took a deep breath through his nose. The action caused his inner wolf to begin pacing again, fighting to get closer to the witch next to him.

Hermione was pleased that she had gotten through the first two policies without much incidence from Malfoy, outside of some quiet growling. Shuffling the papers in front of her, she continued, "Our Safe Housing Project helps all registered werewolves to find adequate housing, but it also grants loans to them so they can have a team of contractors create a safe space for them to transform during the full moon. We found that the few wolves who either did have access to the potion or did have a home, had little in the way of possessions because during the full moon they had no way of stopping themselves from destroying their homes. With this programme in place-." Her words were once again cut off, this time by a loud bang and a cry from the entryway.

"Draco, I finished early with my class and thought I'd head over. Just set up the wards," called a loud female voice from just outside the door to the room they were in. Hermione's eyes moved to the doorway, suddenly uncertain as aside from his mother she hadn't expected to see anyone besides Draco.

"WHAT?!" Draco said, he jumped from his chair, causing it to fall over, as he hurled himself from around the table. "You did what?!" As he moved past the doorway, his eyes landed on his cousin, in fury. Draco knew rationally that Addi wasn't truly at fault, she hadn't known that the last witch in the country to be trapped in his home was currently here. However, any rational thoughts were long lost, as he responded to the idea of having Granger's delicious scent torturing him for five days.

"I got here early, so I set up the wards," Addi responded, taking a step back as Draco moved towards her, her dark brown eyes, widening as Draco moved towards her anger and tension radiating off of him.

Draco growled loudly, his wand moving in intricate motions as he attempted to bring down the wards that now surrounded his home. "You dumb bint!" Draco yelled when he failed to bring them down. He had known before he waved his wand that it was a fruitless attempt, but he had to try. He had to try and rid himself of the torture that was Hermione Granger.

"What the hell is your issue Draco?" Addi asked her eyes narrowed, quickly growing irritated with her cousin's attitude. She knew they were both quick to grow irritate around this time of the month, but this didn't excuse his behavior for even a moment.

"Why don't you bloody ask before you set up the wards that trap everyone on the property for five days?" Draco asked, his voice still low as he took another step towards his cousin. He could sense her growing anger with him, and it made him want to fight her all the more.

"Because it's never been a bloody issue before!" Addi yelled, she could feel her anger rising, fighting the wolf right now was impossible and she didn't care to control it.

Hermione had neared the doorway as soon as Draco had left the room and watched the interaction. In all her years of knowing Draco Malfoy she had never seen him so obviously angry and tense, and never before had she had a moments thought of being scared of him, but in the state he was in she wanted to move back into the safety of the room. Her eyes had widened as the blonde witch stood with equal height and yelled back at him with as much fervor as he threw at her. Before she could stop herself she muttered, "What do you mean trap everyone here?"

To be continued...