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Marked as Mine

Summary:

In the wake of Harry Potter's defeat at the battle of Hogwarts, Death Eater Draco Malfoy is sent to pursue Hermione Granger upon the Dark Lord's orders. The task is one he has been assured he is particularly well suited to undertake.

Though only when Draco smells the unmistakable scent of an Omega in heat within the depths of the forest, does he understand why the Dark Lord chose him - an Alpha.

Notes:

Prompt:

PROMPT: Character A is on the run. Character B just so happens to catch up to them at the worst time.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Marked as Mine

 

"Oh for fuck's sake," Draco groaned as his foot slipped into yet another patch of sodden earth. 

Pulling his Dragonhide boot free of the muck, he grimaced at the audible squelch, before casting a wandless Scourgify. "Fucking grunt work."

It had been over a year since an inner circle Death Eater had been sent out on a mission such as this; to round up and drag in the pathetic dregs of the Order left scattered across the country. Longer still since he himself had been sent into the field. 

Draco had always been a natural Occlumens, the Black blood and his mother's training only further strengthening those skills. Once he had presented as an Alpha his mind had become impenetrable, even Bellatrix – in all her cruelty – could find no fault. It was then that the Dark Lord had seen him for what he was, an impenetrable fortress to hold his most guarded secrets. From that point on, he had no longer been required to participate in revels, nor torture captives. He had been elevated beyond that lowly station reserved for those who were expendable. At long last, his mind, his intelligence, had been utilised for its worth as a tactician and an analyst. 

So why was he here – in this gods forsaken forest – looking for the Mudblood that had been the thorn in his side since he was eleven fucking years old? He was a fantastic tracker, obviously. His elevated Alpha senses gave him an edge that others simply did not possess. Yet with Potter dead, his Mudblood was of little threat to the Dark Lord. Nothing more than a mere nuisance. A symbol of rebellion that continued to survive in spite of the odds. He knew the Dark Lord desired her. Wanted to possess her, break her. Make her an example to those of her kind that lingered in the dark corners of society like the cockroaches they were. But surely his talents were better suited elsewhere. He had no doubt this mission could easily be carried out by the most disposable of the Dark Lords followers. Based on the intel they had received, the Mudblood was but a shell of her former self. Even Goyle couldn't fail this simple task. 

Through the dank musk of the forest, a scent caught Draco's attention; subtle, though undeniably sweet. His step halted as his eyelids fell closed, nostrils flaring as he inhaled deeply. The aroma was faint, yet stood distinctly at odds with its surroundings. Something deep within compelled him to follow.

The further into the dense forest he ventured, the stronger the scent grew. As time crept on, he began to grow frustrated at his own inability to identify the particular aroma. It was not artificial, of that he was certain. Though beyond that, he could not distinguish if it were floral or perhaps even edible. It was like no other scent he had encountered, both exotic in nature and inexplicably familiar.

From the corner of his eye, Draco caught sight of newly turned earth and a small section of vegetation that had undoubtedly been displaced. It had likely been some passing animal that had caused the disruption, though he would need to be certain before moving on. As he approached the sweet scent grew stronger still. Trailing his fingertips along a thin tree branch, he came to a place where the wood had cracked. Leaning in, he inspected the damage. Snagged between the broken section of the twig was a single strand of distinctly curled hair. He pulled the hair free of the branch, running it between his fingertips before bringing it to his nose. His eyelids fell closed as he inhaled deeply. 

An Omega , Draco realised with sudden clarity. The Mudblood was an Omega. 

It all made sense now. Why the Dark Lord assigned this task to him and not another. For him, for an Alpha, bringing this bitch in would be easy. 

Now certain that the sweet scent belonged to his mark, Draco set out with renewed vigour. Before long, he felt the fine hairs along his arms stand on end and was met with an almost overwhelming urge to turn and walk in the other direction; a telltale sign he was now in proximity to some established wards. Fortifying his mind with the use of his Occlumency, he quashed the desire to turn and pressed forward. He edged forward carefully, his eyes falling closed as he extended his arm out before him as if to feel for the magical barrier. Foreign, hostile magic brushed against his fingertips and he inhaled a sharp gasp through clenched teeth. Correcting his stance, he slipped his wand from its holster and cast a series of intricate charms to identify the array of wards and enchantments that had been placed upon the surrounding land. 

The wards were undoubtedly strong. The Mudblood’s scent had evidently been dampened and Draco had no doubt her presence would be obscured from most. But the enchantments were not so formidable as to mask her scent from an Alpha. Her lack of foresight that she, as an Omega, might encounter one of his kind – or perhaps her deluded overconfidence in her own skill – would be her downfall. 

As it was, wards were one of his specialties. Not only in his ability to detect those that others might overlook, but in their removal. He made no attempt to blast through them with sheer force like some of the Dark Lord’s more barbaric followers, but rather dismantled them at their root, as not to alert the caster to his presence. 

Once the wards had fallen, he replaced them with his own, ensuring his prey would not so easily elude his capture. Wand in hand, he stalked forward with long strides. A short distance from the wards perimeter he discovered a small, seemingly decrepit tent. His footfalls silenced by the charm he had placed upon the soles of his boots, he charged forward and burst through the entrance. Momentarily disoriented by the tent's sizable extension charm, his eyes fell at last upon the witch just as she turned on her heel to Disapparate. 

"Stop!" he commanded. 

The Mudblood's motion came to an abrupt halt, her body threatening to topple for a brief moment before she regained her footing. Despite having placed his own anti-apparition wards and knowing her attempted escape was in vain, he was pleased to note the way in which his Alpha tone had immediately affected her.

"Bring me your wand," he ordered, the low tone of his Alpha command reverberating through the space around them. "Do not touch me."

She hesitated for only a moment – her internal conflict reflected in the crease of her brow – before she made her way across the room to where he stood by the tent's entrance. She presented her wand to him and he took it from her grasp, slipping it quickly into the holster up his sleeve. Granger, much shorter in stature than himself – as typical of her kind – stared directly ahead at his chest. He placed the tip of his own wand beneath her chin and forced her to tilt her head back and meet his gaze. 

Her pupils were blown wide and her now elongated neck exposed the scent glands situated just beneath the surface of her flushed skin. The perfume of her pheromones was heavy, permeating the air around them.

Fuck. Granger was not only an Omega, she was an Omega swiftly spiralling into the thralls of her heat. 

As the wave of her pheromones flooded his system, his already half hard cock swelled painfully within the confines of his suddenly too tight trousers. His body warned. His skin itched. 

"Alpha... Please," she begged quietly.  

He noticed her then. All of her. How her eyes bore into his, desperate, pleading. The way her body trembled. She needed him. Needed an Alpha to see her through.

"You want me to touch you, Mudblood?"

At his words, she merely whimpered and Draco felt his cock throb in response to the desperate sound. Never before had he experienced a rut. His meagre knowledge was derived from what he had read in books, heard in tales. But even now, as he felt the adrenaline coarse through his body, he knew without a doubt what was to come. 

Despite his urges, he needed to remain in control. As much as his biology would press him to claim this Omega, he could not – would not – let that happen. 

He had witnessed first hand what had befallen those who caved to their baser desires. Those who had allowed their designation to drive them to act at odds with what was expected of them - demanded of them. 

As rare as they were, Draco had encountered only one Omega prior to the Mudblood. It had been before his own presentation, during his Sixth year. She had been a half-blood, or so he was told. A witch broken beyond reason and driven to madness by her own need. She had not resided in the dungeons, but rather one of the Manor's smaller wings. Despite that, he had been under no illusion as to her freedom. She had been a prisoner. A slave. 

The Death Eaters that frequented the Manor were given free access to her use. Outside of her heats, he had heard the way she begged for them to stop, to leave her be. During her heats however, not even the countless Betas who flocked to her chambers could sate her needs. She had been insatiable, crying out for an Alpha, any Alpha, to take her, to care for her. 

It had been during one of those heats that Selwyn had been called to the Manor on business. The older Death Eater had scented the Omega's heat the moment he had crossed the Malfoy wards and, in direct defiance of the Dark Lord's command, had sought her out. Selwyn had allowed himself to fall victim to those bestial impulses. He had slaughtered the unfortunate Beta's who had chosen that night to bed the witch, before taking the Omega for himself - sinking his teeth into her flesh, claiming her as his own. The moment the Omega's heat had concluded, the Dark Lord had ordered her death. Though Selwyn – having defied his master – was left to suffer the fate of those who bound their soul to another, only to lose their other half. Without her, he withered. Mere months of agonising existence before he too perished. 

"Please. I need… Alpha."  

The Omega's plea pulled him from his memory and he took a single step forward without thought. At this proximity, her scent was heady, intoxicating. Draco's wand slipped from his grasp, clattering as it landed against something hard on the floor. He was all too aware that his actions would displease the Dark Lord, but in this moment – with her so fucking close – he couldn't bring himself to care. Just because he couldn't claim her, didn't mean he couldn't fuck her. 

He was the one in control here. 

He would take her. Break her. Ruin her for whatever lowly bastard thought to lay hands on her next. He would fuck her so thoroughly that no beta could ever compare. Fill her so full of his come, that no other Alpha would bear the scent of him that forever stained her flesh. 

Reaching a hand up, he grasped the long column of her neck. As he squeezed the sides of her throat, the witch moaned, the sound reverberating right through him and resonating in his painfully erect cock. His hand moved upward until he held her jaw between his thumb and forefinger, ensuring her gaze met his own. 

"Mudblood, once we are done here, you will belong to me,'' he whispered hoarsely before tilting her head to the side and leaning down to run the flat of his tongue across the skin above her mating gland. 

Fuck. She tasted divine. 

He pulled back, inhaling sharply through his nose as he pushed her away from him. "Strip," he growled. "Now!"

Upon hearing the Alpha command she moved swiftly, ridding her body of her filthy Muggle clothes. As he watched her, he removed his own robes and then pulled her wand from his harness. He flicked the wand and was pleased to find it responded to him well, the witch before him hissing through clenched teeth as the Scourgify cleansed her body. Afterall, he had no idea how long she had been out here, living in the wilderness like some beast. 

Another flick of his wrist and he vanished the remainder of his own clothing, sighing in relief as his cock was freed at last from its confines. He couldn't help the smirk that pulled at the corner of his mouth as he saw her eyes widen and mouth fall slack. He was well endowed, he knew that. In fact, since his presentation, no witch he had bedded could take his full length. A shame, honestly. But now he had found an Omega. A witch perfectly suited to his needs. Her body was made for him, to be used by him. He intended to bury every last inch of his substantial length deep inside her perfect fucking cunt. 

"On your knees," he demanded, reaching out and grasping a fist full of her hair before forcing her down to the ground. "I intend to fuck you like the animal you are, Mudblood." 

She whimpered and he was uncertain if it was from fear or arousal. It mattered not. 

Draco sank to his knees behind her, the sensitive head of his cock brushing against the curve of her round arse as he did so. His hand went to her hip as if on instinct, fingers ghosting up along her side before positioning his hand between her shoulder blades and shoving her forward. A startled sound slipped from the Mudblood's lips before she fell forward to her hands and knees. 

The shift in her position only served to increase the potent smell of the Omega's arousal that flooded his senses. Looking down, Draco groaned in appreciation at the sight before him. The heat that had overtaken the witch had ensured she was more than ready for him. Her cunt glistened, coated in the slick that dripped from her centre to trickle down her inner thighs. 

A sheen of perspiration broke out across his bare skin as his breathing grew shallow. Running the tip of his tongue along his top teeth, Draco felt his lengthened incisors. This was it. His body had undoubtedly responded to the Omega's pheromones and his rut was upon him. 

Wasting no time, he fisted his cock, pumping it twice before lining himself up and sinking in without hesitation. A feral growl reverberated from his throat. It had been so long, too long, since he had buried his cock to the hilt within a woman. The way she felt, her wet heat wrapped so tightly around his engorged length, was incomparable to anything he had ever felt. She was perfect. His perfect little Omega. 

He stilled for only a moment before he drew his hips back and promptly slammed them forward once more. His action caused his Omega to moan; the low, drawn out sound like a siren's call. 

"More, Alpha. Please, I need more."

He could only groan in response as he increased the pace of his thrusts, all too happy to oblige her request. In no time he had lost himself to the feel of her hot, slick cunt as it gripped his cock. The sound of her body as it slapped rhythmically against his own, the maddening keens and moans that fell from her sweet lips between pleas, it drove him to the brink of what could only be his undoing. 

"Harder," she begged.

The witch keened as his hips snapped forward. Under the force of the impact, she collapsed forward onto her chest, back arching and pelvis tiling in such a way that allowed him to sink inexplicably further into her still. His fingers dug into the soft flesh at her hips – undoubtedly marking her skin – as he pounded into her at an unforgiving pace. 

He felt his cock begin to swell, pressing against the walls of her already tight cunt. Although something he had not experienced until that moment, he knew without the shadow of a doubt that this was his knot forming. It felt beyond fucking fantastic. The mere thought of his knot forming inside her – his Omega locked in place as he filled her with his release – caused him to slam his hips forward once more with force. She cried out as his knot locked into place and her cunt clenched around him, driving him swiftly over the edge. The intensity of his orgasm caused his head to spin, the edges of his vision enveloped by an encroaching darkness. 

A soft groan fell from his parted lips as he stirred back into consciousness. The first thing he became immediately aware of was the sweet, intoxicating scent that invaded his senses. Then, a brief moment later, he recognised the blissful heat that enveloped his throbbing cock. He pried open his heavy eyelids and for a split second was gripped by the fear that he had been rendered blind. Bringing his hand to his face, he swept aside Granger's mane of wild curls and took in the sight before him. 

Evidently, the intensity of his release had caused him to black out. Granger likewise, if her sleeping form was to be any indication. Draco lay on his side, one arm slung across his Omega's waist, holding her back flush against his chest. His still hard cock was buried inside her tight heat. Though, shifting slightly, he realised his knot had subsided. He shifted his hips back slowly, pulling himself partially from her slick cunt before pressing forward once more. His action elicited a soft moan from the sleeping witch and he groaned in response. 

"You like that, my sweet Omega?" he whispered against the column of her neck. "Like the way my thick cock stretches your wet little cunt?"

She moaned once more, yet did not stir from her slumber. He fucked her slowly, his cock slipping in and out of her drenched centre as he suppressed the urge to roll her onto her stomach and pound her into the ground. He wanted to savour this moment; the feel of her, the scent of her. Fuck, he needed to taste her. Kissing a path down the length of her neck, he sucked the flushed skin at the junction of her shoulder and neck into his mouth greedily. The concentrated taste of her seeped up from where her mating gland sat just beneath the fragile surface of her skin. With a low, rumbling growl, he pulled his mouth away from the tempting stretch of flesh and kissed higher on her neck once more. 

Fingertips ghosting lightly across her flushed skin, his hand trailed up her abdomen before cupping one of her breasts. Tweaking her pert nipples between his thumb and forefinger, he mumbled into her skin, "So perfect. My sweet little Omega. So responsive to my touch." 

He released her breast, his hand caressing a path down her body once more. A single finger dipped down, slipping between her slick folds to circle her swollen clitoris. Granger moaned as her back arched, pressing herself back and meeting his slow thrusts as she took his cock deep into her core. 

"Alpha?" she whined quietly. 

"Shhh," he soothed, still circling her clit. "I've got you, Granger. I know just what you need."

He thrust into her with even strokes, his pace consistent, yet unyielding. The tension in her body coiled as soft pleas fell from her lips amongst low moans and panted breaths. Legs quivering, her back arched as she cried out with her release. As her cunt clenched around his cock, he threw his own head back, eyes screwed shut, as he suppressed the urge to sink his teeth into the junction of her neck. Maintaining his pace, he rode her through her orgasm before he slipped his fingers from her slick folds and trailed his hand up to rest against her lower abdomen. Holding her firmly against his body, at last he allowed himself to pound into her tight heat with abandon, chasing his own undoing. 

A fierce growl ripped from his throat as his orgasm crashed down upon him, his cock pulsing deep within her body for what felt to be an impossible length of time. Palm pressed to her lower abdomen, Draco realised with a thrill that he could distinguish a firmness and slight distension that had not been there prior. With his knot securely in place, his seed had no escape. The thought alone caused his cock to spasm, inexplicably driving him to come once more in quick succession. As the gentle embrace of unconsciousness called to him, the fleeting image Granger swollen – not with his seed, but rather his child – crossed his mind before all faded to black. 

His rut was simultaneously both torture and undeniable bliss. It was as if his mind had been clouded by a haze, seemingly drifting in and out of his conscious state. Occasionally, he was granted a glimpse of true cognizance. However, those moments were fleeting, ephemeral. More often than not, Draco was driven by instinct alone. He had no sense of time. No way of knowing how long they had been there, nor how many times he had taken her, pleasured her. How many times he knotted within her tight little cunt and filled her with his seed. 

From behind him, he heard a soft moan fall from his Omega's lips. Any moment now, Granger would awaken in the strange nest she had constructed using pillows, blankets and even his robes. 

She would need him. 

Swiftly, he downed the glass of water in his hands before filling it once more with a wandless Aguamenti and returned to kneel by her side. His hand slipped beneath her neck, moving to cradle her head as he elevated it and brought the cool liquid to her lips. Her eyes remained closed, but on instinct alone she drank greedily. A meagre attempt to quench her insatiable thirst. Discarding the glass, he pressed his palm to her cheek. Her skin was burning again. A flush had spread down her neck, across her decolletage and between her perfect breasts; now peppered with countless marks from his mouth and teeth. 

Her eyes fluttered open, pupils blown wide and gaze unfocused. "Alpha, please."  

"Hush now, Omega. I know what you need. I'll take care of you."

He shifted, spreading her thighs as he positioned himself between her legs. Grasping his perpetually rigid cock – the erection having not once ebated since his rut had begun – he swept the swollen head through her drenched folds before lining himself up at her entrance and sinking into the hilt. 

Fuck . She was perfect. 

"Alpha, please," she begged. "Bite me."

"Is that what you want, Granger? Want me to mark you as mine?"

"Yes!" she keened, her pelvis bucking up into his. "Oh gods, please."

He leant down – positioning his teeth anywhere but at her gland – and nipped at the soft swell of her breast. Granger groaned in both pleasure and frustration. He knew it wasn't what she wanted. It wasn't what he wanted either. Though through the haze of his rut was the ever present warning; something that screamed out to him, reminded him that he couldn't have her. Not like that. Never like that. Yet he could not recall why. 

He wanted her. Wanted this perfect creature that writhed beneath his body, beneath his touch. He wanted her to be his. Wanted to claim her. To bind her to him in a way that was utterly undeniable. 

"Alpha, please," she begged again, stretching her neck and exposing her mating gland to him once more. 

His head fell forward and his mouth latched around the sweet spot, sucking greedily. 

Fuck.

He felt the tips of his incisors drag along the surface of her delicate skin and his breath hitched. With great effort, he shifted his mouth higher on her neck and growled against her skin, "No."

"Alpha," she whimpered. "Don't you want me? Have I displeased you?" 

A pain shot through his chest. "No. Gods, no. You’ve been so good for me, my sweet girl. My Omega. I crave you, need you more than I need air to breathe." 

"Then why won't you bite me," she sobbed quietly. "Don't send me back to them, Alpha. Please don't." 

His body stilled, his slow thrusts coming to an abrupt halt, his cock still buried deep in her tight heat. "Who?" he growled. 

Granger wept quietly beneath him, her eyes not meeting his own. 

"Tell me who!" he commanded, the thick Alpha tone rolling from his vocal cords with ease. 

"The other's… The other Alphas," she choked out. "The ones who've used me, marked me, seen me through my heats. I don't want them anymore. Alpha. Please. I only want you."

"No one," he snarled. "Will ever touch you again." His hand threaded through her hair and tilted her head up until her gaze met his. There was so much more warmth in the depths of those honey brown irises than he could ever recall. "Omega… Hermione, you are mine." 

His lips crashed down upon hers in a searing kiss. As he felt the way she welcomed his touch – her tongue darting forth to sweep along his lower lip – he groaned into her mouth. He felt as if he had tasted every inch of her perfect body, yet for reasons he could no longer recall, he had denied himself the sweet nectar that was her lips. Granger tasted just as she smelt; sweet, though never sickly. An undertone of something earthy, a spice he could not identify. 

Draco pulled his hips back and pounded into her with unrestrained thrusts, hips snapping forward hard and fast. Granger broke their kiss, throwing her head back and gasping for air before a long, drawn out moan ripped from her lungs. Her legs lifted, wrapping around his body and caging his hips. Fingers tangled in his hair as her free hand gripped his back, nails digging into his skin. 

"Bite me. Bite me. Bite me," she pleaded quietly against his skin between peppered kisses and nips of her own.  

Draco sucked at the skin above her gland once more, his teeth pinching down on the skin gently as he battled his own instincts. 

At the contact, she shuddered beneath him, her back arching up and into him as she called out, "Draco, please!"  

His name on her lips spoke to something deep within his soul. Not once through her heat had she called him anything other than Alpha, not even Malfoy. Through her haze, he had not even been certain that the witch knew to whom she begged. But the way his given name had fallen from her lips like a plea to the heavens; it drove him forward, instinct taking hold as the last vestitudes of his restrain were torn asunder. 

His hips snapped forward hard, his bulging knot locking into place just as his sharp incisors sank into the flesh at the junction of her shoulder and neck. The very instant her gland gave way beneath his teeth, he felt her cunt constrict around his rigid cock and he came. It was pain, it was ecstasy. It stretched on in a way that felt endless, eternal and yet somehow, all too fleeting. Draco collapsed atop her as the world faded to darkness. 

A soft hand wrapped around his hard cock, swiftly ripping Draco from his slumber. Blinking rapidly – adjusting to the sunlight that filtered in through the tent's entrance – his gaze landed upon Granger as she straddled his body. An appreciative groan escaped his lips as she lined his swollen head up at her entrance and sank down onto his cock. His eyes met hers and immediately recognised – despite the telltale flush of her heat that still coloured her skin – Granger was now lucid.

She rocked her hips atop him, grinding herself against his pelvis as she chased her own pleasure. Unable to tear his eyes from her, he watched in awe as her hands caressed her own body, fingers smaller than his own trailing the path of slowly fading marks he had left across her skin. When her fingertips pressed at last to the one mark that would never fade – the one that now marked her as his – he felt her quiver atop him. 

"I will admit, it took you longer than I expected," Granger said, her rhythmic movements atop him never abating. "But in the end, you surrendered to your instincts just as I anticipated." 

"W-what?" he stammered as his brows furrowed in confusion. 

Her hands dropped to his chest, bracing herself as her breaths grew shallow. "Do you really believe you stumbled upon me by chance, Malfoy?"

"I… the Dark Lord-"

"Your Dark Lord," she interrupted with evident disdain. "Has been deceived. Outmanoeuvred."

"I- I don't understand," he groaned as her pace increased. 

"The Order of the Phoenix isn't as defeated as your Master and fellow Death Eaters have been led to believe. Our tactics simply shifted after the Battle of Hogwarts. Our resistance is merely underground." She lent forward, the tip of her nose running along the ridge of his jaw, before she whispered against his sensitive skin, "I was not wandering this forest by chance. I was assigned this task, positioned here with a purpose. Each clue you so cleverly unveiled; my scent throughout the forest, my seemingly inadequate wards… it was all meticulously executed to ensure I was found."

His hands flew to her hips, gripping her tightly in an attempt to slow her movements. He needed to concentrate, needed to understand. "Why? Why would you lure an Alpha to you?" 

"Not just any Alpha. You, Draco. I lured you." She placed a soft kiss to the column of his neck, before nipping at the skin. "You're right where I wanted you."

Her hands threaded through his hair, nails scraping along his scalp. Tilting his head back she claimed his lips in a fierce kiss, her teeth sinking into his lower lip before running the tip of her tongue soothingly across the now tender flesh. Releasing her hold on his head, her fingertips trailed down the sides of his neck, tracing across his collarbones and to the firm plains of his pectoral muscles. Pressing her palms down onto his chest, Granger pushed herself back up into an upright position and rode him hard. The questions he had so desperately wanted to ask slipped from his mind as he held her hips and thrust up into her, meeting her body with each stroke. 

"Oh fuck, Hermione. I'm going to come," he confessed, knowing she had not yet found her own release. 

"Yes! Oh gods, please. I need it Draco, come for me!"

"Will you take my knot?"

"Yes, Oh fuck yes!" she cried, her legs quivering, her body no longer able to move of its own volition.

Feeling his knot begin to swell, his fingers dug into her hips as his grip on her tightened. Lifting her from his body he slammed her down atop his cock a final time as he came with a primal growl. 

As Granger lay panting on his chest, still recovering from the intensity of her own release, his prior thoughts came crashing back down upon him. Unable to tear his gaze from the tent's roof, he asked, "Why?"

"We received intel that you alone were privy to You-Know-Who's most guarded secrets. It was you who held the key to his demise."

"How could you possibly know that?" he asked, tone guarded. 

For a long moment Granger remained silent, her fingertips tracing patterns along his bare shoulder. Then, she exhaled a long breath and lifted her head to meet his eye. "A defected Death Eater informed us."

The hand that had been stroking her back stilled. He could not comprehend her words. No one knew what his role in the Dark Lord's service truly entailed. He had shared that secret with none. At least, none still alive to tell the tale. 

"Who?" he asked.

"Theo." 

Draco's eyes widened as drew in a quivering breath. No. Surely he couldn't be alive. His best friend had died. Killed by the Order just over a month ago. 

"Th-Theo? He's alive?" 

"Yes."

A breath rushed from his lungs. His arms wrapped around her body, holding her tight as tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. Granger's lips brushed against his pulse point before she tucked her head into the crook of his neck and spoke softly. 

"Theo had been a spy for quite some time. Harry stumbled upon him late one night in Sixth year, just after the Easter holidays. Theo hadn't yet found a chance to cast his glamours and Harry saw it all; the scars, the bruises, his newly branded Dark Mark. Theo told him everything. They're together now." 

"What?" 

"Harry and Theo, they're together. Honestly, it's sort of sweet," Granger said with a soft chuckle. 

"Potter's dead." 

"That's what we wanted you all to believe, yes." 

Draco's jaw tensed. "Why are you telling me all of this?" 

Her hand went to his cheek and he couldn't help but lean into her touch before she turned his head so their eyes met. 

"We are bonded, Draco. An Alpha will do anything to protect his Omega, his mate. Once this heat is through, you'll be coming back with me to the headquarters of the Order. The knowledge you hold, the information you will now willingly give… it will be the key to winning this war. Now that you have bound us to one another, I could force you to follow me if I so desired. Though, I think we both know that won't be necessary. I am yours, as you are mine. You would never take me back to him."

There was no point arguing. He knew she was right. Choosing to remain silent, he simply placed a tender kiss to the silver mark his teeth had left when he had irrevocably bound his soul – his fate – to hers. 

Notes:

Comments and kudos are a writers love language <3